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- [00:01]
Narrator/Advertiser
Introducing Meta glasses. You have questions. They've got answers.
- [00:06]
Interviewer
Hey, Meta, what's the capital of Peru?
- [00:08]
Narrator/Advertiser
Lima. How do you say where's the restroom in Spanish? Donde esta Alvano? Hey, Meta, is a hot dog a sandwich? Technically, no. Spiritually, yes.
- [00:20]
Dami Hope
Hey, Meta, what should I do with my life?
- [00:23]
Narrator/Advertiser
That's one of life's biggest questions. What do you think? Ask anything with the new Meta glasses.
- [00:31]
Interviewer
Welcome to We're Talking. In this episode, I sit down with Love Island's Dami Hope to talk about his Nigerian roots, growing up in Ireland and the moments that shaped his identity. So I think in order to get to know who you are, let's go to the roots.
- [00:59]
Dami Hope
To the roots.
- [01:00]
Interviewer
The roots. And I feel like the roots are Nigeria.
- [01:03]
Dami Hope
The roots are Nigeria. And it's a. It's a. It's something I'm proud of. Like, I'm proud of being Nigerian. I'm proud of, like, you know, my family. I'm proud of what my family did to, you know, try to give us a better life. Because my dad was a dreamer. He's the reason why we. We probably migrated. Migrated to. To Ireland.
- [01:24]
Interviewer
Yes.
- [01:25]
Dami Hope
And, like, just. Just as a kid, I can remember, like, you know, flashes of, like, me. Me getting. Me getting to this point where we're in Ireland, obviously, probably not in. Probably not legally or wherever. Wherever we. Because, you know, we're very, very clever people. You know, very clever, very clever people. So it's like, obviously there's a plan in place to how to, like, you know, to. To make sure we're able to stay here. And I feel like back in them days was a bit easier as opposed
- [01:55]
Interviewer
to now because this is the 90s.
- [01:57]
Dami Hope
Yeah, yeah. I say 90s. I was born 96.
- [02:00]
Interviewer
Okay.
- [02:01]
Dami Hope
I think I was in Nigeria till, like, maybe I was about three years old. And from there, I remember me and my little sister. She was two years after me. So it was just me and her, and then it was me and my mom, and then my dad, and then, you know, he'd bring us over to Ireland and. And I remember. I think at first we used to, like. We used to live in a hostel with, like, a bunch of, like, loads of different people. Because obviously, when you come to this place, it's like you're trying to find a place for your, you know, for your family and for yourself. And I remember, like, little flashes of just, like. It's just like, as a kid, you can remember just little dots of moments.
- [02:35]
Interviewer
Yes.
- [02:36]
Dami Hope
Of like, oh, I'm in this hostel. I Can see my mom playing chess with, you know, people that she's just making friends with in this situation. And I know everybody was against him doing this, because I remember my grandmother told me, because my mom's from my grandmother at her side. And she told me. She was like, you don't have to, you know, to go. To go and do all these things. But obviously, he wanted to make something out of himself for. For the family. I remember this memory of, like, my dad. I was sitting on my dad's lap, and then he has. He has a car, and he's like, I'm sitting on. Sitting on the lap, and, like, my hands are holding it, but he's there. And I'm only like. I think at this point, I'm only even just five years old, but it's a very vivid and clear imagery I have of him. And then I remember alongside that, we finally got, like, I think an estate house.
- [03:20]
Interviewer
Okay.
- [03:21]
Dami Hope
So now we actually got, like, a place, and it was, like, maybe three bedrooms. It was like our first home there. And, you know, we're shifting from one house to another house. It's just me and my sister, until obviously, you know, they start adding, you know, the new members. Now. That's the clever. That's the clever part for, like, why we're going to be able to stay here or whatever, you know. So they start adding them, and then,
- [03:42]
Interviewer
you know, can we expand on that? Because I get what you're saying.
- [03:46]
Dami Hope
You get what I'm saying?
- [03:47]
Interviewer
But if you could paint the picture, because I don't think your family's gonna get in trouble. Cause almost everybody was doing that. So it was you and your sister?
- [03:55]
Dami Hope
Yeah, it was me and my sister. First we were Nigerian. Like, we came from Nigeria. And then I think we had, like, my younger brother, and he was now Irish. Like, now he was born in Ireland. And then every other sibling we had after that. Me and my sister don't have any Irish or English names, but those lot, they got the names still. Like, he got David, they got Cynthia. They got Amanda. Me, it's just Femi and Dami. You know what I mean? It's just straight Nigerians. But the ones. The ones that came with the Irish passport, they got the Irish names. They got the names, too. You get me?
- [04:27]
Interviewer
Yeah, definitely. So with you coming in, I wanted to. I looked at that period of the late 1990s, early 2000s in Ireland. One, because I'm just fascinated about Ireland, but secondly, because you were coming and I saw that period was called the Celtic Tiger, where Ireland traditionally had these very high rates of unemployment, but then during that period, everything took off. The economy took off, and there was this great demand for service workers, so much so that the population within Ireland couldn't maintain it. So I think that was your father being clever, smart, saying, this is a great opportunity for me. So he selected Ireland. What was it that your father and mother were doing for work? You remember?
- [05:19]
Dami Hope
So my mother has always been, like, in care, so she's always studied care. She's always done care. Like my dad, I say he's. I say he's a man of all trades.
- [05:29]
Interviewer
So strong, you say strong family unit.
- [05:32]
Dami Hope
Yeah, very, very strong family unit. Because there'll be times where it's like, my dad would probably have to relocate from. We live in Wexford. He'd have to relocate to Dublin for forever. A job he has to do, and we probably wouldn't. And he had to get a place over there, so we probably wouldn't even see him. Now, I feel like it was a lot of hard work, whatever they were doing at that age. But, you know, when you're young, I'm just seeing that I want to play outside. I just want to, you know, make friends and stuff. But then when you look back at it, it's like, they've done a lot for us, you know, they've done a lot for me, my siblings, and, like, just like. And there's a lot of happy memories in it because, you know, some people, the situation could be, like, horrible. But I don't remember it as being horrible. I remember still being, like a happy, you know, youthful kid that got to play outside, that still got, like, bicycles whenever. You know what I mean? They still got all these little things that, you know, you see, you'll see other kids get, like, in your neighborhood. And, like, I'm enrolled in school now. And, you know, school is. School is amazing. You're making more friends and you're now. You're now part of, like, a system.
- [06:34]
Interviewer
Yes.
- [06:34]
Dami Hope
You know what I mean? Like, you're actually inside the system. I'm enrolled in school. I'm doing all these things, you know, so it's like, now I'm part of Ireland.
- [06:41]
Interviewer
Interesting.
- [06:42]
Dami Hope
You get what I mean?
- [06:43]
Interviewer
I get what you mean. But, you know, it's interesting to me because you are Nigerian.
- [06:48]
Dami Hope
Yeah.
- [06:49]
Interviewer
But at a very young age, you're in Ireland. You said there's a cultural difference. There's also a racial difference. Yeah, Because I was looking at the stats, too, is in that time, and even now, less than 1% of Ireland is black, you know, so you are distinctly different. But how you describe it, you felt like you were fully accepted and brought into the.
- [07:17]
Narrator/Advertiser
This episode is brought to you by Starbucks.
- [07:19]
Dami Hope
That is fire. Whoa, that's good. This might be the drink of. Okay, I like this one too. I'm rocking with it.
- [07:26]
Narrator/Advertiser
Okay, try it for yourself. Starbucks refreshers concentrates are coming home. Find them in the coffee aisle and make it yours. Plan B is a backup birth control option that's there for you when things don't go according to plan. It specifically works after unprotected sex and before pregnancy occurs by temporarily delaying ovulation. Plan B is available nationwide at all major retailers and through delivery apps like DoorDash. No ID, prescription or age requirement. It's the number one OB GYN recommended brand of emergency contraception and it won't impact your future fertility. That's freedom to be use as directed.
- [08:05]
Dami Hope
Yeah, and there was, at that time, I can say there wasn't actually many black people that lived in our town. So it was very kind of like, just very, like, unique and happy that, you know, people are actually accepting of that at that point. It wasn't racism because I was the kid that I could jump higher than everybody else. I could. I could run faster than everybody else. So it's like I was using all these talents that comes with me probably being, you know, from my ethnicity to kind of show off. So then it's like people look at that and then they kind of like. They kind of like pull you closer when you can do all these things. It's not like, oh, it's like I'm a monkey dancing for people. It's just like I'm using these things that I know will kind of give me more appease to people even at. Even at an early age to like, you know. But then the only thing I'll say is like, I feel like even at early age, it's just when it comes to, like, you know, teacher saying your name or, you know, mispronouncing it, and then that's when it starts becoming, oh, yeah, I remember now. I'm still kind of different. Because you do the roll call.
- [09:03]
Interviewer
Yes.
- [09:03]
Dami Hope
And it's like, I'm doing all these things. Yeah, I'm accepted. But then the roll call, and she's trying to say my name, but she's. She's butchering it. She's not saying it. She's not saying it the way she's saying James and, you know, Henry and, you know, Samantha. She's saying it's like, I did. And it's very. And then you just remember that. Oh, okay.
- [09:23]
Interviewer
Is that when you change because you go by Dami?
- [09:27]
Dami Hope
Yeah, I go by Dami. And I feel like a big part of the reason for it is, like, even though I was young, it was still something that kind of stuck with me all the way from primary school to, like, secondary school, because my full name is Ade Damola Omobolaji. And then, like, I feel like when teacher would. Like when teachers go to the Omobolaji part, it would be like they would kind of say apology. And then it would be like this little smirk. Like, you know, as kids, we make jokes and we tease each other and stuff like this. And it's like, it's funny. Yeah. But then at the same time, it's like, it's not that hard to say. And it's like, it can't really keep being like this every day. And then now the kids have a new joke. You're like, oh, apology. You know what I mean? But I'm not an apology. I'm not sorry. You know what I mean? There's nothing so. But it's a thing that, like, it kind of sticks. And then as obviously, I got older and, you know, even in secondary school, it's like now, at this point, now I'm more of an. I'm a teenager. I'm closer to an adult. So when it's still happening, it's like, yeah, it's not like I'm changing for anyone else, but it's more like, you know, you can just call me Dami. Just call me Dami. Do you know what I mean? Like, there's some people that actually did try, and they'll pronounce it well, or they're fascinated by the name, or they'd be like, oh, my God, how do you say it? You teach them and they get it. But there are some people never really cared to, you know, ask how to say it. And they'll just keep switching it different day, remixing it a different day. And then, you know.
- [10:46]
Interviewer
Yes. You know, we had Big Zoo on.
- [10:50]
Dami Hope
Yeah, Big Zoo. Okay. Yes.
- [10:52]
Interviewer
Who I love. Right. But his name is Zaher.
- [10:55]
Dami Hope
Zaher. Yes, yes.
- [10:56]
Interviewer
Right. And I was asking him about this.
- [10:58]
Dami Hope
He said only his mom calls him that. Right? Yeah.
- [11:00]
Interviewer
Yes, yes, exactly. Only his mom calls it. And I was asking him, how does he feel knowing that his name. He's had to Anglicize his name in order for other people to be more comfortable. And he felt uncomfortable initially. Right. So he has to put himself in a place of discomfort, to make others feel comfortable. I feel like this is what often happens when we're anglicizing names, when we're. Or. But now I get it. Because we're trying to fit into a culture. What do you believe was the lowest moment for you?
- [11:39]
Dami Hope
I don't know how this period started, but, like, you know, men, boys, they always take the piss. And there was one day in class, I think one of the guys that, like, it was, like, I was getting ganged up on. Like, you know, everybody was, like, dropping jokes on me, and they were making, like, small, like, passable racist remarks that, like, even the teacher was still writing on the board.
- [11:59]
Narrator/Advertiser
And.
- [12:00]
Dami Hope
And this all. You can hear all this stuff that's going on, but you're not turning around. You're not doing anything. And everyone's making all these, like, black jokes. You know what I mean? All these, like, your dad's disappeared. Even though my dad's still in my life. All these, like, comparing me to chocolate bars and all these, you know, all these just, like, quick, quick, snickering insults. And every time I make a joke. Cause, you know, I'm the only black person here now, and it's a class full of maybe 14, 15 white boys. So it's silence. And we're in a SPHE class, which is all about social and all this stuff. And it's like, this is the type of class where you should actually be saying these things aren't actually allowed, but nothing's actually happening. And I must have said, like. I think then I must have hit this guy with a joke that, like, everybody just turned around and they were like, what? How could you say that? This, that. And the other. I was like, I have not said anything, like, as bad as whatever you guys have said, right? But I was apolog. I was apologetic for my joke. So I come out now, and I think, this is where everything changed. This is the moment where everything changed now. Because it was, like. It was a way where it's like, I come out now. Everybody's angry with me and my joke, even though everybody's been laughing, even the teacher now finally turned around. Do you know what I mean to
- [13:14]
Interviewer
say that when it's unacceptable.
- [13:16]
Dami Hope
Damn it, get out. And I said, what? So I'm outside now, taking a little breather. I may be settling to myself that, like, oh, maybe what I actually said was too far. Cool. I'm hearing now, like, everybody's, like, angry, and they come out, they're saying they want to fight me. I didn't want to fight anyone. I said, like, it doesn't actually have to go to this. And I remember. I remember we're inside this, like, secondary PE room, and, like, no one's there. It's all, like, closed up, boxed off. It's like, shower room or whatever. And I remember I was like, everyone just formed around, and I was like, oh, like, you know, still trying to plead my way out of this because it's like, I actually don't want to fight. You know what I mean? But I said, I don't want to hit you either, though, because if it's a thing where it's like, okay, I deserve these hits because of what I said, I'll take it. And then Guy kept hitting me, kept punching me, but I was still standing. And he was getting more upset because I wasn't punching back. And he was saying, I need to fight back. But I just kept letting it hit me. And I feel like it wasn't enough, though, because I've taken the hits now and everyone's gone home. But then the next day, because I didn't fight back, it now needs to turn into a whole fiasco of, like, we need to go again.
- [14:25]
Narrator/Advertiser
Wow.
- [14:26]
Dami Hope
And I'm like, brother, like, we've already, like, squashed this. Like, you know, I mean, this should be enough now for us to, like, you know, carry on. Like, whatever way it is that we're going to carry on, just carry on. But at this point now, I've already said no. But if you're going to do it again, I'm going to punch you back. Because I've taken my hits, and at this point, I'm ready. Like, I'm readying myself now because it's like, I can't let people think that I'm someone that you're going to keep, like, doing this to. I've given you the first one, so the next one, obviously, I've beaten them up. It's very quick, very fast. But then now they're angry with it because now I've beaten them up. So then it becomes a whole. It becomes a whole thing of, like, different people from different points of the school. People that are even exposed, they're not even in the school. Like, everybody now wants a piece of me. Do you know what I mean? Everybody now wants a piece of this black guy that doesn't seem to fall down when you hit him. And I remember some guy went on Facebook at the time, and obviously on Facebook, everybody can see what everyone's saying, and he was like, oh, this chocolate bar is going to get it tomorrow. Or this, kick out, whatever, blah, blah, blah. And I'm seeing over like, what, 200 likes. And these are all from. It's from the school. And at this point, I'm not telling my parents about this. Like, there's no one I can really, like, go to. My siblings who are young. It's just me.
- [15:43]
Interviewer
And you do go to the teachers.
- [15:45]
Dami Hope
The thing is, no one can snitch. You're not. It's like you can't. You just can't tell. You can't, like, snitch at this. You know what I mean? It just became a whole, like, uproar. Like, all the other schools now are hearing about this. Even my old school, all my other friends, like, that I'm not with anymore, they're all hearing about this. The girls school. It's like, I didn't come to this school to fight. Do you know what I mean? But it's like, it gets to a point. And I remember the last fight that I ever actually ever had to have was with this kid that was expelled. And I remember my. The vice president, the vice principal at the school, he brought me into his office because I feel like the older years, they met me outside and they've obviously been hearing about, you know, all these fights and they felt sorry for me. He was like, dammy. Like, I'm hearing all this stuff that's happening. And honestly, this is what he said. He said, honestly, if you're gonna fight, just don't do it in your uniform. And I said, I said. But the only thing is, I knew he hated the guy that was expelled.
- [16:44]
Interviewer
You basically got the approval. Yeah. Of the only kind of body of authority. Yes.
- [16:49]
Dami Hope
To say you could do it. Yes. And it's like when obviously they told him, they probably thought he was gonna say, okay, you know, speak to me and maybe try and find a way for me to leave school quietly where I don't actually have to be outside. Blah, blah, blah. I must have been walking out and it was. The school bell rang and we're all walking down and it's like, it was a whole swarm of people. Like, even parents, like school buses were not going to move. Like, everybody, like, stood still just to come and see what was happening. It was like over, I'd say like 400, like 500 people just coming to.
- [17:20]
Interviewer
To watch you fight.
- [17:21]
Dami Hope
To watch. Yeah. Because the thing is, I was making so much news about everybody that I was beating up. And obviously now, everybody now wanted to see this person that Everyone keeps talking about. And it's become this whole spectacle of, like, oh, why doesn't he. Like, why does it. Why is no one able to beat him up? Why is he this, this, that and the other. And obviously, the guy. The guy that was expelled, he's really popular. Like, he's a bad boy. Like, he's really popular. Whatever. This, that, and the other. And I'm popular too, at this point. So it's like, now everybody's here to come and see this, and they've obviously seen the racist stuff that he's put online to come and, like, you know, do all these things. And I remember walking, you know, past the school buses, like, through the lanes. And before I know it, I mean, I'm in the middle of this big circle that I. Like, I didn't even. Like, I was just walking, and then suddenly I'm wrapped around everybody and someone's taking my bag. Now I've given my bag. I think I've seen my bag just being flicked. Flicked somewhere, you know, I mean, just put some. Wherever it is. And before I know it, not even a time for conversation. It's like, bro just stepped towards me and he's like, oh, so you ready? Yeah, you ready? I don't know if you call me Chocoboro again or whatever. He's like, but, you know, are you ready yet? And again I plead, like, look, bro, we don't actually have to do this. Do you know what I mean? Because that's the one thing I always say to people. We actually don't have to fight. There has to be something else before we actually have to get physical, that maybe we can just leave it as. But if you hit me, we gotta. We gotta. I've made a vow to myself, from now, if you hit me, then we actually gotta go. And I remember he's come up now and he's punching me. He's punching me, he's punching me. And I, like, the punches are severe. Like, in every other fight that I felt, I could feel these ones, like, so intensely, so pain so painfully, I was thinking in my head, today's gonna be the day that maybe, you know, I actually fall. And I'm trying to find, like, all the pieces of clues of, like, what am I supposed to do? As I'm, like, trying to, like, weave and trying to punch back and try to whatever, but I'm still getting hit. And it's like. It's like nothing I'm doing in this instance is actually working, you know? And I remember. I remember, like, just Had a flashback earlier in the day of my MMA friend talking about, bro, you have such long reach. Just, like, step back. And then, you know, and I just remember him saying it to me, and somehow, I don't know. I don't know if God entered my body or something happened. It was a way where it's like I stepped back, weave, and then fell down, lights out. And in that moment, it was like. It was a sense of, like, this was the last battle that I ever have to do. Like, nobody would touch me now. Do you know what I mean?
- [20:00]
Interviewer
Yes.
- [20:01]
Dami Hope
And from then, it's like I created this, like, safe, harmonic, like, space in this town for my siblings and everybody else, because now nobody would be racist to them. Nobody would touch them. And it's a thing where it's like. Like, I'm almost like a hero now.
- [20:18]
Interviewer
A hero. But. All right, this is an amazing story.
- [20:21]
Dami Hope
Sorry, I've been going off. I've been going off on a tangent. I'm so sorry.
- [20:25]
Interviewer
No, no, that's not a. That's not a tangent, because that was this seminal event in your childhood that not only reshaped how people viewed you, but how you viewed yourself, and then also how people related to your siblings. Yeah, right. So you could see how that moment changed you. My question, though, is how do you believe it changed you? So who were you before? Got kind of like those series of fights, and then who did you become?
- [21:02]
Dami Hope
I was someone that was scared of being alone. Wanted to, like, you know, fit in and, you know, try to appease people, you know, just to do that. But then through the series of fights, I stopped being scared of being alone. It's like me being myself was enough. And if nobody else vouched for me, if nobody else fought for me, I'd fight for myself. And, you know, that's just it. But again, it's okay.
- [21:28]
Interviewer
Yeah, but is it okay? Right? Cause I see you saying, this is what people keep saying, and it's okay, but after you hear something enough, it has to impact you. It has to affect you.
- [21:44]
Dami Hope
Mm. I feel like I've been hearing it for so long. It doesn't really, like, affect me anymore, though.
- [21:50]
Interviewer
That part of anyone's life. Right. Is so important because you're what, early teens.
- [21:57]
Dami Hope
Early teens, probably, like, 12. 12, 13.
- [21:59]
Interviewer
12, 13. You're beginning to figure out what your identity is.
- [22:04]
Dami Hope
Yeah.
- [22:04]
Interviewer
And I always say that our identity is the story that we tell about ourselves. Right. So at that age, what was the story you were telling about yourself to yourself, to myself?
- [22:15]
Dami Hope
I feel like I was. The story I was telling to myself is like, I'm supposed to be somebody. The type of music that I liked at that point. I loved Eminem so much. Like, I'd run away to. I run away on the computer mixing little CDs. CDs of Eminem. Cause obviously, at that point, you had to, like, rip file and download it so you didn't have to pay for it and stuff like this. I'll be finding new ways to do. So I was like. I was kind of, like, very nerdy and very, like, who I was is very nerdy in the sense that, like, I will make things happen for me. At the end of the day, see, I'm alone. I gotta cry about it. But I will eventually, you know, be where I need to be, make the friends that I need to make. It's the same way, you know, I've done it before. It's just. I will do that again. And. Am I answering your question?
- [23:05]
Interviewer
No, you're answering perfectly.
- [23:06]
Dami Hope
And it was one of the boys that I really loved. Like, he loved rapping. I loved rapping. And we'd always be doing it on break. And it was like, our escapism. It was Facebook era. And I feel like it got to a point, you know, back in Facebook days, like, all the kids used to, like, you know, change their names on Facebook, so you try and, like, have a stage name. And obviously, I used to write. I used to write, like, bars. I used to write poems. I used to write, like, just write stories and stuff like this. And I remember I was like, just thinking I was feeling down on myself, and I was like, yo, Like, I was trying to figure out, like, which names I could do. There was one. I was like, damn, Zola. I was like, damn, Nader. I was like, you know, I was just like, free ball and stuff. And I was like, but no, that doesn't hit. Like, what do I need? Like, what do I need in myself? Like, what do I always need? And then I was like, hope. I was like, yo, Dami Hope. And then literally, I just put my name that same day on Facebook. Put my name, Dami Hope. It was a thing where it was like, there's no mistake now I've reintroduced myself. This is who I am.
- [24:05]
Interviewer
That's wild. I shouldn't say that. That's fascinating. You named. You came up with that name.
- [24:13]
Dami Hope
Came up with that name. I literally sat down, changed my name on Facebook, came in the next day. It was a thing where it's like, if you know me, Hope and Then from then, it's like everybody just started obviously knowing me as that name also.
- [24:24]
Interviewer
Did you have a love for science? Is that.
- [24:26]
Dami Hope
Yeah. Yeah.
- [24:27]
Interviewer
Okay.
- [24:27]
Dami Hope
I feel like I always just thought biology was the easiest, like. Cause it's just, you know, human anatomy, photosynthesis, it's just how things, you know, are made or how living things. It's just. I feel like it was one of the ones that was just easy to remember, you know what I mean? Especially biology. It's just organs, just bones, as long as you just keep reading about it. And then when it came to the chemistry aspect, though, I was like, please, please. Not for me. But I used to do biology and stuff like that, I think. Yeah, I was a big fan of it, but I was more. I feel like I was more of an English. I always just loved English when I wanted to go to university, you know, when we're filling out all the things that we want to do, I was like, oh, I want to do just anything with literature, journalism, anything to do with English. And my dad was like, there's no money inside that world. No. So you have to go and look for the ones that have money. And then I'm like, obviously, science. I like science, too. And then it's like, there's biopharmaceutical courses with bioscience. And then it was a thing where I was like, you know, gotta do what old man says. So did the science. Right? But to be honest, he wasn't lying. Cause obviously, when I actually started working and, you know, after university, after university, and I actually started working, I got my first job. And, you know, it was like, I started off as a. Not an intern, but there's a different word for it, but I guess it's kind of the same. Whatever. So I started off as that. And then, like, so quickly I built my way up to be the manager within, like, two years.
- [25:56]
Interviewer
Okay.
- [25:56]
Dami Hope
Do you know what I mean? There's people older than me that were there. There was people that were there.
- [26:00]
Interviewer
And you were doing what there?
- [26:01]
Dami Hope
I was doing microbiology.
- [26:03]
Interviewer
Okay.
- [26:03]
Dami Hope
So I had my own team. Like, we had rotors. Like, there's two teams, A and B. I managed maybe like 15 people. So we worked four days on, four days off, and we were, you know, doing tests for, you know, microorganisms in food, water. Even when Covid was happening, like, we were like a big part in just, like, you know, checking all this stuff. And look at that.
- [26:23]
Interviewer
Yeah, Microbiologist.
- [26:24]
Dami Hope
Microbiome. Yeah. Yeah. He wasn't lying, though, because they were paying pretty well. They were paying pretty well. And, you know, at that point, you start to, like. You start to forget. It's not like I forgot the things that I like, but you get so honed in, because this is my job. And, you know, there's times where I actually had more time to do things. But now at this point, it's like I have to do all this managing stuff. I have to train people. I have to do this. So. So it's like all this literature stuff and all these poetries and all these, you know, things that I used to always do. Where's the time, Right?
- [26:52]
Interviewer
Cause you're focused on work. Yes. So would you say before you went into Love island that you were really happy with who you were, the man that you had become?
- [27:04]
Dami Hope
Yeah. I feel like before I went in, I definitely felt proud of where I was. I felt proud of where I've reached, but something inside me just always felt like, maybe there's more.
- [27:18]
Interviewer
And if you want to hear the full unfiltered stories from today's guest, you can check them out on the we need to Talk page. Drop a, like, leave a comment and hit subscribe. See you next week.