Communiqué 68: Chude Jideonwo left it all behind. Now, he’s building something deeper
In 2017, Chude Jideonwo left a media company he had built, battling severe depression despite public acclaim. Years later, he is building another one to help people like him.
1. Full circle with Chimamanda
“I’m not one of those people who will come and start crying on your show,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said with a laugh to Chude Jideonwo on Sunday night in front of a captive audience at The Palms, Lekki. She was explaining why it had taken her so long to be interviewed on his show, alluding to Jideonwo’s reputation for getting his guests to open up with uncommon vulnerability.
Adichie was the headliner for Jideonwo’s latest venture — a live edition of his #WithChude talk show, billed as Africa’s first “talk concert.” Part live talk show, part book reading, part concert, the evening featured conversations with some of Nigeria’s biggest cultural figures, including actress Funke Akindele, comedian Bovi, and preacher Jerry Eze. It also previewed an excerpt from Jideonwo’s forthcoming book, “How depression saved my life,” set for release later this year.
The show saw guests share deeply personal stories in front of an audience that ranged from Nigeria’s minister of culture to university students: comedian Bovi spoke candidly about his son’s challenges with learning, and Afrobeats artiste Teni revealed why it had taken five years to release her now trending single, Money.
The event was also the beginning of a new chapter for Joy Incredible (Joy Inc.), a media company Jideonwo founded to spread the message of happiness and emotional well-being through storytelling. Over the last eight years, Joy Inc. has launched several products, including the Joy Masterclasses, Joy Retreats, and the #WithChude talk show, on the back of which a thriving subscription business has been built. Now, it is adding live experiences to its growing portfolio of media offerings.
In 2005, when Chude Jideonwo first interviewed Chimamanda Adichie, he was a young journalist profiling the emerging writer for a cover story in ThisDay newspaper. At the time, Adichie had just burst onto Nigeria’s literary scene with her debut novel, Purple Hibiscus. Two decades later, Jideonwo built one of Africa's most successful public relations companies, and Adichie had become Africa’s most celebrated novelist. Now it was time for another conversation, but this time in front of an audience of over 5,000.
2. When success is not enough
In 2016, Jideonwo was at a career high. StateCraft Inc., one of the subsidiary companies of Red Media Group, which he co-founded with longtime collaborator Adebola Williams, was leading the media campaign for Nana Akufo-Addo’s successful presidential bid in Ghana. This followed the successful media campaign that brought Muhammadu Buhari, then an opposition candidate, to power after Nigeria’s 2015 presidential elections.
For his work in media, Jideonwo received numerous prestigious awards, including a Forbes 30 Under 30 recognition, the CNBC Young Business Leader Award, and the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellowship. Yet, despite the public acclaim, he was privately battling severe depression. In the first quarter of 2016, he tendered his resignation to the RED Media board and accelerated the company's succession plan, eventually leaving in 2017.
After weeks of therapy, Jideonwo emerged from his battle with depression with a new sense of purpose: to help others find joy. That mission led him to found Joy Inc. The business initially focused on offering masterclasses for corporate executives, teaching leadership teams how to build joyful, resilient work cultures. It later expanded with the Joy Retreat, a weekend-long experience where participants paid roughly $750 to put into practice the principles from the masterclasses. But the masterclasses carried the familiar tinge and the occasional cringiness of most motivational and inspirational content. To achieve real impact, Chude was going to have to return to his first love—storytelling.
In 2018, he started recording interviews with popular personalities. Instead of telling people how to find joy, he was going to show them through other people’s stories. “We were not going to be preaching to the audience, but allowing them to decide for themselves the lessons they're going to take from what we were discussing,” Jideonwo told Communiqué.
The timing couldn’t have been better. Across the world, there was a growing appetite for wellness storytelling and creator-led media products. In 2016, Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post, left the company to launch Thrive Global, a startup that claimed to offer science-based solutions to combat stress and burnout. By 2019, Thrive had raised over $37 million in VC funding and launched a podcast that blended first-person storytelling with meditation prompts and original music to create what it described as a “mindfulness experience” in audio. At the same time, long-form conversational podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience — where popular personalities shared deeply personal stories and life philosophies — were exploding in popularity, signaling a cultural shift toward raw, unfiltered storytelling as a means of connecting with audiences.
Although recording had started in 2018, it wasn’t until 2020 that Jideonwo finally released #WithChude to the public. Drawing from his early experience at RED Media, where he produced shows like Rubbing Minds for Channels TV, one of Nigeria’s biggest broadcasters, Jideonwo initially chose the traditional TV distribution route he was most familiar with. The show quickly built a loyal following on TVC, but it wasn't until an interview with veteran actor Richard Mofe-Damijo went viral on social media that Jideonwo began to rethink the distribution model. He decided to make episodes available on Vimeo, which, unlike YouTube, allowed him to offer a paid subscription model.
Censorship considerations were also a factor: several TV stations syndicating #WithChude had refused to air sensitive episodes, like the ones with Nigerian internet personality Bobrisky and LGBTQ activist Pamela Adie. By handling distribution directly, #WithChude was not only able to bypass traditional gatekeepers but also cultivate a growing, engaged community of viewers. This audience is made up primarily of women in their mid-thirties to late fifties, who watch the shows and pay for the events. The last Joy Retreat held in December of 2024 had a 100% female attendance. Studies show that women within these age groups experience a higher prevalence of mental health concerns, particularly depression and anxiety, due to a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors.
Since launching on Vimeo, subscribers have grown year-on-year. But in 2024, Joy Inc. decided to own its distribution completely, building out a streaming platform for the #WithChude show and documentaries and crime specials the company has started producing.
3. The method to the madness
At its core, the #WithChude show is built on a simple but powerful format: invite a celebrity or cultural figure to tell their story once, with no interruptions, no judgments, and no preconceived notions of right or wrong. Jideonwo acts less like an interviewer and more like a listening companion, creating a space where guests feel safe enough to share their most intimate experiences. This approach has helped the show distinguish itself by offering a glimpse into the unfiltered humanity behind public personas.
Behind the scenes, a well-oiled machine powers the production. The team maintains a master list of over 2,500 personalities, tracking their careers, public moments, and personal evolutions to determine when and whether to invite them on the show. Twice a year, for about a month each time, the #WithChude team records interviews with these personalities, which are then edited and scheduled. New episodes are released twice a week, every Sunday and Tuesday. Thanks to this meticulous system, the team has already recorded enough interviews to last through the end of the year.
Last year, as Joy Inc. looked to deepen its connection with its growing audience, the team began brainstorming new products that could offer even more value. They decided to revive the Joy Retreat, which had been dormant since 2018. But they also knew they wanted to go bigger with the live show. Last Sunday's event in Lagos is just the beginning; Joy Inc. plans to take the #WithChude live experience on tour, across Nigeria and Africa.
At the same time, Joy Inc. is doubling down on its ambitions to become a full-service content company. In addition to #WithChude, the company is expanding its slate of original content for its paying subscribers, with a new focus on documentary storytelling and true-crime specials. With these moves, Jideonwo and his team are betting that the hunger for raw, affirming, and thoughtfully crafted stories is only just beginning.