Meet Justice Oshiyoye | Founder | DUHTROIT

We had the good fortune of connecting with Justice Oshiyoye and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Justice, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
This is a decision that I actually faced soon after the launch of the magazine. I was receiving a lot of critiques, I was spending a lot of time, and my health was impacted. I spent a few weeks deciding if I should give up or keep going, and for a brief moment I actually did give up.
My decision to keep going was mainly because I felt (and still feel) that I can continue to provide value to the Detroit community of creatives.
This project was founded on the basis of providing a platform for creatives to tap into, and I felt that I could continue to scale DUHTROIT into something larger that other creatives can get involved with.
There are some other trains of thoughts –you shouldn’t give up on something that you spend so much time doing, and so on. But I believe that as a creative –you should be able to create, and re-create as needed. And that you shouldn’t be tied / married to the things that you create.
So I would say that you shouldn’t base any decisions on sunken cost -that is, how much time/money you’ve already put into something. Base the decision on if you can continue to serve the vision that you laid out from the beginning, or if your vision needs some fine-tuning before you can continue.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’d like to take this question in a slightly different direction…My form of creativity is business!
Professionally I have a bachelors degree in Business from Wayne State University and an associates in Business from Oakland Community College.
I work in tech, in data analytics (self taught)!
What got me to where I am today –a strong desire to learn. If you know me then you probably know that I love books and learning. For the past 10 years I’ve been a voracious reader of many things non-fiction, particularly about Business.
I spent a lot of time learning about business and project management, such that I could apply these skills to whatever endeavor I want (and hopefully be successful)!
Some big lessons that I’ve learned along the way:
1. Everything is experience, and there’s value in failing, and especially failing hard. It’s important to run headfirst into failure, and put the last bit of energy in until the sun goes down -don’t give up early. People are always watching. And people will pay you for your past failures —because that’s called ‘experience’.
2. Be creative! Challenge yourself! And don’t be scared to choose the hard path. Starting DUHTROIT was about choosing the hard path —a publication is a pretty bad business idea (I know this because my degree is in business). And doing it without selling sponsor spots in the magazine is even worse. When you’re not afraid to take the hard path, you gain leverage -and the ability to do what you want, how you want it…..as long as you’re willing to take the hard path and put in the work.
The hard path might look like doing things yourself, or making decisions that you know will kill your profitability because you want to stick to your vision, or maybe it’s doing the moral or the right thing.
3. Find a community that supports you. When you have a vision, and you are successful, you get people who will boo you! Sometimes those people are the ones closest to you. But you’ll also find that there are people cheering you on. Find the people cheering for you, bring them close, and make them your new community.
4. It’s important to be unique! When you find that many people are disagreeing with what you’re doing….either you’re doing something very wrong, or very right. You are the best person to make that determination. Evaluate yourself after years, not after each day or month. If you have a strategy, goals, and a vision –take the time to build that vision. Eventually people will see the the portrait after all the paint has been put down.
Regarding how you overcome challenges — Resilience. Which is, how quickly do you go back to 0 after a big setback. You need to be able to let things roll off your shoulders, dust it off, and keep going. And you need to be able to do that quickly.
What do I want the world to know about me or my brand?
This project is vision first, it’s intention first, and it’s about doing the things other people won’t (or don’t want to) do.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My best friend…I’d take them to see the sunrise at Belle Isle. There’s a spot there that few people know about. I would take them there to start.
Then maybe some quick breakfast at Iggies Eggies while getting some steps in. Walk through the riverwalk. Grab some drinks at the Monarch Club. Check out Detroit Shipping Co for some food hall and creative vibes.
Obviously head out to the DIA to check out some art, then head over to the Detroit Public Library to see the third floor. After that maybe check out the Eastern Market. Grab some steamed milk (with vanilla) at La Ventana Cafe, and walk through the Dequindre Cut.
For dinner…depending on the mood it’ll be either Besa, Green Dot Stables, or Honest Johns.
Then for some late night stuff I’d go to a poetry open mic! There’s usually one of a few open on any given night during the week.
Either that or I’d go to a gallery opening! There are tons of those opening practically every night downtown.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to everyone who has supported the DUHTROIT project from inception to now. The former team, my family, my friends, those who promoted this project, and the artist to volunteered this work for this endeavor.
I’d also like to express my gratitude to the venues that agreed to place and sell DUHTROIT – La Ventana Cafe, Anthology Coffee, 27th Letter Books, Detroit Shipping Company, Art & Faith Galleria, The Detroit Public Library, Sepia Coffee Project, Source Booksellers, Next Chapter Books, MOCAD, and more.
When you’re doing a project like this, you’ll find that some people support you at the idea stage, while others support after there is a tangible product and success.
Many of the people and organizations above supported when this project was in its infancy –a relatively crazy idea with no history or reason to believe in its success, other than the vision itself or perhaps myself as an individual.
There’s a lot to be said about people who support endeavors like this.
Website: https://www.duhtroit.com
Instagram: @duhtroit_
Linkedin: Justice Oshiyoye
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565277631692
Image Credits
@Karlbake
@jeronwhitehorn
@christonmarie_photography