Under The Influence: Behind the Scenes of SulsWorld

Voice of London spends the day behind the scenes of SulsWorld, finding out what it takes to make it in the world of blogging.

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‘What mark will you leave on the world?’ is the crowning question on sulsworld.com, a personal blog created in 2016 by Suleman Kudus. He’s been in the industry for two years and in that relatively short time he has created a brand stretching across social media platforms. His Instagram currently boasts 15.1k followers and counting and every picture he posts is immediately inundated with hundreds of likes and comments from his loyal followers.

A quick scroll through his Instagram reveals his success on the platform. It is a carefully curated edit, photographs of him donning the newest and most stylish pieces in menswear fashion, posing on the classic streets of Notting Hill. When asked what three words he would use to describe his aesthetic, he said: “comfortable, sophisticated and spontaneous” and he is every part that, in every photo and blog post he uploads.

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Sul rocks up to the bustling Oxford Street coffee shop we began the day at wearing faded black jeans, a white t-shirt, a burgundy jumper and Givenchy trainers. The epitome of a fashionable, modern man. “We’re heading to the River Island PR office to check out their SS 2019 collection, and then I’m shooting with some of my friends in Notting Hill” he says. “You’ll get to see a few other bloggers in action.”

The RiverIsland PR office has been set up to with Instagram in mind: every rack of clothing has been carefully organised, the accessories laid out ready to be snapped and even the food is colour co-ordinated. A neon light reading ‘riverislandpr’ hangs above the marble bar. No matter what direction you look, the office is ‘gram ready.

Photo by Katherine Cenaj

Sul has a contagious smile which he flashes at everyone in the office. He carefully looks at every piece of clothing and talks through it from the design to fabric. “I’ve always had an interest in style and in fitness and as I’ve progressed, I’ve taken even more of an interest in men’s style and marketing, that’s what I studied at uni and blended them together when I started my brand. I thought I’ll get into marketing, follow that journey and this is where it’s led me.”

And it’s led him is straight into the sight of big brands like River Island, Ted Baker or Wilkinson Sword who are understanding the benefits of working with social media influencers and reaping the rewards.

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“If a brand was to hire out a studio then that alone could be £750 with no model or hair and makeup whereas a blogger can take it and create content which might even be better than the content you produce yourselves and then people will go on your website and buy what that person is wearing or using.”

Wrapping up on the River Island press day, Sul is already running to his next appointment; his shoot. “I couldn’t set it up with my usual photographer, so my friend is shooting for me” he explains boarding the tube to Notting Hill station.

During the shoot is where Sul’s passion really shines through. Standing against the backdrop of pristine white houses in Notting Hill, it’s an Instagram cliché come to life. “It’s all about the step” Sul says as he fakes a walk for the camera: “it’s all about the step.”

Sul is an open book when it comes to his answers, he doesn’t shy away from even the the taboo subjects where other social media influencers would. In a time of ‘woke-ness’ and the fight for equality in all walks of life. It’s hard to ignore that he is one of a few up and coming bloggers in a predominately white community: “I’ll say its probably the un-spoken truth that maybe because of your type of skin colour you may not be put forward for a certain campaign or that might just not be what they’re looking for but brands are realising at the moment they have to diversify because they will get crucified if they don’t.”

“I don’t want people to look at me like oh he’s a black blogger, I want them to say his content is sick, I like it, I like his message.”

When asked about the future Sul is pensive in his answer: “at the moment what I’m doing is very exciting in terms of inspiring people so going forward that’s what I want to continue doing whether that’s with style, fitness, lifestyle content, maybe taking it offline as well.”

Read more on Instagram here:

Words: Katherine Cenaj | Subbed: Victoria Locke