Meet Matthew Odejimi of National

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Odejimi.

Hi Matthew, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Growing up, I played multiple sports and eventually attended Willow Canyon High School in Arizona, where I played basketball, ran track, and played football. After my junior year, I decided to fully focus on football. We weren’t the strongest team and I was still developing as a player, so I didn’t receive much recruiting attention coming out of high school.

I ended up attending Los Angeles Valley College in California, where I played for a couple of years before transferring to Morehead State University in Kentucky. The road there wasn’t straightforward — I was one math course short of being Division I eligible, so I took time away from football to complete that requirement before transferring.

While at Morehead State, I suffered a right knee injury that shortened my junior season. After that, I transferred to Western Illinois University with high expectations and a fresh opportunity, but things became complicated when an eligibility issue delayed my ability to play. I spent months going through the appeal process while continuing to train every day and prepare like I would eventually get back on the field. By the time my eligibility was reinstated, the season was essentially over, and I ultimately lost the fight to regain that year through the NCAA process.

That period of my life taught me a lot. When your identity has been tied to sports for so long, you have to find purpose outside of the game or it can really affect you mentally. During that time, I started getting heavily into fashion, content creation, and branding. I began networking, walking into stores, shaking hands, building relationships, and creating content for brands — sometimes for free at first — just trying to build something meaningful for myself outside of football.

Over time, those opportunities turned into paid collaborations, campaigns, and long-term business relationships. I also started building my own social media and marketing presence while continuing to pursue professional football opportunities.

Today, I’m still actively chasing my goals in football while also growing as an entrepreneur and creative. I currently play professional football at the arena level and continue training in hopes of eventually reaching opportunities overseas or in Canada. At the same time, I’ve built a growing platform around content, branding, and business, and I’m continuing to expand that every day. More than anything, my journey has taught me resilience, adaptability, and the importance of continuing to evolve even when life doesn’t go exactly as planned.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I definitely wouldn’t say the road has been smooth, but I also try not to complain because everyone is fighting their own battles in life. For me, some of the biggest challenges came from uncertainty and losing control over situations I had worked years to prepare for.

The hardest challenge overall was dealing with eligibility issues during my final years of college football. After leaving Morehead State, I initially committed to Morgan State University, but a coaching change completely shifted that opportunity. Shortly after, I committed to Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina and was fully preparing to head there. I was packed, ready for fall camp, and excited for the opportunity when I received a phone call from the coaching staff explaining there was an academic issue involving transfer credits and religious course requirements.

Basically overnight, my opportunity disappeared just weeks before camp. It was one of the toughest moments of my career because I had done everything I was supposed to do, and suddenly my future was uncertain again.

Fortunately, through connections and persistence, I ended up transferring to Western Illinois University just days before fall camp. But mentally, it was difficult adjusting to another completely new environment while also dealing with unresolved eligibility issues behind the scenes. On the outside, people may have assumed I simply wasn’t playing because I wasn’t good enough, when in reality there were circumstances completely outside of my control preventing me from competing.

That experience really affected my confidence for a while. When you dedicate your entire life to something and suddenly lose control over your own career, it forces you to adapt quickly and find purpose outside of the game.

Eventually, I lost the battle to regain my eligibility year through the NCAA process, and from there everything became a grind. I continued training daily, attended showcases and senior bowl opportunities, worked with agents, and kept fighting for professional opportunities even without recent game film. That process taught me persistence and patience in a completely different way.

At the same time, those struggles also pushed me toward other passions outside of football. I became heavily involved in fashion, content creation, branding, and entrepreneurship. What started as simply trying to rediscover purpose eventually opened doors for me to attend fashion weeks, collaborate with brands, and build meaningful business relationships and opportunities for my future.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Right now, I’m wearing a few different hats professionally. I’m currently playing professional football at the arena level, while also pursuing opportunities to continue my football career overseas, in Canada, Mexico, UFL or wherever the next opportunity takes me. At the same time, I’ve been building my presence in the fashion and entertainment space through content creation, brand collaborations, commercial acting, and modeling.

Over the past few years, I’ve been able to organically build relationships and create opportunities through networking, consistency, and social media, which has opened doors for collaborations with different brands and creative teams. I’m also continuing to pursue opportunities in high fashion, runway modeling, commercial shoots, and larger brand campaigns.

What I’m most proud of is being able to build multiple opportunities for myself while staying authentic to who I am. A lot of my career path has required adapting in real time, staying patient, and continuing to work even when things were uncertain. I think what separates me from others is my willingness to bet on myself, stay consistent, and continue growing across multiple industries instead of limiting myself to just one path.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I think the biggest thing I’ve learned through everything is that life rarely goes exactly how you plan it. A lot of my journey has been about adapting, staying confident through uncertainty, and continuing to work even when things didn’t happen on my timeline.

I’m still building. I’m still chasing bigger goals in football, fashion, entertainment, and business, and I think that’s what excites me the most. I want people to see that you don’t have to fit yourself into one box or give up on one dream just because another opportunity opens up.

At the end of the day, I just want to continue creating opportunities for myself and the people around me, keep growing as a person, and inspire others to keep going even when the path isn’t straightforward.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kingodejimi/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thekingodejimi