He wakes up at 4:30am. Two kids under two. Three hours of work before the house comes alive. This is how one of the most sought-after artists in America currently operates.

Temi Coker is a Nigerian-American artist and creative director based in Dallas, Texas. His work has appeared in campaigns for Adobe, Apple, ESPN, AT&T, and the Oscars. He launched a home collection with Walmart in 2025. And he will tell you, clearly and without drama, that none of it happened by accident — it happened because he kept making the work he wanted to be hired for, long before anyone asked him to.

What we cover:

• Growing up in Lagos — limitations, bottle-cap football, and a love of colour
• Moving to Canada and then Texas at 12, navigating two Black identities at once
• Leaving biomedical engineering to pursue design — and why he doesn't regret either
• Seven years of head-down work before the Adobe Creative Residency changed everything
• How a pillow he made for fun led to the Walmart home collection
• Apple said no four or five times — he now has 20+ collaborations with them
• Financial literacy for creatives — the conversation nobody is having
• Running a photography studio, a clothing brand, and raising two kids under two
• Learning to actually accept a compliment

Connect with Temi Coker:

Website: https://temicoker.co

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/temi.coker

Listen and subscribe:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/captn-offscript/id1837469433

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7nJ5dKTP2dQN5OwICKjTY5

More from Captn OffScript:

Website: https://captnoffscript.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CAPTNOffScript

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