Identical twins have become world-wide TikTok sensations after showing off their super-slick dance moves in their spare time – and attracting over seven million subscribers.
Severn Trent recruiter Peter Odigie and brother Paul had become stars in their home country of Nigeria after coming third in a national TV talent show with their unique, fun routines. They later moved to Wolverhampton to attend university. But when lockdown struck in early 2020 the pair posted a 20-second TikTok video of them performing their dance moves – and the fun clip went viral.
Their channel – The Odigie Brothers - now boasts a global audience of 7.4m subscribers, with just one of their videos attracting an astonishing 74 million hits. Their phenomenal social media success has also seen them being asked to front national advertising campaigns, including for M&S.
Peter joined Severn Trent in the summer as part of our 10,000 Black Internship scheme and is now part of our New Talent recruitment programme, using his brilliant social media skills to reach out to potential young recruits. He makes TikTok videos during his days off work.
He said: “The TikTok success has been amazing - we just never expected the videos to go viral. We posted the first one to TikTok during lockdown and after three hours it had 80,000 views. They just took off from there.
“It’s such a great feeling to know so many people enjoy watching us doing what we’ve loved doing since we were children - dancing. We just want to put a smile of people’s faces.”
Peter and Paul are among seven siblings who grew up with their loving family in Nigeria and have been dancing from an early age. They later became coaches with a famous national Dance Academy troupe and enjoyed their first taste of fame when they came third on a top-rated TV show, Maltina Dance Hall season 8 in 2014.
Yet despite their success the brothers also prioritised education and attended university in Nigeria together, before both moving to Wolverhampton to complete Masters degrees. Their father Jackson, a Christian church pastor, and mum Patricia are also now living in the UK – and starred with the boys in their most popular video, which has gained a phenomenal 74 million views.
Peter said: “They always encouraged us with our dancing as children and are very supportive now. I think that’s what people love about that particular video – mum and dad just enjoying watching us dance.”
The twins make multiple short videos a week in their spare time, sometimes with guest appearances from other TikTok dance stars – including other identical twins from around the world. And with their fame now rapidly spreading, Peter says fans often stop to chat with him on his way to and from work at Severn Trent Centre in Coventry.
He said: “I have to say, I love being recognised. It happens in the street, on the train or at work. People are lovely and just want to say how they have enjoyed our videos.
“On my very first day at Severn Trent someone said, ‘Hey, I recognise you!’ My boss was pleased and that also helped make me settle in properly!” Yet despite the social media fame, Peter is not moving full-time to TikTok. He has a key role at Severn Trent helping recruit new apprentices and interns, through our New Talent project.
He said: “I love working for Severn Trent, the culture and support we get from teammates and managers is amazing.
“I’m using my social media skills to help Severn Trent find and attract talented young people to the company. Most young people use social media all the time, so it makes sense to go to where they are to tell them about potential careers at Severn Trent.”
The identical twins now also have an identical aim – getting to 10 MILLION subscribers. But NOT at any cost. Peter said: “We don’t want to be famous at any costs, we want to do it in the right way.
“Our faith is very important to us and so are our ethics, so we are very careful about who we get involved with, in terms of advertising and our content. But our success has allowed us to invest in better filming equipment and we are also looking to develop our channel with some new ideas.
“But making money has never been the reason we do what we do. We just love dancing and making people happy.”
