Who is Joy Kendi? Joy Kendi Biography and Wiki
Joy Kendi is a Kenyan Youtuber, lifestyle, and fashion blogger of justjoykendi blog. She covers everything from fashion, beauty, and travel. Joy is also Ciroc’s brand ambassador for Kenya.
Joy Kendi Age
Joy Kendi is 32 years old as of 2020. She was born in 1988 in Kenya. Kendi’s date of birth and birthday are publicly not available. We will update this section once this information is available.
Joy Kendi Height
Kendi stands at an average height and has moderate weight. However, details regarding her actual height and other body measurements are currently not publicly available. We are keeping tabs and will update this information once it is out.
Joy Kendi Education Background
At the age of six, she moved to the United state with her mother and sister and did her middle school, high school, and even started college at Lancing College where she studied Psychology. In 2009 when she moved back to Kenya she moved her credits to United States International University (USIU) where she did Bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in Philosophy.
Joy Kendi Mother, Family, and Siblings
Her mother is Mary Mwiandi and has an elder sister Sheila Gakii. She grew up in Kenya until she was about six. Kendi and her older sister moved with her mother to the USA where she was going to do her Ph.D. Kendi did middle school, high school, and even started college at Lancing College, where she was studying Psychology.
Kendi and her family would always return to Kenya for the summer but in 2009, her mum decided to move back to Kenya for good.
Joy Kendi and Philippe Bresson
Digging into her love life, Kendi is in a relationship with Philippe Bresson. The happy couple met on Changing Times. Kendi and Philippe Bresson are just that power couple that won’t quit.
Joy Kendi Net Worth
Kendi’s net worth is publicly not available. Her primary source of income is her career as a Youtuber, lifestyle, and fashion blogger. Through her various sources of income, we believe that Joy has been able to accumulate a good net worth but prefers to keep it private. We will update this section once this information is available.
Joy Kendi Weight Loss
Kendi’s weight loss is a topic that is dear to her heart. Although right now she focuses on maintaining a healthy lifestyle, she was once 80kg and unhappy with her body. She managed to lose all the excess weight thanks to her nutritionist, and she is now a firm believer in eating right and working out not just for weight loss but for weight and health maintenance. Although she has not shared with the media her workout routine and diet plan.
Joy Kendi Wendy Williams
Joy was featured on the Wendy Williams Show back in 2015, in her Instagram segment. in response she went on to write;
Good morning!!!! I was featured on the Wendy Williams show yesterday….. Yay…… Great way to start the morning…. Have a good one lovelies 😘😘😘😘😘😘
Joy Kendi Website
Joy Kendi has a website justjoykendi.co.ke where she posts everything from Beauty, Diy’d, Travel, Food, and their recipes
Joy Kendi Career as a blogger
Interviewer: When did you first get into blogging?
Joy Kendi: I’ve always been interested in fashion, ever since I was a young girl. I wanted to get into design after high school but most of the schools I applied to didn’t offer scholarships and I don’t come from a wealthy family so I had to scrap that idea.
I took up styling right after college for about six months and I
hated it. So I quit that and the blogging bug hit me.
Back then, when blogging was still quite relevant and at the time it was just a hobby, I had been following a few blogs. Never thought I could make money off of it, until about a year later when Nancie Mwai (popular blogger in Kenya) got the opportunity to go to Germany because of her blog, and my entire mindset on it changed.
Then I decided to focus on it more and figure out how to make it more of a business. I knew nothing at the time but I just hit the ground running, going to different offices, telling them about me, and what I can offer them.
That’s really how I learned most of the stuff I know now, through trying and getting rejected.
Weirdly enough, everything didn’t change until I shaved my head
and I’m not sure why but going bald was the first step in getting people to see me as a different person and not just a regular blogger.
I realized that fashion is very limiting, especially in Kenya, so I started to expand more into beauty. Then I tried to travel and food and all that turned into a lifestyle direction for me.
Less than two years ago, lifestyle blogging opened a lot of doors for me because it meant I could do anything – be it advertising phones, makeup, hotels, restaurants, airlines, even countries!
Interviewer: What three things do you consider while creating content and/or partnering up with a brand?
Joy Kendi: My biggest thing to consider when I’m partnering up with a brand is to answer the question – do I or will I actually use the said product? If I do use it, does it go with my brand? And third, will this propel me in a positive or a negative direction?
When it comes to content creation, I think about:
1. How much work is it and how much time will it take on my end
because that’s how I figure out my rate.
2. What have other content creators within the continent done in
regards to the product that I need to create content for?
3. Is there a possibility of collaboration with others? If I
know a friend or fellow blogger who can do it too, I will always
try to bring them in and we both benefit from the job.
Interviewer: Was this your career of choice? What would you be if you hadn’t gone the blogging route?
Joy Kendi: If I wasn’t doing this I’d probably still be working in TV/film production. When I was still in school, I was interning at a
local TV network, KTN and I was also working in a production
company, behind the scenes doing things like writing scripts.
I got burnt out for a while though, which is why I eventually quit at the beginning of this year and solely focused on content creation.
Interviewer: You take 90% of your images, manages your blog and brand on your own. Is there a particular reason why you chose to be a one- woman team?
Joy Kendi: Well when I first started out, my boyfriend would take my pictures. Due to our different schedules though, I realized I
needed to learn how to do this on my own.
When starting out you don’t usually have a flowing income to be
able to pay photographers so they would usually do it as a favor
to build their portfolio as you build yours.
If they get a paying gig, they will pick that over you thus leaving you stranded once again, so getting a photographer wasn’t an option for me.
I went to the University of YouTube and watched how other people
would do things like editing, photoshoots, what cameras to use, what kind of specs to look for, and with that information, I
slowly started to invest in me.
I saved any money I got to buy my own equipment i.e. camera and lighting equipment, a laptop, computer programs, etc. It is important that I have a say in what I do, and have control over what goes on with my work such as the editing process.
Before now, I used to have a manager who was actually very nice but sometimes we’d bump heads over things like working with
certain companies so these among other reasons are why I decided it’s better to learn and do everything myself.
It’s a very stressful job I can’t lie – I write all my own proposals, attend all the meetings, create the content, send to the client, wait for approval, do my own accounts… It’s so much work but it’s how I prefer to work and also means I don’t have to pay anyone else.
Interviewer: What challenges have you faced as a blogger so far?
Joy Kendi: Getting paid is the biggest challenge and there’s a lot of corruption especially in regards to big global companies that hire agencies here to handle their brand. A budget usually set
aside for influencers such as myself is misused by the agency
and we end up getting short-changed.
Another challenge is getting burnt out. I kinda got burnt out with blogging, I got bored and couldn’t see more ways to make talking about outfits exciting again. That’s why I got into YouTube, which is so fresh and so much fun. Getting burnt out helped me expand and open up new opportunities, which I never thought I could do before.
One last challenge I will add is learning how to say no. I usually have a list of companies that I would like to work with and if a similar company approaches me that isn’t on my list, I will say no to them, with the belief that the company I really want to work for will come knocking one day.
It’s hard because that is essentially saying no to a paycheck, but I have a belief in my brand and how big it can grow and I think the companies I have written down, will be key in helping my brand grow.
Interviewer: What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
Joy Kendi: The Hidesign campaign I just wrapped up in India. My face is in ELLE magazine, in an entire two-page spread!
The HiDesign people linked up with me online because they were planning on opening up a couple of stores in Nairobi. They liked my style so they wanted to meet me. The head of the company explained how he started the company, his inspiration being how great colored skin complements leather. I was so inspired by his story and his vision, I decided to take a picture with the bag gifted to me by the company, just to say thank you while using his inspiration as my inspiration.
The picture that I posted is what got me the job as the face of Hidesign bags, just like that. Most of the jobs that I’ve gotten came about by chance, mostly because of the passion I have for what I do. My next goal is Vogue, I’m putting it out into the universe!
Interviewer: Do you think vlogging is the new blogging? Do you think blogging will still hold relevance in the future?
Joy Kendi: People are not interested in reading blogs anymore, they’d rather just use 5 minutes, look at what you did over the weekend and move on.
Vlogging also gives your audience a different view of you. Blogging isn’t what it used to be. It’s hard to tell whether it’s ever going to come back to what it was.
Things are moving fast and people want to consume as much information as they can in a very short time.
Interviewer: How would you encourage young women who want to build a brand using social media?
Joy Kendi: I can’t really tell you how to do it because a lot of things have changed and getting things like followers now isn’t as easy as it used to be.
I would say figure out your brand first if your content is good, companies will be willing to work with you. Figure out your demographic, what stories you are trying to tell because not everything works for everyone, which helps a lot with your direction.
You need to be very patient, it gets hard, especially when just starting out but you have to put yourself out there. Don’t assume that everyone knows you exist, you have to make yourself known.
Source: SLA (She.Leads.Africa)
Frequently Asked Questions About Joy Kendi
Who is Joy Kendi?
Kendi is a Kenyan Youtuber, lifestyle, and fashion blogger of justjoykendi blog. She covers everything from fashion, beauty, and travel. Joy is also Ciroc’s brand ambassador for Kenya.
How old is Joy Kendi?
Kendi is 32 years old as of 2020. She was born in 1988 in Kenya. Kendi’s date of birth and birthday are publicly not available.
How tall is Joy Kendi?
Joy stands at an average height, she has not shared her height with the public. Her height will be listed once we have it from a credible source.
Is Joy Kendi married?
Kendi is in a relationship with Philippe Bresson. The happy couple met on Changing Times. Kendi and Philippe Bresson are just that power couple that won’t quit.
How much is Joy Kendi worth?
She has not yet revealed her net worth. We will update this section when we get and verify information about the wealth and properties under her name.
Where does Joy live?
She is a resident of Nairobi, Kenya we shall upload pictures of her house as soon as we have them.
Is Joy dead or alive?
Joy is alive and in good health. There have been no reports of her being sick or having any health-related issues.
Where is Joy Now?
She is pursuing her career as a Youtuber, lifestyle, and fashion blogger
Joy Kendi Social Media Contacts
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Reference:
We acknowledge the following websites that we have referenced as we were writing this article.:
- Wikipedia
- IMDB
- Instagram and
- Youtube
Joy Kendi Q and A
Pulse: You recently landed a huge engagement as a presenter with
Nigeria’s Ebony Life Television. How did that come about?
Joy Kendi: They contacted me through my style and fashion blog, Our Style Kenya. They were looking for someone who was relevant to the Kenyan lifestyle, they saw my blog, contacted me and the rest, as they say, is history. I have a segment on the show that highlights the social scene in Nairobi.
P: You have an evident twang’ going on. Did you grow up in
Kenya?
Joy Kendi: I grew up in Kenya until I was about six. My older sister and I then moved with my mother to USA where she was going to do her Ph.D. I did middle school, high school, and even started college at Lancing College, where I was studying Psychology.
P: When did you come back to Kenya?
Joy Kendi: My family and I would always return to Kenya for the summer but in 2009, my mum decided to move back to Kenya for good. I am a mummy’s girl, so I followed her. I moved my credits to United States International University (USIU) and I did Bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in Philosophy. I graduated last year.
P: Your fashion blog seems to have a huge following. What
inspired you to start it?
Joy Kendi: I started my blog about a year and a half ago; it is called Our Style Kenya. When I moved back to Kenya, I discovered
Gikomba and it was a mind-blowing experience. I could not believe that you could find nice dresses for as little as Sh200. This is what inspired me to start a blog because I wanted to show people that you do not have to spend a lot of money to look good. I also show people how to do make-overs with clothes they already have. I believe in ‘do-it-yourself’.
P: Do you plan to expand your fashion blog?
Joy Kendi: I am in the process of turning my blog into a website. It currently has followers from all over the world. I hope to grow it even further and build my website to the point where it can be a platform for advertisers. I am currently working with Jumia Kenya, an online shopping website. I help them with fashion styling. Also, Jumia and Backyard shoes give me free things, which I talk about on my blog.
P: Apart from your blog, you are also an actress…
Joy Kendi: I never ever thought I would be an actress. It happened so randomly. One of my friends asked me to accompany her to auditions that were being held by Changing Times. While there, I tried out and got the role of Patricia. It was my first role. I admit that I sucked at the beginning, but when I became comfortable in front of the camera, I became good. I did Changing Times for two years and now I play Sandra on Prem.
P: What else do you do?
Joy Kendi: I am a personal assistant at Stout Min Metals, a mining company.
P: Are you dating someone?
Joy Kendi: Yes, I am in a relationship with Phillip Bresson. We met on the set of Changing Times. He is the best.
P: As the director of Changing Times and Prem TV drama shows
where you play different roles, is it not awkward having him as
a boss?
Joy Kendi: We try to be very professional at work. When we are on set, he is the boss and so he can shout at me and I can take it like everyone else.
P: How do you handle those who say that you are only in Prem
because you boyfriend is the director?
Joy Kendi: I try my best not to see or hear negative things. People will always find a reason to talk. I choose to keep the negatives out of my life and only let the positive in.
P: What next for Joy?
Joy Kendi: I am currently going through a bit of a life crisis. I have many things I am doing, and I do not want to leave anything
behind. So I am going to go with the flow and take every
opportunity that comes my way and see where it all leads me.
Source: Standard Digital Entertainment (2014)