Nigerian singer Oludipe David, popularly known as Spyro, has opened up about his struggle with fear of failure and how his father’s negative utterances towards him impacted his childhood.
The singer recalled that his father was hard on him and often resorted to negative utterances while correcting him. This, he said, made him internalize fear and begin accepting that he was “a failure” at some point.
He explained that he struggled with poor grades in secondary school and even doubted if he could complete his degree programme after he got admitted into the university due to the psychological effects of atychiphobia.
In a candid interview with veteran media personality Frank Edoho, Spyro shared that at some point, he thought he would die poor. “I thought I was going to die broke. I always had this fear of failure. And my dad contributed to that. He took every opportunity he got to always tell me that I am a failure,” he recalled.
The music star said he was able to overcome his fear of failure after developing a personal relationship with God. He also shared that he was on the verge of giving up on music and had already ventured into interior design before his breakthrough song Who Is Your Guy went viral in 2022.
Spyro gained prominence after Who Is Your Guy became an internet sensation. The remix with Tiwa Savage in 2023 solidified his stardom. Later that year, the song won the Best Collaboration at the 16th Headies Awards.