Road to 30 is a podcast that discusses the joy and challenges of being on the road to 30. In this podcast, hosts Isaac and Dolly share their personal experiences as well as discuss real issues including love, sex, relationships, friendships, career, finances, and faith.
At the start of 2019, Isaac reached out to Dolly on starting a podcast together. Prior to that, podcasting was a venture that both of them had been actively considering doing on their own. So, when Isaac reached out, Dolly figured it might actually work. When they met to discuss it further, they realised that their visions aligned and after meeting and communicating back and forth on the name, purchasing equipment, setting up email and social media accounts, and other behind-the-scenes necessities, the first episode was launched on April 28, 2019.
Through consistent weekly releases, the podcast currently has over 100 episodes and amassed a solid audience and community.
In this interview, Dolly and Isaac jointly discuss podcasting and the issues of today’s youths.
What inspired Road to 30?
When we decided to start a podcast together, we wanted it to be something relatable, honest, and fun. We wanted people to listen in, hear our experiences and say, “I can relate to that.” So, after a lot of thought, we decided to talk about our journey to the milestone age of 30. Our twenties have proven to be a weird phase of our lives. There have been lots of wonderful moments but there are also moments that we have had difficulty navigating through and we know that a lot of people in their twenties feel the same way and we wanted to share that. Hence, Road to 30 was born.
Why did you decide on the particular medium of a podcast?
Dolly will tell you that she loves to talk. Lol. But truly, that’s really it. We enjoy talking and discussing with each other, which is something that podcasting provides. We have different experiences and while we share some similarities, we also tend to see the world very differently and we can debate and share our viewpoints through this medium. The medium is also quite intimate, we are with listeners as they drive, cook, do laundry, travel, etc. and we love that.
What are important issues you feel need to be prioritised for youths in Nigeria?
There are a lot but the issues that we are constantly speaking about are mental health, sexual health, and financial literacy. When it comes to mental health, there are a lot of people dealing with depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. Everything starts from the mental and so we advocate for people to take their mental health seriously by speaking to therapists, speaking to trusted parties, taking proper care of themselves, and just making their mental health a priority.
Also, sex is something we were never really taught especially as Nigerians and this is something we are trying to change. We are very open about sex and we use our platform to the best of our ability to educate our listeners. Financial literacy is something Isaac is very particular about on the pod, we try to do our best to educate our listeners so that everyone can at least save and invest because the earlier they start the better.
How has Road to 30 engaged with these issues?
On our podcast, we are constantly talking about these issues. We also bring guests who can contribute to the conversation and also share their own experiences to encourage others to be open about sharing theirs as well. We find that when we are open, honest, and vulnerable about our experiences, it helps other people as well.
What has been the public reception of the podcast?
We have received a lot of love for the podcast. People feel like we complement each other really well. They also love how relatable the podcast is and a lot of people just feel it’s refreshing and we are very appreciative.
Where do you see the podcast in the next five years?
Wow. That’s a loaded question. It’s loaded because if we start to tell you all the things we envision for the podcast, we would be here for a long long time. Lol. We will just say, we envision the podcast being much bigger than it is right now while sticking to the true mission of the podcast which is openness, honesty, vulnerability, and relatability.
What do you take pride in?
We are very very proud of how far we have come. We have built such a solid platform and community with our listeners and other amazing podcasters and there are moments where we are just speechless of how wonderful the journey has been. We’ve been doing this for two years and we have done well, if we may so ourselves.
Check out the Road to 30 podcast: linktr.ee/roadto30podcast