Soho Mentorship: the inside story from a former mentee
The young actor, model, photographer, and filmmaker Isaak Adoyi joined our social impact programme in LA in 2024. He hasn’t looked back since
Monday 2 February 2026 By Catherine Jarvie
When Isaak Adoyi set out for LA to pursue his dream of becoming an actor in the spring of 2018, he was following a well-trodden path of countless young hopefuls before him. Like any good Hollywood story, Adoyi’s featured its fair share of ups and downs before persistence – and a sprinkle of luck – led him to his first big break. That persistence has continued to pay off.
In 2024, he was selected for our Soho Mentorship programme. Run in partnership with Creative Futures Collective, the 16-week programme aims to open access to the creative industries for young people from underrepresented or lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The award-winning short film Adoyi created for his showcase has since gone on to be shown internationally. He tells us what got him there and why anyone who gets the chance to should take part.
In 2024, he was selected for our Soho Mentorship programme. Run in partnership with Creative Futures Collective, the 16-week programme aims to open access to the creative industries for young people from underrepresented or lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The award-winning short film Adoyi created for his showcase has since gone on to be shown internationally. He tells us what got him there and why anyone who gets the chance to should take part.
‘I knew moving to LA was my calling. In 2018, my mother was getting ready to go on vacation for three months, and I lied and told her that I was going to Texas to visit a friend. I saved up some money and booked a one-way flight from Ohio to Los Angeles. I was so nervous. I didn’t expect anything or go crazy like: ‘I’m going to come to LA and I’m going to be a star,’ I was just scared. All I had was faith.’
‘The principal at my acting school suggested modelling could be a way for me to break into the industry. I went around the best agencies and they all said no. I worked as a Lyft driver for almost a year, but by August 2019, I felt like I couldn’t survive in LA for a moment longer. That same day, my phone rang. The caller said they were working for an A-list artist who was interested in booking me for a project. I said yes without even knowing who it was. The set was a beautiful house in Bel Air. I was looking at the window when someone came up and hugged me from behind. I turned around and there was Beyoncé. That’s how I got my first break into modelling. Within a year I signed with Storm Management and became a full-time model for Nike.’
‘When I first heard about the Soho Mentorship programme, I was like, this is too good to be true. But I applied, got invited to interview and was accepted onto the programme. I was paired with the producer Christian Polsinelli and I’m so glad. He’s an amazing mentor and producer. He taught me to always think deeper – to see the idea within the idea. I would love to work with him on a project one day.’
‘Being a Soho House member is like sitting on a gold mine. It’s where creative people meet and connect. This industry is very political. It’s about who you know and who hears your name from a trustworthy and credible source. I always wanted to “get in the room”, as we say, but I didn’t just get in the room, I got in the house – Soho House. I’m like, this is it. This is the spot where I can shape myself into the person I want to be.’
‘I got the opportunity to shadow Beyoncé on set in 2022 while she was filming for Act 1: Renaissance. I was so inspired to create a story of my own one day from what I learned on that set. A year later, I connected with the amazing art director and photographer, Tyler Hicks, who partnered with me on I Know Who I Am. We started taking photos together and the rest is history. So many people put their time and talent into helping to make the film, and I’m so grateful for every single one of them. These are people I want to work with in the future.’
‘I called the film I Know Who I Am because we all think that we know who we are, but I realised I needed to seek the truth before I said that. Because there’s always something deeper within us, I knew there was another journey I had to take. We shot the film in 2024, in Atlanta and Malibu, three months before the LA fires. That same area we shot the film in Malibu is gone. Now it lives in I Know Who I Am.’
‘The response to the film was overwhelming and beautiful. It was first screened at the Soho Mentorship showcase. Afterwards, people kept telling me to put it into film festivals, but the circuit was closed for that year. Then I saw a post about a competition being run by Earth Partner. I submitted without thinking and we were named as one of the winners. The film was featured on NOWNESS and at a group exhibition in the Vatican Gardens. Thanks to the programme, Tyler Hicks and I were given the opportunity to fly to Rome to represent Soho Mentorship, Creative Futures Collective, and Soho House for the inauguration of the exhibition.’
‘My advice to anyone who is considering applying to the Soho Mentorship programme is do it. Mentorship is important, very important. We all need it, and this programme is the perfect opportunity for unseen and unheard creatives to be mentored by some of the elites in the industry. You get the chance to learn and also apply what you’ve learned. At Soho House you have mentors, creatives you can connect with, theatres where you can watch movies and learn from directors during Q&As, amazing food, and hospitality. If you’re creative it’s definitely the space for you.’
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