Theophilus Oyegunle-Martins
The creative visionary with a diverse background and a passion for exploration talks about growing up in Rhode Island and the unique dynamics of being the second of five siblings. He discusses how his parents, both artists, influenced his outlook on life, and his surrogate grandmother's adventurous spirit. Theo's current ventures include the Posture Walking Club, Cereal and Such, and who knows what else is to come, but whatever it is, it's going to be mind-blowing.
You grew up in Rhode Island, but your family is originally from Lagos. Could you tell me about your family heritage and share some of your fondest childhood memories? Being the second of five siblings must have created some interesting dynamics, I presume.
My parents are Lagosians as they like to say. My Mother immigrated to the US from Lagos by way of London and my Father arrived to the US straight from Lagos. He arrived North Carolina and called his elder brother who was in Houston and asked for a ride. He had no idea of the geography and I love that. He eventually made his way to Houston where some family members were establishing a new life for themselves. Life in Rhode Island differed greatly from the life inside of our four walls.
My home was like an island separate of Rhode Island. We lived and we loved fully. My Mother spoke in her native language and we spoke it back. The food and ritual clashed wonderfully with the explosion of 90’s pop culture. My Mother ensured that her children did the things that we wanted and not what expected of us. It made for exploring life in a different way. Theatre, traveling, swimming, camping. These were things completely outside of her purview but it became our trademark. It fostered in me a spirit of exploration and much of that I credit to my Mother. My Father is very curious by nature and that attributed to those traits as well. I always knew I had a gift because my Mother and elder sister would ensure we knew who we were, but I had to venture out on my own to really discover that for myself.
Both of your parents were artists, each with their own unique personality traits. How did each of them influence your outlook on life?
My parents are incredibly original humans. My Mother, who grew up in the textile business with her Mother, and my Father, a trumpeter, brought all of that magic into our home. My Father was the music guy; ambidextrous, the guy who could figure his way around anything. He’s got a unique mind. As I look back at my fondness for music, my taste, my love of color and texture, it is very evident where it derived from. That realization has clarified so much for me and has allowed my work to flow naturally and endlessly because of it.
I know your grandmother had a significant influence on you and got you involved in various outdoor activities as a child, which eventually sparked your interest in walking. Can you elaborate on that?
When my parents immigrated to the US and found Texas life wasn’t what they preferred they made their way to Rhode Island by way of a recommendation of available factory work. We were alone and my sought refuge and community in a church, and while there, met Myra, who became a surrogate grandmother to us while our natural grandmother was back in Lagos. Myra, was a veteran in the US Army, and had a quant life but shared so much of it with my siblings and I. She taught us the technique of watercolor, we took public transportation often and ran errands with her. She didn’t have cable television but we’d bring by VHS’ of our favorite films and watch them. There was really nothing to do at her house but it made for so much fun. That journeys that we would embark on just to go to the grocery store or the beach really impacted how I saw the world. When you’re young you’re intimidated by everything because it’s foreign to you and being that my parents were immigrants who were in the middle of certifying their nationalization it meant even more trepidation. But with Myra we explored and explored fully. I came out of my shell with her.
Photography: Vanessa Lynn
Speaking of walking, the Posture Walking Club looks amazing! I love the concept of ‘exploring natural scenery at our natural pace’. Can you share more about it?
Yes, so the Posture Walking Club comes from the dissatisfaction of having done it everyone else’s way but your own. I found that I have my own way of approaching life, learning, sharing, etc and to evade that in favor of the majority would be to create conflict. Now, that would be too deep to layout in a one sheet so I use the metaphor of walking to express that point. Walking for me is solitary, though I can embark with a group my experience is my own. Walking is an opportunity to be one with nature, without any intermediaries and I love that. It’s direct learning and anyone can do it. In fact, most do without even knowing. We set many bars for ourselves, however the club has no rule. You only walk the refrigerator and back? Cool, you’re in. You walk 1,000 miles a week? Cool, you’re in. You're incapable of walking however you find ways to explore your surroundings via in your own method? Cool, you’re in. That’s the club.
“Walking for me is solitary, though I can embark with a group my experience is my own.”
Photography: Georgia Hynes
What led you to move to London in 2014, and how was that experience for you?
London was a time to reflect. I had longed to live and when the opportunity to reside there I chose it. It’s a wonderful place and had I not gone there would be no Posture, Cereal & Such, etc.
And now LA. What’s kept you in the city for a while now?
LA has wonderful resources. I’ve spent the last several years away, again, needing to reflect on what I had build, where I wanted to go and if this was the path to get me there. Los Angeles is a beautiful city, having taken time to other parts of the world the city has renewed interest for me. I see it with a different lens than I had before and I credit the time away for that.
Could you also tell me when you launched Cereal and Such and how that endeavor came about?
I ate a lot of cereal growing up. If you ask anyone in my family what I ate a lot of as a child they’d likely say cereal. I find building things that are incredibly personal to me have a profound effect on others. And it’s not that I’m trying to affect others it simply is the truth. I think humans respond to purity in a way that you cannot manufacture. Cereal, again, is just a metaphor for joy and creative expression and I masked that behind the facade of cereal. The idea of building a cereal bar was fun but the idea of making my own cereal from scratch was an even daunting task and I loved the idea of figuring it out. We did and now that that’s complete I’m looking to explore even further.
You've been described as a musician, artist, designer, among other things. From my perspective, you're a creative entrepreneur with a constant curiosity and openness to various forms of exploration. How do you currently perceive yourself?
It’s a great question and one that I find myself unsure of how to answer. I don’t consider myself an entrepreneur. Though I understand why it would be said the logic for me is this: entrepreneurship is generally defined in the terms of business, and I’m not really a “business“ guy. I’m really interested in building things from nothing to something. I think if I were truly “business“ minded, I’d likely have my cereal stocked across the country, but personally, I find that boring. There’s no joy in that for me. Anyone can do that.
Is Toy Mart the umbrella that encompasses all of your creative ventures now?
Toy Mart is my namesake Design studio. Cereal and Such, Posture Walking Club all exist within the Toy Mart universe. If you were to look at Toy Mart as a house, Cereal and such would be the kitchen and Posture walking club would be the living room, but Toy Mart is the house they live within.
I'm curious about your residency and friendship with Virgil Normal. How did that come about?
Charlie and Shirley are great friends. I met them at their store opening about eight years ago and we’ve been friends ever since. I think unique individuals tend to gravitate towards unique people and my relationship with Charlie and Shirley is a great example of that. Sometimes part of that kinship brings about collaboration, and when I expressed the idea of cereal and such, they opened their doors. It’s been fun ever since.
Music seems to have played an integral role in your life. Can you share more about your relationship with music?
My father played the trumpet growing up was the DJ, and that exposure had a profound effect on me. I started my music journey at the age of 13 DJing local music events and it just continued to grow. I cite my father with my love for music, rhythm and sound. I credit with fanning the flame and supporting my interest in the Arts. It infuses itself into everything that comes from me, whether it be the ‘Walking Music’ soundtrack for the Posture Walking Club, Cereal Sounds, a monthly radio show or just composing my own original works. It is in my DNA.
Lastly, I'm intrigued about your book project “Why I Write”.
“Why I Write” is a part of a long series of “essays” if you will. In 2023 I released a journal, “Theo Martins: Diary" filled with unfiltered writings and entires as I felt a need to express myself freely and deeply, without any filter. For me, the medium of writing seems to allow that most succinctly. I’ve realized that writing is the fulcrum of everything I do. It’s creation. It is taking thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and from that, using words to clarify and crystallize my understanding. Writing is a very personal and unique way for me to learn and translate the things that I feel deeply into words. So that I may understand.
Theophilus Oyegunle-Martins
The creative visionary with a diverse background and a passion for exploration talks about growing up in Rhode Island and the unique dynamics of being the second of five siblings. He discusses how his parents, both artists, influenced his outlook on life, and his surrogate grandmother's adventurous spirit. Theo's current ventures include the Posture Walking Club, Cereal and Such, and who knows what else is to come, but whatever it is, it's going to be mind-blowing.
You grew up in Rhode Island, but your family is originally from Lagos. Could you tell me about your family heritage and share some of your fondest childhood memories? Being the second of five siblings must have created some interesting dynamics, I presume.
My parents are Lagosians as they like to say. My Mother immigrated to the US from Lagos by way of London and my Father arrived to the US straight from Lagos. He arrived North Carolina and called his elder brother who was in Houston and asked for a ride. He had no idea of the geography and I love that. He eventually made his way to Houston where some family members were establishing a new life for themselves. Life in Rhode Island differed greatly from the life inside of our four walls.
My home was like an island separate of Rhode Island. We lived and we loved fully. My Mother spoke in her native language and we spoke it back. The food and ritual clashed wonderfully with the explosion of 90’s pop culture. My Mother ensured that her children did the things that we wanted and not what expected of us. It made for exploring life in a different way. Theatre, traveling, swimming, camping. These were things completely outside of her purview but it became our trademark. It fostered in me a spirit of exploration and much of that I credit to my Mother. My Father is very curious by nature and that attributed to those traits as well. I always knew I had a gift because my Mother and elder sister would ensure we knew who we were, but I had to venture out on my own to really discover that for myself.
Both of your parents were artists, each with their own unique personality traits. How did each of them influence your outlook on life?
My parents are incredibly original humans. My Mother, who grew up in the textile business with her Mother, and my Father, a trumpeter, brought all of that magic into our home. My Father was the music guy; ambidextrous, the guy who could figure his way around anything. He’s got a unique mind. As I look back at my fondness for music, my taste, my love of color and texture, it is very evident where it derived from. That realization has clarified so much for me and has allowed my work to flow naturally and endlessly because of it.
I know your grandmother had a significant influence on you and got you involved in various outdoor activities as a child, which eventually sparked your interest in walking. Can you elaborate on that?
When my parents immigrated to the US and found Texas life wasn’t what they preferred they made their way to Rhode Island by way of a recommendation of available factory work. We were alone and my sought refuge and community in a church, and while there, met Myra, who became a surrogate grandmother to us while our natural grandmother was back in Lagos. Myra, was a veteran in the US Army, and had a quant life but shared so much of it with my siblings and I. She taught us the technique of watercolor, we took public transportation often and ran errands with her. She didn’t have cable television but we’d bring by VHS’ of our favorite films and watch them. There was really nothing to do at her house but it made for so much fun. That journeys that we would embark on just to go to the grocery store or the beach really impacted how I saw the world. When you’re young you’re intimidated by everything because it’s foreign to you and being that my parents were immigrants who were in the middle of certifying their nationalization it meant even more trepidation. But with Myra we explored and explored fully. I came out of my shell with her.
Photography: Vanessa Lynn
Speaking of walking, the Posture Walking Club looks amazing! I love the concept of ‘exploring natural scenery at our natural pace’. Can you share more about it?
Yes, so the Posture Walking Club comes from the dissatisfaction of having done it everyone else’s way but your own. I found that I have my own way of approaching life, learning, sharing, etc and to evade that in favor of the majority would be to create conflict. Now, that would be too deep to layout in a one sheet so I use the metaphor of walking to express that point. Walking for me is solitary, though I can embark with a group my experience is my own. Walking is an opportunity to be one with nature, without any intermediaries and I love that. It’s direct learning and anyone can do it. In fact, most do without even knowing. We set many bars for ourselves, however the club has no rule. You only walk the refrigerator and back? Cool, you’re in. You walk 1,000 miles a week? Cool, you’re in. You're incapable of walking however you find ways to explore your surroundings via in your own method? Cool, you’re in. That’s the club.
“Walking for me is solitary, though I can embark with a group my experience is my own.”
Photography: Georgia Hynes
What led you to move to London in 2014, and how was that experience for you?
London was a time to reflect. I had longed to live and when the opportunity to reside there I chose it. It’s a wonderful place and had I not gone there would be no Posture, Cereal & Such, etc.
And now LA. What’s kept you in the city for a while now?
LA has wonderful resources. I’ve spent the last several years away, again, needing to reflect on what I had build, where I wanted to go and if this was the path to get me there. Los Angeles is a beautiful city, having taken time to other parts of the world the city has renewed interest for me. I see it with a different lens than I had before and I credit the time away for that.
Could you also tell me when you launched Cereal and Such and how that endeavor came about?
I ate a lot of cereal growing up. If you ask anyone in my family what I ate a lot of as a child they’d likely say cereal. I find building things that are incredibly personal to me have a profound effect on others. And it’s not that I’m trying to affect others it simply is the truth. I think humans respond to purity in a way that you cannot manufacture. Cereal, again, is just a metaphor for joy and creative expression and I masked that behind the facade of cereal. The idea of building a cereal bar was fun but the idea of making my own cereal from scratch was an even daunting task and I loved the idea of figuring it out. We did and now that that’s complete I’m looking to explore even further.
You've been described as a musician, artist, designer, among other things. From my perspective, you're a creative entrepreneur with a constant curiosity and openness to various forms of exploration. How do you currently perceive yourself?
It’s a great question and one that I find myself unsure of how to answer. I don’t consider myself an entrepreneur. Though I understand why it would be said the logic for me is this: entrepreneurship is generally defined in the terms of business, and I’m not really a “business“ guy. I’m really interested in building things from nothing to something. I think if I were truly “business“ minded, I’d likely have my cereal stocked across the country, but personally, I find that boring. There’s no joy in that for me. Anyone can do that.
Is Toy Mart the umbrella that encompasses all of your creative ventures now?
Toy Mart is my namesake Design studio. Cereal and Such, Posture Walking Club all exist within the Toy Mart universe. If you were to look at Toy Mart as a house, Cereal and such would be the kitchen and Posture walking club would be the living room, but Toy Mart is the house they live within.
I'm curious about your residency and friendship with Virgil Normal. How did that come about?
Charlie and Shirley are great friends. I met them at their store opening about eight years ago and we’ve been friends ever since. I think unique individuals tend to gravitate towards unique people and my relationship with Charlie and Shirley is a great example of that. Sometimes part of that kinship brings about collaboration, and when I expressed the idea of cereal and such, they opened their doors. It’s been fun ever since.
Music seems to have played an integral role in your life. Can you share more about your relationship with music?
My father played the trumpet growing up was the DJ, and that exposure had a profound effect on me. I started my music journey at the age of 13 DJing local music events and it just continued to grow. I cite my father with my love for music, rhythm and sound. I credit with fanning the flame and supporting my interest in the Arts. It infuses itself into everything that comes from me, whether it be the ‘Walking Music’ soundtrack for the Posture Walking Club, Cereal Sounds, a monthly radio show or just composing my own original works. It is in my DNA.
Lastly, I'm intrigued about your book project “Why I Write”.
“Why I Write” is a part of a long series of “essays” if you will. In 2023 I released a journal, “Theo Martins: Diary" filled with unfiltered writings and entires as I felt a need to express myself freely and deeply, without any filter. For me, the medium of writing seems to allow that most succinctly. I’ve realized that writing is the fulcrum of everything I do. It’s creation. It is taking thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and from that, using words to clarify and crystallize my understanding. Writing is a very personal and unique way for me to learn and translate the things that I feel deeply into words. So that I may understand.
ALL CULTURE IS A CONVERSATION LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA © MR. WREN 2025
ALL CULTURE IS A CONVERSATION – LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
© MR. WREN 2025