Ayo Richard Makun, AY is a multi-talented, multi-award winning Standup comedian, and one of the most successful comic acts Nigeria has produced. He comes across easily, as Nigeria’s most creative comedian as he has proven himself as an established authority as a Compere, Standup Comedian, Radio and TV Presenter, Promoter, Producer, Actor, Director, Writer, and Event Manager.
The first Male child from a family of seven from Ifon, Ondo state, AY was born and bred in Delta State. He had a very humble and unassuming start, parlaying his charm and talent to a successful career in the Nigerian comedy scene.
He gained fame through impersonating Rev. Chris Okotie in his hilarious jokes, and by 2006, when he began; he was named the Best Up-Coming Comedian in Nigeria.
That wasn’t AY’s first award. The gifted comedian holds an enviable record of being the first student to direct a convocation production in the history of the Theatre Arts Department of the Delta State University, where he graduated in 2003.
In his campus days, he received many awards including: The Most Fashionable Student on Campus (1999 and 2000); The Most Celebrated Student on Campus (2001), Best Showbiz Promoter (2001), Jaycee Club Socio-Cultural Personality Award (2003), and The Most Celebrated Theatre Arts Student (2003).
As a literary offshoot of his creative overflow, AY wrote the column, Going AY-Wire as a guest columnist with The Sun Newspapers, (Nigeria’s most circulated National Daily) and also wrote another monthly column titled Jokes Apart in Gbenga Adeyinka’s monthly comedy journal, Laffmatazz. The multi-talented comedian also presented The AY Live on The Morning Drive every Friday from 6am to 10am on Rhythm 93.7 FM, Lagos.
AY has become the ‘father’ of many upcoming acts and established acts that are doing well in the industry, through the monthly AY’s Open Mic Challenge that held every third Sunday, at The National Theatre and later at The marquee of Federal Palace Hotels and Casinos, Lagos.
The AY Show, arguably the best Comedy Show on Nigeria TV, shows on many terrestrial television stations across the country including Africa Magic, winning BEST TV COMEDY SHOW in 2008, and has from its onset become a must watch for its teeming fan base. The AY brand also publishes Nigeria’s first comedy magazine, and he hosts (across the country, too) the usually out-sold comedy and music concerts, AY Live.
AY Live holds an enviable quadruple record breaking title on the attendance to its annual concerts in Nigeria and London. In 2007, he held Lagos spell bound when the second edition of AY Live, Lagos Invasion drew a record crowd forcing him to do two shows instead of one, as planned. Two years later, similar feat was reenacted in Nigeria’s Federal Capital City, when AY Live, Abuja Invasion stood Abuja still, and becoming Abuja’s most attended entertainment events, ever.
In 2008 alone, AY won six different awards, all confirming one same thing:
COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR – Diamond Awards for Comedy
COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR – Mode Men of the Year Awards
COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR – MBG Abuja Merit Awards
COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR – Arsenal Award for Excellence
COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR – TEENS FAVOURITE
COMEDIAN OF THE YEAR – National Daily Awards
AY is the CEO, Corporate World Entertainment, an entertainment organization that is focused on packaging events and providing contents for radio and television.
Corporate World Entertainment began in 1998 as organizers of DELSU Most Beautiful Girl on Campus Pageant. Winners of this campus pageant became top beauty n Nigeria, and they include: Queen of Delta, 1998/99; Miss Nigeria Tourism (she represented Nigeria at Miss World Tourism) and the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (Nigeria’s Representative to Miss World, and Miss Universe in 1999.
Today, Corporate World Entertainment powers AY Live ( the always-sold-out Comedy and Music concerts); The AY Show (the award-winning most-watched TV comedy show),and Open Mic Challenge: the monthly Talent-Hunt programme that produced the Likes of Emeka Smith, MC Shakara, Elenu, and Seyi Law – City People’s Best New Comedian of the Year. The newest spinoff of the AY brand is AY’s Crib which is set to hit both cable and terretial airwaves within the last quarter of 2014.
Ay’s wife Mabel and daughter, Michelle..
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