Growing up in Ozoro, Nigeria, Evi admits that living in Canberra was never something that he imagined himself doing.

As he grew up and spread his wings – first moving to Abuja in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to work in computer science –  he decided it was time for more.

“I had made up my mind that I was going overseas, going to explore and get a degree as well…that was the plan,” Evi explains.

Tossing up between studying in Canada or Australia, it was meeting a University of Canberra (UC) representative at a careers expo that set everything in motion.

“Some of the things she said were ‘it’s a 10-minute town’ and ‘it’s a very supportive community’ – that made me interested. Yes, I wanted to get a degree, but I wanted to experience a different lifestyle, which was very important to me.”

Looking for a quiet place where he could focus on his studies, get around easily, and have plenty of things to do (and the time to enjoy them), after some more research into Canberra, Evi asked himself “What’s the worst that can happen?”.

Moving in 2014, it wasn’t long before Canberrans welcomed him into the community with open arms.

“You can imagine a young student at the age of 23 travelling overseas, I didn’t know what I was going into…I remember when the president of the Nigerian Association took us around the city to see it, I saw a lot of similarities between the ACT and FCT,” Evi says.

“It felt a bit like home already, so I could still feel a connection back to Nigeria.”

Always interested in business, Evi tossed around a number of ideas before his love for Canberra inspired what quickly turned into fulfilling full-time work.

“I’ve always wanted to do things relating to culture, community, and people generally. I remember receiving those socks from my in-laws, and I said to my wife, Emma, ‘Why don’t we celebrate Canberra through socks?’”, says Evi.

“We started with the icons: Canberra bus shelters, the Belconnen Owl, Telstra Tower, and the Skywhale. Those were the first few designs, and it took off. The support was amazing, and people loved it.”

Leaving the corporate sector to run Capital Socks full-time in 2022, Evi is proud every time he steps into his shop – because as he says, he doesn’t just sell socks, he’s providing an experience.

“I knew from the outset, that it’s not just the product that I’m selling but it’s about what the experience is I’m providing. And for us, it’s a celebration of Canberra.”

Today, Evi is raising his young family here, and says there’s no other city like Canberra. It checks the boxes of everything important to him back when he was planning his life after Abuja.

“Everything is easy in Canberra. Lake Burley Griffin is Emma’s happy place, so we spend a lot of time there and have passed that culture to the boys. We go to the lake for a walk or play, visiting the markets and the museum. All these places, you’ll find us.”

“My boys are Canberran by birth and it means this is home for them. And it will always be home…they get everything here that you don’t get in the cities, like that sense of community and calm lifestyle. I feel at home. Everything just flows for me.”