The pair are good friends.

Nollywood actor Deyemi Okanlawon has confessed that his friend Pastor Jimmy Odukoya was the inspiration behind him taking his fitness journey more seriously.

He made this assertion during a recent sit-down with Teju Babyface on the King of Talks podcast when asked about his fitness as an actor. He said that before 2022, his primary goal of working out was to look the part for a movie role, but Odukoya encouraged him to always be fit.

“A year ago, I decided that I wanted to be ready and fit all the time. One of my best friends convinced me, you probably know him, and now I’m forced to add ‘pastor’ to his name,” he started.

“Pastor Jimi Odukoya is a gym buff, and we used to work out together before he became the senior pastor and he just inspired me to look a certain kind of way, to long strong, fit and healthy. So there is nothing I do that is primarily to become a ‘chick magnet,” he added.

Deyemi explained further that his new regimen works for him and is also beneficial to his career.

“An actor is essentially his voice, emotions and body, and for me to be where I want to be all these things come together. If I had a film coming up and I knew that there was going to be some showing of skin, I used to go hard for two or three months. Then one year after I wouldn’t even go near a gym. Now, I’m healthy and it works for the films too,” he said.

See the full episode below: