Written by 
Throughout October 2024, West Ham United will mark Black History Month by celebrating talented and young Black creatives in our local community and reclaiming the narratives by shining a light on the untold stories.
Over the course of the month, we’ll profile key voices from the West Ham family and beyond – including award-winning music producers, media leaders, podcast hosts and photographers.
By highlighting these individuals, we aim to share their often untold success stories, encouraging us to learn, share, discuss and celebrate their journeys, gaining a fresh perspective on the contributions of Black British people in our sphere.
Next up is Mohamed Abdulle, perhaps better known as Mabdulle, who talks us through his path from humble beginnings in Maryland, just north east of Stratford, to becoming one of the London’s most well-known Creative Directors.
Abdulle’s path to the top wasn’t without its twists and turns. The experience of studying computer science at university with the intention of ‘becoming the next Mark Zuckerberg’ was a formative one. For Mabdulle, picking up a camera changed his life. From shooting the Stratford streets at night in his spare time to spending the last two years on tour with F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, his goal is to capture people in a portrait and lens that are unique to their style while also trying to show their culture and background through photos.
Mabdulle has established himself as one of the best Creative Directors in London and is now reaping the rewards, collaborating with some of the industry’s biggest brands and artists, such as Facebook, Stormzy, Victoria Beckham and Adidas, among others.
“I studied computer science at university and was planning on becoming the next Mark Zuckerberg, but reality kicked in and then I decided I didn’t want to do that anymore,” said Abdulle. “I just picked up a camera, made a few things on Instagram, and before I knew it, I was taking photographs for some of the biggest brands in the UK.
“I started taking photos of streets and people in the early days and got to do a few small campaigns, but now I do a lot of creative direction for brands. So it’s about coming up with the concept, the creative and also dealing with the execution, especially the production side of things. When I went on the Stormzy GSAP tour in 2017, it was the moment I thought it was getting a lot bigger than just taking a few photos for brands. I knew if I put all the time and dedication into it, then I could make it a full-time career.
“I always wanted to work for Adidas, so what I did was put together a fake campaign, pitched it to them and ended up getting my first campaign. I then used that campaign to build up a brand. I always believed that I had the skills and ability to work for these kinds of companies, so when it actually happened, it was an incredible experience and I thrived under the pressure. It’s all come through love and interest in photography. I did it for fun as I enjoyed it, but life can do amazing things to you where it puts you in situations, and I feel blessed to be where I am now.
“I have been on tour with Lewis Hamilton in F1 for the last two years and worked with Victoria Beckham for her 20-year anniversary with her brand ‘VB’, but one of my favourite projects I’ve done was the creative direction for the world’s biggest charity football game in Qatar, where the likes of Arsène Wenge, Kaká, Eden Hazard, Claude Makélélé, Didier Drogba and David Villa were involved, and we raised £8.8 million for kids in need.”