Joining the call, Chris Maho, account manager at The Romans had just arrived back in the UK and was still feeling the buzz from his first stint in Cannes — which he was able to do as part of his work as chair and social media manager at the UK Black Comms Network.
“Everything is going really well,” Maho says with a wide smile, as he catches me up on his more recent career highlights — and reveals how he found himself in PR.
Originally born in Spain, Maho came to the UK in 2019 and began studying fashion journalism at The University of East London.
Trying it on for size
“I wanted to become a fashion journalist. I envisioned my life working at Condé Nast,” he admits.
“[The university] had internship opportunities, and one of them was in PR and I thought ‘I don’t know what this is’, but I knew I wanted to do an internship before my third year. I know a lot of people do them once they’ve graduated but I wanted experience now.
“I applied for an internship [at Tinker Talker Trouble Maker (TTTM)] and got the job.
“I was studying and working a retail job. It was a lot of pressure and I had to juggle all my responsibilities, but I just knew that was me. I was a PR. I was comfortable with what I was doing.”
He explains that the team at TTTM were “very unique and diverse”, and the agency ticked all of Maho’s boxes. He knew that he wanted to stay full-time, and once his internship had ended, Maho took matters into his own hands.
“I messaged the CEO. I remember I skipped over everyone and went straight to the top.”
Maho recalls that the email read something like: “Hi, I know I am just the intern and you are very busy, but I love this so much and I want a job here, please”.
The rest, as Maho says, is “history”. Just four months later, he left his university course to take on the role of TTTM’s newest account assistant, in May 2021.
“It’s worked out really well in my opinion,” he laughs, but caveats that the journey to The Romans was bittersweet.
Changing the style
In 2023, having received several promotions, the most recent being senior account executive, the agency closed shop. Maho was faced with a choice: return to his native Spain, or try to rebuild.
“We cried for a bit. It was 11am and I cried for about 20 minutes because we have to; it’s part of the protocol,” he jokes. “Then I thought, ‘okay I can’t sit around with everyone crying because I need a job’ and then I started phoning recruiters.
“I said to them, ‘honey, right now I am unemployed, and I need a new job tomorrow’ and an amazing recruiter put me in touch with The Romans. I interviewed on the following day and got the job offer within hours.
“My resilience played a part, but God has not let me down, because I could have had to return to Spain. That would have been fine, but the outcome has been amazing. I’m just super happy.”
He says that while he is encouraging everyone to attend university, he also wants to show that there is not one single pathway into a successful career in PR.
“I was so lucky that I found my profession without finishing my degree, and I found out who I really am. It’s something that I not only enjoy and I'm good at, I actually love it. I breathe PR.
“I’m blessed to be able to craft my career at such a young age. I don’t see myself doing anything else.”
Despite not living out his childhood dream to become the next Miranda Priestly, Maho regularly gets to dip his toe in the world of fashion through The Romans.
Finding the fit
“I have been involved with a few fashion campaigns. The good thing about The Romans is that when an opportunity comes through you can voice what you want to work on and they will try to make sure there is space for you to do so.
“It was part of my dream when I moved to London but those dreams have changed. I am where I am meant to be.”
When asked where he got his resilience, Maho says it has always been with him, but that joining the UK Black Comms Network was an extremely beneficial experience.
“I got involved with the UK Black Comms Network as a member. I am from Spain, which is not a diverse country at all, and finding this space in which there’s not only a lot of black people, there were also a lot of black women professionals made me want to give something back.”
As the interview came to a close, Maho said that joining the Network was also a valuable lesson to him on the importance of professional networks.
“Respect your agency and put them at the forefront, because ultimately they are boosting your career. But, also look at what else you can do for the industry because only you can manage your profile.
“Network and find out what else you can do because this industry is just amazing.”
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