Prior to the
COVID-19 pandemic, Okundaye worked in policy, seeing his writing as a side hobby. He then quit his job to freelance as a writer full time. He has been a regular contributor to
The Guardian, the
London Review of Books,
Vice,
Dazed,
i-D,
GQ, the
Evening Standard, and
Bustle. In 2020 and 2021, he had a column in
Tribune Magazine. Okundaye is vocal about a number of social and political issues in the UK, writing about them from a left-wing perspective. He has written about topics such as race in British society, politics, the housing crisis, the monarchy, and Black British LGBT+ culture with a specialty in the experiences and history of Black British gay men. In addition, he covers popular culture and media in the film, television, theatre, music, and literary worlds and has interviewed public figures. In 2021, Okundaye co-founded the digital archive and podcast "Black & Gay, Back in the Day" with Marc Thompson.
Revolutionary Acts His debut book titled
Revolutionary Acts (2024), documents Black British gay history and culture from the 1970s to the present. The book is structured around profiling the following figures:
Ted Brown, Dirg Aaab-Richards, Alex Owolade, Calvin "Biggy" Dawkins, Dennis Carney,
Ajamu X, and Thompson.
The Guardian called
Revolutionary Acts a "groundbreaking debut", while
Bricks magazine called it "a dynamic and crucial narration of Black queer history for the 21st century".
Revolutionary Acts won a
Somerset Maugham Award and was shortlisted for the
Orwell Prize for Political Writing. It was also longlisted for the
Polari Prize for LGBTQ+ writers in the First Book category. Okundaye was one of several authors to withdraw his book from the Prize in protest of the inclusion of John Boyne over his anti-transgender views. Okundaye explained his decision in
The Guardian, writing he "felt misled about the principles underpinning the organisation and I no longer cared to be awarded by it." ==Personal life==