[1][2] Okafor was born in Framingham, Massachusetts while his father was completing his PhD at Harvard University.
[3] He suffered from respiratory illnesses, such as asthma and pneumonia, and read Charles Dickens to pass the time while convalescing at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital.
[3] After completing his secondary school education in Enugu, he proceeded to the University of Connecticut in 1994, where he studied Computer Science.
[3] Upon graduation, Okafor worked for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, and as a model and actor.
[6] In 2010, Okafor founded Iconoclast Fitness, a training gym in the Flatiron District of Manhattan.