First Generation Burden

Gail Anderson is a designer, author, educator, and two-time lifetime achievement award winner. Gail sits down with Rich to discuss her Bronx upbringing as a first generation Jamaican American, and being the first in her family to receive a college education. They also talk about her legendary career in design, how she got to Rolling Stone Magazine and her equally iconic tenure at SpotCo. And they...

Shayla Lawson is an author and poet, with a fierce and humorous new voice. She stops by First Gen Burden to discuss her new book This Is Major: Notes on Diana Ross, Dark Girls, and Being Dope , a relevant, insightful, and riveting collection of personal essays on the richness and resilience of black girl culture. Rich and Shayla talk about her upbringing in Kentucky and her creative journey, all t...

In this special episode, Rich talks to Luck Sarabhayavanija , the founder of Ani Ramen . They talk about the early days of Luck's self-proclaimed "hospitality addiction" which lead to forming a successful restaurant group set for great success in 2020. Amidst the pandemic, they discuss how the group has pivoted towards a non-profit focused on feeding local communities and frontline workers by part...

In this double-sized season finale of First Gen #StayHome Edition Rich has two special interviews during Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month. First, Gavin Alaoen from MTV digital design stops by to talk about how he's preparing to be a father again, what content he's binging right now, and post-COVID predictions. Then slam poet, Beau Sia make his first appearance on First Gen to tal...

Laura Mueller Soppart is a real estate developer and the founder of Built Interest, a firm focused on bringing a human-centered perspective building cities . Laura stops by First Gen #StayHome Edition to talk about her German and Spanish origins, how she ended up interning for Barack Obama's White House , and the learnings from working on large real estate projects like the Domino Sugar Factory in...

Adam Garcia, founder of The Pressure and member of Apple Music Team gives an update on how the pandemic has changed his perspective on what we give meaning to, personal content strategy post-COVID, and how to throw the best ZOOM party to make all your friends jealous. Also, Rich and Adam talk about who won the infamous DJ Premier versus RZA battle! LINKS Donate to #FirstRespondersFirst at Help. Fi...

Nicolas Chidiac, the Chief Strategy Officer at Rokkan  stops by First Gen #StayHome Edition to talk about his Lebanese heritage, growing up in Greece, and living around the world, from London to Dubai, and eventually the United States. He charts his path in the advertising industry (at places like Saatchi and Leo Burnett), and talks about the tension between mathematics of strategy and creati...

In this episode of First Gen #StayHome Edition , Kathleen Tso and Vicki Ho of super dope Banana Magazine stop by with a vibes check on all things AZN in 2020 and talk about the launch of issue 6. They discuss the origins of the magazine, their learnings in the competitive indie magazine world, and the importance of Asian representation in media (highlighting their latest feature on Asians in Comed...

In this episode of First Gen #StayHome Edition , Diego Guevara (Global Design Director at Nike) , makes his first appearance and talks about growing up in Ecuador before moving to Miami to become a multi-faceted creative working with clients like the CBS Sports , Latin Grammys, J Balvin and the NFL. He also talks about how he landed his role as Nike, and how's he's maintaining his mental and physi...

In this episode of First Gen #StayHome Edition , illustrator and educator Shreyas R Krishnan (hailing from Chennai, India) appears for the first time to talk about her illustration career, how she collaborates with other artists from around the world, and the importance of work that highlights gender non-binary communities. Also, she talks about how teaching at Washington University in St Louis ha...

In this episode of First Gen #StayHome Edition , Design Director of Vault49 Kervin Brisseaux checks in to talk about how he's stayed busy while, how being on the same page is important when working from home, and he's staying fit while in quarantine. Also, Kervin gives a breakdown of what video games and anime are on his must-list (spoiler alert, Final Fantasy VII is definitely on there). LINKS Do...

In this episode of First Gen #StayHome Edition , designer and creative director Zipeng Zhu checks in from the Catskills, and discusses his approach to making content in the midst of the pandemic, how baking he's taken up cooking, and why Asian bigotry is even more stupid when you have terrible grammar. ALSO, we read the COVID-19 sex guide.  LINKS Donate to #FirstRespondersFirst at Help. First...

In this episode of First Gen #StayHome Edition , Rich catches up with Sandie Cheng of the Now in Color Podcast . They talk about the rise of anti-Asian bigotry , the perception of content post-COVID-19, and the "Myth of Assimilation" . LINKS Donate to #FirstRespondersFirst at Help. FirstRespondersFirst.co Check out FirstGenBurden.com for all the episodes. Follow us @ firstgenburden and Rich Tu / @...

In this episode of First Gen #StayHome Edition , MTV motion designer, Florencia Massu talks about how her family stuck together (while apart) when her parents developed COVID-19 symptoms, the importance of staying positive, and how ZOOM LIFE was always a thing in an international family. LINKS Donate to #FirstRespondersFirst at Help. FirstRespondersFirst.co Check out FirstGenBurden.com for all the...

In this episode of First Gen #StayHome Edition, Designer and Artist Ricardo Gonzalez (ItsALiving) ZOOMs in from Durango, Mexico and to talk about he now makes murals remotely, staying isolated but focused, how skating has kept him fit, and the importance of sharing things right now. Also we talk about how his recent HUF collab came to fruition.  LINKS Donate to #FirstRespondersFirst at Help....

*SEASON 5 FINALE* Rich sits down with Veda Partalo , the VP of Brand and Marketing at Spotify Premium . They talk about how she spent her childhood as a Bosnian refugee, alongside 2 years in a Hungarian refugee camp. That eventually leads to in Minneapolis, MN where social activism and youth culture save her life, and lead her into marketing and advertising, with roles at Untitled , Mcann , and Dr...

Ché Morales is a Brooklyn-based curator, experiential designer, and self-proclaimed art junkie with an insatiable appetite for unique, mind-blowing aesthetics. He's also the founder of ABSTRKT , a collective that focuses on large-scale murals, art installations, and branded cultural events for hte likes of Adidas, Nike, The Standard, and The New York City Ballet. Rich and Che talk about his u...

Alissa Nevita is an expert in marketing and advertising in the sportswear industry, having worked with  Flight Club , Bleacher Report , Complex , and Undefeated, among others. Rich and Alissa talk about Indo-Caribbean culture (her family hails from Guyana), growing up in Queens, and how its important to find a career path that appropriate for you. Also, they discuss representation of women in...

Bonus Episode: Rich and Sophia sit down for an SEO AMA* where they dig into her digital footprint in a fun and off-the-cuff game. We find about even more about Sophia like the origin of "The Bun" , the Best and Worst Bandwagon Moments of 2019 , and her opinion of CROCS (Yay? or Nay?) Also, just how many Sophia Changs are out there??? *Search Engine Optimization Ask Me Anything Check out FirstGenBu...

Sophia Chang returns! One year after her first appearance on First Gen Burden, Rich and Sophia have a total format-busting episode that tries to give you a caffeine-induced rush of design talk and ridiculousness. They talk about her recent projects with Adidas Originals (and how mall culture affected her life), the iPad sketch workshop she did at Apple , how to navigate a brand collaboration , and...

Episode 40 (!), is double-sized with two fashion-focused interviews with models Kadeem Hudson (family from Jamaica) and Joanna Pauline (originally from the Philippines). We cover the gamut of representation in the industry, the mentality behind-the-scenes right before stepping on the runway, gender neutrality, and how beauty standards figure into the business of fashion (especially Asian nose poli...

Andy Chen and Waqas Jawaid are the founders of Isometric Studio , a visual identity and graphic design consultancy based in New York City. They specialize in creating brand identities and exhibitions for some of the biggest institutions in the country like Princeton, Google, Cooper Hewitt, and the Museum of the City of New York. Rich sits down with Andy and Waqas to talk about how they met and how...

This week, Rich Tu speaks with Mara Lecocq , who leads Brand and Community at Fishbowl , a social network for professionals in the creative industry that allows for honest and semi-anonymous conversations. Also, she’s the founder of Where Are the Boss Ladies , the largest database of senior women leaders in advertising. And she’s the founder of Secret Code , a customizable children’s book that can...

Adam Garcia is an artist, creative director, dancer, and even a dungeon master. Currently, he is a residing in Los Angeles and works in Apple Music's creative team . Additionally, Adam created The Pressure studio , was a creative director at Instrument , and even worked on the Yeezy II during his time at Nike . Rich and Adam catch up after a couple years of no contact, and discuss being born into...

Noreen Moriok a & Nicole Jacek are two of the most awarded designers who have sat down with Rich, having worked with some of the biggest clients in the world including Nike, Airbnb, Nickelodeon . Also, most recently, they held the roles as Co-Heads of Design at Weiden + Kennedy . The two of them discuss how they make their partnership work in a variety of contexts, how they wrestle with identi...