First Generation Burden

SEASON 5 PREMIERE! Designer, artist, and educator Nontsikelelo Mutiti kicks off a brand new season by sitting down with Rich to talk growing up in Zimbabwe, how being accepted to Yale brought her to America, and how her design work focuses on the nuanced differences between black cultures. They also touch on her work concerning erasure of culture, and how that lead to Reading Zimbabwe, a digital a...

*Webby Award Honoree*  In another special LIVE episode, Rich sits down with an international group of creatives from the halls of MTV, VH1, CMT, and Logo. It's a heartfelt event in front of a captive audience. Hear stories about coming to America, the trials of seeking a green card, and how we can overcome great tragedy and find optimism under the harshest of circumstances. You do not want to...

*Special Episode* In this special LIVE episode, Rich sits down with Benjamin Evans, the Inclusive Design Lead at Airbnb. While growing up in the UK, Benjamin showed a lot of promise in the culinary arts and acting (somewhat inspired by his father, fitness personality Mr. Motivator). During his years spent as both an actor and tech entrepreneur, an incident in Chile (and spurred on by #airbnbwhileb...

SEASON FINALE! Gavin Alaoen is the Social Art Director at MTV . He also created the "McKayla is NOT IMPRESSED" meme, and was the last person to Boomerang Bobby Shmurda before he was incarcerated. He is also a fellow First Generation Filipino-American who grew up on the West Coast, only to find himself in the hallowed halls of Music Television. Gavin and Rich talk about the recent VMAs ,...

Shira Inbar is a designer and educator who has worked with some of the biggest names in the creative world, but still finds the time to actively pursue social justice. Rich Tu and Shira discuss her upbringing in Israel and how she helped find justice for migrant workers at a young age. Also, they talk about how typography is intimately connected to religion, how motion design is like dancing, and...

Kervin Brisseaux is a first-generation Haitian-American whose illustration style incorporates fashion, music, and other facets of pop culture. He's also a Design Director at the world-renowned brand design agency Vault49. Rich Tu and Kervin talk about all of his influences (including 90s movies that defined our lives), how he almost became an architect, and how he defied a conservative upbringing...

Designer and Typographer Ksenya Samarskaya has an amazing story to tell. Rich and Ksenya talk about how she, her mother, and her grandmother fled Russia as Jewish refugees during the fall of the Soviet Union. They lived among various refugee communities overseas before eventually settling in the Pacific Northwest, where Ksenya began her creative journey, leading her to work at firms like Hoefler +...

Meet Ekua. PM (also known by her initials EPM). She hosts a podcast called Afrolit , highlighting the stories of metropolitan Africans, like herself. Ekua's also a media personality, a DJ, and co-founded her own collective called The Faro, known for curating fun cultural experiences for the public and private sector, having worked with Africa Fashion Week, OkayAfrica and Global Citizen. Rich and E...

This is a the second part of our conversation with Juan Carlos Pagan and Ahmed Klink, the co-founders of Sunday Afternoon. This time we talk about pettiness and haterade in the creative industry (of which there is A LOT), the pros and cons of the perception of youth, the toxicity of fear culture, and sacrifices of opening your own studio. Also who owns StefanSagmeister.com? All...

Listeners will be familiar with our guests Ahmed Klink and Juan Carlos Pagan. Ahmed and Juan Carlos are co-founders of the studio Sunday Afternoon and collectively have worked with the likes of Vanity Fair, Bacardi, The New York Times, Nike, Adidas, Travis Scott, Migos, Pinterest... the list goes on. Rich has a free-flow round table discussion with our guests, about owning a business as POCs, our...

Today Rich talks to Leyla Rosario. Leyla is an award winning Producer, Director, and Film Maker from The Bronx. We talk about her Puerto Rican heritage, growing up in New York, and how she first broke into the film and advertising world, where she’s worked with clients like Rolex, Hennesy, Cadillac, and most recently the director Michel Gondry. She’s also the Executive Producer and...

This week, Rich talks to designer and typographer Wael Morcos. They discuss Wael’s upbringing in a small suburb of Beirut in Lebanon, and how he began his creative journey, from getting his undergrad at Notre Dame in Lebanon to receiving his MFA at RISD in Rhode Island, and co-founding the studio MorcosKey. Also, they get into the intersection of Identity and Academics in design, how one brings th...

This is a special collaboration with $6.99 Per Pound Podcast and First Generation Burden . Rich Tu sits down with Jaeki Cho and Joann Park to talk about their origins in South Korea, the commonalities between Korean and Filipino culture, and what it means to be the "other". We're gettin' real #immigrantexcellence up in here. $6.99 Per Pound is a podcast featuring interviews with leaders and profes...

Rich sits down with artist and entrepreneur Sophia Chang. You may know her thru collaborations with Adidas, Infiniti, Stella Mcartney, Puma, and most recently Dr Martins. She also just started her own agency WeAscend and art directs the magazine platform UNDO Ordinary, and which focuses on empowerment thru the lens of health and wellness. Today we talk about her Taiwanese upbringing in Queens, New...

First Generation Conversation is a live version of the First Generation Burden Podcast, with creatives who represent a cross-section of the underserved immigrant population in New York and beyond. We discuss the trials and triumphs of these individuals, their methods of breaking past barriers, and what it means to represent yourself and your culture in today’s creative industry. Our inspiring pane...

Today is a special collaborative episode with the Now In Color podcast and Sandie Cheng. In honor of Veterans Day, Sandie tells the story of the forgotten Chinese-American soldiers who fought in the Civil War, focusing specifically on Joseph Pierce. We also discuss Sandie's Chinese and Taiwanese upbringing, how she personally identifies, the affirmative action lawsuit against Harvard, and the diff...

Ty Turner is a wardrobe and fashion stylist for TV and entertainment, having worked with MTV, BET, and Jordan Brand and on shows like Wild N Out, TRL, 106 and Park, 50 Central. We get into her family’s origins in Ghana and West Africa, and what it was like growing up in Brooklyn, as well as her new project ENVSN FEST, a new festival geared towards young female empowerment. We also talk about how s...

Bashan Aquart is the Executive Creative Director of AKA, an entertainment agency in New York City and one half of the Director duo Jams & Bash. Notably, one of their clients this year was The Band’s Visit, which won the 2018 Tony Award of for Best Musical. We talk about his upbringing in Newark, New Jersey with a Jamaican and Southern background. We also discuss how his family’s professional m...

Rich talks to Derek Roberts, a designer and art director currently living in England. His family came to the UK from the Caribbean by way of St Vincent and Barbados. We talk about his early days in England and how he got his start in the product and apparel world by taking creative risks. This eventually got him a job in Ohio, at Abercrombie and Fitch, which led his dream job at Nike. And we also...

Ro the Show is a fighter, trainer, and an IBJJF Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Pan American Champion and World Champion. We talk about his upbringing in the Philippines, his first memories of arriving in New York as a child, how he started fighting, and what it means to fight. We also discuss his core values, and how he dug himself out of personal lows to become the success that he is today. Check out FirstG...

Kelly Shami is an artist and jewelry designer based in New York City, and is currently the Creative Producer at Parkwood Entertainment. We talk about growing up in New Jersey with roots in Syria and Lebanon. Also we discuss her personal fashion, her start with Nylon Magazine, her collaborations with Pintrill and Nike, and her upcoming book on cocktails. We even get to discuss why the Yankees are t...

Andre Andreev is a director raised on action movies and pick-up soccer. In his native Bulgaria his mother managed a local movie theater while his father worked as a graphic designer. We discuss how he came to the United States, by way of Seattle, how he met his business partner Dan Covert and started Dress Code, and how their recent experience at the Tribeca Film Festival was with their short film...

In the Season 3 opener, Rich talks to Ida Woldemichael, a Harlem based creative director with Everytown. The heart of her work is design for political activism, and branding. Her work spans from design with top-tier agencies to notable non-profit organizations including: Brooklyn Children’s Museum, the Clinton Foundation, Hillary for America, NYC Votes, and USAID. We talk about her family's origin...

Alexandra Beener is a producer living and working in New York City. She was born in Seoul, Korea and was adopted into a non-Korean family as a baby. We talk about the complexities of foreign adoption, her identity issues involving race at a young age, and the what it means to be a minority even in your own family. Check out FirstGenBurden.com for all the episodes Follow us @ firstgenburden and Ric...

Joe Carolino is an Art Director and Designer at Nike in Oregon. He grew up in a Vietnamese household in Washington's section 8 housing and only realized his true Filipino parentage as an adult at 22. We talk about how he joined a gang at nine years old, found love in graphic design, and what the discovery of his biological father's history as a drug dealer in the 80's meant to him and his family....