Back At It

Born and raised in the Philippines, Alma spent much of her life repeating patterns she couldn’t fully understand, patterns shaped by childhood experiences, cultural conditioning, relationships, and subconscious beliefs formed early in life. For years, she searched for change through external circumstances, believing a new environment, relationship, or achievement might finally bring the freedom sh...

Almost everyone grew up believing that if you made good grades, get into a good school, and get a good job, then you'd finally be considered successful. Then why are so many "successful" people anxious and depressed? What happens when "success" becomes your identity and your worth is tied to constant performance? In this episode of Back At It, David sits down with Hannah Fan, author of "Things I W...

When asked what is one word to describe who she is at the end of our discussion, Toni Liu eventually settled with the word rainbow. Born into an overly strict parental upbringing, Toni grew up feeling suppressed; that all of her identity and self-worth was tied into how obedient she is to her parents. As a result, she did everything her parents commanded her to: from school, to lifestyle, eventual...

Making multiple six-figures in his mid-20s, getting married, and living comfortably in NYC, Young seemingly had it all; especially in the midst of so many others trying so hard to level up their lives and gain such milestones. However beneath the surface level appearance lie a web of mental health issues and insecurities that appeared since childhood, which eventually caught up to him and led to h...

She was winning at the corporate game—money, social respect, leadership—until the game started costing her more than it gave. So Amy Zhou walked away. Now as a certified ICF life and career coach, she wants to help others realize and live their authentic selves through 1:1 coaching and workshops; ultimately intending that others break free of their own destructive patterns and live a life they tru...

Being the youngest of 7 children of immigrant refugee parents, Tou Ger Lee grew up feeling like an outcast. It wasn't until he got into dancing where he began to find his own sense of belonging in this world; tying his identity into his craft.  However, despite immersing himself in dance and making a career out of it, even winning a national dance competition, he still felt stuck as a person; no m...

Lisa is community organizer, mental health advocate, and proud daughter of Chinese immigrants. As a cofounder of the Asian Mental Health Collective, she's helped raise over $3 million for mental health in her community. As the CEO of Project EmpowerHER, Lisa uplifts the next generation of Asian women leaders through mentorship and funding. On top of all of that, Lisa is aiming for the crown at the...

"You're gonna get into every space that you want in this life, but you're gonna get in through the backdoor" These are the words that Anna Gordon heard from her high school guidance counselor, which ended up being the cornerstone of her life. Tune in on the newest episode of Back At It as David digs deeper into Anna's roots from the Soviet Union and how that shaped her growing up in America, to em...

Being introduced to art by his grandmother at the age of 4, Robert ended up finding his passion very early in life. However, being an artist wasn't synchronous with his life journey; being exposed to constant changes as he grew up. Tune in on this new episode of Back At It as David unravels the various circumstances he was placed in, and how it all led to his thriving art gallery in NYC.  TIME...

Still in denial that it's already February of 2024? Don't worry, we are too.  Tune in on the newest episode of Back At It as Anna, Miriam, and David reflect on the recent phases of their lives, and talk about what's in store for them in this new year. TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (00:51) Anna's 2021 - 2023 reflection (03:13) Miriam's 2021 - 2023 reflection (06:44) David's 2021...

On June 14, 2021, Jing Lin, the sister of Anna Lin, passed away to suicide. Tune in on this special episode of Back At It as Miriam and Anna celebrate the life of Jing Lin, and how Anna has dealt with this unexpected loss and tried her best to live courageously everyday. P.S. September is National Suicide Prevention Month. If you ever feel that your struggles are overwhelming and you have no one t...

Migrating from South Korea to America at the age of 10, Juno Roome was struggling to conform to American society while retaining everything that he learnt back in his homeland. Yet despite the difficult transition period and the trials associated with it, Juno found solace through one medium: music. Making music since a formative age, Juno was able to cultivate his own identity despite the cultura...

GET TO KNOW THE PEOPLE BEHIND BACK AT IT: Anna Lin is a creative, passionate individual who has a huge heart to empower people to be challenged and grow in whatever life stage they’re in. Born from immigrant parents from Fuzhou, she has struggled with mental health, communication, and cultural barriers within family. From her trials, she has learned that in the darkest times, there is still a silv...

Having a degree in exercise science, Jordan Biason originally started his career in the medical field. However, as many of his peers progressed in their respective careers and livelihood, Jordan found himself stuck and unhappy in his current position; ultimately feeling insecure in his own abilities. But eventually, he was able to realize his true passion in technology, and successfully transition...

Cera is a full time physical therapist and part-time student born and raised in the Philippines. She moved to NY in 2019 to pursue her career and doctorate degree. Growing up, one of her biggest challenge was being hypersensitive to everything. Now, as an adult living independently, she still carries that burden with her at work, family, relationships and friendships. It's never been an easy p...

IMVNI (IMANI) is a genre bending artist born on an unknown Planet, Planet X. Her style is a fusion of experimental R&B, Lo-Fi, Jazz , and Electronic with a sad edge. Her family left planet X in the 90s and moved to Louisiana. Her love for southern Hip Hop influences her sound with heavy bass and robust drums. IMVNI hypnotizing vocal style ranges from soft and angelic to gritty and diabolical....

NYC based musicians formed by the phrase, “there’s enough food on the table for everyone” Banquet uniquely composed of 4 NYC based musicians, who create within the genre of instrumental jazz fusion, with Tim Perkins being the lead singer and Elder Merchant being the lead drummer. Over the years, individually and collectively, Banquet has performed in various venues across NYC; Rockwood Music Hall,...

Darvin Lau is musician, entrepreneur and small business owner based in Brooklyn, NY. After witnessing children living in poverty during a trip to Hong Kong and China when he was 12 years old, he has since committed his life to the calling that God has put on his heart to speak life and truth into the world through music. This led him to eventually teach music to children; starting off with two kid...

Crystal Leung is the Event Coordinator at Georgetown University and also works as a wedding and special events planner. Aside from her 9-5 job, she hosts a podcast called “Let’s Get Candid” with organic conversations to connect people in isolation while creating a space to uplift ordinary people's voices. She also creates YouTube videos about travel and quarantine life to curate comforta...

Miriam Yoo, also known as Staryoo, is a Korean-American artist based in New York. Her passion of storytelling in anime, manga and video games led her into an interesting adventure of events. She creates illustrations, short comics and animations based on her life experiences, her faith and social issues. She also sells merchandises based on her art to raise money for fundraisers and humanitarian r...

Ayesha Raees identifies herself as a hybrid creating hybrid poetry through hybrid forms. Raees currently serves as an Assistant Poetry Editor at AAWW's The Margins and has received fellowships from Asian American Writers' Workshop, Brooklyn Poets, and Kundiman. Her first book of poetry, "Coining The Wishing Tower" won the Broken River Prize hosted by Platypus Press and judged by Kaveh Akbar, and w...

Antonio Mancini Albano is currently completing his Masters in Food Studies at NYU Steinhardt, and is the Founder & CEO of a mission-driven tech startup called  beet & pear . His background is in Environmental Science, Economics, and nonprofit food justice work with Slow Food USA and Grow NYC. Prior to this, Antonio was an apprentice cook in Michelin-starred restaurants throughout NYC....

Camille Monzon is the founder and CEO of Camila - a minimalist and high-quality activewear brand for women. Camille has a bachelors degree in psychology and went to graduate school to study counseling psychology. But after experiencing hard trials and grief, she realized she wouldn’t be able to help others if she couldn’t help herself first. So she explored another path and with this choice she hi...

Yuyu Kitamura is an up and coming Japanese actress/poet raised in the bustling city of Hong Kong and moved to New York City. She went to study at NYU Tisch School of the Arts where she studied at the Atlantic Acting School and Stonestreet Studios earning a BFA in Acting. Yuyu has worked on scripted podcasts, theatre, and independent shorts such as Electable (Athena Scriptwriting Lab) and Clique Ba...

Sean Liu is the founder and culinary director of My Sweet Grandma (MSG), a food brand focused on changing the way we approach Asian American food through examining immigration, culture, and cuisine. His earliest food memories are in the restaurant standing on a barstool, scooping rice into those iconic foldable Chinese takeout containers. But his fondest are those he shares with his Grandmother. H...