Beyond the Label

Founder of sustainable period care company LUÜNA Naturals and Forbes 30 under 30 awardee Olivia Cotes-James shares with us her journey to revolutionize period care from first-hand experiences with the negative effects with traditional period products, to recognize the lack of education in this area, she thrives on tackling the taboo on the female body and creating a loving and supportive community...

Jenny Nguyen, aka @heytherejenny from Outer Limits Tattoo from Long Beach, California (the oldest tattoo shop in America), shares with host Leanne about her journey to becoming a tattoo artist. The intensive apprentice training and background in arts paved Jenny's way to creating fun and original tattoos. She also shares her story as a second-generation Vietnamese American, choosing to follow...

Co-founder of the fashion brand Tove & Libra, Christine Chow, shares with us behind the scenes of the sustainable fashion industry. From the realities of using sustainable products to educating the public herself, she talks about the difficulty of being truly sustainable in a society where companies prioritize economic growth instead of saving the environment. As a mother herself, she also sha...

Clinical counselor Bhavna Bharvani shares with our host her self-exploration journey. From being a banker to a counselor, moving to San Francisco to find possibilities, coming out to Asian parents as a bisexual, and now helping to grow the LGBTQ+ community... Bhavna has gone beyond the label and stereotypes in every way. She opens up about leaving her comfort zones, giving herself permission to fi...

Leading photographer, Hilary Chan shares her journey with us from she was taking photos with her dad's film camera, to self-studying photography in her Paris apartment for ten hours, to creating timeless works with her vision and photography skills. With the female silhouette and French culture as inspirations, Hilary creates a safe space for her clients to express their sensual and feminine...

Soul coach and energy healer, Coco Alexandra dives deep into a soulful conversation with our host Leanne. Coco talks about the reality as a mixed-race kid when she was young, how she was kicked out of school three times, and the path she went on to search for her identity. During her journey, Coco learned to heal from past trauma and pain, to break out of the victim triangle, and to embrace her in...

Founder of the blue color tea leaf company, Blue Brew Tea, Kim Le, shares her story of how she took a leap of faith to quit her stable job at an international bank in Australia and moved all the way to Hong Kong to find her new passion. She talks about the ups and downs of being a female entrepreneur. Including her parent's expectations of success, to quit her job without a backup plan, suppo...

Hong Kong-based organization Aama Ko Koseli is on a mission to raise awareness of gender inequality and tackle the taboo against the female body.  Chairperson Bidhya Shrestha and secretary Sharon Rai shared with our host their experiences and struggles while traveling to Nepal to raise awareness on menstrual hygiene and their ongoing fight for gender equality through education, empowerment, and su...

Hong Kong-based Pop/R&B singer-songwriter WANYI shares her experience in the music industry so far, from studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston to overcoming challenges she faced creating music during COVID-19. She also reflects on her journey in songwriting, being a female in the music industry, and offers some advice to younger musicians. Leave a review or DM us on In...

Dating coach, relationship expert, and TED talk speaker, Valentina Tudose answers all your deepest questions on relationship, love, and sex.  Valentina and the host Leanne explored topics on commitment issues, why we go back to trouble exes, confusing love with good sex, how dating apps and social media affects modern relationships, sex positions for everyone, how to truly be yourself in a relatio...

The mastermind behind Melbourne and Hong Kong based brand 'A freaking dumpling,' Kingsley Wong, talks about the story behind the hype of this little dumpling. Kingsley started his PR journey when he was in university and went through a few tough years to balance out what he loved to do and what he had to do in school. He shares his expertise in public relations and marketing, as well as...

Star tutor and edutainer Louise Pang shares her decade-long journey of being in the spotlight as one of the very few female educators in the industry, and advocating women empowerment with an all female-led team while bringing difficult topics into classrooms. In this podcast, she shares insights on ways to handle criticisms and rise above negativity. She also walks us through her non-profits init...

Director of lifestyle services at  Quintessentially Lifestyle Gisele Tung shares insights on finding opportunities and staying grounded in a luxury hospitality industry after working in Mandarin Oriental, JW Marriot, and now a world-renown luxury concierge service.  As a leader, she brings a mindfulness perspective to the workplace and inspires others to have faith and find their own values. 

Principal Strategy and Insights Manager at Google Hong Kong, Iris Yang, talks about her journey of moving across fields and countries to find herself and her roots. Never having lived in Asia before, Iris shares how she overcomes the cultural and language barrier and fear of moving alone, as well as insights on moving out of your hometown and cultivating space for yourself.

Executive Director of LifeHub Ltd, Candice Chan, shares her journey of transforming modern healthcare in Hong Kong. With a nutritionist background, she noticed the flaws in the traditional approach to health. From there, she stands strong with her belief, along with tremendous hard work to create the leading wellness institute.  Tune in for tips on starting a business, how to choose the opportunit...

With over 300k followers on Instagram, Jessie Li has transformed her life since leaving the world of investment banking to travel the world as a wanderlust worthy style, beauty and lifestyle influencer. Tune in as she shares the reality behind the lens. From standing up for herself so she could follow her dreams, to finding her niche in a competitive sector, Jessie has some tips on personal brandi...

Leanne Lam interviews Moonie Chu, Hong Kong team fencer, and bronze medalist in the Asian Games. Moonie shares the unknown hardship behind being a professional athlete that involves balancing school and work, transforming a hobby to a dream job, combatting cyberbullying, finding support, gaining self-acceptance, and finding herself.

Welcome to Beyond the Label by the Blu Journal where we are not defined by labels or society. Prepare to be inspired guests who went on a non-traditional path. Career choices, living abroad, relationships, self-exploration and more. This is a safe space to be yourself unapologetically with no limits to what we can achieve. We are on Spotify and Apple podcast. Follow us on Instagram @theblu.journal...