Homegirl Nation

Author Lily Chu is really good at making women who romanticize their life in a big city feel as though they're not alone; that they're actually in pretty good company!  She is the proud writer of two hit romantic comedy audiobooks set in Toronto with strong asian characters in the lead.  Lily's debut rom com The Stand-In spent multiple weeks in the number one spot in Audible Top Plu...

Today’s guest is going to tell us that doing less is more. Yup! Carolyn Mackenzie has been a staple in Canadian television for over 2 decades now, which in an industry with as much competition as it has and as many changes as it does, her success really is a massive testament to her talent and how she navigates her day to day. I’m really thrilled to have Carolyn join the Homegirl Nation to talk ab...

Since May of 2020, Ssonia Ong has grown her family to seven and their family's audience from 100 followers to 9MILLION  on TikTok alone, and having just launched their Youtube Channel last year, they have now hit 2million subs. Ssonia joins me to talk about her meteoric rise, her previous career in mental health and how her experience in the field, priorities as a mother, as well as time spen...

The 2023 awards season has seen a lot more diversity and representation compared to years past.  The 95th Academy Awards has asian nominees represented in 16 categories with Everything Everywhere All At Once really leading that charge with 11 nominations but we’re still struggling to see black leads and female directors recognized. Entertainment journalist and film critic Marriska Fernandes joins...

In the past six years, content creator Alicia McCarvell has amassed a global following to the tune of over 6 million people across social media platforms.  If you haven't seen Alicia's videos you may be wondering, how did she do it?! Well, not only is her content anchored in self love and body positivity with messages of hope and truth for her followers to grasp onto, but she refuses to...

Are you keeping track of where your money is going? Do you know what your spending actually looks like? Are you prioritizing your savings accounts or setting short term or long term financial goals? Money talk isn’t for everyone I know BUT when we’re facing rising inflation, a looming recession, and increases in interest rates, it's time to have one.  In this episode, Melissa Leong believes a...

The societal pressures on women sure run the gamut - I mean they always have with how we look, how we pro create, how we carry ourselves - and does social media help things? Of course it doesn’t.  Someone who knows a lot about this topic is Anchor and Producer at Global News Toronto, Miranda Anthistle.  Like many other women who work in the spotlight, Miranda has the privilege of experiencing the...

Known for her nickname Hubby by many, Angela Phung is a leader in Toronto’s fashion scene and retail community.  On the surface her loyal followers may think that Angela is a fearless baddie who has it all but as you will hear from her personally, she’s a baddie who doesn’t necessarily want it all right now and like many of us, leans into all of her ambitious endeavours scared.  Angela joins this...

On this final episode of Season 1, I'm interviewed by my partner Keith Wallace about my journey from an aspiring entertainment reporter at 3 years old to a successful solopreneur in the world of media.  While most solopreneurs may have money on their mind and social media fame as THE stepping stone to get to the top of that paper stack, this conversation breaks down why social capital should...

Headlines and posts around a nti-asian racism has calmed down in 2022 but anti-asian hate is still very much alive. The grassroots organization Project 1907 conducted a survey earlier this year and found 943 reports of racist incidents in 2021, a 47% increase over the previous year with a 42% increase in asians reporting being coughed at or spat on.  There are countless incidents that have and con...

The thirst and demand for diverse storytelling has ramped up and some may attribute it to the success of Crazy Rich Asians which smashed the global box office in 2018 with almost $240 million.  Yes, since then we have seen an increase in diverse representation in streaming and national ads, but are we seeing it in publishing? Bestselling author of this year's smash rom com, Sari Not Sari, Son...

It's the 4 year anniversary of legalizing cannabis in  Canada and although we've seen significant progress in how weed is accepted, we're continuing to see challenges in how the industry fails to prioritize diversity and social equity.  On this episode, trend forecaster, trend curator, trend director, cannavangelist and canna feminist, Carly Stojsic, pays us a visit to talk about wo...

She's beauty and she's grace, she'll put a strap on to her face and tell you which sex toys are in fact the real deal; she's Sue Johanson! Now, if you grew up in the 90s/2000s, you may have learned a lot more about pleasure and the hottest sex products from Sue who spent decades blazing a liberating trail for today's social media sex educators, while empowering millions of...

Jennifer Hallet also known as Jeyla Loves is a successful life coach who prefers the professional title “Rule breaking life designer who’s carving life from nothing with others and for herself.”  I bet you've never heard that job title before! I know I hadn't until I spoke with Jennifer, and I'm confident that after you listen to this episode, it'll all make sense.  A challengi...

“That was a really dark time, not just because of the loss of it but because of the loss of what existed within it.”  The impact of losing a business to COVID continues to be felt by many including fitness professional and business consultant, Caleigh Rykiss, who's wellness facility in Toronto, BOLO, closed its doors at the end of 2020.  In the short time it was open, BOLO amassed a huge foll...

Ever wonder what it takes to manage talents and influencers? How about the inner workings of brand and creator relations?  According to Influencer Marketing Hub, influencer marketing as an industry is expected to become $16.4 billion industry in 2022. There's no denying its impact on community engagement and sales especially after the increase of partnerships for marketers to reach a wider au...

The first modern tampon was patented in 1931 and since then we've seen the same players in the feminine hygiene space provide individuals with the same products and ultimately the same outcome. In comes Marlow, the world's very first lubricated tampon company that's not only disrupting the discomfort many individuals put up with when that monthly insertion is required BUT also, chan...

According to a recent report by Deloitte, 53% of women surveyed claimed  increased stress levels from a year ago and burnout being the reason why.   With the residual affects of the pandemic seen and felt in different ways today, Registered Psychologist and Founder of Pathway Therapy, Cindy (Ha) Allison, joins this episode to break down common mental health struggles experienced in our post lockdo...

 Madelyn Chung is a freelance journalist, music therapist and the founder of The RepresentASIAN Project; a platform dedicated to celebrating and amplifying asian voices in media and beyond.  Her success story with RepresentAsian Project is an interesting one as Madelyn admits, unfavourable stereotypes and lack of asian success stories in mainstream media, pushed her way from owning her culture ide...

One of the best ways to learn is from each other; the ups and downs, the good and the bad.  And when it comes to all things womanhood, we know it can get complicated! So let's make things a little less complicated by getting honest with host Brigitte Truong and a new homegirl  every week you didn't know you needed to hear from.  From business failures to mental health, sex to hate crimes...