Proudly Asian

International Women’s Day Special: Carla Martinesi, the Hong Kong-based Swiss-Chinese co-founder of food-saving app Chomp, joins Proudly Asian to talk about growing up half-Chinese in Europe and how she is helping Asia make progress with sustainable living. Follow Chomp on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chompfoodwaste/ Follow Carla on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlamartinesi/ ----...

International Women’s Day Special: Mizuki Hsu, a Japanese DEI practitioner born and raised in Kyoto, lost her ability to walk at the age of two. She subsequently started living her life in a wheelchair and once had no clue if she could have her own family. Now married to a Taiwanese husband with two kids, Mizuki works with multinational corporations to implement diversity, equity and inclusion str...

Born with the condition of achondroplasia or genetic dwarfism, Singaporean advertising strategist Ci En Lee might be the shortest person anywhere but he often towers over others with his optimism and ambition to make a difference. He joins Proudly Asian this week to talk about his experience living in different cities in Asia (and how accessible each city is), and how he hopes to change the stigma...

Lydia Choi-Johansson, IKEA Marketing & Communication Intelligence Leader, joins us to talk about what globalisation really means when international brands enter local markets. Born and raised in South Korea, Lydia lived in cities across different regions and is currently based in Sweden, she also tells us about the work she does as a researcher informing IKEA’s product development by looking into...

On this Valentine’s Day, we speak with Dawoon Kang, co-founder of dating app Coffee Meets Bagel, about how she entered the business of love, the science of dating, and whether technology can reduce bias. The South Korea-born and US-educated entrepreneur also talks to us about how Coffee Meets Bagel makes the four-day work week work. ------------------------------------------------------- Stay Conn...

Engadget Chinese Editor-in-Chief Richard Lai found his love for gadgets when he got an electric shock at the age of five while poking his finger into power sockets for no reason. The tech journalist for one of the most well known tech publications joins us this week to talk about how he began his career (after destroying a few desktops and phones during his childhood), the online commenting cultur...

Ben An, co-host of Worst Asian Podcast, joins Isabel to kick off Season 3 with his hot takes on traditional Korean culture and growing up Asian American in New York. The Flushing, Queens heartthrob also shares the 5-year plan for his love life, and the bromance between him and his very Type A podcast co-host. ------------------------------------------------------- Stay Connected with Proudly Asian...

In this anniversary special, friends of Proudly Asian from around the world send in their messages and blessings. Our host Isabel also takes a stroll down memory lane to talk about how the podcast started, the challenges, and 2023 aspirations for Proudly Asian. ------------------------------------------------------- Stay Connected with Proudly Asian: Website - https://proudly-asian.com Instagram -...

We have come to the end of Season 2! In this solo episode, Proudly Asian Podcast Host Isabel closes out the year with some key moments from Season 2. ------------------------------------------------------- Stay Connected with Proudly Asian: Website - https://proudly-asian.com Instagram - https://instagram.com/proudly.asian Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtBzoAJQGbEB_K9Se8AlYlQ Send us...

“Wow, you got fat!” - In Asian cultures, commenting on one’s weight is often considered a “harmless” way to greet people. But that does not make it okay! While fat shaming is not just an Asian issue, some values and practices in Asian cultures are actually feeding into a toxic body image that causes unrealistic expectations of how one’s body should look.  Body Banter Founder Steph Ng joins Pr...

Sarinya Srisakul, a Thai-American firefighter who is also New York’s first Asian American female firefighter, joins Proudly Asian to talk about the craziest moments in her firefighting career, and how she keeps AAPI womxn in New York safe with the community group that she founded - Angry Asian Womxn. Follow Angry Asian Womxn on Instagram: https://instagram.com/angryasianwomxn ---------------------...

In this magazine style episode, we take a deeper look into identity and why some people just fail to address their unconscious bias. Featured Speakers: (Names shown in order of appearance in the episode) - Leanne Wang - Video Director - Jacqueline Garwood - Digital Marketer - Jazmine Sachiko Ross - Sachi Coastal Founder - Sandra Jim - People and Culture Manager ------------------------------------...

Jazmine Sachiko Ross was born and raised in Ishikawa, Japan and only went through Japanese public schooling her entire life. While born to British parents, the founder of Sachi Coastal never lived in the U.K. and is a native speaker in both Japanese and English. Despite her Japanese upbringing, Jazmine has always been seen as an outsider in her hometown because of her appearance. She joins us to t...

Born and raised in Presque Isle, Maine, Chinese-American Digital Creator Bonnie Zeng grew up in a town with not much diversity but potato fields. After living in Boston and San Francisco, she made the bold move to Asia during the pandemic to get to know her heritage. She talks to us about finding her roots by attempting to learn Cantonese and meeting distant relatives i tn the giant maze of skyscr...

Why is it important to find a therapist who is culturally competent with you? In continuation of our Mental Health Day special series, we speak with Hong Kong-Indian Writer Kopal Manglik about her journey battling bi-polar disorder and why there’s no right or wrong when it comes to finding a therapist or treatment that works for you. Having worked and researched in the area of organisation psychol...

Hong Kong entrepreneur Gianne Chan was diagnosed with depression during her high school days. Since then, she’s been on an uphill battle against various mental issues which eventually led her to found her own wellness brand Calmed & Co. As one of the early suppliers of CBD products in Hong Kong, the city's recently announced CBD ban means Gianne has to pivot her business to become the first br...

As part of our World Mental Health Day special, Scottish-Chinese Entrepreneur and Soul Coach Coco Alexandra joins us to talk about what you can do when someone oversteps your boundaries, and how you can take your power back by setting healthy boundaries with your family, at work, and in relationships or friendships. Because when we don’t have boundaries in place, it can easily cause burnout. This...

To mark the very occasions of Mental Health Day and Halloween in October, we are talking burnout in the Asian context, with a Halloween twist. Our guest Rachel joins us to list out some workplace worst practices and how to find THAT balance in life - unfiltered, with no reservations - all in an action-packed hour that’s good for your mental health. -------------------------------------------------...

In this solo episode, Proudly Asian Podcast Host Isabel talks about the mission of Proudly Asian after recalling an awkward exchange in California. In a special Proudly Mini Asian segment, Isabel asks an 11 year-old Asian American boy what it means to be proudly Asian.  Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/proudlyasian  Send Us a Voice Message: https://anchor.fm/proudlyasian/message

Best Chitsanupong Nithiwana, a Thai transgender youth human rights defender, joins Proudly Asian to talk about her journey as a transgender woman in Chiang Mai. The founder of Young Pride Club also talks about how she took her fight for the protection and rights of transgender refugees in Thailand to the United Nations which eventually drove UN experts to call for the Thai government’s response.&n...

Dr. Daisy Tam, an associate professor from the Hong Kong Baptist University’s Department of Humanities and Creative Writing, joins Proudly Asian to answer questions about modern Asian identities and racism in Hong Kong that’s unlike anywhere else. The Fulbright Scholar also talks about the food waste issues in Hong Kong that she tries to solve by building an app called Breadline. Follow Daisy's wo...

Jennifer Elizabeth, an Indonesian product manager based in Helsinki, joins Proudly Asian to talk about her jet-setting life that’s taken her from Jakarta to Hong Kong, Singapore, the US, and currently the Scandinavia as well as the top-notch IG boyfriend behind her social media page. The Jakarta native tells us about the Indonesian community in Finland, how she survived the long winter in Scandina...

Christina Ho, a Hong Kong airline pilot, shares her journey from working as a fashion designer, flight attendant to an airline pilot. With only 5% of the world’s commercial pilots being women, Christina also answers common biased questions about female pilots.  Follow Christina on Instagram: https://instagram.com/christtinaho ------------------------------------------------------- Stay Connec...

#ProudlyAsianFoodMonth: “Is Lao food the same as Thai food?” Saeng Douangdara, Lao-American personal chef and food instructor, joins us this week to answer all the questions that you might have about Lao cuisine. Having been born in a refugee camp in Thailand after his parents fled Laos, the Wisconsin-raised “Rat in the Kitchen” TV show contestant also talks about how he uses food as a catalyst to...

#ProudlyAsianFoodMonth: Queenie Man, CEO of Hong Kong-based social enterprise The Project Futurus, joins Proudly Asian to talk about how she is changing the perception of ageing by creating Captain Softmeal - an initiative that turns dim sum and chicken rice into soft meals that are easy to chew to empower the elderly and those who suffer from difficulties swallowing solids. Follow Captain Softmea...