The Asian American Athlete

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews former D1 All-American swimmer Zach Fong.  During the episode, Zach talks about his family’s background, where he grew up, playing sports in his childhood, and his early swimming days (2:01).  He talks about his weekly training regimen in high school (9:26), his college recruiting experiences, and how he landed at the University of Virginia (11:24). He...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews former D1 college football player Justin Yoon. During the episode, Justin talks about growing up in Korea and Tennessee as well as playing sports in his childhood (2:52), how he first got started playing football (8:06), and when he started pursuing football as his primary sport (12:34). He gives us an inside look at what his training program looked lik...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews sports agent Lenny Lun about his journey working in the sports world. During this episode, Lenny talks about his background (2:27) and his career path, including landing his first job in sports with the San Francisco 49ers and why he decided to start his own sports agency representing women’s professional soccer players (3:46). He discusses the process...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews Scott Akasaki - the Director of Team Travel for the Los Angeles Dodgers - about his journey in sports.  During this episode, Scott talks about the vibe and buzz around the Dodgers during spring training (2:55).  He also shares about his family background, growing up in LA, and the role that sports played in his childhood (4:26). He discusses his experie...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews Vanderbilt tennis player Anessa Lee.  During this episode, Anessa talks about where she grew up, how she got her start with tennis, and playing tennis during her childhood (3:31).  She also shares about her high school tennis playing days (8:51), her experience with college recruiting, and how she landed at Vanderbilt (11:28).  She gives us an inside lo...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews Don Wakamatsu, the first Asian American manager in Major League Baseball history.  During the episode, Don shares about his family’s background, growing up in the Bay Area, and how he got started playing baseball (2:43).  He talks about his college baseball experience at Arizona State (6:34), getting drafted and becoming a pro baseball player (9:28), an...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews former pro soccer player Brian Ching. During the episode, Brian talks about his soccer journey, including how he got started playing soccer, his youth soccer experiences, playing college soccer at Gonzaga, and getting drafted into Major League Soccer (3:05). He also discusses his training regimen, the habits that he developed to become a better player (...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews entrepreneur and former pro baseball player Hyung Cho. During this episode, Hyung shares about his family’s background, his childhood experiences playing sports, and how he got started playing baseball (2:48). He talks about his youth baseball days, developing athletically (7:42), his experience as an Asian Canadian athlete (12:48), and his experiences...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews UC-Irvine women’s basketball player Nikki Tom.  During this episode, Nikki shares about her family’s background, where she grew up, and how she got her start playing basketball (3:45). She talks about how playing with older kids during her childhood helped her become a better player (4:42), her experience as an Asian American basketball player (7:20), a...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews Colleen Matsuhara on her incredible basketball journey as a player and coach.  During the episode, Colleen shares about her family’s background, where she grew up, and how got started playing basketball (2:59). She also talks about her basketball playing career, including playing collegiately at Sacramento City College and Sacramento State (4:56) and he...

Host Justin Hong is joined by Patrick Pratumrat on the 2023 edition of “Prospect Watch,” which showcases and celebrates up-and-coming Asian American athletes. On this episode, they shine the spotlight on 12 electrifying, young baseball, basketball, and football players they’re excited about: college football quarterbacks Indiana Wijay (4:30) and Noah Kim (7:18), college basketball players Kaitlyn...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews Alaina Woo, Head Coach of the Pomona-Pitzer women's basketball team, on her basketball journey as a player and coach.  During the episode, Alaina talks about her family’s background, where she grew up, and how she got started playing basketball (3:35).  She also shares about her high school basketball career at Sequoia High School in Redwood City,...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews Margueritte Aozasa, Head Coach of the UCLA women's soccer team, about her playing and coaching career. During the episode, Margueritte shares about her family’s background, playing sports in her childhood, and how she got started playing soccer (3:40).  She talks about her training regimen and her development as a soccer player (6:42) and notable m...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews Garrett Furubayashi, the Director of Basketball Operations for the University of San Francisco men’s basketball team, about his journey in sports. During the episode, Garrett talks about his family’s background, where he grew up, and his experience playing sports (2:23) as well as how he broke into the sports industry while he was still in high school,...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews basketball coach Anthony Santos on his basketball coaching journey and experiences. During this episode, Anthony talks about his family’s background and how he got into basketball (3:25) as well as his basketball playing career (10:32). He details his career path with the Cal-State Fullerton men’s basketball program (12:56), what his typical day looks l...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews Tamara Inoue, the Head Coach of the UC-Irvine women's basketball team, on her basketball journey as a player and coach. During the episode, Coach Inoue talks about growing up in Hawaii and how she got her start playing basketball (3:10) as well as her high school career at Laguna Hills High School in California, including winning a state championsh...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews award-winning communications expert and former ESPN SportsCenter anchor Cary Chow about his journey and sports media career. During this episode, Cary talks about his family’s background, where he grew up, and why he wanted to pursue a career in media (2:24) as well as the importance of sports in his life (5:07). He shares about the early days of his me...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews former D1 college basketball player Ace Watanasuparp about his journey and basketball career. During this episode, Ace talks about his family’s background, growing up in New York, and his early experiences playing basketball  (3:16). He also discusses his high school career at the Bronx High School of Science (9:53), his experience with college recruiti...

On this episode, host Justin Hong interviews former pro basketball player Benji Kil about his athletic journey and basketball career. During this episode, Benji talks about his family’s background, growing up in Michigan, and playing a bunch of sports in his childhood (2:09), finding basketball when he was living in Los Angeles pursuing child acting, and the early days of his basketball career (6:...

On this episode, host Justin Hong interviews quarterback Jameson Wang about his athletic journey and football career. During the episode, Jameson talks about his background, playing sports in his childhood, and his early experiences playing football (3:20). He also shares his experiences playing high school football in LA (8:40), working with trainers to develop his football skills and athletic ab...

On this episode, host Justin Hong interviews basketball coach Marshall Cho about his story and coaching journey. Marshall talks about his family background, immigrating from South Korea to Oregon as a child, and how he first fell in love with basketball (3:07), his playing career and breaking stereotypes as a 3-sport varsity athlete & team captain (5:09), and starting his career off as an educ...

On this episode, host Justin Hong interviews Christian Juzang about his basketball career and journey. Christian talks about his backstory, growing up in LA, and the beginnings of his basketball journey (2:45), how coaches and trainers helped him with his basketball development (6:33), how he landed at Viewpoint School to play high school basketball (10:53), and his high school basketball experien...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews former pro basketball player and coach Sabatino Chen about his athletic journey.  During the interview, Sabatino shares his backstory, family background, and when he started playing basketball (2:43), his high school basketball experience at Monarch High School in Colorado and how he elevated his game by playing with more experienced players (5:10), whe...

In this episode, host Justin Hong interviews former college football player Pranav Iyer about his football journey, sports journalism career, and media company AMAZN HQ, which covers and highlights Asian American athletes. During the interview, Pranav talks about his family’s background, growing up in the Bay Area, and how he first discovered football (2:50), the early days of his football career...

On this episode, host Justin Hong interviews former world champion baton twirler Monica Lee. During her illustrious career, Monica competed for years on national and international stages and became a world champion baton twirler.  In this episode, Monica talks about her childhood and how she got started with baton twirling (2:10) and educates us about baton twirling as a sport, including what bato...