In this episode, I interview Randall Pich. He's the CEO and designer of many brands including the of the most famous lifestyle/action/fitness brand in the world, Live Fit. Apparel. Randall was born and raised in Long Beach, California and the son of Cambodian Refugees. We have a great conversation from start to finish and I'm inspired by his work ethic and mindset. Randall shares his life experiences, his failures, and gives a lot valuable lessons on how to be a successful entrepreneur. He took me on his journey from his career as a personal trainer, dropping out of college to pursue Live Fit Apparel full time as it was gaining popularity. By the time he was 25, he became a self made millionaire. Now he's 33 and shows no sign of slowing down. Live Fit is here to stay as well as Top Threads, Skylab Prints, and everything Randall touches turns to gold. For more info on Randall Pich visit his website at https://www.randall-pich.com/

In episode 50, I interview Thina better known as OG Kpop Stan on Youtube. Thina is a retired Hip Hop Dancer. She danced for, trained, and performed with 4 different dance teams. Her first dance team who started my "dance life" was with Marvelous Motion (who later became IaMmE, America's Best Dance Crew Season 6 Champions). A lot of her dance training came from Di "Moon" Zhang, Brandon "747" Harrell, Emilio Dosal, SOREAL, and attending many dance classes in Houston and L.A. (from amazing local talent to widely-known talents such as Parris Goebel, Keone Madrid, Kyle Hanagami, Lando Wilkins, Mister Wiggles, Rino Nakasone). Thina and I share a great conversation and touched on a lot of important topics such as her battle with Lupus, dealing with bullying, how K-Pop Saved her life, addressing cultural appropriation in K-Pop and Korean music, the growth of her youtube channel with reaction videos, and many more. Thina and I relate because are representing for our Khmer folks doing what we love on our platform. 

n this episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chef Brynn Gibson. She is a contestant on this season (episode 20) of Hell's Kitchen - Young Guns on Fox with Gordon Ramsey and a cast of young Chefs. Brynn was adopted from a Khmer orphanage at a young age and has Khmer/Vietnamese roots. She was raised in Virginia and move to Rhode Island to attend Johnson & Whales University, a highly ranked Culinary School. We talked about her love for cooking and what made her want to become a chef and a variety of different topics such as dealing with anxiety, the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes, starting her own dumpling business and her journey into Hells Kitchen as a season 20 contestant. Hell's Kitchen - Young Guns was filmed in 2019 and the winner will take home $250,000 and earn a job as an executive chef at one of Gordon Ramsay's many restaurants in Las Vegas. Lets support Brynn by rooting for her on the show and following her on her social media

In episode 48, I interview Chef Diane of Portland Oregon. Diane grew up in Southern California eating her grandmother’s Cambodian cooking, influenced by Chinese, Vietnamese and French styles prior to the Khmer Rouge. With experience in top-tier Michelin starred restaurants such as Statebird Provisions in San Francisco to creating the pop-up, Sunshine Noodles, during a pandemic, Diane’s projects rooted in a sense of constant evolution and adaptation to her community.  Prey and Tell is the latest concept that drives Chef Lam’s modern and accessible vision for Cambodian cuisine. Her highly distinctive Cambodian heritage and imaginative California roots is a clear reflection of her unique life story.

In this episode, I interview Malay Kim. Malay is a Martial Arts Stunt Choreographer, Sag-Aftra Actor, and Film Maker. He played roles in the Iron Fist episode Black Tiger Steals Heart. He was also an assistant fight coordinator in the Iron Fist episodes Under Leaf Pluck Lotus, Immortal Emerges from Cave, Felling Tree with Roots, The Blessing of Many Fractures, The Mistress of All Agonies, Lead Horse Back to Stable, Bar the Big Boss, Dragon Plays with Fire, The Fury of Iron Fist, The City's Not for Burning, This Deadly Secret, Target: Iron Fist, Heart of the Dragon, The Dragon Dies at Dawn, Morning of the Mindstorm, Citadel on the Edge of Vengeance, War Without End and A Duel of Iron, an assistant fight choreographer in the Iron Fist episodes The Fury of Iron Fist, The City's Not for Burning, This Deadly Secret, Target: Iron Fist, Heart of the Dragon, The Dragon Dies at Dawn, Morning of the Mindstorm, Citadel on the Edge of Vengeance, War Without End and A Duel of Iron, a covering stunt coordinator in the Iron Fist episodes Morning of the Mindstorm and Citadel on the Edge of Vengeance, a second unit fight coordinator in the Iron Fist episode The Fury of Iron Fist and a stunt performer in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the Iron Fist episode Eight Diagram Dragon Palm.  He was also a stunt double for Sacha Dhawan in the Iron Fist episodes Black Tiger Steals Heart, The Fury of Iron Fist, The City's Not for Burning, This Deadly Secret, Target: Iron Fist, Heart of the Dragon, The Dragon Dies at Dawn, Morning of the Mindstorm, Citadel on the Edge of Vengeance, War Without End and A Duel of Iron. In this episode you'll learn about Malay's humble beginnings, Taekwon-Do Background and how became a part of EMC fight crew. Malay hopes to inspire the next generation to continue leveling up in the Martial Arts and entertainment world.

In this episode, I interview a US Marine Veteran turned Hollywood Actress & Stunt Women, Leaphy Khim. Leaphy was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Cambodian genocide survivors. At a very young age she was taught the importance of her culture, language, and traditions. She was raised to be strong, independent, and self sufficient. Her parents valued education and relentlessly drilled into her head to be the best at anything she wishes to pursue in life. For 8 years, she enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Her proudest achievement was when she was deployed with a military joint task force in aid of a humanitarian project in Macaracas, Panama. She helped with the construction of multiple classrooms and community centers in a small town outside of Panama City. Today she remained passionate in helping people from all walks of life. She is energetic, highly motivated, and hard working, with a strong commitment to help and empower people to lead a healthy lifestyle. She offers martial arts and basic self defense classes. In addition, Leaphy help military veterans by connecting them with benefits, resources, counseling, and linking them with different community organizations. With her extensive background in fighting and weapons/combat training she practices her craft in Hollywood as an actress and stuntwoman. Disciplines she specializes in include kickboxing, western boxing, Eskrima, and Brazilian Jujitsu. Her most notable role was in “Let It Go” in which she was awarded Best Actress at the GI Film Festival in 2018. Her most current projects include a costar role and stunt work on ABC The Rookie and Grey’s Anatomy. In summary, Leaphy is a strong, dedicated woman with a compassionate side that is not afraid to drop everything and lend a helping hand. In this episode, you'll learn about her military experiences, the challenges she had to overcome, and how she got into Hollywood as a stunt women and actress. Leaphy hopes to inspire the youth and to let them know that nothing is impossible and that dreams do come true, you just gotta shoot your shot!

In this episode, I catch up with someone dear to me. Terry Oup is a childhood friend of mine. In April, I visited friends and family for Khmer New Year month and during my last couple days, I decided to visit Terry who I haven't seen in over 5 years. We hung out like old times and did some adventurous things in Vancouver Washington like e-scootering a 17 mile trail, did some VR gaming at his house, and I met his baby Angelina for the first time. It was a much needed visit and I was surprised he wanted to do this podcast with me because he's not on social media like that anymore but it was a fun convo and I hope you guys enjoy this episode. It was awesome hearing Terry overcome adversity, from living in a garage, to moving into a house and his experiences and love for working in the gambling industry as a black jack/poker dealer. We talk about how fatherhood changed him for the better and how he met his soul mate via an online streaming app. 

I had the pleasure of interviewing Mayly Tao aka @donutprincessla who is the owner of the world famous @dksdonuts. She was featured on The award winning Donut King Documentary about her great Uncle Ted Ngoy who started the Cambodian Donut boom in California in the early 80s. Mayly Tao is LA’s self-proclaimed Donut Princess, owner of DK’s Donuts & Bakery in Santa Monica, CA and Donut Princess Los Angeles, a donut bouquet delivery concept. She is the host of her podcast Short N’ Sweet. You can find her ”Securing the Box” at @maylytao, @donutprincessla, @dksdonuts, @foodfortheclout. She is very heavily involved in community work, such as completing the building of a temple in Cambodia and creating her new initiative, Lunch boxes for Love, to help feed front line health care professionals in Los Angeles during COVID-19. She is currently a social media marketing consultant, helping others create revenue through social media and branding. Stream the Donut King now on Hulu & Amazon Prime and make sure y’all visit @dksdonuts for some delicious donuts 🍩

In this episode, I interview Karuna long. Long is the owner of Oliver's Twist, a hip cocktail bar located in Seattle's Phinney Ridge neighborhood. He took over in 2017 after working there or 4 years serving the neighborhood signature cocktails and earned the title of "Seattle's Best Bartender" in 2018. We talked about his humble beginnings coming from Long Beach to moving to Seattle and his love for music. What makes Oliver's Twist extra special is that he and his family decided to add khmer food to their menu and and instantly became a big hit in the neighborhood. The idea came from their family pop ups and it help them get through the pandemic. Also the support from the community has been tremendous as they help reach their gofundme goal to keep Oliver's Twist open during the peak of the pandemic. Karuna hopes to inspire others to keep khmer cuisine alive and push the culture forward, while supporting other small businesses. He believes the more the merrier, when it comes to Khmer food businesses and we are stronger together.

In this episode, I interview Tracy Guan. Tracy is a Chinese-American author, mom and educator. She is the author of the new children's book Lunchtime with Samnang, which is a vibrant and multigenerational story about her son learning about his Cambodian cultural roots through the love of food and travel. Tracy wrote this book due to the limited representation available in children's literature, especially featuring main characters of Southeast Asian descent. She decided to write this book so that her son could grow up seeing himself in a story that resembles him, his family and his everyday experiences.   Tracy has always been captivated by the power of storytelling. Born to hardworking and resilient first-generation immigrant parents, she grew up falling in love with the powerful words and stories that nurtured her household. Tracy is inspired by her family and the multicultural community she serves.  When she is not working as a bilingual speech-language pathologist, Tracy enjoys spending time outdoors with her loved ones.  Follow her and support her below and stay up to date with new podcast episodes weekly by subscribing and hitting the notification bell.    Pre-Order your book now: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/216377384/lunchtime-with-samnang

In this episode, I chat with Chanda Mau. She's a Khmer-American Chef/Foodie based in Austin Texas. Chanda is very an upbeat personality and is always bringing people together with food. She often does pop ups in Texas, where she'll cook Khmer egg rolls and sells them to raise funds for various causes. She helped the people affected by the tragic snow storm that battered the state. On Sunday, May 23rd she will be helping with another pop up with Austin Pets Alive which helps people adopt dogs. She will be serving Cambodian Glass noodles with pork so if you would like to donate to the cause you can do via Venmo: chanda-mau. She hopes to one day make her very own cook book and help spread Khmer Cuisine to the masses.

In this episode, I interview Mz Rada Darling of Phoenix AZ. She was born in Cambodia and grew up in Long Beach, California. Rada talks about her challenges early on in her life and dealing with divorce. We chat about the struggles of growing up Khmer in America, her favorite Khmer foods, her love life, her real estate career, and more recently her role in Vh1's - Couple's retreat where her boyfriend and famous Comedian, Michael Blackson go on a retreat to take part in honest and uncensored conversations about how the celebrity factor can challenge a relationship, the importance of communication and the pain of heartache. The show will also dive into social issues including mental health, racial injustice and prison reform. It was really cool to sit down and learn more about Rada and talk openly about what most people are uncomfortable talking about. Make sure ya'll follow Rada on Social media and watch her on Vh1's Couples Retreat.

In this episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sophia Kao. Sophia is Cambodian singer/songwriter from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She's a rising star at Baramey Production, a power house record label and premium talent management agency with an all-star roster that includes artist such as Laura Mam, Vannda, Khmeng Khmer, Songha, Polarix, and RXTHY. I learned a lot of Sophia and I'm impressed not only her knowledge of music, but also her understanding of how to be successful in the music industry and how important it is to have a solid team behind you. I told her how much I loved her single "Time" which features Vannda who is making a name for himself as one of Cambodia's top artist. Time, has reached over 1M views in just a little over a week and hit the the #3 spot on the iTunes top 100 Chart in Cambodia. The #1 spot also belongs to the Baramey Crew, which made history in Cambodia as the 1st Music video to hit 1M views in less then 24 hrs. The historical smash hit "Time To Rise" made noise worldwide with hundreds of youtube reaction videos, and more recently a feature by HipHopDX Asia. What made this collaboration epic was that it featured Master Kong Nay on the Chapey (khmer traditional instrument) and he was singing back and forth with Vannda. It was the perfect combination of the old & new generation. It makes me proud and the rest of us watching & so happy to see that there are no rules to making great music and you can Rap with meaningful lyrics alongside "Ah Yie" and Chapey music. This interview was fun but also short and sweet. It's only a matter of "Time" where Sophia Kao & the entire Baramey Crew will be household names internationally. I am here for it! Watch or listen to full interview to learn more about Sophia and what her plans are. 

In this episode, we celebrate Women's History Month with one of the most influential Khmer Women in Cambodia's music & dance scene. Her name is Laura Mam and she is a Khmer American singer, songwriter, music producer, and businesswoman. She is known as one of the pioneers of “Khmer Original Music Movement”  and is the founder and CEO of Baramey Productions. Laura was born in 1986 in San Jose, California to Cambodian Refugee parents. She was the oldest of 2 siblings and attended UC Berkley. Her mother & father both were singers, and her little sister played guitar so music runs in her family. Not just music, her brother Andrew was a professional dancer who had a 5 year stint with the world famous b-boy crew, Jabbawockeez. In 2018, Laura won an arts and Culture prize from the Women of the Future Awards South East Asia. Laura & I had a great conversation and we talked about important topics such as creating original music, reading business contracts, building a solid team with the same drive and focus, collaborating with artists locally and internationally while maintaining dignity, staying safe during the pandemic, and we also shared our thoughts on the anti-asian hate thats going on here in America. We hope you guys enjoy the episode and please watch/listen to this interview in its entirety because Laura drops so many valuable information, pro-tips, and gems that will help those who may need to hear it, the youth, the next generation and to show you that dreams do come true if you work hard and don't give up.

Ep 34 features a special guest from Fordham Bronx: Chhaya Chhoum, an inspiring leader, activist, community organizer, mother and executive director at @mekongnyc_ Mekong NYC. We have an important conversation about issues in our community such as anti blackness, anti Asian violence, social justice, fighting deportation, accountability, collective healing and more.

About Mekong NYC
Mekong aims to improve the quality of life of the Southeast Asian community in the Bronx and throughout New York City by achieving equity through community organizing and healing, promoting arts, culture, and language, and creating a safety net by improving access to essential social services. The Southeast Asian community in the Bronx primarily consists of Cambodian Americans and Vietnamese Americans.

Mekong is where history and culture are valued and learned, where history and culture are living, where people’s needs are met, where people are united through struggle, and where the people feel liberated. 

#chhayachhoum #mekongnyc #fordham #bronx #nyc #hellachluy #chluytalkpodcast #stopasianhate #civilrightsmovement #immigration #leadership #activism #khmer #vietnamese #lgbtq #womenempowerment #womenshistorymonth

In this episode, I interview Mona Sang of Chicago. She is a Cambodian Chef who started her catering company, specializing in Khmer cuisine to serve the Chicago community at he start of the pandemic last year. We shared a deep conversation about her family history and what it was like growing up in Chicago in the late 80s. Mona has worked professionally as a chef in the Chicago area for the past 6 years. She is originally from Cambodia, but came to the United States with her mother and her sister and two brothers as a child. They survived the Khmer Rouge genocide and made a new life in the city of Chicago. Her mother supported her family by working as a private caterer to their local community. Mona credits her mother with the unique taste she has developed in bringing Cambodian cuisine and culture to the United States. After graduating from college, Mona built a family of her own, and then started her career in the food industry with Lettuce Entertain You. Now she is bringing all her experiences forward to launch Mona Bella catering and introduce her unique flavor to the world.