hAAPI hour with melissa cho

Some deleted moments from my lovely conversation with Puni Petals. Hear about a fun in-person encounter I had with a podcast listener and listen to me ask Puni some big sister advice on how to scale a business.

A 10-minute conversation between potter Danny and moi while the camera wasn't rolling. This is a new segment I'd love to implement in into the show—I'm excited to bring you more mini moments like this in future episodes to come yeeee.

The guest that was most of your first introductions to hAAPI hour is back for a way sillier talk this time. Join potter Danny and me as we chat about what's transpired in each of our lives since the last episode aired in late July (we each got into vehicle accidents yike), answer some random SLOW-fire questions, and reflect on the big moments of this year...while carving some cute vases. More flames included.

Welcome to PART 2 of my interview with Puni of Puni Petals (go listen to the previous episode if you haven't yet)! Witness us create a hot floral sculpture while hearing us chat about feeling lonely at work as small business owners, fostering female friendships, dreams, and turning 30.

Meet my new gyalfriend Puni, the Thai-born, Los Angeles-based florist whose list of clients includes Prada, Moschino, Glossier, and Casetify. Puni was kind enough to host our haapi hour sesh at her beautiful, light-filled home, with a dedicated flower-making room. Her eponymous business, Puni Petals, was a side pursuit while working in an interior design e-commerce startup job. But when that company closed down, Puni was thrown into her flower business full-time. Soon after that impulsive call, Amazon booked her for an event, in addition to the rush of Mother's Day orders that May. This episode is proof that life's timing is purposeful. Lean into serendipity!!! Listen to part 1 now and enjoy part 2 of our conversation this Sunday.

At 32 years old, Jawn Suzuki has lived quite a life. Being adopted at three months old in Okayama, Japan, Jawn later learned that his parents were initially offered a different child, but the mother ended up taking her child back.

Now a Hawaii native during his adolescent years, Jawn constantly found it difficult to connect with his peers and his Asian identity—he described himself as a scrawny, closeted kid who lived on top of the hill (he was Rapunzel) and persistently defied his traditional Japanese parents on being their version of the ideal Japanese son.

Jawn was 18 when he found his love for tattoos. He grew up as a painter and found that, as an artist, a canvas was difficult to walk away from. On the skin, he knew when to stop.

The year 25 was quite a dark year for Jawn. That was the year when his ex-boyfriend, out of frustration, came out for him behind his back. It was also the year when Jawn finally revealed to his parents that he had been tattooing professionally for years. The news crushed his parents, and Jawn and his parents did not speak for a year.

This is one of my most stimulating conversations on the show. Jawn and I talk about his relationship with his parents, his disconnect with his Asian identity, his coming out story, being a gay Asian tattoo artist in a white, misogynistic, and homophobic industry, and his road to sobriety. But with trauma comes healing. I'm excited for you to hear about the fruitful life that Jawn has tirelessly worked toward today.

Cheers 乾杯 🍵,

Melissa 以欣

There is a difference between being hardworking and being unreasonable. Drive safe, be well, and get some sleep hotties.

My bedroom was pretty cramped on this day. Say hello to the Goza Twins, Mikela and Jillian, the Filipino-American dynamo duo who’ve inked campaign deals with globally recognized brands such such as Meta, Lululemon, Target, and Vans.
The twins grew up in Murrieta (where another Filipino American superstar Olivia Rodrigo was born heyy), an inland-empire city in California known for its picturesque landscape, but not for its entertainment. Mikela and Jill had dreams of becoming well known figures in the commercial and entertainment industry, and made frequent 3+ hour round trip commutes to castings in Los Angeles. “It was for a lot of stuff that we didn’t get either,” Mikela admits during our conversation.
Most people associate the Goza Twins as an identical pair, but Mikela and Jill emphasize how they are their own unique individual. They spent a period of time separated due to their parents’ divorce, but overtime, found their own passions and creative sparks. Jill has dreams of appearing in films and TV shows; Mikela plans to own her own fashion and beauty businesses.
Enjoy this episode with double the guests but double the fun 👯‍♀️.
Cheers 乾杯 🍵,
Melissa 以欣

“I’m preparing to have my heart broken again.” After a grueling 7-8 week audition process for the role about to change his life, Justin Chien receives a text from the casting director saying, “Can we talk?” He goes into the conference call, fully bracing for bad news to break. After what felt like a painful eternity of cordial thank yous, the project’s writer Byron Wu, and director Kevin Tancharoen finally tell Justin, “You got the part.”

Justin stars alongside the incomparable Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh as a ruthless killer in the upcoming dark comedy gangster Netflix series (it’s quite a mouthful), “The Brothers Sun.” The show features an all-Asian writers' room and a primarily Asian cast.

Join Justin and me in discussing pursuing creative careers as Asian Americans (and the difficult talks we have with our Asian parents because of that), persevering during dry seasons, and knowing your “why” as an artist.

Cheers 乾杯 🍵,
Melissa 以欣

no one has ever made me laugh as hard as my good old friend brendan, one of the first-ever friends i made when i transferred to a new school during junior year. we have quite a special bond because we played husband and wife three times on stage throughout high school (and siblings the fourth time, which is kinda messed up). i’m thrilled that more people will be able to cackle alongside me during the newest episode of hAAPI hour (i kept crying when i was editing this episode).

brendan worked in taipei for a couple of years and recently moved to LA to start law school at UCLA, so i planned for us to have the most epic catch-up session. we talk about what he’s been up to, his impulsive decision to start busking on the streets of taipei, why the two of us are still chronically single, and the top 3 things we look for in a partner (but who knows, brendan and i may just become husband and wife in real life).

come be a fly on the wall for hAAPI hour today 🪰.

cheers 乾杯 🍵,
melissa 以欣

Hello new listeners from Instagram, TikTok, and wherever in the online multiverse! I'm glad you're here. Reintroducing myself to those who are new, sharing some hAAPI hour milestones from the past week, and sharing with you another cool podcast I was featured on. Enjoy!

There’s a high chance you’ve seen Danny’s pottery-making videos floating around the online content stratosphere, so you might already have an image of who he is: he’s an LA-based potter who’s captured thousands of [sometimes overly effusive] followers’ hearts with his one-of-a-kind pottery style, awkward charm, and kind personality.

But Danny didn’t officially start his pottery business until last year. Our conversation is split into two sections: pre-potter Danny and potter Danny. Before ceramics, Danny wore several other hats: a line cook at Izakaya, the beverage director at a swanky restaurant in Toronto, Canada’s best young sommelier in 2019, and a managing restaurant partner, to name a few. And spoiler alert, he’s not Canadian.

It’s important to bring up these past experiences because they’ve molded (pun intended) Danny into the friendly neighborhood potter he is today.

We spent the morning talking in his garage studio. Flies constantly attacked us, but it was an honor shooting in the place where he affectionately chats with his adorable elderly neighbors and does what he loves. And, of course, this interview would not be complete if I didn’t ask him what everyone is thinking: how does it feel knowing that all the girlies and gays are obsessed with you?

I look forward to you joining Danny and me for hAAPI hour.

Cheers 乾杯，

Melissa 以欣

time for a catch-up sesh seggzies. i took last week off from hAAPI hour so i could spend some happy hour outside my hAAPI hour editing bubble. i spent last week celebrating both my close friend's and i's birthdays (i swear, why are all of our birthdays in july?), so it's been a pretty jam-packed month of social events—the most social i've ever been.

can't wait to loop you in on all that's happened recently in this episode—i'm planning on doing more solo episodes in the future so i can catch up with y'all on a more personal level. but we got some amazing guests lined up, y'all aren't ready. they're so good. keep tuning in and thanks for the support

As a child of Lao and Black-Italian parents, Ariel's multifaceted identity was always broken down by others into percentages. But my guest offers a new perspective on why she regards herself as 100 percent Asian, 100 percent Black, and 100 percent Italian. And as a successful 24-year-old model who's worked with brands such as Converse, ARE YOU AM I, Wildflower Cases, Huf Worldwide, Baboon to the Moon, Boohoo, and Princess Polly Boutique, we can undoubtedly categorize her as 100 percent Slay.

XTINA GG saw a Craigslist ad one day about streaming for a [now defunct] startup, and that's how their streaming career started. At Polygon, the leading platform for video games and entertainment content, XTINA runs point on the company's social media platforms and appears regularly on Polygon's Twitch streams and longer form YouTube videos.

You may notice that XTINA is referred to as "they." XTINA goes by she/they pronouns, which may sound confusing, but hear in our conversation how they experienced genitalia dysmorphia as an adolescent and eventually decided on their nonbinary identity.

Less than a year ago, Jisu Kim was working full-time at Trader Joe's. She had decided to not pursue medical school after graduating from USC's pre-med track because she knew her calling was meant elsewhere. After years of struggling with her relationship with family, food, and self, Jisu knew she had to transform her life.

In six months, her life completely changed. Her Instagram account grew to over a hundred thousand followers in less than three months, moved out of her family's place, quit her job at Trader Joe's, and officially became a full-time content creator. Jisu's giant leap of faith paved the way for her life's biggest breakthrough (yet).

To anyone feeling that their purpose is too late to be fulfilled, I hope this episode tells you otherwise. Enjoy. 🍸

Our hAAPI hour guest today Gabby Masuda is a successful model and content creator who's worked for major brands with massive cult followings (Nike Swim, Ritual, Rare Beauty, IPSY, Pinterest). But today, Gabby opens up a previous chapter of her life that most people don't know about—getting married at 23, but knowing deep down that she was queer. Terrified of claiming her queerness in spaces that didn't welcome people like her, it took almost Gabby's entire life to finally admit her hidden identity to those closest to her, but most importantly, herself. But once her mindset shifted, her entire life did as well.

i have no idea how to encapsulate what this episode is about here. it got pretty chaotic. just listen to it pls.

It's giving Avatar—I got a water bender on the pod. Just kidding, but to celebrate the last day of Mental Health Awareness Month, I spoke with Dr. Elizabeth Nguyen—psychiatrist and waterkeeper (we'll get to that).

it was hard to condense all my favorite wellness tips into one episode. but i hope this is a helpful starting point, whether you're a wellness novice or veteran. this was so fun to record because i'm the type of friend that loves giving life hacks and wellness tips. more solo episodes to come (◡‿◡✿).

My first hAAPI hour after a two year hiatus. If you haven’t heard of Chitra Dassapa, this won’t be the last time you’ll hear her name (and her alluring alto voice). The 23-year-old pop and R&B artist is on the rise—from recording songs in her small apartment studio to a whirlwind week of getting dm’ed by a kinda big deal manager after posting a teaser of her upcoming song ‘Aftertaste” on TikTok, Chitra’s era is slowly but surely manifesting.

Join Chitra and me in navigating topics such as growing up with immigrant parents in the States, stepping away from religion, pursuing a music career as an Indian-American, and stupid toxic boys in this newest episode of hAAPI hour.

so much has happened since my last episode almost 2 years ago, but i'm diving back into hAAPI hour with a new purpose. more amazing guests of course, but i want it to be less scripted (i am a chronic scripter, whoops!) with more emphasis on health and wellness while navigating the hills and valleys of the aapi creative experience.

if you're an og listener, welcome back. if you are new here, grab a drink of your choice, and let's spend hAAPI hour together.

love u,

In this episode of hAAPI hour, I talk to Andrew Cheng, the 26-year-old director and co-founder of Mercy Creatives, a creative production studio based in Taipei, Taiwan. Andrew grew up doing creative projects but never envisioned himself working as a creative. His whole educational trajectory pointed towards the legal industry—he majored in poli-sci, interned at banking and legal internships, took the LSATs, and was set on going to law school...the whole nine yards. But when Andrew was selected to intern for GQ magazine in Taiwan when he was back home and applying to law school, that internship experience completely reshuffled his future. Now, he has a creative production studio called Mercy Creatives, and within a year, has worked with big clients such as Kavalan Whiskey, Burberry, NYLON China, and several more.

Before you hear my full chat with Andrew, I invite you to grab a drink of your choice and let’s spend happy hour together.

My guest today is Dilan Mistry, the 22-year-old entrepreneur and founder of two companies, NativeFour and Intertidal LA.

By age 17, he had started three small business ventures and was recognized in South Bay Magazine’s "19 Under 19."

Midway through his freshman year of college at Chapman University, he started NativeFour, a commercial production company. In the beginning, he was running his own one-man band, shooting, editing, directing, and producing most of his company’s projects, but he was quickly able to leverage higher budgets and eventually bring on a team. Then during his Sophomore year, he fatefully met Cameron Thuman, a film production directing major at the time, who eventually became Dilan’s NativeFour partner in crime, and to this day. Their first project together was a 60-sec film starring the famous automotive figure Magnus Walker and the film got picked up as a feature story on Porsche’s official newsroom channel. That film helped launch their careers and since then, NativeFour has produced films for top brands including Mercedes-Benz, Sotheby’s, Omaze, and more.

In addition to creating his second company lntertidal LA last year, Dilan was able to help secure a beautiful office space for both his companies in Hermosa Beach (their office is just one block away from the beach and the pier).

Before you hear my full chat with Dilan, I invite you to grab a drink of your choice and let’s spend happy hour together.

Keep up to date with our show on Instagram at www.instagram.com/haapihourpod

Welcome back to hAAPI hour, a podcast for amplifying AAPI creative voices. I’m Melissa Cho and in this episode of happy hour, I talk to Parker Jue, the 22-year old recent film school graduate and video editor. She currently specializes in editing short-form content and trailers and also freelances at a creative agency that works with fashion and commercial content. This interview you’re about to hear was recorded a little over a month ago, and at that time Parker was still interning at an entertainment agency called Mocean (and guess what? She recently was hired as a full-time assistant editor there!), who's done work for Disney (including editing trailers for Marvel Studios) HBO Max’s new Gossip Girl reboot, Netflix’s Cowboy Beebop...just to name a few. For those of you who don’t know Parker and have not had the pleasure of meeting her, after this interview, you will for sure want to sure. Before you hear my full chat with Parker, I invite you to grab a drink of your choice and let’s spend happy hour together.

My guest today is Justin Kim, the 21-year-old Korean-American artist, musician, and filmmaker who goes by the name Suave Punk as his musical alter ego. Suave Punk was actually the title of Justin’s first song, and he liked the name so much that he decided to attach it to his own creative identities. His other personas also include being someone who loves fishing, or someone who developed a Southern twang after growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood in southeastern Florida.

Justin’s discovery of his love for storytelling was when his father gifted him a point-and-shoot camera 11 years ago. He’s since been honing this craft at film school, but during freshman year of college started becoming more serious about pursuing music. Growing up listening to the radio, Justin naturally gravitated towards funk, classic rock, 80s synth-pop, and shoegaze or dream pop. He never listened to pop music as a kid, so he joked about not knowing who this Katy Perry person was when his family moved to California.

Now represented by a record agency, he’s currently working on releasing his debut EP titled Heaven is a Night Drive, a collection of five songs that he’s been writing since freshman year.

This conversation was recorded in mid-July, so we had our chat just the day before Justin published his EP’s second single and music video called, “Heat Death,” which you’ll get to listen to at the end of this episode. But at that time, we discussed his recently released first single, “Dreams of Losing Teeth,” a song born from loneliness, rejection, heartbreak, recurring dreams, and the solemn realization regarding the painful yet hopeful passage of time.

Before you hear my full chat with Justin, I invite you to grab a drink of your choice and let’s spend happy hour together.

Meet Ethan Soo, the 21-year old Cambodian-American filmmaker and current USC film student.

He’s about to direct an independent horror short titled “Swept Under;" the film follows a Cambodian American man who moves into a new house and discovers that a rug may hide sinister forces beneath its surface.

Growing up as a child of a Cambodian refugee, Ethan was always frustrated that people weren’t taught about the American bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Our understanding of history is heavily packaged, repackaged, and cherry-picked, and countless moments get swept under the rug. Through this film, Ethan hopes to shed light on this forgotten historical event by adapting it into a modern context. And of course, making audiences scream is a bonus goal.

Before you hear my full chat with Ethan, I invite you to grab a drink of your choice, maybe a stuffed animal this time for emotional support, and let’s spend happy hour together.

Happy Sunday, my dear happy hour friends! Today is a bit special because I turn 22. I'm not a personal birthday celebratory person at all, but I do have a small birthday wish and I hope you can make it a reality, which is to leave a quick hAAPI hour review on Apple Podcasts. It requires no money at all and it takes less than 3 minutes, but it would make me super glad knowing that you're helping me promote this show. If you’ve been listening to the show for over a month, I’m so grateful for your listenership, your support, and your kind words. Thank you so much for believing in this show’s potential and I’m so excited for you to see where this show goes.

Meet Peggy Kong, the superwoman owner of two small businesses, Polaris Cafe and Oakland Tea Company, a business that makes organic tea leaf blends and curated boba kits.

Before starting her two businesses, Peggy worked in corporate property management. But something major happened in her life which made her leave the corporate world and into the culinary realm.

Before you hear my full chat with Peggy, I invite you to grab a drink of your choice, and let’s spend happy hour together.

Happy Fourth of July hAAPI hour friends! I hope you all spend quality time with family and friends today—this episode fits today's theme of spending time with your favorite people. My guest today is Wenny Chou, the 22-year-old Taiwanese-Canadian and recent USC business graduate who just started Saloon 301, an exclusive dinner club that seeks to celebrate food and people. During the pandemic, Wenny had the initial thought of running a small takeout business where she would cook for her friends, but as she metaphorically fed into this idea of making food for others, the concept expanded into Saloon 301.

Although she’s currently running her newly minted restaurant in her small, college apartment, Wenny’s been able to transform her own living space into an energizing dinner club, where guests wine and dine, try out new cuisines, and often stay past midnight.

She cooks everything herself from scratch, such as the pie crust, cake mix, pesto, vegetable stock, or anything premade that could be store bought. But someone who loves cooking and is inspired by intimate, family-owned restaurants in Italy, she wishes to establish recipes that preserve the integrity of the ingredients. It brings me great joy knowing that at Saloon, not only are the original ingredients preserved and honored, but so are the new relationships you establish there.

Before you hear my full chat with Wenny, I invite you to grab a drink of your choice and let’s spend happy hour together.

Meet Kendra Ing, the 23-year-old Taiwanese-American dance artist and hopeful educator-to-be very soon. Like many other college students during the pandemic, Kendra left New York City and came back to Taiwan to escape the big apple’s alarming covid crisis. But since graduating last year, Kendra’s been based in Taipei as a freelance dancer, choreographer, model, and teacher. As a lover of environmental science, public health, social justice issues, education, and dance, this young renaissance woman hopes to bind her multidisciplinary passions together. And although she’s still trying to figure out how, throughout our conversation, I was able to learn a little more about how she’s been able to intersect her curiosities over the years.

Before you hear my full chat with Kendra, I invite you to grab a drink of your choice and let’s spend happy hour together.

Meet Corey Nguyen, the 23-year-old cinematographer based in Los Angeles and Orange County. He found his calling for cinematography after experiencing an incident on a big TV pilot. He had his first breakthrough with a documentary he shot in 2019 called "Frat House" (directed by Nancy Nguyen), which was about the last gay bar in the town of Garden Grove, California. The film was featured in The Advocate and the LA Times and had its premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Since then, Corey’s films have played at festivals such as the San Diego Asian Film Festival and the Philadelphia Asian Film Festival. He's shot documentaries in Paraguay and South Africa, and in a few months, he’ll be traveling to Vietnam, which brings us to his feature-length documentary, "Son of Vietnam: Nguyen Duc Quang," currently in pre-production.

This upcoming film is about his grandfather, Nguyen Duc Quang, who captured the hearts of millions as a singer-songwriter in Vietnam during the 60's and 70's. His music, which called for community service and patriotism, is still recognized to this day.

Despite his grandfather’s dazzling reputation decades ago, Corey was never educated on his grandfather’s history. So now Corey is determined to chronicle his grandfather’s experiences, and although there will be many hurdles to overcome, he believes that after 10 years of waiting, he’s finally ready to share his grandfather’s story.

Before you hear my full chat with Corey, I invite you to grab a drink of your choice, and let’s spend happy hour together.

My second guest is Isha Punja, the 24-year-old founder of Hut Mentality, an ethical clothing brand sourced by Indigenous and rural artisans in India. The brand's clothes are made by hand and natural materials, such as organic cotton being hand printed with vegetable dyes. Isha's designs have been notably featured in British Vogue and at New York Fashion Week. With India still facing the devastating effects of its second COVID-19 wave, I was curious to find out how Isha’s business was doing. And especially because all her artisans are based there, I wanted to learn how she and her team have been weathering this pandemic-related storm.

Recently, her business experienced some controversy on the video-sharing app, TikTok, when she defended herself from someone’s comment saying, quote, “why do you put white people in our clothes though?” Before you hear my full chat with Isha, I invite you to grab a drink of your choice, and let’s spend happy hour together.

In this first-ever episode of happy hour, I talk to freelance cinematographer and photographer, Farrah Su. She’s a 1.5 generation, Buddhist, Taiwanese-American creator, who was born in Taipei, Taiwan, grew up in Long Island, NY, and now resides in Los Angeles, CA. Other than speaking to her about her experiences in film and photography, we shared anecdotes about our Mandarin names, the Asian diaspora, and opened up about our fears and excitements about authentically telling Asian-centered stories even though we’ve grown up with a blend of Eastern and Western cultures. Before we start, I invite you to grab a drink of your choice, and let’s spend happy hour together.

*Note: Farrah was experiencing some audio frequency issues so her natural voice is actually lower in pitch!

Welcome to hAAPI hour, a podcast for featuring AAPI creatives. I'm Melissa Cho, a 21-year-old Taiwanese-Chinese-American, who grew up in Taipei and Shanghai for around two decades. I’m also a multimedia journalist, documentarian, and digital content editor.

There are so many AAPI filmmakers, editors, creative directors, designers, performers, stylists, food bloggers, content creators...you name it, they’re all out there. And I’m now making it my fun mission to hunt them down and get to know them, while highlighting their businesses and personal brands.