Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom

To lift directly from his LinkedIn, which says it far better than I ever could: Elliott Zaagman is best known as an executive coach, corporate trainer, and writer who focuses on how Chinese leaders and organizations interact with their global employees and the public. He focuses on leadership development, HR, and PR and is both an enthusiastic evangelist for, and honest critic of, China's tech industry. 

Elliott is wicked smart and insightful, very funny, and we have one of the most real conversations - ranging from the curious debt structures in many Chinese businesses to the notable underrepresentation of Asian faces at the Bilderberg Meetings - that I've had on the show. Great talk. Enjoy!

This week’s show is sponsored by “The Complete Podcasting Course”, my new learning program on Udemy.com. Find it via the link in the show notes, and if you want a discount coupon to get the course for only $10 USD, contact me and I’ll hook you up.

Find all links at the BLOG post here: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/ez

David Jacobs grew up in an idyllic part of Virginia, began traveling on a fluke, and ended up in China - where he’s stayed far longer than he ever expected. Along the way, he became a key part of the Beijing comedy scene, where he currently manages Comedy Club China (CCC). CCC is responsible for hosting open mics and quality gigs many nights a week as well as bringing in ever-bigger names for special shows, helping to expand the scene and push the boundaries of what’s possible here. 

This week’s show is sponsored by “The Complete Podcasting Course”, my new learning program on Udemy.com. Find it via the link in the show notes, and if you want a discount coupon to get the course for only $10 USD, contact me and I’ll hook you up. 

Find all links at the BLOG post here: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/david-jacobs

Christiana Zhu has taken an unusual path to becoming the creator of Yeyo, a plant-based coconut yogurt that is one of my new favorite things. She’s a Kiwi of Chinese ancestry who first moved to China to apply her unique perspectives in the marketing and tourism industry, but a major health scare and the lack of local food options to deal with her challenges steered her towards embarking on the cool journey she’s on today with her company Marvelous Foods. As an omnivore myself I especially respect that she promotes plant-based foods primarily as a healthy addition to ANY diet, and I’m eager to taste whatever new flavors of Yeyo's fro-yo variety that she whips up next. Enjoy!

Find all links at the BLOG post here: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/czhu

Chozie Ma is a master of so many realms of experience - musical, audio-visual, VVIP travel, and more - that it was hard to know where to start with our interview, but his wonderful hospitality made it really fun to find our way through his narrative. Chozie - short for “Chinese Aussie”, which summaries his cultural heritage - spent a few weeks in India right after our interview and is on a sailboat somewhere between Spain and Italy as I type this, which gives some idea of the adventurous spirit that led him to make the amazing life he has created for himself. He first found success as a DJ, promoter and then club owner in China, but that is just the beginning. This was a really inspiring interview for me to do and I hope you enjoy it as well. 

This week’s show is sponsored by “The Complete Podcasting Course”, my new learning program on Udemy.com. Find it via the link in the blog post below, and if you want a discount coupon to get the course for only $10 USD, contact me and I’ll hook you up.

Find all links at the BLOG post here: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/chozie

Igor Torgeson is a writer, actor and filmmaker from Los Angeles. He is an old friend and we had a great time catching up and chatting here in China recently. Igor talks about his journey in the comedy world, shares his hot take on Beijing, and we even talk a little about what the shifting cultural dynamics back home mean for the entertainment business at large. We had a great time recording this one, and some of the outtakes were so funny that I left them in. Enjoy!

  Find all links at the BLOG post here: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/igor

This week’s guest is Italian writer-director-producer Gianluigi Perrone. Gian applies his passion for and training in neuroscience to his cinematic efforts. In his wide and varied career so far he’s worked with, been mentored by, or has significantly crossed paths with cinema legends like Argento, Bava, Jodorowsky, and Tarantino, among others, and he is a fascinating guy to chat with in general. Film nerds and China business watchers alike will LOVE this episode. Enjoy!

Find all links at the BLOG post here: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/gianluigi

Yingying Li is an expert in cross-cultural leadership and the founder of Silicon Valley-based startup Yingfluence. Yingying’s credentials are impressive: she has a decade of experience working in the U.S., China, Brazil, India and Turkey, and is trilingual in Chinese, English, and Portuguese. Her clients as a cross-cultural management consultant include billionaires and executives from Facebook, LinkedIn, Cisco and Intel. Yingying also serves as a mentor at Founders Space, the top global accelerator for overseas startups, which was founded by Steve Hoffman (guest #5 on the podcast). 

Yingying and I had a fairly epic talk, covering topics ranging from her childhood in Kaifeng, China to her journey ever farther west, and concluding with her thoughts on how to build all the needed bridges between China and the rest of the world to enable the best possible future for all of us. This is one of my favorite shows yet, and I hope you enjoy it.

Find all links at the BLOG post here: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/2018/8/8/yingying-li

Marina Barayeva is a portrait photographer based in Beijing. She’s also the host of her own podcast, “Marketing for Creatives”, on which she interviews a wide variety of experts to help entrepreneurs grow and expand their own creative business. Her own story of how she came from a relatively small city in Russia to building a successful career here in China is a lesson in taking chances and letting your instincts guide you. Marina has a true passion for learning and helping people by sharing her knowledge, and it really shows in our chat. We had a great talk, and I hope you enjoy the show!

  Find all links at the BLOG post here: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/marina-b

This week’s episode of the show features Egyptian comic Mohammed Magdi! He’s been based in Shanghai the last five years, and we talk about how he crafts an act that is both topical and personal, and can work in cities and countries across the world. I also have a special short interview with returning champion Chelsey Mark, fresh back from his move home to Manitoba to do a gig in China. Enjoy! 

  Find all links at the BLOG post here: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/2018/7/25/moh-magdi

Sometimes when life gives you lemons, you make some lemonade. That’s what happened to me just the other day, en route to Seoul, South Korea, when a major flight delay led to the opportunity to make four great new fast friends: Daniel, Samuel, Alice, and Youn. The five of us formed a little bit of a posse and had so much fun hanging out that I was moved to record a special “airport edition” of the podcast with them. They all have very different stories and I was glad to get to meet them and to talk to all of them, even briefly, for the show. Enjoy! 

  Find all links at the BLOG post here: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/home/airport