First Generation Burden

*SEASON 5 FINALE* Rich sits down with Veda Partalo, the VP of Brand and Marketing at Spotify Premium. They talk about how she spent her childhood as a Bosnian refugee, alongside 2 years in a Hungarian refugee camp. That eventually leads to in Minneapolis, MN where social activism and youth culture save her life, and lead her into marketing and advertising, with roles at Untitled, Mcann, and Droga5. It's an incredible story that both dramatic and humorous is the best way possible.

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Ché Morales is a Brooklyn-based curator, experiential designer, and self-proclaimed art junkie with an insatiable appetite for unique, mind-blowing aesthetics. He's also the founder of ABSTRKT, a collective that focuses on large-scale murals, art installations, and branded cultural events for hte likes of Adidas, Nike, The Standard, and The New York City Ballet. Rich and Che talk about his upbringing in California in a Puerto Rican and FilipinX family, the indie art scene in 2000s New York, and how he likes to get his hands dirty when he's doing an install. Also, we chat about the artistic influence and legacy of Kanye West.

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Alissa Nevita is an expert in marketing and advertising in the sportswear industry, having worked with Flight Club, Bleacher Report, Complex, and Undefeated, among others. Rich and Alissa talk about Indo-Caribbean culture (her family hails from Guyana), growing up in Queens, and how its important to find a career path that appropriate for you. Also, they discuss representation of women in streetwear, and how it's important to speak up in big meetings in order to "Be the Change".

Bonus Episode: Rich and Sophia sit down for an SEO AMA* where they dig into her digital footprint in a fun and off-the-cuff game. We find about even more about Sophia like the origin of "The Bun", the Best and Worst Bandwagon Moments of 2019, and her opinion of CROCS (Yay? or Nay?)

Also, just how many Sophia Changs are out there???

*Search Engine Optimization Ask Me Anything

Sophia Chang returns! One year after her first appearance on First Gen Burden, Rich and Sophia have a total format-busting episode that tries to give you a caffeine-induced rush of design talk and ridiculousness. They talk about her recent projects with Adidas Originals (and how mall culture affected her life), the iPad sketch workshop she did at Apple, how to navigate a brand collaboration, and the most recent issue of UNDO Magazine. Also, Rich discovers how she landed her first big sneaker collab with Puma several years ago. This episode is not to be missed!

Episode 40 (!), is double-sized with two fashion-focused interviews with models Kadeem Hudson (family from Jamaica) and Joanna Pauline (originally from the Philippines). We cover the gamut of representation in the industry, the mentality behind-the-scenes right before stepping on the runway, gender neutrality, and how beauty standards figure into the business of fashion (especially Asian nose politics). Just in time for New York Fashion Week, this one is deep dive into the world like you haven't heard before.

Andy Chen and Waqas Jawaid are the founders of Isometric Studio, a visual identity and graphic design consultancy based in New York City. They specialize in creating brand identities and exhibitions for some of the biggest institutions in the country like Princeton, Google, Cooper Hewitt, and the Museum of the City of New York. Rich sits down with Andy and Waqas to talk about how they met and how they acknowledge identity in their work (including their own, Andy being of Taiwanese descent and Waqas hailing from Pakistan). Also they describe their process of navigating large organizations through the lens of activism.

Also, what DO they think of the Museum of Pizza???

This week, Rich Tu speaks with Mara Lecocq, who leads Brand and Community at Fishbowl, a social network for professionals in the creative industry that allows for honest and semi-anonymous conversations. Also, she’s the founder of Where Are the Boss Ladies, the largest database of senior women leaders in advertising. And she’s the founder of Secret Code, a customizable children’s book that can star any young girl as a tech hero. Additionally, Mara has a storied career in advertising, having worked at AKQA, 72andSunny, and BETC Paris on brands like Starbucks, Nike, Verizon, and McDonalds.

Rich and Mara talk about her upbringing in the Philippines, her mixed French and Filipino heritage, and how her talent has allowed her to live all over the world. In her own words, Mara loves "helping the disempowered rise through their professional development", and the main takeaway from this conversation is that the creative industry can innovate itself by taking a good look at who is steering the ship.

Adam Garcia is an artist, creative director, dancer, and even a dungeon master. Currently, he is a residing in Los Angeles and works in Apple Music's creative team. Additionally, Adam created The Pressure studio, was a creative director at Instrument, and even worked on the Yeezy II during his time at Nike. Rich and Adam catch up after a couple years of no contact, and discuss being born into a mixed raced family in South Texas, growing up in Minnesota as a designer and dancer, and how we came to fully embrace his Tejano and Mexican heritage.

And as a finale, Adam graces us with a found passage in the style of his reading podcast, Dope Excerpts. 

Noreen Morioka & Nicole Jacek are two of the most awarded designers who have sat down with Rich, having worked with some of the biggest clients in the world including Nike, Airbnb, Nickelodeon. Also, most recently, they held the roles as Co-Heads of Design at Weiden + Kennedy. The two of them discuss how they make their partnership work in a variety of contexts, how they wrestle with identity, and what it takes to be a great leader. Also, the group does a 3-person post mortem on the Portland experience, and they discuss the logistics of genetic engineering to create a better generation of creative.