For the eighth episode of the podcast, I sat down with strategist and podcast host Sydney Allen-Ash in May, 2019.

We speak about how she created her own job, what sports mean to her including running, boxing, dancing and yoga, what makes her feel home, her transition from Toronto to New York and how she reclaims being a woman.

Two of my favourite quotes from this episode:

“Sport is a place for me to build community, a place for me to express myself, especially recently, sport has been a place for me to find growth within myself that is not connected to my job.”

And then later on, she shares one of her mantras “Tend to what is already yours.”

“To me that statement has really helped me not only letting go of consumption needs, like the need to buy shit all the time in order to feel cool, or hot or whatever, but it also helped me focus my attention on what is already within my midst, appreciating my body that currently is, appreciate my brain for how it currently is, appreciate the friends and relationships I already have and just be a little bit kinder rather than trying to be so productive and like aspirational all the time. Rather than looking externally for motivation or comparison, rather look internally and look at what I already have.”

Click here to listen on iTunes (this was recorded in May, 2019).

Follow Sydney and her podcast Re:Search on instagram.

Thank you Arthaya for the artwork.

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xx

Huyen

In the seventh episode of the podcast, I sit down with stylist and fashion designer Carolyn Son.

We speak about her cultural background, being Cambodian and Vietnamese, her relationship to fashion, how it started and how it has evolved, from law and business to styling and design. With her brand C A R Ø, she conveys both worlds she grew up in — between the U.S. and South East Asia. Her upbringing was also heavily influenced by her parents, her father for example was a buddhist monk who escaped the refugee camps and still follows a diligent meditation practice today. Carolyn shares how she practices meditation in her daily New York life and how much she appreciated having powerful women surround her journey.

One of my favourite quotes from this episode:

When me and my brother turned 18, we were sent to a meditation retreat in the mountains.. you’re in complete silence for 10 days and it’s a type of meditation called Vipassana where you focus on your breath and you focus inwards, because so much of your life is outwards. You’re learning how to observe your emotions and project and visualise and manifest things in your life, all through meditation and self care first. I grew up in a very meditation heavy household and wanted to create a brand that also projects abundance all around you paying homage to my parents.

Click here to listen on iTunes (this was recorded April 25th, 2019).

Follow Carolyn Son and C A R Ø on Instagram.

Thank you Arthaya for the artwork.

Sign up here for the monthly / bi-monthly GOLDTOGREEN letter.

Subscribe, share and reach out for any ideas and comments. Thank you so much for listening friends!!

xx

Huyen

In the sixth episode of the podcast, I sit down with dear friend and co-captain of our running team WAYV RUN KOLLEKTIV: Daniel Marin Medina.

I know it’s been long overdue, but here it is finally! Thanks to my media science institute at my university, we were able to record this special episode. We speak about how Daniel first came out, what it means to be a queer person of color, his upbringing in Colombia, Chicago and New York, his art and drawings, papayas, our favourite netflix show POSE, his move to Berlin, dancing, depression and duh.. running.. from XC to Nike Run Club to international marathons.

One of my favourite quotes from this episode:

There is this saying in Columbia which translates to ‘Don’t give papaya’ — it means if you give people room to mess with you, and they mess with you, that’s your fault, you gave them the room, so I just took this approach of don’t let them mess with you, don’t give them room. No Papayas for anyone. You had to pay for your papayas. I was brown, I was an immigrant, I was gay, I was tiny, there were a lot of things people could have messed with me for. I was like: no. Not going to happen. I was the first Out captain in our XC team and it was really nice to not pretend to be someone else.

Click here to listen on iTunes.

Follow Daniel Marin Medina on Instagram.

Thank you Arthaya for the artwork.

Sign up here for the monthly / bi-monthly GOLDTOGREEN letter.

Subscribe, share and reach out for any ideas and comments. Thank you so much for listening friends!!

xx

Huyen

This picture was taken in Berlin in July 2019.

In the fifth episode of the podcast, I sit down with Patty Dukes and Reph Star from CIRCA95.

We talk about their family history and upbringing in New York, marathon running and running crews, culture, hiphop, Bob Marley, their work with schools and the community, the Boston Marathon, and so much more.

One of my favourite quotes from this episode:

‘It’s like when you give back and it comes back to you, that’s just amazing. At the end of the day, (the music, the art, the running) it’s not for us, it’s for the community, the more people open up and start their own projects, the more we see the love that we started… that seed is growing and that seed is going to other places, it’s never been about us, it’s never been about money, it’s about the people, its about love, ’ — Patty

Click here to listen on iTunes.

Follow Patty and Reph, as well as CIRCA95 on Instagram.

Thank you to Canal Street Market and Listening Party Presents for hosting, and Arthaya for the artwork.

Sign up here for the monthly / bi-monthly GOLDTOGREEN letter.

Subscribe, share and reach out for any ideas and comments. Thank you so much for listening friends!!

xx

Huyen

This picture was taken inside Canal Street Radio in April 2019.

In the fourth episode of the podcast, I sit down with Jess Hu aka Jess2Sick.

We talk about her dance journey, her love for the community, the idea behind PROJECT SHMOOD, as well as her mental health practice and what it means to her to be an Asian female creative in today’s social media age. 

One of my favourite quotes from this episode:

‘Every day, I have to continue on being a creative, and being Asian, being female, being in dance, and heavy in the battle scene, being the only female in that scene, the pressure of not looking too feminine. (…) We [as Asian women] have to overcome all of these stereotypes. Being submissive is one of them. For a while, I fell into being submissive and let people walk all over me. Finally, it was dancing, it was moving to New York, finding myself, being solution-oriented that I realised, I know my worth now, but knowing your worth also means that you have to not let your culture, or your family, or other people hold you back. (…) When I look at it, I am thinking: I am the next wave, I am just this random string that is there to support and be vocal for people who felt silenced. I never in my life thought I wanted to be so vocal about being Asian-American, having a platform and being a role model, until I moved to New York. I realised, there are so many of us, but our side never gets told properly.’

Click here to listen on iTunes.

Follow Jess and PROJECT SHMOOD on Instagram.

Thank you to Canal Street Market and Listening Party Presents for hosting, and Arthaya for the artwork.

Sign up here for the monthly / bi-monthly GOLDTOGREEN letter.

Subscribe, share and reach out for any ideas and comments. Thank you so much for listening friends!!

xx

Huyen

Here you see Jess in New York. We recorded this episode in late April 2019.

In the second episode of the podcast, we sit down with Bee Walker.

We talk about her fascination for the people in New York, how she started as a photographer, her transition from a 9 to 5 job to a more creative path, how she said ‘Yes’ to life, how running influences her life (including quotes from Eliud Kipchoge, the men’s world record holder in the marathon), her adventure with Paper Monday and some encouraging words on how you can start the thing you always dreamed about doing.

One of my favorite quotes from the podcast:

“Just do the thing, whatever you have in your heart, and don’t be concerned about it being perfect and don’t worry about what you don’t have, but you have something in your heart and that is real, that has its own momentum, and I truly believe, that its bigger than us. We’re sort of vessels for ideas, and concepts, and change, and so the thing in your heart, of course it’s going to feel huge, and probably intimidating, but it wouldn’t be put there, if you weren’t the person to bring it out. So just do it. Like… I started taking pictures on my iPhone (…) nobody makes fun of children when they learn how to walk. Why should it be any different. If a child I can accomplish so much, learning how to walk and talk in two years, all those things from scratch — like what can I do in two years. Where can I be two years from now: so just start.” 

Click here to listen on iTunes.

Follow Bee and PaperMonday on Instagram.

Follow Canal Street Market here as well.

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Make sure to subscribe, share and reach out for any feedback. Thank you so much!!

xx

Bee with her first camera, imagery provided by her.

In the first episode of the podcast, we sit down with artist, designer and runner Victor Roman to discuss his upbringing in New York, his life between art and design and how he started running. We also dive into his recent solo exhibition WWW — a magnificent conversation between the Wild Wild West and the World Wide Web in dedication to his grandfather Juan Roman.

Click here to listen on itunes.

Follow Victor on Instagram.

Follow Canal Street Market here as well.