Voxcali

The Indian British actor’s star quality has shone from his breakout role on iZombie to collaborations with Mike Flanagan and his dream gaming roles.

Indian British actor Rahul Kohli stars in the 2025 Amazon Prime series We Were Liars which has now been confirmed for season 2.  He was also cast in the star-studded Netflix film The Electric State.

Kohli previously starred in the short lived 2024 Hulu series Death and Other Details and in the 2022 film Next Exit.

He is also recognized for his frequent TV miniseries collaborations with filmmaker Mike Flanagan which include The Haunting of Bly Manor in 2020, Midnight Mass in 2021, The Fall of the House of Usher in 2023, and the upcoming series Carrie scheduled for 2026.

Kohli’s acting career began in 2008 with an appearance in the television documentary series My Holiday Hostage Hell and continued with roles in the British dramas Holby City in 2012 and EastEnders in 2013.

Kohli is still best known for his breakout TV role as Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti in the CW supernatural dramedy series iZombie.  He appeared in all 71 episodes over 5 seasons from 2015 to 2019.

He’s also making his mark with video games.  He was cast in 2023’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III as “Roops” Kapoor and has a voice role as The Origin in the video game 2021’s Fortnite.  In the highly anticipated video game Saros, slated for release in March 2026, he is cast as protagonist Arjun Devraj.  Kohli has called this a “dream come true” as gaming was his first love.

The 39-year-old has 1 million followers between TikTok and Instagram.  Kohli was born in London to Indian immigrants raised in Kenya and Thailand.

A tournament-level martial artist takes us through jiu jitsu's journey from Japan to Brazil to UFC and his own physical journey to get the conditioning to win most of his matches.

Tom Kagy (00:02.161)

Victor Wong (00:16.6)

Tom Kagy (00:20.26)

Victor Wong (00:27.918)

found the Joe Rogan podcast and he was talking about UFC one where there was this really small unassuming Brazilian fighter who, you know, like looked very, very small, very, very skinny, but he was using this weird martial art to take out guys that were much bigger than him. And that kind of instilled this desire to learn this what seemed like a superpower at the time.

Whoa, I this small unassuming fellow who looks like a random dad can just beat up these big muscly monsters What where can I learn this and then you know through the Joe Rogan podcast and a cursory Google search I found jujitsu Unfortunately being a high schooler who was focused on academics, right? You know, I was still focused on getting into college. And of course, my parents weren't really too keen

Tom Kagy (01:51.089)

Victor Wong (01:56.18)

And then once I was like fully done with school, you know, I, kind of like forgot about jujitsu until I saw a school around the corner. And then I thought, oh, wait, that was something I used to really, really be into. Let me, let me try it again. You know, it's been almost 10, 10 or so years. And then I

into my first jiu-jitsu class in around 2019 and I've been training since. Yeah.

Tom Kagy (02:56.461)

Victor Wong (03:09.578)

It used to be, or jujitsu is a blanket term for a number of decentralized Japanese martial arts, right? And during around the 1800s, Japan was in the process of modernizing and becoming more Western, right? As they were getting introduced to a lot of Western philosophies, ideologies and technologies, right? So there

was a student named Jigoro Kano who took up jiu-jitsu when he was when he was younger right and actually got interested in it because he was a smaller kid and he was getting bullied right at around his at around like middle school age right so he used managed to use jiu-jitsu and even some techniques he learned from Western wrestling

manuals to overcome his larger bullies and from then on he had this interest in preserving Japanese culture as the country moved into the modern age because

especially around that time, Jujitsu was seen as a sort of activity that only delinquents would do. But Kano saw how it could be used to create better citizens and wanted to preserve that part of…

Victor Wong (04:59.84)

of scientist or a librarian really and once he kind of cataloged all the most common techniques and the most reliable and high percentage ones right he distilled them down to their mechanisms and created this more centralized and streamlined art that eventually came to be known as Kano's Jujitsu at the time and yeah yeah it was around the

Tom Kagy (05:52.583)

Victor Wong (05:57.71)

Tom Kagy (06:01.361)

Victor Wong (06:28.085)

Rivals to one another they had their secret techniques, but what Kano wanted to do he want he was an educator first so his idea of cataloging all these techniques was to maintain history and he and his disciples right they sought to actually spread it around the world and the

And one of the early people in this diaspora was Mitsuwo Maeda, who traveled across different countries like Europe and then eventually Brazil, where he would teach a very famous family known as the Gracies, the art of Jiu-Jitsu. And the foundational myth was…

Maeda taught the sons of the Gracie family Jujitsu and the youngest and the most frail member, his name was Helio, couldn't do some of the more athletically…

let's say like explosive or super strength dependent movements. So he then modified it for himself where it was instead of focused on essentially lifting another person and then throwing them to the ground. He had this method of

Victor Wong (08:03.562)

Brazilian jiu-jitsu and from there this new spin on the Japanese jiu-jitsu kind of took root while Kano and his other disciples were moving the sport, the art in a different direction across the globe. Yeah. Yes.

Tom Kagy (08:38.543)

Victor Wong (08:49.933)

Victor Wong (09:02.926)

They were a sort of merchant clan in Brazil, right? And with their business acumen, they saw that the US was a great market to tap into. they focused, their diaspora was more focused on generating money. So the idea of the first UFC, UFC One was essentially a marketing tool for their version of Jiu-Jitsu.

Tom Kagy (09:45.319)

Victor Wong (09:52.705)

Tom Kagy (10:00.783)

Tom Kagy (10:05.352)

Victor Wong (10:16.566)

Tom Kagy (10:40.647)

Victor Wong (10:55.862)

the sport has matured. It's almost a completely different sport than just pure jiu-jitsu itself because jiu-jitsu itself has its own sporting contest. Similarly, Kano's jiu-jitsu, now known as judo, is also its own sporting contest. And now MMA itself, again, especially in the UFC, is basically a different art or a sport, you could say.

Tom Kagy (11:29.157)

Victor Wong (11:50.339)

Tom Kagy (11:52.398)

Victor Wong (12:09.582)

Kano, again, wanted to civilize the sport for the modern Japan, right? Because the idea that Kano had was he wanted normal citizens to practice the art and to practice it safely. One of the problems that Kano had seen in traditional pedagogy was an emphasis on…

static choreograph drilling where you would just stand there and somebody would just choreograph, I punch you and then I do a dodge and then I throw you.

And quickly you can see how this wasn't really representative of an actual fight because you can't guarantee that somebody is going to react that way. So you get into this sort of catch 22 where it's, I can't actually practice this technique because it'll hurt my training partner. And if you hurt your training partner, you won't get to actually practice, right? So the way Kano got around this problem was he removed

Tom Kagy (13:28.081)

Victor Wong (13:34.497)

built into judo was this idea of mutual benefit and welfare for all. Right? So if me and my partner just start punching each other, we can't really, that's not mutual benefit. And also if we want to be, you know, civilized citizens, it doesn't look good if, I'm going to judo practice and then we leave, you know, busted up. Right? So that's how Kano got around the striking problem.

Tom Kagy (14:24.409)

Victor Wong (14:31.776)

Tom Kagy (14:32.101)

Victor Wong (15:00.49)

to MMA, right? The idea was you do jiu-jitsu so you can go to MMA and beat people up. But then eventually a sport aspect started to branch off from jiu-jitsu where it was more focused on the grappling aspect and they also removed strikes.

Tom Kagy (15:50.353)

Victor Wong (16:00.493)

Tom Kagy (16:17.873)

Victor Wong (16:29.044)

have a self-defense oriented curriculum where they do practice against strikes. Now the degree of striking is going to be again dependent on who is running the class or running the school. Some will basically do a form of mixed martial arts, right? Where you will spar and one person will actually try to, you know, tee off on your face with gloves. There are other schools

where they just kind of do the choreography of somebody comes at you with a punch, how do you dodge it, and then how do you turn that situation into a grappling match, right? How do you dodge the punch and then throw them? So it's hard to give a very blanket statement because it's kind of a…

decentralized school to school, though all the Gracie schools will have the same curriculum on the wall.

Tom Kagy (17:45.945)

Victor Wong (17:57.186)

Victor Wong (18:11.798)

The more traditional version is wearing the uniform, is the traditional pants, jacket, and belt.

Tom Kagy (18:44.923)

Victor Wong (18:47.382)

Tom Kagy (19:02.865)

Tom Kagy (19:13.251)

Victor Wong (19:39.467)

Tom Kagy (19:42.875)

Victor Wong (19:47.947)

your cardiac output, both high end and low end. And what's really important is having…

being able to select different efforts, right? Because I think people get fixated too much on just like, okay, is it better to do three sets of five, five sets of five, eight sets of five, right? What is the best rep scheme? When in reality it's, need to have, especially for martial arts, you need to have an ability to exert yourself on multiple ends of the spectrum, right? So what that will look like is I will have periods of time where I will do…

maximal effort. Yeah, maximal effort lifts where it's less than maybe 15 total repetitions in a session, right? But these are hard repetitions. There are other sessions where I can do more than more than 100 more than 100 repetitions. There are cardio sessions that are focused on. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I like to

Tom Kagy (21:16.839)

Victor Wong (21:23.606)

For cardio, right, I talk about the lower effort and higher effort. A high effort cardio workout would be, say, just five 40-meter sprints, right? And a low cardio and a lower heart rate would be something like an easy 20, 30-minute run. Yeah.

Tom Kagy (22:15.079)

Victor Wong (22:27.68)

Victor Wong (22:36.99)

Tom Kagy (22:40.103)

Victor Wong (22:49.217)

Tom Kagy (22:52.751)

Victor Wong (23:00.268)

Tom Kagy (23:01.849)

So what would that look like? mean, how would you practice your grappling skills? Because I assume, I mean, sometimes you might be at a dojo or whatever and have a partner, but other times you've got to do it by yourself, right? Because you can't always coordinate a practice session.

Victor Wong (23:23.414)

Tom Kagy (23:32.515)

Victor Wong (23:51.629)

conversation with a training partner where we just explore the mechanics of a of an exchange and then we either ramp up or lower the intensity just based on how much Feedback we are we're getting in this exchange and One word about instructional is even though I do personally watch a lot

Tom Kagy (24:42.78)

Victor Wong (24:50.92)

the instructional material and find the 30 seconds where the guy on the instructional answers my question. Yeah.

Tom Kagy (25:30.543)

whatever day number of days you start out of the tournament from and then sort of give us an idea of how you progress toward day zero.

Victor Wong (26:08.928)

one high intensity upper body strength session and one higher intensity lower body strength session. So three days a week. And again, this is, and I would emphasize just what's called, you know, base building for my cardiac bit or for my cardio. usually.

Two or three 30 minute runs every week So I would sustain this for about four weeks because at this point I don't necessarily need to cap out my cardiac output. I can spend this time sort of building building a good base and as far as skills go I

won't really focus too much. I will kind of let my training dictate what directions I need to go in. So when I come to practice, I don't have a goal quite yet. I'll just come in with an open mind and then see where I'm having trouble and sticking points. By weeks eight through four, I…

we'll start tapering off a little bit on just the on the road work, right? The lower intensity efforts. And I will then start incorporating more strength endurance. So usually lifting intervals for time, things like one minute on, one minute on, one minute off, tight lifts using kettlebell sport methodologies.

Victor Wong (28:23.71)

And again, like I think this is an important thing with your with development is not just working on things that you're bad at, but also finding something that you're good at and then just refining it. Then by weeks four through, yeah, sorry, sorry, weeks eight through 12, as we get closer to the competition, I will then do a second.

high-density cardio session. then start tapering, I then start moving away from any maximal strength work and focus more on strength endurance. And then the actual training, I will be trying more to force a very specific line. So instead of before when I was just using training to sort of explore positions,

within those final weeks leading up to the competition, that's when I'm essentially playing every round to win as quickly as possible, as opposed to having a skill that I'm weaker at and then trying to practice that. I'm just simply practicing the skill of winning as quickly as possible.

Tom Kagy (29:59.643)

Victor Wong (30:01.45)

Tom Kagy (30:25.543)

Victor Wong (30:42.419)

Victor Wong (30:50.046)

Right, we aren't going super hard and I'm just working on just getting repetitions in my best position. Lifting wise, I'm not doing anything super intense. I am still, I'm tapering off all high intensity work. So instead I would probably go back to doing some.

lower intensity work like a longer run or a longer walk. And as far as my lifting goes, at this point, there are no more adaptations that I can get from the lifting. So I just try to do something that is enjoyable. Nothing that pushes me.

Tom Kagy (32:06.863)

Victor Wong (32:10.004)

Tom Kagy (32:30.064)

So during that final week, how many days are you actually working out?

Victor Wong (32:39.87)

Tom Kagy (32:42.848)

Victor Wong (32:47.658)

Tom Kagy (33:08.871)

Victor Wong (33:17.37)

I just focus on managing exertion levels, not pushing too hard, not getting myself injured. Right? I'll still go to class. I'll still go to practice. I'll still work on my positions, but I won't be as intent on winning everything. Then Friday, I basically do nothing. I might come to…

class come to practice just to help out my coaches and whatnot, but I won't actually do anything strenuous or difficult, then by Saturday that's when I compete.

Tom Kagy (34:26.695)

Victor Wong (34:35.17)

but usually.

Tom Kagy (34:46.459)

Victor Wong (34:51.298)

Tom Kagy (35:01.231)

Victor Wong (35:19.882)

Tom Kagy (35:21.925)

Victor Wong (35:29.004)

Tom Kagy (35:41.291)

Tom Kagy (35:51.44)

Victor Wong (35:59.663)

super intentional with the way I was eating. I mean, I would, you know, get the protein shakes and try to focus on, you know, single ingredient foods and all that, but I would eat out too much. You know, the girlfriend would get a deal on wings and then I would never say no. So then I would eat the wings. But, you know, these little things add up and…

put on some excess weight, even though I was still relatively fit. I was weighing in at about 200, 215 pounds, which isn't necessarily bad, but you know, it just wasn't, I just wasn't as intentional earlier this year. Recently, huh.

Tom Kagy (37:11.463)

Victor Wong (37:18.988)

Yeah, as of my past competitions, I weighed in at under 195.

Tom Kagy (37:30.117)

Victor Wong (37:35.35)

Victor Wong (37:46.349)

Tom Kagy (37:51.152)

Tom Kagy (38:00.949)

Victor Wong (38:13.006)

Tom Kagy (38:34.04)

Victor Wong (38:38.358)

of eating, right? Because, you a lot of times people just eat things that make them feel good, like, you know, fried chicken, ice cream, etc., etc. So the first thing was just being more intentional about what I was eating. I started to just take inventory of what I was eating throughout the week and realized that I was just kind of…

Tom Kagy (39:01.382)

Victor Wong (39:17.486)

started to think about the systems that I had in place. So first thing was

thinking about what was I eating throughout the week and what foods did I have access to? Right? And admittedly, you know, even though I did have some, you know, fresh food, fresh foods, right? Like chicken, beef, vegetables, et cetera, et cetera. There were still things in the house that I didn't need, like, you know, chips here and there, you know, and.

Tom Kagy (40:16.049)

Victor Wong (40:16.556)

Tom Kagy (40:22.017)

not particularly healthy snacks by Wendy. tell us about, given the variety of unhealthy snacks in there, what do you do? How do you deal with that when you're two or three doors down from our snack room, our lunch room, what do you do about that? mean, how do you keep from going nuts with the snacks?

Victor Wong (41:13.55)

Tom Kagy (41:24.72)

Victor Wong (41:36.801)

Tom Kagy (41:44.808)

Victor Wong (41:55.451)

I feel that if I want to cheat a little bit, can get one thing from the snack room.

Tom Kagy (42:25.223)

Victor Wong (42:32.558)

Tom Kagy (42:39.067)

Victor Wong (42:42.614)

Tom Kagy (42:47.431)

Victor Wong (42:55.31)

Yeah, a little bit. It has some fiber too, so it's not bad. It's mostly carbs though. And then also one compromises the small marshmallow pouches, which are only 45 calories each, but you know, it tastes sweet enough, so it scratches the itch a little. And this kind of goes back to what I was saying about intentionality, I guess.

Tom Kagy (43:19.877)

Yeah.

Victor Wong (43:30.702)

Tom Kagy (43:37.147)

Tom Kagy (43:46.961)

Tom Kagy (43:53.479)

Tom Kagy (43:57.895)

Victor Wong (43:58.431)

Tom Kagy (44:23.517)

Victor Wong (44:26.942)

Tom Kagy (44:55.301)

Victor Wong (45:02.026)

Victor Wong (45:17.902)

Victor Wong (45:22.158)

If you spread it out throughout the day and again have a habit or system in place, right? For me, was, it kind of coincided with spending a little less time on my phone really. So, you know, before, earlier this year, would wake up and, you know, check social media, right? And then stay in bed. But then, you know, I started thinking, what am I really doing with this time? So I just started just getting up and just walking without a device.

device.

And some days, right, you know, you don't have to get up super early. I was getting up at, you know, seven, right? I could just get up and just walk around the neighborhood and I'd come back at seven thirty and I find that, you know, my work wasn't on fire, that, you know, my house was fine, that, you know, OK. And then, you know, by the time I checked my smartwatch, it already said fifty eight hundred steps. And it's like, wow. You know, I got fifty eight hundred before it was even noon.

in about a 30 minute walk, okay. Okay, so after that, you know, getting the 10,000 ended up being sort of incidental, right, various activity throughout the house, throughout the house and the office, right, you know, like bathroom breaks and just random, oh, I'm feeling a little sluggish after lunch, let me just walk outside. Eventually I found that, you know, around…

Tom Kagy (46:45.809)

Victor Wong (46:55.15)

as quickly as possible, right? And I've seen people fall off. I've seen people fail. The people I see fail miserably. They try to get their 10,001 one go. And that is honestly very mentally exhausting because that's essentially an entire hour plus of just…

Tom Kagy (47:31.163)

Tom Kagy (47:38.201)

Victor Wong (47:42.144)

Tom Kagy (47:47.035)

Victor Wong (48:08.17)

you truck your the contest was having the most the highest total amount of weight lifted across those three lifts. So one repetition maximums for all three. And recently I, you know, through YouTube and the various algorithms, I found this thing called kettlebell sport, which is a similar lifting sport. It's very niche. But

What it focuses on is these ballistic kettlebell lifts similar to Olympic lifting, right? With clean and jerk, snatch and jerk.

Right? But instead of a barbell, they use two kettlebells and instead of lifting the most weight overhead for one repetition, it's lifting a moderate weight for time. The contest is usually a 10 minute long set, which is a long time. And the professionals use 32 kilogram, two 32 kilogram kettlebells, which weighs 70 pounds each.

But again, I don't necessarily participate in the sport itself, but I started using the training methodologies, right? Similar to how you can lift a barbell and not be a powerlifter, right? You can squat bench and deadlift without necessarily being a competitive powerlifter. I just started using the training style of the kettlebell.

Victor Wong (49:54.997)

So it'd be, a typical program would be say 20 sets of 15 seconds on and one minute off, right? Yes, yes.

Tom Kagy (50:35.911)

Victor Wong (50:45.772)

Victor Wong (50:56.246)

Tom Kagy (51:02.823)

Victor Wong (51:09.646)

Tom Kagy (51:22.023)

Victor Wong (51:29.334)

Better I could sustain efforts for a long longer time because what kettlebell? Sport is good at is something called strength Endurance right because we have pure endurance and then we have pure strength right along that force velocity curve

Right? Whereas like pure strength would be a low velocity, but you know, very high force output. So what's interesting about the kettlebells is that it's kind of moderate force output and moderate intensity, but you sustain it over a longer period of time.

Tom Kagy (52:17.041)

Tom Kagy (52:26.447)

Victor Wong (52:33.138)

Tom Kagy (52:50.459)

Victor Wong (52:55.948)

Tom Kagy (53:11.495)

Victor Wong (53:24.386)

Tom Kagy (53:46.023)

Victor Wong (53:49.612)

Victor Wong (54:11.308)

Tom Kagy (54:16.391)

Victor Wong (54:31.714)

Tom Kagy (54:39.728)

Victor Wong (54:55.382)

Tom Kagy (55:14.855)

You said the moderate, I forgot the term you used, but some guy who didn't look particularly impressive taking on much bigger guys. So.

Victor Wong (55:45.282)

Victor Wong (55:50.144)

Tom Kagy (55:54.855)

Victor Wong (56:10.252)

Tom Kagy (56:34.439)

Victor Wong (56:36.942)

Tom Kagy (56:50.503)

Victor Wong (56:54.742)

Tom Kagy (57:00.881)

Victor Wong (57:03.904)

almost wouldn't change too much. think the phase of my life when I was lifting heavy, right, I think that was important because all the, you know, extraneous tissue that I built up was very pivotal for preventing injuries and it gave me a good athletic base to start jiu-jitsu in, right? And also another thing is I didn't get, you know, injured a lot when I was younger. I mean, cross-country wore me out because I was unathletic. I didn't have

a good lifting background. So I think having that sort of just base in the gym was helpful in its own right. So I don't necessarily regret that.

Tom Kagy (57:52.173)

Victor Wong (57:56.47)

Victor Wong (58:01.851)

I do feel like when I was younger, I could have spent just a little bit more time in the weight room because I did get injured through cross country. And partially I feel like it was because I didn't have good musculature.

Tom Kagy (58:35.452)

Victor Wong (58:44.32)

every week, which is really, really hard because like what I saying earlier about the pyramid of physical development, you have to have a

base of physical attributes to refine into the sport. So if you don't really have a wide pyramid, you're not going to reach a peak. And for me back then, I did kind of run out of season. I'd run a couple times a week, but honestly, it wasn't very serious. And I was more focused on school at that time, but I feel as though, yeah, if anything…

I probably would make myself lift more in the off season. And if I knew what I knew now, I'd probably beg my parents for maybe a gym membership. And I would just slap myself about having the anxiety of being at a gym alone. Because, you know, being an awkward teenager, it's like, I don't have friends to lift with me. I feel so weird and people are judging me. But, you know.

looking back, it's like, be quiet, be quiet. Nobody cares. Yes.

Tom Kagy (01:00:23.111)

Victor Wong (01:00:45.46)

For your fitness goals, you should start off with an intention, right? A purpose. Because if there is a sort of, if there is like a dream body that you want, you should reverse engineer that, right? If you want to say, look like Brad Pitt from Fight Club or something, right? You have to think about like, okay, what does somebody that looks like Brad Pitt, like what are their daily habits going to look like? What?

kind of life do they live? Right? And if you are satisfied with a life of say, you know, eating pints of ice cream whenever you want and just, you know, watching Netflix or watching sports or whatever, then you're…

body is going to look like that. And in a way, that's totally fine. If that is the life you want to live, then your body should reflect that. There's no reason for you to look like Brad Pitt from Fight Club because Brad Pitt from Fight Club is probably not, you know, sitting on the couch and eating ice cream and whatnot.

Tom Kagy (01:02:07.911)

Tom Kagy (01:02:12.007)

Victor Wong (01:02:13.772)

Tom Kagy (01:02:24.903)

Victor Wong (01:02:35.927)

Victor Wong (01:02:41.014)

Traditions are vital to the rich beauty and symbolism of Vietnamese, Indian and Chinese weddings.

Asian weddings are known to go beyond extravagance. With multi-day celebrations and symbolic traditions that have been passed down for centuries, these cultures honor their roots in stunning ways.

Starting off with Vietnamese weddings.

They hold a strong respect for the joining of the two families rather than the joining of two people. A tea ceremony is held before the actual wedding and is one of the most sacred moments of the entire event. The bride and groom kneel before their elders and serve them tea as a gesture of devotion and appreciation. In return, the couple will receive blessings, advice, and most of the time li xi envelopes or gold jewelry.

The bride and groom will usually wear complementary red or gold áo dàis which are traditional Vietnamese silk gowns that symbolize the unity of masculine and feminine energy. At more modern Vietnamese weddings, Western-style receptions and white bridal gowns have been implemented, but the tea ceremony will always remain as the cultural centerpiece.

There is a reason Indian weddings are sometimes described as “festivals of love”. They are filled with color and excitement and every ritual holds spiritual meaning. Like in Vietnam, Indian weddings emphasize the bond between the two families starting with the Haldi ceremony. Family and friends apply turmeric paste to the bride and groom, symbolizing the cleansing of past energy. The Mehndi ceremony is next, where the bride’s hands and feet are decorated with henna patterns that represent protection, fertility, and joy.

Following the Mehndi ceremony is the Sangeet, which is an evening full of dancing and laughter, similar to what Westerners know as a wedding rehearsal. On the actual wedding day, the Baraat commences and the groom makes his breathtaking entrance. The Saat Phere is one of the most meaningful rituals of the event and is performed around a sacred fire, where the bride allows her groom to mark her as married. Indian weddings hold more than just lavishness, they reflect the sacredness of the celebration and the continuity of tradition.

The celebration of a Chinese wedding begins long before the wedding day and starts with a series of customs that are meant to bless the couple. The Three Letters and Six Etiquettes include everything from the proposal date to the selection of the ceremony date, which usually is chosen to be aligned with the couple’s destiny. A hair combing ceremony takes place on the morning of the wedding day as well as a tea ceremony to formalize the unity of two families.

During the actual wedding, red dominates everything, as it symbolizes good luck and wealth. The reception features an authentic multi-course family-style feast with each dish holding its own history. A Chinese wedding is much more than a luxurious celebration, it is a poetic way of honoring unity and the hope for everlasting love.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto cemented superstar status by posting a 3-0 record, a 1.02 ERA to ensure the Dodgers’ World Series repeat.

After earning his first All-Star appearance this season, Los Angeles Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivered one of the most remarkable pitching performances in Fall Classic history earning him the World Series MVP.

Yamamoto finished with a 3-0 record and a 1.02 ERA, allowing just two earned runs through 17.2 innings pitched.  His three attributed wins in the World Series tied an all-time record, accomplished just once in the past 50 years by Randy Johnson in 2001.

His most dominant outing was Game 2 – a complete game effort retiring the final 20 batters he faced and leading the Dodgers to a 5-1 victory.  It was the first complete game in the World Series since 2015 and his second consecutive complete game of the postseason.

Facing elimination in Game 6 Yamamoto took the mound and earned another quality start, allowing only one run in six innings.

It was his relief performance in Game 7 that cemented his legend.

Less than 24 hours after throwing 96 pitches in his Game 6 start, the 27-year-old right-hander emerged from the bullpen in the bottom of the ninth inning with the score tied and runners on first and second.  After loading the bases he escaped the jam and pitched through the eleventh inning, delivering 2.2 scoreless innings to lock up the Dodgers second consecutive title. 

In his three appearances in the 2025 World Series Yamamoto threw 235 pitches – the most recorded in the pitch-count era.

The championship also marked Yamamoto’s second World Series ring in his two MLB seasons.  In the 2024 World Series he also earned a win versus the New York Yankees in Game 2, yielding just one run in 6.1 innings pitched.

Yamamoto’s immediate success in MLB was foreshadowed by his dominance overseas. He was a 5-time NPB All-Star in his seven seasons with the Orix Buffaloes, where he also collected three consecutive MVP awards. Signed to a 12-year $325 million contract before last season, Yamamoto has already delivered on the immense investment.  With a World Series MVP trophy, his name is forever etched in Dodger lore.  The franchise’s burgeoning dynasty is poised to continue with a star-studded line-up and Yamamoto’s dominance on the mound.

These 5 Asian-owned hair care brands use ancient remedies to create modern staples that help restore and strengthen hair.

While consumers in the West are just now adding scalp scrubs and serums to their hair routines, these Asian owned hair care brands are implementing ancient secrets into their products.

Starting off with O’right, a Taiwanese hair care brand founded by Steven Co which is now one of the most sustainable brands in the world. They are known for their environmental awareness with their use of biodegradable bottles and their focus on salon-grade haircare made with green ingredients such as goji berry extract.

Next up is COSRX. You may have seen this Korean brand as it went viral on social media for their snail mucin skin care, but COSRX also develops science driven hair care. Their products incorporate ingredients that can help restore and repair your hair such as panthenol and peptides.

Dr. Groot is another popular Korean brand that specializes in scalp focused products for sensitive heads. They have become a staple in the K-beauty world for anyone who struggles with hair loss or thinning. With years of research Dr. Groot has figured out how to combine botanical extracts with probiotics that will help promote healthy hair growth.

Moving on to Halovida, a Chinese beauty brand that has been slowly climbing the U.S. market. Halovida is best known for their invisible dry shampoo, which uses a modern oil-absorbing technology. Other products target scalp health and use ancient herbal remedies such as ginseng, green tea, and mint to help boost circulation and unclog follicles.

Finally, we have Fable & Mane. This Indian hair care brand was founded by siblings Akash and Nikita Mehta who have put a modern twist on hair oiling traditions. Their signature HoliRoots line uses herbs like ashwagandha and turmeric to help soothe the scalp and strengthen hair at the root.

Lip-Bu Tan’s turnaround strategy at Intel exceeded Q3 expectations while circumventing political drama.

In March 2025 Lip-Bu Tan was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Intel to orchestrate a major turnaround at the struggling chipmaker.  The announcement caused its share price to jump over 12% due to Tan’s prior experience as CEO and his involvement as a board member. 

That momentum continued with Q3 financials exceeding Wall Street estimates.  Earnings per share were reported at $0.23, destroying the Wall Street consensus of $0.01.  Net income of $4.1 billion contrasted with the $16 billion loss during the same period last year.  Tan’s success pushed the stock to 18-month highs – an 85% increase since he took the helm.

The Biden administration’s CHIPS Act and Secure Enclave program funded Intel with $8.9 billion in a 9.9% equity stake which was finalized under Trump.  The August announcement came just weeks after Trump had called for Tan’s resignation but changed his tune following a meeting at the White House.

Tan’s net worth has been cited as high as $760M.

The bulk of his wealth comes from his estimated 1.4 million shares of Cadence Design Systems in which he served as CEO from 2009 to 2021.  Under his leadership Cadence more than doubled revenues and saw a stock price appreciation of over 3,200%.

In addition to his corporate executive roles Tan is a long-time technology investor and venture capitalist. He is Founder and Chairman of Walden International, a leading venture capital firm established in 1987 with over $5B in assets under management.  The 65-year-old is also a Founding Managing Partner of Walden Catalyst Ventures and Celesta Capital. A naturalized American citizen, Tan was born in Muar, Malaysia and is of Chinese descent.  He earned a bachelor’s in physics from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, a master of science in nuclear engineering from MIT, and an MBA from the University of San Francisco.

VinFast EVs challenge Tesla and BYD with cutting edge technology and an ambitious vision for the future. 

We’ve heard of Tesla, Lucid, and even BYD, but VinFast has been the quiet brand leading Vietnam’s push into the electric vehicle world. Launched by Vietnamese entrepreneur Phạm Nhật Vượng, Vinfast was created to compete globally.

Vượng earned his wealth in Ukraine after opening up a noodle business before building one of Vietnam’s largest private conglomerates, Vingroup. VinFast was then founded in 2017 and broke ground on 828 acres of land to create a state-of-the-art manufacturing compound in Haiphong, Vietnam that boasts up to 90% automation, meaning 90% of the manufacturing processes are done by robotics and automatic systems.

The first phase of development began in 2018 when the company invested $1.5 billion to manufacture the cars allowing VinFast to make its very first debut internationally at the Paris Motor Show. That same year, General Motors announced a partnership with VinFast, giving VinFast rights to distribute Chevrolet vehicles and ownership of the GM factory in Korea. They also signed two contracts with Siemens Vietnam to supply the technology to produce electric buses around Southeast Asia.

In March 2019, VinFast sent the very first batch of 310 completed and semi-completed internal combustion engine vehicles to other continents in order to conduct field tests. By 2020, VinFast was the fifth best-selling car brand in Vietnam.

By the end of 2022, the company made the decision to completely stop all internal combustion engine production and go fully electric, sending its first batch of EVs to the United States.

To support the expansion of VinFast into the U.S., a $4 billion manufacturing plant is currently in the works in North Carolina which is expected to be finished in 2028 and will act as a main production center for American and European markets.

Although VinFast has faced timing delays and mixed reviews from car critics, the company is still staying optimistic and actively improving their vehicles to enhance the driving experience. In 2025 VinFast opened showrooms beyond Vietnam and the U.S. in Canada, France, and Germany with plans of slowly entering Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

With international expansions and investments in electric bus development, the company’s vision is clear. Make electric mobility accessible everywhere and to firmly place Vietnam on the global EV map.

Creative Asian fusion dishes taking over the food scene combine global flavors in every bite.

Cultures are meeting one another in kitchens in this new era of fusion foods. Let’s take a look at some of the boldest Asian fusions being found on restaurant menus.

Number 5: Birria Ramen

It’s the ultimate fusion comfort bowl that blends ramen noodles with birria consomé broth. The slow cooked beef goes great with chewy noodles creating a warming experience that bridges two popular authentic dishes.

Number 4: Tom Yum Spaghetti

Thailand and Italy have come together to create a tasteful pairing. Tom yum’s creamy coconut and lemongrass seasoning add a punch of flavor to al dente noodles and the citrus compliments traditional tomato sauce nicely.

Number 3: Kimchi Quesadilla

This crispy tortilla is stuffed with melted cheese and flavorful kimchi. The balance of crunch and tanginess makes the perfect flavor explosion and each bite will give you that satisfying cheese pull along with some spicy kimchi.

Number 2: Poke Tacos & Burritos

These tacos and burritos have an exciting twist to them as poke restaurants have created handheld versions of their bowls. You can get all your favorite poke toppings wrapped in a thick layer of rice, giving us a completely new way to enjoy our food and a colorful Instagram post.

Number 1: Banh Mi Sliders

Inspired by the iconic Vietnamese sandwich, these banh mi sliders just make sense. They’re bite sized sandwiches filled with savory meat and pickled veggies allowing foodies to get that flawless bite every time.

In his tenth season, the Tongan-born coach has guided BYU to an 8-0 record, a top-10 ranking, and a legitimate shot at the College Football Playoff.

In his tenth season as head football coach for Brigham Young Kalani Sitake has led the Cougars to an 8-0 record, positioning them as one of only six undefeated teams remaining in the country.  The impressive start has propelled BYU to a number 10 ranking in national polls, cementing their status as a legitimate Big 12 and potential College Football Playoff contender.

Their most significant win came in the 24-21 “Holy War” victory over ranked archrival Utah.  This marked their third consecutive victory over the Utes – a streak not accomplished since the early 90s.  The electric win followed    an improbable double-overtime win at Arizona. Facing a two-possession deficit in the fourth quarter the Cougars were only given a 4.4% chance to win the game by ESPN Analytics.  They closed out the game by rallying behind freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier and a physical defensive performance.

In 2016 Sitake became the first FBS head football coach of Tongan descent after taking the job with his alma mater.  Since then he’s accomplished an overall record 80–43 with 5 bowl wins.  At 50 Sitake is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.  The Cougars’ 2026 recruiting class is the 2nd highest in the Big 12 with 5-star quarterback Ryder Lyons.  Before accepting the job at BYU Sitake built his resume as a brilliant defensive coordinator at Oregon State in 2015 and for a decade at Utah.

Kalani Sitake was born in Nuku’alofa, Tonga.  His family emigrated to Laie, Hawaii before moving to Provo, Utah, and eventually to Kirkwood, Missouri where Sitake would graduate high school.  He played fullback for the Cougars under legendary coach LaVell Edwards between 1994 and 2000 which includes a two-year mission with the LDS Church.   Sitake went on to graduate with a bachelor’s in English.

Justine Wong-Orantes has become the 5’6 underdog helping Team USA earn Olympic gold.

Justine Wong-Orantes was born to be one of the world’s top liberos. Her parents, Winnie Wong and Robert Orantes, both played and coached volleyball. We can truly say volleyball was in Justine’s blood from the very start.

Justine was born in October 1995 in Torrance, California and she first became an accomplished beach volleyball player. When she was only 12 years old, she was the first female to earn a AAA rating in California Beach Volleyball. She was playing club volleyball at Mizuno Long Beach, where her father also was coaching and led her 16-U team to a Junior Olympics national championship.

Her career became even more real when she enrolled at Los Alamitos High School. During her senior year, Justine played in 91 sets, earning 53 service aces, 222 digs, 67 kills, and went 10-0 in their league.

Being only 5 '6, Justine was not heavily recruited, but during a high school club tournament she was noticed by John Cook, the University of Nebraska’s head coach. He saw Justine’s potential and she ended up committing to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the nation’s best college volleyball team. Here, she racked up real stats.

She was a big part of Nebraska’s 2015 NCAA National Championship win, two time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, 2x AVCA All American, and finished her collegiate career as the Cornhusker’s all time leader in digs with 1,890.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in child, youth, and family studies, Justine joined the U.S. Women’s National Team in 2017 where she won a gold medal at the Pan-American Volleyball Cup. She earned the title of best libero during the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Nations League Tournament after Team USA won their third straight gold medal.

Justine was announced as part of the Olympic roster for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. She helped the U.S. win their first gold medal in Women’s Volleyball and led the games in serve reception percentage. She was also a part of the 2024 Paris Olympics team when the U.S. won silver.

Today Justine is still playing volleyball at LOVB Omaha and is currently a strong candidate for the 2028 Olympic Team. She continues to inspire young Asian-American athletes around the world, proving that greatness in volleyball is not always defined by height.