Level: Asian

Send us a textWe’ve got a special episode for you this week! We sit down together and recap the last 6 month journey we’ve had, since launching the Level: Asian Podcast. You’ll hear about the specific costs and production process behind building the podcast, how much $$$ we’ve made, our favourite memories and what we’ve got planned for the future. Thanks for all of your support so far, we couldn’t have done it without you! <3Don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter to get the latest episodes and updates www.levelasianpodcast.com

Send us a textWe’re joined by Jason Om, an award winning reporter with the ABC’s 7.30 program. Jason has recently released his first memoir, All Mixed Up: a powerful story about growing up as a gay Asian-Austalian, uncovering his family history and finding resilience. In this episode, we talk to Jason about his professional career in journalism, working with the SBS and ABC, how he’s paved the way for other Asian-Australian journalists, the 16-year struggle for acceptance with his Cambodian father and how he’s navigated his experience around being a gay Asian-Australian.

Send us a textIn this episode, we’re joined by Jessica Wong-Saunderson, who has an extensive background in advising on cross-border mergers and acquisitions as a tax lawyer and accountant. She’s worked across Melbourne, Kolkata, New York and Sydney. Jessica is currently working as PwC’s Tax Director in Australia as well as being an advocate for greater gender and cultural diversity in Australian business leadership. She is also involved in leading the engagement of the alumni community at the Australia-China Youth Dialogue to engage mid-careers professionals engaged in the Australia-China bilateral relationship.Amongst all things, Jessica is also the Co-founder of MumbleMe, a platform that connects professionally skilled working mums with flexible work opportunities, as well as a Board Member for OIC Australia, a charity that supports the establishment of a speech therapy ecosystem for children with communication impediments in Cambodia. 

Send us a textWe’re joined by Jen Trinh, an ex-pat living and teaching in Bangkok. Jen grew up in South West Sydney she has spent the last decade teaching abroad, travelling and making connections with people from all over the world. In this episode, we talk to Jen about the concept of being a ‘Third Culture Kid’ and why she feels more aligned with her identity in Asia. We also unpack the parental expectations she’s grown up with, especially with being the eldest Asian daughter, the example she wants to set for her siblings and how Jen was able to break away from societal norms to focus on herself.Links:https://www.jenlalaluna.com/https://www.instagram.com/jenlalaluna/

Send us a textWe’re joined by Nancy Yu, aka. NC Qin, a Sydney-based cast glass artist and sculptor.  Nancy creates glass weaponry exploring concepts of history, heritage and psychology. She has a long list of accolades that include winning the National Emerging Art Glass Prize in 2020 and The Vicki Torr Prize in 2021 and being featured in museums and art galleries worldwide. In this episode, we hear about Nancy’s journey in becoming an artist, as it was not an easy feat, especially in an Asian household. She recounts the years of convincing her parents to allow her to pursue the artist pathway and takes us through the different skills she’s had to learn along the way. We also delve into the inspirations behind Nancy’s incredible work, and she gives us some insight into how artists can make a living. 

Send us a textIn this episode, we’re joined by Josh Chin, founder and director of Unmarked Social- a video agency based in Sydney and Hong Kong. Having dropped out of school at the age of 15 and entering into homeschooling, Josh takes us through his journey of turning his filmmaking hobby into a career that has allowed him to work with brands such as Fossil, Rains, Nike and Snapchat. Josh also gives us some advice on how to upskill yourself as a freelancer and how to price your value as a creative. Links:https://www.unmarkedsocial.com/https://www.instagram.com/unmarkedsocial/https://www.instagram.com/joshmchin/https://www.youtube.com/c/joshmchin/featured

Send us a textWe’re joined by Tyrone Shum, property manager, YouTuber and host of the Property Investory Podcast.Tyrone talks us through his business journey from losing $24,000 during the Global Financial Crisis to now owning Australia’s #1 Property Podcast that has over 1.6 million podcast downloads, showcasing stories, strategies and examples from Australia’s most innovative property experts.We unpack ideas around the Asian ‘money mentality’ and Tyrone gives us insight into the lessons he’s learned along the way and why consistency in business is vital. Links:https://au.linkedin.com/in/tyroneshumhttps://tyroneshum.com/https://propertyinvestory.com/

Send us a textWe’re joined by Anthea Cheng: photographer, recipe developer and blogger, also known as @rainbownourishments in the digital space.With a background in Federal Government working in Indigenous and disability issues, Anthea talks us through how she transitioned into becoming a full-time blogger with over 242K followers on Instagram. In this episode, Anthea also opens up about her ecounters with racism and vulnerably shares her experience with depression and anxiety. We touch on topics around the ‘silent’ Asian culture and Anthea gives us some advice on how to navigate the mental health space, whether its to support yourself or someone else. 

Send us a textWe’re joined by Actress, Martial Artist, Producer and Director, Maria Tran. She’s also the Founder and Director of Phoenix Eye Films, a female led film and media production company that represents culturally diverse artists based in Western Sydney.In this episode, Maria takes us back to the beginning of her journey, how she navigated through the film industry, refined her skills around martial arts and what it took to start Phoenix Eye Films. She also shares a story about the time Jackie Chan took her on a road trip and gave her some Asian-dad-style life advice. Maria has directed and produced multiple award-winning films such as "Operation Kung Flu", "My Mother, The Action Star" and "Obsidian". She has also worked as a stunt attachment alongside Jackie Chan in his film “Bleeding Steel.” Most recently, Maria joins the cast of Paramount+ Australia’s 10-part drama series “Last King of the Cross”. 

Send us a textWe’re joined by wealth strategist, best-selling author, chartered accountant and certified property investment adviser, Salena Kulkarni. In this episode, Salena shares her journey in taking the ‘non-traditional Asian path’, her personal relationship she has with wealth and the time her parents tried to set her up in an arranged marriage halfway across the world.Over the last 12 years, Salena has run a high-end boutique wealth building service called Inkosi Wealth, where she’s helped hundreds of investors build wealth using off-market opportunities backed by real property, she calls “alternative investments” - investments that outperform the market and offer measurable return on investments.Salena also hosts her own podcast called The Alternative Investing podcast, sharing tactics, strategies and ideas to help people reach financial freedom in a fast and safe way.