The Asian American Dream

In this episode, we speak to Crystal Kung Minkoff. Crystal is a second-generation, Chinese American, business owner, mom, and reality TV star, who shares her very relatable and hilarious stories growing up Asian American in Southern California. She joins us on our most jam-packed episode, where she also tells us about her parent's unconventional meet-cute, her idea of the American Dream, and the pressure to represent Asian Americans on Bravo. 

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Jesse Montana makes ambient, lyrical electro r&b-pop. Born in Missoula, Montana, Jesse moved to Los Angeles and was in the band DiVerse. After a year of working together, DiVerse disbanded and Jesse took some time to live in Oahu, Hawaii to write music and then travelled through Europe writing more music along the way.After arriving in Los Angeles to pursue a career in music, Jesse Montana found himself on both sides of the Hollywood's red carpet–first as a celebrity stylist and then a reality TV star himself. If there was any indication that he was destined to be successful, it's his work ethic–coupled with his passion and creativity–that fuels him as a stylist, actor, and singer.Before Jesse began working as a celebrity stylist in Beverly Hills Meche Salon–styling clients like Paris Hilton, girl band GRL, Katie Stevens, Jessica Alba, Julia Lewis Dreyfus, Chrissy Teigen, and Scheana Maria Shay from BRAVO's hit reality series Vanderpump Rules–he was chasing a music career.  After recognizing music was his passion at the age of 15–after learning how to play the guitar and writing his first song “Love Me Back”–Jesse was hooked“…I was scouted by a manager in high school and came out to California for a summer to be in a boyband called Diverse. After the group disbanded, I turned to social media [which] was an amazing launching point for me.”He eventually landed back in Los Angeles, and starting in 2012 began making videos of himself singing and uploaded them to various social media sites eventually garnering a huge collective following. He released his debut EP in March of 2017 which includes the singles "Animal" "Patient", "Drunk On You" and "Kings and Queens feat. Lauren Chavez". His most popular single “Colors” got him a headlining gig at LA Pride and was featured in the film The Landlord. His sophomore EP “PONYBOY” which includes singles “Colors” “Lately” “Stuck”  “Do Ya” & “Run is available now everywhere. His latest single "Okay" is out now worldwide.

We are so excited to share this episode because we speak to Abby Hwong, also known as, NoSo. Abby is also our cousin, which made this recording experience even more special. We learned about her childhood in the Chicago suburbs and then about her experience spending her formative years in La Canada, California. She speaks about her parents's idea of the American Dream and how it lines up with her desire to seek a career in music. You can check out her music on Spotify, iTunes, and other music platforms! You'll also hear from our dogs, Monte and Cooper, in this episode! 

In this episode, you'll hear from our guest James, an amateur bodybuilder from the Philly area. He discusses his family's journey to break through society's expectations. He carries on this legacy in his every day life. You'll probably relate to his struggles with his mother's expert level mind games, or as we like to call it classic Asian parenting. Listen in to hear James's incredible story. 

In this episode, we are joined by Ryan, a high school history teacher in California, who speaks about his parent's unique experience growing up in South Africa. He also tells us the origin story behind his nontraditional last name. Finally, he shares his experience growing up HAPA. Special shoutout to all the educators! Thank you to all of the educators who had to navigate this difficult, unprecedented time! 

In this episode, Patty joins us all the way from Thailand. Her positivity shines through as she speaks about her parent's modern day love story and shares some heartwarming and funny anecdotes about her parent's experience immigrating to the United States. She also shares her perception of the American Dream and gives us some insight into her journey to stay connected to Thai culture. Finally, we tackle the tough topic of body image and Asian beauty standards.

In this episode, you'll hear from Joe, a second generation Korean American designer, living in New York, who shares his relatable story growing up in Baltimore, Maryland and shares his insights into his parent's idea of the American Dream. And finally, he campaigns for the Top Hat to be brought back into style. 

In this episode, we speak to Indra, a second-generation Indian-American living in Boulder, CO. She is the cohost of Family Karma Kast, a podcast that recaps Bravo TV's "Family Karma" (the first reality show in America that features an all Indian-American cast) and focuses on South Asian Americans in pop culture. She is also the Music Director at KGNU Radio in Boulder/Denver and has a 21-month old son. 

In this episode, you'll hear from Gabi, a second-generation Filipino-American, who grew up in Southern California and loves line dancing and swing dancing. She joined us on this episode all the way from Hawaii during her vacation and we cannot thank her enough for sharing her story and her family's journey to achieve the American Dream. 

In this episode, you hear from Audrey, a Chinese-Filipino New Yorker, who describes her experience growing up Asian-American. We speak with this digital creator, real estate agent, badass mom about her family's story and we learn about the struggles and sacrifices they made when immigrating to this country. Thanks for joining us on another exciting, heartwarming episode of the Asian American Dream Podcast. 

In this episode, you hear from Cat, an optician, foodie, occasional baker, occasional photographer and plant lover from St. Louis, Missouri. She shares her family's epic immigration story (straight from the movies) and shares her experiences growing up Asian American in Midwest America. She gives a shoutout to her favorite Asian-owned business, The Banh Mi Shop (@thebanhmishopstl) in St. Louis!

In today's episode, you'll hear from Helen, our favorite healthcare worker! She shares her relatable, and at times painful, story of growing up Korean-American in Baltimore. Special shoutout and dedication to all of our healthcare workers who have sacrificed so much this past year and, let's be real, sacrifice so much ALL THE TIME.  

Get your pencils and paper ready because school is in session with Professor Lisa. In this episode, we discuss the nuances of higher education, particularly with Asian American women in education. We also discuss our fear of teenagers and our love of panda cookies. Lisa gives a shoutout to Henry's Cuisine (henryscuisine.com) in this episode and we will continue to keep a running list of Asian-owned businesses that our guests give a shout out to in our Instagram (@asamdreampod) story highlights! As always, thanks for listening and keep dreaming! 

Today's podcast features our favorite Austin resident - Sandy! We discuss her parent's journey to find success in America and her personal journey in getting a puppy. All joking aside, this episode is full of reflection, emotion, laughter, and love - all things Asian parents have a hard time showing. Special shoutout to BTS Army and Sandy's favorite man to stan - Jungkook. 

Our very first episode features mental health expert, Dennis D Song. In this episode, we discuss an epic love story, traditional Korean fashion, osmosis, and silk worms. We understand that the sound on our end might  be low, but we're still learning how to record and it's more important for you to hear Dennis's story anyway!