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Hello, welcome everyone to today's episode.
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I am delighted to have Kion Lee on the podcast today.
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He is the general manager of Faust, which is an international youth theatre based out in Hong Kong and Singapore, and they do lots of fabulous work.
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I've had the pleasure of working uh with Faust in the past and with Kion, and it was an absolute uh joy.
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And uh Kion is also not just a general manager, but a writer, a director, and an actor.
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And we're going to talk about all of that today.
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And I'm super excited to have you on.
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Kion, I haven't seen you for a while.
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How how's things?
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How have you been getting on since I last saw you?
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Oh, you know, just not much is going on.
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Everything is just peachy fuck keen and fine.
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You know, how are you?
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Yes, similar, similar, peachy.
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Yeah, I like that.
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I like that.
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That might go on the that might be the tag for this episode, Peachy.
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I love it.
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Yeah.
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Good, good.
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So you're getting on okay.
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You're getting on okay.
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Uh there's plenty going on in the world, lots of drama.
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Um, but theater is still going on, you're still being creative.
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Faust is Faust is still happening.
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Yes.
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Uh you know, it it was touch and go for a while there last year in 2020.
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Uh it's a big ask for families to transfer learning drama skills online.
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Uh, we did find a lot of ways to uh make that palatable and make that work.
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And actually, uh we received so much feedback from parents uh during last year because there were quite a few families who really appreciate that we were still continuing setting up services and to help their children online.
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We offered different types of services.
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Uh instead of just drama, we did uh creative writing.
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We did more creative writing, we did um uh comic illustration, which uh I led, and that was a lot of fun.
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And uh we even helped some students who wanted interview and um exam preparation.
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So we've diversified during um uh during last year, but we still where we could uh manage to run workshops in person, and uh we're actually preparing a show.
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Next week we're doing a performance of Pride and Prejudice and Serena de Bergerac with teenagers.
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Okay, so they're all gonna perform with masks on, uh, but they've been doing such a great job, and they're managing to pull off a magnetic performance even with their masks on.
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Uh, I'll tell you more about that later, but it's it's like we're adapting and it's been great.
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You know, we really had to focus on the actor's physicality and uh um something that a non-theater friend of mine said, Oh, you're gonna do a lot of eyebrow acting.
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There's a lot of eyebrow action going on.
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And um I'd be good at that.
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I've got pretty expressive eyebrows.
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Anyway, sorry.
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And and but we're also getting masks that's color coordinated to the costumes.
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So we did a lot of work on costumes.
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Uh Jamee Cura and uh Clara Kim, uh they're my colleagues, and they've spent so much time working on costumes, making sure they're really carefully color coordinated so that visually it looks quite appealing.
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And so I think it I think it's gonna work.
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It's been working so far in rehearsals.
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Uh they still make me laugh and they still make me cry when they're uh performing.
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So I hope audiences feel the same.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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For anyone that doesn't know, Faust have been uh they they began in 1999.
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Uh and when there is not COVID and restrictions and this, that, and the other, ordinarily um they run various drama school uh drama workshops in schools, I should say, uh, and also at the at their youth, at their theater space, um, where people come along and they take part in various classes, in in acting, in moving, in writing, and in all sorts, and it is it's it's an awesome, awesome um place uh for the young people to go to uh and you know take part and express themselves.
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And it's it's pretty awesome.
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Um when you are not general managing at Faust, uh you're also a uh you write as well, and you are an uh you've been a performer, you've acted as well.
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Can you talk to us about the acting work that you've done, Keon?
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And we'll come back to to Faust and your general managing in a little in a little bit.
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Thank you.
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Uh so uh I have done less acting um uh since I'd taken on the role of general manager.
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Um, but when I was younger, uh in my more carefree days, uh I I you know I I you know since I was a teenager, I loved performing and acting.
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And I I don't know where that came from, really, because my parents are they're not my father's a businessman, my mom.
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Uh she, you know, she took care of us at home.
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And you know, you know, they they provided a really great lifestyle, but they weren't they weren't particularly, you know, theater, oh you must go see this play or anything like that.
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I I you know I was shy, and I think uh when I was at drama class, it the drama teachers were just so good and they were so great.
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Um Mrs.
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Higginbottom and Mr.
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Neil Harris uh and my primary school teacher, uh Mrs.
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Oyston and um Miss Lacey Vitachi, they they just made me feel really whole and complete and let me have fun and express myself.
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And I thought this is the best thing ever.
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Like I I need to do this.
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And so I uh pursued kind of uh acting and writing.
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I just like being creative.
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And uh and uh I did two performances that I thought uh that were kind of like highlights.
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Uh one uh was I I played a character called DHH in David Henry Wong's uh Yellow Face.
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So this is uh an Asian American playwright who wrote about his experience about uh Asian American identity.
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So it it it's it's super relevant considering what's happening now uh and uh with Asian American um identity and culture.
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So that was I I I got to play that lead role, and uh Eric was the director, and the Hong Kong players produced it.
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Uh, and it was such a fantastic role, and I was with a really great troupe of actors who um we all bounced off each other.
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It's a really fast-paced play, uh, you know, and it's all you know, part of it's based on real events, but part of it is a dramatization of what the playwright himself went through uh when he was kind of accused of uh racism, uh, in terms of like he was so keen on having Asian American representation that he it kind of questions, well, who's Asian, who's American, what does that all mean?
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And uh I think a lot of Asian Americans uh in that play, it kind of reflects how they're not always accepted, they're not seen as fully American, uh, particularly the older generations who have who brought more of the old world with them.
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Younger generations might feel more comfortable, but there's always this feeling of you're not really from here, are you?
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And it explores these themes and it's really, really great.
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Such a great play.
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Uh and uh the cast was a really amazing.
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And Eric, he was a fantastic director who just he directed a lot of really great plays in Hong Kong.
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Uh usually his fair is much more uh dark.
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He directed um The Pillow Man.
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Okay.
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You've heard of yeah, yeah, I've heard of The Pillow Man, yeah, yeah.
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Yeah, so he's right place, yeah, and uh another play called Nine Circles.
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So he he he does really well with dark material, but Yellow Fair, yeah, yellow fair, uh Yellow Face is uh you know a lot less dark, but he just did so well in uh you know making sure that the play is entertaining, fast-paced, and dramatic.
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So yeah.
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Wow.
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Very nice.
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And you you you took part in uh there was another production as well, which I noticed um uh online that My Big Gay Italian Wedding, an American comedy.
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Now I would love to hear a bit more about that one, Keon.
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Okay, so that one is a it's a farce.
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It's it's uh directed by Wendy Herbert uh uh through WAG Productions.
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Uh and uh she is well known for directing a lot of really great comedies, and it was just the it was a big cast.
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Uh it it and it's it's a comedy about uh two two men who are planning a big gay Italian wedding.
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And it's really, really silly, really, really fun, and it really has a lot of heart, and uh um and it has you know both straight and gay actors playing lots of different types of roles.
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Uh I myself uh am a straight male, and uh I was cast to play a gay man who has to pretend to be um I want to get this straight.
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He has to pretend to be the mother of one of the gay men in order to convince the other gay partners' parents, very conservative parents, that it is okay for them to get married.
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So the conservative parents were like, Oh, it's okay that you can be gay married as long as the mother and father are still present.
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So I had to be the the mother.
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Uh and would love to see this.
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You you'll I'll show you a photo.
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Can you find this anywhere?
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Yeah, is it is it online somewhere?
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It must be.
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Yeah, it's it's not hidden, but it's uh well, let's just say uh you know, I I don't look bad in pink.
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And it's a lot of pink.
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Wow, wow, what a great part to play as well.
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That that must have uh was that a stretch for you to play, or did you was it quite quite an easy character for you to to morph into?
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Or well it's it's very farcical, and and the you know the director uh you know said you know there's obviously there's uh elements of heart and truth to it, but it's a really silly play, and so we really played up a lot of the humor.
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It's you know, it's not it's not meant to be like a a smart satire or anything like that.
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It's just it's got a lot of comedia dell'arte energy, a lot of silliness, a lot of word play, uh, and a lot of double takes.
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Uh, so you know, for those who were looking for more sophisticated takes uh or more nuanced takes, uh don't bother because the title is Big Gay, my big gay.
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There's more subtlety.
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No, no, it's pretty clear from the title.
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Um, yeah, absolutely.
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All right, good.
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So when you're not acting, you uh you do a lot of writing and and directing at Faust.
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You you are um you create a lot of shows.
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You work mainly with the older groups, is that is that right?
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Or or is it or do you work with all of them at this point?
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Oh well, um I have taught uh every age group.
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Um uh from there's we we teach three-year-olds as well, but I've taught uh basically from four all the way to 18.
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And actually, we just started an adult class, so now I you can say I always teach all.
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Um and when I actually started working at Voust back in 2001, and I worked there as an assistant first, and then as a program coordinator, so I would be teaching and administrating programs.
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And then in uh 2013, I I became general manager, and when I became general manager, I I focused teaching the oldest age group, uh stage group, they're the 15 to 18-year-olds, and they're obviously the ones who are most focused on, you know, they're they they want to perform at a more professional level.
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And they realize that you know they need to put in a lot more effort and and focus on delivering um more sophisticated performances.
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Uh and so I did I taught only one group uh during my time as general manager in stage group.
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Um, but I have taught all the different age groups uh during my time here.
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And in the uh when you were teaching the younger ones, you meant you mentioned you started as an assistant and then you became one of the lead drama teachers, and then you moved from that into being a general manager.
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What was the um what how was that for you, that transition?
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I imagine obviously responsibility was far, far greater, but was that it an easy move for you to make?
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Is it something that you had wanted to do for a while, or did it just sort of happen organically?
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What was the yeah, what was the deal?
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Oh, and Warren, it was hard.
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Yeah, it was so hard.
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I I think there were several points where I thought I've made a mistake.
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This is this is no, that I I can't do this.
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Um, so to give a little bit more background, you know, I studied English literature and drama at university.
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I went to Royal Holloway for my first year and then transferred to the University of Hong Kong.
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Um and uh and I and I continued studying, you know, uh English literature and comparative literature.
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I it wasn't um I had no interest in doing business.
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My father was a businessman, and uh I think I just rebelled against what he wanted me to do.
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I really had no interest in doing business.
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Um on my way to the UK to study English and drama, my father said to me, Hey, you should audit in some business classes, and I laughed at his face.
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Why?
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Why?
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And you know, ultimately he was correct because you know, I I love my years teaching, and the this opportunity to be general manager came up.
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Uh, my boss, Matthew Gregory, the founder of the company, uh uh said to me, you know, this position is available.
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Are you interested?
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Uh and uh I said sure.
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And we talked about it, and and and this is what this is one of the reasons why I stayed at FAS for so long.
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Matthew is such a great boss, because he, you know, we both recognize that I'm not from a business background.
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A general manager should have a business background, or at least one that's kind of more uh more than what I had.
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And uh, you know, he acknowledged that there that there will be holes in that area and he would help me.
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It was mainly to do with marketing and some areas in business development.
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Uh and for the first, I'd say the first year and a half, it was like just barely keeping my head above water in terms of oh, there's all these things I have to do, there's all these processes and all this knowledge and behaviors and and things I should look out for.
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And it was constantly and finally after nearly two years, everything just clicked.
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Everything just finally clicked.
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I finally got more calm, I got more confident in what I was doing, and um so yeah, that's that's that transition was really difficult, yeah.
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But uh it made it through.
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And in the position you're in now, like will these years later, are you very comfortable now then in the job?
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Is it something that you really really enjoy?
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Can you um is it something that you would want to do for for more many more years to come?
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Yeah, I have to admit there were some moments, uh, particularly in the last year, but that has nothing to do with um that has nothing to do with the job and more with the the whole world being on fire.
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Right.
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And in 2014, uh because there were some difficult days.
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But uh let me let me put it this way.
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I in 2019, I was so comfortable with my role as general manager in marketing and business development that I called that my Slytherin year.
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I decided in part way through the year, like early 2019, that this is going to be my Slytherin year.
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I'm gonna embrace being a Slytherin uh from the Harry Potter world and Hogwarts and be more ambitious and cunning and and just develop the business.
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And I took that on.
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I joined a business networking group where I have to wake up at five o'clock in the morning to make sure that I'm ready for a 6:30 uh morning uh networking meeting and uh meet business people and talk about business and referrals.
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Like it was as a creative person, this was like bizarro world.
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And I was like, okay, so this is how that works.
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Yeah, and um so it it's it's just things like that.
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It I I I just I finally got comfortable, you know.
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Um I had to learn a lot about delegating during my time as general manager, and I finally feel more comfortable about how to do that, and just checking with people and realizing that I have my job to do looking over stuff.
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I don't have to go in and try to do everything, I don't have to um uh you know try to take over things when you know things are not working.
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I have to embrace my role and try to support and empower my colleagues to so that you know they are doing what they're supposed to be doing, and I'm supposed to be what I'm supposed to be doing because they need that balance.
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Uh they don't need me like kind of breathing behind their backs, you know, breathing on their neck, kind of like going, no, do do it like this.
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You know, so that's gone.
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So you uh but I didn't really didn't actually know you were doing that.
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Those meetings at 6 30 in the morning.
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That's pretty uh that's pretty dedicated right there, Kieran.
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Big fan of that.
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It it was so weird because um because you know how you know listen, more you're a positive guy.
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You know, the whole time I've known you, I I've always seen you like just be really, really positive.
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Like I think you would fit in with this group because this group is just so positive and they're like proactive and they're like asking you like really, really great.
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The only problem it being at 6 30 in the morning.
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Yeah, I'm not sure how positive I would be at 6 30 in the morning, but you haven't seen me at that time in the morning.
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Uh the smile comes like post nine o'clock, usually for me.
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Let's talk about your your decision to to move to to Hong Kong.
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So you originally you're from Korea, is that right?
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Yes, yeah, I'm from South Korea.
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Yep.
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I mean, my uh it wasn't my decision really because uh I I was four years old.
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And uh I want to move to Hong Kong, yeah.
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Yeah.
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Okay, so so the reasoning was was your your parents decided to move to Hong Kong or yes, yeah.
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My father worked for LG Electronics.
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Back then, it was not called LG Electronics, it was called Lucky Gold Star.
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Oh, I like that.
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That that it to me growing up in Hong Kong, that sounds like such an Asian name for an English, like uh something that they think might sound good in English.
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And the logo was completely different.
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I remember it distinctly because I remember as a kid growing up seeing the lucky gold star in uh in the Hong Kong uh city cityscape up.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:24:38.079
uh shining brightly and uh when they turned it to LG life's good it was like well yeah you know not the same is it really but uh yeah okay so um so you are you you've been here since you were uh four years old then so that's uh that's a large chunk of your of your life really so do you remember any of your time back in Korea in your uh first four years of life do you remember any have any images or flashbacks to that time yeah I um you know I remember mostly my relatives my grandmother uh I I didn't know my uh both of my grandfathers were deceased before I was born but my grandmothers uh uh they have now since uh uh passed away but uh growing up there they were really big in my life and I you know I mostly I remember just being hanging out with my relatives and um eating a lot of candy and snacks right uh there's this snack called chocopie okay um it's a round moon pie uh like chocolate marshmallow like kind of like a fat wagon wheel oh wow sounds awesome yeah it's like I love a wagon wheel yeah what if we get a wagon wheel and just made it even worse or better depending on your point of view yeah better on the taste buds maybe not so good on the on the on the waistline but hey he um wow okay so you remember that that's uh that's uh and have you been uh back to south korea over over the years have you gone back at all for for any reason so when I was uh when I was growing up uh we used to go there once every year either usually during the summer uh and then my last big stay in Korea was I actually spent a year in Korea uh between my first year of university and my second year of university because I was in the UK I was having a great time at Royal Holloway studying drama and English literature and then um the Asian economic crisis happened in uh 98 uh to 99 and my father lost a lot of business lost a lot of money and so I couldn't continue studying there so I um I actually went to Korea to stay with my relatives and I earned money by tutoring.
00:24:38.319 --> 00:25:10.160
Okay I tutored English um and uh and so I I was making a lot of money well I say a lot of money I was making money uh I was also living with with different relatives at different places um the most interesting place was I my I have an uncle who's a Korean pastor um and so I lived in a shed at the back of the church that was where I stayed for like six months during that year.
00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:11.839
How was that experience?
00:25:13.279 --> 00:25:25.519
They were yeah the shed I say shed but it's like it was a big shed and I had my own TV I had privacy but it was also very lonely because you know I didn't grow up in Korea.
00:25:25.599 --> 00:26:16.480
You know I see my relatives but I you know I have an international school background you know I speak English most of the time instead of Korean and so it and all my friends were at university they were all all around the world I didn't know anybody my age in Korea uh because all my relatives my cousins were either like really young or much older than me and the one cousin who was my age he was doing army service at the time uh Korean national service so it was it was very lonely and uh it it and it was only because of a family friend that I was able to move back to Hong Kong and uh pay for a deposit to go into uh University of Hong Kong.
00:26:16.799 --> 00:29:28.480
Let's talk about I was doing some research on you I'd often do a little bit of research on my guests and a video of you doing a TEDx talk popped up and I would love to know how that came about uh and can you tell everyone what it was about and what the goals were behind the speech itself what you were hoping to achieve etc etc that would be awesome um the uh TEDx talk came about because uh it was at held at Charton College uh Jane uh parry uh uh she was a she was the person who asked me so she uh so I was a student at that school and uh I still have close ties to that school uh some of the teachers that go there are now my friends I call some of my drama teachers by their first names which is really weird but uh I've gotten used to it now um Jane Perry uh somebody referred me to Jane Perry and she asked me hey would you mind coming uh to uh to give this talk actually there's a longer backstory she actually I actually went to that school uh many times to for uh um uh careers evenings so she had known me for years and then uh when the TEDx event at Shot and College uh happened she asked me and I said sure uh it was like a bucket list thing to do right to give a TED talk it's I mean it's TEDx but it's still that's still I still thought that it was a great idea uh it was a great opportunity and they had a theme it was called Epiphanies so anything regarding epiphanies on the theme of Epiphanies and I said okay what can I talk about what can I I'm a drama teacher director what could I say about epiphanies what do I know and oh let me talk about the best subject that I know a lot about myself uh so I talked about the various epiphanies I had in my life and I basically talked about the definition of epiphany of epiphany being just a single moment in your life uh you know a moment where you have a great realization um that kind of shifts your perspective and uh I basically expanded on that definition to comical effect you know I you know I mentioned that uh you can have a series of epiphanies and uh it it can occur again and again and it doesn't have to be a single moment and I used my uh life experiences to kind of demonstrate that you know I I had uh I had an epiphany for example regarding an ex-girlfriend oh I'm I'm getting really expli don't know if I should mention that one I I said it in a TEDx why why can't I say it here?
00:29:28.799 --> 00:33:14.960
Yeah exactly so uh you know I mentioned that you know I had um blamed uh my ex for our relationship and I just realized that um I was holding on to that blame and when I let that go it just made a huge difference because I was holding on to she was wrong she was wrong she was wrong but she was I was no longer with her like I can't blame her like I'm the one who's carrying all the you know all the blame and fault uh so letting learning to let that go was an epiphany learning you know realizing you know that my parents just want the best for me that was also a big epiphany like people know oh yeah parents love you yeah yeah yeah but to actually experience your parents' love like you really get that they were just trying to do the best for you their way of saying you know go audit some business classes is their way of saying I love you I want you to be safe I want you to do the best and with and do what I know works that's their version of I love you and so um so so I shared that so it was really you know vulnerable intimate things that I shared about but I think it's okay to share about those things because it just makes other people go oh yeah me too I've experienced something like that it makes you feel less alone were you I were you nervous beforehand doing it oh yeah I like wrote rewrote I you know I bored my poor wife Tanya to death with like me like she's so she's so patient and it's like and this what do you think that about this and she's like yeah yeah that that's that that sounds good she was much more patient than I than I just portrayed her just uh to be but uh but yeah it's uh but yeah I I got a lot of support yeah yeah and um and feedback did you get any feedback off off the back of the talk anyone was there anyone in the audience that you that you knew that went to see it or anyone that saw it online that has got back to you afterwards and said wow that was pretty cool or I took something away from that or well at the event itself um I was put in a later time slot so uh there weren't actually as many people in the audience so I you know it was a little bit quiet but there was uh a photographer he was the ESF first photographer and he came out to me and said uh you know enjoy that he was very uh understated and um my boss I gave my Matthew uh my speech and he's he said he really liked it and it wasn't until like months later when they finally uploaded it up onto YouTube and it got uploaded to the uh to the to the TEDx official YouTube page and I shared it and that's when people went oh wow this is well done Keon this is really good it's really nice so so it was really nice I I I didn't expect many people to actually hear it all the way through because it's 15 minutes and it's me talking about myself so it's okay all right let's move to your love of comic books please Keon.
00:33:15.440 --> 00:39:34.239
I came across a couple of links online you've been in the past even presently you're creating comic books you're doing some little bits of writing on that and um yeah can you talk to us about that how how you started that and about your passion for comic books that would be quite interesting to hear I think yeah I uh well I'm this okay Warren this is no longer Warren telling tales podcast this is now Keon talking about comic books podcast because I can let's condense it a little bit but yeah give me the highlights fine I'll try to extinct okay so I I I in Korea there are comic books are a big thing for children uh so I read a lot of comic books uh some of them were Japanese uh comic books that were translated into Korean and I just you know I I loved the stories you know they were fairly simplistic superhero stories right uh I read a lot of X-Men Batman Spider-Man when I was a kid and um and I and one of my passions was drawings I would uh doodle all the time like I was quite well known in school as you know you know there's always that one kid who draws you know I was that kid and I would draw things for other people I would draw posters for the uh you know the school dance and stuff like that and um and I continued I continued reading superhero comics uh you know past what it what would normally be acceptable you know my my father would be like why do you why do you buy all this stuff all this crap um but I still enjoyed it and you know the world has bent to my will because now we have comic book movies marvels that yeah dominate it is now a geek's paradise you know realize it but you know we're what's your favorite guion do you have a favorite superhero comic story oh god no don't do this to me that there's just too much top three top three oh god um uh uh X-Men Days of Future Pass that's like a classic you know story um uh the lot Batman the Long Halloween that's really great um but those you know there are really seminal comic books but the Sandman series was when um that comic book series it's by written by Neil Gaiman it's a fantasy series as opposed to superheroes and it's about this group of beings a family called the endless dream death destiny delirium um desire uh they so they're they're a family and they go on a series of adventures and it's fantastical it's allegorical it has uh mythical mythical characters in it like Thor and Loki and it mixes all of these myths and um fairy tales it there's also some Shakespeare in there and it mixes it all up into this beautiful concoction of um uh cautionary tales and horror stories and comedies and fantasy and it's really really sophisticated you need to have some knowledge of myths and culture to follow that story because it is so dense with information and I I read that while I was in my first year of university and it broke my brain I was like whoa this is what it can you know uh comic books can go beyond superhero stories it can encompass this world and I have been become more recently I've become more drawn to um autobiographical tales um there you know there's a really famous one called Persepolis for example that was talking about uh a Persian woman's experience it became it it it was turned into an animated film okay uh so stories like Persepolis uh there's mouse uh that talk that that's about the um Nazi Germany and about the Jewish people and they were drawn as uh cat and mouse characters and that that's that actually won I but I think I believe that won the Pulitzer Prize okay uh or was nominated uh for the Pulitzer Prize because these are these are human stories that are told in comic book form and I I love the the immediacy it brings it's like it's it's the same reason why I love theater the the comic book pages like if they evoke so much uh and it can tell you so much information um and I'm a very uh visual learner I like seeing images you know uh when I try reading long books you know now I just fall asleep because I I'm so tired that when I try to read a uh an adult book I just go oh I fall asleep in within two pages but uh I think uh comic comic books as a medium um can can tell stories powerfully yeah wow I can sense your passion for this Keon incredible passion in there when you talk I love it all right um a few more things Keon and then I'm gonna let you go because I know you're a busy man um let's move to uh so for anyone that doesn't know you recently lost some a considerable amount of weight which is very impressive and you look phenomenal.
00:39:34.800 --> 00:43:05.760
For anyone else that is you know considering going down that road can you talk to them about why why you did it firstly and also um how you went about doing it to get to to maybe give some other people ideas on on ways that they could achieve what you've achieved yeah certainly uh so just to give your listeners context I was 115 kilograms uh that was at my heaviest uh back in 2019 and I'm now uh uh down to 86 kilograms wow uh so uh so you know I I decided to start losing weight um in 2019 when um I I was 28 years old and not not 38 years old sorry I jumped a decade when I was 38 years old and uh I was going to turn 40 very soon and I was just unhappy with the way I look and the way I felt uh and I you know I was thin before I had a yo-yo relationship with my diet and I decided before I hit 40 I want to be you know I want to go back to being under uh a hundred kilograms I want to be 95 so I said 95 kilograms is my target and uh through the help of friends uh quite a lot of them were health professionals there was a a nutritionist uh there was a yoga instructor there was a health coach uh there was even a um um hypnotist a hypnotherapist wow uh uh they all helped me uh lose weight in various ways uh the hypnotherapist she she planted this the suggestion that French fries tasted like earwax and when she implanted that suggestion I I was like skeptical right because hypnotherapist yeah okay I'll I'm willing to try and I tried it lo and behold I'm at the dinner table um in at a restaurant and somebody served up fries and I reached out for one I put it in my mouth I started chewing it and it was like this this doesn't that I and then decided to stop eating french fries I was addicted to french fries this was a huge thing so I because all of that got down to 95 I was like this is pretty good but I decided why stop there and uh I actually went to see a uh gut and hormone specialist uh her name is Helen Revens and she was responsible for getting rid of another eight kilograms just by diet alone because she helped identify my gluten intolerance and my lactose intolerance she you know spent a long time with my medical history asked me a lot of questions about my family and myself and my eating habits and she identified you're probably gluten and lactose intolerant because of X, Y, and Z and said sure.
00:43:05.920 --> 00:43:36.639
And I decided to take her her suggestions on and the the weight just like just went away and also my digestion stomach issues also went away and that felt like a permanent change because you know I love eating bread and I love eating cheese but when I got rid of those of my diet I started exploring eating other things that are healthier and my diet is much more varied.
00:43:37.199 --> 00:43:48.239
And so I think the biggest difference uh and the reason why I think like I can keep the weight off is because I have a new approach and I also um talk to a lot of people I got help.
00:43:48.400 --> 00:44:05.840
Like a lot of people don't talk about their own personal exercise and health they keep it private right you know um but I think when you start talking to other people about it and you start Holding yourself accountable and you're getting professional advice, you're taking it seriously.
00:44:06.480 --> 00:44:18.320
And I think that was the biggest change in my approach as opposed to before, where I would, you know, just quietly, silently, okay, I promise I'll do 50 push-ups every morning and 50 sits up every morning.
00:44:18.639 --> 00:44:22.800
And you know, you know, get up to 25, 30 and say, oh, that's good enough.
00:44:23.440 --> 00:44:24.079
Stop.
00:44:24.639 --> 00:44:27.039
And I don't talk to anybody about it.
00:44:27.360 --> 00:44:29.840
So I'm not held to account.
00:44:31.039 --> 00:44:38.559
That it was the difference, and that's what I think made my weight loss feel permanent.
00:44:40.400 --> 00:44:41.039
Amazing.
00:44:41.199 --> 00:44:42.320
Well, there you go, guys.
00:44:42.559 --> 00:44:46.480
Lots of lots of uh ways there in which you can go about doing it.
00:44:46.559 --> 00:44:53.119
But that was that a hard that must have been a hard uh period, like doing that.
00:44:53.360 --> 00:44:57.280
You such a big change in your in your life and your habits.
00:44:57.360 --> 00:44:59.920
Like I can only imagine it would have been quite difficult.
00:45:00.400 --> 00:45:01.519
Oh yeah.
00:45:01.840 --> 00:45:10.159
I um uh that there were times where I just wanted to give up.
00:45:10.320 --> 00:45:14.719
I wanted to throw the i there was an iPad I had used for apps.
00:45:14.800 --> 00:45:19.440
I wanted to throw the iPad across the uh across the room.
00:45:19.920 --> 00:45:24.400
Um but there was there were so many times where I wanted to give up.
00:45:24.639 --> 00:45:28.079
Uh intermittent fasting and fasting in general.
00:45:28.239 --> 00:45:29.199
I tried that.
00:45:29.280 --> 00:45:31.440
The 24-hour fasting was just horrible.
00:45:31.519 --> 00:45:33.119
I only did that twice.
00:45:33.679 --> 00:45:39.679
Um but there were so many times I had cravings, and there were so many times where my weight went back up.
00:45:40.719 --> 00:45:47.760
But the thought that brought me back down was uh was something that a health coach told me.
00:45:47.840 --> 00:45:49.679
He said, be gentle with yourself.
00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:51.119
It's okay.
00:45:52.079 --> 00:46:05.440
Just do the best you can and don't blame yourself because if you if you're having all these negative reactions to what you're doing, you're not gonna want to continue doing it.
00:46:06.480 --> 00:46:17.280
So it's so I so whenever that key bit of advice just help me go back to zero, go back to okay, I'm gonna start again.
00:46:17.679 --> 00:46:19.199
I'm just gonna be gentle with myself.
00:46:19.440 --> 00:46:27.360
Okay, I I I ate a little bit more chocolate than I should do, or I I ate a little bit too much at dinner than I that I shouldn't have.
00:46:27.440 --> 00:46:28.079
It's okay.
00:46:28.239 --> 00:46:31.519
I'm gonna restart again and make it work.
00:46:31.760 --> 00:46:44.639
And um and you keep doing that, and you you become more and more disciplined and more and more uh strict and able to keep your word with your diet and exercise.
00:46:45.760 --> 00:46:46.480
There we go.
00:46:46.719 --> 00:46:49.679
All right, let's uh we're gonna jump to a game, Keon.
00:46:49.760 --> 00:46:50.960
From that into a game.
00:46:51.119 --> 00:46:52.719
What a nice transition.
00:46:53.039 --> 00:46:55.440
Um, all right, good, good, good.
00:46:55.679 --> 00:46:58.719
So would you rather five questions?
00:46:59.119 --> 00:47:04.079
You can give it as much thought as you like, or you can just spit out the first thing that comes to mind.
00:47:04.320 --> 00:47:09.039
Um and then we're gonna finish with final thoughts, and then that's it for the episode.
00:47:09.280 --> 00:47:10.480
Are you ready to play?
00:47:10.719 --> 00:47:11.840
Would you rather?
00:47:12.480 --> 00:47:12.880
Sure.
00:47:13.199 --> 00:47:13.599
Very good.
00:47:13.760 --> 00:47:14.000
Yes.
00:47:14.159 --> 00:47:15.199
All right, let's do it.
00:47:15.360 --> 00:47:21.519
Number one, would you rather be able to control animals or be able to see into the future?
00:47:22.159 --> 00:47:23.440
Control animals.
00:47:24.000 --> 00:47:24.400
Good.
00:47:24.719 --> 00:47:26.719
Number two, that's duh.
00:47:27.039 --> 00:47:33.599
Uh would you rather be able to shrink down to the size of an ant or grow to the size of a skyscraper?
00:47:37.519 --> 00:47:38.000
Ant.
00:47:38.559 --> 00:47:38.880
Okay.
00:47:39.360 --> 00:47:43.840
Number three, would you rather be famous on the internet or in real life?
00:47:46.559 --> 00:47:47.679
What's the difference?
00:47:47.920 --> 00:47:48.480
Well, I know.
00:47:48.559 --> 00:47:58.639
It's a bit, it's sort of merging these days, but uh I think what I mean by that is a social media star of some description, you know, a TikToker or one of those.
00:47:59.039 --> 00:48:02.480
Oh, I I'd I'd rather be famous in real.
00:48:02.880 --> 00:48:12.320
I'd rather people know me in real life, and and you know, I can have conversations with because you can have conversations with people in real life.
00:48:12.480 --> 00:48:23.679
I don't think the conversations you can have on social media, they can be good, they can be great, they can be the start of something real, but a lot of it it's just superficial.
00:48:24.159 --> 00:48:33.199
Um so I'd rather be a celebrity in real life if that means I can interact with other human beings.
00:48:33.760 --> 00:48:34.079
Yeah.
00:48:34.400 --> 00:48:35.599
Okay, very good.
00:48:35.760 --> 00:48:41.599
Uh number four, would you rather be physically stronger than most people or be able to fly?
00:48:44.079 --> 00:48:44.400
Okay.
00:48:46.079 --> 00:48:53.119
Oh physically, see, I read too many comic books.
00:48:53.199 --> 00:49:03.679
I feel like I I my mind is already reeling off the possibilities and the drawbacks and the sense of responsibility if you're stronger than most people.
00:49:03.840 --> 00:49:08.000
Does that mean that I, you know, I have to become part of the military or the police?
00:49:09.440 --> 00:49:13.360
Oh my goodness, a penny, a penny for your thoughts.
00:49:13.679 --> 00:49:19.360
Oh dear god, do I choose duty or do I choose escapism with flying?
00:49:20.239 --> 00:49:22.719
But if you're flying, do you have to buy new clothes?
00:49:22.960 --> 00:49:31.679
Are you can you if you fly, can you fly supersonic or is it just like you know, swimming in the air?
00:49:32.800 --> 00:49:34.719
Let's go supersonic.
00:49:36.159 --> 00:49:37.840
In that case, flight.
00:49:38.079 --> 00:49:38.400
Oh.
00:49:40.639 --> 00:49:44.719
Am I able to have clothes that will withstand the supersonic speed?
00:49:44.880 --> 00:49:46.079
You weren't expecting these questions.
00:49:46.559 --> 00:49:47.599
No, no, no.
00:49:47.679 --> 00:49:50.880
I no one usually asks me questions at this point.
00:49:51.039 --> 00:49:57.280
Um this is like Hulk versus the thing or Superman versus Batman, Kirk.
00:49:58.239 --> 00:50:04.960
Let's say that you have to, in order to fly supersonically, you need special clothes to be able to do that.
00:50:06.400 --> 00:50:10.960
Is it only one set of clothing, or can I like make any type of clothing in the special?
00:50:11.519 --> 00:50:13.360
You can you can create whatever you want.
00:50:14.000 --> 00:50:14.800
There's flight.
00:50:15.039 --> 00:50:16.880
Flight, flight, flight, flight, flight.
00:50:17.119 --> 00:50:17.599
Very good.
00:50:17.760 --> 00:50:18.719
We got there, guys.
00:50:18.800 --> 00:50:19.519
We got there.
00:50:19.679 --> 00:50:21.440
Um, right, number five.
00:50:21.599 --> 00:50:28.800
Would you rather, and this is the last one, would you rather be reincarnated as a sea creature or an airborne creature?
00:50:28.880 --> 00:50:32.239
And I feel like there might be some more questions coming my way.
00:50:33.679 --> 00:50:34.559
No, no.
00:50:34.800 --> 00:50:42.239
Um I I think uh a bird, uh flying creature.
00:50:42.480 --> 00:50:51.760
Um I I feel like the being underwater, there there's a lot of beauty over there, but it's it's so polluted.
00:50:52.239 --> 00:50:55.840
Uh oh god, I'm gonna end us in a dower note.
00:50:56.079 --> 00:50:58.960
Um, no, it's move away from pollution.
00:50:59.599 --> 00:51:00.000
Yes.
00:51:00.320 --> 00:51:02.320
It's not polluted in all water, is it?
00:51:02.480 --> 00:51:04.559
Only I will yeah, yeah.
00:51:04.639 --> 00:51:11.039
I'm sure there's I would be a sea creature only if I have the special ability to be able to clean up pollution that's down there.
00:51:11.280 --> 00:51:11.920
I like that.
00:51:12.000 --> 00:51:14.320
That that's your uh yeah, that's great.
00:51:14.400 --> 00:51:14.880
I love that.
00:51:14.960 --> 00:51:15.199
Okay.
00:51:15.440 --> 00:51:20.880
Sea creature with the ability to clear up all pollution and the power to do that.
00:51:21.119 --> 00:51:21.840
Amazing.
00:51:22.000 --> 00:51:22.960
All right, Keon.
00:51:23.119 --> 00:51:28.639
Uh, last thing before we leave, uh Keon Lee's final thoughts for the episode.
00:51:28.800 --> 00:51:38.320
Something positive and uplifting for our audience on approaches to life dealing with positive and negative change, that kind of thing.
00:51:38.400 --> 00:51:41.440
Nothing major, a nice, nice small thing to end.
00:51:42.239 --> 00:51:42.880
Yeah.
00:51:43.199 --> 00:51:52.719
Uh okay, I'm going to be speaking to all the creative people who are out there listening to Warren's podcast because I think that is Warren's tribe.
00:51:52.960 --> 00:51:54.079
Hello, Warren's tribe.
00:51:54.639 --> 00:51:55.440
Listening to this.
00:51:55.920 --> 00:52:02.719
Um I think it's be gentle with yourself.
00:52:02.960 --> 00:52:13.599
Um, because I know a lot of creative people who kind of beat up about themselves about work and and uh you know whether they get it right or not.
00:52:13.760 --> 00:52:20.960
And I think you just have to take a step back and just be gentle with yourself and just go, it's uh it's okay.
00:52:21.440 --> 00:52:23.920
You know, this is how it is now.
00:52:24.079 --> 00:52:26.239
You don't have to beat yourself up about it.
00:52:26.639 --> 00:52:32.239
Um so yeah, uh be gentle with yourself.
00:52:32.639 --> 00:52:33.679
Very good, very good.
00:52:33.760 --> 00:52:34.559
There we go, guys.
00:52:34.719 --> 00:52:38.880
All right, it's been an absolute pleasure, Keon, and it's been really nice to see you as well.
00:52:38.960 --> 00:52:39.920
It's been a while.
00:52:40.079 --> 00:52:47.920
Uh yeah, I think the last time I saw you, we were we were in a taxi actually coming back from a party, but we won't go too much into that right now.
00:52:48.079 --> 00:52:54.000
Um you haven't changed a bit, like you still look young, even with two kids.
00:52:54.159 --> 00:52:55.679
Yeah, how's that possible?
00:52:56.000 --> 00:52:58.960
I just send them away regularly, that's what it is.
00:52:59.840 --> 00:53:03.119
Go and entertain yourself somewhere, climb a tree.
00:53:03.280 --> 00:53:06.000
Um, yeah, something about that anyway.
00:53:06.159 --> 00:53:12.719
Uh anyway, not enough about me and my parenting style.
00:53:12.960 --> 00:53:14.960
Um climb a tree.
00:53:15.199 --> 00:53:15.519
Yeah.
00:53:15.840 --> 00:53:17.039
Keon, it's been a pleasure.
00:53:17.199 --> 00:53:18.480
Thank you so much for today.
00:53:18.559 --> 00:53:25.840
Uh, I wish you well uh for the rest of your evening and into the week, and uh I look forward to speaking with you again soon.
00:53:26.159 --> 00:53:27.039
Thank you, Warren.
00:53:27.119 --> 00:53:28.400
Thank you very much for having me.
00:53:28.719 --> 00:53:29.360
No problem.
00:53:29.599 --> 00:53:30.480
Cheers, Keon.
00:53:30.559 --> 00:53:31.119
Bye bye now.
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.879
Hello, welcome everyone to today's episode.
00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:06.639
I am delighted to have Kion Lee on the podcast today.
00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:16.239
He is the general manager of Faust, which is an international youth theatre based out in Hong Kong and Singapore, and they do lots of fabulous work.
00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:22.719
I've had the pleasure of working uh with Faust in the past and with Kion, and it was an absolute uh joy.
00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:29.199
And uh Kion is also not just a general manager, but a writer, a director, and an actor.
00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:31.839
And we're going to talk about all of that today.
00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:33.439
And I'm super excited to have you on.
00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:35.280
Kion, I haven't seen you for a while.
00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:36.640
How how's things?
00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:39.359
How have you been getting on since I last saw you?
00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:43.280
Oh, you know, just not much is going on.
00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:46.719
Everything is just peachy fuck keen and fine.
00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:48.240
You know, how are you?
00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:51.200
Yes, similar, similar, peachy.
00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:52.000
Yeah, I like that.
00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:52.719
I like that.
00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:56.079
That might go on the that might be the tag for this episode, Peachy.
00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:57.200
I love it.
00:00:57.439 --> 00:00:57.840
Yeah.
00:00:58.079 --> 00:00:58.799
Good, good.
00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:00.000
So you're getting on okay.
00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:01.039
You're getting on okay.
00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:03.679
Uh there's plenty going on in the world, lots of drama.
00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:07.439
Um, but theater is still going on, you're still being creative.
00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:10.480
Faust is Faust is still happening.
00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:11.280
Yes.
00:01:11.519 --> 00:01:17.519
Uh you know, it it was touch and go for a while there last year in 2020.
00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:24.879
Uh it's a big ask for families to transfer learning drama skills online.
00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:31.280
Uh, we did find a lot of ways to uh make that palatable and make that work.
00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:46.719
And actually, uh we received so much feedback from parents uh during last year because there were quite a few families who really appreciate that we were still continuing setting up services and to help their children online.
00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:49.439
We offered different types of services.
00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:53.599
Uh instead of just drama, we did uh creative writing.
00:01:53.680 --> 00:02:01.200
We did more creative writing, we did um uh comic illustration, which uh I led, and that was a lot of fun.
00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:07.920
And uh we even helped some students who wanted interview and um exam preparation.
00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:22.080
So we've diversified during um uh during last year, but we still where we could uh manage to run workshops in person, and uh we're actually preparing a show.
00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:28.080
Next week we're doing a performance of Pride and Prejudice and Serena de Bergerac with teenagers.
00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:40.159
Okay, so they're all gonna perform with masks on, uh, but they've been doing such a great job, and they're managing to pull off a magnetic performance even with their masks on.
00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:45.360
Uh, I'll tell you more about that later, but it's it's like we're adapting and it's been great.
00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:56.400
You know, we really had to focus on the actor's physicality and uh um something that a non-theater friend of mine said, Oh, you're gonna do a lot of eyebrow acting.
00:02:56.560 --> 00:02:59.520
There's a lot of eyebrow action going on.
00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:01.520
And um I'd be good at that.
00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:03.439
I've got pretty expressive eyebrows.
00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:05.680
Anyway, sorry.
00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:12.960
And and but we're also getting masks that's color coordinated to the costumes.
00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:15.520
So we did a lot of work on costumes.
00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:29.919
Uh Jamee Cura and uh Clara Kim, uh they're my colleagues, and they've spent so much time working on costumes, making sure they're really carefully color coordinated so that visually it looks quite appealing.
00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:31.840
And so I think it I think it's gonna work.
00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:34.159
It's been working so far in rehearsals.
00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:38.800
Uh they still make me laugh and they still make me cry when they're uh performing.
00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:41.280
So I hope audiences feel the same.
00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:42.319
Yeah, absolutely.
00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:47.439
For anyone that doesn't know, Faust have been uh they they began in 1999.
00:03:47.759 --> 00:04:15.759
Uh and when there is not COVID and restrictions and this, that, and the other, ordinarily um they run various drama school uh drama workshops in schools, I should say, uh, and also at the at their youth, at their theater space, um, where people come along and they take part in various classes, in in acting, in moving, in writing, and in all sorts, and it is it's it's an awesome, awesome um place uh for the young people to go to uh and you know take part and express themselves.
00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:17.199
And it's it's pretty awesome.
00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:28.160
Um when you are not general managing at Faust, uh you're also a uh you write as well, and you are an uh you've been a performer, you've acted as well.
00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:30.800
Can you talk to us about the acting work that you've done, Keon?
00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:35.439
And we'll come back to to Faust and your general managing in a little in a little bit.
00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:36.800
Thank you.
00:04:36.959 --> 00:04:44.160
Uh so uh I have done less acting um uh since I'd taken on the role of general manager.
00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:57.519
Um, but when I was younger, uh in my more carefree days, uh I I you know I I you know since I was a teenager, I loved performing and acting.
00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:04.480
And I I don't know where that came from, really, because my parents are they're not my father's a businessman, my mom.
00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:08.319
Uh she, you know, she took care of us at home.
00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:19.839
And you know, you know, they they provided a really great lifestyle, but they weren't they weren't particularly, you know, theater, oh you must go see this play or anything like that.
00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:33.279
I I you know I was shy, and I think uh when I was at drama class, it the drama teachers were just so good and they were so great.
00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:35.600
Um Mrs.
00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:37.600
Higginbottom and Mr.
00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:42.480
Neil Harris uh and my primary school teacher, uh Mrs.
00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:56.079
Oyston and um Miss Lacey Vitachi, they they just made me feel really whole and complete and let me have fun and express myself.
00:05:56.319 --> 00:05:59.920
And I thought this is the best thing ever.
00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:02.240
Like I I need to do this.
00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:07.600
And so I uh pursued kind of uh acting and writing.
00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:09.360
I just like being creative.
00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:17.360
And uh and uh I did two performances that I thought uh that were kind of like highlights.
00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:26.160
Uh one uh was I I played a character called DHH in David Henry Wong's uh Yellow Face.
00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:35.920
So this is uh an Asian American playwright who wrote about his experience about uh Asian American identity.
00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:49.279
So it it it's it's super relevant considering what's happening now uh and uh with Asian American um identity and culture.
00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:58.639
So that was I I I got to play that lead role, and uh Eric was the director, and the Hong Kong players produced it.
00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:10.160
Uh, and it was such a fantastic role, and I was with a really great troupe of actors who um we all bounced off each other.
00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:42.639
It's a really fast-paced play, uh, you know, and it's all you know, part of it's based on real events, but part of it is a dramatization of what the playwright himself went through uh when he was kind of accused of uh racism, uh, in terms of like he was so keen on having Asian American representation that he it kind of questions, well, who's Asian, who's American, what does that all mean?
00:07:44.000 --> 00:08:02.959
And uh I think a lot of Asian Americans uh in that play, it kind of reflects how they're not always accepted, they're not seen as fully American, uh, particularly the older generations who have who brought more of the old world with them.
00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:10.000
Younger generations might feel more comfortable, but there's always this feeling of you're not really from here, are you?
00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:15.360
And it explores these themes and it's really, really great.
00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:16.639
Such a great play.
00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:21.839
Uh and uh the cast was a really amazing.
00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:29.680
And Eric, he was a fantastic director who just he directed a lot of really great plays in Hong Kong.
00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:34.240
Uh usually his fair is much more uh dark.
00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:36.480
He directed um The Pillow Man.
00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:36.960
Okay.
00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:39.759
You've heard of yeah, yeah, I've heard of The Pillow Man, yeah, yeah.
00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:45.759
Yeah, so he's right place, yeah, and uh another play called Nine Circles.
00:08:45.919 --> 00:09:05.600
So he he he does really well with dark material, but Yellow Fair, yeah, yellow fair, uh Yellow Face is uh you know a lot less dark, but he just did so well in uh you know making sure that the play is entertaining, fast-paced, and dramatic.
00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:06.720
So yeah.
00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:07.679
Wow.
00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:08.720
Very nice.
00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:17.919
And you you you took part in uh there was another production as well, which I noticed um uh online that My Big Gay Italian Wedding, an American comedy.
00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:20.879
Now I would love to hear a bit more about that one, Keon.
00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:25.440
Okay, so that one is a it's a farce.
00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:31.519
It's it's uh directed by Wendy Herbert uh uh through WAG Productions.
00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:39.919
Uh and uh she is well known for directing a lot of really great comedies, and it was just the it was a big cast.
00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:48.320
Uh it it and it's it's a comedy about uh two two men who are planning a big gay Italian wedding.
00:09:48.639 --> 00:10:04.320
And it's really, really silly, really, really fun, and it really has a lot of heart, and uh um and it has you know both straight and gay actors playing lots of different types of roles.
00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:19.919
Uh I myself uh am a straight male, and uh I was cast to play a gay man who has to pretend to be um I want to get this straight.
00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:33.200
He has to pretend to be the mother of one of the gay men in order to convince the other gay partners' parents, very conservative parents, that it is okay for them to get married.
00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:41.440
So the conservative parents were like, Oh, it's okay that you can be gay married as long as the mother and father are still present.
00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:45.600
So I had to be the the mother.
00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:48.080
Uh and would love to see this.
00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:49.759
You you'll I'll show you a photo.
00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:51.279
Can you find this anywhere?
00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:53.440
Yeah, is it is it online somewhere?
00:10:53.519 --> 00:10:54.320
It must be.
00:10:54.639 --> 00:11:01.679
Yeah, it's it's not hidden, but it's uh well, let's just say uh you know, I I don't look bad in pink.
00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:04.559
And it's a lot of pink.
00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:07.600
Wow, wow, what a great part to play as well.
00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:14.159
That that must have uh was that a stretch for you to play, or did you was it quite quite an easy character for you to to morph into?
00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:37.679
Or well it's it's very farcical, and and the you know the director uh you know said you know there's obviously there's uh elements of heart and truth to it, but it's a really silly play, and so we really played up a lot of the humor.
00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:43.200
It's you know, it's not it's not meant to be like a a smart satire or anything like that.
00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:52.799
It's just it's got a lot of comedia dell'arte energy, a lot of silliness, a lot of word play, uh, and a lot of double takes.
00:11:53.200 --> 00:12:05.039
Uh, so you know, for those who were looking for more sophisticated takes uh or more nuanced takes, uh don't bother because the title is Big Gay, my big gay.
00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:07.759
There's more subtlety.
00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:10.000
No, no, it's pretty clear from the title.
00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:11.200
Um, yeah, absolutely.
00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:12.080
All right, good.
00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:16.960
So when you're not acting, you uh you do a lot of writing and and directing at Faust.
00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:20.399
You you are um you create a lot of shows.
00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:24.240
You work mainly with the older groups, is that is that right?
00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:27.440
Or or is it or do you work with all of them at this point?
00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:32.159
Oh well, um I have taught uh every age group.
00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:41.039
Um uh from there's we we teach three-year-olds as well, but I've taught uh basically from four all the way to 18.
00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:46.639
And actually, we just started an adult class, so now I you can say I always teach all.
00:12:47.600 --> 00:13:04.240
Um and when I actually started working at Voust back in 2001, and I worked there as an assistant first, and then as a program coordinator, so I would be teaching and administrating programs.
00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:26.399
And then in uh 2013, I I became general manager, and when I became general manager, I I focused teaching the oldest age group, uh stage group, they're the 15 to 18-year-olds, and they're obviously the ones who are most focused on, you know, they're they they want to perform at a more professional level.
00:13:27.039 --> 00:13:36.799
And they realize that you know they need to put in a lot more effort and and focus on delivering um more sophisticated performances.
00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:46.159
Uh and so I did I taught only one group uh during my time as general manager in stage group.
00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:50.480
Um, but I have taught all the different age groups uh during my time here.
00:13:50.720 --> 00:14:01.679
And in the uh when you were teaching the younger ones, you meant you mentioned you started as an assistant and then you became one of the lead drama teachers, and then you moved from that into being a general manager.
00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:04.960
What was the um what how was that for you, that transition?
00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:10.960
I imagine obviously responsibility was far, far greater, but was that it an easy move for you to make?
00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:15.600
Is it something that you had wanted to do for a while, or did it just sort of happen organically?
00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:17.600
What was the yeah, what was the deal?
00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:20.559
Oh, and Warren, it was hard.
00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:23.120
Yeah, it was so hard.
00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:27.200
I I think there were several points where I thought I've made a mistake.
00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:31.519
This is this is no, that I I can't do this.
00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:39.600
Um, so to give a little bit more background, you know, I studied English literature and drama at university.
00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:45.679
I went to Royal Holloway for my first year and then transferred to the University of Hong Kong.
00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:55.759
Um and uh and I and I continued studying, you know, uh English literature and comparative literature.
00:14:55.840 --> 00:15:00.000
I it wasn't um I had no interest in doing business.
00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:08.320
My father was a businessman, and uh I think I just rebelled against what he wanted me to do.
00:15:08.480 --> 00:15:10.960
I really had no interest in doing business.
00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:24.639
Um on my way to the UK to study English and drama, my father said to me, Hey, you should audit in some business classes, and I laughed at his face.
00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:26.879
Why?
00:15:27.039 --> 00:15:27.679
Why?
00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:39.919
And you know, ultimately he was correct because you know, I I love my years teaching, and the this opportunity to be general manager came up.
00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:47.840
Uh, my boss, Matthew Gregory, the founder of the company, uh uh said to me, you know, this position is available.
00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:49.360
Are you interested?
00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:54.639
Uh and uh I said sure.
00:15:55.279 --> 00:16:02.000
And we talked about it, and and and this is what this is one of the reasons why I stayed at FAS for so long.
00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:10.240
Matthew is such a great boss, because he, you know, we both recognize that I'm not from a business background.
00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:19.679
A general manager should have a business background, or at least one that's kind of more uh more than what I had.
00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:26.320
And uh, you know, he acknowledged that there that there will be holes in that area and he would help me.
00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:31.679
It was mainly to do with marketing and some areas in business development.
00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:52.159
Uh and for the first, I'd say the first year and a half, it was like just barely keeping my head above water in terms of oh, there's all these things I have to do, there's all these processes and all this knowledge and behaviors and and things I should look out for.
00:16:52.639 --> 00:17:02.159
And it was constantly and finally after nearly two years, everything just clicked.
00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:05.359
Everything just finally clicked.
00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:16.960
I finally got more calm, I got more confident in what I was doing, and um so yeah, that's that's that transition was really difficult, yeah.
00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:19.839
But uh it made it through.
00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:28.240
And in the position you're in now, like will these years later, are you very comfortable now then in the job?
00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:30.000
Is it something that you really really enjoy?
00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:36.160
Can you um is it something that you would want to do for for more many more years to come?
00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:48.880
Yeah, I have to admit there were some moments, uh, particularly in the last year, but that has nothing to do with um that has nothing to do with the job and more with the the whole world being on fire.
00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:49.279
Right.
00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:53.440
And in 2014, uh because there were some difficult days.
00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:56.240
But uh let me let me put it this way.
00:17:56.400 --> 00:18:08.559
I in 2019, I was so comfortable with my role as general manager in marketing and business development that I called that my Slytherin year.
00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:17.519
I decided in part way through the year, like early 2019, that this is going to be my Slytherin year.
00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:31.680
I'm gonna embrace being a Slytherin uh from the Harry Potter world and Hogwarts and be more ambitious and cunning and and just develop the business.
00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:34.000
And I took that on.
00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:53.279
I joined a business networking group where I have to wake up at five o'clock in the morning to make sure that I'm ready for a 6:30 uh morning uh networking meeting and uh meet business people and talk about business and referrals.
00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:58.240
Like it was as a creative person, this was like bizarro world.
00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:00.960
And I was like, okay, so this is how that works.
00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:06.960
Yeah, and um so it it's it's just things like that.
00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:10.319
It I I I just I finally got comfortable, you know.
00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:26.240
Um I had to learn a lot about delegating during my time as general manager, and I finally feel more comfortable about how to do that, and just checking with people and realizing that I have my job to do looking over stuff.
00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:38.000
I don't have to go in and try to do everything, I don't have to um uh you know try to take over things when you know things are not working.
00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:50.960
I have to embrace my role and try to support and empower my colleagues to so that you know they are doing what they're supposed to be doing, and I'm supposed to be what I'm supposed to be doing because they need that balance.
00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:58.799
Uh they don't need me like kind of breathing behind their backs, you know, breathing on their neck, kind of like going, no, do do it like this.
00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:04.160
You know, so that's gone.
00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:07.440
So you uh but I didn't really didn't actually know you were doing that.
00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:09.279
Those meetings at 6 30 in the morning.
00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:12.640
That's pretty uh that's pretty dedicated right there, Kieran.
00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:13.680
Big fan of that.
00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:23.119
It it was so weird because um because you know how you know listen, more you're a positive guy.
00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:28.079
You know, the whole time I've known you, I I've always seen you like just be really, really positive.
00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:38.880
Like I think you would fit in with this group because this group is just so positive and they're like proactive and they're like asking you like really, really great.
00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:42.000
The only problem it being at 6 30 in the morning.
00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:48.640
Yeah, I'm not sure how positive I would be at 6 30 in the morning, but you haven't seen me at that time in the morning.
00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:53.519
Uh the smile comes like post nine o'clock, usually for me.
00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:58.720
Let's talk about your your decision to to move to to Hong Kong.
00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:01.680
So you originally you're from Korea, is that right?
00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:03.839
Yes, yeah, I'm from South Korea.
00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:04.319
Yep.
00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:10.240
I mean, my uh it wasn't my decision really because uh I I was four years old.
00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:14.240
And uh I want to move to Hong Kong, yeah.
00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:14.720
Yeah.
00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:22.880
Okay, so so the reasoning was was your your parents decided to move to Hong Kong or yes, yeah.
00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:25.680
My father worked for LG Electronics.
00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:31.119
Back then, it was not called LG Electronics, it was called Lucky Gold Star.
00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:32.880
Oh, I like that.
00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:46.400
That that it to me growing up in Hong Kong, that sounds like such an Asian name for an English, like uh something that they think might sound good in English.
00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:48.799
And the logo was completely different.
00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:59.519
I remember it distinctly because I remember as a kid growing up seeing the lucky gold star in uh in the Hong Kong uh city cityscape up.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:24:38.079
uh shining brightly and uh when they turned it to LG life's good it was like well yeah you know not the same is it really but uh yeah okay so um so you are you you've been here since you were uh four years old then so that's uh that's a large chunk of your of your life really so do you remember any of your time back in Korea in your uh first four years of life do you remember any have any images or flashbacks to that time yeah I um you know I remember mostly my relatives my grandmother uh I I didn't know my uh both of my grandfathers were deceased before I was born but my grandmothers uh uh they have now since uh uh passed away but uh growing up there they were really big in my life and I you know I mostly I remember just being hanging out with my relatives and um eating a lot of candy and snacks right uh there's this snack called chocopie okay um it's a round moon pie uh like chocolate marshmallow like kind of like a fat wagon wheel oh wow sounds awesome yeah it's like I love a wagon wheel yeah what if we get a wagon wheel and just made it even worse or better depending on your point of view yeah better on the taste buds maybe not so good on the on the on the waistline but hey he um wow okay so you remember that that's uh that's uh and have you been uh back to south korea over over the years have you gone back at all for for any reason so when I was uh when I was growing up uh we used to go there once every year either usually during the summer uh and then my last big stay in Korea was I actually spent a year in Korea uh between my first year of university and my second year of university because I was in the UK I was having a great time at Royal Holloway studying drama and English literature and then um the Asian economic crisis happened in uh 98 uh to 99 and my father lost a lot of business lost a lot of money and so I couldn't continue studying there so I um I actually went to Korea to stay with my relatives and I earned money by tutoring.
00:24:38.319 --> 00:25:10.160
Okay I tutored English um and uh and so I I was making a lot of money well I say a lot of money I was making money uh I was also living with with different relatives at different places um the most interesting place was I my I have an uncle who's a Korean pastor um and so I lived in a shed at the back of the church that was where I stayed for like six months during that year.
00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:11.839
How was that experience?
00:25:13.279 --> 00:25:25.519
They were yeah the shed I say shed but it's like it was a big shed and I had my own TV I had privacy but it was also very lonely because you know I didn't grow up in Korea.
00:25:25.599 --> 00:26:16.480
You know I see my relatives but I you know I have an international school background you know I speak English most of the time instead of Korean and so it and all my friends were at university they were all all around the world I didn't know anybody my age in Korea uh because all my relatives my cousins were either like really young or much older than me and the one cousin who was my age he was doing army service at the time uh Korean national service so it was it was very lonely and uh it it and it was only because of a family friend that I was able to move back to Hong Kong and uh pay for a deposit to go into uh University of Hong Kong.
00:26:16.799 --> 00:29:28.480
Let's talk about I was doing some research on you I'd often do a little bit of research on my guests and a video of you doing a TEDx talk popped up and I would love to know how that came about uh and can you tell everyone what it was about and what the goals were behind the speech itself what you were hoping to achieve etc etc that would be awesome um the uh TEDx talk came about because uh it was at held at Charton College uh Jane uh parry uh uh she was a she was the person who asked me so she uh so I was a student at that school and uh I still have close ties to that school uh some of the teachers that go there are now my friends I call some of my drama teachers by their first names which is really weird but uh I've gotten used to it now um Jane Perry uh somebody referred me to Jane Perry and she asked me hey would you mind coming uh to uh to give this talk actually there's a longer backstory she actually I actually went to that school uh many times to for uh um uh careers evenings so she had known me for years and then uh when the TEDx event at Shot and College uh happened she asked me and I said sure uh it was like a bucket list thing to do right to give a TED talk it's I mean it's TEDx but it's still that's still I still thought that it was a great idea uh it was a great opportunity and they had a theme it was called Epiphanies so anything regarding epiphanies on the theme of Epiphanies and I said okay what can I talk about what can I I'm a drama teacher director what could I say about epiphanies what do I know and oh let me talk about the best subject that I know a lot about myself uh so I talked about the various epiphanies I had in my life and I basically talked about the definition of epiphany of epiphany being just a single moment in your life uh you know a moment where you have a great realization um that kind of shifts your perspective and uh I basically expanded on that definition to comical effect you know I you know I mentioned that uh you can have a series of epiphanies and uh it it can occur again and again and it doesn't have to be a single moment and I used my uh life experiences to kind of demonstrate that you know I I had uh I had an epiphany for example regarding an ex-girlfriend oh I'm I'm getting really expli don't know if I should mention that one I I said it in a TEDx why why can't I say it here?
00:29:28.799 --> 00:33:14.960
Yeah exactly so uh you know I mentioned that you know I had um blamed uh my ex for our relationship and I just realized that um I was holding on to that blame and when I let that go it just made a huge difference because I was holding on to she was wrong she was wrong she was wrong but she was I was no longer with her like I can't blame her like I'm the one who's carrying all the you know all the blame and fault uh so letting learning to let that go was an epiphany learning you know realizing you know that my parents just want the best for me that was also a big epiphany like people know oh yeah parents love you yeah yeah yeah but to actually experience your parents' love like you really get that they were just trying to do the best for you their way of saying you know go audit some business classes is their way of saying I love you I want you to be safe I want you to do the best and with and do what I know works that's their version of I love you and so um so so I shared that so it was really you know vulnerable intimate things that I shared about but I think it's okay to share about those things because it just makes other people go oh yeah me too I've experienced something like that it makes you feel less alone were you I were you nervous beforehand doing it oh yeah I like wrote rewrote I you know I bored my poor wife Tanya to death with like me like she's so she's so patient and it's like and this what do you think that about this and she's like yeah yeah that that's that that sounds good she was much more patient than I than I just portrayed her just uh to be but uh but yeah it's uh but yeah I I got a lot of support yeah yeah and um and feedback did you get any feedback off off the back of the talk anyone was there anyone in the audience that you that you knew that went to see it or anyone that saw it online that has got back to you afterwards and said wow that was pretty cool or I took something away from that or well at the event itself um I was put in a later time slot so uh there weren't actually as many people in the audience so I you know it was a little bit quiet but there was uh a photographer he was the ESF first photographer and he came out to me and said uh you know enjoy that he was very uh understated and um my boss I gave my Matthew uh my speech and he's he said he really liked it and it wasn't until like months later when they finally uploaded it up onto YouTube and it got uploaded to the uh to the to the TEDx official YouTube page and I shared it and that's when people went oh wow this is well done Keon this is really good it's really nice so so it was really nice I I I didn't expect many people to actually hear it all the way through because it's 15 minutes and it's me talking about myself so it's okay all right let's move to your love of comic books please Keon.
00:33:15.440 --> 00:39:34.239
I came across a couple of links online you've been in the past even presently you're creating comic books you're doing some little bits of writing on that and um yeah can you talk to us about that how how you started that and about your passion for comic books that would be quite interesting to hear I think yeah I uh well I'm this okay Warren this is no longer Warren telling tales podcast this is now Keon talking about comic books podcast because I can let's condense it a little bit but yeah give me the highlights fine I'll try to extinct okay so I I I in Korea there are comic books are a big thing for children uh so I read a lot of comic books uh some of them were Japanese uh comic books that were translated into Korean and I just you know I I loved the stories you know they were fairly simplistic superhero stories right uh I read a lot of X-Men Batman Spider-Man when I was a kid and um and I and one of my passions was drawings I would uh doodle all the time like I was quite well known in school as you know you know there's always that one kid who draws you know I was that kid and I would draw things for other people I would draw posters for the uh you know the school dance and stuff like that and um and I continued I continued reading superhero comics uh you know past what it what would normally be acceptable you know my my father would be like why do you why do you buy all this stuff all this crap um but I still enjoyed it and you know the world has bent to my will because now we have comic book movies marvels that yeah dominate it is now a geek's paradise you know realize it but you know we're what's your favorite guion do you have a favorite superhero comic story oh god no don't do this to me that there's just too much top three top three oh god um uh uh X-Men Days of Future Pass that's like a classic you know story um uh the lot Batman the Long Halloween that's really great um but those you know there are really seminal comic books but the Sandman series was when um that comic book series it's by written by Neil Gaiman it's a fantasy series as opposed to superheroes and it's about this group of beings a family called the endless dream death destiny delirium um desire uh they so they're they're a family and they go on a series of adventures and it's fantastical it's allegorical it has uh mythical mythical characters in it like Thor and Loki and it mixes all of these myths and um fairy tales it there's also some Shakespeare in there and it mixes it all up into this beautiful concoction of um uh cautionary tales and horror stories and comedies and fantasy and it's really really sophisticated you need to have some knowledge of myths and culture to follow that story because it is so dense with information and I I read that while I was in my first year of university and it broke my brain I was like whoa this is what it can you know uh comic books can go beyond superhero stories it can encompass this world and I have been become more recently I've become more drawn to um autobiographical tales um there you know there's a really famous one called Persepolis for example that was talking about uh a Persian woman's experience it became it it it was turned into an animated film okay uh so stories like Persepolis uh there's mouse uh that talk that that's about the um Nazi Germany and about the Jewish people and they were drawn as uh cat and mouse characters and that that's that actually won I but I think I believe that won the Pulitzer Prize okay uh or was nominated uh for the Pulitzer Prize because these are these are human stories that are told in comic book form and I I love the the immediacy it brings it's like it's it's the same reason why I love theater the the comic book pages like if they evoke so much uh and it can tell you so much information um and I'm a very uh visual learner I like seeing images you know uh when I try reading long books you know now I just fall asleep because I I'm so tired that when I try to read a uh an adult book I just go oh I fall asleep in within two pages but uh I think uh comic comic books as a medium um can can tell stories powerfully yeah wow I can sense your passion for this Keon incredible passion in there when you talk I love it all right um a few more things Keon and then I'm gonna let you go because I know you're a busy man um let's move to uh so for anyone that doesn't know you recently lost some a considerable amount of weight which is very impressive and you look phenomenal.
00:39:34.800 --> 00:43:05.760
For anyone else that is you know considering going down that road can you talk to them about why why you did it firstly and also um how you went about doing it to get to to maybe give some other people ideas on on ways that they could achieve what you've achieved yeah certainly uh so just to give your listeners context I was 115 kilograms uh that was at my heaviest uh back in 2019 and I'm now uh uh down to 86 kilograms wow uh so uh so you know I I decided to start losing weight um in 2019 when um I I was 28 years old and not not 38 years old sorry I jumped a decade when I was 38 years old and uh I was going to turn 40 very soon and I was just unhappy with the way I look and the way I felt uh and I you know I was thin before I had a yo-yo relationship with my diet and I decided before I hit 40 I want to be you know I want to go back to being under uh a hundred kilograms I want to be 95 so I said 95 kilograms is my target and uh through the help of friends uh quite a lot of them were health professionals there was a a nutritionist uh there was a yoga instructor there was a health coach uh there was even a um um hypnotist a hypnotherapist wow uh uh they all helped me uh lose weight in various ways uh the hypnotherapist she she planted this the suggestion that French fries tasted like earwax and when she implanted that suggestion I I was like skeptical right because hypnotherapist yeah okay I'll I'm willing to try and I tried it lo and behold I'm at the dinner table um in at a restaurant and somebody served up fries and I reached out for one I put it in my mouth I started chewing it and it was like this this doesn't that I and then decided to stop eating french fries I was addicted to french fries this was a huge thing so I because all of that got down to 95 I was like this is pretty good but I decided why stop there and uh I actually went to see a uh gut and hormone specialist uh her name is Helen Revens and she was responsible for getting rid of another eight kilograms just by diet alone because she helped identify my gluten intolerance and my lactose intolerance she you know spent a long time with my medical history asked me a lot of questions about my family and myself and my eating habits and she identified you're probably gluten and lactose intolerant because of X, Y, and Z and said sure.
00:43:05.920 --> 00:43:36.639
And I decided to take her her suggestions on and the the weight just like just went away and also my digestion stomach issues also went away and that felt like a permanent change because you know I love eating bread and I love eating cheese but when I got rid of those of my diet I started exploring eating other things that are healthier and my diet is much more varied.
00:43:37.199 --> 00:43:48.239
And so I think the biggest difference uh and the reason why I think like I can keep the weight off is because I have a new approach and I also um talk to a lot of people I got help.
00:43:48.400 --> 00:44:05.840
Like a lot of people don't talk about their own personal exercise and health they keep it private right you know um but I think when you start talking to other people about it and you start Holding yourself accountable and you're getting professional advice, you're taking it seriously.
00:44:06.480 --> 00:44:18.320
And I think that was the biggest change in my approach as opposed to before, where I would, you know, just quietly, silently, okay, I promise I'll do 50 push-ups every morning and 50 sits up every morning.
00:44:18.639 --> 00:44:22.800
And you know, you know, get up to 25, 30 and say, oh, that's good enough.
00:44:23.440 --> 00:44:24.079
Stop.
00:44:24.639 --> 00:44:27.039
And I don't talk to anybody about it.
00:44:27.360 --> 00:44:29.840
So I'm not held to account.
00:44:31.039 --> 00:44:38.559
That it was the difference, and that's what I think made my weight loss feel permanent.
00:44:40.400 --> 00:44:41.039
Amazing.
00:44:41.199 --> 00:44:42.320
Well, there you go, guys.
00:44:42.559 --> 00:44:46.480
Lots of lots of uh ways there in which you can go about doing it.
00:44:46.559 --> 00:44:53.119
But that was that a hard that must have been a hard uh period, like doing that.
00:44:53.360 --> 00:44:57.280
You such a big change in your in your life and your habits.
00:44:57.360 --> 00:44:59.920
Like I can only imagine it would have been quite difficult.
00:45:00.400 --> 00:45:01.519
Oh yeah.
00:45:01.840 --> 00:45:10.159
I um uh that there were times where I just wanted to give up.
00:45:10.320 --> 00:45:14.719
I wanted to throw the i there was an iPad I had used for apps.
00:45:14.800 --> 00:45:19.440
I wanted to throw the iPad across the uh across the room.
00:45:19.920 --> 00:45:24.400
Um but there was there were so many times where I wanted to give up.
00:45:24.639 --> 00:45:28.079
Uh intermittent fasting and fasting in general.
00:45:28.239 --> 00:45:29.199
I tried that.
00:45:29.280 --> 00:45:31.440
The 24-hour fasting was just horrible.
00:45:31.519 --> 00:45:33.119
I only did that twice.
00:45:33.679 --> 00:45:39.679
Um but there were so many times I had cravings, and there were so many times where my weight went back up.
00:45:40.719 --> 00:45:47.760
But the thought that brought me back down was uh was something that a health coach told me.
00:45:47.840 --> 00:45:49.679
He said, be gentle with yourself.
00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:51.119
It's okay.
00:45:52.079 --> 00:46:05.440
Just do the best you can and don't blame yourself because if you if you're having all these negative reactions to what you're doing, you're not gonna want to continue doing it.
00:46:06.480 --> 00:46:17.280
So it's so I so whenever that key bit of advice just help me go back to zero, go back to okay, I'm gonna start again.
00:46:17.679 --> 00:46:19.199
I'm just gonna be gentle with myself.
00:46:19.440 --> 00:46:27.360
Okay, I I I ate a little bit more chocolate than I should do, or I I ate a little bit too much at dinner than I that I shouldn't have.
00:46:27.440 --> 00:46:28.079
It's okay.
00:46:28.239 --> 00:46:31.519
I'm gonna restart again and make it work.
00:46:31.760 --> 00:46:44.639
And um and you keep doing that, and you you become more and more disciplined and more and more uh strict and able to keep your word with your diet and exercise.
00:46:45.760 --> 00:46:46.480
There we go.
00:46:46.719 --> 00:46:49.679
All right, let's uh we're gonna jump to a game, Keon.
00:46:49.760 --> 00:46:50.960
From that into a game.
00:46:51.119 --> 00:46:52.719
What a nice transition.
00:46:53.039 --> 00:46:55.440
Um, all right, good, good, good.
00:46:55.679 --> 00:46:58.719
So would you rather five questions?
00:46:59.119 --> 00:47:04.079
You can give it as much thought as you like, or you can just spit out the first thing that comes to mind.
00:47:04.320 --> 00:47:09.039
Um and then we're gonna finish with final thoughts, and then that's it for the episode.
00:47:09.280 --> 00:47:10.480
Are you ready to play?
00:47:10.719 --> 00:47:11.840
Would you rather?
00:47:12.480 --> 00:47:12.880
Sure.
00:47:13.199 --> 00:47:13.599
Very good.
00:47:13.760 --> 00:47:14.000
Yes.
00:47:14.159 --> 00:47:15.199
All right, let's do it.
00:47:15.360 --> 00:47:21.519
Number one, would you rather be able to control animals or be able to see into the future?
00:47:22.159 --> 00:47:23.440
Control animals.
00:47:24.000 --> 00:47:24.400
Good.
00:47:24.719 --> 00:47:26.719
Number two, that's duh.
00:47:27.039 --> 00:47:33.599
Uh would you rather be able to shrink down to the size of an ant or grow to the size of a skyscraper?
00:47:37.519 --> 00:47:38.000
Ant.
00:47:38.559 --> 00:47:38.880
Okay.
00:47:39.360 --> 00:47:43.840
Number three, would you rather be famous on the internet or in real life?
00:47:46.559 --> 00:47:47.679
What's the difference?
00:47:47.920 --> 00:47:48.480
Well, I know.
00:47:48.559 --> 00:47:58.639
It's a bit, it's sort of merging these days, but uh I think what I mean by that is a social media star of some description, you know, a TikToker or one of those.
00:47:59.039 --> 00:48:02.480
Oh, I I'd I'd rather be famous in real.
00:48:02.880 --> 00:48:12.320
I'd rather people know me in real life, and and you know, I can have conversations with because you can have conversations with people in real life.
00:48:12.480 --> 00:48:23.679
I don't think the conversations you can have on social media, they can be good, they can be great, they can be the start of something real, but a lot of it it's just superficial.
00:48:24.159 --> 00:48:33.199
Um so I'd rather be a celebrity in real life if that means I can interact with other human beings.
00:48:33.760 --> 00:48:34.079
Yeah.
00:48:34.400 --> 00:48:35.599
Okay, very good.
00:48:35.760 --> 00:48:41.599
Uh number four, would you rather be physically stronger than most people or be able to fly?
00:48:44.079 --> 00:48:44.400
Okay.
00:48:46.079 --> 00:48:53.119
Oh physically, see, I read too many comic books.
00:48:53.199 --> 00:49:03.679
I feel like I I my mind is already reeling off the possibilities and the drawbacks and the sense of responsibility if you're stronger than most people.
00:49:03.840 --> 00:49:08.000
Does that mean that I, you know, I have to become part of the military or the police?
00:49:09.440 --> 00:49:13.360
Oh my goodness, a penny, a penny for your thoughts.
00:49:13.679 --> 00:49:19.360
Oh dear god, do I choose duty or do I choose escapism with flying?
00:49:20.239 --> 00:49:22.719
But if you're flying, do you have to buy new clothes?
00:49:22.960 --> 00:49:31.679
Are you can you if you fly, can you fly supersonic or is it just like you know, swimming in the air?
00:49:32.800 --> 00:49:34.719
Let's go supersonic.
00:49:36.159 --> 00:49:37.840
In that case, flight.
00:49:38.079 --> 00:49:38.400
Oh.
00:49:40.639 --> 00:49:44.719
Am I able to have clothes that will withstand the supersonic speed?
00:49:44.880 --> 00:49:46.079
You weren't expecting these questions.
00:49:46.559 --> 00:49:47.599
No, no, no.
00:49:47.679 --> 00:49:50.880
I no one usually asks me questions at this point.
00:49:51.039 --> 00:49:57.280
Um this is like Hulk versus the thing or Superman versus Batman, Kirk.
00:49:58.239 --> 00:50:04.960
Let's say that you have to, in order to fly supersonically, you need special clothes to be able to do that.
00:50:06.400 --> 00:50:10.960
Is it only one set of clothing, or can I like make any type of clothing in the special?
00:50:11.519 --> 00:50:13.360
You can you can create whatever you want.
00:50:14.000 --> 00:50:14.800
There's flight.
00:50:15.039 --> 00:50:16.880
Flight, flight, flight, flight, flight.
00:50:17.119 --> 00:50:17.599
Very good.
00:50:17.760 --> 00:50:18.719
We got there, guys.
00:50:18.800 --> 00:50:19.519
We got there.
00:50:19.679 --> 00:50:21.440
Um, right, number five.
00:50:21.599 --> 00:50:28.800
Would you rather, and this is the last one, would you rather be reincarnated as a sea creature or an airborne creature?
00:50:28.880 --> 00:50:32.239
And I feel like there might be some more questions coming my way.
00:50:33.679 --> 00:50:34.559
No, no.
00:50:34.800 --> 00:50:42.239
Um I I think uh a bird, uh flying creature.
00:50:42.480 --> 00:50:51.760
Um I I feel like the being underwater, there there's a lot of beauty over there, but it's it's so polluted.
00:50:52.239 --> 00:50:55.840
Uh oh god, I'm gonna end us in a dower note.
00:50:56.079 --> 00:50:58.960
Um, no, it's move away from pollution.
00:50:59.599 --> 00:51:00.000
Yes.
00:51:00.320 --> 00:51:02.320
It's not polluted in all water, is it?
00:51:02.480 --> 00:51:04.559
Only I will yeah, yeah.
00:51:04.639 --> 00:51:11.039
I'm sure there's I would be a sea creature only if I have the special ability to be able to clean up pollution that's down there.
00:51:11.280 --> 00:51:11.920
I like that.
00:51:12.000 --> 00:51:14.320
That that's your uh yeah, that's great.
00:51:14.400 --> 00:51:14.880
I love that.
00:51:14.960 --> 00:51:15.199
Okay.
00:51:15.440 --> 00:51:20.880
Sea creature with the ability to clear up all pollution and the power to do that.
00:51:21.119 --> 00:51:21.840
Amazing.
00:51:22.000 --> 00:51:22.960
All right, Keon.
00:51:23.119 --> 00:51:28.639
Uh, last thing before we leave, uh Keon Lee's final thoughts for the episode.
00:51:28.800 --> 00:51:38.320
Something positive and uplifting for our audience on approaches to life dealing with positive and negative change, that kind of thing.
00:51:38.400 --> 00:51:41.440
Nothing major, a nice, nice small thing to end.
00:51:42.239 --> 00:51:42.880
Yeah.
00:51:43.199 --> 00:51:52.719
Uh okay, I'm going to be speaking to all the creative people who are out there listening to Warren's podcast because I think that is Warren's tribe.
00:51:52.960 --> 00:51:54.079
Hello, Warren's tribe.
00:51:54.639 --> 00:51:55.440
Listening to this.
00:51:55.920 --> 00:52:02.719
Um I think it's be gentle with yourself.
00:52:02.960 --> 00:52:13.599
Um, because I know a lot of creative people who kind of beat up about themselves about work and and uh you know whether they get it right or not.
00:52:13.760 --> 00:52:20.960
And I think you just have to take a step back and just be gentle with yourself and just go, it's uh it's okay.
00:52:21.440 --> 00:52:23.920
You know, this is how it is now.
00:52:24.079 --> 00:52:26.239
You don't have to beat yourself up about it.
00:52:26.639 --> 00:52:32.239
Um so yeah, uh be gentle with yourself.
00:52:32.639 --> 00:52:33.679
Very good, very good.
00:52:33.760 --> 00:52:34.559
There we go, guys.
00:52:34.719 --> 00:52:38.880
All right, it's been an absolute pleasure, Keon, and it's been really nice to see you as well.
00:52:38.960 --> 00:52:39.920
It's been a while.
00:52:40.079 --> 00:52:47.920
Uh yeah, I think the last time I saw you, we were we were in a taxi actually coming back from a party, but we won't go too much into that right now.
00:52:48.079 --> 00:52:54.000
Um you haven't changed a bit, like you still look young, even with two kids.
00:52:54.159 --> 00:52:55.679
Yeah, how's that possible?
00:52:56.000 --> 00:52:58.960
I just send them away regularly, that's what it is.
00:52:59.840 --> 00:53:03.119
Go and entertain yourself somewhere, climb a tree.
00:53:03.280 --> 00:53:06.000
Um, yeah, something about that anyway.
00:53:06.159 --> 00:53:12.719
Uh anyway, not enough about me and my parenting style.
00:53:12.960 --> 00:53:14.960
Um climb a tree.
00:53:15.199 --> 00:53:15.519
Yeah.
00:53:15.840 --> 00:53:17.039
Keon, it's been a pleasure.
00:53:17.199 --> 00:53:18.480
Thank you so much for today.
00:53:18.559 --> 00:53:25.840
Uh, I wish you well uh for the rest of your evening and into the week, and uh I look forward to speaking with you again soon.
00:53:26.159 --> 00:53:27.039
Thank you, Warren.
00:53:27.119 --> 00:53:28.400
Thank you very much for having me.
00:53:28.719 --> 00:53:29.360
No problem.
00:53:29.599 --> 00:53:30.480
Cheers, Keon.
00:53:30.559 --> 00:53:31.119
Bye bye now.
