Feb 17, 2020
For the month of February, we sit down with queer Asian
Americans to learn more about how they navigate finding love here
in America.
This episode, we sit down with Derek Tran, a gay
second-generation Vietnamese-American entrepreneur in LA and talk
about growing up in LA, being a part of the gaysian LA scene,
navigating social media and dating apps, and finding self-love
through his spiritual and body transformation.
Derek Tran (he/him/his) is a gay, second-generation
Vietnamese-American entrepreneur residing in Los
Angeles. His interests include mindfulness, fitness,
environmental sustainability and has been an integral part of the
LA Gaysian scene for more than 20+ years.
In this episode we talk about:
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How he got started with his businesses in LA.
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The story of his family moving from Vietnam and throughout Los Angeles county.
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Growing up as one of the only Vietnamese individuals in his hometown and trying to assimilate into American culture.
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Coming back home to his identity and finding his sense of cultural pride.
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Social media and its impact on our generation.
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Why there is an entire culture around shaming hookup app conversations.
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Why racial preference is just racism - from exclusion to fetishism.
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His journey through body transformation.
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What unsolicited advice say more about people than the advice itself.
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How Derek started to do the work to find love for himself.
References:
You can reach out to Derek via Instagram
@findyourfearless
You can follow me at:
Instagram (instagram.com/stevenwakabayashi)
YouTube (youtube.com/stevenwakabayashi)
Weekly Newsletter (mindfulmoments.substack.com)