Hiro Kanagawa: Identity, Fighting Stereotypes, and opening the doors for others.

Hiro Kanagawa

All of the opportunities we enjoy today—everything from civil liberties to social standings to professional opportunities are made possible because of all those who preceded us. But what did they have to overcome to make this possible?

Hiro Kanagawa is an actor with over 200 credits that include everything from Smallville, NBC’s “Heroes Reborn” to Taishi Okamura in Amazon’s “Man in the High Castle” to Captain Tanaka in Netflix’s “Altered Carbon.” Now, he’ll be joining Star Trek Discovery. He’s also an award winning playwright. But these incredible achievements have been hard fought. At the start of his career, Hiro has struggled with the very limited opportunities that existed for Asians. He faced dilemmas like do you take the very few parts available but know that you are also reinforcing stereotypes?

It is a delicate negotiation between whether or not to take what was give-stay in that lane and the impact that it would have on your own personal self worth. Hiro has been at the forefront and shares how he navigated this process, what he had to do not only to build his own career but open the doors for all those who follow. And listen in on what his thoughts are on whether or not he thinks any progress has been made.

Hiro’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/hirokanagawatv

Hiro’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hirokanagawatv/

Reppin 4.8: Patrick Sabongui

Patrick Sabongui

Photo Credit: Brick Patrick

Patrick Sabongui is a talented actor with a long list of impressive credits. He’s been in Netflix’s wildly popular shows Virgin River and Firefly Lane. You’ve also seen him CW’s The Flash and Showtime’s Homeland and Shameless.

He has a great body of work but throughout his career he has faced the challenges of being labeled and he’s struggled with playing and perpetuating stereotypes on screen.

Because of that, Patrick is a fierce advocate for anti-racism and representation in the arts, Patrick is co-chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee for the Union of British Columbia Performers and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, TV and Radio Artists (UBCP/ACTRA) and on the Diversity Committee for the Jessie Richardson Awards (British Columbia’s Theatre Recognition Awards).

Patrick talks about the constant balancing act of keeping with his sense of integrity, being a good example to his community and his son with the practical needs of getting projects to provide for his family. His shares how he navigates this universal challenge and how he’s giving back.

Patrick’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/PatrickSabongui

Patrick’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patricksabongui/?hl=en

Reppin 4.5: Dr. Chen Fu

Dr. Chen Fu

Dr. Chen Fu is a front line hero. He’s been battling to save lives as hospitals were busting at the seams as patients poured in all desperately sick with Covid-19. Working exhaustively for days that bled into nights and back again, he fought to help as many as possible. Witnessing staggering numbers of devastating loss and gutting goodbyes, often multiple times a day was punishing. Proving time and again, despite his best efforts —they were futile.

While he struggled to help the sick, as a front line responder he was celebrated for what he was doing but the also vilified for what he is— Asian. The duality of this position compounded the situation he was in.

How does it impact him as a doctor? As a person? Did his faith in humanity diminish or has it been renewed?

Reppin 4.2: Brandon Victor Dixon

Brandon Victor Dixon

Brandon Victor Dixon has an expansive list of credits that range from Broadway’s Hamilton, The Color Purple to television’s Rent Live, Jesus Christ Superstar to STARZ’s Power.

Brandon has also appeared in concert with various artists such as Burnt Sugar: The Arkestra Chamber, Jennifer Hudson, Nathan Lane, Wynton Marsalis, Chita Rivera, Liza Minnelli, David Hyde Pierce,  and Tony winners Levi Kries, Kelli O'hara, and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Other Credits include: ABC's One Life To Live, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, ABC's The Good Wife, and NETFLIX’s “She’s Gotta Have It”.

His talent doesn’t end there, h'e’s also a producer! His company WalkRunFly has produced multiple works including the Tony Award winning Hedwig and the Angry Inch starring Neil Patrick Harris, He is co-founder of The WeAre Foundation, a non-profit “Turning Art into Action.”

Millions have seen and heard his voice and talent-but here, you’ll learn what motivates this talented man and what he’s fighting for.

Brandon’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrandonVDixon

Brandon’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonvdixon/?hl=en

We Are Foundation: https://weare.org/

Reppin 3.9: Kyle Maynard

Kyle Maynard

Kyle Maynard was born with a rare condition known as congenital amputation, that left him with arms that end at the elbows and legs that end near his knees-but don’t tell him he can’t do something. Kyle was the first man to bear crawl to the top of the highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro (19,340 feet), and the summit of Argentina’s Mount Aconcagua (22,838 feet), the highest peak in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres.

He’s an entrepreneur, speaker, best selling author, award-winning extreme athlete. Kyle thrives on physical challenges and is a champion wrestler, CrossFit Certified Instructor and gym owner, competitive Mixed Martial Arts fighter, world record-setting weightlifter, and skilled mountaineer.

He lives by the motto No Excuses. He comes to Reppin sharing his perspectives, lessons and his iron will. So just TRY and keep up with him.

Kyle’s twitter: https://twitter.com/kylemaynard?lang=en

Kyle’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kylemaynard/?hl=en

Reppin 3.8: Benjamin Von Wong

Benjamin Von Wong

Benjamin Von Wong is a talented innovative, creative, artist, photographer and activist. His work has been described as a mix of fantasy and photography and combines everyday objects with shocking statistics. It has attracted the attention of corporations, like Starbucks, Dell, and Nike and has generated over 100 million views for causes like ocean plastics, electronic waste, and fashion pollution. Most recently, he was named one of Adweek’s 11 content branded masterminds.

He is also the host of the Impact Everywhere Podcast.

Meet this incredible talent as he shares what he’s learned and how he infuses his creativity with purpose and how he’s working to make a change.

Benjamin’s website: https://www.vonwong.com/

Benjamin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/thevonwong?s=20

Benjamin’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vonwong/?hl=en

Impact Everywhere: https://impacteverywhere.org/

Photo Courtesy: Benjamin Von Wong

Photo Courtesy: Benjamin Von Wong

Reppin 3.7: AJ Mendez

AJ Mendez

Photo Courtesy: Cathy and David Photography

AJ Mendez is a former professional wrestling champion with the WWE under the ring name AJ Lee. Don’t let her diminutive stature fool you, she was a formidable opponent. She threw people around like a short order cook threw pancakes onto a plate. With her trademark black widow submission move, she easily took out her competitors. But in real life--nothing came easily for her.

In her autobiography, which was a New York Times best seller, Crazy Is My Super Power, she details what it was like being a petite Puerto Rican girl growing up in an unstable home, struggling with poverty, homelessness and mental illness to how comics, wrestling and her fans helped change her life. 

Because of her own personal struggles, she is a mental health advocate, and is an ambassador to The Jed Foundation and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

If that’s not enough, she also partnered with actress Aimee Garcia and founded Scrappy Heart Productions. Together, as Latin X storytellers, they want to create the change they want to see in the media and to tell stories that have universal themes.

She is a warrior. Meet this incredible woman, who is breaking boundaries, who has overcome so many personal challenges and now she’s out in front working to help others.

AJ’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheAJMendez

AJ’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theajmendez/

Mental Health Resources:

National Alliance on Mental Illness: NAMI.org

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 (TALK)

Reppin 3.1: Nathalie Kelley

Nathalie Kelley

Nathalie Kelley, a Peruvian born actress known for her leading roles from the mega movie Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, Vampire Diaries, Dynasty, UnREAL, Body Of Proof and Baker And The Beauty has a powerful discussion on REPPIN! She shares what devastated her, the awakening she had experienced, what she’s learned, how it’s changed her life and all the ways she’s giving back. Nathalie breaks down her project Ritual Community-how it’s set up to represent and serve underrepresented groups, honor ancient traditions and lineages and help enrich your life. This is an insightful and inspiring conversation with a talented actress and fierce activist who is out in front to preserve our earth, heritage and ultimately, make an impact on this world.

Nathalie’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/natkelley

Nathalie’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natkelley/

Ritual Community: https://ritualcommunity.mn.co/

Reppin 2.8: Osric Chau

Osric Chau

Osric Chau is a Canadian actor and martial artist who starred as Kevin Tran on the CW’s mega hit Supernatural! Some of his other credits include Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Blood and Water, Demon X, Arrow and The Flash. Osric shares some personal stories about self identity and discovery, you’ll find out what risks he’s taken, if they have paid off, what he’s learned and what he’s doing be the change he wants to see. This is an incredibly insightful conversation with this amazing talent.

Osric’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/OsricChau

Reppin 2.6: Liris Crosse

Liris Crosse

Liris Crosse, dubbed “The “Body” and “The Naomi Campbell of Plus” is a model/actress and trailblazer in the fashion industry for full-figured and African American women pushing curvy women into mainstream fashion!

In 2015, Liris was one of a few models selected to walk the runway for reality TV competition, Project Runway’s, first ever plus size collection at New York Fashion Week. That honor was followed by being chosen as one of the models for the show’s first season to include plus size models for the weekly competition premiering in August 2017. Liris was also named one of the two model winners of Project Runway to be featured in Marie Claire magazine, a first for plus models. You’ve also seen her in American Vogue, Essence to British Cosmopolitan.

Find out what challenges she’s faced, how’s she’s using her platform to help others and what her attitude is on and off the runway.

Liris’ Website: http://www.lirisc.com/

Liris’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LirisC

Reppin Season 2 Premiere: Michelle Hurd

Michelle Hurd

Michelle Hurd is an extraordinarily talented actress with an impressive list of credits that includes Law and Order SVU, Daredevil, Blindspot, Hawaii Five-O, Gossip Girl, ER, 90210 to Younger -just to name a FEW! And currently you can find her starring on the hit Star Trek: Picard as Raffi Musiker!

Michelle shares personal stories that impacted her and shaped how she views the world. She talks about the challenges she faced professionally and personally and why she is a fierce advocate for equality and justice for all.

This is a very insightful, powerful and intimate conversation—and one you don’t want to miss. Meet this amazing actress and you’ll find out she’s even more incredible in real life.

Michelle’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/ItsMichelleHurd

Reppin: Season 1 Behind The Scenes

Nelson Pinero

Reppin is coming back from hiatus. But before we premiere Season 2, we have my technical director and musical composer Nelson Pinero as a guest. Together, we take you behind the scenes, we give you a glimpse of what it’s like to produce this podcast, and share some of our thoughts and favorite moments.

Reppin 1.11: Adam Jacobs

Adam Jacobs

Adam Jacobs is a talented actor well known on stage and beyond. He originated the lead role of Aladdin on Broadway shouldering Disney’s spectacular production. He’s also played Marius in Les Miserables, Sky in Mamma Mia and Simba in the Lion King. Adam, being mixed Filipino-Jewish ethnicity, shares how he struggled to find his place, until he found the stage and himself by becoming others. What was perceived as his weakness ultimately, became his strength.

Adam’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdamJacobsNYC

Adam’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamjacobsnyc/

Reppin 1.10: Mitra Memari

Mitra Memari

Meet Mitra Memari- she’s one of the very few POC who is also a woman and a partner at major US, award-winning architecture and interior design firm. Born in Iran, Mitra shares stories of her childhood where she experienced trauma, how she coped and how those obstacles shaped her. She details how she broke into a male dominated field, found her voice and how she evolved into being one of the leaders. This episode of Reppin is about being an immigrant, a woman, what it means to be a leader, it’s about shattering barriers—it’s about being a bad ass.

Reppin 1.9: Zabryna Guevara

Zabryna Guevara

Currently, she’s on ABC’s hit show Emergence as Dr. Abby Frasier, some of her other credits include Gotham, Twilight Zone, Tell Me A Story, The Get Down to New Amsterdam! The talented and lovely Zabryna Guevara comes to hang out! She gets personal and details how she went from “disappearing” in crowds to finding her voice and strength then evolving into a successful actress on some of the most popular television shows. She shares intimate stories about growing up in New York City, challenges she’s overcome and how much family means to her. Get to know this talented actress and amazing woman on this episode of Reppin.

Zabryna’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZabrynaGuevara

Zabryna’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zabrynaguevara/?hl=en

Reppin 1.8: Danny Pino

Danny Pino

You’ve seen him as Detective Nick Amaro on NBC’s Law and Order SVU, he’s been on Cold Case, Brain Dead, Gone, Scandal, The Shield and his credits go on and on. Currently, he plays cartel boss Miguel Galindo on FX’s hit Mayans M.C. Danny Pino comes to Reppin and gets personal. He shares some powerful experiences, you’ll gain insight on what and who has inspired him, how he carries all of those lessons with him and how he hopes to pay it forward. Get to know the man behind all of these amazing performances.

Danny’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDannyPino

Danny’s Instgram: https://www.instagram.com/eldannypino/?hl=en

Reppin 1.5: Tiffany Persons

Tiffany Persons

Representation in Hollywood is seeing some dramatic changes in the last several years and our next guest is someone who is working to ensuring that we continue that movement. Tiffany Persons is a prominent casting director in Hollywood with clients like Apple, Google to Nike. She’s also the Founder and Executive Director of a highly respected non profit organization called Shine On in Sierra Leone-an organization that provides educational programs, food to wellness for children. Tiffany shares some of her experiences as a casting director, how some of her personal experiences has shaped her and her work. See how she’s using her personal experiences and platform to transform children’s lives. You’ll be blown away by her work, dedication and heart.

Shine On: http://shineonsierraleone.org/

Reppin 1.4: Mahdis Keshavarz

Mahdis Keshavarz

A leader in the PR world and founder of The Make Agency, Mahdis Keshavarz has built an incredible firm with prestigious clients that include the United Nations, BBC, MTV and UNICEF to name a few. Mahdis shares her personal experiences, challenges she’s had to overcome and some defining moments that ultimately empowered her. Mahdis also built a sister company called Polite Society -where you can purchase beautiful gifts and every purchase dedicates a portion of their sales towards human rights causes. You’ll also hear about her personal humanitarian efforts that will leave you absolutely inspired.

The Make Agency: https://www.themakeagency.com/

Polite Society: https://www.sopolite.com/

Reppin 1.3: Jon Huertas

Jon Huertas

He has an impressive list of credits that include HBO’s Generation Kill, he was Detective Javier Esposito on ABC’s long running, fan favorite series Castle and now he is Miguel Rivas on NBC’s huge hit and critic’s darling This is Us. Jon Huertas comes to Reppin to share his experiences and thoughts-so get to know this amazing actor and see what he is doing to further representation.

Jon’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jon_Huertas

Jon’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jon_huertas/?hl=en

Reppin 1.2: Michele Selene Ang

Michele Selene Ang

On screen, you’ve seen her on CBS’ Elementary and she also plays the complicated Courtney Crimsen from Netflix’s hit 13 Reasons Why. But in real life actress Michele Selene Ang is a thoughtful and fierce advocate for Asian American representation. She comes by to hang out with us so listen in and find out what Michele is all about and why she’s so passionate about the importance of representation.

Michele’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/MicheleSelene

Michele’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/micheleseleneang/?hl=en