Fascinating People

Cliff Hsia & Derek Kamm
Fascinating People Podcast

Cliff Hsia's and Derek Kamm's Fascinating People features interviews with people who live fascinating lives. They have overcome personal and professional challenges, obstacles, and tragedies, and live their lives with intention, passion, and courage. They are leaders, successful business people, creative thinkers, authors, teachers, and parents. Every episode will leave you fascinated and inspired to live your best life.

  1. 18/02/2022

    Shen Brown: Living Aloha, Making Music, and Finding Peace

    Shen Brown is a multiplatinum producer, lyricist, songwriter, vocalist, front man, and ukuleleist from Hawaii. He's a classmate of ours at 'Iolani School and someone we always knew had a thing for music. We just didn't know it would be THE thing. And look how far he's come. He started his musical career in Japan when he met his partner Micro and formed the group “Def Tech”. Their 1st album “Def Tech” sold over 2 million copies. Between 2005 and 2006, Def Tech’s 3 album releases sold over 5,000,000 copies. In 2008, Shen released his first solo album “SOLAIRO” and collaborated with popular Hawaiian artists such as Jake Shimabukuro, KONISHIKI and others by participating in their albums and performing at their concerts. Along with 8 critically acclaimed albums, Def Tech’s songs have also been used for numerous commercial tie ups with major corporations such as Sony Ericsson, Fuji Television, Yokohama Tires, Toyota, and The Red Cross Japan. Shen also regularly heads collaborations with top level artists and creators through his new creative collective project “ALOHA DAMASHII”, and also tours throughout Japan, Asia, and Hawaii playing some of the largest venues in the regions. On this episode, we talk story with Shen about where he gets his inspiration and motivation, what advice he would give to artists just getting started, the benefits of conscious breathing, how to find balance and peace in life, and many more fascinating topics. Shen had a lot of perspective and wisdom to share, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

    1h 16m
  2. 25/01/2022

    Alex Kinsey: Authenticity and Joy in Music and Life

    On this episode of Fascinating People, Derek and I spoke with Alex Kinsey, singer, songwriter, and just a really interesting guy. We talk about a range of topics including the ups and downs of fame, the joy of performing—and cooking, and the importance of authenticity in music and life.  Ladies and gentlemen, Alex Kinsey:  Born in Daytona Beach, Alex Kinsey is a singer/songwriter best known as one half of X Factor winning duo, Alex & Sierra. After winning the US talent competition in 2013, the duo went on to have two successful albums and three successful tours. In 2017, Alex formed the band BoTalks. Their first single ‘Know U Anymore’ with Modern Family's Sarah Hyland was a breakout hit, with over five million streams and two-and-a-half million plays. In 2019, Alex launched his solo career with the edgy, raw pop track 'Simple'. Produced by Johan Lindbrandt, and written by Lindbrandt and Jackson Morgan, Simple was released independently through Alex’s own label ‘Kinsey’. Of this next chapter, Alex said: “I’ve been so fortunate to have an already varied career in music, but it feels like now’s the time to step out from behind the safety of a band and show who I am as a solo artist. I can't wait to see where my own music can take me.” Alex released his solo EP ‘Party of One’ in 2019. Collectively, Alex has over 450 million plays on Spotify and 170 million views on YouTube. 'Party of One’ features an eclectic mix of genres including his first single, infectious, dark hit ‘Simple’ and lead single, sexy sultry tune ‘Hot Mess’. Influenced by John Mayer, Andy Grammer, The Beatles, and his friend Jason Mraz, Alex’s music is a mix of pop, hip-hop and his own style that has already shown to resonate with audiences around the world, and leave them wanting more.

    1h 0m
  3. 17/11/2021

    Albert Ching: How to Be a More Empathetic, Curious, and Creative Person

    On this episode of Fascinating People, Derek and I speak with Albert Ching, a classmate and friend of ours from Iolani School. From Iolani, Albert went on to continue his education at Harvard University and MIT. He then went on to work at Google in various finance and product leadership roles. Interestingly enough, Albert Ching and his partner created the first bus map of Dhaka, the mega-capital of Bangladesh and piloted live bus tracking and free Wi-Fi on a government owned bus line. In recent years, he was the COO of a startup that created a DIY platform for millions of non-developers to build mobile apps, on Android, iOS and the web without code. To say that he is incredibly intelligent and remarkably accomplished is an understatement. Google him and you'll find his TED talk on his work in Dhaka. Albert Ching is a man of many interests and creative outlets. Follow him on Instagram and you'll see that he loves to make rare and thoughtful candles and perfumes, he's an avid hula dancer, a dog lover, and a student of the world and its many cultures. He's one of the most interesting people I know, as he approaches life with a unique openness, curiosity, and sensitivity. And he's a soon-to-be father. In this podcast, we talk with him about the importance of emotional sensitivity, how to be a more empathetic and trustworthy person, why pursuing your creative passions matter, and how we can slow down time, among many other deep and resonating topics. We really enjoyed our time with Albert, one of the smartest and emotionally intelligent people we know, and we hope you will, too.  Albert Ching's Instagram: @maisonbuongiorno @monsieurbuongiorno Albert Ching's website with fascinating products and publications: https://maisonbuongiorno.com/ Hosts: Cliff Hsia and Derek Kamm

    51 min

About

Cliff Hsia's and Derek Kamm's Fascinating People features interviews with people who live fascinating lives. They have overcome personal and professional challenges, obstacles, and tragedies, and live their lives with intention, passion, and courage. They are leaders, successful business people, creative thinkers, authors, teachers, and parents. Every episode will leave you fascinated and inspired to live your best life.

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada