In this episode of Firelight Chats, Philippe Ho made his way to the Spacelab to chat with Kane & Mocha by the fireside about a remembrance of things past and God's Plan for the present & future. Philippe shares stories about his family's deep historical ties to the founding of the Republic of China, escape from the mainland to Taiwan, another pivotal migration to France, being born on a tiny island in the middle of Paris, growing up as mixed-race kid, dealing with identity crises, having a fire of curiosity lit under him by his father, being motivated by his brother, intense classes prépas culture & protocol, getting into a top university, studying abroad in the UK, working in London, becoming a chameleon, and eventually making his way back to Taiwan.
Philippe also shares stories about traveling to Niger while working for EY, safe houses, AK-47s, morning radio checks, meeting an iguana, working in finance as a button-pushing money-making monkey, getting his first glimpses into the startup life in the Bay Area, joining Samsara as an early employee, co-founding a video game company, finding his calling, and building a platform that helps bridge the gap between startup founders & real, actionable resources. Kane & Philippe also talk about disability, dumplings, the importance of heating, suitable pots for plants, Drake vs Kanye, swag & sunglasses, Japanese men's fashion, tennis, and serendipitous meetings at tech meetups.
Philippe Ho was born and raised in Paris, France to a Taiwanese father and French mother. He is a graduate of Lycée Fénelon - Paris, the prestigious ESTP - Grand École, and the University of Birmingham. Philippe currently lives in Taiwan as Gold Card visa holder working on and with several startups in the gaming and tech space.

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Melody Hsu hip-hopped her hypnotik way to the Spacelab to chat with Kane & Mocha by the fireside about business, music, her fast life & fast cars. Melody shared stories about growing up in the States, the importance of getting dirty & getting out into nature, her favorite camp sites, pink power ranger suits, being a caucasian girl, reverse culture shock in Taipei, the teachers that made a difference in her life, re-learning Chinese, her college dance crew, working as a bottle service girl & other early jobs, being attracted to the Mad Men life, her favorite cars, drag racing & fixed-up GTRs, and collaborating with Porsche Taiwan and other companies like Zenith watches.
Melody also shares stories about going to a college famous for entrepreneurship & then founding two companies, her early inspirations from her dad the Keelung hustler, the difficulties & challenges of being early in the market, the joys of business, the roller coaster of marriage & being a mommy, her wellness journey, her realization that self-care is not the same thing as being selfish, and her hopes and dreams for her future in life and business.
Melody Hsu is a certified health & wellness coach, the founder & executive director of VIASWEAT, and the co-founder of Ness Wellness, which she started with Angela Feng, a previous guest of Firelight Chats. Born in the Pennsylvania, raised in New Jersey, she went to high school at TAS in Taipei, and returned again to the States to attend college at Babson College. Melody now lives & works out of Taipei with her husband and two daughters.

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Ron Wardle penetrated his way into the Spacelab market to chat by the fireside with Kane & Mocha about his 15+ years of experience as the ex-CEO of the largest, foreign e-commerce & digital agency in China, where he helped bring 150+ western brands into the Chinese market, and helped generate over $350M for his partners & clients. Ron shares deep insights & stories about business, brand entry, e-commerce, live streaming, viral campaigns, visual merchandising, cross-border compliance, logistics & supply chain management, pioneering CBD startups, shoppable video, and his latest book - which was based on these rich experiences in Shanghai.
Recorded on Thanksgiving Day, Kane & Ron also carve up conversation about getting turkeys in Taiwan, cooking up different styles of potatoes, his home state of Boise, California wine, his love of sports, and the differences & similarities between the 11/11 shopping bonanza in China and the Black Friday/Christmas holiday spending season in the United States. The two also chat about their eerily similar timelines of leaving China for Taiwan, their double Gold Card overlap, their befuddlement with Taiwanese UI, and their dreams for the continued development of the sports & entertainment industries in Taiwan.
Ron Wardle is an award-winning APAC & Greater China executive who specializes in social & shoppable livestream commerce, branding, and market entry. His latest book, an Amazon #1 bestseller, is called Innovation Factory: China's Digital Playbook for Global Brands. Ron is a Taiwan Gold Card holder and currently splits his time between Taiwan & his home country of the United States. 

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Taylor Chen lit her way to the Spacelab to chat by the fireside with Kane & Mocha about sports, professional broadcasting, work culture, and a new reality show concept for Taiwan. Taylor shares stories about calling Dwight Howard's debut game in Taiwan, being joined by Superman on a playoff broadcast, chicken ass & 7-foot giants, commentating on a bench-clearing brawl, the professional agent life, coordinating transportation logistics for the WBC, the difficulties of translating & interpreting, experiencing burnout, dropping old references, Selling Sunset, what it means to be LIT, and her love of painting sunset-tinged, chrome-laced classic cars, juxtaposed against an equally nostalgic Taiwanese landmark.
Taylor also bravely talks about issues that might be considered taboo or sensitive in Taiwan, including toxic work environments, being overworked and under-compensated, lack of training & leadership/mentorship, corporate management & oversight issues, gender inequality, old thinking & resistance to change, cheerleaders & WAGS, and the pipeline that feeds foreign players into both the college and professional basketball leagues in Taiwan. Taylor also ponders her future in Taiwan or the Bay Area, her ideal man, and her hopes for the future of Taiwan and Taiwanese basketball.
Taylor Chen worked at the largest sports marketing company in Taiwan as a professional sports agent and events coordinator. She is the English language broadcaster/announcer for the T1, one of Taiwan's two men's professional basketball leagues. Taylor is the sister of Ryan Chen, the English language broadcaster for the other league, the P.League+. Both born in Northern California, the two currently live and work under the same roof in Taipei. 

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Dr. Drew mined his way to the Spacelab to chat with Kane & Mocha by the fireside about the life & business surrounding gemstones. Drew shares incredible stories about running away at the age of 17 to study gemology in Mumbai, pivoting to Sri Lanka just as the civil war was coming to an end, making his way to Chanthaburi - a Thai city known as the City of Gems, getting robbed, learning Muay Thai & Karate to protect himself, the red curry & hidden factories of Chiang Mai, seasonal mines in Kanchanaburi, crossing borders, the business of bribery, avoiding Cambodian land mines, the mysteries of Myanmar, Russian connections, Colombian emeralds, and the enduring allure of Kashmir.
Dr. Drew also shares stories about a business trip to HK with a South African Chinese guy that led to a new business venture in Africa, his partner getting kidnapped in Zambia, losing 2 tons of rough uncut emeralds, almost getting killed by an extremist group in the Copper Belt, and finally getting a chance to visit the Diamond District in NYC. The two also delve deeper into the gemology business, politics and political instability, the special characteristics of colored gems, advice about how to buy and invest in precious stones, the importance of certification and finding a reputable dealer, and Drew's all-time favorite stone. Finally, Drew explains why he plans to continue living and working out of Taiwan for the foreseeable future.
Dr. Gemstone Drew is an international gem dealer originally from New Delhi. He has lived in Mumbai, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Taiwan, and has traveled around the world otherwise in search of precious stone refulgence & enlightenment. 

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Sarah Chang rigged her way to the Spacelab to chat with Kane & Mocha by the fireside about her stunt & action-packed life as a martial arts movie star. Sarah shares stories about growing up in Virginia, the difficulties of stretching & memorizing forms, college life in Toronto, mastering the king of weapons, traveling the world to compete for the US Wushu National Team, training with & competing against her childhood idols, getting stitches, avoiding rabbit head snacks in Sichuan, learning stunt coordination & rigging in Tianjin, studying at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, reciting poetry repetitively, and making her initial transition to acting and action in Taiwan.
Sarah also shares stories about meeting her husband and Sam Hargrave at the Jackie Chan Stuntman Training Center, becoming friends with her soul sister Roxanne Barcelo, filming in Malta with Scott Adkins and the late Ray Stevenson, working with Sammo Hung's son in Taiwan, doing live-action short film recreations for bigwigs for the opening of the DJI/Wanda studios in Qingdao, and her dreams of playing a superhero, flying in real life, & working with Michelle Yeoh. Just back from filming in Thailand & a special retreat in Jeju-Do, Korea, she also talks about travel, eating too much, being pampered like a superstar, and bathing in a RIMAN fountain of youth.
Sarah Chang is a Taiwanese-American actor, producer, & stunt coordinator who can also be found hosting a podcast & vlog called Kung Fu Mama. Sarah currently splits her time between Taiwan and the Philippines with her two daughters & husband, Vincent Soberano, with whom she founded Scene 8 Studio in Taipei. Sarah's latest starring role is in the action comedy film, Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday.

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Ryan Chen commentated his way to the Spacelab to chat with Kane & Mocha by the fireside about basketball, baseball, broadcasting, and the sports marketing & business world. Ryan shares stories about growing up in Taiwan as an American kid, going to TAS, getting his first taste of Moneyball sabermetrics at Santa Clara University, his CPBL demo reel and return to Taiwan, how he transitioned into the PLG, learning about Chick Hearn, his broadcasting preparation and process, high school vs college vs pro basketball economics, and the anxieties, challenges & promises of the sports league startup life.
As the opening day of the 2023-2024 P. League+ season nears, Ryan also gives a rundown of the team stadiums, the importance of fans (including his famous fan captain father), his sister who broadcasts for the rival league, cheerleaders, officiating, import player rules, broadcasting rights, his dreams for Taipei's Big Egg, the power of marketing and storytelling, creating a memorable entertainment experience, his anticipations for each team, coaches and players to look out for, as well as his thoughts about the upcoming EASL season & other qualifying tournaments for the Chinese Taipei National team.
Ryan Chen is the English-language broadcaster and International Affairs Manager for the P.League+, also known as the PLG, one of Taiwan's professional basketball leagues. Born in Northern California, Ryan grew up in Taiwan, graduated from Santa Clara University, and is now back living, working, & broadcasting in Taiwan.

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Raymond Ko dove his way to the Spacelab to chat with Kane & Mocha by the fireside about his life outside and inside the ocean. Raymond shares stories from his 20-year career in finance, the greatest takeaways from that time, the tumultuous events that led to his big career change, his deepest memories and experiences in the ocean, the healing power of water and nature, and explains why he's happier than ever living on a small island in Taiwan, teaching freediving.
Raymond & Kane deep dive into a wide-range of topics including, breathwork, Frenzel equalization techniques, duck dives, proper equipment, the importance of finding good training, island lunches, ice baths, hyperbaric chambers, Fibromyalgia, skiing concussions, Brazilian Jujitsu, iron neck contraptions, $500 diaper covers, custody battles, black outs, the Deepest Breath, risks & how to mitigate them, exposure therapy, fear of the ocean, triggerfish, seals, sea turtles, and his peak-life experience of diving with humpback whales in Tonga.
Raymond Ko is the founder and lead instructor at Freedive Nomad, a freedive training company in Xiaoliuqiu, Taiwan. Raymond is a Taiwan Gold Card holder, a dual US & Taiwan citizen, and a graduate of UC Berkeley. Raymond is one of the lead local organizers for Deep Week Taiwan, a freediving festival that will be held from November 18th-25th, 2023.

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Angela Feng ventured her way to the Spacelab to chat with Kane & Mocha by the fireside about life, business, change, love, and wellness. Angela shares stories from her glamorous & golden past life as a brand, events, marketing, and public relations professional in Shanghai, studying in the prestigious TIEMBA EMBA program during Covid, and taking inspiration from that experience to launch her wellness startup, Ness Wellness.
Angela & Kane also chat about Mid-Autumn Festival BBQs, spiritual pilgrimages to Yue Lao temples in Taichung, rituals & red bracelets, fear of dentists, experiencing the 9/21 earthquake, studying abroad in Park City Utah, Montréal, & Tokyo, coordinating events & firework river cruises, living the jetset life, putting good vibes out into the universe, finding angel investors and the right team, the biggest challenges & obstacles to doing business in Taiwan, the 8 dimensions of wellness, her ideal man, and her future goals & plans.
Angela Feng is the co-founder of Ness Wellness, a community marketplace startup offering education and experiences for everyone, everywhere on their wellness journey. She is a venture partner at Red Building Capital; chapter lead for SoGal Taiwan; and a brand, marketing, and PR professional. Angela is a graduate of Concordia University in Montréal, studied abroad at KEIO University in Japan, and has earned an EMBA from TIEMBA (Tsinghua - INSEAD).

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Andrew Klerck hitchhiked his way to the Spacelab to chat with Kane & Mocha by the fireside about life, travel, business, and future opportunities. Andrew shares stories about living in a glass house for the first 9 years of his life, what he learned when he entered the outside world, survival & coping strategies, studying abroad in South America, breathtaking views & unforgettable landscapes, and losing his vision as he entered the fifth decade of his life.
Andrew & Kane also explore business deep and wide, including stories about learning to hustle from his mother, how picking up a hitchhiker led to kickstarting a huge import/export business, growing & hiring the right team, firing fast, being handed the keys to an sprawling construction business, urinal pitches, corruption & bribes, reconnaissance & dossiers, lawsuits & high-level subterfuge, caring about his employees, exiting a company, the importance of communication, and some things he's been working on in Taiwan.
Towards the end of the episode, Andrew also gives a current status overview & update of a disability inclusion campaign that he is actively involved with. The campaign, spearheaded by an organization called Crossroads, has reached the highest levels of government attention in Taiwan.
Andrew Klerck is the founder of Taiwan Impact Entrepreneurs (TIE), a networking community for success driven entrepreneurs. Originally from South Africa, he has also lived in the UK and several countries in South America. Andrew is currently working & living in Taiwan with his Taiwanese partner.