Steven He is a comedian, actor, and media pioneer who you may have seen online in the last year as the "emotional damage" guy. This line from one of Steven's videos hit a meteoric viral rise in the summer of 2022, but unlike many viral stars who are a flash in the pan, Steven was ready. His years of hustling as a working actor and content creator allowed him to run with his success and build a rapidly growing audience of people who enjoy his "Off Brand" TikToks or YouTube shorts about his most popular character known only as "Asian Dad". Steven has big plans for the future with the impending release of his original series "Ginormo" and a seemingly never-ending waterfall of fresh content across social media. We talked about his health, specifically the recent surgery he had on a cyst above his eye he believes was caused by stress. We also shared stories of our immigration backgrounds. Steven was born in China, raised in Ireland, and then went to college in the UK and studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse in NYC, so we actually have a lot on common. I'm so grateful we got to spend a full day together and hope you enjoy our conversation! Follow Steven: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@StevenHe IG: https://www.instagram.com/thestevenhe/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@steven_he?lang=en 00:00 Intro 00:51 Worst Auditions 08:32 Starting Social Media 16:38 Emotional Damage 19:26 Mental and Physical Health 26:36 Eyebrow Surgery 44:00 Reading Negative Comments 59:20 Chinese Pressure 1:05:35 Why He Left China 1:13:20 Coping Mechanisms 1:22:53 Failure Management 1:31:30 Lightning Round 1:37:08 Q/A Executive Producer and Host: Dr. Mike Varshavski Produced by Dan Owens and Sam Bowers Art by Caroline Weigum CONTACT: [email protected]

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