The Human Panda had a big year, and it’s only just beginning
Eddie Huang has been quite a busy dude.
Season 1 of his Vice show “Fresh off the Boat” wrapped up earlier this year, and he’s already filming for the next one.
In the first season, among the many adventures that he embarks on, Eddie shows Taiwan through his perspective, gets on the Bang Bus as the connoisseur that he is, and shows that he is actually a friend to Filipinos – a conscious observer of culture through food (see below).
He released a memoir of the same title in January, and a month later we were actually on hand for a reading of the book and a Q&A session with Miss Info at Chambers Fine Art, hosted by the Asian American Writers Workshop.
He receives a TED Fellowship, only to be unfairly revoked after he appeared for David Choe and Asa Akira’s podcast, DVDASA. And so he went on The Joe Rogan Experience and relayed his experience to the Fear Factor host and UFC analyst, saying that:
“TED has 12 to 15 hours of activities a day that they want you at and they bug out if you leave… This is a cult…”
(See below: Eddie’s leaked TED Talk)
MTV also just announced a new show in the works, “Snackdown,” which Huang will be hosting with Rob Dyrdek and supermodel Chrissy Teigen.
It’s not everyday that the Asian community gets a guy like Eddie to champion the cause of ridding crazy Asian stereotypes and be vocal about certain social issues, all with the rhetoric of a very amusing and marketable young adult immersed in hip hop culture and that has a following of the next generation.
Did I mention this guy is also a lawyer?
His outspoken demeanor and hustle mentality is a great representation of this next wave of New York entrepreneurs, Asian personalities and youthful future leaders. He is also a guy that has the respect of some well-renowned chefs and celebrities – guys like Anthony Bourdain and Tom Colicchio – and that gives him a lot of credibility.
The guy is a star, and he’s most likely on your radar now whether you like him or not.
Ultimately, I really, really just can’t wait for FOB Season 2.
Hurry up already, Panda!
To catch the entire first season of Fresh Off The Boat, click here.
