The Tamil Creator Ara Ehamparam

Nitesh Pillai (@nitesh.pillai) is professional model that was discovered on TikTok (where he has 100K+ followers & over 5 million likes).

He joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss immigrating from Malaysia to Australia, going from being a victim of bullying to being discovered by IMG Models (an international leader in talent discovery), juggling school and his modelling career, questioning the purpose of education due to his current career path, participating in Paris fashion week, and so much more.

Follow Nitesh:
- Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/nitesh.pillai/)

Timestamps

00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Nitesh Pillai
01:37 - How Nitesh became a model; overcoming bullying
05:19 - The different perspectives his brothers provided
07:11 - Missing his family in Malaysia and the “next level” food
08:28 - Being discovered on TikTok by IMG Models 
09:32 - Misconceptions about being a model
11:13 - Dealing with last minute requests
12:22 - How his parents feel about his modelling career
13:52 - Balancing his modelling career and school
14:43 - Contemplating not finishing school; don’t tell his dad
15:49 - The longevity of a modelling career; 5-10 year shelf life
17:22 - Will his degree be useful; his passion for music, writing, and more
18:19 - Favourite places he’s been able to travel for work; Paris, Portugal
19:27 - Why Nitesh only sees himself living in Australia; a non-stop holiday
20:45 - How to adapt an “every day is a holiday” mindset; family
22:21 - Would he consider moving back to Malaysia?
24:58 - Why his parents moved to Australia; his dad’s incredible story
26:15 - What his ideal day to day looks like; stretching, sports, etc.
27:39 - How he views money and spends it for his modelling career
30:17 - Craziest stuff he’s seen in the world of fashion
32:29 - The 1% of models; wanting to create his own lane
34:06 - Learning lessons; breaking his jaw
35:57 - Advice he would give his 14-year-old self
37:39 - How he wants to be remembered by friends and family
37:54 - Creator Confessions
41:15 - The Wrap Up

Intro Music

Produced And Mixed By:
- The Tamil Creator
- Yanchan

Written By:
- Aravinthan Ehamparam
- Yanchan Rajmohan    
Support the show

Angela Asiana (@angelaasiana) is a Swiss-based musician, model & social media star.  

She joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss her unique way of networking through Instagram, navigating the negative side of social media, gradually winning her parents’ approval, who her dream collaborations would be with including The Weeknd (@theweeknd) & A.R. Rahman (@arrahman), the importance of maintaining mental and physical health as an artist, quitting her job last year to pursue music full-time, the importance of gratitude, and so much more.

Follow Angela:
- Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/angelaasiana/)

Timestamps

00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Angela Asiana
00:47 - Angela speaks on what led her to a career in arts and culture
02:07 - Music being for herself and social media being a fun thing to do
04:21 - Discussing another Swiss music star in Priya Ragu
04:56 - The negative side of special media; remembering your roots
06:08 - Finding yourself in today’s world/digital era
08:30 - How Angela’s parents feel about her pursuing this career path
13:15 - Her favourite song to date
15:08 - Why she enjoys creating music videos
17:33 - Being an independent artist but open to working with a label
18:56 - Wanting to collaborate with The Weeknd and A. R. Rahman
20:26 - How she perceives herself; as an artist and musician
22:30 - What her schedule looks like; and the power of Instagram
26:15 - How she approaches networking/relationship building
28:27 - Deciding to go all-in with her dream; quitting her job
33:18 - Her biggest failures/learning lessons 
34:56 - The importance of practicing gratitude; her morning routine
38:53 - Advice she would give her 16-year-old self
39:33 - The personal legacy she wants to be remembered for by friends/family
39:57 - Creator Confessions
45:22 - The Wrap Up

Intro Music

Produced And Mixed By:
- The Tamil Creator
- Yanchan

Written By:
- Aravinthan Ehamparam
- Yanchan Rajmohan    
Support the show

Sujan Selven (@sujanselven) is a serial entrepreneur with his latest venture, Space Group, focused on the telecommunications industry. He is also a founder of social enterprise Upcycled Tech (@upcycled_tech), which provides upcycled tech devices to improve the lives and well-being of those in need, starting with remote villages in Sri Lanka.

He joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss how Jack Ma influenced him to think about positively about problems, how COVID led him to create Upcycled Tech/giving back to the Tamil community in Sri Lanka through this social enterprise, future growth plans for his business Space Group, wanting to be known for taking action instead of just talking, the importance of facing challenges head-on, and so much more.

Follow Sujan:
- LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sujanselven/)
- Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sujanselven/)

Timestamps

00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Sujan Selven
00:40 - What led Sujan down an entrepreneurial path
02:07 - Being born in Sri Lanka, migrating to Australia
04:08 - Admiration for Jack Ma; problems create solutions
06:18 - Upcycled Tech; what it is and why he started it
10:18 - Transforming Upcycled Tech to a social enterprise
13:12 - The Upcycled Tech team; how it came together
14:34 - Space Group; what prompted him to start this
16:09 - Space Group’s purpose; civil, electrical, and telecom services
17:09 - Initially not knowing where Space Group would take him
19:19 - How he secures sales (contracts) for Space Group
20:49 - How he finds talent; setting others up for success
22:38 - Reducing role with Space Group to focus on Upcycled Tech (to help enable connectivity to remote villages in Sri Lanka)
25:08 - Learning about the importance of good accounting
26:15 - His sources of learning; reading, short courses, etc.
27:35 - Balancing personal and professional obligations
29:13 - Advice he would give his 16-year-old self
30:40 - The personal legacy he wants to be remembered for
30:56 - Creator Confessions
35:08 - The Wrap Up

Intro Music

Produced And Mixed By:
- The Tamil Creator
- Yanchan

Written By:
- Aravinthan Ehamparam
- Yanchan Rajmohan   
Support the show

Aurthi Muthukumaran (@aurthi.pa) is an emergency medicine and orthopaedic surgery physician assistant and high-level tennis player.

She joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss why she is a big advocate of the physician assistant role as something that young people with an interest in medicine should pursue, how a shoulder injury playing tennis when she was 13 years old had increased her academic focus, having an innate desire to give back to the Tamil community through her work at SHN (@shnfoundation), how physician assistants positively impact the patient experience while helping to remove barriers to healthcare, how she balanced a demanding academic load with her athletic pursuit of being a high-level tennis player and so much more.

Follow Aurthi:
- LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/aurthi-muthu/)
- Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/aurthi.pa/)

Timestamps

00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Aurthi Muthukumaran
00:46 - What led her to a career in healthcare; a tennis injury
05:02 - Being further inspired by an opponent in her varsity career
06:21 - What is physician assistant; a relatively new role
09:35 - Difference between a physician and a physician assistant
12:23 - The importance of the pandemic for physician assistants
13:57 - Canadian universities increasingly offering PA programs
14:41 - Being one of less than 1,000 PAs in Canada today
15:29 - Resonating with Scarborough Health Network; the Tamil community
16:36 - What Aurthi’s day-to-day looks like
19:57 - Retracting a patient’s abdomen; becoming desensitized over time
21:02 - Winning an ‘Excellence in Leadership’ award; her advocacy efforts
22:21 - Balancing academics and athletics from a young age
24:34 - Being used to 10-hour days; being grateful for a busy upbringing
29:48 - The importance of maintaining physical and mental health as you age
31:49 - Extrinsic motivation versus intrinsic motivation; winning habits
37:52 - Where she sees herself in the next 3-5 years; personally and professionally
40:28 - Her biggest learning lesson; a steep learning curve when switching specialties
43:29 - Advice she would give her 16-year-old self; no such thing as perfection
44:34 - The personal legacy she wants to be remembered for by friends and family
45:36 - Her dad being an avid chess player; training players who are famous today
46:15 - Creator Confessions
50:02 - The Wrap Up

Intro Music

Produced And Mixed By:
- The Tamil Creator
- Yanchan

Written By:
- Aravinthan Ehamparam
- Yanchan Rajmohan  
Support the show

Karthy Subramaniam (@karthy.subra) is the Founder of LITS Hot Sauce (@litssauce) & Co-Founder of Malaysian street food company BUNGKUS (@bungkus.to) with his mom Siva.

He joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss advice he wish he got when he first started his business, growing up with entrepreneurs around him, how he came up with the name BUNGKUS, scaling LITS to 36 retailers in just over five years of operations, quitting his full time job to start BUNGKUS with his mom and growing this business a faster rate than LITS because of past learnings, and so much more.

Follow Karthy:
- LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ksubramaniam/)
- Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/karthy.subra/)

Timestamps

00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Karthy Subramaniam
01:01 - What sparked Karthy’s entrepreneurial spirit; his mother, brother, and grandma
03:50 - Being born in Malaysia and moving to Canada at the age of four
05:38 - Starting LITS (Lost in the Sauce) Hot Sauce
07:49 - Scaling up his business; researching bigger companies and exploring co-packers
09:53 - Forming his team in 2023; his fifth year of operations
11:09 - Securing his first sale for LITS; from family and friends to 36 retailers
15:37 - How he went about securing retailers; initially being approached
16:54 - How he formulated his sauce flavours; competing with bigger brands like Nandos
18:34 - Balancing a full time job while building up LITS; sacrificing sleep and social life
21:27 - Are his friends and family accepting of his entrepreneurial efforts?
23:33 - Quitting his full time job to build another business (BUNGKUS) with his mother
26:40 - Why the company is called BUNGKUS and deciding to partner with his mom
32:11 - What learnings he’s applied from LITS to BUNGKUS; marketing/social media
34:33 - Creating business synergy between LITS and BUNGKUS; a co-branded hot sauce
35:20 - Where can people order BUNGKUS?
36:42 - Karthy offers his recommendation for the best dishes to order
37:57 - Advice he wish he got when he had first started his business
39:01 - The learning lessons he’s experienced from failure
41:03 - Advice he would give his 16-year-old self; don’t overthink
41:51 - The personal legacy he wants to be remembered for by his friends and family
42:48 - Creator Confessions
48:56 - The Bungkus (Wrap Up)

Intro Music

Produced And Mixed By:
- The Tamil Creator
- Yanchan

Written By:
- Aravinthan Ehamparam
- Yanchan Rajmohan     
Support the show

Sumu Sathi (@sumusathi) is an award winning social advocate, plus size model & actor. She is a Labour Relations Specialist in the Labour Movement and was previously the Chair at CUPE905, representing almost 4,000 public servants. She’s been in the media & community leadership space for almost 20 years. Her community work has been featured in places like Toronto.com, NOW Toronto & the Toronto Star. In 2017, she was chosen to be part of post-war socioeconomic development work in Sri Lanka as a Leadership facilitator. She is the 2023 recipient of the Inclusion Excellence Award from University of Toronto (@uoft). Sumu has acted in two Toronto based films and appears on CityTV as a plus model. She believes in promoting body positivity and advocating for representation for people of colour in arts, fashion and media spaces.

She joins Ara on this week’s episode of #TheTamilCreator to discuss being exposed to gang violence while growing up in Scarborough, being named a recipient of the 2023 Inclusive Excellence Award from U of T, spending over $50K of her money to make a film about women in Sri Lanka & the controversy around that, initially not wanting to take up a Chair position for CUPE 905, why she's a big believer of therapy, overcoming eating disorders, how the Tamil community’s perception (judging people based on skin colour and size) is rooted in colonialism, and so much more.

Follow Sumu:
- LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sumusathi/)
- Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sumusathi/)

Timestamps

00:19 - Ara introduces this week’s guest, Sumu Sathi
01:57 - Moving to Canada at 14 and her early passion for art
05:50 - Growing up and being exposed to gang violence in Scarborough
09:54 - Being the first woman of colour to take a Chair position with CUPE 905
14:01 - Change she has made as a labour movement leader and what she’s learned
17:40 - The power dynamic involved with sexual violence in the work place
19:21 - Acting in an award-winning film; how she got her opportunities
24:47 - Being a plus-size model; dropping out of UofT due to hyperthyroidism and more
31:47 - Always being compared to the past version of yourself; code switching
35:23 - Her yet to be released film, Daughters of Eelam; spending over $50,000 to make it
39:55 - Being named a recipient of the 2023 Inclusive Excellence Award
41:57 - Working on multiple careers; feeling blessed
46:15 - Advice for her 16-year-old self; handling criticism and managing emotions
49:35 - The personal legacy she wants to be remembered for by friends and family
50:50 - Making the best of bad situations; dire situations vs. first-world problems
57:01 - The Wrap Up

Intro Music

Produced And Mixed By:
- The Tamil Creator
- Yanchan

Written By:
- Aravinthan Ehamparam
- Yanchan Rajmohan    
Support the show