Fireside Wednesday:

Episode 6 – A Brand New Me
第六集 – 無限變身

April 29 (Wednesday)

 
English Synopsis

Emi Wong is a successful YouTuber with over 1.9 million subscribers.  She was admitted to one of the top programmes at HKU: International Business and Global Management (IBGM) of the Faculty of Business and Economics.  However, Emi found it was not all smooth sailing when she started her career in the business field. While she was searching for an alternative career path, Emi made videos about her diet and exercise, and posted them online without the expectation of receiving many responses. But as it turned out, her videos received many very positive responses and people started to follow her channel. To ensure a stable income, Emi kept her job in the business sector while continuing to develop her YouTube career. After a year, she decided to be a full-time YouTuber. “When compared with my classmates, my income was minimal when I first turned to be a YouTuber.  But I would rather work using the best of my abilities and look for what I am really interested in rather than compare myself to others,” Emi said.  These days Emi spends a lot of time working behind the scenes on the production of her video clips.

Julian Gaertner, who was born and grew up in Germany, regards himself as a Hong Kong person. He has been wanting to live and work in a Chinese city, and was looking for an unconventional way of living. Julian had short-term work in Shanghai and then he found Hong Kong, with its East-meets-West culture, suited him best.  That was why he chose to study at HKU and learn Putonghua and Cantonese. After graduation, he started his career as a producer and actor of TV and films in Hong Kong. “I like to reinvent myself. I enjoy the experience of playing different roles each day, which gives me the choice to be the person I want to be. ” He also worked on his mobile learning startups. “Although the income from acting is not that stable, having a pleasant experience is also important,” Julian said.

Emi agreed, “I like my YouTube path since I can create and decide on the content I like. Being a YouTuber, one needs to have a strong heart and confidence in your own values in order to create your own path, which no one can take away.”

Julian thinks one must have the motivation to change and take challenges. “Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you, that will not work. Create opportunities, let people know who you are and what your abilities are.”

Final-year student Husnain also prefers unconventional ways of living. As a Hong Kong born Pakistani, Husnain speaks fluent Cantonese. He hopes to develop a YouTube channel introducing different cultures and said, “I have been thinking about creating a channel to introduce Islamic culture to the public but never got around to do it. With COVID-19, I have to stay at home, now is the best time to start filming.” He also has an idea to open a Halal restaurant since, as a Muslim, he feels he has the responsibility to let fellow Muslims in Hong Kong enjoy delicious food.

To wrap up the topic of “Brand New Me”, Erik Mak said, “Opportunity comes to those who are prepared. Whether it is changes in yourself or in the social environment; instantly or gradually; you must take the first step before any changes would happen.”

 
足本重溫 Video Link :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xer4i9SsO-I

 
Host:

  • Erik Mak 麥嘉緯 (LLB 2005; MJ 2006)

 
Guests:

  • Emi Wong 王艾米 (BBA(IBGM) 2013)
    YouTuber with over 1.9M subscribers

    With more than 1.9 million subscribers on YouTube and 394,000 followers on Instagram, Emi Wong is currently the most subscribed individual YouTuber in Hong Kong. She was named number 1 in the Top 10 Rising Local Creators by YouTube in 2017. She achieved 7As in her Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and graduated from HKU with a Bachelor of Business Administration (International Business and Global Management). Before her YouTube career, Emi worked as a management trainee at Pernod Ricard and as a social media storyteller for lululemon in Hong Kong. Emi is also a certified advanced personal trainer and started her full-time YouTube career in 2018 to share with the world that fitness and health can be for everyone.
     

  • Julian Gaertner 易宇航 (BSocSc 2011)
    Start-up Entrepreneur, Producer and Actor of films and TV

    Julian is an independent film producer, award-winning actor and entrepreneur. He is best known for his television and film appearances in Hong Kong, Asia and Europe. Julian was born and grew up in Germany. He moved to Hong Kong in 2006 to explore the place and catch his dreams. He graduated from HKU with a Bachelor in Social Sciences, majoring in Politics and Public Administration. After graduation, he partnered with fellow alumni for mobile learning startups “Live It China”, “Fylp”, and “Snapask”.

    In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Julian returned to Germany to support the management of the specialist hospital in Munich run by his father. At the same time, he is also producing a Chinese-German MMA movie.
     

  • Husnain (BA Final Year, Global Creative Industries)

 
Fireside Wednesday 星期三開爐 new online series for the HKU Family – alumni, students, staff and friends – for partnership, passion and paths. The 10 episodes will cover tourism, retail, culture, social, NGOs, freelancing (slash), education, technology… Resources and support available to students and fresh graduates at HKU iDendron. Tell us if you want to suggest themes and speakers for future episodes. Share and stay tuned!

 

Revisit –

Episode Five: Art & Innovation
第五集 – 色空變焦
[ 蘇敬恆 • 鄭振揚 • 方圓明 • Stephanie Ho ]

Episode Four: Sports & Innovation
第四集 – 運動急變速
[ 譚志源 • 方力申 • 江嘉惠 • 楊文蔚 ]

Episode Three: COVID Cadenza
[ Prof Daniel Chua • Cy Leo • Serrini • Daniel Lei ]

Episode Two: Retail – Partners & Opportunities
第二集 – Shopping 變陣
[ 羅永聰 • 陳子堅 • Terence Hon ]

Episode One: Culture, Tourism & Innovation
第一集 – 旅遊變法
[ 陳志雲 • 陳智遠 • Rubio Chan • Jamie Cheung • Gurpreet Singh ]