Community Work
Building Community
My passion has always been about building the LGBTQ Asian community. I strive to create a sense of belonging where folks find meaningful connections. I host events and collaborate with others to run Speed Dating for Asian Men, Asian LGBTQ movie nights, bubble tea meetups, and a harm reduction group for gay Asian male substance users. I am open to collaborating with others to organize fun events for our community.
Sexual Health
I have 10 years experience in HIV education, prevention, and outreach that includes developing health promotion messages and campaigns. I work from an anti-oppressive and sex-positive framework with harm reduction principles. As a gay Asian cis man, my intersectional experiences give me insight into culturally-specific issues that affect my community including sexual racism, body image, cultural appropriation, fetishization, and the diaspora experience.
Workshops
I develop and facilitate workshops with creative and engaging activities to meet various learning styles. At ACAS, I updated the HIV 101 and harm reduction workshops to incorporate interactive games that encourage learning. Topics also include: sexual health and STIs, LGBTQ 101, anti-oppression, sexual racism, and an overview of Asian LGBTQ in history.
Outreach
During my time at ACAS, I scaled up outreach as activations to increase engagement and interaction. Going beyond simple tabletop booths, I used eye-catching setups (sometimes in the form of photobooths) to get our message across while providing fun activities that excite people to join in.
PrEP Video on HIVnow.ca
I took part of a series of short videos by ACT to promote the experiences of PrEP users. As an advocate for PrEP, I share my experience on what being on PrEP has been like and how it can empower others to start.
Voices of Queer Asian Youth
This video was a project by Rice Roll Productions in 2013 for the youth program at ACAS. I took part to share my own thoughts and experiences on how different issues affect our community.
Sexfluent Contribution
I was asked to write an introductory piece on harm reduction tips for those curious or new to party-n-play (PnP).
IN Magazine Contribution
In partnership with IN Magazine, I was asked to contribute a piece about how HIV affects gay Asian men. The piece entitled, “A Second Home to Many” was both printed and published online in November 2019.
Interview on DailyXtra
I was interviewed for Xtra magazine on a piece focused on coming out stories in immigrant families for National Coming Out Day in October 2018.
Interviews on Canqueer
I’ve been asked twice to share from my perspective as a gay Asian man on Canqueer’s radio show. You can find the episodes from February 2017 on racism and masculinity and April 2018 on police relations with the LGBTQ community.
SLAM Forum
The SLAM (Sex, Love, Asian Men) Forum is an annual one-day event for gay, bisexual, queer Asian men. Each year brought together over 30 community members and healthcare experts to share their firsthand experiences on how our unique experiences affect our sexual health, mental health, and overall well-being. From 2017-2020, I coordinated a team of amazingly devoted volunteers to organize this successful event.
Asian4Asian Speed Dating
Initially launched in 2015 as Speed Dating for Asian Men, I have continued to run this special event starting with its second year and onwards. As gay Asian men experience sexual racism in unique ways, it was important for the community to see themselves lifted up in a safe space to seek others for potential connections.
PSA Videos
As part of my work at ACAS, I lead the direction of online videos to inform and educate gay Asian men on different aspects of their sexual health. With the help of volunteer filmmakers and editors, we developed the vision and script to deliver important informative messages in an entertaining way with translated subtitles. Videos include I’ll Pull Out, HIV Testing: As Easy as Ordering Bubble Tea, and a series on Consent.
PinkdotTO
A movement that began in Singapore to advocate for same-sex marriage rights, a Toronto contingent was started in 2014 in solidarity and to create more visibility for the LGBTQ Asian community in Toronto. Together with CCNCTO, I coordinated the event in its second year (2015). PinkdotTO included a march through Chinatown and ended with several performances and guest speakers. The event gained attention from multiple news fronts annually taking place during Asian Heritage Month (May) and for International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT).
Asian Men’s Calendar
In 2015, ACAS launched a body-positive and inclusive calendar featuring Asian gay, bisexual, queer cis and trans men. We wanted to go beyond the usual representation of Asian men by featuring a more diverse group of body types. We set out to address stereotypes, masculine ideologies, beauty standards, ageism, sexual racism, and transphobia. Together as part of a team of volunteer models and a photographer, we developed the concepts to address these issues. I also worked on the design of the calendar.
ICAD Internship in Thailand
In 2016, I was selected to take part in a youth internship program with the Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development (ICAD) and was placed to work with two NGOs in Thailand (TNAF and AIDSnet). I helped facilitate activities for youth in sexual health workshops while navigating a new language. I also volunteered some extra time with an organization called APCOM by helping with community outreach and online engagement. I learned a lot that I was able to bring back to enhance my work at ACAS.
What People Are Saying
“I just wanted to say a BIG thank you for today's Harm Reduction workshop! After you left, everyone was raving about how engaging and informative your workshop was! The questions you asked and the short activity you had at the beginning, was such a great way to introduce the topic in a relatable, accessible and non-judgmental way! The relay race activity was also super informative, and engaging ”
— Gabriel, Youth Program Coordinator, 2019
“You did a fabulous job! It was highly interactive, participatory and interactive. You put the class at ease since they were able to ask questions given where they were at in their understanding. Afterwards, students shared how much they learned and appreciated you coming to the class.”
— June Yee, IESW Bridging Program, Ryerson University, 2017
“I would like to sincerely thank you for such a wonderful training and experience. Your anti-oppression workshop is simply fantastic! The staff loved it and I personally learned a lot”
— Mark A, OAHAS, 2019
From Workshop Evaluations
“According to our anonymous evaluation forms, 9 out of 10 participants think the presentation was excellent, and also 9 out of 10 think the presenter (YOU) was excellent.”
— Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture (CCVT), 2017
“They were very enthusiastic and really fun :) They also had a lot of activities which were enjoyable”
— Youth Participant, LGBTQ 101 Workshop, 2018 (YouthJustice)
“I like the little games you play to keep us engaged–learned while playing!”
— Participant, HIV 101 Workshop, 2019 (ACAS Volunteer Training)
“The speakers were all understanding and included engaging activities for the community”