Digging Deeper With Dr. Ben Leung

In this episode, I have a chance to chat with Joseph Lee, a young entrepreneur and co-founder of Freshline (an online marketplace that connects fisherman, producers directly to retailers, restaurants, and consumers).  In 2018 , he and his business partner were named one of Forbes 30 under 30.  We talk about his journey in becoming an entrepreneur at a young age, the qualities it takes to start and run a business, how to develop trust from industry experts, the challenges along the way, and his future aspirations.  

In this episode, I have a discussion with my friend, Dr. Chris Labos about COVID 19 and where are we at now with this unprecedented viral pandemic.  Chris is a cardiologist and epidemiologist in Montreal who has a weekly column in the Montreal Gazette as well as appears regularly on CTV News and CBC Montreal as their weekly medical correspondent during COVID.  We discuss the impact COVID has had on us personally/professionally, how close we are to having a vaccine, the need for rapid testing, new treatments, whether it's safe to have kids back to school, and our predictions for the future.  

After a long hiatus, Digging Deeper is back.  In this episode, I had the pleasure of talking to Subraaz Abdullah, Executive Chef at Piva Modern Italian Restaurant, about his beginnings as a chef at a young age, his mentors, how social media has shaped foodie culture, how he got involved with Piva, life as executive chef, and how COVID-19 has affected the restaurant industry.  

It's been a while but Digging Deeper is back.  In this episode, I talk to Matt Jauck of Marcraft Homes (local customs home builder) about working with his father in their family business.  He talks about how he got into the family business, his fathers influence, challenges of working with family members, best parts of his job, and the importance of relationships in his business.  

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Brian Yang about parenthood and work/life balance.  Dr. Yang is a classmate of mine from undergraduate and medical school.  He is a practicing urologist with a very busy clinical practice who is also head of his division.  He and his wife are also parents to 3 young children age 3 - 11.  We discuss the importance of a good spouse in raising kids, importance of teaching 'themes' vs hard skills, how to discipline kids today, choosing private vs. public school, how to raise caring kids in the social media age, and some other lessons he has learned along the way.  This was a very insightful conversation with some laughs and good take home points from Brian.

This is the first 'Menage a Pod' on Digging Deeper!  In this episode, Dr. Razi Khan (from Episode 2) is back on Digging Deeper  we are joined by our friend, Dr. Kieran Nair.  Kieran is a hospitalist physician but also has interest in educating physicians about financial independence/investing/tax savings.  He has a website blog called www.financiallyfreeMD.com.  We have a lighthearted discussion about our exposure to finances and money growing up, how our mentality around finances have changed as we progressed in our career, some common financial pitfalls that physicians make, the best investment vehicles,  if there's such a thing as a financial expert, and what it means to be financially free.  Although this podcast discusses a lot of our experiences as physicians, I think there are some basic principles discussed that  are applicable to everybody.  

In this episode, I get to interview my godsister, Jackie Kai Ellis.  She is also my first celebrity guest!  Jackie was the founder of Beaucoup Bakery in Vancouver, BC as well as the Paris Tours.  She recently published her memoir called The Measure of My Powers.  It's an intimate look at the struggles she experienced in her marriage, her battle with depression, and how she healed herself by doing what she loves, Baking!!  We talk about our shared childhood memories, the struggles she experienced with depression, how she overcame her depression, her broken marriage and what she learned about herself, the satisfaction of pursuing her passion and opening up a bakery, and her future plans!!

In this episode, I spoke with my friend Allan Drakes, aka DJ Nemesis.  Allan has been DJing since the age of 17 in Montreal, QC.  We talked about our shared love of music particularly New Kack Swing, his musical influences growing up, how he got into DJing and playing local nightclubs, the difference between DJ's now and back in the 90's/00's, what makes a good DJ and finally, we discussed our top 5 hip hop artists of all time.  

In this episode, I spoke with my friend, Dr. Lawrence Yang, about his passion for MMA.  We discuss his roots in martial arts as a child and how it helped him develop self confidence to overcome bullying.  We also talk about how he fell in love with the world of MMA and the UFC, how he became involved with the BC Athletics Commission and his experience as a cageside physician for professional MMA events in Vancouver, his admiration for the dedication and humility of MMA fighters, and how MMA translates to his everyday life.

In this episode, my friend, David Bryant, talks about his experiences growing up and living in Canada as a person of mixed heritage.  We talked about his experiences growing up in a multi-ethnic household, how he identified himself culturally, his move to Toronto after university, his similarities with Drake, the rise of multi-ethnic population in Canada,  and whether his future children will encounter similar challenges growing up multi-ethnic. 

In this episode, I spoke with my uncle Andre about his experiencing growing up in Poland, post-World War 2.  He discussed his parents experiences living in Poland during the German and Russian invasion, the psyche of the nation during and after the war, how it influenced his upbringing and approach to life/seeking happiness.  

In this episode, I had the pleasure of talking to my colleague/friend, Dr. Razi Khan, about our similar experiences of growing up with immigrant parents.  We talk about how they influenced our drive in pursuing academics and ultimately our careers in medicine.  We also discuss some of the regrets of sometimes not pursuing our own passions and ambitions.  We are candid about the pitfalls of trying to play the role of obedient son and how it has affected our personal lives.

In this first episode of Digging Deeper, I had the honor of interviewing my dad, my hero, John Leung  We talked about his life, upbringing in Macau/Hong Kong, how he met my mother, immigrating to Canada, choosing a career in pharmacy, the importance of hard work/family/friends, proudest achievements/greatest memories, and the shock of being diagnosed with cancer