That's What They Said

Ateeb Khan is Canadian social media content creator who makes breathtaking adventure and personal development based content on TikTok, Instagram and Youtube.  He's successfully created his own personal brand reaching approximately 45,000 TikTok followers and 10,000 Insta followers AND he is only getting started!  Tune in to hear Ateeb spill about balancing his career in finance with his passion for adventure, how he turned his passion into a social media brand, the content creation community and experiences & friendships he's gained, as well as finding a way to rest in the midst of hustling.   

'Cancel Culture' has become a phrase that is being thrown around on all sides of the political and social spectrum and is a hot topic of debate. What started with good intentions to protect people is now something that many feel has become extreme. That is why today we're discussing all things cancel culture, accountability for one's actions and our opinion on how it should be approached.   Disclaimer: This episode was recorded prior to R. Kelly's guilty verdict. 

Yaw Obrenu Yamoah, who first and foremost is a dear friend, is also an extremely talented, hardworking and thoughtful creative and entrepreneur based in Vancouver, BC. Yaw is a fashion designer for his clothing line Sesa Wo, models for top brands like Lululemon, Arc'teryx and Saxx to name a few and is also a filmmaker. He also does sketching, photography and writing. Being a hustler in an unconventional field, Yaw has been through a lot. Tune in to this episode to hear about moments in Yaw's journey and his thoughts on career, passion, music, culture and activism among other things from the perspective of a creative.

WE ARE BACK! After almost 2 months, we are back with a new episode and we are discussing Inflation. Inflation might not be the most interesting to discuss but it is affecting your wallet! Have you noticed your grocery and restaurants bills, gas prices and basically everything is costing you more? Well, as a result of the pandemic - changing habits of consumers, increased amount of money being pumped into the market via stimulus checks and supply chain disruptions among other things is causing a higher rate of inflation causing prices to rise. We’re discussing what exactly is happening and if its something to worry about.

Just days before entering June - which is National Indigenous History Month - remains of 215 indigenous children were found in a mass grave at the Kamloops Residential School on the Tk'emlúps te Secwe̓pemc First Nation. This horrific discovery has brought to light the lesser known struggles of the indigenous peoples of Canada via various laws under the Indian Act and in particular via the forced assimilation of indigenous children into the new Christian Euro-Canadian society created via European colonial settlers via residential schools. These schools are arguably the darkest hour in Canada’s history and have echoed into the present, still impacting the communities that have suffered. In this episode we briefly run through the history of discrimination and oppression that indigenous communities in Canada face while reflecting on our role and experiences as immigrants here.

Part II of Retail Revolution vs. Retail Apocalypse delves into how the retail industry has changed and adapted to the Pandemic. In Part 1 of this episode which was released back in 2019, we discussed how brick and mortar stores were becoming less popular with the rise of e-commerce and how as a result physical stores adapted with innovative and experiential retail methods. Things are very different now with COVID-19 increasing reliance on e-commerce and increasing barriers to in-store experiences. Tune in to find out more about the future of retail, especially as a result of the pandemic.

For the second episode of our new series What They Spilled we're talking to Cicely Belle Blain. Cicely is the founder, CEO and Principal Consultant at Bakau Consulting - a social justice and anti-racism focused diversity, equity and inclusion firm. They are also the founder of Black Lives Matter Vancouver and author of Burning Sugar - a collection of poems about their lived experience as a black/mixed queer femme. We're talking to Cicely about the rising demand for diversity, equity and inclusion consulting and how it is transforming workplaces, along with other important issues such as performative allyship, cancel culture and.....the British Royals!!

March is Women's History Month and while International Women's Day passed on March 8th, it's important to keep the conversation on gender equality going and challenge the unfair systems that still exist. In this episode we are shouting out some lesser known achievements by women and progress that's been made towards gender equality while also keeping in mind that we have a long way to go. This is especially true today considering the unique setbacks that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought on for women, particularly for working women. We're also discussing how recent events -such as the excessive hate towards Meaghan Markle and the shooting of 6 Asian-American women in Atlanta, Georgia - highlight how much more we need to challenge the systems in place to achieve true equality.#choosetochallenge

For the first episode of Season 3, we have a new series What They Spilled ft. our first guest - Aydha Mehnaz. From coordinating iconic looks for the likes of Dua Lipa, Bella Hadid and Cardi B as Brand Image and Communications Officer at renowned luxury fashion brand MUGLER to shaking up the Bangladeshi fashion scene with her killer sense of style, Aydha is paving a new path for Bangladeshi and Muslim women in international fashion.  In this episode, Aydha spills the chai on her unconventional career choice, her experiences in the world of luxury fashion, working as Muslim woman of color in Paris, France and her take on modest fashion.

2020 IS OVER! We understand this isn't the end of the pandemic, but we're entering 2021 with a vaccine - safe to say we've come a long way since the beginning of the pandemic! So, in this episode we are doing a year in review of 2020 - how we as people have changed, what we've achieved and where we are.  P.S. This is the last episode of Season 2, recorded a couple days before the new year! 2020 hasn't been the easiest year for us to consistently create together, but we want to thank you so much for your support and listens! We're getting right back to work this January and promise to be back with a bang in Season 3! 

It has been almost a decade since we came to Canada to pursue higher education fulfilling our parents’ dreams and our own. In making that choice, what we didn’t realize at the time was the very high personal cost of our choice in terms of the celebrations we will miss with our family, the tragedies we will not be able to support them through, and even the mundane moments that we will no longer get such as conversations with our sisters in the car, arguing with mom about what we want for lunch... There are many reasons we each make that choice. But that guilt - the guilt an immigrant feels for missing the moments with their family to build a life for themselves in a new country - that guilt NEVER goes away - no matter what you accomplish. In this episode, we talk about that guilt and the reasons behind making that choice.

We’re switching things up a little and discussing something lighthearted and fun - relationships! As South Asian women, there is a significant difference between relationships in our generation vs. relationships during our parents’ generation so we decided to sit down and discuss dating, compromise, marriage and romantic relationships in general. This is a fun one, don’t miss out!

The 2020 United States Election is important - not just for Americans, but for the world. So, we've decided to jump in and discuss all things American - from the election to the electoral college to the division that overshadowed the country. 

We’re discussing the tech industry in this episode and diving into the Big 4 in the industry – Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple and their run in with the law for violating existing antitrust or competition laws. These laws exist to prevent monopolies in all industries from conducting anti-competitive behavior that threaten consumer welfare. But in this digital age, do these laws really apply considering consumer welfare can no longer hold the same meaning?

In the last episode we discussed how drastically different 2020 has been primarily because of COVID-19 and now as a result of the changes we face as we transition to a “new normal”. And with these differences, we’ve noticed that many of you are struggling with their mental health- as are we. So, in this episode we’re talking Mental Health, something that is finally being talked about more in 2020, but something that is still misunderstood and in need of being prioritized.

It's been 9 months since 2020 began and 6 months since COVID-19 lockdowns have been put into place worldwide. Many countries are slowly loosening the lockdown restrictions and opening up the economy, but nothing is the same. Like you, we're adjusting to a lot of changes since the pandemic so we decided to take a step back in this episode - for some self-reflection on how things have shifted for us personally and professionally from 2019 to 2020 and how we've decided to do better. 

It’s been a month since George Floyd was murdered. Sure, police brutality against Black people isn’t in the headlines anymore, but as Non-Black People of Color our journey to unlearn, learn and be an advocate cannot stop. The systemic racism faced by Black people in Western societies, especially in the US, is a reality Black people live with EVERY DAY. So we have to be an ally, an advocate and continue our learning every day too, not only when police brutality is in the headlines. In order to keep the conversation going in our South Asian community, we have created this episode to talk about how the Civil Rights Movement allowed the South Asian diaspora to exist in the US and by extension in Western Countries; the origins of and deconstructing the ‘model minority myth’; the roots of the anti-black sentiments in our South Asian community, and discuss what those sentiments are.

We're more than 4 months into 2020, and the COVID-19 virus has shaken up life as we know it. With over 2 million confirmed cases worldwide and over 3 billion people living in lockdown or under strict physical distancing measures, COVID-19, in addition to a global pandemic, may be causing a mental health pandemic. There are several mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and it is affecting different groups of people - from COVID-19 patients to health care and essential workers to people with existing mental health conditions and addiction issues to the elderly to everyday people - everyone is feeling the negative effects of the pandemic on their mental health. Tune in to hear us discuss this in more detail and provide some, hopefully, helpful tips. Stay safe everyone!

Once upon a time little kids used to dream of becoming doctors, lawyers, astronauts, musicians or actors. Cut to 2020 and kids are not only dreaming, but also actively working on becoming TikTok famous! Tik Tok is the newest kid on the block to join Instagram and Youtube in changing the way we work, play and make a difference in today's time. It has become the fastest growing social media platform in the world! In this episode, we are jumping on the bandwagon and delving into the rise of social media platforms like TikTok creating new alternatives to the typical careers we are accustomed to by acknowledging that is a result of generational differences and comparing the environment and opportunities different generations (boomers, millennial, Gen Z, etc.) grew up in and with. 

In honor of International Women's Day, we talk about how far we have progressed in achieving gender equality. We discuss that we've come a long way, with more open conversations about the gender pay gap to recognition of the intersectionality in feminism to #MeToo. More importantly, we dive into the significance of  not becoming complacent with our efforts, and to recognize that a plenty more needs to be done to break the glass ceiling and dissect the centuries old stereotypes and perceptions. Join us to hear the perspective of two immigrant women of color on gender equality in 2020.