It's interesting to see all these guys keep calling me out after they win. I don't know whether it's a slap in the face or just respect. I don't know. I have no idea. I can't tell what to make of it.
When I graduated from college in early 2010, I decided that I needed to create a calling card, some kind of business card that people can link to my name and face. So I did this 'Mad Men Theme Song... With a Twist' music video. I released it just as I moved to L.A.
One of the reasons I'm called 'Demon Chef' is because in Hong Kong, people were calling me God chef, and I right away took away that term because calling yourself God is blasphemous.
Calling yourself God is blasphemous, but calling yourself demon isn't.
In New York, appearance is a form of currency or, at the very least, a calling card. One must look wealthy in order to be recognised as a person of worth.
It's one thing to be called certain things in the media, and then it's another thing to be sitting in a courtroom, fighting for your life while people are calling you a devil.
I've always found inspiration in icons that were really of purpose in their craft or calling. From Bob Marley to Maya Angelou to Malcolm X, inspiration came from seeing how committed they were to their vision and determining it themselves.
In 2006, when I had come very close to calling my agent and telling him I needed to take a break, NaNoWriMo was where I found my inspiration again.
For me, something will come in my head and I'll either end up calling my cell phone to record it, or I'll just pick my guitar up and see what comes out. Sometimes it sucks, sometimes it doesn't. So there's really no set method behind it.
For a long time all I wanted for Christmas were books about outdoor survival. I was convinced that the woods were calling me. I camped a lot, I took classes. At 18, I told myself if I don't live in the woods by myself by the time I'm 25, I have failed.
