Must-See TV - Causing a Stir with Brian Tong

Forget what you know about first impressions; they're not always accurate. Several months ago, while channel surfing, I landed on The International Channel - a channel I enjoy as it is - and happened upon a magazine show dedicated to Asian-American culture called Stir.

Back then the show had 4 co-hosts and 2 correspondents - a lot of people running things for just one show - but through that crowd there was one guy whose self-satisfied smirk (and trademark "bed-head" of hair) caught your attention like a magnet.

My immediate, on-the-spot impression of Brian Tong was that he was a smug, self-absorbed class clown who fancied himself quite the chick magnet. Kind of annoying, I thought.

It took me all of about one minute, though, to realize that the self-absorption was self-effacing, the chick magnet mentality a put-on, and the smugness almost charming in its self-mocking of his character. The class clown personality and bed-head were intentional. And by the show's end, I realized this was one awesome guy.

Now I'm not only happy to call Brian Tong my friend, I'm actually proud. This busy, hardworking Chinese-American 25-year-old (originally from Mountain View, California) has a very full plate ... and things are only going to get busier.

The son of teachers, Brian grew up with two things going for him right away - a love for television, and a rebellious streak. Both led to an internship with a local television station while Brian was still in high school.

Brian's parents, knowing that trying to stop their son from doing what he wanted was completely pointless, tried to keep their concerns to a minimum as their son spent five years of nearly every spare hour he had at the station ... all of it unpaid.

But broadcast journalism was Brian's passion - his dream - and it was going to happen, no matter what. Nearly 2 years of job searching - sometimes in areas so remote, TV was still seen as a fad - and a chance remark by a friend led Brian to send his resume reel to KTSF, a local station in San Francisco that was putting together a "youth culture" show.