We are pleased to introduce Dominic, Geoff, and Andrew in their own words on who they are and how the "4Bananas" Podcast came to be.
Can you tell us a bit about who you all are?
Dom: I’m Dominic, and I was born in Malaysia and grew up in Sydney, Australia. I’m a single child and an extrovert. You will often find me browsing OzBargain for a good deal or diving into one of my hobbies.
Geoff: My name is Geoff. I’m a mechanical engineer graduate, started working in the tech consulting field, but eventually quit my job to pursue art full time. Why? Because I’m a weeb and just want to draw 2D waifus all day.
Andrew: I’m Andrew and I’m an Asian-Australian that started the "4Bananas" Podcast as a hobby to express our views of living as an Asian within Australia. In my spare time, you can find me playing Genshin Impact and watching Netflix.
How did you start the podcast?
Andrew: So, the podcast came about as a spur of the moment idea one morning when trying to think of other hobbies to undertake that could be done even during lockdown. Having enjoyed some podcasts from Asian-Americans primarily during the COVID lockdown period, I thought it would be great to create a podcast focused on Asian-Australians. It would be a different view on Asian traditions and culture, and would allow people around the world to see what it was like growing up as an Asian-Australian.
What is the aim behind this podcast?
Dom: The aim of this podcast is to share our experiences of being Asian in a predominantly Western country whilst having a laugh along the way. Our episodes generally cover all aspects of life, but we try to focus on topics that Asian-Australians encounter throughout life, such as expectations from parents, celebration of the Lunar New Year, and the effects of technology. With the three of us being born overseas in Asia and brought up in Australia, we know many of our listeners have varying levels of connection with their heritage, and so we seek to empathise via our personal experiences. Combining these experiences with a healthy dash of interesting facts, we have learnt a lot, and we hope this podcast will broaden the perspectives of our listeners.
What advice would you give to those who want to start their own podcast?
Geoff: We had no idea what we were doing during Season 1 recording. We looked at other Asian podcast channels for research and inspiration. However, the process of putting the episode together was something we still had to work out. Throughout Season 1, it was mostly trial and error. However, there were a few things that definitely helped us reach a point where the process became super comfortable for the three of us.
Shared vision: We all agreed on a vision for this podcast, which is to be light-hearted and fun. Therefore, when making an episode, we were all on the same page when creating content.
Consistent schedule: All three of us are working full-time. A consistent schedule allowed us to commit to this podcast. Not to mention the unspoken accountability a consistent schedule brings.
Right tools for the right job: I know I said the process was very trial and error, but even our trial and error had a process. We used Metro Retro and Trello (free online tools) to make incremental improvements to our process week by week.
Correct equipment: This is obvious advice and a no-brainer. But, for our first episode we recorded the session with a laptop mic, thinking it was no big deal. It was a big deal and editing was a nightmare, the episode didn’t even sound nice post-edit.
What are your general feelings towards the podcast right now after doing two seasons?
Geoff: I joined this podcast because it seemed fun, but it has become an extremely interesting self-discovery experience for me. In the early stages of our podcast, we had a really hard time brainstorming ideas for episodes because we asked ourselves: “What is something Asians would do? What is something only Asians would understand?” But the truth is that we’re already Asian; whatever we did would 100% be relatable to others with upbringings similar to us. From that point on, I started discovering more about myself and how both Western and Asian cultures have influenced me.
Living life day by day, my habits and superstitions were things I took for granted. But, each episode had me reflect on myself, how my past influenced who I am today, what I value in the present, and what I want to do in the future.
Dom: Like many of the hobbies i dive into #seekdiscomfort, I enjoy the struggles of learning and the challenges that come with a new project. With the podcast, I’ve had consistent opportunities to play around with editing softwares and techniques, which compliment my other hobbies of videography and photography. Having social accounts for the podcast has also allowed me to have a creative outlet that otherwise would be almost non-existent. For me, the podcast is a voice to young Asian-Australians who might be going through or [are] yet to face challenges that I’ve already passed through. It is a voice and mentor that I wish I had when I was younger.
Andrew: Creating this podcast was primarily a hobby for me, and it has been super fun throughout the past two seasons. Creating something from scratch has always brought excitement for me, and through this podcast I was able to have control over every aspect of the process. From recording and editing to social media creation and scriptwriting, each task has brought on its challenges, but has also exposed me to a new way of problem solving and communicating.
The podcast has also allowed me to be more in touch with my Asian heritage, and it has been a great way to share my perspective with the world. I hope that listeners are able to learn something unique from this podcast and are able to embrace their Asian heritage as we live in a more globalised community.
You can listen to "4Bananas" here. Follow on Instagram @4BananasPodcast.