Neil Diamond said, have you ever heard a story about a frog who dreamed of becoming a king, and then became one? Well except for the names and a few other changes if you’re talking about Leth Oun the story is the same one. Leth was a virtual slave
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How does a child go from a poor farming village in Laos to the top of a mountain? Opportunity, its what the American dream is ultimately all about. After transiting through a refugee camp, Boomer Savanh, came to America as a child and went on to
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Kenya Prach is a survivor of the Cambodian genocide, known as the killing fields. Destitute and clinging to life, Kenya entered a refugee in Thailand. At night he would sneak out of the camp and fight for money in order to support his family. In Ame
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For many in the U.S. participation in competitive sports ends on the high school football field but for Jerry Sysourath and Tino Paophavihanh football was only the beginning. Rugby, a sport that has long been popular in the Asia Pacific Region is
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As Steve Hartman would say, “everybody has a story”. John Nammychai is no exception. The child of refugees he guided himself into the world, jumping from planes, fighting in war, and realizing his version of an NFL dream on the semipro football fiel
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Passion, its what drove Malay Boauphakeo from her humble begging in Storm Lake Iowa, to the softball diamond at Drake University. After graduating and entering the workforce her passion for competitive sports would lead her to found and compete on
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Why attempt something if most people fail? Why put yourself in danger when you can be at home safe? Soukhanthone Siphaxay, known to most as Tron, was in boot camp during the September 11th, 2001 attack on America and would soon f
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The glory, the agony, the sport and the acting, we dive deep into the world of pro wrestling. From the bright lights of the stage to the depths of defeat it may be just a show to many, but to the athletes, it’s a lifestyle filled with exhilaration, c
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The road to greatness can be a lonely one and no one knows this better than champion powerlifter, James Vang. It was during a tough time in life that James made a choice, ignore the naysayers, don’t let others define you and go all in. As a member
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This is part two of our interview with Lao-American dancer, poet, and scientist, Krysada Panusith Phounsiri. In the last episode, he took us on a journey, from break dancing on the streets of San Deigo to national tv and the Las Vegas stage.
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Part 1 of a two-part interview. What lies at the intersection of science, art, language, and athleticism? At the confluence of Lao and American culture? Krysada Panusith Phounsiri, or Binly, as he is known is an accomplished break dancer, award-wi
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Part 1 of a two-part interview. What lies at the intersection of science, art, language, and athleticism? At the confluence of Lao and American culture? Krysada Panusith Phounsiri, or Binly, as he is known is an accomplished break dancer, award-wi
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Sometimes, in life people shoot for their dreams, literally. Arick Souvanna grew up in Saginaw Texas, a town known for hosting one of the largest Lao New Year celebrations in America. Arick is putting this tight-knit community on the map again, th
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Sometimes we don’t find our calling in life, it finds us. As a refugee from Laos, Kenji Saykosy was bullied as a child and turned to martial arts for self-defense. 40 years later at Royal Tiger Academy in Damascus Maryland, Kenji and his partner Dee
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In 1960 a group of southeast Asian countries came together in Kuala Lumpur to standardize the rules and settle on a name for an ancient sport, Sepak Takraw. The sport began gaining popularity in the United States mainly within the Lao and Hmong dias
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You may have heard the saying “find your why”. It’s the why that has driven Nate Sengmany from his namesake, a refugee camp in Thailand, to doing the Nate Pose on top of some of California’s most scenic bluffs. He came up during Sacram
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What would motivate someone who holds a master’s degree, is a licensed paramedic and speaks five languages to step into the ring with some of the best fighters in the world? A passion and a dream. A passion for competing and the dream of representin
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Drive by any park or visit an indoor rec center these days and you’re sure to see people, young and old, hitting a ball in what appears to be a life-size game of Ping-Pong. Pickleball has taken the US by storm and two Lao Americans are riding its wa
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When one door closes another one opens. As refugees from Laos, Sy and Nang Sayasone were resettled in the Midwest where they quickly went to work, toiling in meat packing plants in an effort to give their children a better life. Jackie would take
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Sometimes, our life’s calling finds us in the most unexpected ways. Ohn Phommavong grew up in a rice farming village in rural Laos before heading to the city in search of work. Through a chance encounter, she would fall in love with a backpacker fro
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They may say that “nice guys finish last” but Ben Nguyen proves that sometimes it’s the good guy who comes out on top. After the war in Vietnam Ben’s family settled in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where they rebuilt their lives from scratch as
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Arnold Schwarzenegger's six rules for success are, trust yourself, break some rules, don’t be afraid to fail, work like hell and give something back. The first time David Phrathep stepped onto the baseball field he was the underdog. From being tol
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When it comes to chasing your dream, they say, “it’s not the destination but the journey”. Pilot Christa Camvongcau Atwood is on the journey of a lifetime, chasing her dream from destination to destination through the skies. From her humble
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When it comes to chasing your dream, they say, “it’s not the destination but the journey”. Pilot Christa Camvongcau Atwood is on the journey of a lifetime, chasing her dream from destination to destination through the skies. From her humble
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Linda Sayavongchanh was introduced to basketball in elementary school, a sport that was foreign to her parents who had recently resettled in America as refugees from Laos. At Des Moines-Lincoln High School she would score a staggering 1,630 points
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When we featured Folkstyle national champion and Stanford University wrestler Dawson Sihavong as a rising star in the Lao American Sports Hall of Fame it quickly became apparent that Dawson’s journey to the top began a generation earlier in war-torn
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Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, “in our society, the women who break down barriers are those who ignore limits. That’s exactly what Maria Balang did. Maria started working out to get in shape but soon found herself on the stage compet
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Davy Phrathep and his brother David took up baseball during their childhood in Florida. The brothers, whose parents were refugees from Laos, would go on to be the first known Lao Americans to compete at the NCAA Division I level. While Davy may have
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After the secret war in Laos Lo Phong La Kiatoukaysy and his family fled their Hmong village in the mountains and were resettled on the great plains of America. The family adapted to life in Kansas but would try and reconnect with their highland r
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Justin Phongsavanh was only two years old when he entered the Iowa foster care system after his biological parents were incarcerated. He was raised by his adoptive mother in Ankeny, Iowa, and excelled at a variety of sports until at the age
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Five feet tall, 184 lbs, and out of shape. That was Jennifer Chanthavong when in 2017, determined to take her life back, she walked into V-Fit martial arts of Arlington Texas. Jennifer started taking kickboxing classes to get in shape but soon found
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Channing Cash was born in a small village in Laos where at three years old she was attacked by a bull that had escaped from its pasture. The attack left Channing unable to walk and was the catalyst behind her parent’s immigration to Am
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On January 17, 1989, a man walked onto the campus of Cleveland elementary school in Stockton California and unleashed a rain of terror that would leave five children dead and more than 30 others wounded. The mentally disturbed perpetrator, P
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The call that every MMA fighter dreams of finally came in. The man they call the “Asian Sensation” had nine days to drop 25 lbs and get to Las Vegas for his UFC debut. Adversity was nothing new to Andre Soukhamthath and on March 04, 2017, he stepped
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Bobby Syvanthong started playing basketball at the age of four in the blue-collar town of Richmond California. He would be crowned MVP at El Cerrito High School before heading to the east coast to play for the University of Maine at Fort Kent where
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In 1975 the Khmer Rouge launched a rain of terror that would result in the death and displacement of millions of people. Vanna In and his family would escape the killing fields only to face a new war on, this time on the streets of America. Caught
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Growing up in poverty and in an abusive home David Boutsomsy poured his energy into athletics. While running track and playing football in high school he was introduced to Powerlifting by a teacher. David would join the Delaware State University Foot
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Growing up Cody Chhun was a typical Seattle teenager and everyone expected him to head to college after high school. Cody instead chose to forge his own path, into the world of professional wrestling. Unbeknownst to his family, he would sneak off t
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As a young child, Toom Chanda’s mother became separated from her parents during the turmoil that occurred after the Laotian Civil war ended in 1975. More than two decades would pass before she could be reunited with her family in Wisconsin. Toom was
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After the 1975 fall of governments in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia many of the resulting refugees found themselves living in the American heartland. The meatpacking industry, in particular, offered an attractive start for these new Americans with its r
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This interview was recorded prior to Lo being called up to the NFL. After the 1975 fall of governments in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia many of the resulting refugees found themselves living in the American heartland. The meatpacking industry, in partic
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Billy Soksoda was born outside of Vientiane, Laos, around the time of the communist takeover. At the age of three, he fled the country with his mother and they re-settled in the United States as refugees. The family found themselves living in a tough
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Scott Phaydavong was born in Des Moines, Iowa, to parents who had recently immigrated from Laos as refugees after the civil war. Scott played running back at Des Moines East High school and went on to rush for over 5,000 yards at Drake University.
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Kris Dim was born in Cambodia in 1973, shortly before the Khmer Rouge upended life in that country. Between 1975 and 1979 it's estimated that up to 3 million people died in what became known as the Cambodian Genocide. After fleeing the country with
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In the aftermath of the Vietnam war, the secret war in Laos, and the Cambodian genocide a wave of Southeast Asian refugees fled their homelands. They began arriving in the United States during 1975 and continued into the 1980s. While the first group
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