I met Ted Nguyen and Jonathan Fairbanks during a celebrity benefit event at Pageant of the Master and we instantly hit it off. Ted Nguyen is a nationally award-winning social media and public relations professional and Noah Fairbanks an ace Hollywood Celebrity photographer. Both are not only passionate about their profession but also passionate about saving thousands of animals around the world as advocates of animal adoption.
I recently met up with Ted and Jonathan to interview them. They invited me to go to Asian Garden Mall in Westminster for Tet Trung Thu, Sept. 6th. Tet Trung Thu is a Mid-Autumn Festival. It can also be called Moon or Mooncake Festival. Ted was co-hosting the event. I’ve never been to Tet Trung Thu, yes shame on me, and I really had a ball trying the delish roasted food at the various booths. I felt like Anthony Bourdain in a different country. I told myself this will be a tradition yearly from now on with my family.
Getting back to Ted and Jonathan, I really wanted to interview them because they serve as an inspiration to me as a blogger, as a social media professional and a celebrity photographer. Not only do they excel in their profession but they make it a point to give back to the community.
A case in point is the Moon Fest event. Ted remarked that he’d rather invite me to this special event than be at a coffee house,”That is why I invited you to come here, instead sitting in a coffee place somewhere, it’s better actually to be part of the community and be at this event. It’s a nice celebration. We are living in the largest Vietnamese community outside of Asia so it’s really special to have Orange County representative. Ted also added, “It’s nothing better than giving back especially here being part of the Asian community. I kinda helping translate my knowledge, my influence and my experience. Helping messages with family unity and children, animal advocacy here in Vietnamese culture in America.”
So how did Ted and Noah get into celebrity blogging?
Ted who has been doing Public Relations and Marketing Communications for 20 years kinda fall into it by accident when he met Noah. Noah was a paralegal and graduated with a degree in Political Science and was actually the one who started blogging first. He has been blogging about celebs for five years now.
Ted: I didn’t really have any idea about celebrities. Noah is really the one that actually who’s into celebrities and knows about them. I’ve learned via osmosis and now I came to a point where I actually recognized celebrities than he does. For example, we did a pet event two years ago and Crystal Harris walked by and I’m like there’s Crystal Harris and Noah said “Oh”. And now I’m able to spot them. Before I didn’t really care.”
Noah: But it’s not all about marketing or advertising or celebrities. I also like to talk about animal advocacy – anti-dog trade, animal cruelty. We want to start an animal charity in Vietnam called Vietpaws. We’re working on that.
Ted: Having been to Asia, we saw there’s a great need particularly with animals there. Just like adoption there are so many animals out there than you can adopt rather than go to petstore and buy. We can’t change the world but I think we can change a little part of it.
On Celebrity Benefit Animal Event
Ted pointed out, “It’s not all for the money but it’s also for the social good. We pair with celebrities and people that are famous because they have the same thing we’re passionate about. They are really down to earth kinda people and that’s what we like. Like Amanda Seyfried. She’ll be there to take photos with you and I did a 20-minute interview with her. We talked about her advocacy for dogs, etc. Noah added, “A lot of celebrities that go to animal events are really super friendly. They’ll chat with you for a long time. We tried to do a lot of events like that. “
What makes these duo successful?
Ted: I think with my Public Relations background, I think it’s kinda tour de force and that I’m able to help as far as like message. Message to me is really easy. It’s like composing a tweet or headline, providing content and then writing information on my blog. Before, when I think of celebrities, I thought they are not as significant, more artificial saccharine if you will, but now I realized the power of celebrities that they drive so much influence…in everything. It took me awhile to figure that out. With the help of Noah Fairbanks, then I was able to use to leverage that to my advantage. Social Media is all about sharing and providing information… really great content. We’ve been very fortunate with Noah Fairbanks with his connections and then my background as far as a writer. It’s been a great partnership in a lot of different ways.
What has been your memorable moment as far as blogging is concern?
Ted: I think for me …Emmy’s is an amazing experience . It’s a wonderful experience to be there. When we walked in the red carpet it’s like looking down…Oh my gosh, there’s Julia Roberts. I know a lot of people were not so thrilled about her dress on TV but in person it translates differently. That kind of perspective. When you’re there and you see it, it’s different than being on TV. It was also cool to see Modern Family win, Big Bang Theory as well as Breaking Bad. It was like historic moment. We were there and who can say “Oh they were there in the audience” when all these actors and actresses, producers and shows won The Emmy’s. It’s a once in a lifetime experience. I just can’t believe that.
Noah: For me, just meeting a lot of people. Going to the charities that involved with animals. I like doing that. It’s fun going to the events and meeting people but I think behind that it’s all the money awareness being raised to help shelter animals. We go to the one Amanda Foundation every Halloween in Beverly Hills on Rodeo Drive and it’s really good. They close Via Rodeo and it becomes a dog-friendly environment. The dogs are in costumes. A lot of fun. And the Amanda Foundation, that is something that we are passionate about.
Since you mentioned the Emmys, what is your personal story about being invited to the Emmy’s?
Ted: The personal story was a connection with Microsoft and I work with Microsoft as well. That’s part of it and there’s other connections. Just like meeting other people as part of that.
What advice can you give to young people?
Ted: The first step is research. I don’t mean research like reading books but just like observing .. reading your favorite blog. Reading whatever you’re interested in and then absorbing who you wanna be like, right? But you can’t be that person but you can be like him. Attributes that you aspire to. So there’s a social media person, somebody that is really big on Instagram or blog…follow them, see what they’re posting, see what they’re writing about. It’s like getting to know them a little bit. And who knows..maybe reach out to them and say , ‘You know what? I really admire what you’re doing.” Then reaching out to them. That is one.
Research research research. Get to know the kind of people that you wanna be and then mimic them not in their voice but in your own voice. The things you like about them and try to do similar things you know but make it your own and make it authentic as well. I think you can only be you, there’s nobody else in the world like you so why not be who you are and take some of the successes of other people. Find out why they’re successful and try to be like them.
I think the other one is being patient. You can’t be successful overnight. A lot of people think “Oh I want to be a YouTube star. I’m gonna have a million followers.” But you know what, you’re not gonna have a million followers. You could start off like 20 or 50. Success can’t happen overnight. Hard work and being smart, having a purpose and strategy behind it. And the real passion is what is all about. If it’s your passion, you’ll be happy and you’re gonna make things work out and you know you can also meet famous people and travel the world and do a lot of cool things .
Very helpful and inspiring article! Thanks!
Thank you Marites