Singapore Fish. To some, food, to others, symbols of divinity. In Singapore, owning a certain fish can be the ultimate display of wealth. Meet Eugene "Dr. Ark" Ng, a fish cosmetic surgeon who operates on a fish native to Malaysia: the Arowana, that fetches between anywhere between $250 USD to $100,000. Hailed as the pioneer and best of the best when it comes to beautifying Arowanas, we spent a day learning about how he works and why he's revered. The Arowana is an elegant, 3-foot long fish with shining scales. It once was known as a villagers common source of food, but now, it's held as a symbol of wealth and success. These fish are carefully cultivated and highly limited, with 1 out of 10,000 fish in a supply being especially "prized." What role does Dr. Ark play in all this? He's the doctor you bring your fish to when they need a clean up. With more precision handling the fish than most expert sushi chefs, he swiftly adjusted the fish's "droopy" eye and scales, proving why he is the GOAT when it comes to cosmetic fish surgery.
Ishigaki Island, Japan. Everyone's heard about people running into aliens. And everyone thinks generally the same thing: those people are crazy. Claims of encounters with extraterrestrials are usually dismissed as superstition or hallucination. So, when we heard reports of numerous and consistent UFO sightings on Ishigaki -- a modest, neighboring island to Okinawa in southwest Japan -- we arrived as skeptics. When we got to the island, we met Naoyoshi Watanabe, a resident who's heard of a creature with freaky features..."like some sort of mummified octopus, but with a face, arms, and legs." He says his friends came across the creature while fishing in the popular tourist spot, the "Blue Cave." Weirdly, about a week after they told Naoyoshi-san about their encounter and request to look into it, they'd forgotten about it entirely. When Naoyoshi-san's tried to follow up, they don't know what he's talking about. That's weird. But it's one story, and we weren't fully convinced. So we trekked up to the northernmost tip of the island to meet with Suekazu Maeda, a man who claims to regularly 'summon the vehicles of the legendary beings.' He was excited by captive audience, and walked us through his tried and true method - flashing a light into the night sky. Initially, nothing happened, just as expected: no outer-world being appeared. But then, almost as if on command, spheres of light as big as the stars were bursting into the night sky. Over the course of an hour, we were in awe as we witnessed around 8-9 flashes of light interacting with each other in the sky. We were shocked--it felt like being in a daze. Maeda-san, however, was unfazed. He's seen them before, many times, even heard them make noise. He only wishes he could see their faces.
The Hungry Ghost Festival, also known as the Getai Festival, is an ancient part of Taoist culture where spirits are honored. It happens every year, during a time when the gates of the afterlife are believed to open up for a month and our spiritual ancestors come out to partake once more in the life they once lived. This festival is special, because here the entertainers are singing not just for the living, but also for the dead. Family members bow to shrines of their ancestors and people perform for wandering spirits. There is bias beneath the surface of a seemingly harmless festival: Getai singers are often stigmatized as lowly and disreputable. Some younger members of the Getai community are trying to change that, with genuine passion and appreciation for their culture and ancestors, as they sing and dance for those they cannot even see.
“You have to start your life on wheels.” Those were the words Anand Arnold was told by his doctor when he survived cancer after a successful operation at age 13. He thought about how he could move forward with this new reality and what it means to rebuild himself. This new version of Anand had to be stronger and somebody his family could be proud of. Since the operation, he has rebuilt himself and won numerous titles such as winning Mr. World 2016, winning gold for ""Best Poser Body Builder"" and silver for ""Best Body Builder (both wheelchair category) in Mr. Olympia 2018, and winning gold for ""Best Poser Body Builder"" and bronze for ""Best Body Builder"" (wheelchair category) at Arnold Classic 2019. From surviving cancer to becoming the 1st world champion bodybuilder from India, this is how Anand became India’s Wheelchair Terminator.
In a time when people told Nguyen Vu Truc Nhu (Katt) that 'this field is for men', she's coordinated stunts for Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods and has been nominated for the SAG award. Katt is now one of few stunt woman pushing the envelope for Hollywood-level stunts in Asia. She takes us behind the scenes and shows us the struggles to perform at Hollywood's highest level as Vietnam's first female stunt coordinator.
Stefan He Qin didn't think his life would go this way. At 24, he had scammed 140 million from investors, family and friends. We captured the only interview he did, 3 days before beginning his 7.5 year sentence at Fort Dix Prison.