Ep 32: Darrion Nguyen ("Lab Shenanigans" aka the Asian Millennial Tik Tok version of Bill Nye the Science Guy)

Darrion Nguyen is currently a lab research technician at Baylor College of Medicine & the face behind “Lab Shenanigans”: a social media brand that makes fun, easily digestible science content that has garnered over 600,000 followers to date (½ million on Tik Tok!)!But who is Darrion? What led him down this path towards marrying his twin loves of theatre & science, quickly becoming the Asian Millennial Tik Tok version of Bill Nye the Science Guy? And how can others do the same?!We unpack all that and more in this STIMY Episode.Highlights:3:18: Incident at Darrion’s family’s convenience store that led to his father's unfortunate passing :(5:40: The moment he discovered a talent (and love!!) of improvisation9:07: Watching Bill Nye at his grandma’s tailor shop10:21: Realising he was gay & coming out to his friends and family (except his mum?! 😅🤣)13:46: Why Darrion ended up pursuing science when he also loved theatre18:13: His love of organic chemistry & biochemistry in high school21:57: Getting into voice acting & coming to terms with his higher pitched voice as part of his identity24:14: Creating fun videos that went viral on Facebook meme pages25:48: Creating Lab Shenanigans27:43: Why Darrion decided to take a gap year rather than immediately doing his PhD31:09: His work as a research technician32:13: The ecosystem of a lab & their stereotypes (as seen in his Lab Shenanigan videos!)34:00: What is the “mfing tea”?!37:35: How Darrion first ended up on Tik Tok (P/S: As a joke!)42:30: Suffering burnout 43:58: Creating 10-15 second Tik Tok videos anywhere between a 5-10 minutes to 3 hours, and why it takes so long!46:00: How Darrion’s PI (aka boss) reacted when she first learned about his lab shenanigans lates at night in the lab!49:16: Collabs with other fun science content creators like Chris Sutherland, Raven & Nick Uhas50:08: How Darrion builds his passionate online community51:51: Facing keyboard warriors as an Asian gay man53:36: Advice for those wanting to venture into the world of Tik Tok57:13: Splitting his time between his work as a scientist (yes, he does do real work!) and a content creator1:00:14: Advice on monetization for content creators 1:01:11: Launching his Lab Shenanigans merchandise store Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/32 Subscribe to STIMY Newsletter: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/ebf231f605