PRIVY Featured Member: Carl Choi

Say hello to Carl Choi, Privy member and a man who is helping to change the face of Asian and Asian American media/entertainment globally. He is the co-founder and CEO of Plan C Group, a network of companies that dubs itself "the Asian Lifestyle Company" and includes businesses in the areas of Nightlife & Events, Marketing Services, Entertainment Brand Management and Original Content Development & Production. Carl manages some of the biggest names in Asian entertainment, including Jin the MC, Daniel Wu, Van Ness Wu, and Far East Movement and is without peer in the scope of his vision for the next generation of Asian entertainers. That vision has led to immensely successful Far East Movement inking a record deal with Cherytree/Interscope Records (who represents stars such as Lady Gaga), a milestone for both Carl and Far East Movement that cements their place among the big players in entertainment. Needless to say, we were chomping at the bit to learn more about Carl's journey and to hear his thoughts about the future of Asian entertainment.

1. What do you like about Privy or the promise Privy offers?

It reminds me of a very early-stage asw but with a very global audience. And I think the exclusivity that it offers gives it more of a interesting appeal to those who are ahead of the trends these days because with business, entertainment, and anything you get into, it’s becoming more of a global market. With that said, I think people are looking for key players in any game to be able to give them access to the East and West, and I think Privy offers that.


2. Can you tell us a bit about Plan C Group and how it’s evolved into what it is today?

We are an umbrella on the creative and infrastructure level for a collective of likeminded companies. Like when I described the whole East-West/global approach, the idea and how we started this company has always been based on global perspective. We manage talent, we produce events, we offer marketing services through our different entities, as well as produce original content. And everything we do is always based on “okay, will the Indians like it as much as the blacks or the whites?” We want to nurture the underdog market, and we just happened to grow up in the Asian community. We see a lot of things we love about it, and we just want to share it with the world. And that’s pretty much the concept of what Plan C Group is.

About 13 years ago, we started out promoting parties. I had good friends, good people, and I thought the easiest way to get everyone together was to create a good time. From that, we recognized the power of influence when it came to events, and we quickly grew to about 13 cities worldwide. I also was able to meet Jin during the time when he won BET 106 and Park, and I started to tour all over the world with him and recognize the kind of influence he had on the world. As much as he was just an Asian kid, the people who followed him all over the world were of all colors. And so that’s kind of what opened up my mind to this whole talent management arena as well. And with events, talent, and even content—some of the films I have produced in the past—I realized that they have the ability to change lives.

But we realized that one of the major setbacks of the Asian community was it just not very thoroughly recognized by the Fortune 500. And so we launched the Plan C Agency to service Fortune 500 company brands, to introduce them to this Asian American market now, but what in the long run will be the Asian global market. So we currently service and are agency on record for Verizon wireless, Gilead Pharmaceuticals, and Bacardi Grey Goose and work very closely with Universal and Lionsgate for a lot of the films that have Asian content in them.

And how’s it evolved to what it is today? Honestly, it’s just driven by passion, faith, and integrity. Those are the three things we stand closely by. Even though we work in a very dark industry, we are very big on making sure we stick to our guns when it comes to how we operate. And really stick to having moral values and managing content and artists that value that as well. Of course, we’re always going to have to be walking on gray lines with entertainment, but at the end of the day, we know that our core mission is really just to make the world a better place and create positive role models for the future generations.


3. Did you set out with the intention to make a way for Asian Americans in the US media, or did that just start happening?

Yeah, it was very intentional actually. I grew up in Hong Kong, and when I came to America…it was interesting because one thing I always share with people was I didn’t even know I was Asian until I got here. Because when I was in Hong Kong I was just another kid. But when I came to America I suddenly became this Asian kid. So it was kind of confusing, when you grow up in that way, and when you’re so observant of people and behaviors, you kind of realize that there is a difference in how you’re being treated and people’s perception of things.

But then you realize, wait a minute, why do I think I’m such a cool Asian kid, when everyone thinks I’m this nerdy guy. And what I realized was it because of the media. I grew up watching the, you know, Stephen Chows and Chow Yun Fats, the gangster guys and funny guys who get all the chicks. I went from that to coming to America and being put into the same circles as the guys who only stay in the library and can’t spit game worth anything. And so I was just super confused.

But I just really believed in the potential of the Asian face. So I set out to educate people about why I think the Asian males are the guys to be and I think will be the global superstars. It only makes sense if you look at the numbers, where a third of the world has an Asian face. So why wouldn’t the future influencers of the world—the future Michael Jackson or the future Britney Spears—be Asian? It doesn’t make any sense. Especially as it’s becoming a global market.


4. Now, what about "1040 Project?" What’s that all about and how was producing your second documentary ("No Sleep ‘Til Shanghai" being the first)?

That was interesting because when I met Jaeson Ma about two years ago was kind of when I came back to Christ as well. But he had a very compelling story; we related on a lot of levels, and I decided to join him for about a year running around Asia doing his ministry while I was handling my business out there. One thing I didn’t see when I was growing up in Asia was the amount of Christians that was out there and the momentum that was building. He was speaking to arenas of people, while when I was growing up I was just in these little house churches. And so it was amazing to me that the momentum was there.

And he was telling me about China; I started hearing all these stories, and after traveling around China, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, I was like wow, this is a story that needs to be told. We just thought it was a story that the western world needs to see. Because I think most people in America, when they think about Asians, they always think oh yeah, Asians are Christians? Nah, they’re Buddhists, aren’t they? And so I think it’s a surprise to most people who haven’t been exposed to the Asian culture—the movement of God that’s happening in Asia right now. It’s amazing!


5. Speaking of Asia…What has it been like to manage Jin, Van Ness, and Daniel? Have you found the Asian market to be very different from the American market?

Well, I’ve never seen it as an Asian or American market. Like I said, our company is structured to be a global market. With Jin, I’ve always seen him working in Hong Kong eventually; I mean it was a matter of time. With Van Ness and Daniel, I see them becoming just as big here as they are in China and Taiwan. So I believe in them, and they all share the same passion, integrity, and faith in what they do, in their work.

Managing them is different than what people probably think. I’m not a very Nazi-type manager. I’m very collaborative; I treat them like my business partners. We see eye to eye, and I think that’s why they work with me. I’m not here to control their lives; I’m here to let them know what I recommend from what I see from a very objective level or from my expertise, and I also tell them what I think might or might not work. But at the end of the day, the decision is on them, and that’s how I like to manage.


6. Any thoughts about the future of Asian entertainment and how that may affect the US?

Yes, I think the Asian face will be the global face of the future. The US I think will still be the forefront. It will be a combination of the Asian face with US training. Because after travelling the world, I have looked for many different places to kind of settle myself. But I realized for what I do and what I want to do for the future, America will always be ahead—at least for my lifetime—creatively. Because it has the perfect environment conducive to what’s needed to develop solid creative product. It’s diverse enough, and I think it’s open enough for people to expand their minds to a level that I think the rest of the world’s going to take a long time to be able to live up to.


7. With so much on your plate, how do you keep two feet on the ground?

You know what, I feel like I have not been able to keep my feet on the ground for many years. Meaning I’ve been pretty much living half of my life on airplanes. But it’s a good balancing for me just to start valuing more of my private life and really just stay faithful and stay a servant, and not get too caught up on the whole thing and realize that at the end of the day it’s a mission. I think there are a lot of people that depend on us to draw the right picture for them to follow. Recognizing that kind of gives you extra pressure to want to be a good role model, you know?