Welcome to the final episode of Season 2 of GupShup with Gurpreet Sarin! And...the final episode of 2019!! 

 In this episode, the wifey and I chatted about 2019 highlights, things we have planned for 2020, and answered some questions from our friends.

 Some of my favorite moments - Nehchal’s thoughts on my soul searching trip to Dallas, how I lost my wedding ring at our reception, and Nehchal’s beautiful laugh throughout our interview (blessed to be married to someone who finds all my jokes funny)

For this week’s episode, I sat down with the amazing musician, performer, and producer, Raaginder! It was dope learning about his journey and hearing about the awesome projects that he’s been involved with. Through the interview, Raaginder provided insight into how he got started with Indian classical and hip-hop genres, what his song creation & production process is like, and his experience working with Fateh.

We also chatted about other fun topics: Raaginder looks so much like Aquaman (the resemblance is uncanny in my opinion), he teaches me how I can hire a stylist for performances, and the spirituality of music.

For this week’s episode, I had the chance to chat with LA-based singer/songwriter Samica! I loved hearing about Samica’s journey as a musician and artist - it was dope to learn about her songwriting process, some of the covers and collabs she’s done (AJ Rrafael and Raxstar), and her experiences performing at fun events like the Popshift Sessions Festival and the Urban Desi Concert. 

Throughout the interview, we also chatted about other fun things - Samica’s initial journey studying to be a dentist (no wonder her teeth are perfect), Gossip Girl and the reboot of the show (she’s Team Chuck Bass apparently), and the one time she met Zayn (I didn’t realize his tattoos were so recognizable hmm)

Samica’s first single, Alright, drops this Friday (11/15) so check out the pre-save link on her instagram @samicamusic and stay tuned!!

Harjas Singh, aka Styled By Harj, is a Toronto based Fashion Blogger, Stylist and Model. He showcases his unique fashion sense via social media outlets, providing him an opportunity to share his passion with the world and provides styling and consulting services to help individual’s look and feel the best versions of themselves. Harjas is continually working to promote diversity, inclusiveness and to educate people on and share his Sikh Heritage with larger audiences.

For this week's episode, I had the pleasure of gupshup-ing with Harjas about his journey in the fashion industry - it was dope hearing about his experiences as a runway model and the cool gigs he’s done with major brands including Nike Toronto and Nordstrom Canada. I especially loved getting insight into his Nordstrom audition experience (apparently homie has got some rad dance moves).

The Socho Foundation is a social-impact organization which aims to shed light on the stressors that cause mental health to decline. The foundation’s mission is to positively impact behavior, thinking, and lifestyle to promote healthier organizational behavior and environments, whether that may be in a school, at a workplace, or within families at their home.

For this week's episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Arzu Vig, founder of The Socho Foundation. It was great hearing from Arzu as she described her background and discussed how she created the foundation. Check out the episode to learn about the various projects and partnerships that The Socho Foundation has been and will be involved in!

Kirandeep Singh is an NPC Men’s Physique Athlete based in Philadelphia. 

Kirandeep joined us in DC to discuss his journey as a men’s physique competitor and fitness enthusiast. I loved hearing about his first competition experience and how he preps for shows. My favorite part was when he discussed his workout routine!

Throughout the interview, we covered a variety of other topics: which celebrity Kirandeep would love to workout with, his experience sharing the stage and playing dhol with Sidhu Moosewala and Fateh, and his desire to get into acting (btw his Sunny Deol and Amitabh Bachan impressions are impressive!!).

Follow Kirandeep and his fitness journey on Instagram: @beatsbylucky

Monica Ahuja is a Pakistani-Indian multidimensional entrepreneur and a high-profile member of the South Asian community in the Washington, D.C. area. On the clock, she is a Project Coordinator for a Virginia- based consulting firm and off the clock, she is a dancer, blogger, model and founder of the greater DC area’s newest cultural and social platform for South Asian called “DcWaleDesi”.

Monica invited us to her dope place for this week's episode, where we had a chance to discuss what it means to be an influencer, how she got started with all of her projects, and the fun things she's up to. Additionally, I picked her brain about bollywood, fashion, fitness, and social media!

As an Autism Therapist by day and a Rockstar musician at night, @gurpreetbirk is literally the South Asian Hannah Montana. When he is not touring with artists like Diljit Singh, Mickey Singh, and G Sidhu, among others, you can find him working to create voices for populations who seemingly don’t have one and build interventions for children with autism in hopes of having a fighting chance for integration in the community.

Looking like the Punjabi Fresh Prince, rocking his dad’s vintage clothes, we sat down today to talk about Gurpreet’s roots and how his dad’s love of Hip-Hop and mom’s love of Rock n’ Roll shaped his eclectic musical tastes and positive outlook on life. We follow his journey on what is was like dealing with racism early on in life and how it shaped his drive to become an advocate for fighting social injustices.

We also talked about his #HaveYouSmiledToday campaign and how through his own mental health journey was able to use his experiences to open up the conversation to a South Asian community who still considers it a taboo subject. Gurpreet also opens up about what parents can do to be more proactive in their child’s life and to support their dreams, no matter how big and unconventional. 

Follow Gurpreet Birk and his overwhelming positive zest for life on Instagram: @gurpreetbirk.

Oh yeah, Have You Smiled Today?

Sundeep Boparai aka King Sunny is an American-Sikh who identifies with the LGBTQ Community. The talented fashion model & influencer, magazine brand ambassador, LGBTQ & HIV activist and Healthcare Administrator has established himself as a trailblazer on social media by carrying the torch for Gay Sikhs across the world.

It was a pleasure chatting with Sunny about his experiences being a gay Sikh American. Through this conversation, Sunny shed light into his experiences coming out to his family, what the overall response has been from his community, and advice to the current and next generation.

We also talked about a bunch of other interesting topics such as: Bollywood's portrayal of the LGBTQ community, the modeling and entertainment industry, and Nicki Minaj vs Cardi B.

Follow King Sunny and his amazing projects on Instagram: @kingsunnyb

For the very first episode of Season 2, I had the privilege of interviewing MY WIFE! 

It was a lot of fun chatting with Nehchal about her hobbies and passions, what it's like living together (married life), how our wedding went, and a bunch of other fun things. 

Special thanks to some of our friends for giving us questions and topics to discuss throughout the interview!

Vish Singh has a passion for fashion. He’s a fashion model from NYC who has built up a pretty dope portfolio - from doing runway modeling during New York Fashion Week, to being in French Montana’s music video, to commercial print modeling for Facebook, Vish has been involved in some super cool projects. 

We met up with Vish in New York, where he described his passion for modeling and the fashion industry. It was incredible hearing his background and how he originally got started, while also gaining insight into the industry and the fun projects he’s been involved in.

But wait, there’s more! Make sure to check out this episode because we also talked about a bunch of other topics -  how ball is life for Vish but not for me (he taught me the difference between traveling vs. double dribbling vs carrying), how he maintains his model physique while still eating junk food (what is this witchcraft??), and how he doesn’t squat heavy (twinning!).