 I'm Rusty Komori, and this is Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. I was the head coach of the Punahou Boys varsity tennis team for 22 years, and we were fortunate to win 22 consecutive state championships. This show is based on my books Beyond the Lines and Beyond the Game, and it's about leadership, character, and creating a superior culture of excellence. My special guest today is a global TV and fashion icon. And People Magazine named her the most famous woman in China. She is Yusai Khan, and today we are going way beyond Emmy awards. Hi, Yusai. Welcome to Beyond the Lines. Hi, Rusty. How are you? Yusai, you have been making such an incredible impact around the world for so many years, and you continue to do so. I want to be like you. You want to be better than me. What are you talking about? I could never be winning 20 years consecutively. That you can be sure. Yusai, you were born in China. You grew up in Hong Kong. You attended Brigham Young University in Hawaii. You entered the Narcissus pageant, taking second runner up, and that led you to traveling around the world. How was that a life-changing experience for you? Well, indeed, it was a very interesting episode of my life. You know, in those days, when you were 19 years old, you really didn't know much about anything. There was no internet. There was not nothing here. And we were tucked away in BYU in Laiye. So it was not like today's 19-year-old. Today's 19-year-olds are very sophisticated. They know everything. But so when the school student body came to me and asked me to run for Narcissus, on behalf of the school, I was represented in BYU to run Narcissus. I had no idea what Narcissus thought about anyway. So I said I would like to, but I just don't know anything about beauty pageants. It was a very new concept for me. And so what was extremely important, Rusty, is that I learned how to make up during that period of time. There was a wonderful lady called Helen Richardson, whose husband was, I believe, the attorney general at that time. She taught us how to make up. She taught me how to walk the stage, how to walk and turn. She taught me how to talk on television, talking to you. How do I answer questions? All of those things I learned during that period of time. And if you think about it, that really has a very big impact in my life. Later on, I went into television. And then later on, I also went into cosmetics. And can you imagine that the first time I used makeup was during the Narcissus festival. And so it was a game changer for me. It was a life-changing experience for me. Yusai, I want to ask you about you being a global TV host and producer. In 1972, you had a show titled Looking East. And then some years later, you had a show called One World, which was viewed over by 300 million viewers a week. Why were your shows so popular? And what was the purpose of your shows? Well, Looking East was truly the first show about Asia that anyone has done. I remember when I started that show, I had an opportunity to talk to Mike Wallace. And Mike said, oh, come on, Yusai. This is not a good idea. Nobody will watch your show. It's about Asia. Nobody cared about Asia. But I knew he was wrong because there's always somebody who's very interested in Asia. And I was absolutely right. It is based on that. Based on that, a very niche audience that I went after the advertisers. So the advertisers that I went after were like United Airlines that were flying to Asia at that time. I was actually going after people like Kiko Mansoy Sauce because they were interested. I mean, look, Kiko Mansoy Sauce could obviously go to the people that are interested in seeing Asian food. And so I was going after the tourist spurs of every Asian country. So I was able to use that niche to actually fund the show itself. Later on, actually, there was not a show on cable that was national at that time. I actually used a bicycle, 12 videos taped every week in order for the whole country to see the show itself. So Looking East became a national show. And then when we finally found some very good sponsors, we went actually physically to Asia to shoot. And we shot in many, many countries in Asia. It's funny. There was a prince that I interviewed in Malaysia in one of the states of Malaysia. Today, he's the king. He's the Sultan. He's the king. It's very interesting. So from that, the PBS asked me to do the first Chinese broadcast of the 35th anniversary of People's Republic in China. And they figured that since the show did not have any narration, they wanted me to do the narration. So I did the narration for that show. It was a first jump venture between CCTV and PBS. And then from there, CCTV all of a sudden said, wow, we found somebody who actually knew a little bit about China. So they came to me and invited me to China, first to thank me for making the project with PBS possible and was a big success. Then they asked me to please produce a series called One World for China Central Television. The only network in China. They just asked me how I became so popular. If you are on CCTV, the only network in those days. Today, there's a lot of competition. In those days, it's the only network for a billion people. So in other words, if I'm on CCTV, I'm absolutely going to be watched, correct? And also, I did it in both Chinese language and English language. So people were learning English through my television show. Because they had no money to pay me, I asked them for advertising dollars. So the show itself was the first show in China that carried advertising on a regular basis. So all of these things, I can go on and on. They were the first of its kind. So if it is you're the first of its kind, it really, really helped to get the audience. You're the first. Well, you saw it. And then you had a show called China Walls and Bridges. And you won an Emmy Award with that show. Yeah. That was an ABC show, then an ABC network show. And then you also interviewed Mother Teresa. Can you tell me about that experience? Well, interviewing Mother Teresa was probably one of the highlights of my life. Because she was so extraordinary. After you interview her, you come off. There's a glow that she somehow gives you, impacts. Somehow you feel that you have this glow for days afterwards. There was a purity that I never really saw anywhere else. This purity was difficult to describe. She was so dedicated to a purity of life dedicated to the glory of God. It was extremely, extremely impressive. I cannot tell you. At one point, I said, Mother, now I've seen all of those different charities you do in Rome. I said, I would like to see where you live. She said, you want to see where I live? Yes, I do. So she took me up a mountain. There were a few buildings there. And as our car was driving up, there was a whole group of nuns coming from all over and coming to receive us when the car arrived. And they broke out in singing. They broke out in singing. And I tell you, everybody was in tears. My cameraman was six foot four tall, and he was crying. Because it was something that I cannot explain. You have to experience it. It's like there are things in life you cannot explain the feeling of this was one of the most extraordinary. I remember I asked her, I said, Mother, you do all of these things. You know, like I'm wet mother's home, overnages, and all of this, where do you get the money? Where did you get the money? Because it needs money to do those things. So she says, I never think about money. I always think about what I want to do for some reason. It always works. Some money comes. I think if you do something wonderful in life, help comes. The Lord is very, very good with us. You do something correct, you will get help from it. And from someone from the universe, whoever you call that to be. And I will tell you that this happens to me too. You know, I mean, you know, I do a tremendous amount of charity. I raise funds all the time for different things, right? But somehow, the divine definitely, the universe is always with me. Well, I love hearing that story and just about how you said the purity and such a powerful, I mean, she must have just exuded so much positive energy. And you saw, you started your cosmetics company in 1992, in 1992, and then the huge L'Oreal purchased it in 2004. Why was your cosmetics company so successful? Well, first of all, I was a household name in China. I tell you, I only invested five and a half million dollars to cosmetics and I already reached number one in China. First of all, I was a household name, right? I mean, when you're a household name it's easier to launch something, don't you think? And also I was smart. The way I did the cosmetic line was very intelligent. I, you know, Rasky, I must tell you something. You know, when I do something, I don't ask myself, how can I be successful? How can I succeed? I do the reverse questioning. I ask, how can I not fail? That is a very different approach, I believe, to a lot of people going into business. People say, well, I'm going to succeed. I'm going to have this incredibly large office and I'm going to buy a car to impress my potential investors. No, that's how they consider how to be successful, right? How to succeed. I never think that way. I always say, how can I not fail? For example, when I started every company, I am extremely careful about money I spend. Money is an interesting thing. It is a finite thing. If you need a dollar and you don't have a dollar, you're dead. You know, you're finished, right? I mean, it can be just a dollar. Unless you have a loan, you're supposed to repay it. But you don't have the money. You're dead. So money is something you have to be very, you have to cherish. And you have to be very, very careful with. So when I started every company, everything I do is, I do it really on the cheap, so to speak, so to speak. So I remember the first talk, the series, television series I did. I have a tiny little one bedroom apartment. Every inch of that apartment is my television studio. My couch was the studio. My bedroom was the editing suite. You know, my bathroom was the voice over the recording room. So in other words, you know, you need to find, in cosmetic, for example, you want to make sure, you want to make sure that the products are really good for your people. How can you fail? If your products are lousy, then your people, you know, cosmetics, the company, you don't need people to just buy one. You need them to come back again and again and again. That means your product has to have a reason to be. You have to be able to persuade them how wonderful your products are. And then after they use them, they really love it. This is how you are going to get your clients over and over again. That's how you will not fail. All right. So do not, how do you not fail is probably the one thing that I always think is important to remember. I just think that some people are so eager to be successful. They forget that they could fail. Well, you saw, you are absolutely correct. I, that is, for me, I hate losing. And so I think that's a key thing, but I'm going to, I'm going to really remember what you said there. And you saw, you have 10 bestselling books and you just came out with your 10th book called Be a Pioneer. Why did you come out with that book? Well, actually, I did not ever want to write a biography. Okay. I never wanted to write it because I thought, well, you know, I just, I thought nobody probably would want to read it or something. But, you know, my publishers, I have been approached all the time to do my biography. But finally, what somebody said to me, you say your life with China is a very unique one. You are not only a witness to China's open door policy for the last 40 years, China has changed from a sleepy, poor, unbelievably backward country to an unbelievable country of the second, becoming the second largest economy in the world. Something has happened, am I right, Rusty, from extremely poor to today, when there are more billionaires and millionaires soon going to be excelling more than the Chinese do. How did they do it? But I was very lucky because I was not only a witness. My life, the last 40 years, was very involved with China. But I was also a participant. I was also participating in helping China to have the open door policy. My television is one of them. You know, when I launched my cosmetics, cosmetics didn't exist in China. The word fashion was not even in the lexicon. But after I launched the cosmetics, people say, I can be beautiful. I can look individual. In those days, Chinese were wearing greys and blues and they were wearing the same kind of a hairdo with braided hair and all that. They didn't talk about fashion. They didn't talk about individualism. How do you look unique on your own? But you asked me how I could do it because the timing was right. If the Chinese themselves, the government, does not want China to be open, no matter how fantastic I may be, no matter how fantastic I may be, I would never be successful. They encourage you to do something that's never been done before. I remember I did three pilot shows for the minister of television and I remember I was extremely, extremely careful about the way I looked. I did not put much makeup. I wore a very simple blue jacket and all that. And after he saw the three shows he said to me, he said, I am sure that these shows are going to be extraordinarily popular in China. But is this how you produce your show in America? I said, no. I said, minister, no. Of course not. I mean, I use makeup. I wear colorful clothes. He said, I want you to produce the show the way you produce a show in America. I want our audience to see the way you produce show in America. Well, of course, with that, let's say I wore my lipstick, my red lipstick, my red dresses and everything else. So, you know, so in other words, the Chinese are saying, Tenshi is the leader of her. Tenshi, that means that the stars have to be the right time, right? Delete. People have to be right. The people have to be right. The people like the minister, this is what they want. Tenshi and Tenshi and then people have to be right. So I think that anything big that you want to be successful, those three elements have to be there. It's got to be the right time, the right people. The sky and the earth have to be right too, right? I love your insights, Yusai. I mean, you're so right. I mean, timing is key. And Yusai, you have both of my books. And I got to say that you are someone that definitely goes beyond the lines and beyond the game. I try to, I'm trying to impact and inspire as many people around the world with my books. And Yusai, your charity, your One World Foundation, that's exactly what you do. And can you tell me more about your One World Foundation? Well, first I have to tell you what I just did two days ago in San Francisco. I just came back, right? And I'm totally exhausted. I have a charity in San Francisco and it's called Women Who Dare. We celebrate a group of 12 women who dare to change the community and who dare to change the future. And when I decided to do it in California, okay, let me tell you, coming back, I have this show, Women Who Dare, show in America. I find that in New York. New York State and California State are the two most, how do you say in English, the most abusive states to Asians. We are very lucky. We happen to be living in Hawaii and you don't see this. I know you don't see it because we don't. 65% of us are Asians, right? And your last name is Kim Mori. Our friends are Japanese, Koreans and Chinese. But we are not so lucky. We're just not so lucky in New York. And in San Francisco, even though there are a lot of Asians, but a lot of Haitians, anti-Haitians, hate. I think it's so crazy there. For myself, I want to do something about this anti-Asian hate. I want to highlight some of the extraordinary people who do extraordinary things for the community. I want them to know that we have contributed a great deal to this country and especially to those states. When I first went to Silicon Valley, San Francisco, it was only about four months ago, and I looked around and I said there are some extraordinary women there. I don't necessarily have to do that to honor women in New York. I want to honor these women in California. So I singled out 12 extraordinary women. If you read the brochure, you can see some of the most extraordinary women are in that group. And then I did a charity to honor them. I had friends from all over the world who came, from Dubai, from Monte Carlo, from Hong Kong. They all flew in from everywhere, particularly inside this country. People from Delaware, from Virginia, from D.C., from New York, from Minneapolis, from everywhere. So I was really, really, really delighted to see this extraordinary response. So for the event, four months ago, I didn't know anybody. To one night, we made $660,000. That is for China Institute, which is an institute that I have worked with under co-chair. And the China Institute is a very unique organization that for 97 years, China Institute has been, has been promoting Chinese culture in America. So I wanted to, and we are starting a new, amazing thing, a new, only in the first Chinese culinary center in America. I mean, I want to promote Chinese food. Who doesn't like good food, right? So I want to promote Chinese food and it is not political. It is a wonderful thing to do, right? And also, I find that, you know, the Chinese really don't know how to promote themselves if their lives depend on it. You know, look at this. You know, everybody thinks now ramen is Japanese, right? But it's not. It's from China. Everybody, I mean, I love ramen. And everybody thinks that kimchi is Korean. It's not. It's from China. It's Paltai. You know, even the way the Chinese put the Paltai into the earth, you know, with the urns and all that, it all came from China. It's wonderful that, you know, that we can eat all that food. But I wanted China to have its own place in the culinary world. And I wanted to make sure that ordinary people like myself, I can take classes there. And really professional people can take classes there as well. And also, we can have pop-up restaurants. We can have visiting shops. And I think it's going to be a fantastic thing. So I wanted to raise the money for making it possible. Well, Yusai, that is such an amazing event that you did. And Yusai, I mean, you know you're making a huge impact when you have your own stamps, because the Chinese featured you on their government-issued stamps. And how did that make you feel when you're featured on their stamps? Well, I was worried that nobody would buy. So I bought 300 of them. Because then I sent a postcard to all my friends. And I went to the post office and they stamped it and everything else, you know. So it was really, my friends find that it was so fun. It was such a cool thing. You know, in America, if you're on a stamp, that means you have been dead, you know, or you're dead because they don't put it, put live people on the stamp. Of course, you know, how do I feel? Very flattered, of course. In fact, the Chinese government did not just do one stamp. They did two stamps. This is only one version of it. And when I have this hairdo, I cut my hair, you know, like they said, ah, you have that. Okay. So that's what they did. They came back to me and said, you see, since you cut your hair, we want to do another stamp. I said, okay. Of course, how can you feel any other way except to feel very flattered by the whole thing, right? Well, you see, that's when you know that you achieved greatness and that you are a global icon. And I want to ask you about you being the national director for Miss Universe China. Can you tell me about that? Yeah, I bought the, I bought the, you know, because I deal with beauty. Am I right? I'm in cosmetics. And I say that people that are born beautiful, people that are born beautiful, are fortunate. They didn't do anything about it. They didn't put any energy into it. They're born beautiful. God has given them a gift. They didn't make it that way. They didn't, you understand what I'm saying? So I told those girls, I said, you guys are very fortunate. God gave you a gift. So what you do is you should use this gift and do something good about it. So my Miss Universe pageant really was not purely a beauty pageant. My Miss Universe pageant, the final of this pageant was really a charity event. We will have almost 500 to 1,000 people to our final event. I invite some of the most important people to come as my guests, as my judges. I have parents Hilton one year. I have some very, you know, very important people who came as my guests and to be judges. So the event, we raise approximately every year about $1.5 million in China and I give it to the organization that's the cleft pallets. For the kids, they will have cleft pallets. You know, a lot of little kids who had cleft pallets did not have the opportunity to do the operation. Because the cleft pallet, the mouth was in such a form that they couldn't even suck on milk. So they died, you know, when they were born. So we helped a lot of kids to have a normal life with this particular charity event. So beauty should be used for good things, right? So I try to infuse that into young women, particularly the young women that are so beautiful that ran for Miss China. That was the whole purpose of it. You are somebody that inspire me and you definitely have achieved and you sustain that superior culture of excellence and I really want to thank you for taking time to be on the show today. Yeah, but I want to tell you what my next two years are going to be like. Yeah. These two years is going to be really hard because I want, you know, because of the fact that I'm looking at the world, this is a very fragmented world. And there's a lot of untruth in the press, correct? There are a lot of things that are so screwed up and I'm looking, I'm Chinese, I'm looking at the US-China relations. It is such a screwed up relationship and I'm not a political person but I know China a little bit better than most people and I say to myself, this press report that I just read has no relation to reality of it. You know, why am I reading? Why do people or journalists have such ideas about China? You know, that I just don't understand where they came from. It's so negative. In reality, it's not so negative in China. People are living a so much better life since the first day I arrived in China. All the buildings I saw in China were tiny little low buildings and people were really poor. My good friend, my friends were making $53 a year. You know, I mean, people weren't just blue and green. It was a colorless country and today it is completely different. Instead of learning how they actually did it, now we are really scared of them. But don't you think it's time for somebody to tell them, hey, let me show you what China is really like. So I have decided that I'm going to go to China. I'm going to pick out 10 cities. Cities are very interesting in China. The cities I like people rusty. If people do a documentary about you, there's the past, there's a present, there's a future of rusty. Am I right? So it's exciting. You all have emotions. You have ups and downs. You know, the same thing as cities. I want to feature them. I want you to meet some of the most interesting people in those cities. I want you to try some of the greatest food in that city. I want you to know some of its past, present and future. What are the young people like today? Are we really correct in the way we look at China? You know, is Wuhan truly just a city of COVID? You know, Wuhan is one of the most exciting cities in China. You know, Wuhan is the hub of transportation in the middle of China that goes all the way to Europe. I mean, it's one of the most exciting places that you can visit. So I wanted to do that. And because the last four years, very few people were able to come into China. So more and more unbelievable things I have read is about that China that I did not know about. I read them every day in the press. So I said, you know, maybe it's time for me to do something that I did so many years ago. I did one world and changed the perception of the entire country about the world outside. I presented them 16 countries so that the sight and sound of what they saw of those countries were the first time they ever saw. So I have a feeling that if I do this job correctly, rusty, that these people would say to themselves, wow, I didn't know about that. Well, this is the first time I ever knew that China was like this. The China that I know a bit of, right? So it will be something meaningful. I am not a politician. I don't do politics. I am only talking about people to people. I want to talk about how people live today or what their aspirations are. What they went through in the last 40 very tremendous years, right? So I think that if I do it right, it would be an eye opener. I hope it will be meaningful for my life. I mean, at this time of my life, do I really need to do it? I must tell you no, I don't, because I know how hard it's going to be. But I will tell you that I will try my very best to do the best I can for creating understanding between people. You are what you're doing, rusty, is creating understanding between people. What are you doing? You are using the media to do this amazing job. So people can learn to be better. People can open their eyes to something new or people that are new to them or ideas that are new to them. That's what this is the ultimate, in my opinion, is the ultimate reason for media, for me, not just entertaining. Media is fine. Wonderful. The most important thing will be to be an instrument of peace. So if we could do that, then don't you think that we will leave this world a better world than what we came in for? Yusai, I completely agree with you and I have all the confidence in the world that you're going to succeed in that and I really want to thank you for joining me on the show today. My pleasure, my pleasure, my pleasure. So you will meet me in China, okay, next time. I will, I will. Thank you, Yusai. You're so welcome. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com and my books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I hope that Yusai and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha.