Success 101′s Karen Pang recently competed in the FAME West Fitness & Bodybuilding Competition, she placed first in both Fitness Model & Swimsuit Model categories!

The win in the Swimsuit Model category gained Karen her first Pro Card and now she’s getting ready for the FAME Nationals!

Congratulations Karen!!!

Following in the successful footsteps of Karen Pang and Andrea Grant, previously featured in the SUCCESS 101 project, this next sexy candidate has inspired many with her determination to pursue her dream of becoming a recording artist. Her courage in the face of overwhelming odds teaches us valuable lessons in human perseverance and finding success on your own terms. It’s with great pleasure that I introduce you all to Barron S.

Barron S

The Story

Barron S started singing in her friend’s kitchen; recording vocals through a cut up pair of panty hose into a $130 dollar microphone…it was a humbling beginning. Born and raised in small town Nova Scotia, Barron was always inspired by music, yet intimidated to consider herself a singer.

“I was born into a very musical family, my grandfather could play multiple instruments by ear, and my brother and sister were always strong singers; practically born harmonizing! Music didn’t come that naturally to me, and for years I thought it couldn’t really be taught, you either had it or you didn’t.”

So instead of competing with the natural talent that ran in her family she decided to express her passion for music by studying dance. Barron enrolled in an intensive training program at a local dance studio and soon found that anytime she wasn’t at school, she was in the dance studio. In September 2001 Barron moved across the country to Vancouver, British Columbia to attend Simon Fraser University’s acclaimed modern dance program.

“I wanted to dance in a company and SFU seemed to be breeding very strong and talented dancers. It especially interested me because their dance program was part of the university; therefore it was not only training the dancer’s body, but also training the mind. I remember one day in the studio after running this infuriating routine over and over again, one of my teachers stopped the group and singled me out she said ‘it’s easier if you work harder’. To this day her words still push me.”

As Barron was nearing graduation she became involved in a number of pre-professional dance groups and began looking into a variety of company options in both Canada and the U.S. She was well on her way when she became a victim in a high velocity impact car accident, in one life changing moment she suffered career ending injuries. The accident led her into a downward spiral of weight gain and depression which pulled her further and further from her performance career.

“I think there comes a time in everyone’s life when you hit a wall, a point where something that is so important to you just seems to go ‘splat’ all over the place. At this point lots of people turn around and go back the way they came, it took me a while to put myself back together after my car accident, but once I had, the first thing I wanted to do was to keep going towards my performance dream…and see what was so great that it had to be hidden behind that wall.”

Barron wasn’t physically able to dance professionally anymore, so she started to take voice lessons as an artistic outlet. Next to her siblings she had previously felt inadequate as a singer, but after being injured she took her athletic, dancers work ethic into voice lessons. She practiced and trained until one day she felt a light switch turn on inside her.

“Each class I got a disk from my voice teacher of our lessons. One day I went to practice at home and I heard a different girl on the c.d. I thought, by accident, that he had given me someone else’s disk. I stopped, listened carefully and then realized it was actually me…and I sounded good! It was then that I understood that you really can have anything you want if you are willing to work for it.”

Barron S has been writing and recording her own original material for the past two and a half years. Hip hop artists the Sketch Bros described her as “one of Vancouver’s hardest working artists. In one year Barron S has accomplished what most artists get done in four”. Her music has been described as a cross between Evanescence and Avril Lavigne, after 20 cups of coffee. Her music crosses genres, but her signature sound is dark dance rock fusion. Her album takes the listener on a ride as each song is truly unique from the next. Some tracks include metal-like instrumentation, some have funky hints of jazz, and others are very classic sounding acoustic guitar based.

“Barron S uses captivating lyrics and catchy melodies to attract a variety of audience members. She is truly a talent to be reckoned with”

– Comment taken from Barron S fan site

Her debut album ‘Startin’ from Scratch’ will be released summer 2007. Keep posted for Canadian tour dates on www.barron-s.com and watch for her upcoming music video “More Than You’re In For”.

Andrea and I have known each other for almost 10 years now. Yes, time sure flies. I met Andrea when I first started doing security for a night club called Wett Bar (just changed over from Mars at the time, now called Atlantis) here in Vancouver. Andrea ended up working at the bar for many years after I had left, brightening up everybody’s night at the coat check. I remember very clearly bumping into Andrea one night at a downtown 7-11 and she came in with stiletto heels and leather jumpsuit, her excuse was that she’s going to a photo shoot . . . sure I believe the last time I saw Andrea was when she was working cover at Loft Six, good thing I ducked out early that night as later there was a fatal shooting. Since then Andrea has moved to New York to pursue her brave dreams. She has flourished!

The foxy Andrea has always been busy multi-tasking with day/night jobs, modelling gigs and her true passion with poetry, specifically the spoken word. From her magazine, Copious, spawned her comic book alter ego: MINX. I am proud to introduce the lovely and seductive Andrea Grant in this installment of SUCCESS 101 on Leo Chiang DOT COM.

Andrea Grant is the creator of the striking new urban mythology comic book series ‘Andrea Grant’s MINX’ and the founder of Copious Amounts Press (www.copiousamounts.com) which has produced Copious Arts Magazine since 2001.

Copious Amounts Press released Issue #1 of the Coma Sleepers Hear It All storyline in February 2007 and sold out of its first print run within seven days. Refreshingly original, MINX merges Native American mythology with clever contemporary fantasy, taking elements from the popular super-hero genre and creatively combining it with aspects from more intellectually challenging, autobiographical types of graphic novels.

Utilizing her skills as an accomplished poet and writer, as well as performance artist playing the lead character of Minx, Grant brings elements to her comics work that are unique.

Industry legend Jim Saliscrup described her as ‘that rare individual that has the soul and vision of a great artist who is able to entertainingly express herself through mainstream media’ and this is evidenced by her ever-growing legions of fans.

Grant has had more than 150 articles, poems and photos published internationally in arts journals. She is known as ‘The Pin-Up Poet’ because of her background as a fashion model, most famously as a Camel Cigarettes girl. She has already been the subject of three national documentaries.

Thriving on the excitement of new creative projects and collaborations, Grant has several books slated for release this year including a collection of her poetry and photos as part of the ‘Pin-Up Poet’ series, a collaborative retelling of the Grimm Fairytales with acclaimed Seattle pop-artist Justin Hampton and the curation of a book of portraits of comic book icons shot by award-winning photographer Ken Thurlbeck.

Congratulations on your continued success Andrea, we’ve all come a long way baby Look for more of Andrea and Minx as she works on an 3-part animated series, set for a May 2007 release.

www.copiousamounts.com for all things MINX

Inspired by my previous post on the topic of Success, I was reading over one of my quotes, “Success . . . my motivation to succeed is no longer selfish. I think about what I can do to help my friends and family if I were in a position to do so. My success means helping others to achieve theirs“, and realized that I have not used this blog site to fulfill this commitment.Therefore, I introduce to you all my new project on Leo Chiang DOT COM: Success 101. Through this on-line forum I will be showcasing other talented people in the entertainment-related industry, hopefully they will get the break they are looking for. No matter how talented a person is they will not get the opportunity to shine if no ones sees them for what they are capable of.With no further ado, I’m proud to present Karen Pang. I first met Karen many years ago when we worked together in a nightclub, her a waitress and I a doorman. Through the magic of the internet we found each other just recently and were amazed at how much we’ve all changed . . . for the better!

Karen is now actively, and successfully, competing in fitness competitions and hopes to continue to succeed in this life-changing pursuit. As stated in her Myspace profile, “There’s not much to know about me. Just trying to explore the world and meet new friends along the way! I’ve started competing in Fitness competitions this year and LOVING IT!!! Never in a million years did any of my friends and family ever expected me to do such a thing. I like surprising people and you can always expect the unexpected with me. One word to describe myself is quirky. If you ever meet me, u’ll know why… I am currently looking for sponsors to support my fitness competitions. Please contact me if you are interested or know of any potential sponsors!”, quite the ball of energy in a little 5’2″ package!

Karen is currently working on her own website and I will update on Leo Chiang DOT COM when it’s up and running. Best of luck Karen, I’m proud of you. I know you’ll do great!

Smart, energetic AND stunning . . . come on boys, what else could you ask for in a woman