How I Turned My Identity Crisis into a Superpower Called 'Edutainer'
What word would YOU invent to capture all your colors? Mine: 'Technicolor Edutainer'.
The 3 AM Identity Crisis
3 AM. Hotel room in Singapore. I am staring at 5 versions of my bio, paralyzed by a question:
Which Henry should I be at tomorrow's conference?
The empowering coach Henry? The LGBTQ+ advocate Henry? The immigrant success story Henry? The tech innovator Henry? The inspiring storyteller Henry?
✓ Professional but not "too much"
✓ Authentic but not "too vulnerable"
✓ Successful but still "relatable"
✓ Different but not "too different"
✓ Real but still "polished"
I realized I'd turned my entire existence into a multiple-choice test where every answer felt wrong.
Birth of an 'Edutainer'
Then I remembered why I embraced the word "Edutainer" in the first place.
Back in 2022, I was filling out a speaker form at a tech conference. The dropdown menu demanded I pick one main word (here are some options)
Coach
Educator
Speaker
Facilitator
My cursor hovered. Clicked. Unclicked. None of them fit.
Coach or Facilitator alone felt a bit limiting as my whole identity.
Educator alone felt too formal and doesn’t show my creative side as “entertainer”, even though, yes, I have been an educator for many years.
Speaker alone felt too one-directional - like connection wasn't a core part of the equation.
I thought about my sessions and the events I host. How I'd make executives laugh while teaching feedback frameworks. How I'd use improv games to unlock leadership insights. How vulnerability and joy were just as important as ROI.
6 years ago, I started to work on training my voice. I learned to sing. I appeared on reality TV shows in Asia. I am learning acting and storytelling. I am as much an “entertainer” as an “educator”.
That night, after much deliberation, I confidently chose "Other", and typed a new word into my bio:
Edutainer.
Education + Entertainment + Transformation.
Boom!
Because I refused to choose between being informative OR engaging. Between being professional OR playful. Between being credible OR creative.
The Pride Summit Breakthrough
Last week at Pride Summit 2025, something broke inside me. In the best way.
Standing in front of 100+ leaders and change-makers, I looked out at the perfectly pressed clothes and power poses. And suddenly, I saw myself reflected in every face.
"What if I show up fully as me, Henry, the coach, host, and ‘edutainer’?”
I heard a whisper in my head moments before I stepped on stage.
I told them a panelist about the 3 AM bio crisis. I shared with the audience about embracing my colorful identity as "Edutainer" because existing labels felt like cages. About being too “out there” for some rooms, not “open” enough for others. About being the third culture kid for much of my life, thriving in the space between.
The energy in the room shifted. You know that feeling when truth enters a space? People breathed a sigh of relief and started to lean in.
A venture capitalist who'd been scrolling through emails looked up.
Someone whispered "fuck" just loud enough to hear. Not in anger. But in acknowledgement.
That's when I knew: We all wanted to be free. Of labels, judgment, and boxes.
When "-" and "&" Become Your Superpower
Here's what I’ve learned: When you can't find a box that fits, build your own to stand in.
"Edutainer" wasn't just a creative solution to a dropdown menu. It was the permission to be all of me, for me, for the world.
And that permission? It's a Superpower I’ve learned to step into.
The parts of ourselves we hide are often our greatest assets.
20 years ago, I left Vietnam as a teenager searching for acceptance. Last week, I returned as the MC of Pride Summit 2025: "Creating Cultures of Belonging."
That searching teenager 20 years ago went on to live in 5 countries before turning 23. Being multi-cultural, LGBTQ+, and "different" taught me:
💡 How to read rooms across cultures
💡 How to create safety for others
💡 How to lead with radical empathy
The Three Contexts of Authenticity
Hosting salons and retreats for global leaders and entrepreneurs at 10 Nexus Global, I've noticed we face the same question everywhere:
How much of myself is safe to reveal?
At Work: We fear being "too much" → But teams with psychologically safe leaders are 3x more likely to exceed targets
At Home: We fear disappointing those we love → But vulnerability creates the deepest connections
In Public: We fear judgment from strangers → But our 'mess' becomes our most human message, and our wound becomes our strength, and wisdom
Your Challenge This Week
I invite you to try one of these 2 challenges this week.
See how it feels. You can invite others to join you, too.
The "And" Challenge
Replace every "but" with "and" when describing yourself this week.
"I'm professional AND playful"
"I'm analytical AND creative"
"I'm introverted AND love performing"
Notice how this simple word change expands rather than limits who you can be.
The Full Spectrum Introduction
Next time someone asks, "What do you do?", share three seemingly unrelated aspects of yourself. "I teach leadership through improv, advocate for LGBTQ+ visibility, and create spaces for authentic connection." Watch their curiosity spark, and a connection form.
Power in our “-” and “&”
Because here's the truth I've learned from Vietnam to Silicon Valley and back:
We don't connect with perfect. We connect with real. We love kaleidoscopes.
And when we give ourselves the permission to be ALL of our colors - to create new words when old ones don't fit, to be multi-hyphenate miracles instead of single-story stereotypes, to show up as our full spectrum selves instead of beige-washed versions - we give everyone around us permission to shine in technicolor too.
And what a beautiful world that would be!
Your immigrant story AND your CEO title. Your queerness AND your expertise. Your mother tongue AND your adopted language. Your traditional roots AND your revolutionary dreams.
Every hyphen in your identity is a bridge for connection and empowerment, not a divide. Every culture you carry is a superpower, not a burden. Every "too much" you've been told to tone down is exactly what the world needs turned up.
The most magnetic people we know aren't those who fit perfectly into one box - they're the ones who dare to be real and colorful. Who choose to embrace multiple facets. Who understand that our contradictions aren't flaws to fix, but dimensions that make us complete, much more interesting, and well, powerfully human.
And that’s how the most enriching connections happen. Not by fitting in, but by showing up in full color. Not by choosing one identity, but by celebrating all our hyphens. Not by dimming our light, but by turning up every frequency we broadcast on.
The world doesn't need another perfectly packaged professional. It needs your specific blend of contradictions, cultures, and creative collisions. It needs your 'AND' energy.
So here's my invitation: Stop auditioning for a role that requires you to be less. Start living a life that celebrates all of you.
What colors have you been hiding? What hyphens and ampersands make you who you are? What new word would you invent to capture your kaleidoscope?
Your fellow bridge-builder, and “technicolor edutainer”,
Henry
P.S. Ready to stop choosing between your colors? At 10 Nexus Global, we're gathering leaders, builders, and creators who embrace their full spectrum. Come level up with people who get it.
Apply to the upcoming cohort of my Speak & Empower: Master Public Speaking and Story-telling for Authentic Leadership program.
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