I Left Home to Join Shen Yun… This Is Me 17 Years Later

I left LA when I was 14 to chase my dreams in New York. 17 years later, I'm coming back for the premiere of Unbroken. For the first time, my dad gets to see my journey on the big screen and we'll hear what he really thinks about the path I chose. It's almost Father's Day, so I thought it'd be perfect if I get my dad a gift from here. They have a huge selection of things that are Xinyin Collection, Xinyin Dancer. If I have my eye on one thing, I thought it'd be perfect to get him a tie. This tie caught my eye. It's purple. It's a nice color. This tie is called the Devotion Tie. It's about a Tang Dynasty story of a general called Xue Rengui who went to battle for 18 years and he just married his wife. It shows his devotion to his country and also his wife's devotion to him. We're not married. He's just my dad. But I have been away from home for a very long time, so I thought it'd be perfect to get him this tie and see him wear it. I got the tie. Now time for my second present, which is a little harder to get. I surprised Peter in his classroom. And you know how last time we made a video for the premiere of... Hey, Peter. I don't remember. We made a video and my mission was to bring a coin to you. Yes. So unfortunately, this time you're not going to the premiere in LA, right? But I have another mission this time. You see this? This is you. I'm gonna bring this and I'm gonna give it to my dad as an early Father's Day present. That's awesome. Yeah, and I need you to sign it for me. Is that okay? Yes, of course. It's an honor, brother. Oh, dude, you're awesome here. Whoa, yes. It was hard to get, but it's very cool. Can you do the honor of signing this? Of course. Like this is you, so you have to sign like here or something. Like right next to your face. I'm so honored to have... I'm honored. Your dad is a really good person. Cool guy. You just started my mission. Now I need to get everybody else's signature. Jiayou for the shows in Toronto. Thank you. Bye-bye. See you. In the airport right now, saw this lost neck pillow on the floor. Realized I forgot my own neck pillow. I always forget something on these trips. I didn't forget this. They stopped me at security for this because they thought this was a weapon. I'm just walking around like a crazy person with a stick in his bag. Make some noise. We got Bodie, freestyle world champion. Come on, everybody. Everybody scream. Big round of applause for yourselves, for everybody out here. Hey, what's up, guys? I'm a professional soccer player, actually. I'm doing tricks with a ball, and it's very simple. I'm from the Netherlands. I'm a dancer. Do you mind if we do something and I record it? Freaking do it, brother. Go. Okay. Awesome. Let's do it, bro. Turn the camera down. Let's go. Thank you. Okay, this is good. Getting some exercise in before my long flight. But before we go to LA, I want to talk about the sponsor of this video, Gen X. 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He said that after getting through two-thirds of the jar, he felt a huge energy boost, which is kind of what I felt. That's why I want to give this jar to my dad because he is older, and he also has high blood sugar, which is something that this helps with too. So I really want to give him this because I felt the benefits, and I think he's going to really like this. You have to know that this is just a supplement. It does not replace medicine, and everyone's results vary because everyone is different. But I can tell you that this has been certified by Health Canada, and it was made under strict government oversight. So this thing is definitely really legit. Usually one jar is $300, but right now you can get two jars for $306. And if you use our coupon code 3M15, you get another 15% off. So if you want to check it out, click the QR code or the link below. And now it's time to go back to LA. Made it to California. All right, he doesn't know I'm here yet. Hey! While driving home, I realized how grateful I was to be back. Growing up, my dad and I weren't actually that close. Funny enough, it was only after I moved away that we got closer. Asian families don't really say things out loud, but this trip meant a lot to both of us. This is my old bedroom. Feels tiny. This is the bed that I used when I was a kid. Let's see if I actually still fit on it. Okay, let's see. My parents were asking about this. Like, what is that? Is that for filming? I'm like, yeah, yeah, it's for filming. So I guess they think it's a tripod or something, but hopefully they won't know what it is until I end up giving it to my dad. I'm gonna go to sleep now on this bed that is obviously too small for me. But I'll see you guys tomorrow. The next day, I went to one of the spots my dad used to take me growing up. The food was just how I remember it. Big portions, authentic taste, and a broth that just warmed my soul. And while we're there, I figured it was the perfect time to give him his present. Happy Father's Day. Thank you, my son. Happy Hawaii Father's Day. What is it? Oh, beautiful mingde! Okay, now... It's called Devotion. It's a story about Xue Rengui and Wang Baochuan. Okay, my... Thank you, thank you. Hello, sir. Sir, can I have a quick interview with you? Hello, yes. William Lee. Can you tell us what we're doing? Right now, we're at the theater where the red carpet event is being held for Unbroken. My first time going to a red carpet event, so very exciting. But we're gonna look for Theater 4, which is the theater where we will see our movie tonight. Let's go look for it. Let's go, let's check it out. That guy in purple, I think I know him. Why is his expression so funny? I was just about to say that. I think he's trying to give some ganjue. Oh, really? That's a little weird to me. It's always next time. So right now, outside of the AMC Theater, we have our Shen Yun Unbroken movie. Let's go! This is it. Go on the red carpet. On the red carpet. Can we go on it? Why is it important this movie is being made? When all of the audience comes to see Shen Yun, they're seeing us on stage and we look so graceful. But there's a whole side to it, which is all the training and hard work that goes into it. So this movie shows a little bit behind the scenes of why a lot of us at Shen Yun do what we do. We also are facing the stress by the CCP. Why are the CCP trying to stop our performance? You can find out if you watch the movie. Wow, I'm hyped now. Let's go. Thanks for that. Yeah, let's go. I have a secret mission this time. Can you guess what it is? This looks like a movie poster. Basically, I want to frame this and give it to my dad. I feel like this is like a treasure map. Nice. Thank you. Just been like bringing this everywhere. Yeah, I've actually literally been bringing it everywhere. They had an equally large poster with you on it. I was about to choose that one. My pose is so ugly. No, but honestly, you look good with the pose. Is it okay? For Sam's dad. Nice. One brother down, one more to go. One more to go. The other one's doing makeup. Was it awkward for you to watch yourself on the big screen for the first time? I think it's a little more cringy for me. I can't listen to my own voice or like watch myself, videos of me doing anything or else I kind of cringe. I've watched the film three times now. It's a little better now. Everybody's reactions have been so positive. And so that's kind of helped my own self-esteem in a way. Jesse, thank you so much for signing. I got the man himself, Steve Lance. Wow. What is the biggest thing that like shocked you while making this movie? I thought I understood the topic pretty well, but it really sort of exposed how much I don't know. Just sort of how pervasive and how much of a threat the Chinese Communist Party is and how invasive. It's like a cancer that it is on our own homeland. A Chinese police station in New York City. This is people from China, the CCP, running police stations in our country, in New York City. In Los Angeles, the mayor of Arcadia, indicted, I think she may have pled guilty to being tied and acting as a spy for the Chinese Communist Party. It's crazy. Thanks for doing this interview with us. It's been fun. Thanks so much. Cool. Right now, I need to find Lishai. Have you guys seen Lishai up there? Are you in there? Are you tired from yesterday's bike ride? No. That's the furthest you've ever gone, to ice cream and back. That's impressive. Good job. Okay. The poster is higher quality than my Chinese writing. I know part of the movie was these threats on family. Just let me know a little bit about how you deal with it. So my daughters, they're still young. They're not in Shenyuan. They're at home. Think about the threats that we get and they seem to be targeting the performers, right? But they're also targeting our families. That scene's in the movie and kind of got choked up talking about it. It's particularly hard for me to read because I have two young daughters at home. What keeps you going, Lishai? You haven't quit yet. When it gets really rough, I think about the people in China and what they're going through. And I think about the hope of maybe bringing the show to them sometime. That those people in prison right now, for standing up for what they believe in, one day might be in the audience with us on stage in China. That keeps me going. And when that fails, coffee. Coffee, okay. Yeah, me too. Good luck on the red carpet. Thanks. How are you feeling? First red carpet event? Honestly, right now, nothing. I'm not like nervous. Nervous, you're nervous. I'm nervous. I'm like 50% nervous. It's a good balance. You have a good balance. Mr. Rowdy, I know you're super nervous right now. I can tell from your face. Well, the main question I have is, am I allowed to eat that? Do I have to wait? I think you would have to wait till after the red carpet event. Yeah, yeah. Always a little bit nervous for this, but you know, that's good. Good kind of nerves. Well, you look good, so. Thank you, sir. Took a lot of effort. Dad, are you ready to watch the movie? I'm good. Let's go. Yeah, yeah, that's good. Good response. Got your tickets? Nice. Wow, that was really good. Right now, I'm outside Newport. Edward's Newport Cinemas. Last night, I was supposed to get all the signatures. It was so hectic that I missed it. So I'm trying to make up for it right now. But first, we got to explore this theater. It's pretty cool. I have the man himself, Levi Rowdy here, signing my poster. And this is a very nice father figure. Thank you, Levi. I watched the movie a couple times, and the part that makes me the most emotional is where you got the threats to your life. What keeps you going? The truth is, it's my faith. And specifically, it's studying the scriptures of my faith. Sounds sort of cliche, but I mean that in the most tangible terms. After a session of sort of our version of Bible study, I am not only super clear in my head, I know exactly what I need to do. And I'm filled with energy. And so that's the thing I turn to the most. Then there's also the support you get in the collaborative way. I mean, sometimes I'd be sort of worrying this and that and this about the boys. And then I sit down, I see him, we have lunch and stuff. I'm like, this is in my head. They're doing fine. And even if they're not doing fine, they'll get through it. Being with my family, being with the people on the front lines of the China human rights issues, that's a constant pick-me-up. With those two things, I've been able to get through everything, if that makes sense. That's actually really inspirational. Anyways, Levi, thank you for... Can't wait to watch the film again. Can I just sign anywhere I want? Anywhere you want. Nice. Very cool signature. It looks like it's a car going really fast. I have a really quick question to ask you. After you and your brother started dancing together, do you guys fight more or less? I'd say definitely less. Less? Yeah. Definitely more younger. We're always trying to prove who's right, who's wrong. Once you enter a group environment, everyone has to work together. We kind of depend on each other. We kind of need each other to survive, not just try to be better than the other person. That's it. That was the question. That's it. Okay. Thank you for signing. All right. No problem, bro. My honor. You should sign too. I don't mean to record you signing. Okay. So instead of signing, I'm just going to write, Happy Father's Day, Dad. Frame it up. I will. I have a crazy frame. The funny thing is it arrived at the house and it's like huge. And he's like, what's this? I'm like, uh, I don't know. All right. Thanks. No problem, man. We just finished the panel. I think it was really successful. And we're done for the LA. Come here. Good panel experience. Good job, Sam. I watched the film four times now. I really encourage you guys to watch it. It's going to be on some streaming platforms now. Apple TV, Amazon, Prime, Gaijin World. We'll link it below. Are we going to go fiesta now? Yeah, get some food. I really can't believe I made this happen. All the way from New York. Wow. With all the signatures and the most important part, Happy Father's Day. Just arrived at the airport. Gonna show Dad his present now. He doesn't know. This is your Father's Day gift. Happy Father's Day. Nice. Do you like it? Yeah, I like it. Oh, thank you, everybody. Thank you. This whole trip felt like a dream. Half the time, I couldn't even believe it was actually happening. I just felt this overwhelming sense of gratitude for my parents, for all the support they've given me, and finally, for Shen Yun. None of this would have been possible without Shen Yun. So I just want to say thank you, Shen Yun, for everything.