The place we call home

Life Inspired, Asia’s first TV channel dedicated to lifestyle, is taking viewers on a fascinating journey through six cities with its latest show “Lifestyle Advocates”.
Featuring the movers and shakers of each urban centre, the show trails creative consultant and radio DJ Tracy Phillips from Singapore; TV host and celebrity photographer, Sean Lee Davies from Hong Kong; celebrity photographer, Shing-I Chen from Taiwan; actor and model, Mike Lewis from Indonesia; entrepreneur and royal go-getter, Tengku Chanela Jamidah for Malaysia; and Thai-Americanactor and TV host Uttsada Panichkul from Thailand as they explain what makes their home city tick.
“The programme presents the lifestyle of advocates for the creative circle and their attitudes towards the changes in Bangkok and Thailand over the last 10 years and in the future. Each programme will introduce six guests from different creative professions. The producer wants the programme to reflect insiders’ thoughts about their own country through their profession so we will be looking at some aspects in depth. Some of my guests asked me why some questions were so hard to answer. But it has to be like that because the show is being aired outside the country,” Uttsada says.
“That’s not to say it’s a serious programme. The questions deal with their views on the differences in lifestyle of our country and those in our neighbouring countries. They also examine the development and decline of their profession, the perspectives of tourists and the DNA of Thailand.”
Uttsada has enjoyed a fruitful career in show business. He worked as a VJ for MTV Asia for 13 years, making him one of Asia’s longest running hosts and cementing his star status. He was a permanent judge of MTV VJ Hunt for MTV Vietnam and also served as a regular guest judge on “Supermodel Me”.
Guests appearing on the 30-minute episode dedicated to Thailand are Akarat “Oak” Vanarat, managing director of high-end furniture showroom Motif, Thai-American model and actress Sirinya “Cindy” Bishop, Chinese-Swedish model Ase Wang, professional photographer Kanachai “Kit” Bencharongkul, VJ and actress Jansuda Parnto, and model turned yoga teacher Areeya “Pop” Chumsai.
“I take the lead and conclude with a summary of my guests’ views on the similarities and the differences between the cities and also offer my personal view. My guests are all shakers and movers in their own right and so their views will be instructive to those watching the series in other countries.
“For example, we visit Kanachai’s father’s personal museum of contemporary art and talk about the story of the museum and the way he works. Areeya, who was crowned Miss Thailand in 1994, and has been a journalist, model and film producer during her career, is now a yoga teacher and we visit her at her house. We will talk about her health, travel and dining,” Uttsada continues.
“The show will be in English, which is unusual for Thailand. Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore all have regular English-language TV programming but we don’t, so this is a first,” says Uttsada.
“I think the show will help people from other countries to see and know more about Thailand. I lived in Singapore for a long time and became used to watching content from neighbouring countries. Those programmes helped me understand a lot about different cultures. Yet in all my time there, I never saw a single show from Thailand. By presenting this English programme, people from other countries will get to know Thailand better.
“Most Asian people have a positive view of our country and like the Thai people. But some of them are put off travelling here because of the political situation. People who travel to Singapore get the impression the Singaporeans are permanently stressed, which is true because their lives are centred on competition and the success,” he continues.
“After coming back to Thailand, I found that television here mostly focuses on entertainment news and is far too much about the private lives of celebrities. We need a wider vision. Singaporeans are much more aware of what is going on in the world than Thais. They know about the terrorist attacks, current events. Young Thais need this kind of balance in their viewing. World events are important. But more importantly, I want the government to focus on improving English language levels in this country. We are now in the Asean Economic Community but our level of English is much lower than that of our neighbours. And we also need to start developing Chinese language capabilities so that upcoming generations have the opportunities they deserve.”
“Lifestyle Advocates” kicks off on September 18 in Hong Kong and moves to Singapore on September 25. It’s in Taiwan on October 2, in Indonesia on October 9 in Indonesia, in Malaysia on October 16 and wraps in Thailand on October 23 in Thailand.

Tune in for inspiration
“Lifestyle Advocates” airs on TrueVisions’ Life Inspired HD Channel (148 and 341) every Sunday at 9.30pm.
Find out more at Facebook.com/litvchannel.