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Check out this article on Serica’s new Substack, Between the Threads!
By: Julia Cai
It’s a big year for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) creators.
As social media, especially short-form video, continues to eclipse traditional media formats in popularity, the AAPI pioneers and creatives who helped shape these digital platforms are finally receiving their long-overdue recognition.
Earlier this year, the Serica Initiative honored Steve Chen, co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer of YouTube at our 2026 Trailblazers Gala.
Recognition has continued across the community. Neal Mohan, YouTube’s current Chief Executive Officer, was honored at the 2026 TAAF Heritage Month Summit; Steve Chen also features as the first guest of TAAF’s The United States of Asian+America, a new digital series produced in partnership with Wong Fu Productions, “that tells the untold stories of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) firsts, inventors, and industry pioneers behind America’s biggest industries and cultural shifts.”
While trailblazers like Chen are being celebrated for their role in building the platforms that enabled a new world of AAPI representation, a new generation of AAPI creators continues to redefine what that representation looks like across a growing digital landscape.
Among them is Shan Rizwan, a musician and the creator behind Shan on the Street, a street interview series that has amassed over 3.5 million followers across multiple platforms. Through conversations with strangers on the street, Rizwan captures a buzzy pulse of music, culture, and everyday life.
We recently spoke with Rizwan about his journey into content creation, his evolving music career, and what it means to be an AAPI creator today.
In 2018, after finishing his freshman year at Boston College, Rizwan decided to start a YouTube channel.
“Honestly, I grew up without childhood cartoons, or cable, or anything …but we did have this family computer,” Rizwan said. “And we had the Internet, and we had YouTube. Because I had nothing else to watch, I started watching YouTube videos.”
From the platform’s earliest years, Asian creators dominated YouTube. Ryan Higa was the first person to reach 3 million subscribers on YouTube and held the title of the platform’s most subscribed creator from 2009 to 2011. Beauty creator Michelle Phan, filmmakers Wong Fu Productions, and fitness entrepreneur Cassey Ho (Blogilates), were among the many Asian American YouTubers who garnered immense popularity and influence across genres, challenging the limited portrayals of Asian Americans that had long dominated traditional media.
“This is like early YouTube — like 2007, 2008. Before it was cool to be an influencer or YouTube,” Rizwan said, laughing. “I grew up watching Wong Fu [Productions], Smosh … Ryan Higa, that was one of the first times where I saw someone Asian in media that wasn’t the few everyone talked about. It was a new voice, and he just felt like a real person.”
“I felt like a lot of the stuff I saw was built in stereotypes, and what people thought Asian people were like — but he was just him.”
Rizwan uploaded his first YouTube video on July 4, 2018. A year and a half later, he reached 1,000 subscribers. Soon after, he turned his attention to another rapidly growing video platform: TikTok.
“At that time, I was doing a lot of ‘micro-things’ to push myself out of my comfort zone,” Rizwan said, recalling his motivations to begin creating videos on TikTok. “I thought it would be good to push myself to talk to strangers … to make a video talking to strangers, interviewing people. And lucky or unlucky for me, the first video went viral.”
Since then, Rizwan’s street interview series has explored everything from college life and New York City rent to viral cultural moments. But music quickly became the thread connecting many of his most memorable conversations.
“For $100, can you name three songs from your favorite artist?” has become one of his signature questions, posted to everyone from everyday passerby to fellow creators, musicians, K-pop artists, and celebrities.
“I’ve asked a bunch of different things, but music was the one that felt the most interesting and organic to me,” Rizwan said. “I’ve been into music my whole life. Growing up, we had karaoke, just like every other Filipino, at the family functions … we’d sing around the house. Me and my mom, on the way to school, we’d listen to the radio and sing every morning.”
Over time, he realized that there was something special about music that emerged from his conversations on the street.
“I think people really light up when you ask them about what music they’re listening to. I think music is an extension of yourself, and how you want to be perceived,” Rizwan observed. “Having those conversations, it’s an interesting way of learning about someone.”
One of those conversations took him halfway across the world.
“I interviewed a complete stranger in Seattle … I asked him who he’s listening to, and he said he was listening to this band called The HU, which is a throat-singing Mongolian band,” Rizwan said. “The video went super viral, even The HU saw the video … and then I was thinking, we should have this guy meet his favorite band.”
Four months later, Rizwan found a one-week window when both the fan he interviewed, Vecksle Drake, and The HU would be in Mongolia. He traveled there to surprise Drake with the opportunity to meet his favorite band in person.
“I didn’t realize the impact that the band had on his life, and it was super cool to do that for him,” Rizwan said. “He shared a whole story about his connection to the band. It was a really cool experience.”
Rizwan’s work has also brought him to some of the biggest stages celebrating Asian American excellence. Most recently, he served as a red-carpet reporter at the 2026 TAAF Heritage Month Summit, and he previously interviewed guests at the 2025 Gold Gala.
What was it like to go from watching AAPI trailblazers to interviewing them — to be the one holding the mic and literally amplifying their voices?
“It’s a dream come true,” Rizwan smiled. “I grew up watching a lot of these people, so to be able to be in the same room, the same tables, same spaces and talk to them as peers is such a crazy feeling. I still feel like I’m dreaming."
While Rizwan continues to grow Shan on the Street, he’s also pursuing another lifelong dream: making music.
“The best part of this job — the freedom, for sure. Being able to just choose whatever I want to do every single day. There’s no limit to what I can do,” Rizwan said. “I’ve always wanted to be a musician … and last year I thought, I want to make music. I want to make music videos. I had an idea, and some friends, and I was just able to do it.”
He released his debut single, “Waiting” in September 2025, followed by “Late Night Out” later that year and “Leaving so Soon” in 2026. His new single, “Open the Door,” was just released last week. He describes his sound as “pop, R&B, melodic … something that moves you.”
Being an artist has also shaped the way he approaches his interviews on the other side of the mic.
“It’s given me an appreciation and more insight into what it’s like being an artist … when I interview an artist, I hear about their creative process, I understand it more. And we can connect more.”
What’s next for Rizwan: both Shan the musician, and Shan of Shan on the Street?
“I’m hoping to continue making content, push the envelope, and grow as a creator,” Rizwan replied. “I’m continuing to put out music … it’s been a super fun, rewarding process, and I’m just getting started.”
We’re thrilled to be welcoming Rizwan to our terrific cohort of Serica Storytellers: artists, authors, filmmakers, creators, and cultural leaders whose work illuminate the breadth and depth of the Asian and American experience — and who continue to give back and shape the collective legacy of Asian American stories and experiences. We’re asking each of our Storytellers a one final question:
How do you give back, as part of your legacy?
Rizwan: I think it’s through working with organizations, like Serica, Gold House, and TAAF on events, and using my platforms to support AAPI artists, and putting out positive content and using my voice to stand up for things that are important to me.
Thank you to Shan for joining us for an exclusive interview! His latest single, "Open the Door," is out now. Be sure to follow him on social media to catch more Shan on the Street, and stay tuned for even more new music!
TikTok: @shanonthestreet and @shanrizwan
Instagram: @shanonthestreet and @shanrizwan
Youtube: @shanonthestreet and @shanrizwan
