Firelight Chats Ep050 | Life In Taiwan: Taylor Made w/Taylor Chen

Firelight Chats

In this episode of Firelight Chats, Taylor Chen lit her way to the Spacelab to chat by the fireside with Kane & Mocha about sports, professional broadcasting, work culture, and a new reality show concept for Taiwan. Taylor shares stories about calling Dwight Howard's debut game in Taiwan, being joined by Superman on a playoff broadcast, chicken ass & 7-foot giants, commentating on a bench-clearing brawl, the professional agent life, coordinating transportation logistics for the WBC, the difficulties of translating & interpreting, experiencing burnout, dropping old references, Selling Sunset, what it means to be LIT, and her love of painting sunset-tinged, chrome-laced classic cars, juxtaposed against an equally nostalgic Taiwanese landmark.

Taylor also bravely talks about issues that might be considered taboo or sensitive in Taiwan, including toxic work environments, being overworked and under-compensated, lack of training & leadership/mentorship, corporate management & oversight issues, gender inequality, old thinking & resistance to change, cheerleaders & WAGS, and the pipeline that feeds foreign players into both the college and professional basketball leagues in Taiwan. Taylor also ponders her future in Taiwan or the Bay Area, her ideal man, and her hopes for the future of Taiwan and Taiwanese basketball.

Taylor Chen worked at the largest sports marketing company in Taiwan as a professional sports agent and events coordinator. She is the English language broadcaster/announcer for the T1, one of Taiwan's two men's professional basketball leagues. Taylor is the sister of Ryan Chen, the English language broadcaster for the other league, the P.League+. Both born in Northern California, the two currently live and work under the same roof in Taipei.