Episode Transcript
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KC Kahn (00:00):
I probably have never
called in sick.
I mean, I've been lucky enoughthat if I have been ill which
really honestly doesn't happenvery often at all I may have a
client in the morning and maybemidday and afternoon.
That somehow has worked in myfavor in those situations.
But no, I think you have to bedisciplined in order to make a
(00:21):
good living, to let people knowthat you are there for them.
Daniel Koo (00:26):
Welcome back to my
Perfect Path, a show about
chasing dreams and developingcareers.
I'm your host, Daniel Koo, andtoday we're joined by KC Kahn.
Her journey has taken her frommodeling and acting to becoming
a personal trainer and healthadvocate.
She's also the wife of ChrisKahn, a former guest on the show
.
KC has worn many hatsthroughout her life working on
(00:48):
TV shows, thriving in thefitness industry and even
pioneering a lifestyle conceptcalled the Chop Life, which
promotes healthy eating throughsimple, balanced meals.
As a personal trainer foralmost 30 years, she's helped
countless clients, some of whomshe's worked with for decades.
In this episode, KC shares howdiscipline has shaped her career
(01:12):
in life, how she transitionedfrom Hollywood to health, and
her passion for helping otherslive healthier, happier lives.
Whether you're interested infitness, personal growth or
finding your path, thisconversation is packed with
insights that will motivate andinspire you.
Hope you enjoy the episode.
KC Kahn, welcome to my PerfectPath.
I'm thrilled to have you here.
KC Kahn (01:33):
Thank you very much,
Daniel.
I'm happy to be here.
Daniel Koo (01:36):
So I want to ask you
I'm sure you have multiple
roles, so could you explain whatyou do currently, as of now?
KC Kahn (01:44):
Well, that's between
where I make my money, which is
I'm a personal trainer.
I train myself every day of theweek as well.
I have clients that I've hadfor almost 30 years.
Daniel Koo (01:55):
I still have them.
KC Kahn (01:56):
These are like personal
training clients.
Personal training clients, yes.
So I've been in the businessfor that and that transition
happened because the modelingand acting was not working as
well as I needed it to becauseof another transition that I was
going through.
So I needed to figure outsomething that I could do on a
regular basis and so I took acourse and I found that personal
(02:20):
training would be a good pathfor me and I've been doing it
ever since.
I mean, I was so lucky to havegotten a couple of clients right
off and I worked in a verysmall little gym and it was
basically word of mouth.
I've never advertised.
I've gotten clients by walkingdown the street and say, hey,
(02:41):
you have great legs, I wantthose legs or I want those arms,
and that's one of the placeswhere I make money.
And then I also, about 20 yearsago, started realizing that I
wanted to eat healthfully butreally didn't have the money to
go out to eat all the time andeat healthfully in that way.
(03:03):
So, just by circumstances that,if you want me to explain, I
will but circumstances happenedwhere I ended up, chris, my
husband, wanting me to chop asalad and because we talked
about having a big old mouthfulof lettuce and we were eating a
chopped salad and that happenedto just set me on my path.
(03:24):
I wasn't crazy about it.
I thought, oh my God, that'sway too much work.
But I said, okay, I love myhoney, I will chop a salad for
him.
And then all of a sudden I wastaking Cobb salads and chef's
salads and all these kinds ofthings and putting my own spin
on it, adding different thingsthat I thought would create a
(03:45):
more balanced meal in a bowl.
And this kind of leads to yourchopped lifestyle, that's
exactly because eatinghealthfully is one thing, but
you also have to make goodchoices in your personal life
and also with your exercise,your physicality and your mental
(04:05):
health.
So there are good choices allthe way around, and that's kind
of what the Chopped Life idea isabout.
Daniel Koo (04:13):
So there's, I think,
two roles that you're
maintaining right now.
So you have the personaltraining career and also this
project you're doing withChopped Life.
KC Kahn (04:23):
One big, huge role that
I have and that is the wife,
and that is not an insignificantpart of my life.
And you know there's a lot ofthings that I do to keep our
home very easy living sanctuary,and I'm very happy with myself
(04:43):
that I have evolved into beingable to do that, so it's a very
satisfying part of my life.
Daniel Koo (04:48):
So those are the
three things that you've kind of
maintained right now, three bigitems that are on your plate.
KC Kahn (04:54):
Yes, definitely, or in
my bowl, as we would say.
That's where it chopped goes.
Daniel Koo (04:58):
Exactly To those who
are just listening.
I need to mention how fit youare, and I think that comes from
being a personal trainer butalso having a very disciplined
and very great training regimen.
I think you've mentioned howmany miles you ride on the
bicycle per week.
KC Kahn (05:16):
I usually ride around
100 to 125 a week, but it's more
hours because when you get intoterrain factor, if you're going
up you're not nearly going asmany miles.
So I have a coach who lives inColorado.
I've never met him as a cyclingcoach.
I've had him for about 15 yearsnow.
So he works everything in hoursand minutes, not so much miles.
(05:40):
So that's how I think of mycycling.
But yeah, it's a lot of hours.
It's probably on a recoveryweek, which I'm just getting off
of, get six hours a week ofriding and that's two one hour
easy sessions and then you getback into the hard stuff, but no
what we call protocols orefforts.
Daniel Koo (06:00):
So those are like
training programs.
KC Kahn (06:02):
Yes, yeah, he tells me
what to do.
And I have a wattmeter on mybike and I've got my dashboard
on my handlebars and I can seeheart rate and speed and watts
and averages and all that kindof thing.
Daniel Koo (06:14):
That's very
impressive, I must say, because
I struggle to get maybe one ortwo hours a week for my training
.
Usually weights, oh, okay good,I ran a 10K before I trained
for like maybe a month you soundlike me.
KC Kahn (06:29):
I don't want to do it,
but I will.
But I will if I set a goal, youknow.
Daniel Koo (06:34):
That's so much of it
, and I think that kind of
training regimen actually is anice segue to why we chose
today's episode's adjective,which is my disciplined path.
Yes, could you tell us a littlebit about why you chose that
adjective to kind of describeyour journey so far?
KC Kahn (06:52):
Well, I am disciplined
but I don't find it something
that is.
It is difficult at times butit's just my lifestyle and the
genesis of it which is kind ofinteresting.
A little introspective work Idid since, I saw you, was when I
was a kid.
We didn't have a whole lot ofmoney, we didn't have a whole
(07:13):
lot of things and in just aboutevery aspect clothing or toys or
treats, you know, eating it wasalways one, not two, one only.
So I'll find myself if I'mgoing to shop for something I'll
be up and down the entire mallbecause I want to make sure I
(07:34):
get that one thing.
It's still in my head.
So I think that started mydiscipline, because I had to be.
You know, that was kind of whatI was taught and so it's a
little bit natural to me to bethat way.
Chris will just laugh at mebecause I can eat a half of the
candy bar and put it down and betotally satisfied.
Daniel Koo (07:54):
Wow, that's
impressive, that's what
everybody says, it's like you'reweird.
Yeah, people who know me willknow I can't stop eating if
there's food in front of me.
KC Kahn (08:05):
That's so interesting
because if I have, say, chips,
if I give myself what I'mprobably going to end up eating
out of a bowl this much, whichwould be like five or six chips,
then I would be totallysatisfied.
If I only gave myself five orsix chips, I would eat those and
go why can't I have more?
But I chose a big bowl,thinking okay, I can eat that, I
(08:28):
can have that whole thing.
I worked out two hours todaybut I end up being satisfied
with four or five of thembecause I could make the
decision to have more.
Daniel Koo (08:37):
Wow, that's
impressive and I think that's
something that a lot of usstrive to get to.
It's like a level of discipline.
KC Kahn (08:44):
I don't think you try
to strive to get to that.
I think you just automaticallythink this woman is crazy.
I think my clients think thattoo the couple that I've
actually told that intimatelittle story about, because they
think you are really strange.
Daniel Koo (08:58):
Interesting.
Tell us a little bit about yourbackground and kind of describe
yourself as a kid and what yourexperience was like.
KC Kahn (09:05):
Right when I was a kid
I was a little embarrassed about
my parents because they weremuch older, much more like
grandparents, but they weren'tfun grandparents and I did not
have a large family around me.
I didn't have much support.
I had one brother who's veryshy.
Have a large family around me,I didn't have much support.
(09:26):
I had one brother who was veryshy.
My parents were only children.
My mom was an only child and mydad was orphaned, came from
Denmark and he was an apprenticecarpenter coming over here at
the age of 18 years old and hewas a person that was very
private.
So I didn't really know thatmuch about him.
And my mom was also veryprivate, but they always were on
(09:47):
the lookout for things thatwere going to reflect on them.
So it didn't really reflect onthem because they didn't have a
whole lot of people that wouldknow what I was doing or what I
wasn't doing, but it alwaysseemed very personal to them
whatever I was doing.
So the thing that I had totransition out of was my mom.
(10:09):
At I think I was in fourthgrade, my brother was in third,
not doing great at school and Iwas doing very well at school.
My mom would tell me whenreport cards came don't tell
your brother how well you did,don't blow your own horn.
And then she backed that upwith don't blow your own horn
because if you do the rightthing and you perform well and
(10:30):
you have a talent, someone willfind you and they will blow your
horn.
Daniel Koo (10:36):
For you Gotcha.
So basically, if you havetalent and you just put your
head down and you keep working,your work is going to basically
promote you and that's howyou'll be recognized.
Right, but was that true?
KC Kahn (10:49):
No, it's not.
To some degree maybe, but itwas more of a mantra than it was
.
Oh my goodness, I have to dosomething about this until I got
to the point where I was tryingto create a career in modeling
and acting in trade shows,spokesperson work, all of those
kind of things where you do haveto put yourself out there, but
(11:11):
then again that's what agentsare supposed to be for.
So that was kind of a savinggrace that I still didn't have
to promote myself.
So that was how my childhoodwas in that respect.
So that was a little tough toget over.
And then we were very isolatedfrom where I lived.
I grew up in a motel.
It was a motel that my dadbuilt with his own hands, and I
(11:39):
basically grew up in anindustrial area.
It wasn't a hotel, it was amotel.
It was people driving throughand needing a place to stay for
a night.
So I had very few friends thatwere at my disposal because I
wasn't growing up in aneighborhood.
So that kept me a littleisolated.
(12:00):
You get in the picture Poor KCwas isolated.
But I did make it a point toget out of the house and go to
my friend's home, and then thatwas the second thing that my mom
came up with Don't go overthere too much, you'll wear out
your welcome and they won't wantyou back.
(12:21):
I see, so those were the thingsthat I had to overcome.
That was the original question,I believe, right.
I didn't stray from that.
So I did have to overcome thosethings and I feel like I did.
I've had several people tell methat they wouldn't have
recognized that in me.
I've also had people in myyounger life say she's not stuck
(12:42):
up, she's just shy, and thatbothered me.
I've also had people in myyounger life say she's not stuck
up, she's just shy, and thatbothered me and I thought, okay,
I have to do something aboutthis shy thing.
I didn't even realize I was shy.
I had a close friend tell methat that her daughter thought
that I was stuck up.
Daniel Koo (12:58):
Interesting.
KC Kahn (12:59):
And she goes no, no,
she's not stuck, she's just shy.
So that was something to workon.
There's just to work on.
Those are a lot of things thatyou find out about yourself, but
the interesting thing aboutwhat we're doing here is that I
don't dwell on that in my todaylife.
I don't blame those things oreven really recognize unless
you're being introspective likewe are that those are actually
(13:21):
part of my makeup.
Daniel Koo (13:23):
So I have a question
are that those are actually
part of my makeup?
So I have a question.
So, coming from where you did,did you ever imagine that your
life would be like it is rightnow?
Do you think this life, it wassomething that you could have
ever imagined when you wereyounger?
KC Kahn (13:36):
I think that in a way,
yes, because I wasn't looking to
be a movie star, even though Iwas in the business.
I wasn't looking to be awell-thought-after actress or be
a celebrity or a superstar oranything like that.
I didn't have that in me.
So I was pretty satisfied whenI was working, I was having a
(13:57):
good time, I was on set, I wasmeeting all these different
people and it was super fun.
But I didn't have that drive.
So being where I am now is nota disappointment, because I
wasn't looking for that path.
Where I am right now is great.
I've made a transition.
Well, I've made transitions tothe personal training from the
acting, modeling, blah, blah,blah.
(14:18):
And then now I want to helppeople eat healthfully, and it
can be done even if you don'tknow how to cook, because you
can learn how to cook.
I suppose I could imagine, butI don't think I looked that far
ahead.
I feel like I've been marriedfor very, very many years.
I've been married to Chris foralmost 26 on August 1st Wow,
(14:40):
congratulations.
Daniel Koo (14:41):
Yes, thank you.
KC Kahn (14:42):
And it's been fabulous
being a cyclist ever.
I would never have thoughtabout that ever in my life.
I didn't even think I wasathletic when I was younger.
So you know I could envisionbeing married.
I did not envision having kidsat all.
I told my mom when I was 16years old if you want to be a
(15:03):
grandmother, you better hope mybrother has kids, because it's
not going to be me.
And I switched gears a littlebit with Chris.
That's one of the reasons wegot married, because he would be
a fantastic dad.
That's the only thing I regretI think about not having kids is
Chris would be a fantastic dad.
Daniel Koo (15:22):
I do want to get
into your chopped life, okay,
and I want to hear from you, theperson who's made it and
someone who's developed it, whyyou think this is important and
what the mission of that is.
KC Kahn (15:34):
Okay, I stumbled upon
the chopped, which we call the
bowl of chopped ingredients.
It's a noun.
It is a noun.
Yes, we call it the chopped,the chopped, and then I am also
called the chopper.
Oh gotcha.
Daniel Koo (15:50):
That's your nickname
.
KC Kahn (15:51):
My nickname is chopper,
not the chopper, but well, I
actually could be the chopper.
Sometimes the chopper sometimesthe chopper, but my initials are
KC, so kitchen chopper was whatI originally started off with,
kc the kitchen chopper, and nowit's just kind of gone into the
chopped life, the choppedkitchen, you know that kind of
thing.
But I realized that it was asuper easy, healthful thing to
(16:17):
prepare and it's very balanced.
It's also very diverse.
I mean, no matter what kind ofeating needs or preferences you
have, you can make a chopped tofit that.
Most of the recipes I have aregluten-free.
They can be made paleo, theycan be made keto, vegan,
(16:38):
vegetarian most of them, unlessit's literally a steak salad or
steak chopped.
And when I do the recipes Igive suggestions.
So it's not like.
Well, I don't like asparagus,so I can't make this.
You know well, use green beans,use broccoli, whatever.
Daniel Koo (16:55):
So you know, what I
thought was great about the
chopped was that it's easy tomake and for the busy individual
who just needs to get a list ofingredients to buy from the
grocery store, come home andjust throw everything in a bowl
and get it chopped to have agreat meal, and it be healthy, I
think that's really the valueproposition, isn't it?
KC Kahn (17:17):
It is.
It's also something that youcan technically make a head in
portions, because every time Icook chicken or I cook fish, I
will make more than I need forthat particular chopped.
So the next night I have thoseingredients, I have roasted
green beans, I have steamed riceor cooked rice.
(17:40):
I cook it in chicken bone broth, which I make from the chicken
carcass.
So that saves even more timebecause you can come home and
just use the ingredients youalready cooked the night before,
and if you put a differentdressing on it, then you can go
Asian, you can go Southwestern,there's all sorts of different
ways that you can go.
So it is a very easy way to eat.
(18:04):
Gotcha.
Daniel Koo (18:07):
And these recipes
that are online.
They're kind of researched andyou try to balance them
according to the macronutrients.
Is that right?
KC Kahn (18:15):
Yes, that would be true
.
The carbohydrates, starches,vegetables, which are also carbs
, good fats, healthy fats, andprotein, and then you kind of
just add from there.
You're going to get a littlebit of fat in the dressings.
I don't shy away from fat thatmuch.
I mean it's a little old schoolto say fat makes you fat.
Daniel Koo (18:37):
It doesn't.
It is.
It is too healthy and it givesyou energy.
KC Kahn (18:40):
So we don't shy away
from fat too much now in the
chopped life.
So we don't shy away from fattoo much now in the chopped life
.
So that is the meal planning,and what I call the
choppertunity for cost choppingis that it's not extremely
expensive and it's not timeconsuming if you make things
ahead, and that's just.
I call it a template methodwith the recipes, because if you
(19:04):
don't have one ingredient, youcan sub most of them out, and so
it's more like a template.
Soups are the same way.
I make a ton of choppedvegetable soups and it's the
same idea.
It's amazing the variety ofvegetables that complement each
other.
Daniel Koo (19:25):
You know what I like
about this specific way of
thinking, like the templatemethod, is you know a lot of
people struggle with eatinghealthy and consistently and
it's easy to say that you knowthe food is in the grocery store
, right Like you can go out andget it.
But the thing that we havestruggled with is how and the
nitty gritty of it, the details.
It kind of overloads you andoverwhelms you that you think
it's a whole deal to like eathealthy.
And essentially it's the samething as exercise, where you
(19:50):
know, if you ask someone whydon't you work out, the weights
are there, all the equipment isthere, you have a running
machine in nearly everyapartment like why aren't you
running?
The question isn't really aboutwhat's out there, it's more
like how do you get yourself tomotivate and get inspired and to
think of it as something that'seasy to do, and I think that's
where the value kind of comesout.
KC Kahn (20:08):
Yeah, it's simple.
It's, to a degree, easy.
You do have to put yourself indistress, but that is helpful.
Getting yourself out of yourcomfort zone is one of the best
things you can do for yourself.
We did a two-hour bike ridetoday in the heat.
Wow, that's called gettingyourself out of your comfort
zone.
In the wintertime, we get outof the comfort zone by going
(20:30):
into a cold, cold pool.
Daniel Koo (20:32):
I think, for context
, we are in Los Angeles,
california, and how hot was itoutside today?
KC Kahn (20:40):
It got up to 93 during
the bike ride today.
And we had a bit of climbing todo as well.
So, yeah, it was hot, but we'vedone it enough so far this
season that we're a bitacclimated to it.
So it wasn't as horrible as itsounds.
But that's because we'vetrained our bodies to acclimate
(21:02):
to the heat.
And I think that so many peopleare so afraid of getting out of
their comfort zones.
You know they want to be in theair condition.
They don't want to see theirheart rates go up.
I see my heart rate in the high170s quite often during my
protocols and other people wouldbe scared to death if that
happened and they probablyshould be, because they won't be
(21:23):
doing what I'm doing to maketheir heart rate that high.
So I would be concerned aboutit as well.
But getting out of your comfortzone, I think that is one of
the best things that you can do.
And weight training, you know,puts you out of your comfort
zone.
Lifting heavier than you thinkyou can, and that's one of the
things that I'm very helpfulwith my clients.
(21:43):
I will get them to go just alittle bit beyond what they
think they can do, because Iknow what they can do,
especially if I've worked withthem for a few months.
Daniel Koo (21:53):
I think that's a
great segue into your personal
training career.
Tell me about how long did youdo this career and how you got
started.
KC Kahn (22:02):
For one thing, I have
enjoyed training myself, you
know, since I was about 20 to 23years old.
So I wasn't an athlete per sein my school days, because most
of the athletics that we hadavailable to us involved running
, which I don't do, jumping,which I don't do, throwing a
baseball, which I don't do,catching a baseball I don't do.
(22:23):
Throwing a baseball, which Idon't do, catching a baseball I
don't do.
I don't do any of the thingsthat the sports were laid out
for.
I was more designed for cyclingor, yeah, I could say tennis,
but he didn't have a partneravailable to me as a kid, so had
I gotten into bike ridingsomewhere along the way, I would
have started that much earlier.
So I started training kind of inthe Jane Fonda days.
(22:47):
It was basically aerobics.
I didn't do much weighttraining.
I didn't know much about it,and I started doing a few
weights after I took a coursethat turned out to interest me
in personal training.
It wasn't a personal trainingcourse, but they touched on it,
and we had to learn a lot aboutweight training, all the muscles
(23:09):
that you're training and whatexercises, et cetera, et cetera,
different loads that you wouldput on people for a certain
amount of times and I thoughtthat's something that I think
I'd like to do, because I want,you know, I wanted to help
people to get healthy.
Daniel Koo (23:24):
How did you find
this course and were you looking
for another career opportunityor?
KC Kahn (23:30):
what was the?
Daniel Koo (23:30):
context there.
KC Kahn (23:31):
I was looking for a
career opportunity because I was
getting divorced and the actingand modeling was not consistent
enough and I did not want towork in an office, I didn't want
to have a boss.
And so a friend of mine, alocker mate at the Sports Club
LA, suggested this course to mebecause I was telling her what
(23:54):
my problems were and where mypath was taking me.
And I said I'm going to have tosupport myself because I'm
going to leave this marriage andI'm not taking anything.
So I was desperate to findsomething else.
And this was perfect.
And she knew me.
She knew how I worked out, howI trained in the gym, because by
that time I was doing moreweight training, I was doing a
(24:16):
lot of step classes, et cetera,et cetera.
Daniel Koo (24:20):
Are you saying that
you've participated in these
classes, so you're used toworking out?
Yes, gotcha okay, but no priorlike training others, right?
No?
KC Kahn (24:29):
no, not at all.
I wasn't sure that I was surewhen we talked about it in the
class.
But going into the class I wasjust open-minded to finding out
what I could about fitness,about fitness, and so when I did
, I ended up studying for thecertification and I went and
(24:50):
took the test and I passed.
So I knew that I could trainpeople and I would be certified,
Although I have to say I don'tthink I've ever had anyone,
except for my last new clientfrom about six months ago asked
me if I was certified.
Oh interesting, no one reallyasked the question.
I think they assume.
Daniel Koo (25:07):
Is that kind of
normal in this industry, where
the certification doesn't mattertoo much?
KC Kahn (25:12):
Well, it matters.
If you're going to work in agym like the Equinox or the
Sports Club LA, that wouldmatter.
They want you certified or youneed a physiology degree.
So it wouldn't matter had Idecided to go that direction,
but I was lucky enough that Ididn't have to.
(25:32):
I did start off working at asmall private gym where I could
take anyone I wanted in thereand I paid a fee, or they paid
the fee and they had all theequipment available and all you
did was have to just bringsomeone in, so it wasn't like I
had a boss.
I still didn't want a boss.
Daniel Koo (25:49):
Okay, that actually
answers my next question, which
was why did you choose to domore personal training rather
than going into a gym, which I'mguessing would be a little bit
more consistent income and maybesome security?
I'm imagining, Well, theproblem with that.
KC Kahn (26:05):
I found out early on
that they really don't pay very
much.
I mean, you work a lot butthere's overhead and all of that
kind of thing and you justdon't really.
I know trainers that havetrained for years but they
always have some outside clients.
I just didn't ever want to gothat way.
(26:25):
I just that was a choice, youknow, and that worked out well
for me.
I did get a couple of clientsfrom the manager of the gym and
then it just kind of took off.
Daniel Koo (26:35):
And the way that you
would get new clients is
usually word of mouth.
KC Kahn (26:38):
It's word of mouth.
You start training someone andthen their wife or husband comes
and trains with you or theirkids.
You know I've had kids ofclients that were 16, 17 years
old and you train them.
Daniel Koo (26:50):
I'm curious what's
the oldest client that you have
right now?
KC Kahn (26:54):
This man I've had as a
client for almost 30 years.
Wow.
And last Sunday he turned 88.
Daniel Koo (27:04):
Wow, that's amazing.
KC Kahn (27:05):
Yes, yes, he was the
husband of a client of mine and
she was a friend of a client ofmine.
So that was the segue tofinding Steve.
He came in and I trained himand I asked what his goals were.
He was 60 at the time, so Iasked what his goals were and he
said just keep me alive.
(27:25):
I went, oh okay, and I trainedhim and when he left I thought
I'm probably never going to seethis guy again, because I
couldn't tell whether he wasthere because his wife wanted
him to be there or he was therebecause he thought he needed to
be there.
I really couldn't, because keepme alive is very general.
(27:50):
But here we are, 28 years laterand he's celebrating his 88th
birthday and he's sharp as atack and he's got a few knee
issues because he did not takemy advice to lose the 30 pounds
that he needed to lose, I see.
But he finally did, under somepretty scary circumstances,
through an illness.
He did lose the weight and, tohis credit, he has kept it off.
(28:12):
Wow.
So that's good.
But now we're working on the onthe knees issues.
Daniel Koo (28:16):
But I'm sure the
constant coaching and the
training probably helped himreach that decision as well, to
like be able to lose the weight,as I'm imagining to keep the
weight off.
KC Kahn (28:26):
Yes, what kept him
alive through?
He had a sepsis infection thatalmost killed him, and the
doctors did say that because hehad trained as much as he did.
That probably helped yourecover from this, because it
was super serious and it wasprobably about I'm going to say,
it had to be six, seven yearsago, so it's fairly recent in
(28:49):
that way.
Daniel Koo (28:50):
I heard having
muscle mass and actually even a
little bit of fat as well helpswith surviving and recovering
these kind of major healthconcerns, if you think about it.
KC Kahn (28:59):
That's true, because if
he had lost 30 pounds and
didn't have 30 pounds to lose,he would have been in dire
straits.
So that may have helped him alittle bit.
Daniel Koo (29:08):
I'm not going to
tell him that One thing I want
to ask is what are the bestthings about personal training
and what are the best thingsabout personal training and what
are the worst things aboutpersonal training and this is in
context for listeners who maybe considering this treat my
clients as my bosses in a way.
KC Kahn (29:26):
I mean they're the ones
that tell me when they can work
out and we set schedules andit's very gratifying when they
(29:46):
make a couple of leaps andbounds in doing things that they
didn't think they could do.
Balance is a big, huge thingbecause I do have some older
clients.
I work with balance and so theyare forced to focus, which a
lot of people get into apersonal training situation and
think that they can just gothrough the motions, and
sometimes they try to do that,but then I throw balance in
(30:08):
there and they have to wake upand really, really focus.
But there's not that many consto it.
I mean, you do make good money,maybe trying to get your
clients in the first place.
Nowadays it might be moredifficult than it was, you know,
when I started that many yearsago, but I think that it's a
(30:30):
gratifying profession.
I think one of the cons mightbe that people, because of the
way we've been portrayed, theythink we're a bunch of airheads.
I mean, have you ever seen anykind of a show or a movie that
personal trainers weren't?
Daniel Koo (30:48):
a little airheaded,
so there's a bit of a stereotype
.
KC Kahn (30:52):
It's a bit of a
stereotype, yes, and that's not
true.
And you know, my clients knowthat's not true.
Chris's clients know thatthat's not true, but that might
be part of it.
But you know, if you're aconfident person, you're going
to turn people around in ananosecond.
You know that.
You know what you're doing.
Daniel Koo (31:17):
In the industry are
there a lot of people doing two
jobs at once where, like theyhave this side hustle as a
personal trainer and anothercareer.
KC Kahn (31:21):
Have you seen that to
be more common than not?
I don't.
Most of the people that I knowthat are training are pretty
much full time Now.
Chris is full time but he has ahuge amount of side hustles.
Daniel Koo (31:33):
Exactly.
KC Kahn (31:34):
The hubby.
I knew more trainers when I wasworking out of the little
personal training situation andI don't remember a lot of people
having a lot of free time.
We were all pretty busy, I see,which is good because a lot of
people want to stay in shape.
But having a personal traineris the way that most people will
keep the appointment andthey'll work out on a regular
(31:54):
basis because they've made thatappointment.
So that's a plus for theclientele.
Daniel Koo (32:00):
What qualities do
you think is necessary to become
a personal trainer?
KC Kahn (32:05):
I think you have to get
out of your own head in the way
that you train people, becauseyou're a personal trainer and so
you are focusing on what theyneed, not what you need and what
you need them to do.
I've seen personal trainers inthe past that have decided what
(32:26):
their clients are going to dobecause that's what they do.
I wouldn't expect my clients todo what I do.
I listen and I make sure thatwhen they say that either they
don't like something, we switchit around.
There's always an option.
I don't want anyone to walkaway going.
Oh my God, I never want to goback there and I don't think
(32:49):
I've ever had somebody justhightail it and run, I think
what you have to do is listenand you have to start with
people slow, because you're not.
If you were a coach and you wereworking with athletes, so to
speak, it's a different mindframe.
But I'm working sometimes withpeople that have never worked
out and they're afraid ofworking out.
(33:10):
So you have to take it slow,you have to listen, you have to
give them something fun to do.
Huge amount of variety.
We never do the same thingtwice in a row and you know they
don't necessarily like it, butthey have found value in it for
themselves and some of myclients will just chat the
entire way through and I willget them through a workout and
(33:33):
sometimes it's good morning andcrickets for the rest of the
time.
So everybody's different, justlike their workouts.
Daniel Koo (33:41):
For my future
reference.
Does it help if you'reconstantly communicating and
chatting, or do you prefer to bequiet?
KC Kahn (33:48):
I think that you have
to be like a massage therapist
If your client wants to chat,you figure out how to get them
through a workout with theamount of chatting they want to
do.
If they want silence, take thelead and don't talk.
Just do what they want to feelcomfortable with, because I have
(34:12):
a couple of clients thatwouldn't be able to get through
a workout without talking, and Ihave exactly the other way
around, and it's fine, everybodygets a workout.
Daniel Koo (34:21):
So one last question
I have for personal training is
how does discipline kind of tiein with this particular career
and do you think without it itwould be very difficult to maybe
succeed or you know, at leasthave like a really good, stable
career in personal training?
KC Kahn (34:39):
Well, discipline helps
with keeping your schedule
straight.
Making sure that I am verydisciplined with either
remembering or writing down whateverybody has done so that I
know, walking in, what theirworkout is going to be.
I can say that in 30 years I'mnot going to say never because
(35:01):
we don't say never in our house.
We say almost never havecanceled a client because of
pretty much anything.
I mean, I'll tell them inadvance.
You know that I'm not going tobe able to be there, but I don't
cancel because I don't feellike getting up.
I don't cancel because I have astomach ache, I just, I am
(35:22):
disciplined in that way there'sno calling in sick, right.
I probably have never called insick.
I mean, I've been lucky enoughthat if I have been ill which
really honestly doesn't happenvery often at all I may have a
client in the morning and maybemidday and afternoon.
That somehow has worked in myfavor in those situations.
(35:44):
But no, I think you have to bedisciplined in order to make a
good living, to let people knowthat you are there for them.
You know, if they're going outof town and they want to work
out on their own, and I thinkthat they're capable of it, I'll
draw up a program for them.
So then I don't know if that'ssuper disciplined, but I've
created discipline in them ifthey want to take that workout
(36:06):
with them, and then it's supergreat if they actually do it.
It doesn't always happen, butthey tried.
Daniel Koo (36:14):
I want to talk more
about your acting career.
What is the time frame for youracting career?
Because I know you kind oftransitioned, going more into
your personal training at somepoint.
KC Kahn (36:25):
Definitely, definitely.
I was kind of on the way out ofthe acting when I chose to make
the transition.
Not completely, I did a fewthings during that time but when
I was 18 years old I was anaccounts receivable person in a
kind of a warehouse company andI found that getting a 10 cent
(36:50):
raise and not being excitedabout it was something that I
didn't want to have to endure.
So I checked out a modelingschool.
I did some modeling because ofthis.
It was a glorified charm schoolbasically, but I made the most
of it.
It was an opportunity, it was adoor opening, so I took that.
That transitioned to doing sometrade show work and trade shows
(37:14):
.
Every industry has a trade showand they're huge and they're
all across the country and Imade my way going down to
Anaheim and going to LAConvention Center those were the
two main things here inSouthern California and I kind
of walked the aisles and said doyou need a model?
Do you need a model?
And I found quite a few peoplebecause I was willing to learn
(37:36):
whatever they were selling.
That was a little bit of myacting, start of acting as if I
knew some of these products andthen I just learned it on the
side.
So I did that for quite a fewyears and that transitioned into
acting.
Because an agent came down toAnaheim, had heard about me from
one of his clients that wasthere doing some kind of a
(37:58):
demonstration and said youshould come down and see this
woman.
So he did and he liked me and Istarted working with him for
quite a few years and got a lotof parts, but the casting couch
was always you know something.
I didn't really have to dealwith it all that much, although
I remember the time when myagent took me aside because I'd
(38:21):
had a situation where Ibasically just said not
interested, and he was a littlebit of a sleazeball and he
basically took me aside and hesays don't say no, say maybe.
Basically took me aside and hesays don't say no, say maybe.
And I didn't run screamingbecause I thought I'll say what
I want, you know, depending uponthe circumstances and you know
(38:42):
whatever.
But I continued to get a lot ofwork and not huge parts, but I
would be a feature or maybe aco-star for you know one week,
you know one episode.
But it was good, it was goodmoney and I liked it a lot.
And in the back of my mind I'mthinking what's he promising?
But I never got that manypropositions, which I thought
(39:07):
what's wrong with me?
And I thought, oh, I probablyhave this big old stop sign on
my forehead and it came across,probably very loud and clear,
because I was married at thetime former marriage, so I
wasn't looking, you know, andthe acting was fun, I enjoyed it
, but it wasn't in my soul LikeI would just do anything and
everything in order to become asuperstar or a star.
(39:30):
So that was, that was theacting thing.
Daniel Koo (39:33):
Could you tell us a
little bit about what the time
frame was?
So when did you start and whendid you kind of end?
KC Kahn (39:39):
I started when I was,
I'm going to say, probably 21,
22.
And I stopped.
I remember the first time I hadto write, because when you sign
in at an audition you sign inmale, female, age, blah, blah,
blah.
And I signed in at 40 years oldand I went oh my gosh, I'm 40,
(40:09):
nobody's gonna take me seriouslyanymore.
I can't do those parts.
So it was kind of it was aneye-opener to just write down
that 40.
I see.
So that was about it.
I mean, I got to find somethingelse to do.
Daniel Koo (40:26):
What were some of
your greatest accomplishments
during your acting career?
Or maybe the better questionwould be what were some of your
favorite ones?
KC Kahn (40:32):
Oh, that's a good
question would be what were some
of your favorite ones?
Oh, that's a good question.
Well, I had a very goodexperience working on a small
movie called Armed and Dangerous, and it was the first movie
that Meg Ryan had done after shegot out of doing her.
I think she was on a, not asitcom, a soap opera.
I think I didn't work with her.
(40:55):
That wasn't my part.
I was one of two sisters it wasEugene Levy and John Candy and
I was John Candy's girlfriend.
Daniel Koo (41:05):
Oh, I see.
KC Kahn (41:06):
And he was just awesome
.
He was such a sweetheart, hewas a gentleman.
He was always concerned aboutdid you like that take?
Do you want to take it?
Let's take that over.
No KC wants to do?
Wow, he was just.
It was a delight and EugeneLevy was awesome.
So that was really fun.
(41:26):
That was great.
It wasn't a huge part.
You know, I was the girlfriendand I had some lines and it was
fun.
The problem, the hardest partfor me, was it was a nighttime
shoot.
It was two or three weeks of allnight, and I am not a night
person.
Daniel Koo (41:42):
And when you say all
night, what's the time frame
here?
KC Kahn (41:45):
I think that we started
around 10 o'clock at night and
probably got home at daylight inthe morning.
Wow, it was really grueling forme.
I mean, I didn't know which waywas up, I didn't know night or
day, I didn't know when to eat.
And why was that?
Because of so many outsidenight shots.
(42:05):
It was armed and dangerous.
They were two bumbling securityguards and all the antics.
And then you got the bad guy.
I'm trying to think of his name, robert Loja.
Yeah, he was a bad guy on a lotof levels.
He played his part really well.
That's kind of funny at anyrate.
(42:25):
So that was a good experience.
It wasn't a huge experience,but you know, that's kind of
what you get.
Daniel Koo (42:30):
I think you're very
humble because you keep saying
it's not a big part, but I thinkbreaking into the entertainment
industry yeah, I did get thepart yeah, it's amazing.
I think you know it's what alot of people just even dream to
have, right, so I think that'svery impressive.
And what do you think was kindof the experience you needed or
the connections you needed inorder to break into this
(42:52):
industry?
KC Kahn (42:53):
Well, that connection
definitely came from that first
agent that met me at the tradeshow.
So that was my sitting at thedrugstore counter and being
discovered, so to speak.
So that got me in the door forthe first few things that I did.
The first thing I did was anAFTRA program which segued me
into getting my SAG card, andthat's one of the hardest, most
(43:14):
expensive things.
That happens because you needto do an acting job to get a SAG
card and that's one of thehardest, most expensive things.
That happens because you needto do an acting job to get a SAG
card and you have to have a SAGcard to get an acting job.
So that's where it gets alittle rough.
Daniel Koo (43:24):
It's kind of a
catch-22, it seems like.
KC Kahn (43:26):
Yeah, but the AFTRA
card was a given, basically,
when I worked they took themoney and put it into AFTRA.
So I worked until I think itwas $650 and then I could spend
another $12,000 or $15,000,$2,000, whatever it was when I
was eligible.
I think you have to be an AFTAfor a year and then you can get
(43:46):
your SAG card.
Daniel Koo (43:48):
What would you say
are the qualities that you need
in order to be successful in anacting career, and I'm sure
you've seen a lot of peoplearound you that have gone far,
you know, far beyond.
Oh most definitely what do youthink were the qualities that
allowed them to be verysuccessful or like top tier?
KC Kahn (44:05):
well, perseverance for
sure, talent, just the it's just
has to be in your soul.
It's like you can't not do it,and I think that goes with
anything where you're prettysuccessful.
I mean, you just you can't seeyourself doing anything other
than that and I kind of I envythat in a way, because I've just
(44:28):
been taking a lot of differentpaths for myself and and that's
okay, but I just didn't.
As a kid I didn't say I have tobe this, and I think that
people that go on to becomeactors or dancers or singers,
it's just in them and I thinkthat's what it is.
I think you have to have that.
Daniel Koo (44:48):
Like a really strong
drive kind of intrinsic.
KC Kahn (44:51):
And you have to have
the talent Of course.
And sometimes you have theparents, so that's always a good
thing, but you still have toimprove yourself.
Daniel Koo (45:03):
I think that's true
for a lot of different
industries too.
When I look at my engineeringteam that I'm in, there's a
certain engineer who's reallytalented, but also I would say
his superpower is being superinterested in software
engineering, way beyond thenormal engineer, and he's
thinking about it all the time,he's reading up on it all the
(45:23):
time.
He just loves it and I thinkhaving that kind of drive is
maybe innate.
Yeah, I don't know, like itseems different than other
people and that's why I think itmay be innate to some extent.
KC Kahn (45:37):
Have you met my husband
?
I mean my goodness.
Daniel Koo (45:43):
I mean, Chris has
tons of passion.
Oh my, goodness.
KC Kahn (45:46):
Yes, he can't not write
.
I mean, it's just in his blood,it's in his soul and I like
following that path, you know,with him.
But you know there's alsothings that I do as well, that
he can't cook.
So you know.
I got him on that one.
Daniel Koo (46:04):
And for the
listeners.
If you're curious, we do havean episode with Chris Kahn.
It's probably coming out beforethis one, so if you're curious,
please check it out.
I want to talk more aboutmodeling and how you got into
that.
So you had an accounting jobthat at least paid you decently.
Yeah, they paid me $1.20 anhour.
KC Kahn (46:27):
Back in the day, when I
was 21, or when I was 18, that
still wasn't a lot of money, I'msorry.
And then they gave me a 10 centraise and wondered why I wasn't
jumping, you know, off theceiling, and I thought, wow, I
got to find something else to do.
You know it's an eight hour day, so it was ridiculous, being a
pretty little girl, you know,for my life.
(46:48):
Oh, you should be a model.
You should be a model.
And since I didn't have anykind of a thing that I wanted to
go with, except for I learnedhow to type and take shorthand
and use a calculator.
I thought I'm just going tocheck in a modeling school.
So I found a modeling schoolthat, like I said, was more like
a charm school, but it got mein the door to a couple of
(47:08):
photographers, so I was able toput together a modeling card.
I put together just aridiculous portfolio and I took
myself to Hollywood and I gotaddresses for Wilhelmina and so
many of them Flair.
I can't even remember all thenames of them, but I had my
addresses and I went in, youknow, said hi, I'm da-da-da-da,
(47:31):
and here's my picture, and theywould either say sorry, we're
not looking for that, orwhatever it may be.
I was turned down so many timesand I finally got to a woman
who was running the Playboymodeling agency.
They actually had a modelingagency that was separate from
the magazine.
Oh, okay.
So her name was Judith Fontaineand she was at the Playboy
(47:55):
agency for a few years.
Then she went out on her own.
I followed her and that'spretty much where I worked.
Pretty much my entire modelingcareer was through Judith, and
it was great.
I did sportswear, I didswimsuits.
I traveled all over the countryand into Mexico for jobs.
The only thing that I chose notto do because here I am
(48:17):
health-minded wasn't doingcigarette commercials.
Daniel Koo (48:20):
Gotcha.
KC Kahn (48:21):
I just said no.
And they were some of the mostlucrative commercials that you
could do and I said no.
So that was a choice.
You know, I did not want to putmy face out there as promoting
something that I didn't thinkwas healthy and I wasn't really
all that much into health atthat time.
I was beginning to because youknow, I was working out.
Finally, I got into someaerobic classes and did that
(48:42):
kind of thing, so I was workingout eventually during the
modeling career.
Daniel Koo (48:47):
For the modeling
career, would you say discipline
played a big part.
KC Kahn (48:51):
Yes, well, discipline
for sure played a big part,
because you needed to be fit, oractually I was a little too
muscular at that time when I wasworking with other women that
were not.
It was always relax yourmuscles, you know.
I was like just a little tooearly for the fitness trend
(49:13):
although I did some fitnessthings a lot of my career.
When I was in a bathing suit itwas always relax your arms,
relax your muscles.
I see.
Oh well.
It's a different time.
It is what it is, oh my gosh.
Yes.
Daniel Koo (49:26):
The beauty standards
are different.
You know Very much, so, I guess, for modeling.
What are some of the bestthings about it and what are
some of the worst things about?
KC Kahn (49:33):
it.
Some of the worst things aboutit were oh, maybe the long hours
.
I'm trying to think of anythingthat really bothered me a whole
lot the auditioning.
But in any of that, theauditioning is the treasury.
I used to think that if someonewould pay me to audition, I'd
work for free, so that's how Ifelt about that.
Daniel Koo (49:55):
That's really the
most difficult part of it.
KC Kahn (49:57):
Well, it's the most
time consuming and you know
you're standing in line orwaiting in waiting rooms to
basically have somebody gothrough your book and go no, no,
no, thank you.
And then every once in a whilesomebody goes oh, you did this
or you know OK, and then you getthe call from the agent and and
you set up the date and yay, sothat's fun.
(50:20):
I always enjoyed the room whereit was happening, whether it be
where the photographer'ssetting up or the lights and the
camera people on set weresetting up.
I always wanted to stick mynose in there and just see what
was going on before I had to beon stage, so to speak.
So I thought that wasinteresting, but I could never
(50:41):
imagine having the patience tobe a photographer.
Oh, interesting I mean, backthen it was Polaroids and the
lighting.
I mean nothing was easy.
And then you don't even knowwhat you're getting until you
send it to the lab and then youget it back.
I see.
And I couldn't imagine goingthrough all of that and they
were so precise and sopersnickety over everything and
(51:04):
I thought I just can't do that.
But now I'm doing that with myfood Right.
Daniel Koo (51:09):
I mean, yeah, we
have to talk about your
photography at some point aswell which was very impressive
when I looked over your socialmedia accounts.
Thank you, I'm sure everyonewho visits your page will notice
it too.
KC does her own photography ofthe chopped and they're
fantastic.
You look very professional, butit's just at your home, right,
right, yes, on my dining roomtable.
KC Kahn (51:31):
With a couple of lights
and my camera and a vision.
I get this kind of feeling whenit all comes together and I
look in the viewfinder and Ilike the way the color of the
vegetables look, I like the waythe towel is set and I take
quite a few pictures and quite afew angles and I also take
(51:51):
pictures of the accoutrementmaybe the vegetables unsliced
and the dressings, thecomponents, and I just get this
feeling when I put it up on thescreen and I'm editing and I go,
okay, that's the one.
Daniel Koo (52:07):
That's the one.
I wonder if that comes fromyour modeling career as well,
where you have to be veryvisually sensitive to all the
elements.
KC Kahn (52:15):
To a degree, but you're
being directed more so in the
modeling.
You're not making the decisionsabout what it's going to look
like.
I'll tell you the thing that Iprobably dislike the most about
modeling when they're trying todo the makeup and hair, I was
just like just get it done andget me out of here.
I had no patience for that.
And then I'm looking at whatthey're doing to me and it's
(52:36):
like this doesn't look likeanything that I would do to my
face, but you had to sit there.
That's the look that theywanted, or the clothing you know
that they wanted you to wear,and but the hair and the makeup
just drove me crazy.
I would try to get my hair asdone as I could before I got
there, and then the makeup wasjust.
(52:56):
I would just look at it and go,oh God, I just don't want to
look like that.
Daniel Koo (53:01):
That's interesting.
Yeah, the way you describe it.
I think it makes sense that youmoved out of modeling as well,
but it was something that youkind of wanted to try out and
maybe something that wassuitable for that age at that
time.
Yeah, it was an opportunitythat you had to take a banjo and
you know it was.
KC Kahn (53:15):
It was good money, it
was an opportunity that you had
to take a banjo and you know itwas good money.
The other thing I did that wasreally good money when I
cultivated it was the tradeshows, because I didn't want to
go the what's politicallycorrect to say it's not waitress
waitstaff, the waitingpersonnel.
The waiting personnel.
(53:36):
I just didn't.
Well, for one thing, I'm not anight person and that's what you
had to do, because yourauditions are during the day, so
you'd have to take a nightposition and that was just not
me at all.
And I was on a show calledSheriff Lobo, a television show.
I played a waitress and Ididn't turn out very well.
It was iced tea all over thetable and staff and everything.
(54:00):
And I thought, okay, I think Ichose the right path so that I
didn't lose anything.
I mean, they weren't too happywith me, but you know, you
always just do another take.
Daniel Koo (54:16):
Tell me more about
the trade shows that you've done
.
What did the job entail?
So what were you responsiblefor?
What kind of skills did youneed to have in order to be a
person in trade show?
KC Kahn (54:22):
Well, that's a huge
range.
I mean, there's so manydifferent levels.
And you can be a personalitythat's signing a poster.
You know just up there andthat's what you do.
You say hi and you smile andyou sign a poster and you roll
it up and you give it to themand they walk away.
Or you can be a part of thecompany, so to speak.
(54:44):
There were a lot of times thatI would introduce myself and
just tell them that, yes, I cangreet people, but I can also
read your information and I candescribe what we're selling and
what we're doing here, so that Ican find a salesperson for you
to work with.
That's what I tell the companyowners.
Daniel Koo (55:05):
That actually sounds
like sales to me.
KC Kahn (55:07):
Well, it is.
Daniel Koo (55:08):
I see it is.
KC Kahn (55:09):
It's like pre-sales,
you're kind of selling yourself,
but you're selling all sorts ofdifferent things.
So if you want to do that andyou like it and you're able to,
I appreciated it because Ididn't want to be thought of as
just a pretty face and I was afew times, many times.
But I always wanted to kind ofget involved in the sales part
(55:30):
of it because I was pretty goodat selling things as long as it
wasn't myself.
But I worked for a big, hugeJapanese company called Fujitsu
10 and they were car stereos andit was the era of the cassette
into the CD, into motioncensoring, where they could
(55:51):
actually put a CD in a car andnot have it skip.
That was their development.
That's where Fujitsu 10 was.
So they had a car created that Icould demonstrate everything
and how it worked and where thespeakers were, and that
eventually went into a demo roomwhere I was talking to an
audience and so I just developedkind of a spiel about what went
(56:15):
here, what went there, talkedabout all the goodies and
gadgets, and you know, reverbwas a big thing back then.
Shake the building, everybodyloved that.
So I created that pretty muchmore for myself than maybe I was
originally hired to do, but Ihad a lot, of, a lot of
companies that had me on forthat and we would travel all
(56:36):
over the states in that capacity.
Daniel Koo (56:38):
You know, it seems
like from what you explained to
us how you started out.
You were kind of isolated,maybe even a little shy, but
going to modeling and also goingto trade shows, that's a
relatively very extroverted job.
Do you think you learned thaton the job or do you think you
wanted to do that in the firstplace?
KC Kahn (56:56):
I think I wanted to do
it in the first place because I
wanted to get away from thepeople that were telling me
those things and I was reallyfeeling stifled and any way that
I could just start anew I waschoosing to do and those things
(57:18):
made me uncomfortable.
At first I was just, you know,selling what I could do and I
just got lucky enough that I wasable to do it for quite a while
.
Daniel Koo (57:27):
I think the general
advice is that you should stay
at a job as long as you'regrowing and learning and to kind
of move on.
You have to know when to moveon as well.
I see that in your career aswell.
You've learned a ton being amodel.
You learned a ton being at atrade show talking to people,
being very extroverted.
I'm sure that helped you inyour acting career as well,
(57:48):
would you say.
That's true.
KC Kahn (57:49):
Yeah, I mean because
there are times when you're kind
of acting.
You're acting like you knowwhat you're talking about.
I was very good at picking upthe lingo of the salesman and
just going with it, and once youpick up some buzzwords then
they think that you know whatyou're talking about.
So I was pretty good at that.
The acting I don't know that Ilooked at it as something one
(58:10):
helping the other, because to methey were pretty distinct.
I had a little bit more leewaywith the trade shows than really
you do with acting, because youhave a script and that's what
you follow and the director isthere and people are watching
what you're doing.
So I don't know that.
I really thought about that whenI was doing both those things.
I was doing the trade shows sothat I can continue to do the
(58:32):
acting.
I wasn't in a restaurantwaiting on people at night,
being exhausted, trying to goout on auditions.
So that was my idea with thetrade shows and I thought it was
just genius.
I couldn't believe that nobodyelse was doing this.
You know you're an actor.
You could do that and make somuch money.
Maybe they just didn't enjoy it, you know, don't know.
Daniel Koo (58:54):
One of the last
topics I want to talk about is
kids.
KC Kahn (58:57):
So you mentioned the
lack thereof, the lack thereof.
Daniel Koo (59:01):
You mentioned that
it was a decision, and it was a
choice not to have kids.
Tell us more about why you madethat decision and maybe some of
the factors that you weredealing with at the time, and
also if this was a decision froma long time ago, that may be
different now.
KC Kahn (59:18):
As a kid I pretty much
knew and I couldn't tell you why
I knew this, but I did not wantto be a parent.
I played more with teenage typeof dolls than I did baby dolls.
Tell my mom when I was 16 thatif she was going to be a
(59:40):
grandparent she better hope mybrother comes out of his shell
and actually gets married andhas some kids, which he has done
to his credit.
He doesn't know that, but Ithink my mom was pretty shocked
and very saddened by that.
But that was the way that Ifelt for many years, many, many
years.
And then Chris and I met.
I felt for many years, many,many years, and then Chris and I
met.
We did talk about kids.
(01:00:01):
He's got a big family up in SanLuis Obispo and I think that it
was probably a path that hethought he was probably going to
go on and didn't think aboutnot going on it, but he kind of
knew.
I mean, I did tell him what Isaid so he understood where I
was coming from.
But I did come around tothinking that he would be an
(01:00:21):
amazing dad and I didn't want totake that opportunity away from
him and I loved him so muchthat I thought I would love our
child too.
So we did try.
It was, I'm trying to think, myage I think I was actually
younger than my mom was thatmany years ago.
(01:00:41):
So I didn't think that it wasimpossible for me to get
pregnant.
And I did.
I did twice because the firsttime I miscarried and the
circumstances the second timewere exactly the same as the
first time I was.
Five weeks along, I was workingwith the same client, getting
(01:01:05):
the same twinges and knowing thesecond time around what I was
in for it was bizarre and foundout pretty much that unless I
had hormones and went throughall of that, you know it's
probably not going to work.
And I thought well, I think Ishould take that as a sign that
(01:01:31):
maybe it's just not right for us.
And Chris and I talked, and wetalked about it very in depth
and we both kind of came to thesame conclusion that maybe this
isn't for us.
And then at the same time thefork in the road showed up in
the form of cycling and maybe weshould go to Europe and ride
along with the Tour de Francewell, which has actually just
(01:01:52):
ended on Sunday, and both of uswere so excited we can do that.
That I remember we wereplanning it.
I had to learn how to ride abike outside.
All.
I'd done was spinning classes,basically.
So we had to get me a bike andI had to get used to it.
And during all this time we'rethinking, wow, what if we have a
kid?
I'm thinking it more, I think,than Chris.
(01:02:13):
What if we have a kid?
We're planning all of thisaround us, being fancy free, and
what really hit me and reallycemented it for me is that I
thought I was pregnant and I wasso disappointed and the other
times I had been elated and Ihad just completely turned
(01:02:34):
around thinking that Chris isgoing to be out cycling, he's
going to be out directing movies.
That was his path and I wasn'tgoing to be able to be there.
I was going to be home with akid.
I thought we need to talk.
Daniel Koo (01:02:48):
So thank you for
sharing and I'm sorry for your
loss as well.
KC Kahn (01:02:53):
Don't worry about it.
We have not truly have notregretted the decision.
It wasn't a tearful decision tomake, it was just okay.
This is the path that we'd liketo take.
Daniel Koo (01:03:02):
A very important
point that I wanted to get out
of this conversation is thatthere's a different life that
you can have.
I think not having kids kind ofopens you up to a lot more
opportunities as well, and it'ssomething that is good to hear
from you, because I'm sure a lotof people are considering that.
You know there's a lot ofdebate in having a kid and there
(01:03:22):
are so many factors to consider.
And depending on your lifegoals.
It's very important to choose,because it's going to change
your life very drastically.
KC Kahn (01:03:30):
Well, there's no doubt
about it.
I mean, our life would havebeen drastically different,
maybe better.
Well, who knows who?
Knows.
You know, we won't know, but wedidn't make the decision lightly
, nor did we regret the decisionthat we made and I kind of felt
that the universe made thedecision for me.
I mean, it really would havebeen tough for us to have a kid.
Just getting it, just having itwould have been tough.
(01:03:53):
So I didn't choose to go thatroute and I've had clients that
have gone that route and they'vebeen super happy.
But oh my goodness, what adifficult procedure to go
through and I wish them well,but it wasn't for us, so it was.
Daniel Koo (01:04:10):
Anyways, thank you
so much for all the insight.
We've learned a ton today,personally.
I think the ideas aboutdiscipline and also kind of
following what you're passionateabout and what you're able to
do that's something that I'vebeen looking forward to as well.
So when you want to getsomething done, you have to do
something that you're able to do.
(01:04:30):
Cross-section it with whatpeople want, cross-section it
with what you're good at, and Ithink having those three kind of
intersected is something thatyou've been able to achieve, and
throughout your career, youtransformed it into something
that you really like and a pointthat you really want to be at.
So, to summarize a little bit,I think where you started from
and where you ended up is verydifferent, and I think that's
(01:04:52):
something that we can all lookforward to in life, and so I
really thank you so much foryour time and your insight.
I personally learned a lot andhad a lot of fun talking to you.
KC Kahn (01:05:03):
Well, I had a lot of
fun thinking about and bringing
up some of these things that Iwent through that really, you
know I had forgotten.
I didn't bury, but it's good tobe insightful every once in a
while and you've drawn it out ofme and it made me feel
comfortable.
You know talking about myself.
(01:05:23):
Thank you so much.
Daniel Koo (01:05:26):
Thank you so much.