Interview: Host Steven Weathers Of ICS EXPO 360°

Steven Weathers

As someone interested in the Shanghai Expo, I started streaming videos from ICS or International Channel Shanghai online for their EXPO 360° shows. [Our dorm has television, but we have to pay for connection. Ugh.] The segment actually has a lot of hosts (both locals and foreigners) who goes inside the different pavilions and just tours the audience. One of the hosts, Steven Weathers, is this friendly dude who is always enthusiastic on cam.

I do not usually meet TV personalities in person; because well, they are supposed to stay behind the cameras. Heh. And I honestly think they run around places all day getting the scoop on things to film or talk about. But Steven Weathers was different as he actually had time to talk about what he does for a living (even if I think it gets repetitive already for him).

So we agreed to meet in Yogo Juice near West Nanjing Road Station. Steven arrived carrying his MacBook Air [which looks really sleek by the way]. Apparently, he was doing the finishing touches for a voice over while walking all the way from the studio. That level of multitasking? I don’t think I could do that.

Expotia wrote a quick bio of Steven Weathers in their blog giving him the title of Best Expo Job Contender. That alone made me all the more intrigued. Videos of his EXPO 360° shows are also posted in the Expotia blog.

For laowais who have thought about breaking into the China scene, Steven Weathers can be said to be a model of sorts. And yes, pun totally intended.

CNR: Tell me about your love affair with China.

Steven Weathers: I love traveling. I went to graduate school in St. Andrews, Scotland. It was cheaper back then to travel on vacations, and we have 3 or 4 week vacations. So rather than buying a ticket back home to America, I would travel to Europe and saw almost all European countries. I have always loved international cultures and meeting new people and assimilating. My first trip to China was in 1998. I came with a tour group for about 2 weeks traveling to Beijing and Xian. And I loved China. The people in the tour group said that in 10 years I would be here and work here in China. And I laughed at them and thought they were crazy.

But I started thinking about it. I had a company that time that was into marketing and advertising. I enjoyed it immensely. Same projects every day. Seven days a week. I was a workaholic. But I missed living overseas. So I started looking into China, because it was slated to be a world leader in the future. So I came 2005.

CNR: Wow, just 5 years ago.

Steven: Yup, only 5 years. I am fairly new compared to other foreigners I have met who have been here 15 to 20 years.

CNR: How did you start with ICS then?

Steven: Good question. My first year in China was not in Shanghai. It was in a city called Luoyang in Henan Province. I was there a year as an English teacher. I enjoyed that experience immensely. It was very quiet, and it gave me the chance to learn Chinese quickly as compared to learning in a big city. I was very isolated. We were only 6 foreigners at that time among 6 million people. It was unlike Shanghai or Beijing where you have dozens of foreigners. So I leaned Chinese more quickly at that time. But I knew I wanted to go to Beijing or Shanghai. So after 1 year, I had an opportunity to teach at Shanghai Normal University where I taught marketing and advertising and British and American literature.

After that, I immediately got pulled into the media industry. A foreign friend of mine whose wife is a Chinese agent helped me get into projects. I was soon involved in 40 commercials, music videos, and TV series.

CNR: Ok, stupid question. You were in the commercials, right? Not behind the scenes.

Steven: In the commercials as an actor. I was with Stephanie Sun from Singapore and Yang Lan. That was with the oolong cha commercial. Also Jacky Cheung. I was also in an S.H.E music video. These are all gigs that happened between 2006 and 2008.

By 2008, I auditioned for a TV series called 蜗居 (Wo Ju); and I did not know anything about it. I just knew they were looking for a foreigner learning Chinese. And there was another foreigner learning Chinese who auditioned. He has the perfect Chinese. But he did not get in, and I got in. So I asked why. I heard the director say it was because my Chinese was not very good!

CNR: How is your Chinese right now?

Steven: 现在我的中文还不行。但是我听得懂80%-90%。[Right now, my Chinese is not very good. But I can understand 80% to 90% of the time.]

CNR: 哇， 你很棒！[Wow, you’re great!--I just love saying that.]

Steven: No, no, no. 马马虎虎吧。[So-so.] So I could learn Chinese through the script in 蜗居. After that I was in Du Lala Sheng Zhi Ji (Go Lala Go!) , and I played Du Lala’s boss Howard. That was just recently.

ICS came onto the scene about a year and a half ago. I was a host of a government video on the Expo explaining Expo online. I was chosen by the government to be that host.  It’s a video you could still find on the Internet. And ICS saw that and liked it. At the same time, I had my own series called老外实现 (Foreigner’s Perspective) and had made 3 episodes and put them on the Internet and a number of producers saw that. You could also see that over at the Internet.  I have 20 episodes of those. It is self-produced, self-acted, self-edited, self-everything. One-man show. All over China. Travel features. Culture features. And ICS producers saw those as well and said, “Get in here!” And after that, the ball rolled quickly, and I had many opportunities to host in ICS.

CNR: I saw your videos on the Expo. Do you write your own script?

Steven: Sometimes we have a shot list. So there is an editor for each of the features. That’s not me. It’s the director. And they will prepare a rough script or an outline. But often I use my own language. I script it as we go. Just because I have to discover the pavilion and quickly synthesize the information and give it back to the video. Sometimes we have a script, sometimes we don’t.

CNR: What are your views on the Expo? What was your initial reaction and right now?

Steven: Well, my initial reaction was I was excited about it because I have been to a world expo in 1982 in America . It was in Knoxville, Tennessee. Small world’s fair. But I remember I was only a child. I went with my family and some family friends. I remembered seeing the USA pavilion had a new technology called a “touch screen”.  That was so exciting! That was put up by Apple computer. And now we all have Apple phones, and we all touch the screens.  You know it’s cool 20 years later, 25 years later that we have technology like that in our pockets. I remember things like that.  So I thought the Shanghai Expo is going to show us some cool new technology. It’s going to be a chance to see other cultures. I had no idea 25 years later I would be that involved in this world’s expo and seeing cultural performances and taking part in them.

CNR: Any bad thoughts on it? Because well, it’s crowded.

Steven: Yeah…a lot of people say 人山人海. People mountain people sea. And some days that’s true. Huge tour buses arrive from other provinces. But one of the secrets I’ve found is not to follow the crowds. Go to joint pavilions. The joint pavilions are those pavilions with several countries inside. Hardly any lines in those places. I don’t think it’s worth the wait to see the huge pavilions for 2, 3 hours!

CNR: But you’re from the media. You get to skip the lines.

Steven: I’ve waited in lines. Because after filming I oftentimes go around on my own. And you’re right, I haven’t had to wait for the large pavilions. But when I go inside, I don’t think they’re anymore special than the smaller pavilions. They may be larger. But they’re no more special.

CNR: So after the Expo, what are your plans?

Steven: That’s a great question! And it’s a good time to ask. Because I’m planning a new show after the Expo. It’s going to be an entertainment show.  But I don’t want to share too much about it. It’s going to be a surprise!

Here are Steven’s top 5 Expo tips (especially for us at CNReviews!).

1. Night Tickets: If you live in Shanghai, visit the Expo park in the evening. The weather is cooler, the crowds are fewer, and the lines are definitely shorter. I recently took my cousin to visit the park, and we didn’t have to wait for any pavilion. We saw 14, including Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Philippines and more.

2. International Treats: I don’t recommend taking food to the park, because there are many international flavors there. My favorite meal is next to the Africa Joint Pavilion in the African Cantine. The restaurant’s name is Hakuna Matata, and you can try an ostrich-meat meal for only 33 RMB.

3. Joint Pavilions: The best way to see many countries’ pavilions is visiting the joint pavilions like Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central & South America. The lines, if any, are very short, and you can feel like your on a fast-pass to world travel.

4. Easy Entry: If you live in Puxi, take the MaDang Road entrance with the metro right into the park. The security lines are short, and when you enter the park, you will be right in the middle of some great pavilions.

5. Coffee: If you’re a coffee lover like I am, try some of the world’s best coffees in Ethiopia (African Joint Pavilion), Ecuador (Central & South American Pavilion), Brazil, and ColumbiaDarn.

Was I starstrucked seeing ICS EXPO 360° man Steven Weathers? Well, not really. He was your regular TV host. But so down-to-earth and easy to talk to. However, I did wish I asked him more about S.H.E! Follow Steven Weathers on Twitter @sdweathers. See Steven Weathers’ EXPO 360° videos at Expotia.