Nostalgia Interviews With Chris Deacy

My guest this week is Leslie de Vries, who is Lecturer in East Asian Traditions at the University of Kent. Born in Antwerp, Belgium, we learn why Les doesn’t really look back to his childhood. He has a sister who was very sporty while his parents lived quite different lives. He explains why he didn’t perceive his family situation as normal. Les’ father was involved in managing bands and football players and Les recalls once shaking hands with Lionel Richie. Les explains why he wanted to be a ‘normal kid’ and how he was a bit of a dreamer in school. He later became involved in playing music and we discover how he became interested in East Asia through martial arts. We talk about the band Won Ton Ton and how we end up following unexpected paths. We find out why Les was kicked out of his band as a bass player and why it wasn’t quite the right path for him. He practiced Chinese martial arts and was fascinated by the philosophy behind it which led to Les’ Chinese adventure and his PhD. Les talks about the