Between 2020 and 2026, Raymond Hou (Raymond) hosted two interview series centered on people: “Standing Figures” on his podcast, and “Digital Life Atlas” on his blog and in livestreams. Neither was an interview series about celebrities. Both focused on peers who “made unconventional choices yet lived out their own models of achievement.” The interviewees therefore form a group portrait that reflects Raymond’s values: whom he chooses to talk with and what questions he asks reveal his judgments about careers, creation, and ways of life. This entry serves as an index to the two series, listing each interviewee and the story line Raymond cared about most.
The Positioning of the Two Series
“Standing Figures” was an interview branch of the first season of the Raymond Thirty podcast, launched in 2020 and running for nine episodes through 2021. Before starting the series, Raymond asked himself a question: Taiwan already had a long-running interview show, Mario Drinks with You, which mostly interviewed well-known entrepreneurs; why should he do another one? His answer was that he believed the future would no longer have only one answer—“a good company, a good title, and a good salary.” Everyone would have their own model of achievement, and his job was to find these people and bring their stories out.1 Most interviewees were people around thirty who had recently made one or more career turns. Topics centered on career choices, personal positioning, and “slowly is faster.” See Raymond Thirty Podcast and Career Development.
“Digital Life Atlas” began in 2021 with the positioning of “an atlas of modern digital life.” Rather than discuss digital tools themselves, it discussed how people use technology and digital systems as a “way of life,” and how they avoid being trapped inside digital systems. The early period (2021–2023, episodes 01–22) appeared mainly as Q&A columns on the blog. Interviewees included engineers, designers, instructors, creators, and remote workers; questions focused on workflows, minimalism, and remote living. Starting at the end of 2025, the series relaunched as long-form “Who Is X?” interviews linked to strategy livestreams added to the The Super Individual’s Way of Working (55-Unit Online Course) course, shifting the topic toward identity transitions and the philosophy of running an individual business. See Lifehacker Premium, Remote Work, and The Niche Business: Build a Reachable List, Make Friends, and Play the Long Game.
Standing Figures (2020–2021, Nine Episodes)
- #1 Yang Zhengyu (Xiaoyang): A chemistry graduate who delayed his MBA, volunteered in Africa, and turned toward education after six years at The News Lens. Raymond spoke with him about “having fewer burdens after falling down” and taking one’s time with career choices. → Yang Zhengyu (Xiaoyang)
- #2 Gao Erfen: Turning capabilities into products and helping others succeed before pursuing one’s own success.
- #3 Zeng Quanyu: From a sports university to radio host, building a vibrant life in a niche field.
- #4 Xu Yiyin (Steel V): Returning from a master’s degree in the United Kingdom unable to find a job, then being laid off, and turning to become an instructor.
- #5 Luo Junhong (Tiger): A couple’s business story, from design to voice-over and then voice-training instructor.
- #6 Uncle Jesse: After a technical college closed, with no standout academic credentials, he joined Microsoft as an engineer through expertise and a well-targeted network.
- #7 Alvin (Alvinist): Staying in Taiwan for love, accumulating work from radio to full-time YouTuber, and coordinating with a partner to run the channel together.
- #8 He Zewen: Being a good employee while maintaining a side business and personal brand, alongside observations on the crowded personal-brand market in an era when “anyone can publish a book or launch a course.”
- #9 Lin Feiyang: Rising from intern to vice president at Get App, discussing an “external perspective” and sales methods for serving businesses.
Early Digital Life Atlas (2021–2023, Q&A Columns)
This group shared the question of “ways of living in the digital era” and was spread across the digital-workflow and guide directories:
- 01 Fufu: A test engineer in the internet industry who pursued urban waste reduction and simple living, did not follow company afternoon tea and delivery trends, and made food a conscious part of everyday life.
- 02–04: A multi-job worker freelancing while completing a master’s degree (with scheduled rest as a key); Ruby, who balanced writing, gallery visits, and dance alongside high-pressure work in Hong Kong; and Kyo, who moved from law to engineering and reinvented life through minimalism.
- 05–11: At, an amateur podcaster who grew from single-digit audience numbers to number one; Hanyu, who built trust in a fully remote workplace; professional instructor Zheng Guanzhong, who optimized the process for handling invitations; and Amao, who moved from sociology into user experience design, among others.
- 12–22: The post-2000 college student 26; knowledge creator Waki; graphic designer Jinbo, who overcame anxiety; serial entrepreneur Lawrence (Lin Yiru); digital-nomad software engineer Hailuo; a Canva product designer; educator Lily; Esor, the owner of Computer Play; author Zhu Qi; Xiaojin Yu, who writes daily for herself; and knowledge-product builder Han Han. Waki and Esor also appear in their respective profile entries.
Relaunched Digital Life Atlas (2025–2026, Long “Who Is X?” Interviews)
The relaunch featured longer interviews focused on identity transitions and was synchronized with bonus livestreams for The Super Individual’s Way of Working (55-Unit Online Course):
- Zhou Jia’en: From comedian to AI writing, arguing for using real experience to counter AI-generated mediocrity.
- Lan Nuo (Eleanor): From freelance photography to a ten-person company, then dissolving the company and moving to New Zealand for a micro-retirement. She compares running a business to bodybuilding: bigger muscles are not always better; the goal is to find the physique that suits you. This echoes Raymond’s thinking about optimal scale.
- Manny (Li Yihong): Founder of the faceless content brand Manny’s Report, describing himself as an “irregular force.” Raymond discussed with him how a person who does not make a living through creation can build trust and a scalable paid subscription. His reflection that “it took until age thirty-three to understand that one shouldn’t be a lone wolf” echoes Trust Over Traffic.2
- Angie: From Taiwan to the United States, partnered with Paul Millerd, author of The Pathless Path, and self-published Made in Taiwan. The interview focused on “identity”: how to survive labels given by others, and finally dare to call oneself “Nobody.”
Interviewee Selection and Significance
Across the two series and six years, Raymond’s selection criteria are relatively consistent: he does not focus on the size of a person’s title, but on whether they have made an unconventional choice and can clearly explain the reasoning behind it. “Standing Figures” focuses on “how a career turns”; “Digital Life Atlas” focuses on “how to design life and work”; after the relaunch, the series deepened into “how identity grows.” This spectrum of interviewees serves as an annotation to Raymond’s own Super Individual argument: most of the people he interviews are also practicing “working smart and living well” and running an individual business. The list is therefore both a content asset and an external projection of Raymond’s values.
Sources
Footnotes
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Raymond Hou, “[Standing Figures #1] A Six-Year Media Professional Who Just Quit: Chemistry Confusion, Delayed MBA, and Why Taking Your Time with Career Choices May Be Faster—An Interview with Yang Zhengyu,” podcast, 2020-03-19. View original ↩
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Raymond Hou, “Who Is Manny? The Life Philosophy of the Founder of Manny’s Report, a Faceless Content Brand with NT$40 Million in Annual Revenue,” WordPress article, 2026-03-22. View original ↩