Who is Andrei Schiller-Chan?
I’m an offshoot of the ancestors who have gone before me. I’m a hybrid of the new world and my heritage stands as a beacon for commonality and unity. On one half I share heritage from Malaysia, China, on the other you could say I’m a German, Russian, Jew. If there’s world war three I don’t stand a chance…
I’m a producer/director of The Sol III Company, an enterprise I began to raise awareness for my friend David McCallum III, whom spent 29 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. He was exonerated 5 months ago. I also began it to communicate the works of my mentors Rubin Hurricane Carter and Ken Klonsky who work tirelessly on wrongful conviction cases. I owe both these men a life debt, for introducing me to David whom helped lead me on to the right path, and for igniting a recognition of the true self in me.
I am also a competitive boxer and boxing coach and prominently an avid spokesman for renewable and sustainable energy as I’m heavily invested in these areas.
What would you do differently to what you do now?
Nothing. I believe that if my heart remains true and I keep to my aim there is nothing you can do wrong. I’m happy to leave all the rest to the wind, and let go of any illusory control.
Who inspires you and why?
I inspire myself; it took a long time to say that. Truly there are those that have shown me truth in all aspects but I opened my ears to it, and because of that, I am very thankful to myself for choosing the organic path of growth. I suppose I’d say Rubin, Ken, and David for these are the men I owe much of myself. In terms of idealism, Marcus Aurelius, R. W. Emerson, and Epictetus, expanded my universe within myself. My family is of course without saying, I hope my father lives on in the actions I undertake.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
I hope I am doing that right now with each minute I am alive. We only have now, working with wrongful convictees you see how true that is, its here one minute and gone the next. “Great men make good use of their time”.
I am producing a play called The Exonerated at Chapel off Chapel – to raise funds and awareness for Innocence International (Rubin’ Legal Team) and Liberation Prison Yoga. Hopefully this can help in some small way and also raise questions about the death penalty and why prison populations are growing here in Australia.
Besides working closely with wrongful convictions, I am just beginning prison rehabilitation programs in Victoria with support form Liberation Prison Yoga New York founder Anneke Lucas. Most importantly, we only have one earth, and we must move forward to a greener earth, I’m only 25, and yet I have substantial investments in First Solar, Sunpower Corp, Whole Foods, Atlantis Resources, Infinis Energy, and Australian Ethical Investments. I hope that I can stand as a role model for younger people to start thinking of the future and get behind it actively.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
New York, it is where I met David and Rubin for the first time.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take then to, and why?
Probably to Absolute Mixed Martial Arts; nothing better than introducing them to what I consider my second family of MMA fighters, Boxers, and BJJ grapplers.
What are you currently reading?
Besides The Exonerated, I usually go back between Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and Nature by Emerson, I need their words to help fuel me for this massive I’m undertaking in producing this play. They remind me what is truly important.
What are you currently listening to?
Steve Hackett’s new Album Wolflight – the guitarist of Genesis 1970’s era.
Happiness is?
Wouldn’t presume to give a definitive answer to that question, find it for yourself. Everyone’s idea of happiness is different.
What does the future hold for you?
I have no idea, but I have my heading. The wind and the current will take care of the rest.
Andrei Schiller-Chan is the Producer and Director of The Exonerated, playing at Chapel Off Chapel: 22 May – 7 June 2015. For more information, visit: www.sol3company.com.au or www.chapeloffchapel.com.au for details.
Image: Andrei Schiller-Chan