Page 39 - Demo

www.MOSTmag.com || FITNESS MAG A ZINE || 39That%u2019s Pisay Pao%u2019s quote to live by, which she obviously has. Born in a refugee camp in Thailand after her parents escaped the civil war in Cambodia, Pisay found herself in the United States at two years of age in Seattle, Washington. She developed a love for the arts that would eventually translate into fashion design school and lead right into acting. She started off booking commercials and then made the move to L.A. where she found success and most recently won the role of Cassandra on the show %u201cZ Nation,%u201d which portrays a virus-caused zombie apocalypse, which has already killed most humans. Pisay, whose name means beloved in Cambodian, sat down with MOST Fitness to divulge her hobbies, her healthy diet, and give us a peek inside her life as an actor. MFM: Do you still love to draw or paint? Do you have any aspirations to do more with art?PP: It has been a long time since I have drawn or painted a piece, but I am always inspired to do something creative. A few years ago, I won the first pumpkin carving contest I entered. I drew a Minion%u2019s face on a pumpkin, carved it (I had never carved a pumpkin before), and then painted on Twitter - @PisayPaoFacebook - www.facebook.com/PISAY-PAO-836402779781518By: Darcy Tharpsome blue trousers. Most recently, I hand painted some envelopes and sent them out to fans who requested autographs and photos. I figured if they have made the effort to track me down, I should do something special in return.MFM: You attended the University of Washington for a year-What made you realize that you were not interested in staying there, but rather wanted to pursue a fashion career?PP: I have always loved learning and had been an %u201cA%u201d student most of my life. But when I got to college, it was like I hit a wall. As much as I enjoyed my classes at UW I found myself skipping most days because I just knew in my heart I was not where I was supposed to be. I went into clothing design because it was one of my early passions. I learned to sew on an industrial sewing machine when I was 5 years old and started collecting fashion magazines around the time I was in middle school. I thought it was a great way to tap into my creative side while having a %u201cstable%u201d career.MFM: You attended design school-do you still desire to work more in fashion one day or are you focusing mainly on your acting career right now?PP: Right now I cannot get enough of acting. It is the most challenging thing I have ever done, but I am addicted. MFM: What was the first national commercial you booked, and how was it? PP: Well the first commercial I ever booked did not go national. It only played regionally, but it played during the Winter Olympics and was a really big deal. At the time I was living in Seattle, and they flew us down to LA for the shoot. We got put up in the Standard Hotel downtown which is a pretty