Meet two Anteater alumni who are using creativity and technology to reach audiences around the world
When Daniel Chung ’11 graduated with a degree in applied mathematics, he never imagined his dream job would involve cooking elaborate meals for millions of people online.
Today, Chung – better known to his followers as POV Husband – has built a massive audience on social media, with more than 1.5 million followers on TikTok and more than 3 million on Instagram.
In one video, he might prepare a traditional Korean dish. In another, he’s plating fresh king crab or sushi. Once, he even tackled a 15-pound Pacific octopus. His videos feature elaborate buffets and professional-style plating – all made for his wife and family.
“I think people enjoy my sense of humor and transparency – also, food content is always fun to watch,” he says. “Most people will think of me as ‘that guy that goes all out for his wife.’ But, really, I want to be remembered as the guy who tried.”
After graduating from UC Irvine, Chung spent eight years in corporate banking before turning toward entrepreneurship. He and a business partner eventually acquired several restaurants, but when the work no longer felt fulfilling, they decided to sell.
Video: Daniel Chung ’11, aka POV Husband, demonstrates on TikTok how to prepare a meal
@pov_husbandHere’s the thing – I don’t mind paying for a good meal. But when I have to spend $100 (after tax & tip) for a 8oz usda prime filet tossed on the grill by a cook busy pushing out other orders, naw I’m good. I’ll spend that at home. $95 for this tomahawk ($28/lb x 3.4lb) at my local butcher. And I was kidding, my wife didn’t ask to go to an expensive steakhouse. I just don’t like how I have to pay $200 per person with drinks for a steak worse than Costco usda prime made at home.
Around the same time, Chung and his wife were expecting their first child. As his savings dwindled, he began cooking more at home, both to save money and because his restaurant experience had taught him a few things about food.
In 2024, he saw an opportunity to share his creations online. It didn’t take long before a POV Husband video went viral, allowing him to monetize his content and build a new career.
Today, Chung enjoys the freedom the work provides.
“That also comes with a heavy burden, but, personally, I prefer to work at my own pace,” he says. “And, also, I get to spend a lot of time with my wife and kid, which is a huge plus.”
@pov_husband 0 to 1mil IG followers in 7 months… unreal. Beyond grateful and in shock. Thank you to everyone for the love and support. Earlier this year I was probably at the lowest point of my life. If you followed my story, I worked in finance and decided to quit my 6-figure VP title job in 2019 to purchase a restaurant with my partner. We expanded to three locations within one and a half years until in 2023 we decided this wasn’t what we wanted to do so we sold two of the three restaurants to pursue something else. Well that something else never came. For over 12 months I found myself burning through my savings to pay mortgage and bills and the restaurant we still had slowed down a lot and wasn’t enough to carry us. My wife also got pregnant at this time and had to be on maternity leave. We weren’t going to go broke the next day but maybe another year or two we would have to consider selling the house. I felt responsible since I was the one that moved us out to Torrance and we were expecting a baby. I applied to go back to corporate but the job market was bad and no one would get back to me. I had one interview and I didn’t get hired. I was willing to do anything at this point. I figured if I cook every meal for us we can save about $2k/mo. And this is what I did. I would grocery shop every day and plan out all the meals. This brought me some joy because at least I was doing something. I was “earning” money for us. Then I had this idea of putting a camera on my head and uploading to Tiktok and Youtube for side money. I already cook two meals a day so I can easily upload two videos a day. I quickly realized I really enjoyed content creating and then I seized the opportunity. I pressed on the gas pedal so hard, and I never looked back. Whatever it is you’re looking for, keep fighting and don’t give in.
Aylwin Po Villanueva ’10 spends his days helping bring movie worlds to life. As a sets technical lead at Pixar Animation Studios, he works behind the scenes to build the digital environments that transport audiences to different times and places.
Villanueva draws on the artistic and technical skills he learned at UC Irvine as a dual major in studio art and informatics. His work supports the studio’s modelers, set dressers, shading artists and extension artists as they create 2D and 3D worlds that appear on screen.
After graduating, Villanueva joined Lucasfilm and worked his way up to technical director at Industrial Light & Magic, the company’s visual effects studio. There, he contributed to box-office hits such as Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens and Avengers: Endgame.
At Pixar, his favorite project so far has been Elemental.
“I feel incredibly lucky to work with very talented artists and especially to have had great mentors throughout the years. I wouldn’t be here without those mentors and all the collaborative experiences I’ve had in all the films I’ve worked on.”
At UC Irvine, courses in video editing, 3D modeling and video game history and design helped spark his creativity, while programming and software design classes prepared him for the technical challenges of his job.
“A lot of what I learned from our courses on human-computer interaction are things I still refer back to even today when I’m making a new tool,” he says. “How many clicks does it take to do an action? Why is a specific tool confusing to use for someone? What is the most natural way for someone to use this tool, and what should the workflow be?”
By asking those questions, Villanueva can build better tools for Pixar’s artists.
He says, “Even better is when we start collaborating on what the next iteration of a tool set can be and how we can adapt it to different projects and create something that has a longer shelf life than one film.”
Whether you’ve built a successful career, pursued a unique passion or gained valuable life lessons along the way, your experiences can inspire fellow Anteaters. We’d love to hear about your journey and share what makes your story uniquely yours.
