Micheal Yo

Michael Yo is the host of a call-in talk show called: Yo on E!, a three-hour entertainment talk show heard nationally on XM and Sirius Satellite Radio. Driven by the E! Network. Yo on E! sets the standard for entertainment talk, providing listeners with celebrity interviews, the latest in pop culture and breaking, and up-to-the-minute entertainment news. In this interview, Michael Yo shares with us some of his style secrets, what’s a day like hosting Yo on E!, his special connection to Miami, and his dream for hosting his own late night talk show.

 

How was your day so far, who did you interview?
It was crazy. We had bunch of people stop by the studio, like Ryan Seacrest. Hanson also stopped by today. They are coming up with a new tour. We talked about which group they would like to see make a comeback, they mentioned Queen. I also interviewed Michael Lohan, Lindsay Lohan’s dad, the other day. I interviewed him for E! News and the Daily Ten. It is interesting, Michael Lohan is famous for being such a bad guy in the media, I think he does talk a little much, but he is also really nice. He definitely loves the attention, and this is why he is doing the interviews. We scored the first one on camera. He is not mean. He admits in the past he’s done some bad, but now he is good. He is trying to do better. Last couple weeks ago we broke the story with Brooke Hogan, and Madonna called me when she was coming up with her new album. And I also speak to Benji and Joel Madden.

What do you love most about being a host?
I do so many different things. I got like 18 jobs right now. I have a local Miami afternoon show on Y100 that I do from LA. It is syndicated back to Miami. I’m also the music director of the radio station. I program the music for the station from LA. I started in Miami, and it brought me all the way here to LA to the Yo on E! show. I then became a pop culture junkie. Chelsea Handler from the show Chelsea Lately on E! Networks gave me my first break on TV. I really appreciate how Chelsea been on my show on the radio, and she told me I will do well on her show. Chelsea gave the chance and the opportunity, and it’s taking off since then. Being on the Chelsea Lately show puts me in the category of “he can hold his own on TV.” And E! News and the Daily 10 also put me on TV interviewing. I’ve already been here in LA a year and 3 months and it’s gone really well. Everyone on E! are great, like Joel McHale for The Soup.

How would you describe your interviewing style?
I do about 6 interviews a day. My interviewing style is like I’m talking to you, casual. A lot of time when some people interview on TV they look more stagnant. I keep the radio vibe. I don’t like to watch myself on TV because I don’t want to say: ‘I should look this way or that way”. I also want to be genuine to my radio form. The radio interviews are fun and upbeat. When a guest comes in, I try to be fair. I’m going to ask tough questions but I’m going to be fair. I never attack, that’s not my thing. I like to have my guests laugh and think they are going to be asked tough questions but it’s going to be fair and they are going to have fun while they’re here. I want to know what they like to do on their day off, and what’s something that nobody else knows about them. Every time I interview somebody, it is the best accomplishment if you get something out of them they have never said before. I feel if you treat your guests right they will give you the information you want. They will come back to you in the future because you reported right.

What is your own personal style?
I’m going through a change where moving from Miami the style is totally different than LA. In Miami is more you go out with jeans, here people wear suites, jeans or jacket. It is a lot more laid back here. I’ve been in LA for a year so I cleaned up my closet finally. I’m in Hugo Boss shirts, button down. I love ties now. My style in Miami was very basic like jeans, in LA it is a bit more stylish, more colors. Right now in the summer I’m into bright colors: yellows, greens, and purples.

Where is your favorite place to shop?
I love Hugo Boss, Club Monaco, J. Lindeberg.

Do you dress yourself or rely on a personal stylist?
The good thing about E! there are stylists all over the place. We just ask: “Hey do I look ok”? We are lucky at that.

What inspires your style?
Jonas Brothers, I love their style now. And the classic styles from the Ocean 13 movie, and really from all the ‘Ocean’ film series. George Clooney and Brad Pitt, their style is impeccable. I’m into the GQ and Details magazines. More so now that I moved to LA, the last three months, I’m into style. You can go to Barney’s or Macy’s , anywhere you go you can find something you can mix and match. If it is a nice fitted suite, I always find a way to make it not so stuffy. For example: I can wear jeans with a nice jacket with tennis shoes like Converse. I love Converse. When I go to a nice event I want to look clean, I wear Hugo Boss shoes. I can go either way, but mostly I like the laid back look. Classic but yet laid back.

Have you ever had a fashion disaster?
When I first moved to LA, you go through a transition, people get styled over here. It is kind of normal when you move to a new city. I would show up to events all dressed up and everybody is laid back. This is the only fashion disaster incident for me because I never go way outside of the box. It took me about six months to get into the LA style.

What is your signature cologne?
Dolce and Gabbana the original. I’ve been wearing this cologne since high school. For some reason it works on my skin, and I get lots of compliments, so I’m not changing it. Once you find something you love, and people love it on you-it works.

What would be your ultimate stylish car?
I love the new Austin Martin in the new James Bond movie. Way too much money, but that would be my ultimate car. I will get it in midnight blue. It is also in GQ this month (June 2008) with Robert Downey Jr. on the cover.

Which celebrities do you find most stylish?
David Beckham, of course. And he’s got a lot a pressure to look good because of his wife, Victoria Beckham. George Clooney is always classic. It’s older guys, I look up to them for fashion because they always seem to be put together. For example, you will never see Michael Jordan not put together.

The city I love the most…
Miami. South Beach. Love it. I like the fact that you can walk down on Ocean Avenue nearly four blocks and not hear English once. It always like a mini vacation. I love Miami’s energy. I was actually born in Houston Texas, but I lived in Miami, went to college and never went back. I got a job in Miami for the last eight years and E! Networks moved me to LA about a year and 3 months ago. I miss Miami so much, I consider Miami as my home.

What one or two things some people may not know about you?
My favorite movie is Gladiator. I used to snore but now I don’t anymore, and I have no idea why. I can eat sushi every night and be happy. My perfect night is inside watching a movie and having a great dinner, in the house. I’m not into running around the Hollywood scene going from club to club. And, I’m working on my body to look like Brad Pitt in the 1998 movie: Fight Club. I’m working on it, I haven’t started yet.

What’s next for Michael Yo?
My dream job is to do a late night talk show like Carson Daily. And like Ryan Seacrest produce TV programs. I’m on the radio right now, I’m on E! News and the Daily Ten I do some reporting for them. I’m also on CNN as a culture expert. The TV stuff is coming along but my ultimate goal is to have my late night talk show. Every day I’m getting closer, I can count my blessings, and one day it will happen.

Style Interviews would like to thank Micheal so much for sharing with us some of his style secrets. You can find out more about Micheal and his radio show Yo on E! at www.eonline.com/on/radio/yoone/

Sal Masekela

Sal Masekela is known for hosting the Daily Ten show on E! Entertainment Televion, along with Debbie Matenopoulos and Catt Sadler. Sal is also the owner of a production company called: Berkela Films, with movies like “Bra Boys” and “Switch”. In this interview Sal share with us some of his style secrets, his great sense of individuality, and his love for producing.

How would you describe your personal style?
I describe my personal style as sort of a hotch potch, part surfer part hip hop and part hipster.

What inspires your style?
My inspiration for my style comes across the board. A lot of it comes from my travels. Seeing how other people dress in other parts of the world is always really inspiring to me. You get to pick the best hats the best t-shirts and the best shoes. I’m also inspired by how I’m feeling over the course of a time period. In the summer time my whole style switches to “I wish I was at the beach”. I definitely don’t want to look too put together because then you like someone else did it for you and it’s not really you. There are a lot of people on television that are been told for so long what to wear and how they should look. They don’t really have a sense of self. Your sense of self reflect how you were you cloths. There are cloths that I won’t wear because I know me.

How do you go about picking an outfit for a red carpet event?
I have lots of friends who are designers and have their clothing lines. I try to support as many as these friends as I can. I just connect them with art. The last couple of years they really learned my style, what I will wear what I won’t wear. My friends do lots of different lines like Trovata, which is a line I’m really into right now. The girls at NLA T Shirts are really nice to me, Quiksilver, The Hundreds, and Lacoste. And for a red carpet I got to step it up a notch. When it comes to red carpet my first choice is usually Hugo Boss because I really like the way their suites fit me, and their cut. A lot of time when you get into the higher end they tend to dress for much narrower frames. It can get frustrating, because I can like an outfit a lot but it won’t necessarily fit me body type. I am a big fan of John Varvatos but I can only wear a handful of his cloths. Ben Sherman. And, I’m a big fan of Gucci shoes.

Did you ever have a fashion disaster?
The first weeks on “The Daily Ten’ were a ‘fashion disaster’. Because they didn’t really have an idea of what they are going to allow us to dress in. They knew they wanted us to dress less formal, but they didn’t realize that jeans and t-shirt would be ok. So I find myself wearing a lot of things that I would never wear. I remember this hideous wool light blue and brown sweater and I felt like I was the angry kid on the first day in school. That is as bad it has ever been for me. I always been adamant about what I wear to reflect who I really am, and this saves me from major fashion disasters. I don’t let people take chances on me.

Who are your favorite designers?
Marc Jacobs is incredible.

Where is your favorite place to shop?
I’m really easy when it comes to where I shop. I go the Trovata Store in Newport Beach and Fred Siegel. I go there because they sell Kiehl’s. It is pretty much all I put on my body. They also have great jeans, great designer T’s the kind I really like, deconstructed t-shirts that look just a bit worn and soft.

Who does your hair?
I have an amazing hair dresser by the name Andy Drew, he is my savior. He is a real artist in the way he does my hair.

What is your signature cologne?
Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male.

What would be your ultimate stylish car?
Audi R8 in black. It was featured in the movie: Iron Man.

What is your favorite stylish drink?
Grey Goose and soda with a splash of cranberry please!

Which celebrities do you find most stylish?
Commen the rapper and Brad Pitt.

The city I love the most…
It is a toss-up between Vancouver and New York. I have to go with Vancouver as my first choice, and New York is second.

What one or two things some people may not know about you?
Singing. I got it from my dad. I grew up playing music my whole life from the time I was a little kid. And it is really what I thought I was going to do: be a musician like my dad. At a certain point I realized that these were hard footsteps to follow, and my music became surfing and snowboarding, and skate boarding.

What projects are you working on at the moment?
I own a production company called Berkela Films. Right now I have a movie out in the theatres which is a documentary called Bra Boys. I have another feature film that we shot in Whistler Vancouver. The movie is based on a snowboarding story and it is called: Switch. It is scheduled to be released next year. I really love producing, I love taking advantage of all the things that I had the privilege to paid to learn over the course of my ten year television career, and actually apply that to ideas that I’m really passionate about. I will be on The Daily Ten and with ESPN’s Winter X Games till at least year 2010. And hopefully, you will see me in films, and television, and acting. That is really my goal. I did forget to mention that I’m acting in the upcoming movie: Switch.

Style Interviews would like to thank Sal Masekela so much for sharing with us some of his style secrets. You can watch Sal every weekday on E! Channel’s: The Daily 10. The shows official website can be found at www.eonline.com/on/shows/daily10