"Back in high school I did a lot of speech therapy because of my stuttering. I was so afraid to do speeches, talk on the phone."
That same period in Pham's life was also when he discovered his love for fashion. During a free period in high school, Pham decided to take a fashion design class that completely transformed him.
"I loved it, it opened my eyes to so many things," Pham described. It was during this class that a classmate introduced him to "Project Runway" for the very first time.
"I got hooked onto the show. I would watch it with my friends, and we would sketch along with the challenges. I learned how to critique fashion from the show."
When the time came to pick a career path at the end of high school, Pham, the first-born son of Vietnamese immigrants, went with his parents' advice and decided to pursue a career in dentistry.
But when the time came to apply to dental schools, Pham realized, "You only have one life to live".
Pham moved from Oregon to New York where he studied at FIT before landing a job at Dior. Later, he opened and sold his own business before finally deciding to apply to the 22nd season of "Project Runway."
"Growing up it was hard, being gay, Vietnamese, first born, catholic and everything. I found humor is a way to make life easier. I find that if I have fun on the show then at the end of the day, no matter what happened to me on the show, I had a good time. That was my goal. And I feel like if I have fun, I'm infecting other designers to have fun."
While Pham provides comic relief during many moments throughout the show, he hopes someone watching him will draw inspiration from his story and not let their fears hold them back from going after their passion.
"To be on camera is quite daunting. It's a fear that I am trying to overcome and maybe help someone out there who has the same speech impediment as me. You can do this."
Project Runway airs Thursdays on Freeform and streams shortly after on Hulu and Disney+, followed by weekly airings.
Disney is the parent company of ABC Localish and this station.