HOUSTON — Beneath all the bling in Houston jeweler Johnny Dang's life are humble beginnings that started during a war in South Vietnam -- and in the dark.
“I had no electricity at all," Dang said.
“So times were tough back then?” KHOU 11 reporter Zack Tawatari asked him.
“Real, real tough. Yeah, not only for my family, for all Vietnamese,” Dang said.
Johnny’s father, a soldier in the South Vietnam army, escaped prison and narrowly made it to the U.S. on a small, crowded boat that lost power in the middle of the ocean.
“They just flowed in the ocean for like two weeks. So luckily they got rescued by one of the big ships,” Dang says.
Johnny arrived in Houston years later -- August 1996. He was 23 years old.
On his second day, Dang, who had a background in jewelry, went to work for his brother at a Houston flea market.
“He started giving me my salary, you know? And then we started to like $35 a day."
His talent was apparent and he’d eventually open a store in Sharpstown where he’d meet a then-DJ named Paul Wall. Their friendship would become a life-changing collaboration.
“Paul was the DJ in the club, he could help me to promote," Dang said. "I said, OK.”
And among his many custom pieces, he might be best known for "Grillz," which he says started at the dentist.
“The dentist, they got to make the custom crown. So see one made to put a one diamond on the top of it for a customer. So that's how I started,” says Dang.
With Paul, Johnny met some of the biggest names in entertainment and made them "Grillz."
“We work like 20 hours, 22 hours 18-hour minimum days," he said. "That's because they blow up so fast."
Nelly's song "Grillz" didn’t hurt either.
In between the all-star clients and the glitz and glam, Dang gives back to his hometown and Houston.
“A lot of families are very successful here. Because we have the opportunity to work,” says Dang.
His story -- proof that you can turn dust into diamonds
“This really you know, American dream,” says Dang.