is a Japanese actor, dancer, choreographer, and model. He is a performer of J-Pop dance and vocal group Exile, and is a leader and performer of J-Pop dance and vocal group Sandaime J Soul Brothers. He was also a member of Nidaime J Soul Brothers until their migration to Exile in 2009. As a member of Sandaime J Soul Brothers, he has received the Japan Record Awards twice, and has received the same award three times as a member of Exile. He choreographed the famous "Pocky Dance" (Pocky Sharehappi Dance) for Pocky's advertisement in 2015. Besides, he has also taken up acting and made his international debut in Netflix's original film Earthquake Bird. He has also worked as a model for the fashion brand "Yohji Yamamoto". With his fluent-spoken English and understanding of American culture, he serves as a creative career advisor in the Executive Management Team of LDH USA. He has a strong interest in traditional Japanese culture, which has motivated him to take part in a few projects focusing on promoting the art of samurai and Japanese swords. Early life Naoki Kobayashi was born on 10 November 1984, in Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. His deep love for music started in junior high school, when he was a teenager troubled by existential anxiety and sleeping disorder. While questioning his role in this world, he found relief in music such as J-pop as he learned from the lyrics that there are various ways of life. During his high school days, he wanted to become a singer-songwriter and even considered quitting school to pursue a career in music. He stopped attending school for half a year and considered to continue his education at a music school. However, his mother persuaded him to go back to high school, suggesting that a singer-songwriter must understand the thoughts and feelings of a normal high school student. Back being a student, he joined the school's chorus and started to take vocal training lessons. Naoki started dancing at the age of 17, with the consideration that a musician needs to have a good sense of rhythm. After graduating from high school, he was enrolled in the Department of Philosophy of Hosei University with relatively good grades, but he quit university as he became determined to focus on dancing. He started to try out all kinds of genres and went to Avex Artist Academy for training. In