Diabetics Doing Hollywood with Derek Theler

[00:00:00] Rob Howe: Whoa! New intro, who dis? Welcome back to the Diabetics Doing Things podcast, where we're telling the amazing, untold, wacky, weird, and inspiring stories of type 1 diabetics from across the world. I'm your host, Rob Howe, and I wanted to let you know that we now have over 500 years of living with T1D on the podcast, and we're on track to be over 1,000 by the end of the summer, which is pretty exciting. I also wanted to chat about my new email series, Friday T1D Feels, where I send you a personal note, no fancy graphics or anything like that, about what I've been thinking about in the world of type 1 diabetes during that week. If you're into that, just go to diabeticsdoingthings.com and sign up. I'd also like to take a minute to talk about hashtag coverage to control. JDRF is raising awareness around the fact that most of us don't get to pick the insulin pumps we have, just the ones our insurance will cover. Just imagine if your cell phone was like that. Except this isn't a phone, it's what keeps us alive. So let your voice be heard and tell your insurance company that T1Ds and their doctors should decide what kind of pumps they use, not the companies. I'm looking at you, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield. Let's get this right. Okay, enough chatter. Let's get back to the episode. Hello and welcome to another episode of Diabetics Doing Things. Really excited to introduce my guest today. I'm sure a lot of you guys already know him from Instagram or also on television. Derek Theler, thanks so much for joining today, man. Thanks for having me, Rob. Yeah, great to finally get you on the podcast. Obviously, interacting with you a little bit on social media has been pretty awesome. And just seeing somebody so publicly in the public eye, other than like a Nick Jonas with type 1 diabetes

[00:01:50] Derek Theler: is super awesome. Yeah, I guess it's thanks. It's, it's, it's something that I really want to bring awareness to. And it's, you know, kind of my mission to, to help those who, who have diabetes and want, you know, want to learn more or want to join a community. Yeah. And I think that's,

[00:02:11] Rob Howe: you know, so much has been talked about in terms of like the diabetic community now, you know, organizations like Beyond Type 1 and all of the device companies like Dexcom and getting out there and connecting more with living with diabetes and what that's like. And I think just being able to have that conversation and connect with people like that is super powerful. So really happy that you came on.

[00:02:37] Derek Theler: Yeah, thank you.

[00:02:38] Rob Howe: All right. So let's kind of start back from the beginning, I guess. How is it that you are on this podcast today? Let's get back to the diagnosis story.

[00:02:47] Derek Theler: Yeah, the diagnosis story for me was back in, I guess, 1988 and 89. And I was in Alaska. My folks were stationed in an Air Force base way up north. And I was three years old when I was diagnosed. And I don't really remember it. So I don't really remember my life without type 1. but I guess I had I was urinating constantly and had like insatiable thirst which are telltale signs of diabetes and that was it that was that was my diagnosis story that that I don't remember

[00:03:20] Rob Howe: hey you know I think you know a lot of us really identify with that right you know don't even remember life before it you know I was diagnosed when I was 16 and I kind of still don't really remember you know eating without you know thinking about blood sugars and insulin and stuff so yeah and you're not the only one in your family with diabetes if i'm not mistaken yeah that's

[00:03:44] Derek Theler: correct uh there isn't a family history of it at all but my uh my little sister was also diagnosed when she was three years old too and she's uh two years younger than me so i think that possibly could have been my first memory was when she was diagnosed when i was around five and uh my folks you know having a having a real emotional day it was it was uh something to

[00:04:05] Rob Howe: remember for me for sure. Yeah. And I imagine growing up having somebody else going through the same things or, you know, being able to be a literal, you know, big brother, but also a, you know, big brother in terms of type 1 diabetes. I imagine that helped her and you in

[00:04:20] Derek Theler: some ways. Oh, most definitely. We, uh, we didn't actually have any other friends who were, who type 1 besides, uh, we went to our summer camps or, or whatever for diabetics. But as far as being, going through school and all that. No one else in my school that was near my age had diabetes. So it was me and my sis and we had to help each other out. And I remember a couple of times that we, you know, our pump would run out of insulin and I'd plug into hers real quick. So it was nice.

[00:04:47] Rob Howe: It was nice to have that for sure. Yeah, definitely. I could see, I could think of a couple of moments myself where like, I wish I would have had somebody around with some supplies handy.

[00:04:56] Derek Theler: Exactly. Yeah. I'll bet every diabetics got that story that they wish their best friend had everything they needed to. And so it was, it was nice going through that together.

[00:05:04] Rob Howe: Oh, that's awesome. Um, so now let's, let's fast forward a little bit. Um, what was it, what was it like growing up with you? You mentioned that there's nobody else around besides your sister that, that was the type 1, um, for, I mean, nobody, nobody. All right, let's just get cut to the chase, right? You Google you, you know, you're an athletic guy. Um, you, so obviously like sports are a big part of, uh, of, of growing up. What was that like? What were the conversations like both in your family and also with your coaches and any challenges that you had to overcome?

[00:05:39] Derek Theler: Yeah, it was tough. Sports was a really big deal for me growing up. I played basketball and football at a really competitive level when I was a kid. So we'd travel all over the world, do basketball camps, do club teams and all that. And it was pretty much my whole life. I mean, believe it or not, I never took a theater class my whole life until I landed in L.A. after college. So it wasn't even on my radar to be an actor at that point because sports was everything. And that's really hard, as you know, to be in athletics and be a diabetic because your blood sugar is not in the right zone. You definitely don't play at your best. so um i i can remember several times where i i had issues and um i my blood sugar was really high and i i had a game starting in five minutes so i had to you know monitor it as closely as i could um so that you know by halftime i'd be good to go or whatever but um it's definitely challenging it was especially challenging i remember um going to going to camps over the summer where we'd stay overnight and I was, you know, still maintaining my diabetes myself as a kid, as like an eight or nine year old. And all of my friends, all they packed was was Pixie sticks and sugar, you know, in regular soda. And I couldn't really partake in that kind of stuff at the time because of the way the regimen was. And I was I was on a sliding scale, but I was giving myself injections. So before the pump, it was a lot harder.

[00:07:12] Rob Howe: It definitely was. You know, and I was on multiple daily injections when I was younger as well.

[00:07:18] Derek Theler: What time did you start maintaining it? Well, I mean, I guess you you said you were diagnosed when you were 15. So how long did it take until you got the pump?

[00:07:27] Rob Howe: I didn't get a pump until my junior year of college. So it was about it was about five years, five, six years. And, you know, honestly, I was I resisted it because like I didn't think it was cool. And I had seen some, my only experience with pumps prior to that, I had seen some friends who, when I was growing up, had like surgical ports. So they had like surgery and like, they were a little bit old school and they'd put the pump on there and they like looked kind of infected and I wasn't really into like the surgery thing. So that's what I thought it was. But then I went to my endo and they're like, no, like this is this great pump. Like you can just hook it on here. So that's when I, in the middle of my, yeah, my college career is when I did that. But and I've never looked back. I love I love my pump. It gives me so much freedom.

[00:08:14] Derek Theler: Totally. Yeah, I can relate to that, too. Growing up, visiting my endo, not wanting to have machines attached to me all the time, because then for whatever reason, it felt like there was something wrong with you is what I thought when I was a kid. And and it was kind of a constant reminder. But I made the jump when I was, I think, 15 and I haven't maintained it with anything else ever since.

[00:08:36] Rob Howe: yeah I think it's just so it's so convenient and you know once and it sounds like you had a lot of the same concerns that I did just like once you overcome that initial like hesitancy or like fear um I think you know going into those new technologies like I'm about to uh do the same thing going with the CGM uh because I had tried an older CGM that would pair with my pump about six years ago and I just couldn't keep it like under my skin like it would just always fall off so you know i had like a bad experience there and so now looking into um some different options now that there are a lot more on the market so um kind of doing the same thing like oh yeah you know overcoming that initial perception and then you know hopefully reaping the uh the rewards from there yep cool uh i want to go back a little bit to talking about you know activity all day because like you know a basketball camp or a football camp especially when you're younger it's basically just to tire kids out, right? It's just all day, a ton of activity. Do you remember, or even going into high school age, any challenges or how did you prepare to be active all day and keep your blood sugar in line? Did you talk to the coaches? What were those conversations like?

[00:09:52] Derek Theler: Yeah, well, my folks to start were amazing growing up with diabetes, going through the process, at talking to my teachers and my coaches and letting them know exactly how to handle an incident or a low blood sugar. And also just helping me when I was a kid. They would monitor me at the night because they were in the middle of the night because they were always so concerned. But yeah, as far as going through super active days like that, all diabetics these days, I mean, I guess in all times, know that you have to make sure that you keep something on you if you get a low because it always comes when it's least expected and there's really nothing you can do to stop you from getting low occasionally, you know. And I think that we would I would just carry around, you know, power bars or Gatorades or whatever and make sure I always always had that on hand no matter what

[00:10:43] Rob Howe: for an incident. Yeah. And I think, you know, that's so that's so important now. And I think, you know, parents, especially ones that are, you know, really concerned about either early on in a journey with type 1 or just, you know, really making sure everyone's prepared. It's almost just one extra, one extra step to every activity, right? Like if you're going to go and you make sure that you got your, your Gatorade or your, you know, your glucose tabs or whatever the case may be, just to cover that low. And then on the other side too, just making sure your glucometer is in there and you've got your insulin and everything's, you know, if it's going to be out in the sun, make sure you got a little cooler or whatever the case is.

[00:11:21] Derek Theler: Exactly. Yeah. It's just, and you said it, you said it right. There's an extra step to everything that you do when you're diabetic. And, um, and speaking of too, um, you say you're going to make the transition to a CGM. I, I really think that, uh, that's a great idea because I'm really happy that I did that. And, uh, diabetics know that testing your blood sugar isn't always optimal when you're, you know, you're in a specific situation or you don't have your meter on you when you have a CGM. The one that I use is Dexcom. It's such a relief to constantly know where your blood sugar is. And I think of it as like when you test your blood, it's kind of like taking a photo of where your blood sugar is. And if you're like throwing a ball, you know exactly where it is, but you don't know which way it's going. And with the CGM, you know exactly which way it's going. If it's dropping or if it's going up, you know how to handle it a lot better. So I think you'll be excited with the newer technologies that stay in your skin better these days.

[00:12:19] Rob Howe: Yeah, and I think especially with diabetes social media, there's so many hacks. I know some people use SkinTac. I know some people order different stickers from Amazon. So there's a multitude of great diabetes life hacks that you can use to make those sensors last a little longer.

[00:12:39] Derek Theler: yeah yep those uh it's kind of fun actually to look for them look for them on amazon and online

[00:12:44] Rob Howe: these days so um let's talk i want to i want to focus on this a little bit more like you're in terms of your control because you're still a very active guy um something i think about now uh and you mentioned this earlier like with friends bringing pixie sticks and lots of candy and junk food um you know even when i was like you know 15 16 traveling around the country playing aau basketball, things like that. Diet was never, obviously, because I was a kid, diet was never really like a focus of mine. And I look back, I'm like, wow, no wonder I played terrible. I ate pizza all day and sat in a car. You know, it's not a real recipe for success there. So now, kind of with your Dexcom and with your, you know, physical regimen, what do you notice? What are the things

[00:13:29] Derek Theler: that you try to prepare for? I guess as far as trying to stay in shape, you mean? Because I definitely know how my body reacts in most situations these days, you know, and it's always good to know where I'm at with my blood sugar. But I guess, what exactly do you mean?

[00:13:48] Rob Howe: Yeah, I think that's what I want to focus on is like, how do you listen to your body and know and plan ahead for how your body is going to react to certain things, whether that's workouts or you know long shooting schedules or right trips well well the most important thing I think is to

[00:14:05] Derek Theler: know where you are going into it you know if it's going to be a super long day I'm shooting like 14 hours and I've got I've got a couple of fight scenes like I know I'm in for a long haul and I have a whole bag full of supplies it for a situation like that and I'm constantly monitoring it and I like to keep my blood sugar a little bit higher than than most like like around the 140s range when I'm shooting because when I drop, sometimes it drops so fast. And the last thing I want to do is, is take up a lot of time for me to have to come back, uh, bring my blood sugar back up. So that's normally where I like to sit. But, um, growing up with diabetes, since I never really experienced life without it, I feel like I was kind of fortunate in some ways because I learned to eat very healthy and to take a lot of sugars out of my diet. And also, um, it kind of, jump-started a desire for me to learn as much as I could about my body so that I could be, you know, in my optimum performance range. So that's actually what I went to school for. So I got my degree in sports medicine and nutrition. And obviously, I had several classes that almost focused on diabetes. So I got to learn a lot about how my body works. And so at this point now, it's kind of my job to look my best and take care of myself. And I think that all those things that I've learned leading up to now has helped me a lot. Kind of awesome how the journey kind of

[00:15:30] Rob Howe: prepared you for all those things that you need and gives you all those resources to be successful.

[00:15:36] Derek Theler: Yeah. Yeah. Like I said, like I am a little bit fortunate in some ways because I had to live an extra healthy lifestyle as a kid and learn a lot of responsibility too.

[00:15:49] Rob Howe: Yeah. And I think that's a sentiment that a lot of people, especially people diagnosed very young, would echo. You brought up something interesting a little bit earlier. You never even took an acting class until you had already graduated college, and your degree was in sports medicine and nutrition, correct? Yep, that's right. So along the way, and I've done a little bit of research, but for you, you're in college, you pick a major, and you think you're doing the right thing, but then sometimes your passions pop up and they're different. What was that process like for you? How did you know that you really wanted to be an actor? You know what? It hit me

[00:16:30] Derek Theler: so late and there's a lot, there's kind of a long story behind it. I'll tell you. I was going to school and I was getting my degree in nutrition and medicine and the goal was to go into do endocrinology and hormone research and do what I could to help diabetics. That was kind of one of my life goals as a kid because another thing that we touched on was I don't remember as a kid having anyone to really look up to who had type 1 diabetes. I didn't feel like there was a community. I didn't feel like there was somebody that I saw on television that I could relate to. And that's kind of one of my missions in the position that I'm in and always has been, whether it be going to school for it and actually doing the work and research for diabetes or doing what I can for outreach in the position I'm in with my social media and whatever fans that I have. But as far as me deciding to be an actor, it's a really funny story because I was on my path and I was about to get my degree my senior year and go into endocrinology and figure out how that was going to fit into my life and how I was going to move forward with that. And I wound up taking a trip to L.A. over Christmas break of my senior year, like I said. And my first – right when I got off the plane, I met a couple of friends at a bar and had a drink and then ran into another guy who was friends with Lauren Conrad from the Hills, right? And so I'm talking to these guys. A couple of them are actors. They're talking about the business and how great it is. And I grew up watching action movies like Arnold was the man and Keanu Reeves. Those were like – that was the kind of stuff that got my blood boiling. I really liked to watch. And anyway, I wound up meeting Lauren Conrad that night, the first night I ever spent in L.A. And we went out on a date, and I wound up being on the hills a couple of months later. So it was like the first step in Los Angeles I wound up on television, not a reality show. which was really funny and it kind of catapulted me forward and gave me the idea that this isn't that hard of a career. I was wrong about that. I was very wrong. It's a lot of work and it's really hard and there's a lot that goes into it. But I really am happy that I made the choice to come to L.A. to try to be a superhero because I'm in a really good position right now and I have a lot of opportunities coming my way in the future. And it's a decision that I'm really glad that I made. Also, because the whole goal initially was to was to be an advocate for diabetes. And I think I have, although it's a different position, I still have some power in the world. And I'm excited about that.

[00:19:21] Rob Howe: What a story, man. You know, nothing like serendipity to kind of get an idea started.

[00:19:27] Derek Theler: Yeah, I've always loved movies, you know, like action movies. That was my jam. And I landed in L.A. and I met these guys that were struggling actors and they had friends that were producers and I met some ages. And it just kind of seemed like it was the job for me from everything I had heard. And I was really excited about it. So I was in L.A. for a week for this vacation with my friends. And as soon as I landed back in Colorado, every dollar that I made was saved up to moving to L.A. and learning how to become an actor.

[00:20:02] Rob Howe: fast as I could. Well, and no doubt the right decision. And, you know, you've obviously in a short time have done extremely well for yourself. So congratulations there. And like you said, not an easy thing to just break into. So a very unique story, I feel like, especially in that world.

[00:20:20] Derek Theler: Yeah, thank you. I'm very, very fortunate and I understand it. You know, I got to LA as an adult. I, you know, partying and being super social wasn't important to me. It was all about moving my career forward because I felt like I was a step behind most people my age because everyone, you know, it's their whole life goal or career goal to be an actor normally. And for me, it was so last second. I wanted to hit the ground running and learn as much as I could and put all my money towards acting classes and taking meetings and finding representation for myself. And yeah, I've been very fortunate so far and I think that's because I've got a lot of luck. I've got a lot of luck with timing as well and I've got just enough talent to keep moving forward so I'm excited.

[00:21:13] Rob Howe: We'll see and yeah, you seem like you're a great humble guy as well and I think a lot of your success is due to that mindset as well. So congratulations and looking forward to you know, your continued success there. Thank you very much. In the same vein, you talked about, you know, your your goal was to become an endocrinologist, which, you know, I think and this is this is my I don't have any statistics to back this up. This is just from conversations with other type ones is it's not as popular of a medical field outside of people who are associated with either have a family member or have some sort of diabetes relationship or other endocrine relationship in their life. And now, and like you said, you've pivoted a little bit, but you still have the opportunity to affect the diabetes community. So what are you excited about in terms of kind of using your status and platform to work with the diabetes community?

[00:22:11] Derek Theler: Yeah, I've touched on a couple of things. I've got a couple of missions when it comes to diabetes. One of them is I want people to be aware of the technologies that are available to them. I feel like they're progressing so much and there's so much new stuff. And every year there's a breakthrough. And I know we're getting closer and closer to the ultimate cure. But until then, I think that everyone should have an open mind and look into the treatments available. things like CGMs that are that are pretty new. I actually I work with Dexcom because it's a company that I really believe in. And I I use their product for years before I started working with them. And my sister, who's also a diabetic, was recently she's the one who turned me on to Dexcom because she was trying to get pregnant a couple of years ago. And she was you know, she's blown away by how easy it was to to manage her her levels and and, you know, turn me on to it. So that's one of my missions for sure, is to make sure people are aware of the treatments available. And another one is just to kind of build a community. Because like I said earlier, as well, I didn't have somebody to look up to that was in the limelight and in the business that I'm in. I didn't have somebody who was open to talk about it. And I want to do whatever I can to be relatable to it, whether it be a kid who was just diagnosed, or a parent who's struggling because, their child was just diagnosed. And it's a lot of stress. And I want to make sure that those parents or those kids believe that they can achieve anything that they want in their life, whether they're type 1 or not, because it shouldn't hold you back from pursuing your dreams and ultimately achieving them.

[00:24:00] Rob Howe: I totally, totally agree with that. I think that's such a strong platform to stand on because what you said is so true. like like that that moment when you get diagnosed like you start to look for other people who maybe are doing the things that you've always wanted to do um and something that i've realized from talking to people um about their diagnosis is that there there's there's a lot of variance in the experience people have when they're diagnosed um i was i was diagnosed at children's hospital in dallas which is like a top five pediatric hospital in the world i didn't know that at the time, it was really just luck. But my doctors in my, you know, my pediatric endo were very encouraging of me chasing whatever dreams I had. For me, that was basketball, I wanted to play basketball more than anything. And they were like, sure, absolutely, just take care of yourself,

[00:24:49] Derek Theler: anything's possible. Yeah, and I love I love that that and that mean meant a lot to you, I'm sure at the age you were at, because it's not always like that. It isn't. You know, I mean, and some Some people out there, the last thing I want is for people who are either diagnosed or going through diabetes is to think it's a death sentence because it truly isn't.

[00:25:09] Rob Howe: It really isn't. But to your point, not everybody has that experience. And I think a friend of mine, it was really early on in the Diabetics Doing Things project that I learned that even at the same time that I was diagnosed, a friend was diagnosed in a rural town in Amarillo, Texas, which is not a small city by any stretch. But his doctor was the total opposite, was telling him all these bad things that could happen, that he would be lucky to live past 30 and all these really backwards.

[00:25:40] Derek Theler: That's the endocrinologist I had when I was a kid.

[00:25:43] Rob Howe: So how did you sort of deal with that? Obviously, you sort of didn't take that to heart. How did you and your parents sort of overcome that thinking?

[00:25:55] Derek Theler: um you know i i don't even know how to answer that question but the truth is i i had the endo that said you know there's a there's not a good chance you're going to make it past 30 you you have to take this really seriously and you know with a little bit of luck you can have a substantial life you know and and that's just it was it was sad and when you're when you're an eight-year-old kid you know with so many things on their plate so many responsibilities and obligations dealing with diabetes, it's kind of hard. And it's kind of the last thing that I want others to go through who have diabetes. So I would encourage anyone who feels that way or gets those kind of notes from their doctor to find another one because there's some really great endos out

[00:26:45] Rob Howe: there. No, there really are. And now, especially in the age of the internet, you know, it can be overwhelming just searching for anything diabetes related online. You get the WebMD stuff that everything ends up with, you know, terminal death or whatever. So, you know, I think, you know, when people are circling kind of all the way back to your original comment, like having someone like you who in that position and being able to have that person show up in a, hey, my kid wants to be an actor, but he's a diabetic. Is this possible? And then having someone like you pop up there is super important. And, you know, I love that you're using your

[00:27:27] Derek Theler: platform for that. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, it's really important to me.

[00:27:33] Rob Howe: So we talked a little bit about technology, which I also believe I'm also really passionate about, because I think this is the best time to be a type 1. If there is such a thing,

[00:27:42] Derek Theler: today is the best time. Yeah, yeah. Oh, no doubt.

[00:27:45] Rob Howe: What makes you kind of hopeful about the future of type 1 diabetes?

[00:27:49] Derek Theler: What makes me hopeful, I think, is the community is building. There's a lot more ways. The internet's an amazing place when it comes to finding a community and finding people who are going through the same things. So I think both people banding together and being able to relate to each other about having the same kind of problems and also the technology growing. Like we've touched on several times the CGMs. Like that's something that's pretty new technology and it's really, really improving the quality of life for diabetics. Before that, it was the insulin pump, which was new, I don't know, 15 years ago, maybe 20 now. But I think that there's going to keep being newer things that are going to move forward with the technology. I believe that there needs to be a system that that connects your your CGM, your your pump, your your actual blood test kit, your phone, your endocrinologist, your family support system. I think there needs to be an app that can kind of combine all of those things together and make it so easy to live as a type 1 diabetic that you have everything right in front of you on your phone because everyone's got their phone on them constantly these days. And I think that might be the next step before there's actually a real cure.

[00:29:06] Rob Howe: Yeah, and I think all the research points to these closed-loop type systems that you're talking about being available here in the next few years, if not towards the end of this year in some cases.

[00:29:17] Derek Theler: Right. I mean, all the technology exists. I think all you really need to do is partner some of these companies together in one broad app or company. And I think it would really improve the way that you treat yourself.

[00:29:33] Rob Howe: I totally agree. I can't – like a few years ago, I had this sort of pre-programmed rant I would go on whenever people would ask me about my pump because it looks like a pager and it has like a Game Boy screen. and I could get on the internet on a flight on my phone, on the plain Wi-Fi and download an app and do a bank transaction if I was over the ocean, but I couldn't get my pump to read my information from my test kit. So it was one of those frustrating things. I know the technology is out there, but there's so many other barriers that prevent us from getting those things done. And I'm glad that some of them are really starting to move those things forward.

[00:30:12] Derek Theler: Yeah, I totally agree with you. And I agree with the frustration. Like all of the technology is there. It just needs to, we need somebody that can put it all together.

[00:30:24] Rob Howe: So in terms of, and I think I may already know the answer to this in terms of a type 1 perspective, but who's somebody that you looked up to, you know, when you were growing up and you were looking for that person who maybe did or didn't have type 1, but also, So in your day-to-day life, I'm sure it's probably your sister here, but who did you look to when you were really struggling with your type 1 kind of growing up?

[00:30:50] Derek Theler: Yeah, it was most definitely my sister because like I've touched on too, there was nobody that was really in the entertainment realm that I knew of that had the same disease as me. you know? But, um, yeah, I, I talked to my sister a lot about it. We, uh, we went to diabetic summer camp, so that was always cool to make those kinds of friends and, you know, chat with them on AOL or whatever. But, um, when it came to, to complaining and having someone to talk to about real problems we were going through, it was definitely my family and my sister, because, um, at that point I didn't think that there was, um, there were that many outlets and my, my endo, when I was young, as I said, didn't have a very good bedside manner for us. But that's something also that's really changing in the world today. There's so many message boards or websites where there's type ones talking about problems that they go through and also sharing knowledge.

[00:31:58] Rob Howe: Yeah. And I think that's one of the things, there's so much written about the negative effects of the internet and all the internet usage. But that's something, like you said, the internet is easy to build communities and find communities to join. And the type 1 community is, I think, the best one that no one's really talking about outside of the immediate community. Because it's so supportive. There's so many people who are willing to just give time and encouragement and share you know, their daily story, whether that's a number on a glucometer or a screenshot from a Dexcom or a story about, you know, going on a trip. Yeah. You know, I think that's been, you know, the biggest surprise for me is how willing and open so many people are with type 1

[00:32:43] Derek Theler: to just help other people. Yeah, I totally agree with you because it's a really it's a strong community. It's really tight knit because there's people there's real problems. It's it's it's not easy and it's 24 seven, but, uh, you're right. I think it is a really amazing community. It's

[00:33:02] Rob Howe: very supportive. So I, we, I want to go back to your little professional life a little bit more. Um, so you get out to LA, you, you have this date with Lauren Conrad, right? So you're, you're, uh, and then, and then a few, I don't know, is it months? Is it years? You go out to LA and you're pursuing it full time. Um, was there a moment where you were like, Hey, I like, wow, I,

[00:33:26] Derek Theler: did it. I made it. I'm living my dream. Yeah, that's a hard question to answer. It definitely took me a while to get settled and to believe in my craft and believe that I had what it took. But I moved to LA with what money I had after graduating. And I luckily enough booked a couple of national commercials. And there's actually a whole lot of money in commercials for the amount of work that you do. So I never had to get a real job, which was a very, very fortunate thing for any actor who doesn't have any experience showing up to LA to have. But as far as me believing that I made it and this is the right career choice for me, I don't think it's happened until recently. Less than two years ago, I bought my first house in Los Angeles. And I've been able to afford the things that I would want as an adult. I'm really proud that I've gotten to this point. I've got a great dog, I've got a house, I've got the car I want to drive. So I guess it's really recent that I've gotten to the point where I feel like I've made it, but at the same time I've got such a long way to go. There's so many other characters that I want to play, there's so many other jobs that I'm excited about that, uh, baby daddy was really the big one that got me to this point. And I'm,

[00:34:56] Rob Howe: I'm excited for the next one. And, and what does that, you know, speaking into existence, looking, um, you know, what does that look like for you? What is, uh, you mentioned action movies are, are your jam. Uh, is that, uh, is that where we should, you know, think about seeing you next?

[00:35:11] Derek Theler: I hope so. I mean, that's what I'm putting out into the world. I, I truly believe that, uh, I believe in manifestation. I believe in focusing on your future and all that. And all I see for my future is superheroes and gunfights and car chases.

[00:35:27] Rob Howe: Cool. I love it.

[00:35:28] Derek Theler: That's what I really want to do. It's what I came here for. And when I got here and I booked Baby Daddy after about a year and a half of being here, I didn't even really know what a sitcom was at the time that I booked the show. So it's kind of crazy now that I've been doing that for five years. And I came here to, you know, focus on dramas and actions and action movies and things like that. And now, thanks to working in comedy for several years, I'm going to have more of those opportunities that I'm excited about.

[00:35:59] Rob Howe: That's great. And I think, you know, I think that experience, too. What was that like from a type 1 perspective? I think I've heard the story of your audition and kind of your reading. did you have any other high or low blood sugar kind of moments or notable stories in that five years

[00:36:18] Derek Theler: yeah it's funny you brought up the audition that was the most notable moment with the diabetes in my whole five years with the show but I would have occasional lows while we're filming and all the cast were very very tight and the cast and crew would kind of notice it before me even sometimes they'd notice that my eyes would get a little glassy or I'd put words in the wrong places. So we'd take a five and I'd go and I'd drink a soda or whatever. But nothing too crazy to report

[00:36:52] Rob Howe: besides the occasional low. That's funny you mentioned that. When you said that your co-stars would notice that you were low or high, it brought back that I've only really had one person that could tell always if my bloodshare was always one of my workout partners, uh, when I was trying my professional basketball career. And he would always say that my eyes would just blink more. He could just tell, I don't know. It was just a weird, a weird tell that I had. He was a poker guy, so he could, he could read me a little bit better, I guess. But yeah, that's, that's

[00:37:25] Derek Theler: interesting. And I feel like it's true that people who are, uh, who are really close to type 1 diabetics, um, they, they can tell that something's off sometimes even before the, uh, the person with

[00:37:36] Rob Howe: diabetes can. It's kind of weird. Yeah, because I would always be like, oh, no, I'm fine. I don't feel anything. And I'd test that I'd be, you know, in the 60s and be like, all right, well, there it is. Exactly. Yeah, I can relate to that. So I want to go a little bit into because, you know, I follow you on Instagram, as do, you know, quite a few people. How often do you see, you know, obviously, you get, you know, a lot of comments and messages and things. How often do you see questions related to diabetes that, you know, that really, you know, prompt you to get a response?

[00:38:10] Derek Theler: I guess what you're asking me is, is how often do I see people leave comments that I want to

[00:38:16] Rob Howe: respond to? I suppose, I think, or things that maybe stand out to you, or appeal more to your sort of type 1 diabetes mission. Yeah, definitely. I, I feel like, especially when I post about

[00:38:31] Derek Theler: diabetes or I like I said I work with Dexcom so sometimes I promote their device and talk about how it's improved my life I really love when I get the other stories when I get the like a paragraph comment from they're usually from parents who talk about how appreciative they are that I'm that I'm trying to bring awareness to to others who aren't familiar with diabetes and how they go through the same struggles that I do and how happy they are that they that they're you know their kids because uh since baby daddy especially was a family show it's really great to have that that whole uh family community um you know be appreciative that i i'm willing to talk about it and that i uh that i am willing to you know kind of be very open with my struggles and what it's like to live with with diabetes that's definitely um when i feel like i'm i'm getting the most out of out of using my social media and doing what i can to bring awareness of diabetes when I get these comments from people about their real life stories. And that's what I love the most about social media is feeling like I'm helping people and making them smile if they're watching the show or I'm giving them something that they can really relate to when I talk about diabetes.

[00:39:44] Rob Howe: Yeah. And I think you and Dexcom do an awesome job of that. My professional background is in marketing. And so I'm really happy that a company like a medical device company like Dexcom is really kind of going outside the norm for those types of companies and doing marketing through spokespeople and influencers like you. So for me, it made it much more relatable.

[00:40:09] Derek Theler: Yeah, great. And that's the point. And for me, too, like Dexcom was the company I sought them out, too. I guess it was about two years ago because I love the device so much and I was hesitant of getting a CGM for a long time. And then once I did, I was like, I'm never going back. I can't imagine living without it now. So I was fortunate enough to be in the position where I made a call and started a partnership pretty quickly. And it's really a truly great company that I'm proud to work with.

[00:40:44] Rob Howe: Well, it's awesome. and look forward to you guys continuing to partner.

[00:40:48] Derek Theler: Yeah, we just actually shot a commercial here at my house a week ago. So that should be out in a couple of months, I'm told. So I'm excited for people to see it.

[00:40:57] Rob Howe: Oh, that'll be cool.

[00:40:58] Derek Theler: Yeah.

[00:40:59] Rob Howe: I think one of your recent posts, you talked a little bit about your trip to Joshua Tree. And obviously, just posting some of your own photos from that trip. and you mentioned, you know, the story was you were able to, you know, bring the things that you needed to keep your blood sugar in line, even as you were hiking and going around and being kind of away from home. How did you prepare for that trip? Because I think a lot of questions that I get were, and a lot of fear, there's a lot of fear around people traveling or doing sort of

[00:41:31] Derek Theler: hiking or camping, extreme sports with type 1. Yeah. And that's, when it comes to something to be concerned about, especially with the disease, I think that makes sense. Because traveling with diabetes, you need to obviously, I mean, most of your listeners probably are diabetic, so they're aware. You have to bring insulin. You got to be able to keep it cold. You have to bring extra sites. You have to bring two extra of everything, especially food and things to bring your blood sugar up. But when I went to Joshua Tree recently, yeah, it's a constant. You have a trunk completely full of all your supplies and you have backup supplies in a bag. But the thing I was actually promoting with one of the photos I took was the Dexcom system recently got approved by the FDA so that you can go up to 10 hours without calibrating it and checking it with your actual blood test test kit which is really cool so it's it's it's cool that they're getting that kind of recognition that the system really works and um and yeah as far as the supplies i brought you always have to have the blood test kit just in case because you know things fail occasionally no matter what it is and it's important to know where you are but um yeah it's it's just part of

[00:42:53] Rob Howe: traveling, I guess. Yeah. And I think, um, years ago, my, you know, my, my quote unquote professional basketball career, I traveled with the Harlem Globetrotters for a season and we once went on like a four week trip all throughout the Middle East and like Afghanistan. And it was this awesome trip, but as soon as it was booked, I had to pack enough supplies for that. And I was very similar to your trunk and pack story. Like I had, you know, I had to minimize the amount of like clothes and things I brought because I had so much diabetes supplies that I had to make sure were on me the whole time. So I think it's just something when people travel, it's that hesitancy. And I think, again, looking to someone who has done it successfully and seeing how they do it just kind of encourages people to get out there more and to stop having those negative conversations around it.

[00:43:41] Derek Theler: Yeah, yeah, I agree with that. And I do travel a lot for work. I go to New York all the time. and like you, half of my suitcase space is usually extra supplies because the last thing you want to do is get stranded somewhere because that can get dangerous.

[00:43:57] Rob Howe: Yeah, definitely. A big shout-out to Larabars for weighing down my backpacks. That's just full of those. Nice. All right, so let's switch gears a little bit and go to kind of like the lightning round, just like some quick kind of fun questions if that's cool with you. Totally. All right. So the question that everybody, all the listeners want to know, what's it like to be the most handsome type 1 diabetic not named Nick Jonas?

[00:44:25] Derek Theler: That's funny. It's I don't know if I can agree with that statement, but it is nice getting compliments and getting some recognition in that way, I guess. Sorry. Sorry to put you on the spot. No, it's funny. It's my job to to look my best. So I take that seriously. and I want to have a long career and I want to, and fitness is also important to me. So that's a nice compliment that I'm doing something right, I guess, and I'm going to try to keep it up.

[00:44:55] Rob Howe: Yeah, and I'm sure our T1D ladies and moms out there all agree with that as well. So just some fun.

[00:45:04] Derek Theler: I don't know if I agree, but thank you for saying that.

[00:45:08] Rob Howe: So, shifting gears, what's the most outrageous thing that you've ever been asked about your type 1? Sorry, if not outrageous, just the thing that stands out.

[00:45:20] Derek Theler: Well, I've been asked several times before if it's contagious. That's kind of funny. It's like a first date topic or whatever. People who are really unfamiliar with diabetes are worried that they could get it. So that's funny. I don't know. I guess it's also kind of a weird conversation to bring up, especially in your dating life when it's a first date and you don't know what the right moment is to tell the person that you've got these machines attached to your body all the time that are saving your life constantly. So that's probably the best answer I got for that.

[00:46:01] Rob Howe: Yeah, and kind of in that same vein, are there any – I lost my train of thought there. Are there – like how soon when you meet someone, whether romantically or not, how soon do you introduce that you're a type 1, whether even personally or professionally?

[00:46:20] Derek Theler: Right. Well, that's something that's changed as I've gotten older. When I was younger, I was a little bit more embarrassed about it. And now at this point in the position that I'm in, my goal is to make sure that that type ones aren't embarrassed to talk about talk about, you know, what they go through and inform their bosses or their coaches or whoever it is that they are diabetic and how to help them in a situation. So it's changed from, you know, me being in middle school and high school, really hesitant to tell people about it, to the world that I live in today and that I work in. I tell everybody and anybody who asks, I'll all, you know, have a conversation with them and answer any questions that they want about it. And I think that it's important as type ones to to feel that way. So that's another one of the missions I want to move forward for the community is to not be embarrassed and be able to tell anybody about the disease instantly or initially. So when it comes to talking with someone romantically or professionally, I go right up in it and instantly let them know what the disease is, how to help me if there's a problem, especially like directors and producers when it comes to work. But that's something important to me.

[00:47:36] Rob Howe: Well, I think it's really important from an awareness perspective as well. You mentioned people asking you whether it's contagious. I mean, they're not doing that on purpose or to be looking at it with oversight. But there's only in the US around 1.25 million type ones. And that number is growing every year dramatically. But that's a low number of awareness compared to the total. So unless you know someone or have a family member or a friend with type 1, usually you're not exposed to it. And so I think, you know, for me personally, I tried to soften my, like, edges around that because it used to bristle me up a little bit when people would ask because it was very personal and felt sort of invasive. So, you know, that's something I'm trying to do as well just to say, hey, you know, this person just doesn't know anything about it, and I can be the person to introduce them.

[00:48:25] Derek Theler: Yep, I like that.

[00:48:28] Rob Howe: So, all right. This is a question I always ask. I ask everyone. I know you're a guy that's on the go a lot and I'm sure live a crazy, hectic lifestyle, especially in terms of work. So if you had like 30 seconds, like you're about to jump on a plane and you've run into someone who was either recently diagnosed or is struggling with their type 1, what's the one thing that you tell them in that right before they shut the gate and you got to get on the plane?

[00:48:54] Derek Theler: I would tell them to live life to their fullest, to definitely take it responsibly because it's a serious condition that you need to make sure that you are responsible with and work hard at. But you can achieve anything that you want. And I would also encourage them to go online and look for different treatment options because the technology these days will really improve their life expectancy and their quality of life.

[00:49:23] Rob Howe: I think. Awesome. Yeah, totally agree. Did I make 30 seconds? You did. Yeah, I think you made the flight. That's good. Because, you know, that's a huge pain in the butt, right? So well, Derek, man, thank you so much for coming on on the show. And being willing to give your time. I really,

[00:49:40] Derek Theler: really appreciate it. You are very welcome, Rob. Thanks for having me. And if our listeners want

[00:49:45] Rob Howe: to follow you on social media, where are they going to track you down? Yeah, I usually post

[00:49:50] Derek Theler: almost everything on my Instagram and it's just at Derek Theler.

[00:49:55] Rob Howe: Perfect. Well, I'll definitely include a link to that in the show notes as well. And so everybody who doesn't follow you already will be able to check in and see what you're up to.

[00:50:04] Derek Theler: Awesome. Sounds great. Thank you so much, Rob. It was a blast.

[00:50:07] Rob Howe: Thanks for listening to Diabetics Doing Things. Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly emails and behind the scenes content. And if you or someone you know has an amazing story to share, send an email to rob at diabeticsdoingthings.com.

[00:50:20] Unknown speaker: Thank you.