Craig Kasper Takeover! Interview with Rob Howe

[00:00:01] Rob Howe: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the Diabetics Doing Things podcast. What you're going to hear today is part two of a podcast takeover that Craig Kasper from The Bravest Life came up with us to do in order to raise awareness of other Type 1 podcasts that are out there. So today's a little bit exciting for me because I get to tell my story on my own podcast for the first time. And Craig does an amazing job of digging in not only to the questions that we have in the conversation, but also sticking to the diabetics doing things sort of free-flowing formats. So I'm really grateful to him for coming on. If you want to check out his podcast, it's called Bravest Life, and you can find it at thebravestlife.com. It's also on iTunes and Stitcher and Google Play. So without any further ado, let's get down to the interview and enjoy as Craig Kasper takes over the podcast. Hello and welcome back to another episode of Diabetics Doing Things. We are telling the amazing stories of diabetics from all across the world. And this is a little bit different, a little bit different episode. We're going to try something new today in an effort to spread more awareness about the other amazing type 1 diabetic podcasts that are out there. Craig Kasper is going to take over Diabetics Doing Things Today from The Bravest Life. Craig, welcome to the show. And then, you know, you're steering this ship from here.

[00:01:25] Craig Kasper: Hey, Rob, how are you? I really appreciate the opportunity to come on. You're doing such a great job with Diabetics Doing Things. I've been on for quite some time. And we connected. We came up with this really interesting idea to take over each other's show just for an episode, basically interview each other. And as I said, the first thing I really wanted to say is I'm a big fan of what you're doing here. I love the message that you're putting out into the world. It's very much in line with my thinking and the reason why I started my podcast as well. I love your interview style. It's supernatural. And what I'm really hoping to do today is really just do your show justice. So what's interesting to me is that you spend, just like I do, a lot of time digging into personal stories of your guests. and there's so much I'm sure that your audience would love to know about you. So this is where we flip the script and I get to interview the host of Diabetics Doing Things, Mr. Rob Howe. So thanks for being on the show today, buddy.

[00:02:23] Rob Howe: Hey, I'm excited. This is a thing I never thought I'd get to experience. And so, you know, I'm happy that you pitched me this idea. I'm super into it.

[00:02:32] Craig Kasper: Yeah, I really appreciate it. And, you know, it's great because as we've talked about offline a bunch of times is that the community of people that are in our world of type ones and type twos, it's such an interesting community because once you get a bunch of people online talking to one another, it seems like anything is possible, right? So what I really want to understand is a lot about you today, but what I really want to start off with is a question that I like to ask a lot of my guests on my show is where did it all start

[00:03:05] Rob Howe: from you? Where'd you grow up? Okay. So, um, I, I, it's, it's interesting. My childhood, my upbringing is, is great. I have, I'll say that I've said this before on the show. I'll say it again. Like I have two of the most amazing parents of all time. Um, I grew up, my dad was in the PC business, uh, in the computers and the, uh, right before the tech bubble, um, kind of crashed in, you know, as we got to like, you know, the year 2000 around there. So I moved around a lot when I was younger. So I was born in Louisiana, moved to Wisconsin, Arizona, Austin, Texas, then up to Ohio for a few years, then almost moved to California, North Carolina in the time I lived there before moving to Dallas in 1998. And then I lived here sort of until I graduated high school and then traveled around a little bit, lived in Colorado. So I have a pretty unique experience. And at the time, I didn't really, you know, when I moved to a new city, I would tell people where I lived and they'd be like, oh my gosh, I've never moved like that before. So I knew it was different, but I didn't realize how it shaped me until I was a little bit older. And I just had so many different perspectives on what life was like in different parts of the United States, how I was able to get around in social situations. So because of that, this is a weird thing to be good at, but I feel like I'm good at goodbyes and almost like meeting new people and starting over. And with that, I think comes two things. One, a little bit of like confidence and going into a place and stepping out into the unknown. But two, you know, a little bit of anxiety as well and fears of like, you know, when you say goodbye. I remember saying goodbye to like my best friend at the time when I was like nine years old moving to Dallas. And, you know, that was a huge, like heart wrenching moment for me. And so now, you know, same thing is like, you don't want to, you have fears of saying, you know, of getting too close and saying goodbye to people because you know that those things happen, those things are out there. So kind of interesting. So that was sort of my upbringing. And then I was diagnosed with diabetes at age 16. So, you know, I had sort of the two different, you know, but life before and life after I'm one of the, you know, with adolescent diagnosis, I remember life before diabetes. It's not as clear sometimes anymore. It sort of blurs over, but I definitely remember it.

[00:05:35] Craig Kasper: I definitely want to dive into the diagnosis as well, because that's oftentimes I find that that tends to shape us as well. But you shared something with me and your story of moving around quite a bit as a kid. Now, I traveled quite a bit as a kid, but I didn't move per se. I still had my home base in New York. How do you think that in terms of, you said it shaped in terms of how you approach relationships to a certain extent or how you're mindful of how you're approaching relationships. You got really good at saying goodbyes, but do you think you have a little touch of wanderlust as a result of the fact that you weren't in one place for a long

[00:06:11] Rob Howe: period of time as a kid? Definitely. And I didn't, I think that's what I became more aware of as I got older. Um, I love traveling. Um, and I think even my girlfriend the other day was sort of giving me a hard time, uh, talking to him because I used to talk about moving into New York or to Seattle or, uh, to San Francisco or LA or wherever. Um, and she's like, you never did those things. And I think part of it was just being aware that like that wanderlust came from not living somewhere for more than four or five years at a time growing up. Like that change was sort of just like ingrained in me. But, you know, fortunately, I've been able to travel a lot. And that's been that was a priority that I made in my early 20s is that I really wanted to see the world. I got to do that a little bit as a part of the Washington generals playing against the Harlem Globetrotters. I got to see we're going to get into that too. Yeah, which Yeah, and I'm excited to dig into that as well. Because, you know, I got to see places that even right, even anybody who would want to go there can't see, you know, places that civilians don't get to go. So I think, you know, a lot of that was really cool. So and then, you know, spending some time about two years ago, I went to Singapore and Tokyo and spent some time in Japan, just like by myself, that was something I wanted to do. And so yeah, finding those like wanderlust moments and really getting away and disconnecting, I think finding that space. And I'm sure you feel this as well, you know, trying to get really involved in the online communities and on Instagram, like it's really easy to be stuck on your phone all day or be connected to talking to people all the time. And so the wanderlust for me came from wanting to go experience places that I was out of my comfort zone where I could see things that were older than things that we have here in the U S and, and just be free from all that for a little while. and really like truly disconnect from all of the, you know, I have plenty of worries and things on my list to do at home always. But, you know, when you really get out there and allow yourself to disconnect, I think that's a really powerful, beneficial thing.

[00:08:18] Craig Kasper: What do you think is the most important lesson you've learned by traveling by yourself? The most important, man. Or perhaps maybe the one thing that you learned about yourself, because a lot of times when we're taking these types of ventures, especially when we travel by ourselves there's something that just pops up says wow I never realized that I can do that or wow I really enjoy x what's the one thing you learned about yourself out there on the road

[00:08:44] Rob Howe: by yourself I think one one event stands out in particular I flew into I think I left Singapore at like 5 30 in the morning and I flew to Tokyo and it's about a nine hour flight so I got into I landed in Tokyo in the afternoon and I took the train into Tokyo station which is a very busy station. And I got there like Friday afternoon, like right at rush hour, like five, five 30 to 6 PM. And, um, I had, I didn't, and this is my own fault, but admittedly didn't do a whole lot of research on how to get money in Japan. Like, you know, I just assumed that I could use my credit card or debit card and I'd be fine. That's, you know, in Singapore, it's very Western, very much like that. But, uh, in Japan, sometimes like you can't, you couldn't use, I couldn't use my credit card to buy my second train pass. I could use it to buy my, uh, my Japan rail card, but not my like city pass. So I'm in Tokyo station there. I think like 2 million people or something go through that station every afternoon. I looked it up afterwards. It's an amazing amount of people. That's insane. It's insane. Like it's, uh, it's very similar, like New York bumper to bumper, like car traffic, but people in like in a tunnel. Um, so there's a lot of people going around. I stick out like a sore thumb. I'm a really big guy and really tall dude. And I've got like two bags, like a check, you know, check bags going through and two things stood out. Like one, I couldn't get any money and I didn't have any wifi at the time. So I'm like, okay, well, what do I do? So I found a Starbucks. I sat, I went in and I sat down. I'm like, okay, I can get on the internet now. How do I find money? Uh, what do I, and there was basically just like, okay, in Japan, us, the best ATM option is at the post office, but it's Friday after 5 p.m. and the post office is closed all weekend so like cross that off the list and the second place is 7-11 so those are pretty much your only options um you know from a convenience standpoint uh it's a good lesson for anybody going there and uh so i found a 7-11 and i got in there the atm but the atm still wouldn't take uh wouldn't take my card and i'm like tweeting hate tweeting chase bank and i was like this is gonna be fine blah blah blah and uh and they're trying to help me out and they can't figure out why it's not working. So, uh, about an hour goes by, I'm bouncing from Starbucks to Starbucks, trying to just figure out the best way. And, um, my Airbnb ends up being only like four stops away from Tokyo station. So I'm just like, you know what, I'm just gonna jump this rail basically. So I just like picked up my bag and just like went through the rail, like sign or whatever. And, uh, like through the, uh, the ticket taker and just jumped it and got on the train, rode it and then made it to my Airbnb. And I was like, okay, I'm gonna figure this out tomorrow. And I think in that moment, like I had a couple of very low, like stressful moments, like Facebook calling and messaging my family back home being like, I can't, you know, what am I gonna do? And I'm sitting there like, well, they really can't help me. Like I'm really, I'm truly on my own. And I realized in that moment that I hadn't been out of my comfort zone like that in years. like I don't even remember the last time that I really didn't like I was like okay well it's on you like no one can understand me I don't speak the language I don't have any money and I've got to get somewhere and so it was just a really grounding like also find like your own like sort of insignificance right like you we all go through everyday life thinking like life and death situations about things that we do and I'm like man like it really isn't that important in the grand scheme of things. And so it was, I don't know, it was sort of this like very big, like inevitability of life, like just, you know, truly on your own, out of your comfort zone type moment. And then I made it, I made it to my Airbnb, like no problem. And then the next day I was able to like walk to a Western Union and get some, and get some money or wire some money to myself. And everything was totally fine. It was just like this, like, I don't know this, I had this weight

[00:12:52] Craig Kasper: kind of came off my shoulders in that moment. It's amazing how everything ultimately just has a way of working itself out somehow. But what's beautiful about that is that life threw you a curveball and you were forced to just jump outside of your comfort zone. And now you've expanded your comfort zone a little bit more because if that ever happens again, you have a frame of reference with which to work on, right? So it's pretty amazing how life teaches us lessons every day if we're wise enough to open our eyes just like you did and say, wow, this is a teaching moment to a certain extent. Let's figure our way out of it. Um, it sounds pretty exciting actually,

[00:13:24] Rob Howe: if you ask me, it was, it was exciting. I'm really glad it worked out, uh, with really no other hiccups. Uh, I'm trying to think of what, who, who quoted this, but, uh, it was a quote that I love. It says, any fool can learn from experience. Um, and so like in that, I was like, you know what, I am going to learn from this. I had a great, like, you know, three or four days in Tokyo after that. Um, just, and you know, you find that like gratitude, things that, uh, that happen in everyday life, like being able to give someone money and then give you something in return or ask for something and they understand you like those little things. Uh, I I'm immensely grateful for

[00:14:00] Craig Kasper: now because of that. It's great. It makes, makes things get into perspective, no doubt. So you mentioned earlier that you were, you were diagnosed at the age of 16 and it's interesting because I was personally diagnosed a little later. I was diagnosed at 27. So I understood what you were saying from this kind of pre-type 1 life to post-type 1 life. And you said you had a huge support system that I've found and I believe is super important for anybody's success in terms of living their optimal life when we're dealing with a chronic condition like type 1. But could you recall kind of in the days or the time immediately following your diagnosis, is who did you turn to most? Was it your parents that you turned to most? Was there somebody else in your life that you kind of trusted as kind of a sounding board that you could kind of roll your

[00:14:49] Rob Howe: thoughts off of? Who did you turn to? I think mostly my parents at the time. I was diagnosed on New Year's Day, so it was Christmas break. And so they were there at the hospital with me the whole time. My brother and sister were back at home, so my mom stayed with me sort of every step of the way. And I definitely had like, you know, texting was, was still a thing that was like sort of emerging as like the go-to medium for communication. But so I remember texting my friends and talking to like my, my two best friends at the time and, and, and really leaning on them. But like, it was just really, it was really interesting because like they weren't there as much as my parents were. So we were sort of experiencing that at the same time. So they were going through a lot as well as most type 1 parents do. And so we sort of, they were having the same conversations with us. And I remember just this really overwhelming sense that everything was going to be okay. And the people at Children's Medical Center in Dallas are amazing. And I didn't realize how fortunate I was to have that type of diagnosis experience. It was holiday break. I think there was one other kid in the entire hospital who had been diagnosed at that point in the whole endocrine wing. So I had like three diabetes educators and two doctors and they were just like all over, they were bored, I think. And they were just all, you know, all over me and, you know, teaching me everything I needed to know. But from the get go, the thing that they said was, if you take care of yourself, everything that you wanted for your life is still within reach. And that was what I was most worried about. Yeah. That's perfect that they said that to you because that really sets you in the right direction. And that type of rhetoric is so, so, so important immediately. Right. And I think of the, you know, now talking to, you know, almost a hundred type ones, very like in detail conversations like this, like that can make or break your, not only your first, you know, weeks, months, but years of living with type 1. And so for me, like right away, I was like, okay, cool. I'm going to be fine. But also I felt so much better. Like, I think there's always a little bit of denial when you're, when you're diagnosed, right. Or at least when I was, because I was a teenager and I knew everything. But they gave me that saline bag and that insulin, like right away, I felt a hundred times better. and I was like, okay, yeah, this was what was going wrong. And great, now I can move forward and get on with kind of, you know, everything that I was doing. So all that to pull that back around to your question. Yeah, I was, my parents were those people. They continue to be those people. I think that's part of who they are. And in some ways, I'm a lot like both of them in that way. Like my personality is to jump into things and commit a hundred percent right away. I definitely got that from my mom. And my dad is, you know, a little bit more, you know, emotional on that side. I think he was just like trying to, I think he went through that. Did we do something type questions that a lot of type 1 parents go through? Like, is this our fault somehow? Yeah, super common. And I think he went through that more than my mom did just because she, her background is a little bit more in nutrition. She owned a Curves for 12 years. So she, you know, had dealt with a lot of women with type 2 and some type 1 diabetes. So she was a little bit more familiar. And, yeah, so, I mean, they were right there. They were going through. It was their diagnosis, too, at the time. And so, yeah, I think they were – we, at that moment at least, through diabetes got a lot closer. And I think down the road, I mean, we certainly had our fights in terms of, you know, living life. And, you know, I was a little bit, I'm a pretty, I was, I think, a little bit more fiery and competitive when I was younger, especially as like an athlete. And one of my friends and I were talking about this recently, like you're just bred to be this like type A, you know, alpha male, like, you know, nobody can stop you. That's what they try to turn you into. And so, you know, that was a little bit, I took it a little bit personally. And sometimes, you know, as I look back, I wish I would have responded differently to certain situations just and not been so fiery or maybe so passionate.

[00:19:25] Craig Kasper: That's life. And I guess that's just maturing, right? We all have those moments where we go through our teenage years into our early 20s typically, especially as guys, especially guys who are athletes. look, that's your job is to be as fiery as possible, as you said. So you got to live and learn. You got to live and learn. But you mentioned, and you've been talking quite a bit about the athletics and the sports component. You went to the University of Colorado. You played basketball there. When did basketball actually enter the picture for you?

[00:19:53] Rob Howe: Oh man. It was the first thing that I ever really loved. It's definitely like a first love type thing. I still love it. I get so much from the game. It's given me almost every opportunity when I think of, you know, how privileged my life has been. You know, I didn't know the things that the game would bring me when I was working for them. But in terms of like college education and not having to have student loans and getting to travel, getting to meet different people, just like learning about myself and like how hard I can work or, you know, the benefits of staying focused. Like, I don't know, man, it's, I think of sports, uh, it's so, it's like the last remaining piece of the old school. I don't know, but it's also very meditative and can be. Um, but I, it taught me how to work. Um, and so I remember like, there's a picture of me living in, like, uh, I had this like under the, under the stairway, like closet room with my toys in it when I was in, lived in Wisconsin. And there's just me in there and I have these, all these little toys around me, but I'm only holding the basketball with the basketball goal. And so I think just from a very young age, I was very drawn to it. My dad played basketball, um, and you know, and loved the game and just taught it to me early. So it was one of the first things I learned. Um, and really I took some time off of it. Like when I, in my elementary school years and sort of rediscovered it in like junior high age and then just loved it. It was my passion. I lived and breathed it. When I wasn't playing it, I was watching it, studying it. I'm a super basketball stat nerd. And, you know, I think that just learning the game, I don't know, it was the first thing that I ever 100% truly loved in every way. and that came back to that was essential during the times where it was really hard in college because it was hard and I think that was the one thing everything had always come sort of easy there were moments that were you know I worked really hard but in college like you know life kind of slaps you in the face and it's like oh all 12 or 13 of these other guys on my team were also the best player in their league in their state so yeah and and they want to play so i think you know expecting to just go in and walk over you know you take that like alpha male mentality throw 13 of those guys in a small environment together with another guy who's the coach who's that type of who's that type of player person mentality it can be tough and it can wear you out and it really does become a job so

[00:22:33] Craig Kasper: but the interesting part interesting part of this is that you're you're also adding an additional layer of toxicity because of your diagnosis. Now, I have to imagine, especially when you're functioning at a very high level like college athletics, and I've spoken to a lot of athletes before who are type 1, that's something that's always to a certain extent in the back of your mind. So even though you feel like, yes, I'm strong, I'm overcoming this, and I could do whatever I want to do despite, and I totally agree with that mindset, there's always the hinge, I'm guessing, in the back of your mind. And I guess the question is, how did you manage those challenges of sort of, you know, overcoming the type 1 factor?

[00:23:15] Rob Howe: I think it was really important, like going back to the way that they framed it in the hospital. And the way that they said is, as long as you take care of your diabetes, everything is within reach. So I think it always came back to that, like, first, I have to take care of myself. That wasn't always easy. There were certainly times in like practices or during intense workouts. My college coach was a nut for fitness workouts and had some of the most crazy fitness exploits, I would even call them, were some of our workouts. And I had to pull myself out of a few of them because my blood sugar crashed or I was too high and I just couldn't do it. And so I think those, to me, as a competitor, I had to prioritize my own health and I worked really hard at it behind the scenes. But it's not something that's very public. It's really hard to say, like, hey, team, you guys should be really proud of me today. I made it to practice, and I'm going to be able to go through practice. And I think, you know, so kind of suffering those in silence, and I had great training staff. You know, they're my friends now. You know, Brian, John Michael, Amy, and Jenny, they were, throughout my four years there, were just incredible support for me. So I would have conversations with them every season. I even switched from multiple daily injections to a pump in the middle of my college career. So that changed. So just education and say, hey, here's what we need to have this. We need to have this. How can we do better? How can we get ready for games? The biggest challenge, I think, was when I was starting to play more minutes my junior and senior year, I would get so hyped up for games that my blood sugar would go from like fasting, fasting blood sugar would go from like 80 to like almost 400 just from like cortisol and stress and adrenaline. So that's a mess. That's a message

[00:25:11] Craig Kasper: though that that's a, that's right. There's a life lesson also, because even though you might not be getting hopped hyped up for a game nowadays, you would know exactly how your body is, is going to manage and how stress is going to impact your blood sugars. So that's a, that's a great lesson

[00:25:25] Rob Howe: right there. Oh, a hundred percent. And I, and I think it's another one of those things that But there's very few things today that give me that level of stress and cortisol and adrenaline to generate that type of response. But also I learned how to handle it. So, you know, I had to change the way, I had to change some of my music I listened to beforehand. I had to change the way I ate beforehand. I had to breathe a little bit more. I had to stay a little bit more relaxed. And, you know, those things were essential for me. So now, you know, when there's a stressful situation or whenever there's a big thing coming up, I'm more prepared to handle it from a diabetes perspective. And I think part of that goes into the preparation is for whatever it is, whether it be a performance or a presentation or whatever the case is.

[00:26:13] Craig Kasper: Yeah, yeah. So I want to shift gears just slightly because you mentioned something earlier in our conversation, which I am personally super fascinated by. the fact that you played for a period of time for the generals which is the team that goes on tour and plays against the harlem globetrotters and for me i remember growing up with some of the original you know the the harlem globetrotters with Curly Neal and Meadowlark Lemon and these were the teams that i grew up on and the fact that you actually played and i have to tell you something i think i actually might have look and now that i know you i think i might have seen you play with

[00:26:50] Rob Howe: my kids a couple of years ago. So is that, is that, well, it's possible. What show was that

[00:26:57] Craig Kasper: at Madison square garden? We saw it at the garden. That's right. Yeah. So it, you probably, you,

[00:27:03] Rob Howe: it was probably during the same tour I was on, but there are something that a couple of people don't know. So we'll dive in and we'll give like the full, uh, behind the curtain look a little bit at the globe trotters. So there are three different tours going at any given time. I think there's a total of like 500 to 600 Globetrotter shows a year around the world, which is first of all insane. Um, it, it's a, it was so cool to be a part of that basketball organization because, you know, I didn't even know this at the time, but you know, my dad was born in 1946 in, uh, in Tuskegee, Alabama. So small town, rural South. And his first experience with professional basketball was the Harlem Globetrotters. Wow. And there's a lot of people, you know, Dirk Nowitzki, first time he saw basketball, Harlem Globetrotters. So it's like I think the impact globally on the game that the Harlem Globetrotters have had over the years, especially guys like Curly Neal and Meadowlark Lemon, who you mentioned. I got to meet Meadowlark at a show. Couldn't have been a nicer guy. And I think the – I underestimated that going in And then going and being there on the sidelines for, you know, 80 some games was insane. I think, you know, on the back on a second night of a back to back to back where, you know, you played three games in two days and you've gone from city to city and you're living on a bus. It's real easy to be tired and your body hurts and you're like, man, this is no good. I'm getting beat every night. and uh but then uh the globetrotters do this bit before the fourth quarter where they like they play the ymca and all the kids from the stands get to run out on the court so you know there's a thousand kids running around and the globetrotters are doing the ymca and we have to kind of sit there on the side and just watch this happen but um in those moments i think you look at it it's like wow like these kids are having the time of their life uh there's a lot of magic around the Harlem Globetrotters. And I think that's what they bring that is sort of phasing out these days in terms of kids. I feel like there's so much access through like technology and social media that the magic of things has sort of been lost, but the Globetrotters still have that. And it was cool to be, you know, associated with it and to see it sort of happen in real time.

[00:29:24] Craig Kasper: Yeah, I can say just from a personal perspective, it's such a special experience. It's like my kids, especially my younger one, super into basketball, plays travel ball. So for him, it's entertainment. But for a lot of kids who are not super into basketball, this is what makes the sport accessible to them at the beginning, as you said. And it sounds like you had a blast and it was probably the experience of a lifetime for you just to be in that environment. So that sounds like such an amazing experience. um so so look if talking about kind of the creative aspect because that that is a nice kind of segue into your creative life and for i'm sure your audience knows you pretty well but for those who are out there who are not familiar you're also um from what i understand the co-founder managing director of a digital media agency called recreation dallas so what i'm curious to understand is how has your creative mind been shaped by diabetes? And on the opposite end, how has your diabetes been shaped by your creativity? That's a great question. Yes,

[00:30:34] Rob Howe: I am. And I don't know, I don't talk about it much on my on my podcast. But about a year ago, I guess, in January, it'll be a year. My partner and I left our left our previous agency and started our own in another one of my entrepreneurial ventures, I think, and started recreation. And we are, you know, a social and digital agency. And, you know, so we do social media, marketing, storytelling, video for, you know, for our clients. So from a diabetes perspective, diabetes shaping my creativity, my role in agencies in the past wasn't necessarily as much on the creative side as it was on the strategy and analytics and data side. And I think a lot of that comes from my diabetes, because I think my perspective and my point of view on analytics in the age of big data is that we have so much data that you can easily just get lost in it and never make a decision, get analysis paralysis. And what people need are insights to make decisions, much like diabetics do, right? You need to know what your blood sugar is, what your inputs have been, what your expectation was, and how you react. And then also, how do you be proactive around that? You don't want to always be reactive. So I always like to joke when I talk to young diabetics that everyone is just a little data scientist. Um, and you know, it always kind of gets a giggle, but, um, yeah, I think, I think that for me, trying to find ways to put more insights behind, you know, what do I do to make my life with type 1 diabetes better? Um, is it the way that I talk to myself and, and, and is it, is it clinical? Is it, uh, is it emotional? Is it community. That type of creative problem, I think, from a diabetes perspective, fueled my creativity for helping brands and clients solve problems for their business. That's such a perfect answer. I'm

[00:32:44] Craig Kasper: glad that you made that connection so eloquently for me because that's what I was hoping you would say. And it's beautiful because if you take a look, pretty much we have the ability every single day to learn from our condition if we're open to it. And clearly this is taking it to a completely different level and you've analyzed that's, I guess that's your mind. You have a very analytical mind, but that was beautifully said. So thank you. Yeah. And I mean, man, it's,

[00:33:09] Rob Howe: once you realize that, I think being open, being open to it, just like you said, is the key. Be open to surprise yourself and surprise yourself with something, you know, or be delighted by something or, you know, celebrate a little victory. I think that's a, that's feedback that I get sometimes from people who comment on the podcast or on Instagram is they feel and they love to see these people who are professional athletes or yogis or speakers or authors or rock climbers and ultra marathoners and all these people that are doing these amazing things. But I think the important thing as well is that a mom getting her kids to school in the morning and still maintaining a positive blood sugar for herself, that's a win. That's a big victory. And like leaving yourself, leave yourself open for that, you know, put a trophy on your wall for that. I think, um, you know, for me that those types of wins, like really, those get me fired up, I think. So yeah, I think it is, you know, be leaving yourself open is, is the key to unlock all of that. Uh, and just, you know, be a little bit more gentle with yourself. And that's something that I've been really, has really exposed myself more to in the last year or so as well, just on the mindfulness side of things, slowing down a little bit, softening edges, trying to continue to be a student and really, really learn and find passion

[00:34:37] Craig Kasper: for that as well. That's beautiful. Now, along those lines also, in terms of kind of opening yourself up for things, there's, there's something that I read about you that you're also involved in improv comedy. And I find that fascinating because on my show, I had interviewed a psychologist out on the West Coast who's also type 1, who's also into improv. And I asked him this question, and I'm really curious to hear your thoughts about it too. How important do you think humor is in terms of our overall health in general, but with respect to diabetes in particular?

[00:35:16] Rob Howe: I think, I don't know. So improv to me is something that I did not expect to find. I was involved in like community theater and like church productions when I was a little kid. But my life has sort of, you know, taken a different turn from that. And I didn't didn't expect to find it. But when I got done playing with the Globetrotters, I had a friend in New York and a friend in LA that were taking classes at Upright Citizens Brigade, which is a very famous you know very uh improv theater uh in la and new york and they were like you would love this you should try it so i just searched for it and i found it i found this amazing community here at Dallas Comedy House and you know almost five years now i've been doing that and teaching and performing and my students have a showcase tonight actually for their level one um so back to your original question the humor thing like um i think like this the idea of play and like leaving your mind open for play as an adult is super, super important. I think the biggest changes that I see in people, especially when they come into class, because people come from all types of backgrounds. They could be, and it's usually a life event of some kind, similar to a diagnosis with a chronic illness or something like that. they're not always catastrophic or like you know big major like negative perception life events like a divorce or getting fired or retiring or whatever but they generally have something like they moved to a new city their kids moved out of the house you know any sort of situation like that generally drives somebody to try something new and when people come into improv like the the foundational rules are like yes and and support and listening and i think people go through their entire life uh living quote-unquote successfully without ever having an idea of they're supported by someone and i think that's the most like when i see the most profound change in people is when they put an idea out there that you know they just they don't even they may not even care about it's just something that came to their mind but they're nervous about it they put it out there and then the other person hears it, receives it, supports it, and takes it to another level. Because, you know, that's the magic about improv to me is that the people that I get to play with, they're all different from me. They have different perspective, different experience. And because of that, they could hear something that I say and I could hear something that they say and think about it completely different. So the ideas and some of the things that I've gotten to be a part of, whether they're just scenes that happen for a second and go away forever, which is the case of most of the comedy that I do. It doesn't matter because they in that moment, like I got to do something that I never would have done otherwise, had I not left myself open to play with someone else's idea and allow myself to be supported by those people. So I think that's where, you know, for me, that that's why comedy is so important to people. And it's not making jokes. And it's not, uh you know doing a tight five minutes at an open mic those are all great and and take a lot of work and craft perfection in their own right but i think just the one simple idea of putting an idea out there and a complete stranger adult that you met in a class you know after work hours during the week supporting an idea that you had and seeing what that unlocks and seeing like what kind of confidence and what kind of like change in behavior that can cause. That's why I do what I do from an improv perspective. I love to see that magic, like people remembering like their childhood, like playing make believe. And so, you know, I joke about it. It's, you know, hey guys, this is not an important thing. We're just a bunch of adults playing make believe in a room at seven o'clock on a week night. You know, but that's super important in like recognizing that not everybody has that luxury or not everybody has let themselves open up or let themselves be open to that possibility. That's why I do it. That's where that comes in for me from a mental health perspective. And I think it's helped me with my diabetes relationship because by no fault of our own, like there's four other or three other type ones at the theater who we have like a Facebook message group and we've met each other over the years and performed together. and so now we have like a comedy diabetes Facebook thread that we can go in and you know bitch about having bad blood sugars or make jokes or hey another co-worker said I can't have cupcakes today ha ha you know and you just have that you know little support group that I didn't know that I needed yeah and I think that was anyway that's that's my long roundabout answer to your question

[00:40:02] Craig Kasper: no it was perfect you know it's interesting because a lot of that has a great deal to do with the, first of all, before I jump into the next questions, again, I want to thank you very much for working with me to make this possible because I find these stories as you do super interesting and impactful. And what I want to talk about is kind of piggyback on what you said, is putting something out there and letting, seeing what happens and how it develops over time. And I want to talk about impact because through this show, Diabetics Doing Things, you're making an amazing impact on anyone who's living with diabetes just by sharing these stories of people who are overcoming and living these incredible lives. And as they're sharing their stories, people start to recognize the fact that they're not alone and they have the ability to do whatever they want to do in life despite the fact that type 1 is a part of their life. but what I'm interested to understand from you is what was the motivation to actually launch the

[00:41:03] Rob Howe: podcast in the first place oh man um well this is going to actually tie back into another one of our your first questions kind of about travel um I get really like almost two years ago a little a little over two years ago I was in Colombia on a work exchange program through my previous employer And we would host journalists, marketers, writers from other countries in either Latin America or Africa in our office. And through a government program called the International Center for Journalists, occasionally they would get to send someone back to the country of these other guys and get to do the work exchange. So I got to go to Colombia in Bogota for two weeks in summer 2015. and um for those who don't know bogotas is a beautiful huge city it's like 15 million people uh up in the mountains of colombia uh kind of right on the equator it's beautiful um it's but it's huge and so and it has a lot of crime it's like a it's not it's not as much of a you know you people think of colombia they think of like narcos like pablo escobar like crazy murders and stuff. It's just more like a huge city, like New York or Mexico City or Los Angeles. There's just a lot of crime there. And I stick out like a sore thumb and I don't speak Spanish. So I wasn't allowed to go for the insurance of the trip. I wasn't allowed to leave my room past a certain time of night without my translator. And because I was there for two weeks, he couldn't spend every single night with me. So I spent a lot of time in my hotel room, which was fine. It just kind of spaced away. I didn't have any work responsibilities I had to do. So I got space. And in that time, I was trying to figure out like what I wanted to do with my life past a career perspective, past a, you know, that, that millennial question of like, Oh, what am I, what do I want to do? Right. I, and so I went back to a conversation I had with my dad when I was in high school, when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do for my like national honor society, NHS hours. that I had to do. And he said something that has stuck with me ever since, like, you're always happiest when you're helping people. So, okay, I was like, okay, well, I remember that. And then I was like, okay, well, what, who do I, who do I help? And it was just like, for the first time, it clicked to me. I was like, hey, Rob, like, you have type 1 diabetes, and you've still been able to do like a pretty cool amount of things. And it just, that had never occurred to me. I was not very involved in the diabetic community. I didn't talk about my diabetes very much, not because I was embarrassed, but mostly because I didn't want to be a burden to people. I didn't want to field questions. But it reminded me of this story when I was in college, I was in a class and I brought up my diabetes as an answer to a question. And a guy that I knew, he and I were both teaching assistants in another class. So we knew each other fairly well, had seen each other around campus. And he's like, hey, man, like, I didn't know you had type 1 diabetes. He's like, because you play on the basketball team. I said, yeah. And he goes, well, my cousin was just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. And he's like 11 and he loves triathlons. And his doctor told him that he probably shouldn't run triathlons anymore. And he's like, he's like, that struck me as interesting because you're here and you're obviously like playing very competitive sports and you seem to not be affected by it. And I was like, okay, well, give me your cousin's email and we'll kind of email back and forth. So I sent him the email, talked about it. I was like, hey, listen to your doctor, but my understanding is you can do everything you want to do as long as you take care of yourself and monitor yourself, take the extra steps necessary. So I say try to figure out a way for you to accomplish what you want to do. And he sent it back and said thank you, and we kind of exchanged emails for a while. About four months later, I get an email with no subject line, no text in it. It's just a picture, and it's a picture of him with a participation medal of a triathlon. Oh, that's so awesome. And dude, I, I like, I still, I'm getting chills right now talking about it. That for me, I was like, wow, like I had no expectation of that. And what that gave me was just like this enormous, enormous sense of, uh, that, that that's what I needed to do. Uh, and so immediately in that moment, I remember that conversation with my dad. I remember, I, I recognized that I had type 1 diabetes and I, um, and I remembered that's that interaction in that email. So I looked up the email, I found it. So I knew it, I knew I didn't make it up. It existed. Um, and then I was like, okay, well, you know, serial had just come out like podcasts were like really like going through. And I was like, you know what? I may not be able to be the best type 1 blogger. There's a lot of really good ones, but hopefully I could start a really good high quality type 1 podcast. Um, I could interview people and I could find them through Instagram and maybe that's what I'll do. So that seemed like something I could do and integrate it with the rest of my life. Um, and so I did it. Uh, and, and I thought, you know, from the, from the get go, I decided if I helped one person at all, it would be worth it. Um, and you know, from some of the matches that I've got, I know, I know I've, I've helped people and that like, that keeps me going. And then I get to meet these people too, which is like people like you, um, um where you know initially i don't know them but i get to talk to them for an hour uh i have so much in common with them and it's just uh it just enriches my my life like to like to the max it's my it's my we talked about basketball being my first love like interacting with people with diabetes is what i love doing it's yeah you're doing an amazing job i i applaud you because

[00:46:50] Craig Kasper: you're definitely making an impact and you're right even if you touch one person or one family or one parent who is scared, you're doing an amazing thing. And I know that the reach of your message will continue to grow and grow over time. So I was just really curious about the genesis of it because we all have our reasons for starting these types of projects and putting ourselves out there to a certain extent. And when there's real meaning behind it, as you've described, it definitely will have legs for a long time and it will make an impact for a long time. So thanks for sharing that Genesis story with all of us. Just along those lines, and again, I just have a couple of final questions that I'm curious about, but I want to get real specific for a second. If you could pick out one particular lesson or guest that you have interviewed and a lesson from that guest that sticks in your mind almost every day, is there one particular thing that comes to mind?

[00:47:55] Rob Howe: um well first of all they all have some an effect on me in some way so i don't want to play favorites here but i will say uh jeremy robertson um i'm trying to think what episode number he is off the top of my head but it's diabetics doing aviation um he's jeremy's from australia he was diagnosed later in his life at 31 i think uh so very similar to you uh and he was a Qantas Airlines pilot so he flew from Sydney to LA and like around the far east as a Qantas pilot so um you know a commercial 757 like you know a pilot so uh his whole life he loved planes he loved flying like he knew that he wanted to go to flight school from the time he was like seven years old like this is his number one thing he loved in his life uh he comes to LA on on a layover and he's like feeling really drowsy, whatever. So he goes to the doctor, uh, which is, I guess, you know, a thing that pilots do if they're, if they're feeling under the weather, because they, you know, they have pretty strict medical boards that they've got to go by. So he goes in and the doctor's like, yeah, he's like, it looks like, man, you probably got type 1 diabetes. Like you probably shouldn't fly home. Um, he's like, but you should go home as soon as you can go back to Australia and make sure that this is, you know, this is happening. So, um, at that point, you know, he gets diagnosed and they take away his license like completely. So for me, the biggest part of that is not that, you know, I try not to get up in arms about the things that diabetics are not allowed to do because I think it does make sense in a certain, to a certain extent. Like, you know, you don't want to have a hypo in the middle of a, you know, overseas flight where you've got, you know, and all the protocols are there and you can't safely do that. Right. So on one hand, it makes sense. But on the other hand, the big thing I took away is that this guy, Jeremy, for his entire life had wanted one thing, gotten it, and then had to change. And so what do you do in that moment? What do you do when life throws you that kind of curveball? How do you respond? I think like talking about the strength and like the character of a person in that moment, those decisions you make after that are, you know, really what define you. And so listen to this. The guy takes this prognosis, takes this like wrenching out of his hands of his dream, and decides to go back to medical school to become a doctor, to become an endo. So he's about to finish up all of his schooling. But during that time, he's already gotten one or two degrees. Medical school is a long process. So not only is he now a doctor, but he's also a pilot. So he's using his power in both of those arenas to change legislation for people with type 1 so that they may not be able to fly commercial jets yet, but they can fly small passenger aircraft. So guys who love to fly can get their wings back.

[00:50:52] Craig Kasper: That's such a great mission right there. It sounds like it's a personal, it's clearly very personal on his part, but he's making an impact for every single person that's impacted by diabetes. Wow.

[00:51:08] Rob Howe: And I was shaking my head during that interview, and I'm like, God, this guy, if we all just respond to situations that are potentially devastating like that, just like 1% better like that, how much better off we'd be and how privileged I am to know people like that, I was blown away.

[00:51:27] Craig Kasper: Yeah, it's not like he's just going back for a master's degree. He's going back for a medical degree with all that goes along with it, the prerequisites, medical school, residency, however long it's going to take him. That's a huge amount of dedication. So I applaud him and thank you for sharing that story. I have to look up that episode now. I'm sure you'll link to it on your page so you can find it. But that sounds like something that I need to listen to after we're done with our conversation. Super inspiring. So here's my final question for you. and keeping with the theme of diabetics doing things, I stole this question from you and I'm proud to say it.

[00:52:06] Rob Howe: I love it. I can't wait.

[00:52:10] Craig Kasper: You're famous for asking this question in a bunch of your interviews. You're in the airport. The door is about to close. You have one thing to tell someone who was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. What would that sage piece of advice be?

[00:52:24] Rob Howe: I do want to say that there are two types of answers to this question. There are people who humor me and they take my context and they give me their one thing that they would say in the 30 seconds. And then there are people who are like, forget your rules. I'm just going to miss my flight. So I do want to give a shout out to those people who just completely reject my context and take matters into their own hands. I appreciate that so much and it makes me laugh every time. But for the sake of this question, because I do want to answer it, I will. And I think the main thing is speak up. Whether you're struggling, whether you aren't struggling, whether you just have type 1 diabetes. Like I think of that moment in that class where I just used a personal anecdote from my life to apply to some management question. Seemingly totally unrelated. If I hadn't done that, maybe I don't get to impact that guy's life who's trying to run triathlons. maybe I don't have diabetics doing things today maybe I haven't met the thousands of people that I've met with type 1 since then so you know you're not alone speak up ask for help I think that's the biggest thing I've learned from this from this podcast experience is I I've gotten to where I've gotten and by no means you know do I think it's you know do I rest on my laurels and say it's this amazing thing. I still want to get better. I still want to grow. I still want to accomplish new things and meet new people. I could not have done it without the help of all of these giants that I get to stand on the shoulders of. And so, but if I don't ask for help, none of it happens. People, if I, almost every person, I would say 99% of the people who I've asked for help, whether coming on the show to be interviewed, whether to point me, connect me with someone, whether to point me in the right direction. Asking is the heart is the if I don't do that, it doesn't happen. If you don't ask for help, you cannot get it. Don't leave it up to chance. Take control of it and ask and speak up, ask for help. And I think that's that's what I would say. And then I'd jump on the plane, whisk away in my jet plane as all the other passengers boo me as I run on the plane with seconds to spare.

[00:54:49] Craig Kasper: Very James Bond-esque. That's awesome. Rob, listen, this was so awesome. You're making, as I said throughout the show, you're doing such an amazing job. You're a model. Your story is inspirational. And I know that you love to tell the stories of your guests. but I think and I'm glad that we had an opportunity to tell your story in depth because there's no doubt that you talk about giants but what you're doing is putting you right in line with all those people so thanks for what you're doing thank you for letting me crash your world and take over your podcast for this episode it's been a great experience for me personally I've learned a lot and I look forward to seeing how you and I are going to collaborate more in the future because I think that we're going to become good friends really quickly.

[00:55:35] Rob Howe: I couldn't agree more. And Craig, thank you for when we reached out and made this happen, for pitching this as the way to go about it. It was super fun, super refreshing. And yeah, I look forward to the next project we get to work on.

[00:55:50] Craig Kasper: Sounds awesome. We'll talk soon. Take care, Rob.

[00:55:53] Rob Howe: Thank you for listening to the Diabetics Doing Things podcast. That's it for The Takeover. But if you want to check out part one of The Takeover, where I go on Craig's podcast, The Bravest Life, and interview him, you can check that out at thebravestlife.com. You can also find him on Instagram at Craig Kasper or at Bravest Life. If you want to subscribe to our email list, you can do so at diabeticsdoingthings.com.