Diabetics Doing Comedy with Craig Rowin

[00:00:07] Rob Howe: Welcome to the Diabetics Doing Things podcast. We've been telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics all across the world since 2015. We have over a thousand years of living with T1D on the podcast. The interviews range from incredible feats to everyday victories and we celebrate them all just the same. Thanks for listening. And if you want to get involved even further, just send me an email at rob@diabeticsdoingthings.com. Hello and welcome back to another episode of Diabetics Doing Things. We're telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics from all across the world. My very special guest this afternoon is Craig Rowin calling from LA. Craig, welcome to the show.

[00:00:53] Craig Rowin: thank you for having for having me from la aka la la land and i i hear you know at least based

[00:01:02] Rob Howe: on what people are saying on instagram so you never know if it's true la is just on fire right now just super oh yeah there it is figuratively and literally yeah about 15 minutes drive from me

[00:01:12] Craig Rowin: um it is in flames so i'm not gonna go right over there right now um it's it's been very hot and

[00:01:20] Rob Howe: fire happens sometimes. LA is just not what it seems, I guess, you know, it's just sad.

[00:01:27] Craig Rowin: It's a city of broken dreams and things in flames. I knew it. Well, thank you for taking

[00:01:34] Rob Howe: the time from fighting the fire to talk to us today. So a little bit of background on how this interview happened, just like a cool synchronicity of worlds. So a lot of listeners know that I do improv here in the Dallas area. And among that improv community, there are about five type 1 diabetics who we all sort of have like our own little message group on Facebook. So we not only do dumb improv bits, but also dumb diabetes bits. So it's really great and healthy. But Craig is a frequent contributor, I guess, guest co-host of Improv for Humans, the podcast with Matt Besser and a few of my friends were listening to a very recent episode which we will link to in the show notes where Craig talks about getting diagnosed with type 1 diabetes

[00:02:25] Craig Rowin: yeah it was uh I forget the way that the show works it's like um listeners through twitter ask questions to the guests I forget what it was about but maybe it was about being stubborn or something But, yeah, it easily segued into my exciting story of getting type 1 diabetes. So I was eager to share it.

[00:02:49] Rob Howe: Yeah, and I think it's been fairly recent. I guess really in the last a little bit over a year, if I'm not mistaken.

[00:02:57] Craig Rowin: Actually, well, I don't know when this is coming out. But in the next two or three weeks, I'll be having my one-year anniversary coming up. Oh, cool. So very excited to celebrate that in a healthy fashion.

[00:03:13] Rob Howe: Do you have any ideas of how you're going to do that?

[00:03:16] Craig Rowin: Well, weirdly enough, I'm going to be – my wife and I are going to Japan, and that will be our last night in Japan. So I think we'll probably have – hopefully we'll have some strange, interesting type of ice cream or something.

[00:03:33] Rob Howe: Nice.

[00:03:33] Craig Rowin: That's my, ice cream is my, it's my solace. It's, I can't give it up. So I, one scoop, about two ounces does me good and doesn't make my levels go crazy. So I'm hoping to enjoy that there.

[00:03:50] Rob Howe: Also, you should never have, no one should have to give up ice cream. That's just a.

[00:03:54] Craig Rowin: Oh, exactly. Exactly. No, no, never, never.

[00:03:57] Rob Howe: I was actually in Japan, I guess about two years ago. and one of my kind of crazy low blood sugar stories happened and then like at the same time was this very delightful sort of reminder of like being in the modern world is pretty awesome. I don't know if you've ever been to Japan before. No, no, I haven't. Well, it's one of my favorite places and I'm excited that you're going. You're going to have an awesome time pretty much no matter where you're going. I was in Kyoto for the day and there's this temple at the Inari Station and it's got like all these arches and it's like the number one tourist destination in Japan so it's very crowded a lot of people there but it's amazing like this is like two mile like archway path up a mountain basically a small mountain and I was like hiking all day and like really booking it because I was just I was alone in Japan so I'm a type of person that just tries to overbook myself just it's how I like to operate right and so I was just going from one thing to another to another and doing a ton of walking i think i walked like 18 miles a day which is way too much for vacation oh my god that's a lot but but it can happen easily so uh be be aware of that while you're there but uh so i was going up and down this hill and i like started to feel a little bit like sweaty and like i was having a low blood sugar and so i test my blood sugar i'm on the top of this like very ancient temple that's like 10 000 years old it's beautiful all the architecture is still like original and i'm reading all this amazing inspiring stuff about how they built it but at the top my blood sugar was like 40 so i'm like oh no i'm in trouble but then i turn as i get up to this landing and there's a brand new coca-cola machine just right i was like wow this is this is consumerism at its best and worst because i you know can eat something up here and i'll be fine but also at the top of this temple where people are carrying these little burning things to make sacrifices there's also a coke machine you can't escape uh

[00:05:56] Craig Rowin: You can't escape Coca-Cola no matter where you are in the world.

[00:05:59] Rob Howe: It's so true. But that's awesome. For me in that moment, I was grateful for it.

[00:06:05] Craig Rowin: That's awesome. That makes me feel good because this is the first big trip I've done. I mean, I've traveled within the United States, but this is the first international trip since I've been diagnosed with diabetes type 1. So I'm just being slightly precautious, bringing extra sort of everything. but it's good to know that I'll be in, you know, it's the modern world. It'll be fine.

[00:06:32] Rob Howe: Yeah, it is, and I think, you know, a lot of people, especially people who've grown up with type 1 or, you know, didn't have a chance to maybe travel before they were diagnosed, kind of had this fear of, well, what if, and you can get in that mindset where fear sort of paralyzes you from doing things. And so it's good. I'm glad you're taking that on. I think you have those choices right after you're diagnosed or within those first few months. How am I going to continue to live my life with this new development? I'm a huge believer in continuing to do the things that you're passionate about and want to do because they're there for you as long as you just take the right steps.

[00:07:13] Craig Rowin: Totally. That's definitely a good way to look at it. For sure.

[00:07:18] Rob Howe: You were diagnosed a little bit later in your life than most people. and I'll say this with a caveat, like, than most people think when they think about type 1 diabetes.

[00:07:28] Craig Rowin: Yes. Yeah, definitely.

[00:07:30] Rob Howe: So, yeah, walk us through that.

[00:07:32] Craig Rowin: Yeah, so I'm 33 now, so I was 32 when it happened, and I was, yeah, I just, like, over the course of a month, I was writing for a TV show at the time, and it was sort of towards the end of the writing process and the room sort of got smaller and smaller just because not as many people were needed towards the end. And I was in the room and I was telling the other people that I was working with, I was like, I'm so dehydrated. For like three weeks, I was just like, I am insanely dehydrated. It's crazy. and I was going to the bathroom quite a lot to urinate. I'll say it. I hope you can say the word urinate on a podcast.

[00:08:21] Rob Howe: Yeah, we've got the explicit tag, so you can say urinate. All right, then I'll even go –

[00:08:27] Craig Rowin: I'll go as far to say I had to pee-pee a lot, and it was just like driving me crazy. I couldn't quite understand it, and I was getting – and I was just super tired. And my wife was like, what's going on? You know, you're waking up like a lot in the middle of the night. Are you okay? And I'm very stubborn, and my wife is slightly a little bit of a hypochondriac. So now I listen. I used to take everything with a grain of salt, but now I'm like, oh, you're right about everything. um but uh so we went away for a weekend um and we're staying at a hotel and I weighed myself on the scale and by the way the whole weekend we were like sort of just hanging by a pool and I was just exhausted I could barely like get up and super sluggish and I was like fiending for sweet drinks. And I weighed myself in the hotel room. And I weighed, it said I weighed 20 pounds less than I normally weigh. And, and I, people had said I was looking skinnier than usual. But that's usually people sort of say that in a positive way. So I wasn't like worried. And, and my wife, Meryl was like, oh my god, you lost 20 pounds. And I wasn't doing anything differently dietary-wise or exercise-wise. And I was like, I mean, this is how stubborn and dumb I was. I was like, this scale is obviously broken. Because I don't weigh myself a lot. Now I do. I do very regularly. But I was just like, now the scale's broken. and um but i'll make a doctor's appointment and i made a doctor's appointment when i got back and um my wife was like i think you have type 1 diabetes and i was like there's no way i have type 1 diabetes she's like i'm looking at it online like you have all the symptoms and i was like no like nobody in my family has it it just doesn't make any sense and i went to the doctor and she was even like, and this, I sort of don't, I don't go to this doctor anymore. The doctor was like, um, like, I don't think you have diabetes, but we'll do the tests and everything. And, um, and then she called me back like three hours later. It was like, go to the ER right now. Um, you have type 1 diabetes. And I think my, uh, blood sugar level was over 300 I don't remember the exact number went to the ER and was just sort of there all night got some you know insulin and got I forget what the pills are called that they give you to sort of I don't take them anymore but they gave me some

[00:11:30] Rob Howe: might be like metformin or something like that

[00:11:32] Craig Rowin: yeah it was metformin to level me out for the next couple days but I was so stupid like I was like alright I've got type 1 diabetes like you know obviously it was a big deal but I like was there till like four in the morning and still was like, I'm going to go to work today. And then everybody was like, wait, what? You have type 1 diabetes. You're in the ER till 4am. Like, just go, just go home. Um, and yeah, that was basically the, how I found out. And it was very, exciting in not the most fun way. And it was definitely scary and just, you know, like a lot of like, wait, what? Like, you know, it doesn't run in the family. This is a weird age, at least from what I've heard to get this, what sort of what's going on. And yeah, that's the story.

[00:12:27] Rob Howe: That's how it happened. Well, and it's kind of weird too, right? Like three things sort of jump out of me, number one, and this happens with basically every diagnosis, is that the symptoms are just kind of heightened versions of normal things. So like you're a little bit tired, which is easy to do, you know, you overwork or whatever. Right. Dehydrated, like, yeah, you know, you can get dehydrated pretty easily. You're going to the bathroom a little bit more frequently, but then sometimes that feels like, you know, it's just a normal thing and it's easy to justify those things absolutely but then like uh you go to the doctor and like the doctor's like pretty confident right like you don't have diabetes like come on and then and then three hours later it's like hey remember that thing i said um you should go to the hospital right away because you definitely have it yeah yeah so and then and then i guess that brings me to my next point is like you know you're after you get insulin i remember when i went into like i was pretty devastated i got diagnosed at an urgent care so it was like new year's day so we went to urgent care and then like the 20 minute drive from urgent care to the hospital was like super traumatizing i was 16 i thought my whole life was over and then we get to the emergency room and they give me some insulin and i was like oh holy shit i feel way better right like right away and they like gave me a bunch of saline bags i like basically gained all my weight back and got my blood sugar right in half an hour and was like okay cool now what so like you get that immediate feedback of like feeling better. And like you said, you know, it's 4am even in the emergency room, but you're like,

[00:13:59] Craig Rowin: yeah, I'm good. I'm going to go to work. Yeah. Yeah. Basically. And then, you know, it was like, um, like to find a doctor, you know, uh, for the diabetes, like they gave me a recommendation for a doctor, uh, the, the, uh, the original doctor physician and I called them and they're like, oh yeah, this was in September. Like, okay, the first, um, the first appointment we have open is like mid January. And I was like, um, okay, well, this is sort of an emergency. Um, like this is, I need this to happen now. She's like, well, can you explain? I was like, okay, I was diagnosed with diabetes yesterday. I need medicine to deal with the diabetes. And she's like, okay, but I I don't quite understand what the emergency, and I was just like, oh, my God, oh, my God. But we ended up finding a great doctor, and I was able to meet with him like five days later. And those five days, I was like, you know, just still exhausted. And it was, you know, it was definitely scary and just sort of like, oh, man, what's the future going to look like? Like it was – and then once meeting with the doctor and the nutritionist that I got hooked up with was much more like, all right, this will be livable and not terrifying the entire time.

[00:15:27] Rob Howe: So – and I guess I've talked to now like on the podcast alone like 75 or so type ones from all over the world, all different ages. Because those first moments after you were diagnosed are like the most important in terms of the decisions that you make and like the emotions that you attach to the diagnosis and like how you set up your life like going forward. Yes. So for you, you like got diagnosed. You're like, you have diabetes. Cool. Let's fix it. But then couldn't get in with the doctor they recommended. So I had to find another one. And then even in those five days, like that's a long time to spend inside your head sort of wondering.

[00:16:07] Craig Rowin: Right. Yeah, it was interesting. Like, yeah, because I don't know why, but we basically, my wife helped do a lot of research and we're just trying to figure out like, okay, what do I eat? Like, what's my diet going to look like from now on? And what am I going to be eating until I have these meetings? And like now I can find stuff easier online. But I was like, oh, I'm never going to be able to have bread again. Like that's what we sort of like got from it. But obviously that's not true. And so I was just like, okay, I guess I'm not going to eat bread. And then we just like found a mishmash of like sort of incorrect stuff or just like not quite right. And I just remember that week being like, oh, my God, like I'm just going to be eating weird shit for the rest of my life. This is terrible.

[00:17:02] Rob Howe: Well, you kind of fall into that like Mayo Clinic trap where everything that you search is just the worst possible outcome. You know, like if you eat bread, you have 24 hours to live. Like, you know, there's no middle ground. And I think when we jump off the interview, I'll give you a couple if you still haven't found them. there's a couple of really good resources and like actual real life advice from diabetics because I think the challenge is there's so like there's whatever, a million and a half type ones living in the U S and the advice that they give you on day one in the hospital is super unlivable. It's just like to teach you the regimen. Right. And so it's like then like the amount of time you spend away from that, you start to like really live with it and like adapt it to your lifestyle and it's like hey like he's i know they said this these are the rules but you know this is how you'll actually live with it and i think it's hard to be like quote unquote giving advice because you're you're not i'm not a medical professional or like a nutritionist and i think a lot of other type ones talk about that as well because but they are someone living with the disease and like living in quote unquote thriving which is the way that like JDRF talks about it so you go and you say all right well your doctor's going to tell you one thing and they're not wrong but also you're a person so it's that kind of weird lens that you have to look at it through yeah and that's one of

[00:18:31] Craig Rowin: the things my doctor who's great dr shadi abdul noor i'll give him a shout out um at Cedars-Sinai but um he was like you know just in terms of like figuring out what levels are going to work he was like, you know, how much insulin to take, you know, he gave me the guidelines and we, you know, met a lot when I first started doing, but he's like, in the end, like when you're going out to dinner and all this stuff, like, I'm not going to know what you're eating. You're going to know what's best for you. Like, so, you know, start trusting yourself. And I think that that's even, you know, I'm only one year in. So like, I am still sort of dipping my toe back into eating certain foods just because I've been worried about like high highs, um, sometimes, but I'm, as the months go on, I'm just becoming more and more comfortable. You know, at first I was, you know, following the, my nutritionist's diet to a T and I still am in certain ways, but now I'm like, Oh, nothing's going wrong is going to happen. You know, nothing bad is going to happen if I stray from this a little bit or or you know a lot once in a while um that's just realistic like you can't you can't do it by the book every single day

[00:19:49] Rob Howe: and and that's like the toughest I think double-edged sword with like with type 1 because even like the drastic symptoms like you got diagnosed and they're like okay we're like we fixed you go home like you've been diagnosed and you still didn't even have like all the tools to make yourself like 100 well but they're like yeah they're like well you're not gonna die in five days so let's just like let this you know go on so it's always like a weird thing because you know i i find the better my control is like the more i notice even like a blood sugar that's like 200 or like a little bit in the high like 190 sometimes like and i'll feel bad or i'll start to feel sluggish or like my stomach will get upset or something. And I'm like, man, like, I know that there are people, a lot of people who have like average blood sugars this high and they don't even know that they don't even know their diagnosed yet. So they don't even know that they're feeling as bad, like that they could feel better. And that's a challenge because, you know, you want those people to have as much education as possible and you feel like, Hey, this is a devastating disease, but it's still, you know, it's not the, there's no like sense of urgency i guess i don't know i'm kind of rambling on this but it's an idea that i have like some the sense of urgency of a of a nurse or a doctor it's like oh well they know you're not gonna immediately you're not in any grave danger yes yeah they don't need to like triple bypass your heart immediately or you're gonna die so they kind of are a little bit more blase with it maybe

[00:21:18] Craig Rowin: totally totally i i i feel you as they say yeah yeah i've heard i've heard them say

[00:21:26] Rob Howe: uh so let's talk a little bit about like adjusting you know once you once you felt better and i imagine that like after you got with your doctor and got your regimen all set like you felt much better than you had for probably a few weeks um how did your your everyday life and i think as you were talking about talking about getting diagnosed with type 1 on improv for humans like your interactions with your peers and like other people who were like oh i didn't know you get diabetes when you were 32 31 um and like what has that been like well it's interesting i feel like

[00:21:59] Craig Rowin: there so it took me like three months um of like working on the numbers with my endocrinologist and my nutritionist just to get see first of all i think my i was in the honeymoon phase until probably this past month. So now I'm sort of relearning my numbers again, which has been sort of frustrating, but now I'm sort of back on top of it, which feels good. But the first three months were sort of just trying to get my numbers level. So, and that was basically, I wasn't allowed to do much exercise or anything. So I feel like the first three months were just like learning what this actually looks like to take these medications, what it is going to be like to eat just a healthier diet, which I set out to do in general and which I've kept doing. And then once those three months were up and I was given the okay to start exercising, I made that a part of my life, which it has been like in the, I live in LA now, I've lived here for the past two years. before that I lived in Brooklyn and I would swim like three or four times a week, but it wasn't sort of high in, you know, cardio. Um, but after I was given the okay to exercise, I started running or jogging. I'm not like fast, um, or anything, but, uh, I started jogging like three or four times a week and I've kept that up for the past, um, however many months it is since January. And, yeah, it's – so I really, like, my lifestyle for the positive has totally changed since I've been diagnosed with diabetes in a much healthier way. Like, even though I am dipping my toe into eating, like, more normally or being more confident eating things that are outside of the diet, I've been sort of suggested, I've really been eating much healthier and exercising much more than I ever had. And it's interesting. It just is like, I feel like being diagnosed with diabetes sort of really has helped me be a healthier person, which I think is, you know, I decided like when I got diabetes, I was like, I'm not going to let this mess up my life and I'll take it as a sign to just be healthier in general. So that's been a real big, it's been a huge thing in my life, really.

[00:24:44] Rob Howe: Well, and I think, you know, however many, you know, corny Pinterest style quotes I can feed this conversation, right? Like, you know, life is 90% how you react to whatever happens, 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react or whatever other Yogi Berra style quote, right? Right, right. I mean, it is a lot about like your success with a chronic illness because it doesn't go away. Like there's no cure currently. There's a lot of great treatment options. But like you said, you know, now you have a heightened level of awareness, like a new lens on your health that maybe you wouldn't have had before. So, you know, you'll never be able to say, well, if I hadn't got diabetes, I would have been down this road. But now that you have it, you know, making the best of it, I think that's a like really, you know, admirable and courageous because I think there's a lot of it's easy to go down the road of negative thinking, you know, and be and feel kind of afraid. And we talked a little bit about, you know, getting paralyzed by fear in those first few moments. But, you know, becoming a sort of type A, type 1 and saying, hey, I'm going to own this and, you know, make the best of what I've got.

[00:25:53] Craig Rowin: Yeah, no, it's been an interesting experience. And I know, like, I feel like some people I know, I work with someone who has type 1 since they were a kid, and he doesn't really talk about it. And I actually didn't know he had it until I was diagnosed. And he's been actually a really good resource and very good to talk to about stuff. But he doesn't, like, he never, I never knew. and you know we've been we've been out to eat before and i've always thought oh he's eating differently or more conservatively than i do when i go out to eat so i was always like but he never said anything and i was like and that's his way of doing it which is totally right for him but i was like you know i feel like i've sort of owned it in a way um like i'm totally willing like happy to talk to people about it and it's funny like another friend of mine I've got two friends who became adult type 1 diabetics in the last like one in the last six months which is crazy and then one like five or six years ago and she was also very helpful when I was diagnosed and like I just think every time I find someone else which it hasn't been that many but it's just like I like being able to talk about it and being sort of open about it too it's I feel like not that people there's a stigma to it but I want to treat it like a positive thing sort of

[00:27:33] Rob Howe: I was very much like your friend you mentioned for years I didn't really talk about it because I didn't want people to treat me differently and it wasn't because I was embarrassed of it if people talked to me about it I would talk to them but I was not very outgoing about it. And, uh, since I changed that, cause you know, you kind of have to be when you start a diabetes podcast. Uh, yes, obviously. Um, but since then, I think like just the relationships that I've made built like quickly, it's amazing how like having something like this in common with someone can instantly give you like credibility and just like the feeling that somebody knows what you're going through is just really, it's really strong. I don't know. It's, it seemed, it seems like that should go without saying, but experiencing it. Like the other day, I ran into a guy, there's a guy that works in my building who, um, one of my coworkers saw his like pump cable, his like pump tubing and was like, Hey, like that guy is a type 1. And like mentioned it a couple of weeks and a couple of weeks go by and I never saw him when I was with her. And then she pointed him out and I just like walked over and talked to him, which totally blew my coworkers her mind she's like why would you ever introduce yourself to a stranger this is a strange world but just like right off the bat instantly you kind of get past that like oh hey how's it going like uh you know how happy monday you're just like oh yeah hey i have a pump um and that person's like oh nice like do you eat at this place you know what do you you know right right right you just like get right to that really good like meaningful sort of connection conversation yeah no absolutely

[00:29:09] Craig Rowin: I mean, I was at work once and was doing insulin in the bathroom. I still use whatever insulin pens. I haven't gotten the pump yet. I will probably at the beginning of next year. But I was giving myself a shot, and some guy walked in the bathroom while I was doing it. He was like, oh, me too, man, me too. and we talked about it and he was telling me about how high his high was when he got diagnosed and everything. And, yeah, I was just like, oh, that's cool. It's like those guys who ride Harleys and they wave at each other when they pass or whatever. But this is diabetes, not Harley Davidson's.

[00:29:52] Rob Howe: Right, like they wear super badass vests and we make puns about diabetes.

[00:29:57] Craig Rowin: Exactly, exactly. That's what we do.

[00:30:00] Rob Howe: And we're, and man, I will give a shout out to every person with some sort of diabetes pun related account. You are the bravest people I've ever met.

[00:30:08] Craig Rowin: Right. And also, if you have a Harley Davidson, let me just give a shout out to that machine and that the, like that company. You know what I mean? Yeah. You got to give some love to diabetes. Harley Diabetes.

[00:30:21] Rob Howe: Harley Diabetes, the foundation of American engineering.

[00:30:25] Craig Rowin: Right. Exactly.

[00:30:27] Rob Howe: Great. So, Craig, I do want to talk a little bit more about you, kind of even life before diabetes, because despite what you may say, you are a very interesting guy. So do some casual Googling. Have a Saturday morning with your Earl Grey tea, sit on the couch and pull up Google. Craig Rowin you're gonna find back when you were in New York a little YouTube challenge that you put out to some very wealthy individuals do you do you know what I'm talking about and would you give us a little background

[00:31:03] Craig Rowin: sure I do and if I didn't I'd probably have early onset Alzheimer's or brain damage because I remember seven years ago when I was just a wee lad and And yeah, I made a video called Please Give Me One Million Dollars. And it was saying to millionaires, you have millions and millions of dollars. Give me one of your millions of dollars because you can. And I don't necessarily deserve it, but I'm asking for it. What's the big deal? But it's like if you had $10 and you gave someone $1, but this is like you have $10 million. Actually, probably I would assume it would be someone over $100 million would give me $1 million. But I asked people like Bill Gates and Jada Pinkett Smith and Michael Nesmith from the Monkees and his mom who invented Whiteout, which is a true fact, to give me $1 million.

[00:32:12] Rob Howe: That might be the most interesting fact of this entire podcast.

[00:32:16] Craig Rowin: Oh, yeah, that's definitely going to be, when listeners hear this, that's going to be the thing that they bring home for sure. Okay, good. 100%. And, yeah, so I made a couple of these videos sort of tongue-in-cheek, as they say. And then I announced that I was getting a million dollars from a millionaire named Benjamin. in and I did a live show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City where I performed and did like a whole extravaganza. Matthew Lesko, the question mark guy from late night television. I don't know if that's an East Coast thing, but he's the guy who can find you tax break. I don't know what his job is. He's just a crazy guy that yells and wears question mark money suits. And comedians like Hannibal Buress and a bunch of other things that I gave out a $5,000 gift certificate to Applebee's or Chili's, which you'll find out if that was real or not in a minute. And then I got the check from a millionaire and then I exploded it into nothingness and revealed that it was all a joke and the the millionaire was this um actor that we found me and my friends found and it was um what they call a silly little comedy thing that ended up being on like german television and anderson cooper i mean when i announced that i was getting a million dollars it was like a somehow became world news um yeah i think that's the like it

[00:33:58] Rob Howe: was either ellen or anderson cooper or some like very authoritative daytime television yes yeah

[00:34:06] Craig Rowin: anderson cooper did it um it was on the third the third page of the daily news um i was on japanese television i was on australian television i was even on canadian television a little country you might have heard of and um yeah it was insane it was the craziest thing ever and um yeah it was it It was a slightly nightmarish slash paranoia-inducing three weeks of my life, and then it ended in a spectacular, insane way that was very fun but terrifying.

[00:34:45] Rob Howe: Well, I will say, I mean, not to spoil this podcast, but for those who don't listen, they're still in question whether you got the money or not. So, I mean, someone somewhere is doing their job in terms of scrubbing the internet from all answers.

[00:35:01] Craig Rowin: I mean, listen, I'm not going to say, you know, I'll leave it at that. But I'll also say that if someone gave me a million dollars, they'd be pretty stupid. But I'll also say there are tons of stupid people. But I'll also say to be a multimillion dollar mayor, you might have to be smart. The assumption would be, right. The assumption, but I also say there are a lot of people that just make money from, you know, inheritance. But I'll also say that those people might have a leg up on other people. But I'll also say, so you see where you can go with this. Right.

[00:35:41] Rob Howe: Where I'm going with it is, did Harley Davidson write that check for you and sponsor every podcast episode you'd ever appear on from now to the end of time?

[00:35:51] Craig Rowin: yeah the character harley davidson from harley davidson and the marlboro man which is a very good movie um he wrote me a check i knew it i actually might i might have to imdb that right now because that is a movie that i've seen but why did that exist it's still still in question

[00:36:12] Rob Howe: and i think um obviously uh you know commit commitment to the bit aside um your your life obviously is is dedicated now to and your career is dedicated to comedy what is it like as a yes sort of shifting back into the focus of this podcast um sure for as a type 1 and like late comedy late nights uh long writing hours yeah performance travel what what has been either challenges or like things that you can you know stories that you would tell from behind the scenes of like oh yeah i had to hit craft services for a couple pops uh because totally feeling well

[00:36:51] Craig Rowin: totally um i will answer that but i'll first say harley davidson the marlboro man is a 1991 film starring mickey rourke and don johnson um basically i had to say it but um no you know

[00:37:05] Rob Howe: by the way that movie sounds i've never seen it but mickey rourke and don johnson i would i would watch and basically anything so it has to be great yeah it's very very good it's one of the top

[00:37:16] Craig Rowin: five movies ever um and i will stake my life my career on it but um yeah it's been really interesting well i so it's two-pronged is my um basically a lot of the stuff i do for work is writing in writers' rooms. So that's one thing. And for that, a lot of times, writers' rooms are definitely not conducive to healthy eating. And a lot of writers' rooms order in food. So when doing that, I'll just try to order stuff either sort of on the healthier your side or make sure the breads are something like sourdough or, you know, whole wheat that, that's just easier on, on me, my blood sugar. Um, and so, and, and, and then I just bring healthy snacks throughout the day and I'm addicted to Ak-Mak crackers, A-K-M-A-K, um, and always bring those as a snack. That's sort of my, like, um, my thing just to keep my blood sugar level good when I'm, you know, in between meals and stuff that, and some cheese or almonds. Um, and so the writer's room, it was, it's a challenge just sort of to see everybody eat like popcorn and not that I can't have that, but like, um, but it's, it's very doable, but I also act, um, and I, I, um, shoot this show in Atlanta that I act in called Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell. And I'm just trying to think of the timeline of when. So this summer, I shot that show, and I also did this pilot that I acted in for Comedy Central in Austin. And it was the first time that I was going to really be on. I'd visited sets for my writing jobs, But the first time that I was really going to be, you know, sort of up and active most of the day or sitting and waiting a lot of the day also, but having to deal with craft services. And one of the things I did beforehand was talk to the producers and make sure that they could sort of accommodate me, which I was a little bit like, I don't know. I didn't, you know, I didn't want to sound like a diva or anything. Sure. and ask for like, you know, everything needs to be, you know, whatever, quinoa. But at the same time, like, I just, when you're on set for 12 hours and you're working a lot, I also don't want to just get in the habit of eating like barbecue, chicken or whatever, every meal. And, you know, I had sort of by the time I had shot these shows had gotten into a routine that I knew would work for me, especially for breakfast. Like I basically eat a very similar breakfast every morning, which I change up. But also, like, I sort of gotten used to and don't mind it eating, like, shredded wheat with strawberries or blueberries, 0% Fage Greek yogurt with, what's it called, strawberries or blueberries or raspberries and 1% milk. and that's just sort of like my breakfast and I've gotten used to and I like it and I sort of just was like there needs to be that so I can start my day right and not be worried about at least that thing like you know and and both of the shows were very accommodating um and then I also realized like you know I was traveling and I was in these other cities and I also wanted to go out to eat and not be super worried. So, you know, I experimented a little bit, but tried to stay as close to my diet as possible. And then the big, big thing was probably like a month before I went on these jobs, I got a Dexcom continuous glucose monitor. And that was like a total life changer that like really made traveling took out an element of i assume people on the podcast have

[00:41:57] Rob Howe: talked about yeah yeah so uh yeah we're i think we're you can assume almost every the bulk of my of the listeners of this podcast either know everything yeah they've got they've they've got a bead on on the on the pulse of type 1 life so like the dexcom just sort of

[00:42:18] Craig Rowin: like anytime i just have my phone like you know have the app on my iphone keep my iphone in my pocket during the shoot and if in between shots if i was like sort of worried because it's been however long between meals um i just look at my phone and either be like all right i'm gonna have a little snack or all right i should be good for another you know however an hour or so and that definitely took out an element of like oh my god i'm gonna be away for a full month uh in two different cities sort of at you know the whims of other a lot of different elements and craft services and you know sometimes craft services just means like twinkies and um you know like hostess cupcakes so um try to avoid that as much as possible and the dexcom really was like a total life changer.

[00:43:11] Rob Howe: So I don't have a Dexcom or a CGM currently. I've never had one. I tried one back in like 2010 before even I think the G4 was out. So it wasn't a Dexcom. It was like a Medtronic one that went with my pump. And it just didn't really work with my lifestyle. And I was playing a lot more basketball back then. So it just wouldn't stay on me. But I'm currently working with both Medtronic and Dexcom right now trying to figure out what my treatment method is going to be for CGM going forward. I'm really excited, mostly because I want to be able to check my blood sugar on my phone. And I feel like if I'm flying to Japan and log on and I can get on the internet from my phone and watch YouTube videos of people asking millionaires for money 30,000 feet above the air, I should be able to at least see what my blood sugar is in a meeting without having to prick my finger and take all my sticks out.

[00:44:05] Craig Rowin: Yeah, it's crazy. Like, I also, after getting diagnosed, I also treated myself as a diabetes present to an Apple watch. So I can, like, just check it on the watch, you know, because it's, like, connected to the phone app. And it's just, like, it's really nice. It just, like, makes things much easier. And though I've noticed that I basically, there was a mix-up with Dexcom. I don't really know if it was my fault or not, or their fault, but I was a week without Dexcom like a week or two ago. And I sort of realized, you know, I could live, obviously I can live without the CGM. But I realized I was checking my blood glucose level so much because I just could.

[00:45:01] Rob Howe: Right.

[00:45:01] Craig Rowin: And now my thing is like after a week without it, remembering like it's okay if I don't look for a couple hours. Like I sort of got so used to the idea that I just could look at it anytime I wanted that I don't really need to. Like it has these alerts on it if I'm going super high or, you know, I set like an alert if it's below 80 just so I know when I'm getting near a low. and an alert that's 220, which I should be able to get tighter, like an alert more like a 200. But even though I have those alerts, I sort of look at it way too much. So now my new goal is sort of just going with the flow a little bit and not over-relying on it, sort of finding that middle ground.

[00:45:56] Rob Howe: Yeah, and I think that's where, you know, on one hand, I think it's, this is, I really do believe this is the best time if there is such a thing to have type 1 diabetes because of technology like Dexcom and other continuous glucose monitors. And like Medtronic has a closed loop pump system now. Yeah. Where, which I'm, you know, fingers crossed, really hoping I can try out here in the next few months. and so it's like you know as you can rely on technology but i think about four years ago my pump just like went out on me like i think it got a little bit wet or something and malfunctioned and medtronic will fedex you instantly as part of your warranty a new one if something breaks but this happened on like a friday night at like nine o'clock so right you can't overnight fedex you know there's a there's a certain time window and They don't deliver on Sunday. So, you know, I was like, okay, well, I was without my pump for, you know, a little bit over 48 hours. And I just remembered I panicked a little bit at first and you kind of get over that. And then you're like, okay, well, I can do this. Let me just go get some syringes. I have my insulin. You go back to the Stone Age a little bit as it were, but it's really not that bad. And I think that's, you know, really, if you can have that attitude with whatever it is you're dealing with, with your type 1, you know, You're better off because of it, and at least your mental health as well will be a little bit more gently cared for.

[00:47:25] Craig Rowin: Yeah, 100%. It's good to know, as long as you can test yourself, you'll be fine. Even if not, I'm not at the level. I can feel when I'm going low. low. I'm not like as in touch with my body yet to know when I'm feeling high. I'm hoping I'll get to that point, but like, it's okay. And as you said before, like, I don't know, I was living a month with diabetes where I was just fatigued for like a full month, like, and I somehow survived. So like, you know, it's okay. It'll happen. Like, but you know, it can get scary, but like,

[00:48:08] Rob Howe: you'll be okay in the end right right you're like you don't even know you have diabetes and you've had it for six weeks and you're like oh i thought i was just peeing a lot yeah exactly uh well craig i wanted to i asked this question to all my guests um sure and i think um as somebody who you know i really i love your outlook on on dealing with diabetes and kind of rolling with it uh and you know still enjoying it and having fun if you were i gotta i gotta paint the context for you here a little bit um okay so imagine like you're in an airport and they're about to shut your gate like the door to your gate in like 30 seconds uh and you can't and you can't miss the flight that's the that's the context like you've got to be on this next flight like little debbie's having a craft services table and you got to be there um okay but you run into somebody who's either been recently diagnosed or is struggling with their type 1 um and you have that 30 seconds what do

[00:49:01] Craig Rowin: you say to them? Who? Okay. That's a great question. What airline am I taking?

[00:49:10] Rob Howe: Well, just to be safe on your side, just to not put you in any immediate danger, let's put you

[00:49:15] Craig Rowin: on American Airlines. American Airlines. And where am I going? You are going to Atlanta where there

[00:49:23] Rob Howe: is a little debbie convention okay um and you are the keynote speaker okay um that makes it

[00:49:32] Craig Rowin: totally different um i should hope so um because i in my head i was going to like a 25 year retrospective on the harley davidson and marlboro man movie um but i would say let me think well if

[00:49:47] Rob Howe: that's the case then maybe the alternate like the alternate route we could go is that you're the host for the table read for the sequel uh oh nice 25 years later it would be harley davidson and the

[00:50:00] Craig Rowin: marlboro man and mr peanut right that's the sequel um i would say you know I just it's just like it gets much easier like it just gets easier as time goes on and like it seems really big and like I don't know diabetes when you hear the word you just think like like the first joke is like I'm going to lose my foot or something which is really scary. And it's just like, it just gets easier. And it's like, I literally, like, I actually am living a healthier life than I've ever, and not in a way where I feel like I'm trying to be a health guru, or, you know, it's like I'm wearing it on my sleeve that I'm healthy. It's just like, you can use it to your advantage and, and, and sort of make the best of it. And, and my nutritionist said like, which I, one of the first times I met her, I thought it was just so great. It was like, really, if you're smart about, smart about it and do a good job, like you might live seven years longer than you would have otherwise. And you know, that's like, I don't know why seven years maybe I just made that part up exactly number seven but like you can live a really long healthy great life and and it's not like you're hindered you're you know it just it's just another element of your life and and it can be a positive I think that's you know not the most i didn't say in the most graceful way but um but yeah that's what i'd say and then i'd be like like i need to go on this plane dude like stop asking me about diabetes like can't you

[00:52:07] Rob Howe: see i really really need to get on this plane i'm very important please don't hinder my keynote

[00:52:14] Craig Rowin: or my yeah like exactly like seriously like chill out and also how did you know i have diabetes like

[00:52:21] Rob Howe: what's your deal right also harley davidson and the marmal man 2 in theaters this christmas 2020

[00:52:28] Craig Rowin: 2020 uh so please don't miss that yeah i would definitely do some promos for whatever i'm working

[00:52:35] Rob Howe: on at the time that's essential it's an essential part of it yeah craig man thank you so much for the time uh i really appreciate you coming on the show uh and making this happen yeah no i really

[00:52:47] Craig Rowin: appreciate it and um it's awesome like to i was just looking at your guys instagram and um like it's cool to see people like to see people living with the same thing doing cool stuff so i really

[00:53:05] Rob Howe: appreciate it well uh we're happy to do it it's uh it's my favorite thing to see you know people that i didn't know otherwise and get to meet uh it's a fun little thing that i've discovered awesome community um yeah so craig uh for for those of us who want to hear more bits about uh the future of harley davidson and um and the marble man you know see where that sequel goes

[00:53:31] Craig Rowin: uh where can they find you uh online sure um craig rowan on twitter uh r-o-w-i-n is the last name and Craig Rowin on Instagram if they want to do that. And then, yeah, that's where you'll see what the newness is, what's coming up on my docket.

[00:53:53] Rob Howe: That new hotness, the new new.

[00:53:56] Craig Rowin: The new new. And I definitely will be doing a spec script for Marlboro Man and Mr. Peanut.

[00:54:04] Rob Howe: Well, looking forward to it. Please toss me any sort of guest ancillary. Oh, yeah, definitely. need to just walk on.

[00:54:11] Craig Rowin: We'll definitely let you audition for Mr. Peanut. I can't promise anything.

[00:54:17] Rob Howe: Hey, just to be considered is an honor. So I'll do my best. But Craig, thanks again. And we will include all links to your social media in the show notes. And we'll keep an eye on what new cool things that you have going on.

[00:54:33] Craig Rowin: Awesome. And I'll just say this. type 1, number one, baby.