Diabetics Doing College and Pro Football with Brandon Denson

[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, and 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 at diabeticsdoingthings.com. This episode is sponsored by Health IQ. What's Health IQ? Health IQ is a life insurance agency. But with a very modern and cool twist, Health IQ is making life insurance fair by unlocking the value of health consciousness for the 50 million Americans who take responsibility for their health. This is especially relevant for me because as a type 1 diabetic, I've been denied life insurance coverage by other providers. Even though my A1Cs are in range, I eat Whole30 and can still kill guys 10 years younger than me on the basketball court, which is super frustrating. Health IQ can give people exclusive rates through their Health IQ quiz, and they even take into account data points from things like Fitbits and other trackers. You can learn more about Health IQ and get a free quote at healthiq.com slash DDT. That's D-D-T, short for Diabetics Doing Things. And if you're like, Rob, I am not really in a place where I'm thinking about life insurance, I'll tell you this. When it comes to retirement and planning for when you're not around, there's no time like the present to at least learn what you qualify for. So give it a shot. Go to healthiq.com slash DDT and get a free quote today. Hello and welcome back to another episode of Diabetics Doing Things. We are telling the amazing stories of type 1 diabetics from all across the world. And my very special guest today, a lot of you may know him already, but I'm really excited to kind of dig into some of the details around his story is Brandon Denson. Brandon, welcome to the show. Hey, thanks for having me, Rob. It's my pleasure. And I'm really glad that we can make this happen. So Brandon, I think most of us know you as one of the few type 1 diabetics who played some time in the NFL, as well as Division I college football. But like I said, man, I'm really excited to get to know you a little bit better, talk about your type 1 journey, and then kind of dig into some of those specific stories from athletics, because I think that's a lot of what people are curious about when they hear about a high-performance athlete who's also a type 1. Definitely, definitely. So why don't you just tell us a little bit about yourself and then we can kind of dive into your diagnosis story

[00:02:44] Brandon Denson: No problem, no problem. Well, my name is Brandon A. Denson. I was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan which is right next to that other school, U of M and currently I work in southwest Detroit at a middle school named Voyager Academy and I am a disciplinarian and I also am an at-risk youth coordinator and then I coach high school football as well

[00:03:06] Rob Howe: fantastic and i think uh you know for those who don't know you went to michigan state so you're spart dog spart nation uh you can't even talk about that other michigan school that's great that's fantastic i i've had a lot of really close friends who were michigan state fans over the years and then obviously you know the mateen cleaves jason richardson days uh big fans of

[00:03:28] Brandon Denson: michigan state basketball that's what i'm talking about baby that's the champions

[00:03:33] Rob Howe: So growing up in Michigan, you and I talked a little bit before we went on the recording. You were diagnosed in high school. Yep. So talk a little bit about what it was like, just your diagnosis, but then also being diagnosed in the middle of your athletic career.

[00:03:53] Brandon Denson: Oh, man. It definitely was challenging. I'll be lying if I said it wasn't challenging, But I think I had that support from obviously my mother because my parents had split. And I also had that support from my friends, my teammates, and also my close family members. But it was something I always embraced the challenge. So like going to the doctor and then leaving the doctor and going to the hospital and the doctor actually telling me what was wrong. Like I was being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. At the time, I just took it as like, okay, and, you know, but as I started living with it and I realized, you know, all the complications that can come from not taking care of it and, you know, doing the things and eating right and exercising, things like that, it made me think, like, I don't, I want to be able to grow old, but I don't want to grow old and have complications, you know. So I wanted to be able to control everything that I can control. So I never let it stop me from playing sports or being active because I always was very active. But at the time when I was diagnosed at the age of 17, going into my senior year, not knowing what university I was going to, not knowing if I was still going to play football, not knowing a lot of not knowing, you know. So it was just one of those things. No good timing to be, but at that current time, like, it's just the worst possible time. Also coming off a knee surgery. So just so many different things going on. And it just, you know, it was just one of those.

[00:05:34] Rob Howe: Yeah. And I think, you know, you seem like a guy who, because you said this, I think twice already, that just embrace challenges as they come and really don't make excuses. But, you know, looking back, that's a lot of that's a lot of pressure for somebody who's 17. For those who don't know, like leading into that junior, senior year of high school time frame, deciding on a school, trying to decide whether you're going to continue to play sports. You mentioned coming off of an injury as well as a type 1 diagnosis. There's just a lot to juggle. And for me personally, I think, you know, it's an interesting time to be that age because you make a lot of decisions then that affect the rest of your life, whether you know it or not at the time. And it's just a pivotal time. So for you, do you remember, you know, going into, because football season starts in the late summer, you know, and you're working out all the time before that. What, you know, coming out of the diagnosis, did you just embrace it and say, hey, I'm going to take this all in stride? Or were there times that you remember where it was, you know, just learning about what what it was going to be like monitoring your sugars and insulin intake

[00:06:42] Brandon Denson: uh i mean um so to kind of retract a little bit when i was first diagnosed uh prior to the diagnosis uh i was urinating a lot and i know i wasn't that active because i just came and i wasn't and uh i remember this like it was yesterday i was at a friend's house and we're playing a game of Madden on five-minute quarters. So that's a 20-minute game of Madden. And I probably used the bathroom 15 times within that 20 minutes of playing. So that kind of, like, something was wrong. So when I got home, I drove home, I let my mother know. And she said if it continued the next day, you know, let her know immediately. And it did. So I noticed it a long time before we hit the field at practice. And, you know, I was like, I'd already used the bathroom. I called and come home, came home, drove home, and then she took me to my primary care physician. Once we got there, I had to use the bathroom and in my urine, which at that time I had no clue what was going on or anything. Didn't know anything about it. All I remember the doctor ended up coming back in with the nurse and was like, we need you to take him to the hospital immediately. Okay. So my blood sugar was, once I got to the hospital, they checked my blood sugar, and it was about almost 1,000. It was just one of those things, like, man, this is crazy. And then the nurse came in. She gave me a shot. I hate shots. And it was just one of those things, like, I just got blitzed with everything all at once. And it was just like, what do I do? Like, the only thing I could do is, like, just take control of everything and just try to observe everything and listen. And, you know, I hate hospitals. So, like, I ended up having to stay the night in the hospital. And my brother came up there visiting me and played some video games with me. I think at the time it was, like, PlayStation 2. He didn't... He would just be there for me as much as he could. But, you know, I learned in the hospital that night and I literally stayed up all night because I said I wouldn't get discharged until like I knew how to get myself insulin. I know how to check my blood sugar, you know, and it was a lot. But it was one of those things. It was like this is the only one that is going to affect directly is me. And the only one that's in direct control of it is me. So, you know, just from being in the hospital saying my mother cried from when the doctor came in to tell us that I was being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, it was just one of those things. Like when I looked her in her eyes and I told her and she looked and stared back at my eyes and I just told her, I said, we're going to be okay. I promise you we're going to be okay. So.

[00:09:33] Rob Howe: Yeah, and I think that's an important moment for, you know, and specifically with, you know, athletes. I think that type of mentality kind of comes with that territory sometimes. but I think for people who are in that position and that's maybe the first time they've had to make a decision like that or come to that realization that they have to take ownership of those situations. And it's interesting because I think people with diabetes and type 1, when they get diagnosed younger, I see those kids and I'm sure you feel the same way when you talk to kids who are, you know, 10, 11 years old, they feel more mature and more like little adults because they have to make those decisions for themselves as well.

[00:10:13] Brandon Denson: Exactly.

[00:10:14] Rob Howe: I want to focus on two things that you mentioned. Number one, that Madden story is funny because it gives you that time frame. So you know that in that 20 minutes, you got up 15 times, which I'm sure your friend was just so confused and thrown off by that. Yeah.

[00:10:31] Brandon Denson: I had a similar... That was me as well.

[00:10:34] Rob Howe: Yeah, no kidding. You're probably just like, man, what's going on? Like every series almost you're going to the bathroom two or three times. I had a similar experience. I went and saw The Aviator with a couple of my friends, which is like a three hour movie. And I hated it. And for years I didn't know why I hated it so much. And then I remember like I got up probably 40 times. Like every time I'd make it back to my seat, I'd have to get back up again.

[00:11:00] Brandon Denson: It's the worst, right? It's the worst.

[00:11:02] Rob Howe: And like you said, you know, you don't really know what's going on. I'm sure most people experience a lot of weight loss I'm sure with a high blood sugar like that You know you experience something like that If I'm not mistaken yeah?

[00:11:16] Brandon Denson: Exactly Yeah it wasn't a lot But definitely you know you could tell You know just probably I guess it just From like dehydration and things like that you know

[00:11:30] Rob Howe: Yeah it was very similar When I got diagnosed They like hook you up to the saline bag and my body just drank all that water. I probably gained 15 pounds just right there. The other interesting thing I wanted to ask, because I think a lot of people hear this in the type 1 world, is that you were afraid of needles before you were diagnosed.

[00:11:55] Brandon Denson: I'm not afraid of them. I just don't like them.

[00:11:58] Rob Howe: Okay, fair enough. Yeah, so my mistake there. So you don't like them. So how long did it take you to sort of adjust to needles being a part of your life?

[00:12:07] Brandon Denson: Um, I mean, I adjusted pretty quick. I just don't like, I never really liked shots going to the doctor, going to the hospital. Cause every time I would go to the doctor, the hospital, it's like something crazy. Either I broke something or like I'm really, really sick. So it was like, I just never had a good experience at the doctor, you know, or the hospital.

[00:12:28] Rob Howe: yeah and i would say anybody that does have a good experience with needles at the doctor like let me know because i feel like every time i got a shot now that you mentioned it i remember specifically a doctor would like draw like a smiley face on your hand or like on your arm be like well what's missing and i'd be like the nose and he just gives you the shot like right where the nose would be yeah yeah that's just cruel i hope that doesn't happen anymore but i I definitely remember that happening. Oh, man. Just wild stuff at the doctors. But, yeah, so that's interesting. I think, and I'm sure a lot of people, when you encounter, when you're talking to people who don't have type 1, that's one of the things that they comment on. It's like, oh, well, I could do that, but I don't like shots, right? I couldn't do the needles.

[00:13:16] Brandon Denson: Exactly.

[00:13:18] Rob Howe: So, you know, after you get out of the hospital, you get all the education, they release you, you're feeling better, you're kind of on the right path. What were the next, you know, few months, year like for you as you were going into your senior year, adjusting with your friends? And I think you said, you know, your friends and teammates are very supportive. But then when you get to that kind of deciding on where to go to school, what was that like?

[00:13:43] Brandon Denson: It was an interesting transition just because I had several schools that I wanted to attend and I was able to actually get accepted into. But I knew the reality of me walking on to a university and I had my mind set, I'm going D1. I said realistically, if I leave the state, my tuition to pay for school is going to be crazy high. So that's when I kind of started thinking again, like schools in Michigan that I would like to attend. And I came up with Michigan State. One, it's not that far from where I grew up at, but it's far enough to where I'm not at home. so um that ended up being my my top choice um but it was just it was a it was just a lot a lot that went into fact during that decision as far as being able to have access to get get back to my mother if i needed to or get back home from my brother um and my niece you know so i didn't want to be too crazy far but i also wanted to be far far enough um to where if i needed anything or they needed anything, you know, I could be assistance or, you know, of help towards them. But I mean, that, that, that was, that was really it for the most part.

[00:15:15] Rob Howe: All right. We're going to try something different here about the midway point of this interview. We talked about it at the beginning of the podcast, but I just wanted to give another plug to health IQ. Really health IQ is just like car insurance, but for life insurance. And let me explain. It's like if you're a safe driver, you get more competitive rates. That makes sense. Health IQ just takes into account an overall healthy lifestyle and passes those savings along. It's that simple. Plus, it's good for you. The American Heart Association reports that an overall healthy lifestyle is associated with nearly 60% lower risk of mortality by cardiovascular disease. That's always good news. So get the rewards for living that healthy lifestyle. Check out healthiq.com slash DDT today. And now we'll get back to the episode. And then I think, you know, like every college athlete experiences really in the first few days that they're on campus or practicing with the team, it's that adjustment to the speed of the game and just like the new environment that you're in. And I think no matter how much you think you're ready, there's always that surprise, right, when you step in the locker room and on the field or on the court for the first time. uh what was that like for you uh especially you know obviously from like an athletic standpoint but also from a you know diabetes standpoint how did you prepare for that

[00:16:39] Brandon Denson: um the thing is i mean you never know really what you're gonna get yourself into until you know you're at that stage you see things on tv read things in the media newspapers, magazines, you really can't, like words can't sum up what that feeling is like that first practice or, you know, running out the tunnel at that first game or anything like that, you know, combined with everything, being anxious, nervous, happy, excited, you know, and then dealing with, you know, also dealing with type 1 diabetes is like, it's kind of like for me it was like my safe haven like people knew but it was okay and outside the football people knew and it was okay but once i get into that field and i'm on that field it's like look it's 110 miles an hour for however many hours practice is like you gonna get me nonstop until it's over. Like, and that's practice, games, anything, you know. And I think that was one thing about me. I love sports and I love just being active in general. I think football is one of those things that kind of helped me probably cope with my diabetes because it was like, it doesn't matter. Yeah, I have to take shots every day, every time I eat, but it doesn't change anything about me that I do anything. that this is the only thing that's different that I do than than everybody else you know so it was like one of those things like I didn't have a label on me I was just out there branding a this and just out there running around having fun playing football you don't see your diabetes attached to that you know what I mean so that that for me it was just like I never thought that it was too much for me to do even after being diagnosed with diabetes it was kind of one of those things like yeah oh you're not supposed to do that you're not supposed to eat that oh you can't play that because you have diabetes like well let me show you better than i can tell you type of thing

[00:18:45] Rob Howe: right and i think that's a really strong mentality and way of looking at it right because no matter what your activity is or what your passion is you're going to run into people who will have questions about it or who will question whether you should do something or not and I think ultimately like you just have to make those decisions to say I'm gonna I'm gonna do this in spite of my diabetes and I'm gonna take care of myself in spite of it because the other part on the other end of it is that like the your opponent you go out and you play some play football or basketball they don't know that you're type 1 they're not gonna take it easy on you and you know there it's not a handicap right so out there almost everyone is equal and I think that's what I liked the most about going off to college and playing basketball was that you know for two or three hours yeah it was hard and it was strenuous and there were times where I had to go sit out grab out Gatorade or give myself a shot on the sideline but for that like two or three hours everybody was the same there was no there were no labels there was no disease there was no you know constant you know adjustment or worry it was just they go out and do what you love to do go have fun yeah man because that's the that's the best part that that's that is the absolute

[00:19:57] Brandon Denson: best part i think that's the that's the one thing that i try to relate to kids like no matter what you you have to have fun and i try to relate to the parents is you have to let the kids be kids you know you have to like i understand i don't have kids but i understand you know i understand appearance i know how my mother is and how she was and how she still is but the thing is you have to let the kids be kids you have to let them in you can't be scared to let them do things you know

[00:20:27] Rob Howe: what i mean so yeah it's it's an interesting uh point of conversation because i i talked to a lot of kids as well and parents at jdrf events and you know with all it's interesting because i think we do live in the best time to have type 1. There's so much, you know, great technology coming out. You know, there's everything's for better control. There's a lot more awareness and education. And I think all of those things are great. But there's also the side effect of that, I think unintended consequence is that, you know, parents can monitor their kids a lot closer, whether that's kids who are in college or away from home or, you know, younger kids who are at school. And sometimes, you know, that sort of helicopter parent mentality takes over. And you try to control everything, you start living kind of through fear. So how do you how did you balance that? Like, did you do you remember conversations that you had with your mom kind of when either when you were at school or whenever, obviously, you were a little bit older. But yeah, you know, what are those things that because I remember having yelling, yelling conversations over the phone with my parents when I was in college, just like you know hashing it out about you know going out or whatever whatever it ends up being or eating the wrong things and uh you know what what what do you tell those parents and how would you how would you tell them to you know that there is a balance between you know over monitoring and

[00:21:52] Brandon Denson: then letting kids be kids i mean the thing is you know it's kind of hard to overstep that boundary you know what i mean but you also have to you have to understand the society we live in and things that go on and take place and things like that um for me with me and my mother I've always been very very open with her about everything so you know she's you know she is my best friend you know so far as anything going on she she knew but it never was like she never was on me like super tough because she knew like how how how my father and my mother raised me like there's a there's a sense of accountability discipline respect you know so it never was one of those things where she had to be like oh did you take insulin are you taking insulin calling me you know those were things that were expected that i was gonna do you know what i mean but she always checked on me it's not like she didn't care, but she knew that I was old enough and mature enough to take care of the things I need to take care of, you know, so dealing, dealing with parents and dealing with kids, sometimes it can be, it can be kind of tough because you get those, you get those kids nowadays, like, like, leave me alone, like, I know what I'm doing, you know, like, God, like, why are you always bothering me, but it's one of those things, like, because my teammates used to do this when I was in high school, and my friends, my close friends would always ask, like, what am I doing? Why am I checking this? Why am I doing this? And I thought about like, it's kind of annoying, but then I actually thought about it again. I'm like, they're really only asking because they actually genuinely care and they want to know what's going on. So, I mean, that's what it comes down to as parents. They know their kids the best, so they know if they're going to take care of those certain things. So you just got to kind of find that balance on like on like harping on on the kids to to take care of it and then just kind of casually sliding things in there like oh did you do this you know instead of always being on like give them give them the benefit of the doubt that they're taking care of what they need to take care of unless you're seeing something otherwise or being told otherwise yeah and i think that's

[00:24:05] Rob Howe: one of those things like building trust there's no real formula for it it takes a lot of time and and a lot of, I think, investment from both sides. So being a kid and kind of having those angsty teenager feelings sometimes can be difficult. But it's interesting, you're talking about your mom is your best friend and you really trusted her. That's independent of diabetes. That's just the relationship that you guys had. Yeah. And I think beneficial to you both outside and inside of diabetes.

[00:24:37] Brandon Denson: For sure.

[00:24:37] Rob Howe: That's interesting what you said about your friends and teammates asking you questions. Because I had a similar moment where one of my teammates, I think it was my freshman year of college, asked me a very simple question, I think, about my pens or giving a shot or something. And I snapped at him. Just really, man, super over-the-top, mad, angry reaction. And years from now, I still remember that exact moment where we were. And I still feel bad about it because I didn't know like he genuinely was like a super nice guy and just was interested in like, you know, making not even making sure I was taking care of myself, but how I did it and what the, you know, just curious, really. And I just like way over blew the like overreacted and over and just, you know, blew it out of proportion. But, yeah, I just remember those moments. And, like, now I think looking back, it's hard to – you know, you don't know what you don't know. And I didn't know anything about type 1 before I was diagnosed. And so you got to kind of put yourself in other people's shoes sometimes when they get down those questions.

[00:25:48] Brandon Denson: Exactly. Exactly. It makes you look at things a little bit differently, you know, just because, you know, they don't know. You know what I mean? It's like one of those things like you hear somebody say something crazy about something that a type 1 diabetic can't eat or do or something. It was like, where did you get that from? So it's almost like we expect them to know it, but we know they don't know it. Right.

[00:26:12] Rob Howe: Yeah, that's interesting. We just hope that they do or maybe we feel like they should. But just deep down, we know they really don't. We've got to remember that. so um you know we talked a little bit about college and about uh you know about sports obviously uh you were very fortunate and one of the few players to go on and play after uh college football uh and play in the nfl uh what was that process i played in the canadian football league too as well in the in the cfl great so yeah and i mean even first of all for people who don't know like playing professional sports after, you know, after college, there's, it's a small enough percentage of people who go play high level division one football, even lower percentage. So 1% of 1% go on to play as their job later on. So walk me through sort of that process. When did you know that was going to be what you, what you were chasing after? And that was an opportunity for you. Uh, and what was it like? Uh, and then, you know, when did you kind of realize like hey I uh I am a type 1 diabetic and I'm a professional football player um

[00:27:25] Brandon Denson: I think I think it really really hit me because I walked on at Michigan State University so I wasn't I wasn't a scholarship player um I wasn't recruited by Michigan State I just I had the grades to get into school and it was something that I wanted to pursue um Michigan State I had a little bit of film on me from high school so they knew a little bit about me and I ended up being a preferred walk-on, which is that I didn't have to try out for a team or anything like that. I was awarded a spot in the 105 during training camp. So that was pretty huge. But I would say just throughout that first year of grinding my redshirt year, it just taught me a lot in general what I was missing and what I lacked from high school, stepping up to the next level, just from films, from film, from just overall becoming a student of the game, which is obviously as you go up in levels, you may not be doing as much physical activity or anything like that. You got to kind of train your body to be ready to go, you know, at competition time, but also be a student in the game from a lot of film. After, I would say after my redshirt year, I ended up playing my redshirt freshman year, and that was primarily on special teams. And I think my first play ever on special teams, my first play at Spartan Stadium, was versus Illinois. And I remember like it was yesterday, I was just running down as fast as I could on kickoff. And I just remember smacking one of the Illinois players that was running the ball. I forgot who it was at the time. And I think once I got up and I thought about it, I was like, man, I think I want to try to do this as a career. You know, so it was like one of those moments like I've been fighting to get out here on this field. I'm a type 1 diabetic. Like I've been doing everything everybody said that I couldn't do. People said I couldn't go to Michigan State and play. People said I couldn't walk on. People said I wasn't good enough for the team. People were saying all type of things like you're crazy. and it was just like one of those moments was like, like I made it, I'm here in school, like I'm here doing everything that I said I was going to do, you know, even though everybody was against me and the odds I feel were stacked against me as well, you know, with being diagnosed so late, not knowing what school I wanted to go to and not having any division one offers at all on the table or I didn't have any offers anywhere. So, you know, I think that's what kind of just kept me going you know i've always been very very very humble about everything because you know i look at it like you you shouldn't you shouldn't think that you're better than anybody you know what i mean because at the end of the day we're all human beings yeah absolutely and i think

[00:30:36] Rob Howe: it's funny you kind of have that like love at first sight mentality right you get up why not why not chase it as a career right you've already you've already proven everybody wrong and it's It's just your first snap at home your redshirt freshman year. Why not take it all the way?

[00:30:54] Brandon Denson: Exactly.

[00:30:56] Rob Howe: That's cool. So obviously you played out the rest of your career at Michigan State, and I apologize for not knowing this ahead of time. Michigan State football is obviously fantastic, Big Ten football. The years that you were there, what big games do you remember? what big moments that people who are at least college football fans that are listening might remember? Let's see. You want the good and the bad? Hey, give me the good and the bad, man. I'm

[00:31:30] Brandon Denson: here to dig into everything. Okay, so two years under John L. Smith, which was completely different than playing under Mark Dantonio, which is the head coach at Michigan State now. Two different coaches, two different coaching personnels, two different offenses, two different defenses. So completely different, a different, completely different personalities, everything. Both great coaches, though. So don't take anything from John L. or from the discredit Mark Dantonio as well. Both coaches. But under John L., we were kind of having a little bit of trouble winning some games and things like that. But I do absolutely remember this game because we were soaking wet on the sideline. I think we were up by 18 points versus Notre Dame. Drew Stanton was the quarterback for Michigan State, and I think Brady Quinn was the quarterback for Notre Dame. And I think we were up 18 points. It was pouring down raining. We were running the ball with Javon Ringer the whole game, throwing it before it started raining. And all of a sudden, we got real conservative. And Notre Dame came back and they beat us. And it was insane because the year before, we beat them in overtime with Jason Teague catching a little screen pass. And he took it all the way to the house at Notre Dame. So it was kind of like they got their revenge on us. But I never can cannot talk about playing a happy valley and almost getting a Big Ten championship as a junior. And I think that one, out of wins and losses, that one stings the most because it was kind of upsetting because I feel like myself didn't show up and a lot of other teammates didn't show up for that game. I think we kind of just kind of took it for granted that we were going to go out there and win that game. But I had some success versus the guys up the street in Ann Arbor. I was able to actually beat them twice during the four times that I was able to play against them. So I'm 50-50. Really should be three out of four, but it's all good. It's all good.

[00:34:03] Rob Howe: that's great i'm trying to remember i'm sure that i watched that notre dame with uh brady quinn i remember a rainy game but it couldn't have been i can't be sure a few things have happened since then and for me you know tough to remember but uh obviously some awesome moments uh you know playing in the big 10 uh you know college football pretty awesome um okay so from there you you graduate, you got, uh, you, you got 50, 50 splitting against, uh, that other Michigan school. Uh, and, uh, and you're like, okay, well, let's, uh, I've already done, I've already gone this far. Um, you know, to went, went from a, you know, a walk on to, uh, to a starter. What, what, what was your pro, you know, as you got out of it, what were your prospects and how did you sort of prepare for the next level?

[00:34:50] Brandon Denson: Far as going, uh, to play professionally. Yes. um so you know once i once i realized uh that i actually wanted to do it going into my senior year um i think i had one class uh in the spring so i ended up taking an independent study and i left the university and i went to go train in chicago um to get ready for which at that time would have been the 2010 draft. I really wasn't so gung-ho about getting drafted. I really wasn't worried about that. I was more so just worried about, like at Michigan State, just getting an opportunity. That's all I needed. I really didn't care if I got drafted or anything like that because even if I did get drafted, it wouldn't change my approach on what I was trying to do and what I was trying to accomplish. You know, it's nothing to take away from people that get drafted. But that for me, my goal was to play college ball, honestly. And I was able to do that. But once I started playing college ball and I earned a three year scholarship after my sophomore year, it was one of those things. It was like, you know, I actually want to try to do this. You know, I was on that platform and, you know, I had the resources to try to do it. You know, so I was like, I have nothing to lose. You know, if it works, it works. If it doesn't, you know, I lived out my dream and I was to play collegiate football. But as far as planning to get to the next level, once I realized that that's what I wanted to do and I went out to Chicago to train, it was just really getting me ready for stuff that you typically don't do for football. So combine drills. So you have position drills. As far as actually being on the field, doing drills, a coach taking you through specific drills. And then you have, obviously, your 40-yard dash. Then you have your three-cone. You have your short shuttle. And then you also have your long shuttle as well. So it was just, when I went to Chicago, it was just really training me on how to do those things because, obviously, scouts do like to look at the numbers, even though numbers can lie because a 40-yard dash doesn't mean that someone can't play football or is a terrible person off the field or so many different things that they use different tests for. But at the end of the day, it's about being able to line up and put your best 11 out there versus the other 11 and just play.

[00:37:27] Rob Howe: 100%. Yeah, I mean, I think in that same kind of vein, Kevin Durant was talking about earlier this summer about bench press because he couldn't bench press 185 when he got drafted. and then he just rattled off a bunch of names of guys who benched 225 in that draft or you know 185 50 times or whatever that aren't in the league anymore exactly so it's you know those tests are somewhat arbitrary in those draft moments so for you uh you know that taking that mindset um you train you train all that time um when did that kind of you know when did when did that approach i guess pay i don't want to say pay off because you said you like you said already you had exceeded your expectation and lived your dream. So take us through preparing for the draft and getting ready for pro days and things like that to you sign your first professional contract. And did you have a moment similar to when you played at home and had that first special teams hit that, hey, this is something that I really like and really enjoy?

[00:38:29] Brandon Denson: I would definitely say going from high school to college and college to the pros, it was kind of derailed a little bit because I didn't end up signing with the NFL team right away. And I pretty much sat out of football. I didn't stop training, but I ended up sitting out of football from pretty much once I graduated, didn't get signed, didn't get drafted in that draft or didn't sign as a free agent. So I pretty much set out a set out of football pretty much a little over a year. And then I signed with the Hamilton Tiger Cats and Canadian Football League. But at that time, when I had an opportunity to work out for them, my training had switched up a lot significantly. And it was more catered to exactly what I needed specifically to make me better as a football player on and off the field.

[00:39:33] Rob Howe: And I had a very similar approach to my sort of professional basketball career as well. I missed like 18 months without playing in a competitive basketball scenario, but was able to, much like it sounds like you did, tweak my training to address the things that the feedback that I got from agents or scouts or teams and really focus on that. What were those things for you and how – because I think working on your weaknesses, I mean we all talk about it a lot. But when you're forced to like break it down and like that's your every day, what was that like for you like mentally to – because all these other things are going on as well. How did you – was it the same approach as always? Hey, I'm going to – they say I can't do this. I'm going to do it.

[00:40:23] Brandon Denson: I mean, most definitely. I mean, I guess I'll be lying if I said I don't like proving people wrong, but I do. You know, but it's just one of those things, like, when I say I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it. And, like, if I fall short, I'm going to figure out a way to get it done, you know, because I never look at it. You can never look at things like you fail because you really haven't failed. You just have to find another way to actually figure it out or accomplish it. You know what I mean? So it doesn't necessarily mean like, oh, somebody said that I can't do it, so I can't. Or maybe they said I can't do it and I didn't get it right. But that doesn't mean that I can't do it, you know?

[00:41:09] Rob Howe: And are you wired that way or is that something that you learned growing up with your mom and your dad? Is that learned or is that just sort of an innate characteristic of yours?

[00:41:23] Brandon Denson: I definitely won't say it's learned. I would have to say did it get progressively worse over the years from having an older brother. So I think that's where the challenge comes from. And my brother's five years older than me. It's not a big jump, but it really is when you look at it. I mean, you look at it from zero to five. He's five, and then I'm one. And then, you know, you look at it from five to ten and then ten to fifteen. That's a big jump, fifteen and twenty. So, you know, those things I always had to like, man, you're not better than me type of thing. Like, you know, like that's how I had to prove myself growing up, not just to my brother, but I had to prove it to his friends as well. So that competitive nature that like, like I can do this better than you type of thing, like not cocky about it, but just humble. Like I can do this. Like this is nothing, you know, so it's just that's just how I am. I feel like I've always been that way.

[00:42:29] Rob Howe: No, it's cool. I always always want to ask because it's one of those things that's hard to learn. You know, it's unless unless you just, you know, a hundred thousand choices over the years. They're like, I'm going to do this. No, I'm going to do this. I am going to try to beat you.

[00:42:44] Brandon Denson: It's just like effort and toughness. I feel like those are two things that can't be learned. Either you're just tough and you're tough and you got effort. And it's really nothing with effort. Effort isn't taught. It's just a mindset.

[00:43:01] Rob Howe: Yeah, it is. And I think now you're on the other side of things, right? You're coaching. Exactly. How do you and do you know you could rattle off a list of names of who's tough and who's not right now? Right. I won't make you do that. But but you but you know, right? Yeah. That's cool. Yeah. You always know. All right. Let's shift gears a little bit because, you know, you're we've talked a lot about football, which is great because I don't get to do that very much on my podcast normally. So thank you for that. No, no problem. Let's talk a little bit about your advocacy work because you've had a busy year, kind of just keeping up with you through social media. You've taken a couple trips to Washington, D.C. You're very involved in your Detroit chapter of JDRF. Yes. How has your role shifted from an advocacy perspective in the last few years?

[00:43:56] Brandon Denson: I would definitely say it's been it's definitely been accelerated but that's a good thing because I enjoy what I do and it doesn't feel like work to me you know anytime I'm able to you know go talk to a family or talk to a teenager or talk to a teenager's friend about you know dealing with certain things and you know them just wanting to actually get insight on things that I've done or things that you know just asking questions in general about the disease or just trying to figure things out. Because, you know, I feel like life is a learning process, but I also feel like diabetes is a learning process, too. Because just when we think we've mastered it, then it goes completely. And then it's like back to square one. What do you do now?

[00:44:44] Rob Howe: You know, I totally agree. That's that's really the only way to put it. Yeah, there's there's it's interesting that what you say, you know, a lot of people are looking for, I think people our age especially, look for, you know, what is that thing where they can go to work every day and not make it feel like work? I think you hit the nail right on the head when we're talking about advocacy and about helping other people. Because that's what it's all about, right? Just that one piece of advice, that one story that resonates with you, that one person that you look up to and you hear about their mindset and you try to emulate it can make a huge difference. So for you, what are you hopeful for from a diabetes perspective, either in the community or from a technology standpoint over the next, what are

[00:45:39] Brandon Denson: you looking forward to? I mean, I think you know the answer to that. But I mean, just like everybody else living with this disease and the people that aren't living with this disease, but the people that care for people that live with this dreadful disease. I'm looking for a cure just like everybody else. I feel like we're getting closer and closer, but I don't think everybody's going to be completely stress-free and not worry until we're not connected to the insulin pump or we're not taking insulin out of syringe or we're not, you know, doing a crazy study to, you know, try to figure out, um, how can we get this pancreas back on, on board or, you know, things of that nature, you know, the medical companies, Dexcom, Medtronic, Animas, Tandem, Um, Omnipod. I mean, they do great, great things for individuals. And I'm talking about brings, brings a whole nother dynamic to life, uh, of being able to just be free, you know, be free. I feel like with a pump, I'm free. I feel like, I know that's just me speaking, but I know some people rather have injections, you know, but the, the biggest thing is just with, with any medical device, just being able to feel comfortable, being able to go on about your day, you know, like, like nothing, like, like, like you don't have a disease, you know, that, that's what it's about, being able to fit in, you know, flawlessly and effortlessly and you know i think that the metal the medical companies have have come a long way even from my diagnosis our diagnosis you know i i feel like i mean i feel like they're doing a great job but i feel like the the true weight off the shoulders off the people's shoulders family's shoulders you know won't rest until you know we actually find a cure

[00:47:36] Rob Howe: yeah i think um i think we're all looking forward to the cure if we're really honest about it right Right. And, but you're right. I think the, the increases in diabetes care, even in the last 13 years or so, since I was diagnosed since, and I guess almost 15 for you maybe, but it was, you know, the, my life's totally different. My treatment's totally different. I have a cool meter and, you know, I have CGM, CGM options available, like that I never thought even, or never even knew existed back then. I mean, yeah, I know.

[00:48:11] Brandon Denson: I mean, I remember like 4 o'clock in the morning, like the nurses had just changed when I first got diagnosed. And I was only in the hospital for a day. Well, the day I went up there and then that night and left the next morning. But I remember the nurse came in like 4 o'clock when they switched. And she was like, yeah, so did they tell you about, you know, the insulin pump? you know it's a machine you put in how many carbs and gives you insulin i said no they didn't tell me anything about that she was like oh they didn't i was like no are they trying to hide it from her so she's like oh they probably didn't tell you because typically they want you to take injections for a year and then and then you switch you know to insulin pump if you want to and when i say like when she told me that because i love technology i was like i gotta get one of those literally Literally, I'm talking about probably a year from when I got diagnosed and I went up to Michigan State. I probably had one probably a year and like three months I had an insulin pump.

[00:49:12] Rob Howe: You were on it. A year passed and you had to have it. That's great. Yeah, I'm about to switch. So I've had a pump now for almost nine years. And I'm about to get a new – I'm about to get on the Medtronic 670 with the closed loop system. So I'm super hyped. I'm super hyped about that because my post has been great.

[00:49:34] Brandon Denson: Don't beat me up, man, because mine, when I was at Children's Congress, they gave me a call. I was like, I don't typically get Texas numbers, but then they called me right back. And it ended up being Medtronic, and they were letting me know that they were sending my 670. They just wanted to make sure they had the right address on file. So I was like, I was super, super geek. But like I said, don't beat me up. It's still sitting in the box right now. I'm still waiting for sensors. I haven't got any sensors yet. So people are like, no, just wear it. I'm like, I'm not going to wear it until I have my sensors. So I can use every bell and whistle on this thing.

[00:50:11] Rob Howe: Well, and you know why the sensors aren't there, right? No, why? So their sensor factory is in Puerto Rico. Oh. So they can't even get to the factory because the whole, you know, the hurricane just tore Puerto Rico up. Wow. uh so they're like you know they're really scrambling i was actually out at medtronic last week and okay they uh they were like yeah i mean there's just nothing we can do there's like all the regular because there are hurricanes all the time in the caribbean but yeah they they said all their regular hurricane protocols failed it was this huge disaster so they're working through it but yeah nobody has sensors right now there's a big shortage so but the the other the crazy part

[00:50:52] Brandon Denson: about it when i first heard about the pump they were saying like the pumps were scarce as far as those going on right and then it ended up being the sensors so it was like they they picked up on the on the everybody wanted the pump and then you know and then the sensor thing happened you know

[00:51:08] Rob Howe: with the hurricanes and stuff yeah it's classic diabetes right just just when you think you have it something crazy happens right great well brandon i have i have one last question for you and it's a question that I ask all my guests. And I usually get a couple different types of answers, but I'm really looking forward to yours. So the context is important. So you're in an airport and they're about to close the door to your gate. So you got about 30 seconds before they close the door to the gate to the flight that you're about to get on and you can't miss the flight. Whatever's on the other end is super important. But you run into somebody who has either been recently diagnosed that are struggling with their diabetes. So you have 30 seconds. What's the one thing that you tell them?

[00:51:55] Brandon Denson: The one thing I'm going to tell them. In one word?

[00:52:00] Rob Howe: No, no, no. It can be one thing. It doesn't have to be one word. Just what's the one thing you want them to know that you would tell them? Anything at all. It could even be a little bit more than 30 seconds. Or some people just say, I'm not following your rules. I'm missing the flight. But what's the one thing you would tell them?

[00:52:17] Brandon Denson: one thing i would tell them definitely is to even though we live with t1d it doesn't define who we are or what we're capable of doing never let anyone tell you that you cannot do anything that you want to do you can do anything

[00:52:34] Rob Howe: that you put your mind to i love it yeah and that and then you make the flight that's easy You made the flight in You gave him the good delivery The good word man Some people are just like man Rob I'm not following your rules I'm just going to sit there and talk to him So that's fine I like that but that's why I asked the question

[00:52:56] Brandon Denson: Definitely Definitely If I feel like it's a present issue Even if I need to make the flight The type of person that I am Call me a softie Maybe I get it from working with the kids And sometimes I do have a big heart, even though I'm on them. I'm just on them because I want them to be successful. But, you know, if it's worthy of my attention or something, I don't mind. I don't mind pushing anything to the side for, you know, for somebody, their health and their well-being.

[00:53:28] Rob Howe: Well, I definitely appreciate all the work that you do. And you're a fantastic advocate for T1D. Thank you. And, man, it was great to meet you and great to chat. Yeah. For our guests, I'm going to tag you and put links to all your profiles in the show notes. But if anybody wants to reach out and contact you, how do they do that? What's the best way?

[00:53:50] Brandon Denson: They can either send me an email at Denson, D as in dog, E-N-S-O-N, the number 28, the letter Y as in yellow, at gmail.com. or they can hit me up on Instagram, which is B as in boy underscore underscore Denson, D as in dog, E-N-S-O-N, or they can find me on Facebook, which is Brandon A. Denson on Facebook.

[00:54:19] Rob Howe: Fantastic. Well, Brandon A. Denson, thanks so much for coming on the show. It was awesome to interview you, and we'll be talking soon.

[00:54:26] Brandon Denson: All right. Sounds good.