#1571 After Dark: Scared Straight
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Brock, 29, turned his life around after prison and heroin, now thriving with T1D and love.
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DISCLAIMER: This text is the output of AI based transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors and should not be treated as an authoritative record. Nothing that you read here constitutes advice medical or otherwise. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making changes to a healthcare plan.
Scott Benner 0:00
Welcome back, friends. You are listening to the Juicebox Podcast.
Brock 0:14
Hello. My name is Brock West behest, and I am a type one diabetic, and I have been for about 10 years. If
Scott Benner 0:24
this is your first time listening to the Juicebox Podcast and you'd like to hear more, download Apple podcasts or Spotify, really, any audio app at all, look for the Juicebox Podcast and follow or subscribe. We put out new content every day that you'll enjoy. Want to learn more about your diabetes management. Go to Juicebox podcast.com up in the menu and look for bold Beginnings The Diabetes Pro Tip series and much more. This podcast is full of collections and series of information that will help you to live better with insulin. Please don't forget that nothing you hear on the Juicebox Podcast should be considered advice medical or otherwise, always consult a physician before making any changes to your healthcare plan or becoming bold with insulin. This episode is sponsored by the tandem Moby system, which is powered by tandems, newest algorithm control, iq plus technology. Tandem Moby has a predictive algorithm that helps prevent highs and lows, and is now available for ages two and up. Learn more and get started today at tandem diabetes.com/juicebox this episode of The Juicebox Podcast is sponsored by the Dexcom g7 the same CGM that my daughter wears. Check it out now at dexcom.com/juicebox,
Brock 1:47
hello. My name is Brock Westby. Hess and I am a type one diabetic, and I have been for about 10 years, and I live in Wisconsin, sure enough, you know, place that gets plenty of crap from you.
Scott Benner 2:03
What you think I give Wisconsin crap?
Brock 2:05
I mean, you know, from what I've heard, yeah, so, you know, I listen to the podcast in a I have been listening to it in a chronological order, and I'm on episode like 666 right now. And yeah,
Scott Benner 2:24
Brock, let me ask you, how old are you right now? I'm 2929 Okay, so you were diagnosed around 19, yep, just out of high school. Maybe,
Brock 2:34
no. So I was going to say, you know, if, yeah, we can just jump in that way. I graduated high school at 17, not because I was super smart or anything. My birthday is in September. Okay, so it just worked out that way. I didn't know what I wanted to do after high school, and my mom ended up finding a program out in Colorado called Ski Area operations, and I'm a big have, have been my whole life. My mom and dad got me started, like when I was two, or something like that. That's what they tell me. I don't, I don't, you know, there's no pictures. They can't prove it. Well, no, there are, there are pictures. I don't know. You know exactly how old I look in them, but young, you're
Scott Benner 3:20
making me think of when my wife is telling stories and the kids are like, that's not what happened. You're missing the I always wonder whose memory is right, or if maybe nobody's is or, you know, but, but so, so you moved to Colorado right after high school when you were 17.
Brock 3:35
Yep. So I moved out to Colorado. You know, my parents helped me move out there. So I lived in Leadville, Colorado, which is the highest incorporated city in North America, which is a, you know, just a fun fact. What does that mean? No, highest elevated, highest incorporated city with the elevation being 10,200 feet of the city that I was living in, okay, but then, in more ways than one, just because, you know, we easily going, you know, everybody's smoking weed out. Nice, interesting. Everyone, everyone's and I was, I was one of the ones smoking the weed. So
Scott Benner 4:12
did you pick up weed in Colorado, or had you found it in Wisconsin?
Brock 4:16
Uh, no, I mean, I've done some, and I've dabbled in Wisconsin, like when I graduated high school, I did it with a couple of my buddies. And,
Scott Benner 4:24
you know, but you turned pro in Colorado,
Brock 4:27
yeah, right, right. I was, you know, doing it every day out there.
Scott Benner 4:31
Can I ask just when you move to a place like that, at that age, are you on your own? Are you living with people? How do you work that out?
Brock 4:37
Yeah, so, I mean, because I was going to college, I was living in the dorms. So, you know, I got out there and met my roommates. And so it was a, like a technical college. It's a rather small so, you know, you get to meet all the, you know, everybody else that's coming in. And I wasn't out there completely by myself. You know, I guess I was as far as, like, I didn't have family or anything out there, okay, after they brought me out there, you know, and helped me get settled, then they came back to Wisconsin,
Scott Benner 5:09
right? I got it, okay, I, for some reason, I thought you just, at first, I thought you just moved there to, like, work at a ski resort. And I was like, oh, that's crazy, but you went to school and you got that job at the same time. Yeah, I gotcha. I gotcha. Okay, are you out there in school when you're diagnosed?
Brock 5:24
No. So I was back my second year after my second year out there. I came back to Wisconsin, and I was doing construction with my dad. Started the summer at like 160 pounds. By the end of the summer I was like 130 pounds. And, you know, just urinating all the time, typical signs and symptoms. And you know, we were thinking maybe it was gonna like a UTI. So went and got the urine checked, and, you know, came back with blood sugar. I don't Unfortunately, I've hit my head. I've cracked my head open a couple times, you know, through my life with, you know, doing dumb stuff. Anyways, I don't remember everything, but I don't remember, you know, exactly how high my blood sugar was when I got brought
Scott Benner 6:09
in Brock. Let me ask you a question. Off the top of your head, what are the different ways you've cracked your head
Brock 6:14
open? Snowboarding, when I was learning to snowboard, I was coming down bunny hill doing like a falling leaf, which is just like side to side on your heel edge, and ended up catching, like an ice chunk that was in front of me that I didn't see, and fell forward, and the board came around and caught me in the back of the head. Okay, yeah, yeah. So that's one way. And then let's say, on a trip in, I think it was in California, my aunt actually was shutting a minivan trunk, and I was like, still in the area, and it caught the corner in my head, and I guess all out of order. Anyways, I think the first time it happened was at school, at recess. It was kind of instant karma, because I was going to get on the monkey bars. There was somebody like, already in line to do it, but I, like, budged them, and I went and jumped, grabbed I tried grabbing on, and like, slipped and fell backwards and caught my head on, you know, one of the bars. Have
Scott Benner 7:15
you ever been concussed? Have you been out? Ah, I No, I don't believe so. Okay, you just whack your head a lot. Yeah, okay. Like, you're, like, your own personal Whack a Mole. It's interesting. Okay, so you're back home working. Can I ask just briefly, like, Did you complete the course in Colorado?
Brock 7:34
No, so it was a two year program, and are you asking if I ever did or, I guess, regardless of the question, no, I I never ended up completing it. Okay, I was like a couple credits shy of getting it. I There was like one main class that I didn't pass that I need to, you know, go back out and finish.
Scott Benner 7:52
But So basically, you went to Colorado, smoked a pillowcase full of weed, and your parents, like, get home and work construction.
Brock 8:01
Is that? What happened? No, I was coming back in the summers, you know, I guess probably because of, like, what you were saying, that just because I didn't really have, I mean, and you know, like, I had friends and stuff from college, but you know, just because I knew, you know, I knew I had work lined up back here in the summer.
Scott Benner 8:19
Okay, okay, all right, so when you're diagnosed, who figures it out? Like, do you come to your parents and say something's wrong? Do they notice? How does that work?
Brock 8:27
Yeah. I mean, I was gonna say, I think it was mostly me, you know, I'm sure they, they noticed as well. I definitely, you know, was like, the amount that I'm paying and everything this is something's gotta be off,
Scott Benner 8:37
something's genuinely wrong, yeah, so you told them that you got. What do you go to a doctor or hospital? Yeah, yep. And do you remember much about the diagnosis? Were you in the hospital? Long were you like, was it shocking to you? Do you remember how you felt?
Brock 8:51
I don't remember, like, the exact while I was in there or anything, but I know if this is how I felt exactly when it happened. But you know, I was like, I'm 19 years old. Like, this is, this is bull, you know, right? There's no way that, you know, I'm invincible. I'm 19 years old, and, you know, nothing can touch me. I mean, besides for me cracking my head open. But that hasn't done, you know, anything, besides for some short term memory loss. All
Scott Benner 9:17
right? I think so. Yeah, is it possible you hit your head so hard, your pancreas not working? I don't
Brock 9:23
know. I mean, it's a possibility, yeah, so I my mom, I think one time, mentioned a theory that she had I and so my my parents ended up getting a divorce. When I was I was like, a junior in high school, okay, I would have been a couple years, you know, prior to me getting diabetes, but I know that you know high stress things sometimes lead to it stop, stopping of your pancreas, your
Scott Benner 9:48
mom trying to blame your dad for your your diabetes. I mean, is there other autoimmune in your life, in your family, other people? Type one diabetes. Do you have hypothyroidism, anything like that?
Brock 10:03
Not any, really, that I know of. I was doing some digging on that, you know, before coming on here, because I know you like to ask that question. And my grandma told me that one of her cousins had diabetes. I'm not sure you know who that was exactly, or if it was type one or type two? Yeah, besides for that that you know, just me. Now,
Scott Benner 10:26
let's go back for a second about what you're calling me crapping on Wisconsin. Is it because? Is it because I made fun of my sister in law for taking basically like, fake popcorn and dipping it in caramel and calling it food, is that? Is
Brock 10:42
that? Why? That's funny. I just heard that episode not too long ago. Okay, no, it's just, you know, it's because it's so cold you don't care for the cold, yeah. But, you know, I'm a winter sports enthusiast, you know, I like skiing and snowboarding, and, you know, that's,
Scott Benner 10:59
you use that phrase, you don't care for the cold. I think that my brain goes, Wait, there are people who care for the cold.
Brock 11:07
Okay, no, I'm going to be completely honest with you, people don't care for the cold, but we enjoy what we can do in, you know, because of the cold, because of the snow that it produces, you know, you know, the best days that I've ever had were, you know, like, sunny, Blue Bird, Colorado powder days you get hit with like, 12 inches of snow, and the next day it would be like 40 degrees sunshine,
Scott Benner 11:33
snow still on the mountain. Yeah, Brock, listen, then, let's re say this. Then, like, because what I think you're telling me is that you put up with the cold because you like snowshoes. Well, yeah, no one likes the cold. That's my point. No one heads outside when it's 20 degrees and goes, Oh, awesome.
Brock 11:56
20 is not bad. Shorts. At 20 degrees, yeah. So, so, you know, we've, we've emailed a couple times. I sent you my motorcycle. So I, I ride bikes, um, I, the reason I bring this up is just because this last winter, it was like negative one degree out, and I rode my motorcycle over to the ski hill, saying it was like, negative one degrees and, yeah, no, I rode over to
Scott Benner 12:26
listen to this. I used to ride 12 months a year. Okay, yep, I did not have a car.
Brock 12:31
Oh, wow, yeah, yeah, yeah. You, you know, because you it was mandatory for you, you know, it was the only
Scott Benner 12:37
mode. It was mandatory for me because I couldn't afford a car, mode of transportation. Yeah, for sure. So I used to get up in the morning, I'd start the bike. I'm not gonna lie to you, there were a few weeks of the year where some guy that I worked with would pick me up, because even he was like, Dude, you can't ride that motorcycle tomorrow. Like, so, like, but I'd get up in the morning start the bike. It would take forever for it to warm up. Yep, I'd stand inside, like, completely clad, you know what I mean, like just gloves, like everything, like I scarf around my helmet like an idiot, and then I would just run outside, get on the bike. I had like, a 20 minute ride, and I just tried to get there as quickly as I could. And by the time I got there, my hands were numb. My face really was terrible, but it was all worth it, because I made $5 an hour. Brock,
Brock 13:22
so it was all awesome, making that bank. It
Scott Benner 13:25
was piling up, sometimes $30 a day, okay? Chatter was flying everywhere. By the end of the week, some days I had $100 then I gave it away to pay for them, but what was I doing? I should have just sat at home. You've got your type one now. It's not a thing you're looking forward to. Obviously, you're 19. You're like, Hey, what the hell is going on? Your parents are split up. Are you living with one of them at your diagnosis?
Brock 13:53
At diagnosis? Yeah, I was living with my dad. Okay?
Scott Benner 13:57
And did he get involved? Or was it like, did he look at you from across the room? Like, wow, that sucks.
Brock 14:03
They left it onto me for the most part. Like, from the jump, but I wasn't really taking care of myself. So I ended up back out in Colorado going to school again. Like I was telling you I thought I was invincible. I was like, you know, screw this diabetes thing. I'm not, you know, taking care of that. Yeah, I ended up in DKA, like, a number of times. The last time, my parents ended up coming out to Colorado, and they're like, Hey, you gotta come back to Wisconsin and get your health figured out, and then you can come back out here and, you know, do what you want to do finish your degree or whatever
Scott Benner 14:42
you're 19 at that point, yeah, and your divorced parents came to Colorado together to collect you. You can manage diabetes confidently with the powerfully simple Dexcom g7 dexcom.com/juicebox, the Dexcom g7 Is the CGM that my daughter is wearing. The g7 is a simple CGM system that delivers real time glucose numbers to your smartphone or smart watch. The g7 is made for all types of diabetes, type one and type two, but also people experiencing gestational diabetes. The Dexcom g7 can help you spend more time in range, which is proven to lower a 1c The more time you spend in range, the better and healthier you feel. And with the Dexcom clarity app, you can track your glucose trends, and the app will also provide you with a projected a 1c in as little as two weeks. If you're looking for clarity around your diabetes, you're looking for Dexcom, dexcom.com/juice, dexcom.com/juicebox when you use my link, you're supporting the podcast, dexcom.com/juicebox head over there. Now let's talk about the tandem Moby insulin pump from today's sponsor, tandem diabetes care, their newest algorithm control iq plus technology and the new tandem Moby pump offer you unique opportunities to have better control. It's the only system with auto Bolus that helps with missed meals and preventing hyperglycemia, the only system with a dedicated sleep setting, and the only system with off or on body wear options. Tandem Moby gives you more discretion, freedom and options for how to manage your diabetes. This is their best algorithm ever, and they'd like you to check it out at tandem diabetes.com/juicebox when you get to my link, you're going to see integrations with Dexcom sensors and a ton of other information that's going to help you learn about tandems, tiny pump that's big on control tandem diabetes.com/juicebox the tandem Moby system is available for people ages two and up who want an automated delivery system to help them sleep better, wake up in range and address high blood sugars with auto Bolus. Yeah, yeah. They were worried about you.
Brock 17:00
Yeah, yeah, no, it was a pretty serious episode. I had been feeling, you know, like I had some sort of a flu or something like that, and I came back to the apartment I was living in at the time, one of the roommates that I had had a king size bed, so I ended up going in there and laying down in his bed. And just because nobody else was home at that point, and when they ended up getting home, I was unresponsive, so they called the guy that was teaching ski patrol class that I was in, because he was the EMS in town, okay, uh, he ended up coming, and they got me into the ambulance, and I believe, ended up having to drive me, like, to Denver. So I pretty sure they drove, I don't think I was ever in a hot or in a helicopter or anything, but, but
Scott Benner 17:50
you were out of it, if you don't know that. Yeah, no, well, so
Brock 17:53
the first thing I recall after all this, I woke up with a tube down my throat, and, you know, I was like, what the, you know, what the
Scott Benner 18:01
rock? Are you taking insulin at all? Man, were you taking basal even,
Brock 18:05
I think, like, here and there, maybe I would take, like, some basal, but no, okay, and this was, you know, part of the why I wanted to come on, you know, just tell people that, hey, it's not worth it. I know everybody has probably told you, but 100% it's not worth not taking care of it. You know,
Scott Benner 18:24
listen, we're gonna get into a been ask you, like, a couple of questions. First, okay, because I want to hear about this moment. But first, I just this is a public service announcement for all you guys out there you think your boys have your back. Just remember that when Brock was dying, they didn't call 911, they called a guy they knew because he was an EMT. Okay? Like you gotta, you gotta have clear friends around you. Do you see what I'm saying? You know what to do? Brock, right? If a, if a person's passed out next to you, you call 911, right? Yeah. But okay, so you're, you're awake, tube down your throat. Serious situation. Your parents are on their way, or they're there already, I'm not sure. Yep. You're not taking insulin with any regularity, so you're not even getting up in the morning and going like, all right, at least I'll shoot my basal, which is usually the story you hear from people, like, I just shoot my basal and I didn't Bolus. Like, but my question is, what was your understanding of what would happen to you if you didn't take your insulin? What did you know to be true? Like, was this a surprise when you ended up in the hospital, or was this just, you like, willfully saying I'm just gonna die at 19.
Brock 19:26
I didn't, like, give up on life at all. But, yeah, I mean, I think I was like, I was just so in denial, you know, I was like, you know, this, this can't be real. Like, I've, I've lived my first 19 years without any anything, you know, without having to take shots and doing all this, you know, right? You know. And I got the full wrath of my actions because of what I did. Well, yeah,
Scott Benner 19:50
but I'm saying is that, like, while you weren't doing it, like, this is the psychological part I want to dig into. You get up in the morning that stuff is somewhere in your room. You're looking at it, or, you know, it's there. Or, you know, you should be taking this insulin, right? Like, so when you don't do it, what is your expectation of what's going to happen? Like, if I went up to the stove right now and turned the flame on and I said, like, Brock, I need you to reach out and hold your hand over the flame. You'd say no, because my hand is going to get burnt. But, like, right, when you look at the insulin and say, I'm supposed to be injecting this, but I'm not going to. Why? Why aren't you like, what do you think is going to happen next when you don't do it?
Brock 20:28
You know, I think in my mind, I'm thinking, I'm just going to continue on, like, before I got this diagnosis. But that's not how it works,
Scott Benner 20:37
right? Because so it's just, it's just, I don't know what the word
Brock 20:40
is. It's willful, willful ignorance. Okay, I guess maybe, or some, something like that.
Scott Benner 20:46
That's not the first time you're in the hospital. So other bad things have happened. So your body was kind enough to you to go like, Hey, here's a preview of what's going to go on. If you keep doing this and you were like, Oh, the previews are nice, but I want to see the show on opening night,
Brock 21:01
exactly. I want to see the full movie. Yeah, let's
Scott Benner 21:03
see the whole Monty here right now. Like, what's gonna happen? Right exactly? By the way, for people to say, I know it's the full Monty, it's not important, but we'll keep moving on. So now you're there. Do you think if your parents don't come and get you, you would you have you just cycled back out into life again and done it again?
Brock 21:19
That's a tough that's a tough question. Because, you know, this was, like, a really, a really large event, you know, waking up with the tube down my throat. I ended up having, like, somewhere, at some point during this day, I they punctured a lung, and I had a tube coming out from my side as well.
Scott Benner 21:36
Oh, I've seen that on TV, yeah.
Brock 21:39
You know, it was, it was very in depth, and I think it would have woken me up either way. But you know, I guess you know, it was nice that nice of them to come out. Obviously, you know, they they love me, and they showed me that by coming out and being like, hey, dumb, get you together, because this is not working. Clearly, Are you their only kid? No, I have one older brother, okay, two years older than me. Gotcha.
Scott Benner 22:07
Hey, I've never done this before, but Brock people have connecting words they use when they're talking. I've had like in the past, like so, but I stopped myself from doing it. You do? You know, so do you want to apologize right now to rob for all the times he's gonna have to cut out you saying, you know, go ahead, go ahead. Just apologies, Rob.
Brock 22:25
I'm, uh, I'm from Wisconsin. I do apologize for all the times that you're gonna have to cut that out.
Scott Benner 22:33
You just have the right temperament for that. Normally, at the end, I leave a voice note for Rob that. And I would have started like this, Hey, Rob. You know, there's going to be some editing in this, you know. And you know, at least, listen, at least it's not, oh yeah, right. Oh
Brock 22:49
yeah, you know, don't you know? You bet
Scott Benner 22:54
I appreciate the whole string of them right there. Oh yeah, wow. Okay, so they How long are you in the hospital for do you not even recall? No,
Brock 23:02
I think it was, it was about a week, or might have been a little less than that. We could my mom had already had a trip planned to Jackson, hole Wyoming for skiing, and I was invited on that. So we were like, Oh, we got to get out of we got to get out of the hospital to get, get to the next place and go ski, really?
Scott Benner 23:24
Oh, wow, you didn't grow up with my dad. First of all, he wouldn't have taken you on vacation. Secondly, if he had one planned and you did this, this would have been how he would have punished you for it. He would have been like, remember how we were going to Jackson Hole. You're not going out anyway. Yeah, I'm not going to and I'm going to be pissed about it, and then take out that anger about me not going on you. This is if we ever left the state that we lived in, which we never did, nevertheless, like so you guys went skiing after that. Yes, we did. Yeah. Was there? This is not a judgment of your parents, but was it a whole week of your parents just in every quiet moment telling you how important your life is and that you have to take care of your diabetes. Or was it not spoken about? No, I
Brock 24:07
think it was a lot of that. It was a lot of hey, like, really, you need to figure your life out, like, start taking care of this, because clearly this is a real disease. I'm sorry, I didn't
Scott Benner 24:17
mean to make you,
Brock 24:20
yeah, I won't think about it, but they told me, you know you gotta, you gotta figure this out and take it seriously, because this is your real life, and you're running out of chances.
Scott Benner 24:30
No, quickly, seriously, man, your dumb buddies wait a little longer. And yeah, I don't know what happens to you, or they don't come home, or something like that, not that they're dumb. You understand I'm saying,
Brock 24:40
yeah, no, no, yeah, yeah. I mean, we're all in college. We were, we probably weren't the smartest, but, you know, college is dumb, but you know, no, we could talk
Scott Benner 24:49
about it like this, you were young, and you didn't know what you're doing, and everybody was high as a kite. And, like, they probably for the first two hours, they probably just thought you were stoned, right? Yeah. They're probably like, probably did look how calm. Comfortable, Brock, is he looks great.
Brock 25:03
Look at him on the king size bed. He's just so happy. You know,
Scott Benner 25:07
if it was nowadays, they'd be taking pictures of you with their phone and putting it on Instagram. All right, so does it get through to you on that trip? No, no. Can I ask you a question? Brock, this is going to be a little unfair. I could be completely wrong about this. Do you come from money?
Brock 25:26
No, no, I would say that my my mom's, I mean, both my parents are middle class. I would say, okay, all right, on the wealthier, I guess, side maybe.
Scott Benner 25:37
But are we saying for Wisconsin or for the world? No, no,
Brock 25:41
definitely not for the world, and probably not even really for Wisconsin. We're not well
Scott Benner 25:47
off. I tried to show on Wisconsin for you. You didn't hear it. I don't even know what that means, but I was just making that up. The only reason I asked is, you have a fancy name? Do I do? You not think you do.
Brock 26:01
So the name is my mom and my dad. They both wanted to keep their their last names, so me and my brother got both of them and say
Scott Benner 26:11
your name out loud, Brock West behest, yes, you're Brock West behest. That doesn't sound like something that would be on a TV show like and, I mean, it could be exposed, like, I guess six one blonde guy walks the room. They're like, Oh, look, everyone, it's Brock West behest. And also you're going to Jackson Hole, which is not cheap, like, so that's like, that. I started doing the math on that.
Brock 26:34
Yeah, yeah, my mom, that's what I was saying. So my mom, she makes decent money, and she's good with her money. She loves to travel, and she
Scott Benner 26:42
puts her money where it makes her happy. Yeah, gotcha, yep. Okay, all right, I just, and by the way, I wasn't just asking to ask. I was asking because I can't think of a guy's name, but I had a guy on, listen, I've done so many episodes, I don't know what it was. It was before, okay, I think when you get to his episode Brock, you're going to be like, Oh, this is the guy. I think I sound like, yeah, kind of like, attitude. And I remember him having come from, like, a little bit of privilege, and I was just trying to, like, like, I was trying to decide, is this you going, I don't want what I don't want, and so I'm not going to do it because I've lived that way and I don't need to, or if it was just you saying, like, more, like, simply psychologically, like, I don't want to accept this. I'm going to ignore it. It sounds like it's the the latter. So I think I understand better now. And I wanted everybody else to know too. Like, yeah, I don't know another way to say this. Like, I wanted to make sure they knew if you were just a spoiled kid who were like, I don't like this. I don't want this.
Brock 27:41
Yeah? No, no, that that's not the case. Not the case. Okay, no, I know I had to buy everything that I wanted, yeah, with my own money.
Scott Benner 27:50
Awesome. Okay, all right. It doesn't matter to me, one way the other. I just want to understand that. Oh, right, yeah, for sure. Okay, so we leave Jackson Hole. They take you back to Wisconsin. They put you back to work.
Brock 27:59
When I'm back in Wisconsin again, I'm living with my dad, who is living with his girlfriend at the time. I'll fast forward just a little bit. Just day after Thanksgiving, I'm supposed to be working at Ty roll, which is the ski area near me. I ended up calling in because I was hung over, and then I was sleeping on the couch in the living room, and my dad's girlfriend's grandkid came in and threw a pillow at me, and before I realized what I was doing, I had walked over and I picked him up From underneath his chin, and I realized, you know, pretty great. As soon as it happened. I was like, oh shit. And set him back down, and, you know, checked on and made sure he was all right. And he seemed like he was physically All right, but he was shaken up, obviously, yeah, and he went and told his uncle what happened. His uncle came into the living room. He's like, Hey, you gotta pack up your and get out of here. And I was like, I don't have anywhere else to go. He's like, That's not my problem. I was like, I mean, I guess you got to do what you got to do. So he called the cops. I went out onto the back porch, crack the beer, waited for the cops to show up. I hadn't mentioned this, but I have a problem with authority. I'm hearing that now, but go ahead. Right, right. Yeah, I was gonna say, as you know, I don't know if that's common or not, but yeah. Anyways, so the cops show up, and they start asking me questions, you know, and I'm not really being very cooperative. I ended up finishing the beer I was drinking, and I got up to go grab another one, and I think they thought I was going back inside, they started like putting their hands on me. They hadn't said I was under arrest or anything at this point, so I started fighting back. They ended up tasing me and putting me in the cuffs. Brought me over to the squad car. While I was sitting in the squad car, I pulled the cuffs back around to the front and rolled down the window because. For whatever reason, the windows were not locked. I was sitting on the window with my arms up on top of the SUV, and the cops ended up eventually seeing that, and they came out, and when they they opened, you know, got me back in the car, opened the door, and they were going to switch the cuffs back around to the back. And when they uncuffed my right hand, I punched one of them in the face, and I took off running. Didn't make it very far. They hit me with the deployable taser. And that was, that was basically the end of it, all
Scott Benner 30:27
right, Brock, that's crazy, but let me just ask you, what's it like to be tased? It's
Brock 30:32
not, it's exhilarating. It's not, it's it's not. The worst thing in the world. Pepper spray is worse.
Scott Benner 30:37
Everything that people need to know about you comes from the from the answer. It's exhilarating. What's it like to be tased? You're like, oh, Scott, it was awesome. I punched the guy and ran away, just so he would do it again. Awesome, right? I'm going to take a bit of a left turn here for half a second. But the amount of people, the number of people I've interviewed recently or telling me they have porn addictions. I was thinking about them when you were like, so I moved back in with my dad. I was asleep on the sofa, passed out drunk, and my stepmom and I was like, oh, all the porn guys were like, Whoa, this is gonna be great. Anyway. Seriously, nothing like that, dude. We're gonna have to dig into this, not in your episode, obviously, but the amount of people telling me like I have a serious porn addiction lately is crazy. Oh, yeah, but here's what I've been doing while you were telling your story of exhilaration. I found out that multiple head injuries can lead to things like irritability, poor, frustration tolerance, impulsivity, aggression, defiance, like, stuff like that, right? No kidding, yeah. Do you know if you had like, Have you ever talked to your parents about like, was I like this before I hit my head?
Brock 31:51
Yeah, I started hitting my head pretty young, like I was telling you the first one was at at recess. I was in elementary, I don't know what grade, but, you know, I
Scott Benner 32:02
wish for everybody Brock that they could have a job like mine, where someone could say that to you and then you're allowed to laugh. Yeah, right, because I don't think it's funny. But no, seriously, like there's no I get Oppositional Defiant Disorder, characterized by ongoing patterns of anger and irritability, mood, argumentative, defiant behavior, vindictiveness. Does any of this sound like you, yeah.
Brock 32:20
I mean, it definitely, definitely did, especially when, when all this so, you know when all this happened? As I was saying,
Scott Benner 32:27
Yeah, let's go back to that. You've been tased a second time. Where does it go from
Brock 32:31
there? Yeah. So, so I got brought in, and I got charged with suffocation, strangulation to minor, and then battery to a law enforcement officer and I born 100% disagree with that first charge. I think that's completely Bull. I did not like put any pressure on I literally just lifted him up from underneath his chin. Either way, I know that's 100% wrong.
Scott Benner 32:54
You're not arguing about the act, you're arguing about the charge, yeah,
Brock 32:59
yeah. But either way. So anyways, I got sentenced with both those, both felonies and or got sentenced to two years. Wow, two years in, six years
Scott Benner 33:09
out. So, okay, so you served. You served all two years. Yeah.
Brock 33:13
So I ended up doing 14 months in Walworth County Jail, which was the county that this happened in after that, I got switched over to Green Bay, which is max prison, really.
Scott Benner 33:27
Hey, why did they move? Yeah, what did you do in prison? Brock,
Brock 33:32
I it was what I was doing in jail, because of my my opposition to authority, yeah, because of my opposition to authority, I I acted out a lot when I was in County. I ended up in the hole for like 60 days straight while I was in there.
Scott Benner 33:49
So, hey, watch that language. Watch your language. The porn addicted guys are listening.
Brock 33:55
Yeah, right. Well, go, go ahead. I would be crying
Scott Benner 33:57
the whole time, so I can't really like my opposition would be floating around in my own tears that yelling, I'm a podcaster, please leave me out of here. But seriously, like, you're in there. Do you see the through line at that point? Like, Listen, man, they brought you home to save your life, and you're drunk on the sofa, not going to work. Like, it's not exactly like, yeah, Brock's not exactly like, Hey, I'm pulling it together. Yeah? No, the kid takes you out, you know, out of your mind for a second while you're still hung over, you go after him and all this, like, happens after that, but when you get into pre into jail, excuse me, you don't say to yourself like, Oh, I see the actions that got me here. I'll stop those things. You just double down on them, yeah, yeah, okay, yeah, all right. And so, like, fair enough, it's not a thing you you're not consciously doing these things. This is just these. Are your reactions to these, to any situation, really? Yeah, I gotcha. Okay, my next question is, even though that's all happening, is this the best your diabetes has ever been taken care of?
Brock 34:57
Yeah? Oh, 100% I was gonna say. That, you know that was, yeah, the silver lining of all this is that I was taking care of my diabetes while I was locked up, because you're forced to, right? That's what finally got me into taking care of it. I see managing it,
Scott Benner 35:14
okay, but let's talk about like, so you're on a schedule with your diabetes in jail. That's cool, but then they move you to the max. Like, does the Defiance continue? Or does something about like, what straightens you out? Because you're not like that now, is that right?
Brock 35:28
Yeah, no, not, not at all. And I was gonna say, I guess as soon as I got into the max, I maybe that was a good move by them. Was like, I, I'm not gonna act out here, because I was, I was locked up literally in cells with murderers, like serial killers,
Scott Benner 35:43
and like, yeah, so that caught me to write down,
Brock 35:46
yeah, right. You know, I'm like, I don't feel like acting out to prove any point here, right? So I'm gonna just lay low and do my time and get out. Yeah. Did
Scott Benner 35:55
you have any weird experiences that are like, in the max prison that are worth telling
Brock 36:01
actually, I have one from in County and so the only time I've ever done heroin was when I was in county jail, because, like, I was telling you I was in, I was in the hole for like, 60 days straight. We, you know, one of the guys in there said he had some. I have no idea, you know, how he brought it in his anus, or, yeah, whatever. No, put it in a bag,
Scott Benner 36:27
hopefully, Brock I have some. Well,
Brock 36:31
you know, I don't have anything better going on, so I'm like, Yeah, I'll give it a go. You know, I'm just in this cell for how, 14 hours a day. So, you know, I might as well do something to change up the scenery or whatever. And it was an odd feeling, for sure, but definitely never got anywhere near that stuff again. That was a one time deal, and my time in prison was pretty smooth. Honestly, I was in Green Bay, and my grandparents live in Green Bay, so they made an effort to come and visit me a decent bit, which was awesome. Very nice. Yeah, it's just great seeing people from the outside and getting to play cribbage and stuff with them.
Scott Benner 37:14
Yeah? Remember, there's a world you're trying to get back to that kind of stuff. Yeah? Right. Yep. 100% that was lovely. You didn't feel judged by your grandparents. No, that's nice. How about your parents? How do they
Brock 37:26
handle all this? So my mom was like, I think they both were in the mindset like, You got what you deserve. To some extent, they weren't like, Haha, you, you bastard, that's what you
Scott Benner 37:38
get. Yeah? What's easy for them to say they're not doing it
Brock 37:44
exactly, exactly.
Scott Benner 37:46
Yo mom, it might not be exactly what you're thinking here. And so did the good medical care continued on in the prison side. Yeah. Okay. And did you notice any difference in yourself once your blood sugars were regulated,
Brock 38:03
yeah? I mean, I guess, like, at the start, not necessarily because I was in Yeah, County at that point, and that was still acting out a lot and stuff, but I guess, I mean, like, mentally, for sure, I like, more stable, you know, right? I definitely felt better. That's
Scott Benner 38:21
awesome. Explain to me a little more about like, what stops this defiance in you? Like, is it like, seriously? Like, the difference between, like, a local cop tasing me is exhilarating, but a murderer cutting my throat not going to be exhilarating. So like, did you just have to consciously hold yourself together? Like, I'm trying to figure out how you went from acting out, like, meaning, like having reactions that were not clearly thought out, that you weren't modulating at all, to actually being able to control all of that. Like, was it just the risk of death that
Brock 38:52
did it? I'd say that's big part of it, and also just seeing people that were there for life. And that was like, that's, this is clearly where I ended up because of not taking care of this. And I want to get out of here, get back out and start living my life.
Scott Benner 39:10
Are you literally scared straight by by prison? Yeah, I guess. I
Brock 39:15
guess so. Yeah, scared. Scared Straight with as far as my diabetes goes for sure.
Scott Benner 39:20
Yeah, right. And it's not like, like, nobody beat, nobody raped you. Like, it wasn't anything like, over the top, like, just the being there, yep, yeah. You were like,
Brock 39:28
Okay, seeing right? And like, well, and yeah, just like I said, it was only eight months that I was actually in prison. The repetitive nature of all of it, it's very boring, tedious lifestyle. And obviously it's not meant to be fun. You know, they're, you know, it's reforming, but like,
Scott Benner 39:48
something not pull out of you, like you were just, like, I'm gonna stop being a dick now. And like, and, yeah, yeah, because I don't want to live here the rest of my life. Exactly. Gotcha. Is it fair to say? That the tediousness taught you any kind of how to set your life up in an order. Like, did you get out and keep up the I don't know what, why? I can't find the simple word that I need here, but the repetition of day after day,
Brock 40:13
yeah, I would say it definitely did, you know, help me get on a schedule, especially, you know, like with the diabetes, but just like overall, I would say it did. It helped me pursue one goal and keep keep on a steady path to get to that goal.
Scott Benner 40:30
Yeah, wow. Has it been hard getting work since you've been out because you're a felon, right?
Brock 40:35
Yeah, I am. Honestly, it hadn't. It hasn't been all that hard. I was fortunate from the time that I got out, I got out in 2018 in November, and I ended up with six years of extended supervision. So actually, I just got off of that this last November. So nice, exciting, I guess. But
Scott Benner 40:55
yeah, so that's parole for six years. Yeah, yeah. What's that like? Check check ins are. How frequent are they? So they started
Brock 41:03
out every week as you show that you're trying to be a productive member of society and staying on the right path and keeping clean and all that. Yeah, they extend the visits further and further by the end of it, you know, I, like my last year I had like, four visits, yeah, so it was like every three months, but present day, do you drink? I do every now and again. I don't drink a lot. I was going to tell you, so I got out on paper and taking care of my diabetes and all that. Even though I was not supposed to be I was drinking a decent bit at that point. What made me stop was actually some motorcycle incident. I ended up getting two speeding tickets within a week of each other. One was on a Sunday. I was coming home from my dad's. My dad lived in Chicago at the time, and I was living with my mom in Monticello, which is a small town in Wisconsin, southern Wisconsin. Anyways, I was coming back from my dad, and I got to, like, Beloit, and I ended up running out of gas on my motorcycle. I pushed my bike to the first house that I found, which was like a farmhouse out, you know, in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, this guy had a little bit of gas. He let me get I was like, All right, I need to get to the next the nearest town. Yeah, from here. And I was just like, holding the bike wide open to get to the nearest town as quick as I could. I know I was probably burning the gas quicker that way, but wasn't really thinking, uh, all that logically, I suppose. But anyways, I, you know, was doing like 100 and I saw red lights sitting in the media, and I was like, oh, red and blues flipped on as soon as I passed them. And I pulled over right away, and I ended up getting clocked at like 95 or something like that. Yeah, that following Friday, again, I was working at Tyro. We were doing a terror at Tyro, which is like their October they do a haunted house thing. I rode my bike out there, and after the fact, a couple of guys that were doing the haunt thing ended up going to a bar, and I stayed until closing, and I'd been drinking and got out. And I was like, Oh, I brought the bike today. And I was like, I guess I gotta ride home. And so like, Monroe or not Monroe or Mount Horeb, a bunch of towns that don't that are basically unimportant if you don't know where I'm talking to Monticello, it's like a 45 minute drive, if you're, like, doing the speed limit and stuff. But I was like, All right, I guess I'm gonna ride my bike home. And I got on, and I was basically a whole nerd kind of, sort of wide open the whole way. I ended up getting to my small town, Monticello, that I live in, and turned into town, and I turned into an exit lane, just because it was, like, three o'clock in the morning at this point. You know, I'm like, there's nobody out here, and I got lit up at that point. I was like, what the like, where did this guy come from? He's like, I had you at like, 138 but I couldn't lock it in on the radar gun, so I'm giving you a ticket for reckless and imprudent speed and then driving into oncoming traffic because of my, yeah, yep. I swear to God, I was sitting on the side of the road for it must have been like half an hour or something at this point, and they were, I don't know, they were just asking me questions and stuff. And then finally, at like, half an hour in somebody, one of the guys is like, Have you been drinking it all the night. And I was like, I had a few earlier, and they're like, Would you do a breathalyzer? And I'm like, Yeah, I'll do that. I blew like a point zero, 7.075 or something, you know, just under the legal limit, yeah, but I was on probation, and they told my PO that that had happened, and ended up getting. Sent to county jail for the weekend. At that point, I was like, I'm just going to stop drinking because it's not worth it. It's not worth getting in trouble, and it's not worth, you know, good, not worth the hangovers. Anyways,
Scott Benner 45:12
I'm not bagging on Wisconsin here, but drinking beer is the it's the state sport, isn't it? Yeah? 100%
Brock 45:18
Yeah. Drinking beer and eating brats is,
Scott Benner 45:20
yeah, so it's because it's so cold there, you have nothing to do. That's back to my point, right, right? I'd like to tell you that, in addition to the things we talked about, about having multiple head injuries before it can also lead to like, thrill seeking behavior and compulsiveness. Oh,
Brock 45:35
well, I think I feel like I've always been an adrenaline junkie. I don't know if that's anything new.
Scott Benner 45:40
Also, I want to tell you that I was once pulled over on my bike for going 80 over in a 35 so I'm not and for those of you listening, it wasn't like a now I'm explaining now I sound like you, Brock, I'm like, you don't get it, like I was in the hole I was Born. You would have done Carolyn, too. Shut up. I was on a highway that suddenly went down to 35 Yeah, I was going 115
Brock 46:10
quite matter. Yeah, you know you're going. You're going well over speed limit either way. That's how, that's how it goes on the bikes, though, you get up to such a, such a stupid speed, so fast, like, Wow, I did. You don't even realize how fast you're going
Scott Benner 46:23
until you've ridden a motorcycle. You don't understand that. Like, 100 seems like 40 and like, yeah, it really doesn't like, you get it so smooth and you get to it so quickly, like, you can't feel it. I mean, those you now may be driving electric cars might understand that a little better. But like, if you've never ridden the
Brock 46:39
torque, yeah, maybe electric cars is probably similar, but, yeah, I mean, honestly, it's just, it's a whole nother level,
Scott Benner 46:45
no idea, like, how crazy, like, allegedly,
Brock 46:49
the fastest I've gone is, like, 100 and I don't know, 69 or so, like, GPS verified on my bike, but allegedly, I don't know about anything. I
Scott Benner 47:00
listen, it's been a long time I did 160 once, yeah, because the bike went to 160 and I was like,
Brock 47:06
Yeah, but you have to, you have to see, you know, what is it like? Popped up.
Scott Benner 47:10
I just realized I'm three head injuries away from being in prison. Because
Brock 47:16
no, and it ended diabetes diagnosis.
Scott Benner 47:18
I just remember I was 20 years old. And I said, this thing says it goes 160 I wonder if it does, right? Yeah. And it did, yep. I'll tell you 160 you're looking a mile down the road to focus on something. It's
Brock 47:32
yeah, I was gonna say, I'm not, like, you know, super wealthy, is what I'm trying to say. Because I would love to just go to, like, Track, track, yeah, dude, like a track day, but that's expensive, yeah, you
Scott Benner 47:44
know, and yes, listen, just sit at home and go to work. You'll be fine. Listen, is there any way You've tricked a woman into having sex with you since all this has happened? Are you
Brock 47:53
dating? Yeah, there is no. I'm actually engaged. I am like, three months away from marriage. Oh, actually, congratulations, yeah, thank you. Oh, man, I Yes. I've got very lucky. I have the most amazing fiance that I, that I could ask for. She
Scott Benner 48:12
put a helmet on you. I don't think you bang in your head one more time. No, she,
Brock 48:16
she definitely makes make sure I always have a helmet on. And actually, full, full, full, full riding gear. I have, I got pants with padding and jacket with padding, you know, steel toe boots, helmet.
Scott Benner 48:28
Actually, that's great. I used to ride like an idiot, like, we'd go in shorts and stuff like that.
Brock 48:34
But listen, I used to, but, yeah, not anymore.
Scott Benner 48:37
You get out of prison. You take better care of your diabetes. It's been a long time now. Like, how do you manage? Are using a pump? You have a CGM, I mean, you're taking your insulin.
Brock 48:46
When I got out, I was just pens, and then, like, five years ago, or something like, shortly after I'd gotten out, I ended up switching to a T slim, the tandem pump. And after I'd been using the tandem for a while. I started listening. Is when I started listening to the podcast. And I I hear you talking about Omnipod all the time. Here's your Omnipod ad here. Well,
Scott Benner 49:10
actually, I have a T slim ad too. I might do both of them. Well, there you
Brock 49:13
go. Yeah, you know. And I was like the tubeless nature that sounds like that sounds like a good thing. And I actually broke my tea slim riding my motorcycle. I crashed my motorcycle. I was coming into a roundabout, and there was some gravel on the road, and I just grabbed the front brakes and locked it up and tipped over. And, you know, I had the T slim on my belt, and like that, ended up hitting the ground. The screen was all cracked. I was like, I guess now's as good a time as any to switch over to the Omnipod
Scott Benner 49:42
now, exactly right now, thrilled, because there's probably an ad for them on this episode. First of all, I'm going to tell you something. The worst I ever went down was because of cinders too. It is hard to explain to somebody what it feels like to be upright and then gravity like you and that bike. All this, you go down so fast. It's hard to put the words exactly. But anyway, so you went to Omnipod. And, I mean, T slim, a good pump, but you broke it, and you thought, Oh, I'll try this one. I'll go tubeless.
Brock 50:12
I like the tea slim, but, yeah, you know, the tubing is not for you, not Yeah, not ideal. You know, showering, and I, you know, I'm a big I like water too, you know, I swim and do all that. And, yeah, you can't do that with this. People
Scott Benner 50:25
right now wearing a tandem, they're like, I shower. What is he talking about? Yeah, yeah, but you have to take your pump, I understand, yeah. So you make the switch, and that's how you manage. Now, are you Omnipod five? Are you Omnipod dash? Omnipod five? Yeah, automated. Okay. And so, so you weren't, yeah, I was gonna
Brock 50:43
say, so I actually where I am in the listening part of the podcast. I just get into, like, the Omnipod five, like, where you're gonna start going into those interesting tips. In detail, I have the Omnipod five, but I don't really use the automated mode. I use the manual mode because, you know, I, I use all the tips, bumping and nudging and all that. And, you know, I, I keep my keep myself pretty good. I my last a, 1c, I think was 664,
Scott Benner 51:13
good for you. That's awesome,
Brock 51:15
which is, you know, the best that I've had ever and, yeah,
Scott Benner 51:19
yeah, this podcast even works on felons who have head injuries. This is awesome. It does what an ad for me. This is
Brock 51:27
exactly you just listen. I'll tell you. I'll tell you, you got to listen in chronological order for things to make sense and for the knowledge to build up. The way
Scott Benner 51:36
you're putting this to people, they go back to the first episode. They listen to all of them, I get all those downloads, and then there. How long have you been listening?
Brock 51:44
Oh, man, I don't know. Like I was telling you I was on the T swim, I think when I was originally started listening, and that was five, like, five years ago, or something like
Scott Benner 51:55
that. Been listening to this podcast chronologically for five
Brock 51:58
years? No, so I started to chronologically, but I only, I probably did, like, the first 200 episodes, or something like that. And then I I thought, like, I jump around, well, I learned enough. No, no. I was like, I've learned enough. So I'm just gonna, you know, leave. And after not listening for a while, like, my blood sugar started kind of rising again. I wasn't taking care as much as I should have, you know? Interesting. Yeah.
Scott Benner 52:25
So you listened chronologically. You got through the Pro Tip series, which happens in the two hundreds, and then you were like, That's good. I'm doing a good job. I don't need this anymore. And then at some point you looked up and your a 1c was drifting away from you, and you thought, I'll go back to the podcast. Yeah, interesting.
Brock 52:44
Yeah. 100% I think the community of, you know, other type one diabetics, and just hearing their stories. And I, like, just recently, I heard your conversation with the type two, and it sounds like that's going to be something that you've been doing more of. And that's awesome, because it sounds like the control mechanisms are, you know, pretty much the same, yeah, as far as I can tell Brock,
Scott Benner 53:06
you want to hear something disappointing, sure. I made a type two Pro Tip series with Jenny, and I think it's only eight or nine episodes long. I put out one episode a week for however many weeks, you know, eight weeks in a row, like once a week. You guys know how I do it. If you're listening like, I put out a series. I usually put them out on Fridays. I run them once a week, and you guys have time to, like, absorb them, go to the next step, etc. I did that for a Pro Tip series. It was, it was a limited run diabetes Pro Tip series for type two. And I have never had such a significant drop off and listenership in my in the entire 11 years, like I tried to give more content to type twos, and people unfollowed the show. Even though they were getting they were still getting four episodes a week that were type one, right? It remains one of the quietly sadder things that I've experienced doing this. So, yeah, that's a bummer. Yeah. So I, if you don't see me talking as much about type two, I don't do it because it hurts the podcast pretty significantly
Brock 54:05
that. Yeah, it sucks that that's the case. But, um, yeah,
Scott Benner 54:09
if I have a type two on and do like a standalone interview with them, nobody seems to mind that. But when I say, hey, look, here's information for you, it really pissed a bunch of people off. So yeah. Took me 18 months to rebound from the loss that I had, from from putting out the type two stuff,
Brock 54:27
really crazy. And I'm disappointed in my fellow type ones for you know, not
Scott Benner 54:32
I don't want to judge anybody, but I was disappointed in them, too, yeah, so, right,
Brock 54:36
I don't want to judge anybody, including type twos, you know, like, that's kind of BS, yeah. They're just people living with a disease and, you know,
Scott Benner 54:43
awesome, rock. Let's be clear, a lot of people listen to this podcast. Not everybody left. Oh, yeah, yeah, no, I get that significant number of people where I was like, what the hell I had just gotten to this place? Where I was like, Oh, the podcast is going to tip like, it's going to, it's going to leap to the next level. And then. I just like, went right back down to the level I was on. And I was like, oh, okay, anyway, I'll probably do it again. I'm I have some defiance issues too. I think that type two Pro Tip series is awesome for people. And by the way, my thought was, you're all listening and enjoying the podcast. You know it's helping you. You must know people in your life with type two like, how great would it be to be able to go up to your aunt and say, Hey, listen, I'm having a great experience with my health here because of this Juicebox Podcast. I know you have type two diabetes, they just put out an eight part series I think might help you. Like, here's a list. Yeah, you know, that's all I was shooting for. You listened to and then you stopped listening. When you stopped listening, do you remember where your a 1c was? I
Brock 55:40
think I was like, mid sevens at that point.
Scott Benner 55:45
So mid 7c you were like, I'm so good at this, I don't need this anymore, right? Yeah. And then it drifts away from you. Where does it get to before you say, let me go pick the podcast. Back up again.
Brock 55:55
I think it gets, you know, probably back up to like, eight or eight and a half, you know? And then I'm like, Yeah, I'm not taking care of this. Like I should, like, like I was, and like I should be. Then I get back into listening, yeah? And
Scott Benner 56:08
it's not because you don't know what to do, it's because you've gotten off course with doing it, yeah? So this podcast is like, prison for you. It keeps you on schedule.
Brock 56:18
Yes, yes. It's like, the good parts, not the bad parts.
Scott Benner 56:21
Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, I actually think that's wonderful. So, like, because it's hard to keep a schedule, yeah, it can be Yeah, dude, I think, I think it's hard. Like, listen, I used to have a job where I had to be up at a certain time every day, which meant that I needed to be asleep at a certain time every day to do it again the next day. And long time ago, Scott, you don't know, I still remember. I don't
Brock 56:45
know, you know, I still remember it poorly today's but,
Scott Benner 56:49
but my point is that I don't have that exact same schedule anymore, and it does lead to you doing things like, like, oh, like, I'll just go out for dinner tonight, or like, you don't, I mean, like, I don't have to cook for myself. Like, I, you know, I got off schedule. I start. I didn't start till 10, and I worked till seven, so I don't have time to cook. Or, like, that kind of stuff happens a lot. And I think a lot of people work from home now too. And I think that that can happen. You lose track of days. Like, I think COVID did it to me. Like, I used to really, like, I used to really look forward to the weekend, and now I don't see the difference anymore. Like, everything just feels the same to me. Now, Monday is Sunday, is Wednesday. Doesn't matter to me. And the same with time. I just like, wow, it doesn't matter what time I do this task I need to do, like, because I work for myself, and I just have to get it done today. So I'll do it at two o'clock today, but I don't know, like, there's something about it, like, I miss there's something about the get up, make your bed, go on my you know, like, the military, go on a hike. Do this? Have dinner. Like, have like, I think there's something good for people. There
Brock 57:53
something about the routine that, you know, just keeps you, keeps you going, yeah, yeah. I mean, I think it, yeah, I think it's really helpful for me, of
Scott Benner 58:03
course. I mean, the prison routine was clearly valuable for you, Yep, yeah. So at this point, now there's an Omnipod five Pro Tip series you're about to get to, I wonder if you'll end up going into automation after that.
Brock 58:16
I was gonna say, I'm honestly, I feel like I probably would, because I sometimes I, I'll switch over to automated, like, just for a night and stuff like that, just because, you know, I feel like it definitely helps keep me, keep me level. But that's probably just because I don't know enough yet. But, like, it's not adjustable enough. Like, I don't I always wake up, like, right around 140 if I'm in automated mode, I can wake up anywhere from like 80 to like, 110 if I'm in manual.
Scott Benner 58:43
Well, let me tell you why that probably is. Is because if you're listening to the Pro Tip series and utilizing a lot of bumping and nudging, what you're doing is you're adding more insulin that's not in your settings. Okay, so if that insulin was in your settings,
Brock 58:57
oh, so I'll just have to adjust either, like the insulin sensitivity, factor ISF or or the carb ratio, or something like that.
Scott Benner 59:06
Yeah. So if the if the insulin in your settings isn't covering your needs and you're adding more, if that was in your settings, then the Omnipod five would better understand the amount of insulin you need to affect
Brock 59:19
those things. That makes sense. Yeah.
Scott Benner 59:23
Listen, I think bumping and nudging saved my life, like, you know, trying to understand Arden. I think it's the way that I taught myself how insulin works. Yep. And at the same time, you'll hear, as you're listening on that I start using, like, at some point in the podcast, like, Arden goes on loop, yeah. And watching, I'm past that. Okay, all right, so watching Arden loop, I have this like moment where I go, Oh, the loop is doing what I was doing, yeah. And I was bumping and nudging, and the loop is bumping and nudging, but I was bumping and nudging because her settings weren't strong enough. The loop is doing it because. It's seeing a change and getting ahead of it, and then I kind of meld the ideas together in my mind about how the insulin works. So it's exciting for me. You're like, you're gonna have all those experiences.
Brock 1:00:10
Yeah, I was gonna say I'm super excited too, and that's the thing. I'm super excited to get to them. I'm not gonna, I'm happy with my six five, you know, I actually, you know, like, just looked at my clarity, and I'm at averaging like 6.2 or something like that, right now. That's, you know, I'm happy with that until I get to those and until I get the real full understanding of how to best use the automated system. Yeah, and
Scott Benner 1:00:35
hey, you're doing it right? Yeah. I like you're taking your time. You're learning as you're going so you have a real grasp of it by the time you get to the end of what you're listening to, I think it's great. I appreciate that, that it's helping you. Actually, I appreciate hearing that from you. So how do you introduce your diabetes, and I mean, I guess to another extent, like your pre your previous life, to a woman like when you're you start getting serious with somebody like, you have to tell them, like, hey, look, I've been in jail. I've been in prison. This is what I did. You got to open up for real, right?
Brock 1:01:03
Yeah, I was gonna say, so I'm an open book. That's how I live my life. Like, if anybody asked me anything, I'm 100% open book, I will tell them. I obviously have no problem telling people I'm a diabetic, you know, showing showing off my pumps and stuff, you know, my robotic parts. I was at just asking her about that. I was like, when did I tell you? Or, like, how did so we actually met at work, or at my work. Her mom works where I work. I work at a print shop. She would come in now again, and she would do gardening stuff there. Yeah, she's got a very green thumb. She's very big into plants, and good at doing things that look good and all that. So we were out putting arborvitae trees in at work, and I was digging the holes because, you know, I like doing physical manual labor. But, you know, then I started beeping, and I had, I, you know, ran inside and drink some Gatorade or something, you know. And I guess her mom told her that I was inside fixing my numbers and told her that I was diabetic, but so she knew I didn't actually have to tell her. She, she knew she's very, very open and very into it. She, you know, she, she helps me. Whenever I put my Omnipod on, she always checks to make sure that I'm pink
Scott Benner 1:02:23
in the window. She checks the window for you. Yep, yep. Very nice. Check
Brock 1:02:27
the window make sure that it's pink. She likes to be the nurse, and she'll fill up the pods for me and
Scott Benner 1:02:32
everything. And yeah, that's lovely man. How long have you guys been together? We have
Brock 1:02:37
been together coming up on two years. It'll be well, we're getting married on our two year anniversary. I proposed on the one year anniversary. I guess you know, it's like that when you know, you know. And I knew with her 100%
Scott Benner 1:02:50
and she seemed okay with it. So she was,
Brock 1:02:55
she was in. I was like, awesome. And you know, what's even better? Crazy enough. She's never been to Colorado, but we're actually getting married in Colorado. We're doing a destination wedding, just going to be like us and some immediate family out
Scott Benner 1:03:08
there. That's excellent, man. Good for you. That's really great. Congratulations. That's wonderful. Thank you. Yeah, no, no. I mean, you've been on a on a hell of a ride, you know?
Brock 1:03:17
Yeah, yeah, I have. It's been, it's been a bumpy ride, but, you know, it's smooth, it's smooth sailing here.
Scott Benner 1:03:24
So, yeah, you told a story there that. I mean, you're only 29 yep, yep. And that's, that's a big story, and a lot's happened. You've been through a lot, you've done a lot, you've made a lot of mistakes, you've you've fixed a lot of things about yourself 100% What are you looking forward to in the next 29 years of your life, like, what do you hope your life is like?
Brock 1:03:46
Oh, man. Well, so currently we live in a house. My fiance bought this house before me. She was married previously, before we got together. I didn't, you know, facilitate in the split up or anything like that. You know, he owns this house, and I'm looking forward to buying a house with her, and, you know, hopefully starting our own family after we get married, and showing them what's important in life. And both me and Savannah, Savannah is my fiance. We We love being outdoors. You know, we love hiking. We love going, taking our dogs for walks, and mountain biking, disc golf, anything outside, doing that and showing showing kids that, you know, you can get outside. You don't have to be glued to your phone all the time.
Scott Benner 1:04:37
Yep. Brock, tell me what it is like you're looking forward to showing them. What about life like? What? What do you think it's important about
Brock 1:04:43
it, enjoying every moment, enjoying the small moments and the big moments, and taking it day by day, yeah, just the whole experience,
Scott Benner 1:04:52
being alive and with people and and just seeing what's around you and trying to enjoy it. Yep, yep. You think. You'd ever drink in front
Brock 1:05:01
of them? Yeah, I mean, like I was saying, I do every now and again, still and I definitely don't have, you know, I won't tell them not to drink. I will probably take the same route that my parents didn't. They were okay with me and my brother drinking at a younger age, as long as we were smart about it made, you know, good choices and made sure we had rides home that were not, that had not been drinking and, yeah, doing that sort
Scott Benner 1:05:29
of stuff. Okay. What about weed? Do you think you tell them it's okay?
Brock 1:05:32
Yeah, I would. I definitely say it's okay for them to try and make their own decisions about I don't. I don't do it anymore. I at one point or another, I started to get some paranoia from smoking, and at that point I was
Scott Benner 1:05:48
like, enough for me. Now, yeah, yeah, yeah. Will you ever tell your kids you did heroin in jail? Oh,
Brock 1:05:58
that's a good question. Yeah, I would say I probably would if I don't know if, if
Scott Benner 1:06:03
I know, I probably sound like I'm joking, but I'm being serious. Like, do you think there's a time in your life, Felix, you know what? I mean,
Brock 1:06:10
yeah. I was just saying if, if that Yeah. I mean, yeah, I would say, probably not.
Scott Benner 1:06:15
When there are five, but like, at some point you might say, like, Hey, I've made mistakes in my life. Here's a couple of them and, like, tell them your story, you know, Yep, yeah. Does your soon to be wife have a story too? Or is she just like a normal girl who just met you?
Brock 1:06:30
Yeah, she's got a story. Grew up in a town in Wisconsin as well, and her first marriage, the guy was, you know, apparently, abusive in more ways than one, physically and verbally, more so verbally, but you know, like everybody has a past and helping her heal from that stuff, and like showing her that I'm here to support her 100% you know, regardless of what she wants to do or how she's feeling, I just want her to, you know, feel valid for feel validated with all of her feelings, and, you know, help her work
Scott Benner 1:07:07
through. Man, that's lovely. I'm glad you guys found each other. That's really something. Thank you. Me too, yo. You're very welcome. I'm excited for you. It's hard to think this when you're 29 but like at my age, like you have so much time in front of you. Like it just this is very exciting for me to hear, because it feels like you're just a new person with a new direction. And you know what I mean? And I like that, yeah, yeah, 100% Yeah. Because it can feel like, when it happens to you, it feels more like, Oh, God, I've been through all this stuff, and I'm already 30 and I'm not even married, like, you know, like, you can think of it that way, yeah, I wouldn't think of it that way. I would tell you that you have, like, 31 years till you're 60. When you're 61, day, you'll have lived longer than you've lived right now, and you can make this next half of your life whatever you want it to be. I love that. Yeah, no, I'm super excited for you. Man, that's exhilarating. Not getting taste Brock. Let's
Brock 1:08:03
all right, that's, that's fair. Let's
Scott Benner 1:08:05
be exhilarated by building a life. Also watch what happens you make a baby. The first thing you're going to do is sell your motorcycle, just
Brock 1:08:13
so, you know, oh, I don't know if that's true. I've gotten Savannah into motorcycling as well. Now I feel like it'll be a part of our lives. But, you know, it'll be, I will definitely tone it down. You know, I already have started doing that just for Savannah, because I don't, you know, I got you trying to stay alive for, yeah, exactly I, you know, I got, I got reasons to stay alive. Rock,
Scott Benner 1:08:34
I wish somebody would have found you when you were five and told you the reasons that you wanted to stay alive instead of, instead of when you looked over the guy and you're like, Oh, I hope he doesn't kill me, yeah, yeah. You're kind of a hippie man. Like, I know what you look like. You're, oh,
Brock 1:08:49
yeah, yeah. I got, I got long hair, yeah, I was gonna say, you, you said, you know, I'll be listening to the episode that of a guy that sounds like me. You said six one blonde hair. That's, I'm like, six foot, and I got dark, I got brown hair, but I got, like, it's down to my shoulders.
Scott Benner 1:09:07
I know, I know what you look like, so I what I meant was that you sound Your name sounds like you're six foot and you have blonde hair, like, that's what got you you're a gentle dude, like, I can't imagine, like, I had a hard time imagining putting my 19 year old son in prison, looking at a guy that he thought, Man, that guy could kill me, like, I gotta sit here, shut my mouth and get the hell out of here, because, like, That guy could hear me wrong and end me for no real reason. It must have been. I mean, eye opening is, I guess that's
Brock 1:09:37
it definitely was. And, you know, it was like, like, my open book Living, like, same deal in there. So like, I would talk to my roommate. I'm in prison. There's nothing else to do, you know. I mean, we can read books and whatever. But like, I would talk to him. So I, you know, I got a lot of stories and a lot of, you know, a lot of things that I was just like, wow, yeah,
Scott Benner 1:09:59
man. Like, I said, You've been through some so, like, I'm happy that you're out the other side of it and you're starting over. And I just, I wish you nothing but success, and I really appreciate you coming on the podcast and sharing your story with everybody. It
Brock 1:10:12
was awesome. Yeah, I appreciate you having me on, Scott, it's been my pleasure. And again, sorry, was it? Robert?
Scott Benner 1:10:19
Oh Rob, yeah, you're wrong.
Brock 1:10:22
Oh yeah, sorry, Rob, about all the editing.
Scott Benner 1:10:25
Rob, Listen, man, maybe there's a world where we just leave all the you knows in and, like, just let it be what it is. Like yours is definitely an episode where I'm going to get a note later that says, like, I spent a lot of time taking you know out of this episode.
Brock 1:10:39
I believe that, yep,
Scott Benner 1:10:41
but no. Awesome. All right, man, thank you so much. And you know, I don't, I don't dislike Wisconsin, right? But no,
Brock 1:10:47
I have you ever visited? I mean, I know your brother, your brother in law, or your brother lives here, brother in law.
Scott Benner 1:10:54
Oh, yeah. Brock, do you want me to ruin the podcast for you? Or do you want to keep listening in order?
Brock 1:10:58
I'm going to keep listening in order. But have you, have you visited, or have you not just
Scott Benner 1:11:02
give me that I visited at the end of my mom's life to see her? Yeah, oh, I'm
Brock 1:11:07
sorry for her passing. Thank you. She was in the episode that I'm listening to. She you know, you were just dealing with some of that going on with some health stuff
Scott Benner 1:11:18
with your mom, but you're gonna hear it all if you keep listening.
Brock 1:11:21
Yeah, that's my plan. I was gonna say Monday through Thursday at work, I listen to your podcast like the whole day, basically,
Scott Benner 1:11:29
man, I really do appreciate I can't tell you being serious. Brock, like, I'll let you go in a second. But people like you who are listening like that, you have no idea, like, how, how much it helps reach the next person who really probably just needs the Pro Tip series or the bold beginnings or something like that, because right, right the numbers. It's the numbers, and they're really important. They're really important to staying current. They're important to advertisers. They're important to the algorithms. Like and the podcast, just if people don't keep listening to it, like, if, if everybody just jumped in listen to the 20 episodes of this series, five of this, 10 of that was like, I feel good and I'm out of here, like the podcast wouldn't exist and it wouldn't be there for the next person. So right, I love that you're listening, and I really do. I genuinely appreciate it. So thank you,
Brock 1:12:14
man. I genuinely appreciate you putting all this time and effort into the podcast and for taking such good care of your daughter and being in the trenches and learning all this and sharing, sharing everything with with everyone. It really is my pleasure. It's my more people that it reaches, that that's the better.
Scott Benner 1:12:32
Thank you. Thank you. It really is my pleasure. I have to tell you, I really enjoy doing this so and all that comes out of it. So, all right, man, I'm gonna let you go Hold on one second for me. Okay, okay, thanks.
The podcast you just enjoyed was sponsored by tandem diabetes care. Learn more about tandems, newest automated insulin delivery system, tandem Moby with control iq plus technology at tandem diabetes.com/juicebox there are links in the show notes and links at Juicebox podcast.com. Dexcom sponsored this episode of The Juicebox Podcast. Learn more about the Dexcom g7 at my link. Dexcom.com/juicebox, hey, thanks for listening all the way to the end. I really appreciate your loyalty and listenership. Thank you so much for listening. I'll be back very soon with another episode of The Juicebox Podcast. Check out my algorithm pumping series to help you make sense of automated insulin delivery systems like Omnipod five loop, Medtronic 780, G twist tandem control IQ and much more. Each episode will dive into the setup features and real world usage tips that can transform your daily type one diabetes management. We cut through the jargon, share personal experiences and show you how these algorithms can simplify and streamline your care. If you're curious about automated insulin pumping, go find the algorithm pumping series in the Juicebox Podcast, easiest way Juicebox podcast.com, and go up into the menu, click on series, and it'll be right there. The episode you just heard was professionally edited by wrong way recording, wrong way recording.com, wrong.
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