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May 28, 2024 51 mins

This is an encore episode while I focus on my teaching.

This week's guest is Mindy Sheier.

I titled the show "Life's a Road Trip" because as I've matured and dealt with suddenly becoming a quad amputee, that's how I see life. For Mindy, designing clothing for such movers and shakers as INC and Saks Fifth Avenue had her on cruise control.

And it just so happened that her son, Oliver, who is on his own Muscular Dystrophy road trip, wanted to wear jeans like everyone else but nothing on the market met his needs. It didn't take much for Mindy to shift gears into the adaptive clothing market.

Yes, Oliver got his jeans and the disability community received a fashion advocate who is blowing the doors off the clothing industry with her company, the Runway of Dreams Foundation (Link).

Mindy isn't afraid to rev the engines of society either. Check out "Time to Adapt" HERE.

She also hits high gear with "Getting Intimate with Disability" HERE.

Oh, yeah, Mindy has another means for moving the speedometer, visit GAMUT Management HERE.

That "Whoosh!" that just passed you was Mindy Scheier.

 

Note: Oftentimes, links are not available on platforms such as Apple, iHeart, etc.. They are available within this episode on our website at https://lifesaroadtrip.podbean.com

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Being disabled or having a chronic illness can feel like you're moving forward in reverse.

(00:21):
I'm your host Scott Martin.
Join me and my new friends in this underrepresented community as we talk about disrupting the
status quo and creating change within the world and within ourselves.
A life's a road trip.
Hop in.
Let's turn on some tunes and go.

(00:56):
With me in the passenger seat and managing the radio for this road trip is Mindy Shire.
Before starting the Runway of Dreams Foundation in 2014, Mindy spent 20 years working in fashion
as a designer for high-end collection and a stylist for Sax Fifth Avenue.
Mindy was inspired to start Runway of Dreams after son Oliver, who was Hasmosculodisserie
wanted to wear jeans just like everyone else.

(01:19):
Also using her design skills to adapt jeans that met his needs and increased his confidence,
she went on to conduct extensive research as to modifications required for mainstream
clothing to meet the needs of the largest minority in our world and that is people with
disabilities.
Hi, Mindy.
Hi.
Let's get rolling with stuff because I have been looking forward to.

(01:42):
I'll try to bring my guess and offer a little bit different perspective, but the overall
theme is still the same.
Let's disrupt the world a little bit with what's going on in the disabled community.
So I want to talk about Oliver's needs and how that shifted you off the highway you were
on into the adaptive clothing.
So is it safe to say that you kept designing while you were beginning the adaptive clothing

(02:05):
adventure?
You handled both.
You added one more thing?
I did.
Yeah.
So really being a designer by trade, I had been in the industry during the time of Farrah
Faucet and Brook Shields and Mark Walberg, so this very unattainable, perfect look.

(02:27):
So adaptive or people with disabilities were absolutely never a part of the conversation.
And until Oliver came into my life, I had absolutely no idea that these challenges existed, that
there was any problem as it relates to dressing yourself.
So it really was a function of Oliver truly guiding me in the very young age that he was

(02:56):
about the importance of clothing and how it made him feel and not being able to wear
what he wanted to wear based on his physical limitations.
And it really was a tremendous aha kick in the stomach moment that there was nothing
that existed that I could provide him that would help solve the problem of dressing challenges.

(03:22):
Back this was in early 2010 through 2013.
Where did you get the time from?
Where did you steal it from your life in order to start working on that?
I think in certainly any other parent or caregiver anybody else listening out there, you find

(03:44):
time that you never even knew you had because I had to solve a problem.
And it was a problem that my son needed.
And in a situation of him having a neuromuscular disease that I could do absolutely nothing
about other than watch him, I really kind of his muscles break down over the course of

(04:08):
his life.
This was something that I felt I could make a difference.
And so it became my absolute priority.
And if that meant working at night, weekends, whatever it took to help move this forward,
what I was going to do.
Cool.

(04:29):
You left designing to do this, correct after a while?
What was the tipping point?
I mean, there had to be at least a financial side.
Did you have a target in mind or an amount in mind where it was time to just let's just
focus on runway of dreams now when that started being created?
Again, I think when you are so laser focused that all I wanted to do was solve this problem

(04:55):
for Oliver and the 1.8 billion people on our planet that have a disability.
Yes.
And one would say I didn't make brilliant choices considering one from a two income household
to one.
But it was that important to not only but my husband, we really approached this as something

(05:20):
that we felt was so important that we were willing to take the financial hit to be able
to make this happen.
I would say the tipping point was that balance again, I'm sure your audience can understand
this too, where we were at a time of Oliver being undiagnosed.

(05:43):
So I traveled the country really to any doctors that I could find that could maybe solve what
was wrong with Oliver.
Nobody could figure it out.
So it was that notion that I needed to focus on him and his health as well as hopefully
solving the problem of clothing challenges.

(06:06):
So that was really when I decided I needed to solve a business that I had started.
That's where I was in my career and go full time with runway dreams.
Well, let's look way back.
Like you're in high school or junior high school.
Did you have any opportunities?
I mean, back then, my era was called home-ac.

(06:28):
Did you have any opportunities to take classes for design and clothing making, making of clothing?
I love that because that was my era too.
And if you could believe at my high school, we didn't even have home-ac.
So I didn't learn how to sew until I went to college and I was self-taught.
I mean, it was like Sink or Swim.

(06:50):
I was a fashion sign major.
So I had to get myself caught up a bit to the other students.
So I really was most definitely self-taught.
Definitely.
So it's not necessarily what you know about who you know.
How did you start rubbing elbows in order for you to get some doors open to where you

(07:13):
ended up?
How did that work?
It did benefit tremendously that I came from the fashion industry and I had really
good connections.
I had made a bit of a name for myself.
So that absolutely made it a little bit easier.
However, no matter how amazing your connections are, if you are going to establish major global

(07:41):
brands and you're bringing this at the time, ridiculous idea that they should be designing
for the largest minority on our planet was really the steep hill that I had to climb.
That it didn't matter who I knew at the company.
It was much more about educating and helping them understand that this really is the biggest

(08:07):
business opportunity that may come across their desk in their professional life.
That this is as white of a space as they could possibly get and nobody is doing it yet.
So it definitely, I had quite a few doors, quite a few doors closed in my face, but that
only made me want it more.

(08:30):
Okay.
All right.
So now let's focus on getting into Run We A Dreams and the best way I've always found
with my guests is to open up their website.
So we're going to do that and dig into some things, but I want listeners to take a moment
to, you're going to shut us down.
Don't forget to come back.
Go over and there's a link in the Life's A Road Trip website for you to get into Run

(08:52):
We A Dreams Foundation.
And on the opening pages of video title, it's time to adapt.
I want folks to go watch that and then come on back, but don't forget to come back.
Okay.
So people had an opportunity to go watch that.
It just blew me away.
And when I was studying U-MINDI, it was obvious to me that as soon as I heard about your son

(09:19):
and what dragged you in that direction because of your heart was pulling on you, that you
were going to end to big business, but I was pleasantly surprised to find things like
this on the website.
And from going back to the beginning of the first time I looked in the website, a couple
of things had changed.
I think this came onto it.

(09:40):
So I applaud you for doing that.
Now there is a quote that one of the folks on the website makes and it's, this revolution
is about more than adaptive clothing.
It's about adapting our attitudes.
Talk about that.
I mean, you guys put it in there.
Is that fit with like in a nutshell, what you're trying to do with the project?

(10:06):
It's time to adapt.
Absolutely.
So, you know, obviously I started this journey because I wanted to solve the clothing challenge
issue by having mainstream brands understand that they could adapt their products to make
it easier for people with disabilities to be able to dress themselves or be dressed.

(10:27):
But what I quickly learned was that the product was only a part of what we are trying to do.
It really is about reframing, rebranding who people with disabilities are in the public
eye.
And that is something that is really tied so directly to the fashion and beauty industry.

(10:50):
So it made perfect sense to lean into that piece of it through the lens of those two
industries.
And really why that line was embedded into the campaign was because it is the part that
I think people have an aha moment.

(11:11):
But it is equally as important for people with disabilities to be included.
But as it is for our world to embrace and adapt how they see and view people with disabilities.
And that was a really big part of the campaign.

(11:33):
And just for a little context of why we did that campaign, there's two big moments in
the fashion industry.
Fashion weeks which happened around the globe and campaigns.
So we have really over this will be our ninth show coming up in September.
We've really kind of crafted that a bit of being a standing member of New York Fashion

(12:00):
Week.
And it was important for us to really apply in the campaign route as well.
Because that also helps get it out to so many more outlets, so many more people that may
not be able to be in the room or see the shows or see the impact.
Whereas our campaign is time to adapt has had millions of impressions already.

(12:27):
And the premise and the language and the visuals that we used in this are really something
that we want our world to absorb and understand the importance.
Did a great job on it.
I want to hop into the website runway of dreams foundation and read it.
It says that our mission.

(12:48):
It says runway of dreams empowers people with disabilities to have confidence and self-expression
through fashion and beauty inclusion.
We work to give people with disabilities access to fashion that excites and empowers them.
We provide awareness, educate consumers, advocate for industry change, develop a next generation
of design innovators and provide access to fashionable adaptive apparel.

(13:14):
Folks need to read that as well.
Again, you're getting a strong message and you're being very direct about the message
that you want to get across to these people.
Yes.
Everybody.
That can't be easy.
I will say this that it is a teeny-ish bit easier today than it was 10 years ago.

(13:38):
And I think that is such an exciting sentence to say because the reality is 10 years ago
there were zero mainstream brands in the adapted space none.
And adaptive wasn't even a word that people understood as it related to the fashion industry

(14:01):
and apparel.
So the fact that we went from having one brand, Tommy Hilfiger, on our first runway with adapted
products to here we are approaching 2023's show and we have 13 global brands, major brands
in our world that are solidly in the adapted space now.

(14:28):
And that's only growing every year.
It's just in the timeline of the fashion industry that is a fairly short amount of time that
we went from one brand to 12 brands in less than 10 years.
Wow.
So under the tab adaptive runway shows I want to talk about those for a bit.

(14:49):
Here's a quote from you.
What disabilities are people first and we have to rebrand who they are in the public
eye.
No better way to do that than on a runway.
So get the message from that.
What is a typical show like?
What's when does it come up?
How long does it take you guys?
I mean, how many collaborative sessions do you have?
How the heck do you get this done?

(15:13):
We started planning our shows.
It takes truly about eight to nine months to really effectively plan these shows because
unlike other typical shows during New York Fashion Week, which are one brand, we have
12 brands that we need to collaborate with book models for all of our talent, have different

(15:42):
disabilities, ethnicities, ages, backgrounds, and we will have this year about 70 models
on the runway.
So it's the nuance of not only selecting models, making sure that we have really solid diversity
in every sense of what that word means, not only in skin color and sexual orientation,

(16:10):
but also in disability.
So that nuances is quite a tackle.
And also the notion of putting on an adaptive, the physical nature of producing an adaptive
runway show also takes a bit of time even starting from the venues that we select.

(16:32):
We had to make sure that they're ADA compliant.
And if they're not, we retrofit them to make sure that they are ADA compliant.
And working through all of those nuances.
So there's so many layers to this.
And even though we have a formula inevitably, every year it does change a bit.

(16:56):
We'll have a new brand that's never been on our runway before.
We have to kind of educate them a bit.
But it is the truest definition of the labor of luck.
It is the greatest thing that we do.
And it never gets old to see the expression to hear the cheering, the cheers of joy from

(17:24):
our talent that never believed that something like this could ever happen in their lifetime
to them.
And I love the community that we build.
It is a very long day for the talent.
They are backstage for almost the whole day with rehearsals and hair makeup and wardrobe.

(17:46):
And they form their own relationships.
And we have had everything from couples that found each other, back to friends, to families,
you know, never meeting anybody else that has a class to me bag.
For things like that, it is really, you know, a byproduct and a beautiful one of what we

(18:11):
do with our shows.
I would think that there's going to be some money involved.
And I was digging through and finding some sponsors.
You got Target, Zappos, Coles, no limits, who specialize in adaptive clothing themselves.
What type of relationship do you have with these folks?
You end up kind of selling them a package.
And here you do this at this level, you get this support at this other level, different

(18:37):
things happen.
So you have people within your company that focus on going after those sponsors.
Exactly.
So we in on the foundation side, we have, you know, business development, fundraising team
that really works with our brand partners and sponsors, because this is really and this

(19:02):
is something that has developed, you know, over the years of having them be a part of
runway dreams that it's much more than than just the show.
And the show is our launching pad, our biggest event that we do during the year, but it
can't just be a one time thing that we'll see you next year.

(19:23):
We really lean into our partnerships to be able to do our year round programs like our
college clubs, for example, we're in over 20 universities and colleges across the country
that they have runway dreams clubs on campus that are made up of students, they have their

(19:46):
own governing bodies, students with disabilities and not that are tasked with doing their own
runway shows.
And they do those on their campuses and it's it's really an incredible thing to witness
to see future generations embrace this even in a different much more profound way, honestly,

(20:10):
than, you know, our generation because the younger generations demand this.
It is not a oh, I wish this would happen.
They demanded from companies that they are inclusive, that they are thinking about people
with disabilities and it is go I look forward to seeing that shift as these generations

(20:34):
grow up, you know, more into the professional world because I think that's really widely
focused so much on future generations because they are ultimately going to be the ones to
make change happen.
Education has to begin at the youngest level and I think this generation has their own
way of doing things which seems to be fantastic.

(20:56):
With I did notice in listening to you and doing some research on the group, it seems
like you've got a base that's both growing vertically and horizontally by broadening itself.
So what you've got going, you've got it churning, it seems that it'll start producing for itself
and with itself and therefore making things easier to get out and to be known.

(21:23):
But a question for you on this, Mindy, is what exactly does runway or dreams do?
You don't produce clothing, correct?
You're not a manufacturer.
Thank you for bringing that up because that's definitely a misnomer and that will, I'll
put a pin in that because that goes to our conversation with in terms of gamut.

(21:46):
But really the crux of what runway and dreams does.
We like to say that runway and dreams is the how, the why and gamut management is the
how.
So we'll talk about that after.
But the why being that we want the industry, the fashion and beauty industry to understand
why they need to be including people with disabilities.

(22:12):
How are they looking at this population as consumers?
What they need to think about in terms of rebranding, reframing to be fully inclusive
and that there's a business opportunity here.
And that being the awareness, that's why.

(22:35):
So we have a couple pillars.
We have our awareness campaign, so that's our runway shows and the campaign for inclusion
that you just referenced.
Then we focus heavily on next generations.
So we have an internship program every summer that's actually happening right now where
we have 20 interns from across the country participating in our runway dreams internship

(22:59):
program as well as our college clubs, because again, we want this to be something that
is instilled in future generations that no matter where they go in their professional
lives, you know, we're obviously focusing on fashion and beauty that they will take
with them.

(23:20):
How is this going to work for somebody with a disability?
How are we thinking about that?
And the earlier we start with that, the better.
And then lastly, we focus a lot on also providing scholarships.
So we work with the fashion scholarship fund, which is a huge organization in the fashion

(23:44):
industry that helps future designers and we provide scholarships for those that are interested
in the adaptive path.
So when I'm listening to you and doing readings and things, it takes me back.
So I'm coming up on 30 years now from when I was sick with group based, not criticizing
fashion, the flesh eating disease, I lost both hands and parts of both feet.

(24:09):
So 30 years coming up, how I tried to solve clothing problems, I could only stay with
the mainstream.
So one of the things I want in a direction of doing, and I always like to wear jeans,
I use boot cut because I have, I use braces and boot cuts will cover and it won't tear

(24:31):
in the back with the metal that tends to poke out of what I'm wearing.
And then also, I started going to, and this was before the company Untuckit came out.
I reached a point, just screw it.
It's really hard for me to talk my shirt in, I'm just going to wear it out.

(24:55):
I don't care.
And I think that's one point that's, that how things have changed.
I have to tell you the many, I haven't seen any product, of course I'm not looking in
that direction.
When I go to Eddie Bauer to buy something or elsewhere, I don't see any tabs or categories
for adaptive clothing.

(25:17):
How are they making money on selling adaptive clothing and where are they selling it?
So unfortunately, the two companies that you just stated are not in the adaptive space yet.
Untuckit is absolutely on our short list because they absolutely should be modifying

(25:38):
these shirts to have magnetic clothes.
I know the viewers can't see it, but I, I, in my office, I have the very first shirt
that we worked with Tommy.
That's a classic Tommy Hilfigur plaid shirt that, you know, the buttons were replaced
with magnets.
And it's something that they basically opened and closed pretty much on their own.

(26:03):
And I, I, I'd like to bring this up because the reality is, I don't know if you know,
for example, once you know when the button in the button hall was developed.
I did not, 1200s.
Yeah, in, in the 12th century.
So the fact that we are still utilizing that technology when we literally run our lives

(26:28):
from our phones, it's from its opportunity for us to rethink how things have been done.
So this is what we're slowly, but making progress working on for all brands to have
adaptive iterations of their products.
So for the brands that are in the adaptive space.

(26:50):
So right now we have, for example, Tommy Hilfigur, Target, Kohl's, JCPenney, Zappos,
Street, Steve Madden, Stride Wright, are like the really big players that are in the game.
And they, their products are online only for adaptive.
We're working on getting them in store.

(27:11):
But for right now, they're online only and the category is adaptive.
So our goal is to really carve out and create a new category in the fashion industry.
No different than plus size or petite.
It's just a different requirement and need and a body type shape.

(27:32):
Okay.
So it sounds like I'm envisioning the way they are online.
And of course, some of the people buy online now is hopefully they're going to be having
a tab that says adaptive.
Yeah.
And then they could sell from there.
But one of the issues I'll bet that they have is they're increasing their number of
number of SKUs.

(27:53):
And we know that the more SKUs you have, the more money has to be invested in stock.
And they're, how do you think it's going for folks, the business of adaptive clothing?
They make money?
I think that it's going well or we wouldn't see the traction that we're seeing.
True.
Because it's money.

(28:14):
That's what's needed.
Just to give some, you know, parameters around or, or, you know, a check on, on how things
have been done.
It took plus size over 20 years to really be considered a category to, you know, be viewed
as important as other categories in the industry.

(28:38):
And that was a long time ago where our world was then as, you know, open to different body
shapes and types, et cetera.
So adaptive, similar path, although massively bigger than the plus size market, has been

(28:59):
building traction and the more.
So every year that we have been on this journey, at least one or two more brands have kind
of joined the ranks.
And a huge, huge brand is launching in October and that they're actually going to launch
on our runway in September that you will have to tune in to see.

(29:21):
Cool.
September 13, I believe.
Yes.
Thank you.
And it will be live streamed.
Cool.
It's the big players that are going to create the peer pressure truly.
Okay.
So that the untuckets and the other brands kind of wake up and realize that they're missing
out on a huge part of the population.

(29:43):
Yeah.
Like you don't just sit and dwell on, okay, we've got this thing started.
Seems like you're open to grabbing other avenues and experimenting and see how you could push
the limit.
You've got a category that you're getting into.
It's called getting intimate with disability.

(30:04):
And there's a video on the website that folks should find that you're hosting a round table,
even though there's you and some adaptive people, disabled people, sitting in chairs
and talking about that aspect of the industry, the clothing industry.
And in the video, it's a, I just made some notes for myself.

(30:26):
It looks like you're hosting a round table discussion.
During the event, you introduce a woman named a Miriam Blanco, who appears in the, I believe
is the very first Victoria's secret ad to have a disabled person on it.
And you also touch on the importance of seeing people with disabilities in the mainstream,
such as on television.
That's, I've been chiming for that for a while and telling people, hey, follow the LGBTQ map

(30:52):
with what they've been doing because we see it all the time.
But we're not seeing disabled people as much.
And I recently applied to get on a $100,000 pyramid and I have to send in a video and
I mentioned to them, I have a disability and I don't see you guys having disabled people
on, but I'm right here.

(31:14):
Never heard anything from them.
That's fine.
But you're trying to do something with now an even broader task of intimate wear.
So how's that going for you?
It's going very well.
Cool.
And again, much more to come.
But it's, it, you know, I'm often asked, what is my, you know, what brands would be my dream

(31:44):
to get into the adaptive space?
And my answer is every, every category, every brand, every budget, everybody should have
an adaptive option for their products and services because the reality is if it works
for somebody with a disability, it'll work for everyone.

(32:05):
I mean, that's just, that's just a fact.
Yeah.
I wonder about the magnetic buttons.
Oh, my, I have, so I three children.
I have a daughter to son.
All over my middle.
My younger son is all he wears.
He's like, if I have to never button a button again, sign me up.

(32:27):
I mean, it's, it will become something that, I mean, and also look how many things in our
mainstream world now started out as adaptive or for people with disabilities.
Yeah.
Texting was an alternate form of communication that was developed for people that could not
communicate in a typical way.
Now it's our most used form of communication for our world.

(32:52):
I glasses were a medical device.
It's a multi-billion dollar category in the fashion industry now.
Wow.
So I feel very confident that the adaptive category will be mainstream.
It will work for people with disabilities because that's where it needs to start.
Yeah.
But it don't help everyone.

(33:14):
Wow.
So looking at, at this one last time, that snowball you started with Oliver is now a
freaking mountain.
But here you are doing something else.
You've got the runway dreams working like clockwork.
Well, still a lot of work.
When did you do this other little thing called gamut management?

(33:36):
When did you start that, Mindy?
So back in about 2016, short of 17, shortly after our partnership with Tommy Hilfiger,
suddenly it was like the floodgates opened and so many other brands specifically in the
fashion and beauty industry, but then other industries like the entertainment industry,

(34:02):
the automotive industry, the airline industry started reaching out to runway dreams saying,
well, we need to better include people with disabilities.
Or can you help us adapt our products or our videos or whatever the company needed?
And it was so clear that if they were reaching out to a nonprofit that literally had nothing

(34:27):
to do with their industry, there must be an opportunity.
So in 2019, I launched gamut management as the first of its kind consulting and talent
management company exclusively representing people with disabilities and only working
with companies to help them modify and create products and services for people with disabilities.

(34:51):
And it really has been game changing.
And the notion again, going back to what I said earlier of having runway dreams be the
why and gamut management being the how.
So really helping these brands understand that they need to be including people with

(35:13):
disabilities and then gamut takes it from there and says, okay, now this is how we're
going to do it.
And the way that we do it is by having people with disabilities by your side at every step
of the journey because there isn't a designer, a publicist, a marketer, you name it out there
that can authentically be in the space without having people with disabilities by their side.

(35:39):
So you now can offer a package as in here's the clothing and here's how you do it.
By the way, I've got some models for you and we can deal with it.
So yeah, okay, smart lady smart.
I'm going to go into one more.
Really the smartest is that since we launched, we kept hearing feedback from the population

(36:05):
saying like, awesome, like targets now in the space and you helped them and that's so good.
How do we know that they develop this product authentically that they didn't just put magnets
in a shirt and call it adaptive.
Okay.
On the other side, target would say, well, how can we best communicate to the population

(36:27):
that we put significant time, resources and included people with disabilities in every
step of the process?
How can we show them that we did that?
So in May of 22, we launched the first certification mark in the adaptive space called the Gammett
Seal of Approval.

(36:48):
Is that going to end up like the housekeeper or house?
Exactly.
And it already is.
We just launched the campaign is starting in July, but with Adidas, they were the first
company to receive our Gammett Seal of Approval for products that were developed.

(37:11):
There are backpacks, socks are coming, all different types of products are coming and
it has the Gammett Seal of Approval on the packaging.
I'll look for it because I coach soccer and as a matter of fact, our teams are going to
be at new uniforms.
So I'm going to take a look and see if I can see that.
It's probably going to be right on the Adidas website.
We see that.
So on your Gammett website, the mission already, Gammett is here to lead brands towards doing

(37:36):
better, more inclusive business.
We will help you listen to, engage, work with and develop new adaptive products for people
with disabilities.
Bam.
You nailed it.
Once you get them sold on thinking about Chaching and you tell them how many trillions
of dollars are out there, that starts thinking about that direction, which is all businesses.

(37:59):
Then you hit them with this.
Okay.
Okay.
I see what you're doing.
Uh huh.
Smart.
Smart.
Okay.
That's fantastic.
You're doing that.
Yeah.
The adaptive seal.
So you're going in that direction as well.
God, you are all over.
I love having guests on that.
I think I've done a pretty good job of studying them, but then I learned so much more.

(38:24):
Wow.
All right.
So Chris Rudin is one of your models.
Chris was on this show.
He's a cool guy.
He's like a brother.
We love Chris.
He's the best.
Chris, I got him relaxed and we were laughing on the show because I've seen him do other
stuff.
He does this stuff so many times.
We and I were just sitting there.
I wish we were sitting at a pub drinking pints together because that's what it seemed like.

(38:48):
Yeah.
His favorite thing is donuts.
So next time.
I know.
Yeah.
If I see him ever, yeah, we got, yeah, let's have donuts.
No, let's have some beer, man.
So what's next?
Hmm.
Hmm.
She pauses for a second.

(39:09):
I mean, I'm so excited about what's next because there's so much more to do, even though
we have really done, you know, we've had a great start.
We really have.
But when you think of our landscape and I know that you'll understand exactly what

(39:31):
I'm about to say, but having Oliver as my built in kind of focus group, I can go around
every room, everything that we do and see something that could be modified to make his
life easier.
And if it makes Oliver's life easier, it most definitely could make you my piece here.

(39:52):
And again, the 1.8 billion people.
So what I'm excited about is having all industries understand any product facing company understand
that we have such a big opportunity to be truly inclusive of everyone and finding ways

(40:16):
to be innovative.
I mean, the thing I love so much that I get to experience on a daily is that people with
disabilities are natural innovators.
I am amazed on a regular basis by the hacks, the, you know, amazing ideas that people with
disabilities have because they have no choice to navigate this world.

(40:39):
They have to figure out ways to make that work.
And we need to really kind of shift the thinking of if it works for people with disabilities,
it works for everybody.
And I say this very often to companies that they need to realize, you know, at least in
my world and I feel comfortable saying this for any caregiver.

(41:05):
Every just every major decision we make for our family and our household is revolved
around what works for Oliver.
Every vacation we take, every car I buy, every house we live in, every soap dispenser that
is in this house is driven by the one that works for Oliver.
So if you think about that as a, you know, an opportunity, they are missing out.

(41:33):
It should, I shouldn't be laser focused on, you know, the specific ones that have, you
know, a pump that I know that he can use or it should be, I should be inundated with options
that I know Oliver can use it and everyone can use it.
And when you look at it from that perspective, it, I can see the wheels turning, you know,

(41:57):
in the businesses or the leads that I get to meet with about holy cow, I never thought
of it from that perspective.
You know, I used to teach social studies in history and in the class we would talk about
necessity as the mother of invention.
We all know.
Yeah.
I would bring up money and necessity of the parents of invention.

(42:18):
I would, I would state that, especially when we're doing US history.
So it seems that, yeah, once you can get them to be thinking about those trillions of dollars
that are out there and that it's, it's the wild, wild West, it's totally wide open.
But also, hey, if you need, if you need any help with models or anything, we've got it

(42:40):
here.
You've got most everything in house now.
Yes.
We are including marketing PR advertising.
We are one stop shopping.
Do you have a literary agent in house?
I, you know what?
That is on our next to new list.
We are just going to read.
I've, I've, I started this podcast out of necessity because my agent, I've got a memoir.

(43:05):
I think it's pretty damn good.
I would go to pollution and say, this is great, but he needs a, he needs a platform.
So I heard that so many times I fired the agent and I went out and I started doing this,
but now I'm into this so much.
It's a lot like you.
You start doing, going in one direction and then you get pulled in.
And I, I feel like there's a need for somebody to go out and pound on some doors.

(43:29):
And that's what I'm trying to do.
And just running up against brick walls at times, but just turning around and keep trying.
So I was just half kidding about the liter agents.
If you know what it is, it is something that is absolutely on our, you know, next iteration
or expansion because we do have a ton of authors on our, in our talent pool.

(43:54):
It's, it's been over a year since I did my last set of queries and now I'm back in look
querying agents and I'm noticing agents now for the first time, say that they want to
represent people that are underrepresented and they also mentioned disabilities.
So yeah, that's, that's where I'm going to start.
Of course, when I get it back to queries and doing that, and actually I should start to

(44:18):
do that pretty dog gone soon.
Do it.
Make this your binder.
Oh, heck yeah.
I just have to start finding it.
I'm in the middle of soccer season.
We just want our last two tournaments.
We're going for a state championship on Sunday.
So I'm focused on that.
Yeah, not bad for a guy that has no hands apart, no, no feet, you know, so still doing it.
Yeah.

(44:39):
Well, I love what I do.
And that's, that's still my competitive side.
So anyway, I want to give a special thank you to Debbie Rucker.
You work with runway adjuience for helping make this episode come together.
She was our in between.
I love that Debbie.
That was the greatest.
Yeah.
So with that thought that sound of the VW means it's time for us to shift gears and get

(45:03):
into a little thing we call a road trip roundup.
It's going to be five questions for you here, Mindy, that relate you and your road trip
experiences.
Okay.
It's just going to be chillocks in here.
All right.
So question number one, when road tripping, do you tend to do fast food or local diners?
Local diners.
Cool.

(45:24):
Yeah.
I've become that way too.
Yes.
Okay.
Question.
I love a diner.
Enjoy it.
Enjoy.
Hey, when you take your son there, does he ever run into any issues with accessibility?
All the time.
Yeah.
All right.
You say it was a smile.
All the time.
Oh, God.
Now, unfortunately there are steps with no railing.

(45:46):
Yes.
You know, there's all kinds of things, but we still go for it because he also loves a
diner.
Very cool.
All right.
What's your dream car for road trip?
Could be something you grew up with.
Your parents had a station wagon or whatever, backseat face in the back, or you've got now
or something you'd even, what the heck, maybe even rent just to go on a road trip.

(46:10):
My dream is the silver streamline thing.
That's like, what's that called?
You talking about the camper type thing?
Yes.
You pull the silver.
It looks like a pill.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's somewhat of a private right to me about it.
That's what I want to go with.
Oh, man.
From the 50s.

(46:31):
Yep.
When the highway is opening up.
But they're very modern now.
They're not a cool.
Mm-hmm.
Somebody is knocking them off and they're starting to make them again like that.
Yeah.
That's what I want.
That's cool.
Okay.
So you can just pull over and just do things on your own.
Yeah.
Put it out like the, like the vise for.
Yeah.

(46:52):
Yeah.
The awning.
Yeah.
Oh, that's nice.
My outfit to it.
Folks, you need to go in and look on her websites and stuff.
She dresses to the nines.
I mean, very catch.
She's got a style.
We first logged in.
We could see each other, folks.
And it's like, I like your style.
She wears a lot of bells.

(47:13):
So if anybody knows what bells are.
Yeah.
Add whistles.
They have very cool.
All right.
So a couple more to go.
Three more to go.
What's the last cassette or CD that played while you're on a road trip?
I'm going to say, oh my God.
I love cassette.
Yeah.
Most likely it was Durandran or, oh my gosh, now I'm forgetting the band.

(47:44):
Hold on.
It'll hit you when we say goodbye.
Yeah.
But I'm going to go with Durandran.
Okay.
All right.
Straight up.
Coke or Pepsi?
Coke.
Damn.
We are definitely, I'm never going to be able to talk to anybody from Pepsi if they have
a disability because they're not going to like this.

(48:05):
So many people from the show drink Coke.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I drink Coke Zero.
So do I.
But I will say it's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me.
But I will say that the Pepsi, no sugar or whatever they call is really good.
It tastes like regular Pepsi.
Okay.
Yeah.

(48:26):
Now a diet Pepsi, they're new like Coke Zero version.
Pepsi, but nobody puts that out as a fountain drink.
That's too bad.
They don't put Coke Zero or that Pepsi.
But, oh well.
Okay.
Here's the big one.
I love asking this question.
What's your favorite road trip memory?
Whatever you want, Mindy.
Okay.

(48:47):
Okay.
Okay.
Let me think.
Um, I would say, I would say, I would say, I would say, I would say, I would say, I would
say this.
I think one of my favorite and it's.
There's a chuckle.
I like it.
I already like it.
Because it's not profound in any way whatsoever.

(49:09):
It's so funny that it still makes you laugh.
It probably was the first road trip that we took as a family, like my family, my three
kids and my husband.
Cool.
And my little one was super young, but relatively toilet trained.
Uh oh.
And we had just left and we were like on a mission.

(49:32):
Um, and within, I'm not exaggerating.
Like what?
My all three kids peed on the side of the road.
And then suddenly I felt like I really had to go and Greg's like, you know what?
We didn't even get like what out of the town of Livingston before all five of us felt like

(49:56):
it was the right thing to do to pee on the side of the road.
Like there were plenty of bathrooms available, but we felt like that was like the road trip
thing to do.
The family that pieced together.
Yeah, we're definitely going to stay together then.
Yeah, you got that right.
Oh, yeah.
Okay.
You and I are going to stay out for a minute.

(50:17):
Uh, but I'm just going to say to everybody, challenge locks everyone and keep listening
to life's road trip.
Thanks for listening.
Check out previous episodes with new ones dropping each Tuesday.
If you don't see a synopsis of this show where you're listening, visit our website at lifesarodetrip.podbean.com.

(50:42):
For more information on this week's guest, this is your host Scott Martin reminding you
that life's a road trip.
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