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Presented by Red Beryl StudiosMarketing Mad Men Episode 195: The Bermuda Triangle of Modern Marketing — AI, Data, and the MarTech Stack is presented by Red Beryl Studios, where strategy meets execution and creative is built to perform.In this episode, Nick Constantino sits down with Shamir DuRusso of Smart Panda Labs to unpack why modern marketing breaks when teams obsess over outputs but ignore inputs. The conversation explores the real friction point most brands face: aligning marketing, product, and technology so your campaigns don't just generate attention—they convert into measurable business outcomes. [MMM 195 Transcript | Word]You'll learn how to think beyond platform spend and focus on the customer journey, post-click experience, experimentation culture, and making your MarTech stack actually work the way it was sold. [MMM 195 Transcript | Word]For more strategy, creative, and media thinking from Red Beryl Consulting & Studios, visit RedBerylUSA.com.________________________________________
Marilois Snowman, Founder and CEO of Mediastruction, discusses her journey in the media industry, focusing on the unique needs of mid-market brands. She highlights the evolution of media spending, the importance of measurement, and the role of AI in optimizing marketing strategies. The conversation delves into the significance of both digital and linear media, the impact of consumer behavior changes, and offers valuable advice for brands looking to enhance their media strategies. Takeaways Marilois Snowman founded Mediastruction to address mid-market brands' unique needs. The evolution of media spending has shifted significantly towards digital. Mid-market brands often lack the language and understanding of media mix modeling. Education is crucial for brands to understand the algorithms behind media planning. Customization of algorithms is essential for effective media mix modeling. Connected TV is becoming a valuable medium for mid-market brands. Linear TV still holds significant power in marketing strategies. AI can enhance data analysis but requires careful oversight. Consumer behavior is shifting, impacting web traffic and SEO strategies. Brands need a data evangelist to navigate the complexities of marketing data. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Mediastruction and Marilois Snowman 01:02 The Genesis of Mediastruction and Marilois Background 02:04 Mid-Market Measurement Gaps and Growth Goals 02:42 The Rise of MMM and the Evolution of Media Spend and Measurement 04:35 Demystifying MMM and Building Customized Paid Media Solutions 06:59 Scaling Beyond Search and Social and Rethinking Channel Mix 08:16 CTV, Linear TV, and the Synergy Effect for Regional Brands 11:02 AI in Marketing Analytics, Hallucination Risk, and Guardrails 13:33 The Shift from SEO to AI-Driven Discovery and Declining Web Traffic 16:08 Advice for Brands: Hire a Data Evangelist and Build Smarter Measurement Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Letos se je vse pokrilo. 40 dni brez alkohola, prvi regrat in predvolilna soočenja na slovenskih televizijah. Aktivni udeleženci v slovenskem volilnem procesu imajo smolo. Namreč vsaka vas v Sloveniji ima svojo televizijo. In potem morajo po kandidatnih listah navzdol stranke delegirati oziroma dostavljati sogovornike na televizijska soočenja. Iz časa, ko je mladi Kennedy z znojem oblil Nixona, veljajo ta soočenja kot ključna za uspeh na volitvah. In svetovalci za medijsko nastopanje so se že tudi toliko udomačili na slovenskih tleh, da zdaj gledamo elokventne politike, ki vedo, kam postavljati roko in vejice, kdaj so premori smiselni in kako se naglašujejo posamezne besede ter kaj pomenijo nekatere tujke. Poznajo tudi dejstva iz zgodovine osamosvajanja ter osnovne statistične podatke o državi. In vse to na izust! Seveda pa to ne pomeni, da so televizijska soočenja kaj bolj relevantna, kot so bila včasih. Če hočete slišati resnično bistvena in kakovostna soočenja, jih morate poslušati na radiu. Kajti na radiju ni slike in ostane samo esenca izrečenega. Poskusimo primerjati televizijsko soočenje strankarskih prvakov s kuharsko oddajo na televiziji. Kot vemo, so kuharske oddaje noro priljubljene. Če se na televizijah že ne bojujejo v Ukrajini, ne predvajajo Prijateljev ali turških nadaljevank, pa zagotovo kuhajo. Ali potujejo po svetu in jedo. Kot vemo, sta pri hrani bistvena elementa okus in vonj. Se pravi, ravno ti razsežnosti hrane, ki jih televizija ni sposobna dostaviti gledalcu. Televizija dostavi samo podobo in pa vero v jedca ali v kuharja, ki zatrdi – »Mmm, kako je to dobro.« Gledalec nima za to, da je jed okusna ali da dobro diši, v skrajnem primeru, da je sploh užitna, nobenega dokaza. Pa vendar so kuharske oddaje tako zelo priljubljene, ker je podoba edino, kar sodobnega gledalca, obsedenega z zasloni, zanima. Podobno kot s kuharskimi oddajami, je s TV soočenji. Rešimo se iluzije, da se volilno telo odloča na osnovi soočenj. V bistvu jih doživljamo kot nastope, na katerih že tako ali tako vemo, kdo je naš favorit. Ne gre za odločanje na podlagi informiranja, gre za navijanje. Ne greš gledati nogometne tekme z namenom, da se boš na sredi odločil za koga boš navijal glede na dobro igro; ali boš navijal za Olimpijo, ali za Maribor, veš že dolgo pred začetkom prenosa. Enako je s soočenjem. Odstotek tistih, ki se bodo šele med soočenjem odločili, komu bodo zaupali svoj glas glede na uspešnost, artikuliranost in relevantnost nastopa, je v resnici minimalen – če pa se že odločimo ali si premislimo, to storimo zaradi podobe. Televizije se sicer po novem pohvalno trudijo s preverjanjem izrečenega, ampak to nam samo sporoča, kdo od politikov in v kolikšni meri govori resnico in kdo laže. Ampak kot smo se žalostno naučili v mednarodni pa tudi v domači politiki – laganje pa dandanašnji res ni eden od kriterijev, ki bi politikom onemogočil dostop do oblasti. Kje je torej podobnost med kuharsko oddajo in predvolilnim soočenjem na televiziji? Kot pri kuharjih televizija ne zmore prenašati vonja in okusa, tega ne zmore prenašati niti med soočenjem. Hočemo povedati, da je slovenska politična elita brez vonja in okusa. Naučeni pajaci, vsak s svojo že zdavnaj zgrajeno podobo, od agencij naučena podalpska puščobnost in umetna ter nenaravna ostra, državniška drža. Kot uradniki iz Kafkinih romanov, ki opravljajo sprejemni izpit na AGRFT. A za razumnega so lahko ta soočenja kljub vsemu povedna. Ker gostje na veliko razpredajo o tem, kaj vse imajo, kaj bodo naredili in kaj bodo spremenili, se lahko med podrobnejšim gledanjem podučimo, česa nimajo. In to je za njih nerodno, nas pa lahko skrbi. Torej; manjka jim iskrenosti, manjka jim empatije, predvsem pa trpijo za akutnim pomanjkanjem vsakega humorja. Iskre, duhá ali kakorkoli že hočete imenovati kategorijo, ki je tako za retorika kot posledično tudi za politika bistvenega pomena. Pa s tem ne mislimo na zabavljaštvo in neumerjenost tipa Trump, temveč moledujemo za vsaj majhen odmik od puščobnosti slovenskih političnih voditeljev. Ker če pogledamo galerijo slovenske politične elite zadnjih štirih desetletij, je eden večja puščoba od drugega, kar je v bolečem nasprotju s trditvami, da smo Slovenci zabaven in vesel narod. Povedano na kratko: po grenkih izkušnjah, na čelu katerih je korakal bivši predsednik republike, predsednik vlade in predsednik parlamenta v eni osebi, je čas, da se na volitvah od podob premaknemo k vsebinam.
If you're a small business owner wearing too many hats, working into the night, and starting to resent your clients: Welcome to burnout territory. This episode is for you. Here's what makes this conversation about burnout different than others you've heard: I'm not going to tell you to slow down or do less. I'm here to help you figure out which season of business you're in, and whether the over-work you're experiencing is intentional or quietly breaking you. I understand entrepreneur burnout. Not in a clinical way, but in a "One time I literally hopped to a business meeting on one foot after pulling an all-nighter because I refused to stop working" kind of way. My take is, for entrepreneurs, having work-life balance isn't about not working hard; it's about being intentional about when you push and when you don't.In this episode you'll learn:The 3 seasons entrepreneurs cycle through: push, sustain, and rideWhy solopreneur burnout doesn't always look like a physical collapse (it looks like dreading your inbox, resenting clients, and questioning if you're cut out for this)How to stop feeling guilty for working hardThe client communication boundary that dramatically lowered my running stress levelsWhy overwhelmed small business owners often have a capacity-math problemThe simple calendar change I made that lowered my cortisolBeen white-knuckling your way through a season that was only supposed to last a few weeks and is somehow now just... your life? Let's help you find your way back.Mentioned in this episode:Booked Out Offers (coming soon — exclusive to MMM students)Magic Marketing MachineConnect with Jenna: @JennasPaige on Instagram
This was a delectable Sunday crossword by Jill Rataloff and Michelle Sontarp, who happen to both work at the same law firm. That might explain 21A, Certain head jurors, FOREMEN, and 125A, Bars, legally, ESTOPS, but does not explain the remainder of this fine puzzle. That's what we, amici curiae, are here to do (as well as show off our knowledge of Latin, or at least how to use Google Translate
Desiree at the River.By outdoorhorny. Listen to the ►Podcast at Steamy Stories.In May of my senior year in high school, summer came early. It was in the high 80’s every afternoon, and we were sweltering in the ancient high school as the air conditioner struggled to keep up. Desiree and I sweated through morning classes and afternoon study halls, longing to be out of there, somewhere cooler and more private. We were both 18, and the restrictions of school were almost over. That made them even harder to bear!It was one of our teachers who provided the solution; I thank her silently to this day! She suggested that we get together with students from another study hall to work on our Senior Projects. The next day, the four of us told our respective teachers that we were going to go to the other room to work with our partners. In reality, we slipped out through the Tech Ed classroom and went to our cars. Minutes later, we were whipping down the back roads away from school.I have no idea where the other two went. They weren’t a couple, so chances are they simply went home. Desiree had other ideas. Her little Honda Civic zoomed along and ended up on Rte. 6 in the next town. She pulled into a little IGA grocery store that backed up on sparse pine woods. I asked her what she was after, but she smiled and said, “You’ll see!”Intrigued, I followed her inside. She went right to the center aisles where the seasonal goods were. My eyebrows went up when she brought two cheap beach towels. She did not explain. I carried them while she grabbed snacks and drinks and headed for the checkout. She paid quickly, and when we left the store, she walked right past her car. I followed, very puzzled, as she went around the corner. I knew she would tell me when she felt like it, so I carried the bags and watched her ass as it twitched inside her tunic. When she passed the dumpster and entered the shady pine forest, she looked over her shoulder and smiled sexily. I grinned back, knowing she was up to something good.The trail twisted and turned for a hundred yards, then it ended abruptly at a knob of rock that stuck out into a shallow, broad river. I stopped and looked around amazed. I could see a quarter-mile in each direction, and there was nothing in sight. The water slipped over flat smooth rocks, occasionally interrupted by a snagged branch or a small boulder jutting up from the surface. The air smelled of pine, the sunlight was warm and tinged with green as it filtered through the high branches, and besides bird song, the only sound was the gentle hum of the distant road. It was spectacular; a tranquil oasis barely off a road I had driven countless times.“Des; this is beautiful! How did you find it?”“My uncle owns all this; he used to own the IGA before he retired.”“Does anyone come here?”“Nope. Didn’t you see all the "No Trespassing” signs and the rocks across the trail? That keeps people out unless they’re family.“"It’s perfect!” I exclaimed happily.“It’s ours,” she replied simply. “C'mon, let’s get cool first and have a snack!”Kicking off her sandals, she sat down on a low rock with her feet in the water. I brought the snack bag close, tugged off my sneakers and socks, and joined her. The water was still cold, but not as biting as the river we tried back in March. With the sun warm on our shoulders, we munched on chips and split a soda, laying the second bottle in a shallow pool to stay cold. Our shoulders bumped as we sat there side by side, enjoying our unexpected freedom.“Just think,” she said dreamily, “we could be sitting in Mr. Herman’s study hall right now!”“Just think,” I answered, “as far as Mr. Herman knows, we’re going to be in the other study hall for the rest of the year working on our projects!”“Hmm, that does open up some possibilities!”“Yes, it does!” I told her, reaching around to give her a squeeze.Des responded by turning toward me and resting her hands on my leg.“I’d rather be right here than anywhere else in the world.”She leaned forward a fraction and our lips met, softly at first, a slow, loving kiss. That kind of innocent, timeless kiss seems to disappear after high school, but I will never forget the way her lips felt against mine, or the first flicker of her tongue signaling it was time for more. My free hand twined in her hair and pulled her into my arms as our bodies began to respond.With an impatient snort, Desiree broke our kiss and sat back. “I’m too hot like this!” she said in a petulant voice. She stood up, brushed the crumbs off herself into the water. Then she stepped carefully and gracefully up onto the rock’s highest point and turned to look at me. Crossing her arms over her head, she whipped the tunic off in one smooth motion. I sat frozen, looking eagerly up at her as she tossed it further down the rock. Standing there in a pale bra and purple satin panties, she looked like some river goddess come to life. Full tits, winter-pale skin, and broad, luscious hips fought for my attention; Des smiled happily at my wide-eyed ogling.“That’s so much better!” she pronounced. “You should try it.”I stood where I was, turned to face her, and responded to her challenge. My shirt flew through the air to land on top of her tunic. I stepped up onto the rock I had just vacated and pushed my shorts down, taking my boxers along with them. Stepping out of them, I stood back up and tossed them onto the pile as well. The sun played across my body and it was Desiree’s turn to stare admiringly. I had been working out hard for soccer and indoor track and it showed. A smile tugged at her lips as her eyes traveled all over my arms, chest, abs, and then locked onto my semi-erect cock.“Mmm, you look good enough to eat!” she said eagerly.“You first!” I responded.She laughed happily. “I’m game!” she said. Her hands twisted up behind her back and unclasped her bra. A quick shake and it fell forward, revealing her tits and tightening nipples. Onto the pile it went. Her thumbs hooked the waistband of her panties, and drew them down an inch. I’m sure my eyes registered disappointment, because she laughed again at her successful tease and then pushed them down all the way, bending effortlessly at the waist until they brushed the rock between her feet. Then she simply stepped out of them and kicked them aside.It was my turn to stare again. Desiree’s mound was shaved smooth! My eyes locked onto that pale, delightful curve I knew so well, suddenly revealed in an amazing and arousing way. Although her cunt was in shadow, I could tell her grooming extended all the way because her labia were smooth and pale as well. My cock twitched, and Des giggled happily.“You like?” she asked needlessly. “I did it last night thinking we might have a chance today!”“I Love it!” I said fervently.“Grab the towels,” she commanded.Two quick steps, my cock bouncing in time, and I had them out of the bag.“Put one on the rock you were standing on.” I did as she asked.“Put the other one right there,” she said next, pointing at the front jut of the larger rock she stood on. I complied, wondering what she was up to.“Now,” she said with a smile, “what was that about ‘good enough to eat’ you mentioned?”I fumbled for a reply as Des stepped down onto the towel in front of her, then sank down to sit on the towel. She leaned back and spread her legs; she was rarely shy!; and rested her heels on ridges to either side. With one finger, she traced a line from between her tits down across her belly, and then over the shiny patch she had shaved.“Why don’t you kneel down right there and take a closer look?” she asked encouragingly.I nodded and folded the towel double before settling myself comfortably. She was at the perfect height and distance; I rested my hands on her knees and watched as her finger continued lower, tracing the edges of her cunt, stretched open by her pose. When she got to her perineum, she added a finger and came back up, dipping them into her opening just a bit and circling there.I stared hungrily and she smiled at my intense gaze. “Everything is So smooth!” she reported, spreading her juices all around her labia. “Your gonna love it!”No words came to mind, so I acted instead. Leaning in, I licked from as far down as I could, up along her clean-shaven lips, over her clit, and up to the ridge of her mound. There I paused and showered it with kisses, relishing its silky feel.“Des,” I said when I paused, “I fucking love it!”She giggled happily and settled back on her elbows, looking down at me through her lashes.Returning to my task, I lapped at her cunt with a broad tongue a few times and then extended it fully, ramming it as deeply as I could into her opening. My nose bumped her clit as I did this, and I could feel her twitch each time I did. She hummed happily, and I kept going.I moved my hands in close and used my thumbs to spread her lips even more. Then I turned my head a bit and nibbled my way up and down each delicate morsel of flesh, tugging at them and flicking them with my tongue. Another happy noise came from above me.Looking up into her eyes again, I slowly put two fingers into my mouth and sucked them. She raised her eyebrows in anticipation, and I rewarded her immediately. With a twisting motion, I slipped them into her cunt, retreated to coat them with her juices, and then eased them deeper. Soon I was sliding them in and out all the way, only stopping when my thumb jammed against her. Des rocked her hips to meet my strokes, and I had to match her timing when I leaned forward to lick her clit. Each time I buried my fingers inside her, she pushed back, and I gave her sensitive nub a swirling lash with my tongue. We found a steady rhythm then, and Des began breathing heavily, moaning a little every time I licked her.“Are you ready to cum?” I asked her teasingly when I paused my tongue action. I kept my hand moving steadily, and she had to gasp the words out to answer.“Fuck, yes; give me more!”Smiling, I leaned back in. I turned my hand palm up and curled my fingers so that they dragged across her G-spot, pumping them back and forth without fully withdrawing. Then I stiffened my tongue and licked the side of her hood repeatedly, no longer teasing her but trying to drive her over the edge. A deep groan and a raising of her hips told me I was on the right track.“Oh, fuck, oh, fuck, keep doing that!” she gasped in time with her thrusting.I kept doing that, just as she asked, and I soon felt her thighs fluttering. I pressed down hard on her mound with my free hand and began to suck on her clit while the tip of my tongue hit the same spot over and over again.“Oh, fuck!” Desiree moaned when her orgasm burst within her.I kept myself still then, feeling her cunt clamp down over and over on my fingers, soaking them with a rush of sweet, tangy juices. As I watched her body tremble, I admired the sun dappling every inch. The deep flush between her tits was stark against the untanned skin there, and her tits jutted straight up as her back arched in pleasure. I let her relax before withdrawing my fingers, which drew a tired whimper from her lips.When her eyes opened, I brought my fingers to my mouth again and sucked them clean. She smiled enigmatically as I licked them, staring directly into her eyes.“Well?” she asked.“Definitely good enough to eat!” I pronounced with a grin.“I love how you feel against my skin when it’s all shaved like this,” she told me seriously. “It added so much extra to everything you did!”“I love it, too,” I assured her. “You’re so smooth and sexy.”“I’m glad you like it,” she said in pleased tones.With that, she sat up and let her feet down, settling them on the outside of my towel. She leaned down, grabbed my face, and kissed me deeply. I know she could taste herself on my lips, and she even lapped my chin momentarily to gather her own deliciousness.“You know what else is gonna feel good?” she asked playfully.“What’s that?” I responded with an innocent look on my face.“Sliding my cunt all over you and letting you feel how smooth and wet it is.”I pulled her up to her feet and gathered her in my arms. “That,” I said seriously, kissing her between words, “sounds, amazing!”My cock was trapped between us, and Des wriggled her belly against it. Copious clear liquid was leaking from the tip, and the whole thing was twitching with the sudden heat and stimulation.“Besides, I think I need to tease you for a while,” she continued. “I don’t want to get you too excited yet!”I groaned at the thought, but consoled myself with the knowledge that my explosion would be even bigger and better when it happened.“Where do you want to do all this teasing?” I asked her.“Grab the towels,” she said. Then she pointed to a broad, flat rock about six feet from shore. The top was worn smooth by the passage of water over the years, but the top was dry now and looked invitingly warm. I laughed and gathered the cushioning towels. Holding hands, we made our way carefully across the slippery gap between our starting place and our new destination. When we got there, I passed her one towel and flipped the other one out to lie flat on the rock. Des followed suit and created a double layer of padding.“Get on up,” she said hotly. “It’s time for some payback!”I happily complied, sparing only a minute to look around.“No one is here,” she said reassuringly as I lay down on my back. Then her voice took on an Eastern European accent: “No one can help you. No one can hear your screams!”“Well that sucks,” I said with a smile. I settled myself comfortably on the rock and closed my eyes against the bright sunlight. “I’ll try to suffer in silence!”Desiree reached across me and grabbed my cock with one hand, aiming it straight up. She moved down and clambered onto the towel between my feet, and then paused to give me a few strokes. Her hand was warm and gentle on my shaft.Shifting one knee outside my leg, Des began to do exactly what she had said she would. She lowered herself and I felt her cunt bump into my knee. Slick and hot, she caressed her way up to my thigh, then moved across my lower body and did the same on my other leg. When I peeked up at her, I saw she had her lower lip between her teeth and a little frown of concentration on her face. I closed my eyes again and grinned as she moved up again. Her silky mound came down on my scrotum and Des rocked herself forward, arching her back so that she slid along the entire length of my cock from base to tip, her lips parted around me and coating me with lubrication before stopping and then moving back down to the base again.“Do you like that? Do you like how soft and smooth and wet I feel?”My mouth was dry as I answered her: “God, Des, I love it!”“I love rubbing myself all over you!” she said in a happy, sexy voice. I opened my eyes and she was gazing directly at me, her hands braced on her knees as she rocked herself back and forth along the underside of my shaft. Each time she reached the sensitive spot below the head, a pulse of precum leapt from my cock in response.“Des!” I said urgently, feeling the flutter of an approaching orgasm.“I know, I know, but it’s fun to tease you!” she said. Then she rose up, allowing the cool air to soothe the dangerous throbbing of my cock. She scooted forward a little more to straddle my chest. Lowering herself again, she rubbed the silky lips of her cunt on stomach, then on my chest as she eased higher. When her thighs were on either side of my head, I couldn’t help but lick her instantly from bottom to top. She gasped and pulled away.“Hey; you already had your turn!” she said indignantly. “Now I get mine!”With a quick, graceful move, she pivoted her body around, keeping her hips high enough so that her cunt was out of range of my tongue. She kissed my stomach, then trailed her hair across it, lower and lower with each swoop until it was tickling my thighs. Her left hand moved to brace herself on the towel while the other wrapped around my shaft again. She lifted it up to a 45 degree angle, perfectly aligned with her torso, and took me into her mouth.My rolled back with pleasure. I loved this position; it let Des take me as deeply as she wanted without awkward angles or pressure. She made the most of it; nothing fancy, but she sucked steadily and her lips moved from tip to base in one effortless motion. I could feel the restrictive heat at the back of her throat for a second, then she pulled back. A quick breath and she did it again. With each stroke, she squeezed my shaft as she rose and flattened her hand out of the way when she descended. I moaned happily and lifted my hands to hold her hips as they hovered above me.“Fuck, Des, that feels so good!”She hummed happily in response, which gave me a shiver of pleasure. Desiree’s motion was tireless, and I began to thrust upward a bit, knowing that I couldn’t hold back much longer. That signal was clear to her as well, and she paused to look back at me.“Do you want to cum?” she asked, squeezing my cock rhythmically.“I have to cum, Des, I have to cum in your mouth!” I gasped.“OK, I’m ready for that!” she smiled. Then she turned back and resumed her suction.Another dozen strokes and I was ready. My orgasm hit just as her mouth descended, and I arched myself up unconsciously. For a moment, my cock slipped past the ring of her throat and I could feel the twitching of her gag reflex against the sensitive head. The first jet of sperm flew directly down her throat, but she recovered quickly and pulled back, holding just the head between her lips and sucking frantically, pumping my shaft to milk out every drop. I could feel her swallowing as pulse after pulse threatened to overflow her mouth.Slowly, my hips fell back onto the towel. Des kept sucking steadily as my cock began to soften, and her tongue snaked all around to make sure she didn’t miss any of my cum. When she finally released me with a pop, I was completely spent. She planted a kiss on the underside of my cock, drawing a twitch in response that made her giggle. Then she turned herself around again and laid her head on my chest, her hand still wrapped around my spent shaft.“That was so amazing!” I murmured into her hair.“That was the most cum ever!” she said with a snort and a laugh.“Well, you are an exciting woman,” I told her, “so it’s kind of your fault. It’s all that teasing, too.&rd
Desiree at the River.By outdoorhorny. Listen to the ►Podcast at Steamy Stories.In May of my senior year in high school, summer came early. It was in the high 80’s every afternoon, and we were sweltering in the ancient high school as the air conditioner struggled to keep up. Desiree and I sweated through morning classes and afternoon study halls, longing to be out of there, somewhere cooler and more private. We were both 18, and the restrictions of school were almost over. That made them even harder to bear!It was one of our teachers who provided the solution; I thank her silently to this day! She suggested that we get together with students from another study hall to work on our Senior Projects. The next day, the four of us told our respective teachers that we were going to go to the other room to work with our partners. In reality, we slipped out through the Tech Ed classroom and went to our cars. Minutes later, we were whipping down the back roads away from school.I have no idea where the other two went. They weren’t a couple, so chances are they simply went home. Desiree had other ideas. Her little Honda Civic zoomed along and ended up on Rte. 6 in the next town. She pulled into a little IGA grocery store that backed up on sparse pine woods. I asked her what she was after, but she smiled and said, “You’ll see!”Intrigued, I followed her inside. She went right to the center aisles where the seasonal goods were. My eyebrows went up when she brought two cheap beach towels. She did not explain. I carried them while she grabbed snacks and drinks and headed for the checkout. She paid quickly, and when we left the store, she walked right past her car. I followed, very puzzled, as she went around the corner. I knew she would tell me when she felt like it, so I carried the bags and watched her ass as it twitched inside her tunic. When she passed the dumpster and entered the shady pine forest, she looked over her shoulder and smiled sexily. I grinned back, knowing she was up to something good.The trail twisted and turned for a hundred yards, then it ended abruptly at a knob of rock that stuck out into a shallow, broad river. I stopped and looked around amazed. I could see a quarter-mile in each direction, and there was nothing in sight. The water slipped over flat smooth rocks, occasionally interrupted by a snagged branch or a small boulder jutting up from the surface. The air smelled of pine, the sunlight was warm and tinged with green as it filtered through the high branches, and besides bird song, the only sound was the gentle hum of the distant road. It was spectacular; a tranquil oasis barely off a road I had driven countless times.“Des; this is beautiful! How did you find it?”“My uncle owns all this; he used to own the IGA before he retired.”“Does anyone come here?”“Nope. Didn’t you see all the "No Trespassing” signs and the rocks across the trail? That keeps people out unless they’re family.“"It’s perfect!” I exclaimed happily.“It’s ours,” she replied simply. “C'mon, let’s get cool first and have a snack!”Kicking off her sandals, she sat down on a low rock with her feet in the water. I brought the snack bag close, tugged off my sneakers and socks, and joined her. The water was still cold, but not as biting as the river we tried back in March. With the sun warm on our shoulders, we munched on chips and split a soda, laying the second bottle in a shallow pool to stay cold. Our shoulders bumped as we sat there side by side, enjoying our unexpected freedom.“Just think,” she said dreamily, “we could be sitting in Mr. Herman’s study hall right now!”“Just think,” I answered, “as far as Mr. Herman knows, we’re going to be in the other study hall for the rest of the year working on our projects!”“Hmm, that does open up some possibilities!”“Yes, it does!” I told her, reaching around to give her a squeeze.Des responded by turning toward me and resting her hands on my leg.“I’d rather be right here than anywhere else in the world.”She leaned forward a fraction and our lips met, softly at first, a slow, loving kiss. That kind of innocent, timeless kiss seems to disappear after high school, but I will never forget the way her lips felt against mine, or the first flicker of her tongue signaling it was time for more. My free hand twined in her hair and pulled her into my arms as our bodies began to respond.With an impatient snort, Desiree broke our kiss and sat back. “I’m too hot like this!” she said in a petulant voice. She stood up, brushed the crumbs off herself into the water. Then she stepped carefully and gracefully up onto the rock’s highest point and turned to look at me. Crossing her arms over her head, she whipped the tunic off in one smooth motion. I sat frozen, looking eagerly up at her as she tossed it further down the rock. Standing there in a pale bra and purple satin panties, she looked like some river goddess come to life. Full tits, winter-pale skin, and broad, luscious hips fought for my attention; Des smiled happily at my wide-eyed ogling.“That’s so much better!” she pronounced. “You should try it.”I stood where I was, turned to face her, and responded to her challenge. My shirt flew through the air to land on top of her tunic. I stepped up onto the rock I had just vacated and pushed my shorts down, taking my boxers along with them. Stepping out of them, I stood back up and tossed them onto the pile as well. The sun played across my body and it was Desiree’s turn to stare admiringly. I had been working out hard for soccer and indoor track and it showed. A smile tugged at her lips as her eyes traveled all over my arms, chest, abs, and then locked onto my semi-erect cock.“Mmm, you look good enough to eat!” she said eagerly.“You first!” I responded.She laughed happily. “I’m game!” she said. Her hands twisted up behind her back and unclasped her bra. A quick shake and it fell forward, revealing her tits and tightening nipples. Onto the pile it went. Her thumbs hooked the waistband of her panties, and drew them down an inch. I’m sure my eyes registered disappointment, because she laughed again at her successful tease and then pushed them down all the way, bending effortlessly at the waist until they brushed the rock between her feet. Then she simply stepped out of them and kicked them aside.It was my turn to stare again. Desiree’s mound was shaved smooth! My eyes locked onto that pale, delightful curve I knew so well, suddenly revealed in an amazing and arousing way. Although her cunt was in shadow, I could tell her grooming extended all the way because her labia were smooth and pale as well. My cock twitched, and Des giggled happily.“You like?” she asked needlessly. “I did it last night thinking we might have a chance today!”“I Love it!” I said fervently.“Grab the towels,” she commanded.Two quick steps, my cock bouncing in time, and I had them out of the bag.“Put one on the rock you were standing on.” I did as she asked.“Put the other one right there,” she said next, pointing at the front jut of the larger rock she stood on. I complied, wondering what she was up to.“Now,” she said with a smile, “what was that about ‘good enough to eat’ you mentioned?”I fumbled for a reply as Des stepped down onto the towel in front of her, then sank down to sit on the towel. She leaned back and spread her legs; she was rarely shy!; and rested her heels on ridges to either side. With one finger, she traced a line from between her tits down across her belly, and then over the shiny patch she had shaved.“Why don’t you kneel down right there and take a closer look?” she asked encouragingly.I nodded and folded the towel double before settling myself comfortably. She was at the perfect height and distance; I rested my hands on her knees and watched as her finger continued lower, tracing the edges of her cunt, stretched open by her pose. When she got to her perineum, she added a finger and came back up, dipping them into her opening just a bit and circling there.I stared hungrily and she smiled at my intense gaze. “Everything is So smooth!” she reported, spreading her juices all around her labia. “Your gonna love it!”No words came to mind, so I acted instead. Leaning in, I licked from as far down as I could, up along her clean-shaven lips, over her clit, and up to the ridge of her mound. There I paused and showered it with kisses, relishing its silky feel.“Des,” I said when I paused, “I fucking love it!”She giggled happily and settled back on her elbows, looking down at me through her lashes.Returning to my task, I lapped at her cunt with a broad tongue a few times and then extended it fully, ramming it as deeply as I could into her opening. My nose bumped her clit as I did this, and I could feel her twitch each time I did. She hummed happily, and I kept going.I moved my hands in close and used my thumbs to spread her lips even more. Then I turned my head a bit and nibbled my way up and down each delicate morsel of flesh, tugging at them and flicking them with my tongue. Another happy noise came from above me.Looking up into her eyes again, I slowly put two fingers into my mouth and sucked them. She raised her eyebrows in anticipation, and I rewarded her immediately. With a twisting motion, I slipped them into her cunt, retreated to coat them with her juices, and then eased them deeper. Soon I was sliding them in and out all the way, only stopping when my thumb jammed against her. Des rocked her hips to meet my strokes, and I had to match her timing when I leaned forward to lick her clit. Each time I buried my fingers inside her, she pushed back, and I gave her sensitive nub a swirling lash with my tongue. We found a steady rhythm then, and Des began breathing heavily, moaning a little every time I licked her.“Are you ready to cum?” I asked her teasingly when I paused my tongue action. I kept my hand moving steadily, and she had to gasp the words out to answer.“Fuck, yes; give me more!”Smiling, I leaned back in. I turned my hand palm up and curled my fingers so that they dragged across her G-spot, pumping them back and forth without fully withdrawing. Then I stiffened my tongue and licked the side of her hood repeatedly, no longer teasing her but trying to drive her over the edge. A deep groan and a raising of her hips told me I was on the right track.“Oh, fuck, oh, fuck, keep doing that!” she gasped in time with her thrusting.I kept doing that, just as she asked, and I soon felt her thighs fluttering. I pressed down hard on her mound with my free hand and began to suck on her clit while the tip of my tongue hit the same spot over and over again.“Oh, fuck!” Desiree moaned when her orgasm burst within her.I kept myself still then, feeling her cunt clamp down over and over on my fingers, soaking them with a rush of sweet, tangy juices. As I watched her body tremble, I admired the sun dappling every inch. The deep flush between her tits was stark against the untanned skin there, and her tits jutted straight up as her back arched in pleasure. I let her relax before withdrawing my fingers, which drew a tired whimper from her lips.When her eyes opened, I brought my fingers to my mouth again and sucked them clean. She smiled enigmatically as I licked them, staring directly into her eyes.“Well?” she asked.“Definitely good enough to eat!” I pronounced with a grin.“I love how you feel against my skin when it’s all shaved like this,” she told me seriously. “It added so much extra to everything you did!”“I love it, too,” I assured her. “You’re so smooth and sexy.”“I’m glad you like it,” she said in pleased tones.With that, she sat up and let her feet down, settling them on the outside of my towel. She leaned down, grabbed my face, and kissed me deeply. I know she could taste herself on my lips, and she even lapped my chin momentarily to gather her own deliciousness.“You know what else is gonna feel good?” she asked playfully.“What’s that?” I responded with an innocent look on my face.“Sliding my cunt all over you and letting you feel how smooth and wet it is.”I pulled her up to her feet and gathered her in my arms. “That,” I said seriously, kissing her between words, “sounds, amazing!”My cock was trapped between us, and Des wriggled her belly against it. Copious clear liquid was leaking from the tip, and the whole thing was twitching with the sudden heat and stimulation.“Besides, I think I need to tease you for a while,” she continued. “I don’t want to get you too excited yet!”I groaned at the thought, but consoled myself with the knowledge that my explosion would be even bigger and better when it happened.“Where do you want to do all this teasing?” I asked her.“Grab the towels,” she said. Then she pointed to a broad, flat rock about six feet from shore. The top was worn smooth by the passage of water over the years, but the top was dry now and looked invitingly warm. I laughed and gathered the cushioning towels. Holding hands, we made our way carefully across the slippery gap between our starting place and our new destination. When we got there, I passed her one towel and flipped the other one out to lie flat on the rock. Des followed suit and created a double layer of padding.“Get on up,” she said hotly. “It’s time for some payback!”I happily complied, sparing only a minute to look around.“No one is here,” she said reassuringly as I lay down on my back. Then her voice took on an Eastern European accent: “No one can help you. No one can hear your screams!”“Well that sucks,” I said with a smile. I settled myself comfortably on the rock and closed my eyes against the bright sunlight. “I’ll try to suffer in silence!”Desiree reached across me and grabbed my cock with one hand, aiming it straight up. She moved down and clambered onto the towel between my feet, and then paused to give me a few strokes. Her hand was warm and gentle on my shaft.Shifting one knee outside my leg, Des began to do exactly what she had said she would. She lowered herself and I felt her cunt bump into my knee. Slick and hot, she caressed her way up to my thigh, then moved across my lower body and did the same on my other leg. When I peeked up at her, I saw she had her lower lip between her teeth and a little frown of concentration on her face. I closed my eyes again and grinned as she moved up again. Her silky mound came down on my scrotum and Des rocked herself forward, arching her back so that she slid along the entire length of my cock from base to tip, her lips parted around me and coating me with lubrication before stopping and then moving back down to the base again.“Do you like that? Do you like how soft and smooth and wet I feel?”My mouth was dry as I answered her: “God, Des, I love it!”“I love rubbing myself all over you!” she said in a happy, sexy voice. I opened my eyes and she was gazing directly at me, her hands braced on her knees as she rocked herself back and forth along the underside of my shaft. Each time she reached the sensitive spot below the head, a pulse of precum leapt from my cock in response.“Des!” I said urgently, feeling the flutter of an approaching orgasm.“I know, I know, but it’s fun to tease you!” she said. Then she rose up, allowing the cool air to soothe the dangerous throbbing of my cock. She scooted forward a little more to straddle my chest. Lowering herself again, she rubbed the silky lips of her cunt on stomach, then on my chest as she eased higher. When her thighs were on either side of my head, I couldn’t help but lick her instantly from bottom to top. She gasped and pulled away.“Hey; you already had your turn!” she said indignantly. “Now I get mine!”With a quick, graceful move, she pivoted her body around, keeping her hips high enough so that her cunt was out of range of my tongue. She kissed my stomach, then trailed her hair across it, lower and lower with each swoop until it was tickling my thighs. Her left hand moved to brace herself on the towel while the other wrapped around my shaft again. She lifted it up to a 45 degree angle, perfectly aligned with her torso, and took me into her mouth.My rolled back with pleasure. I loved this position; it let Des take me as deeply as she wanted without awkward angles or pressure. She made the most of it; nothing fancy, but she sucked steadily and her lips moved from tip to base in one effortless motion. I could feel the restrictive heat at the back of her throat for a second, then she pulled back. A quick breath and she did it again. With each stroke, she squeezed my shaft as she rose and flattened her hand out of the way when she descended. I moaned happily and lifted my hands to hold her hips as they hovered above me.“Fuck, Des, that feels so good!”She hummed happily in response, which gave me a shiver of pleasure. Desiree’s motion was tireless, and I began to thrust upward a bit, knowing that I couldn’t hold back much longer. That signal was clear to her as well, and she paused to look back at me.“Do you want to cum?” she asked, squeezing my cock rhythmically.“I have to cum, Des, I have to cum in your mouth!” I gasped.“OK, I’m ready for that!” she smiled. Then she turned back and resumed her suction.Another dozen strokes and I was ready. My orgasm hit just as her mouth descended, and I arched myself up unconsciously. For a moment, my cock slipped past the ring of her throat and I could feel the twitching of her gag reflex against the sensitive head. The first jet of sperm flew directly down her throat, but she recovered quickly and pulled back, holding just the head between her lips and sucking frantically, pumping my shaft to milk out every drop. I could feel her swallowing as pulse after pulse threatened to overflow her mouth.Slowly, my hips fell back onto the towel. Des kept sucking steadily as my cock began to soften, and her tongue snaked all around to make sure she didn’t miss any of my cum. When she finally released me with a pop, I was completely spent. She planted a kiss on the underside of my cock, drawing a twitch in response that made her giggle. Then she turned herself around again and laid her head on my chest, her hand still wrapped around my spent shaft.“That was so amazing!” I murmured into her hair.“That was the most cum ever!” she said with a snort and a laugh.“Well, you are an exciting woman,” I told her, “so it’s kind of your fault. It’s all that teasing, too.&rd
Desiree at the River.By outdoorhorny. Listen to the ►Podcast at Steamy Stories.In May of my senior year in high school, summer came early. It was in the high 80’s every afternoon, and we were sweltering in the ancient high school as the air conditioner struggled to keep up. Desiree and I sweated through morning classes and afternoon study halls, longing to be out of there, somewhere cooler and more private. We were both 18, and the restrictions of school were almost over. That made them even harder to bear!It was one of our teachers who provided the solution; I thank her silently to this day! She suggested that we get together with students from another study hall to work on our Senior Projects. The next day, the four of us told our respective teachers that we were going to go to the other room to work with our partners. In reality, we slipped out through the Tech Ed classroom and went to our cars. Minutes later, we were whipping down the back roads away from school.I have no idea where the other two went. They weren’t a couple, so chances are they simply went home. Desiree had other ideas. Her little Honda Civic zoomed along and ended up on Rte. 6 in the next town. She pulled into a little IGA grocery store that backed up on sparse pine woods. I asked her what she was after, but she smiled and said, “You’ll see!”Intrigued, I followed her inside. She went right to the center aisles where the seasonal goods were. My eyebrows went up when she brought two cheap beach towels. She did not explain. I carried them while she grabbed snacks and drinks and headed for the checkout. She paid quickly, and when we left the store, she walked right past her car. I followed, very puzzled, as she went around the corner. I knew she would tell me when she felt like it, so I carried the bags and watched her ass as it twitched inside her tunic. When she passed the dumpster and entered the shady pine forest, she looked over her shoulder and smiled sexily. I grinned back, knowing she was up to something good.The trail twisted and turned for a hundred yards, then it ended abruptly at a knob of rock that stuck out into a shallow, broad river. I stopped and looked around amazed. I could see a quarter-mile in each direction, and there was nothing in sight. The water slipped over flat smooth rocks, occasionally interrupted by a snagged branch or a small boulder jutting up from the surface. The air smelled of pine, the sunlight was warm and tinged with green as it filtered through the high branches, and besides bird song, the only sound was the gentle hum of the distant road. It was spectacular; a tranquil oasis barely off a road I had driven countless times.“Des; this is beautiful! How did you find it?”“My uncle owns all this; he used to own the IGA before he retired.”“Does anyone come here?”“Nope. Didn’t you see all the "No Trespassing” signs and the rocks across the trail? That keeps people out unless they’re family.“"It’s perfect!” I exclaimed happily.“It’s ours,” she replied simply. “C'mon, let’s get cool first and have a snack!”Kicking off her sandals, she sat down on a low rock with her feet in the water. I brought the snack bag close, tugged off my sneakers and socks, and joined her. The water was still cold, but not as biting as the river we tried back in March. With the sun warm on our shoulders, we munched on chips and split a soda, laying the second bottle in a shallow pool to stay cold. Our shoulders bumped as we sat there side by side, enjoying our unexpected freedom.“Just think,” she said dreamily, “we could be sitting in Mr. Herman’s study hall right now!”“Just think,” I answered, “as far as Mr. Herman knows, we’re going to be in the other study hall for the rest of the year working on our projects!”“Hmm, that does open up some possibilities!”“Yes, it does!” I told her, reaching around to give her a squeeze.Des responded by turning toward me and resting her hands on my leg.“I’d rather be right here than anywhere else in the world.”She leaned forward a fraction and our lips met, softly at first, a slow, loving kiss. That kind of innocent, timeless kiss seems to disappear after high school, but I will never forget the way her lips felt against mine, or the first flicker of her tongue signaling it was time for more. My free hand twined in her hair and pulled her into my arms as our bodies began to respond.With an impatient snort, Desiree broke our kiss and sat back. “I’m too hot like this!” she said in a petulant voice. She stood up, brushed the crumbs off herself into the water. Then she stepped carefully and gracefully up onto the rock’s highest point and turned to look at me. Crossing her arms over her head, she whipped the tunic off in one smooth motion. I sat frozen, looking eagerly up at her as she tossed it further down the rock. Standing there in a pale bra and purple satin panties, she looked like some river goddess come to life. Full tits, winter-pale skin, and broad, luscious hips fought for my attention; Des smiled happily at my wide-eyed ogling.“That’s so much better!” she pronounced. “You should try it.”I stood where I was, turned to face her, and responded to her challenge. My shirt flew through the air to land on top of her tunic. I stepped up onto the rock I had just vacated and pushed my shorts down, taking my boxers along with them. Stepping out of them, I stood back up and tossed them onto the pile as well. The sun played across my body and it was Desiree’s turn to stare admiringly. I had been working out hard for soccer and indoor track and it showed. A smile tugged at her lips as her eyes traveled all over my arms, chest, abs, and then locked onto my semi-erect cock.“Mmm, you look good enough to eat!” she said eagerly.“You first!” I responded.She laughed happily. “I’m game!” she said. Her hands twisted up behind her back and unclasped her bra. A quick shake and it fell forward, revealing her tits and tightening nipples. Onto the pile it went. Her thumbs hooked the waistband of her panties, and drew them down an inch. I’m sure my eyes registered disappointment, because she laughed again at her successful tease and then pushed them down all the way, bending effortlessly at the waist until they brushed the rock between her feet. Then she simply stepped out of them and kicked them aside.It was my turn to stare again. Desiree’s mound was shaved smooth! My eyes locked onto that pale, delightful curve I knew so well, suddenly revealed in an amazing and arousing way. Although her cunt was in shadow, I could tell her grooming extended all the way because her labia were smooth and pale as well. My cock twitched, and Des giggled happily.“You like?” she asked needlessly. “I did it last night thinking we might have a chance today!”“I Love it!” I said fervently.“Grab the towels,” she commanded.Two quick steps, my cock bouncing in time, and I had them out of the bag.“Put one on the rock you were standing on.” I did as she asked.“Put the other one right there,” she said next, pointing at the front jut of the larger rock she stood on. I complied, wondering what she was up to.“Now,” she said with a smile, “what was that about ‘good enough to eat’ you mentioned?”I fumbled for a reply as Des stepped down onto the towel in front of her, then sank down to sit on the towel. She leaned back and spread her legs; she was rarely shy!; and rested her heels on ridges to either side. With one finger, she traced a line from between her tits down across her belly, and then over the shiny patch she had shaved.“Why don’t you kneel down right there and take a closer look?” she asked encouragingly.I nodded and folded the towel double before settling myself comfortably. She was at the perfect height and distance; I rested my hands on her knees and watched as her finger continued lower, tracing the edges of her cunt, stretched open by her pose. When she got to her perineum, she added a finger and came back up, dipping them into her opening just a bit and circling there.I stared hungrily and she smiled at my intense gaze. “Everything is So smooth!” she reported, spreading her juices all around her labia. “Your gonna love it!”No words came to mind, so I acted instead. Leaning in, I licked from as far down as I could, up along her clean-shaven lips, over her clit, and up to the ridge of her mound. There I paused and showered it with kisses, relishing its silky feel.“Des,” I said when I paused, “I fucking love it!”She giggled happily and settled back on her elbows, looking down at me through her lashes.Returning to my task, I lapped at her cunt with a broad tongue a few times and then extended it fully, ramming it as deeply as I could into her opening. My nose bumped her clit as I did this, and I could feel her twitch each time I did. She hummed happily, and I kept going.I moved my hands in close and used my thumbs to spread her lips even more. Then I turned my head a bit and nibbled my way up and down each delicate morsel of flesh, tugging at them and flicking them with my tongue. Another happy noise came from above me.Looking up into her eyes again, I slowly put two fingers into my mouth and sucked them. She raised her eyebrows in anticipation, and I rewarded her immediately. With a twisting motion, I slipped them into her cunt, retreated to coat them with her juices, and then eased them deeper. Soon I was sliding them in and out all the way, only stopping when my thumb jammed against her. Des rocked her hips to meet my strokes, and I had to match her timing when I leaned forward to lick her clit. Each time I buried my fingers inside her, she pushed back, and I gave her sensitive nub a swirling lash with my tongue. We found a steady rhythm then, and Des began breathing heavily, moaning a little every time I licked her.“Are you ready to cum?” I asked her teasingly when I paused my tongue action. I kept my hand moving steadily, and she had to gasp the words out to answer.“Fuck, yes; give me more!”Smiling, I leaned back in. I turned my hand palm up and curled my fingers so that they dragged across her G-spot, pumping them back and forth without fully withdrawing. Then I stiffened my tongue and licked the side of her hood repeatedly, no longer teasing her but trying to drive her over the edge. A deep groan and a raising of her hips told me I was on the right track.“Oh, fuck, oh, fuck, keep doing that!” she gasped in time with her thrusting.I kept doing that, just as she asked, and I soon felt her thighs fluttering. I pressed down hard on her mound with my free hand and began to suck on her clit while the tip of my tongue hit the same spot over and over again.“Oh, fuck!” Desiree moaned when her orgasm burst within her.I kept myself still then, feeling her cunt clamp down over and over on my fingers, soaking them with a rush of sweet, tangy juices. As I watched her body tremble, I admired the sun dappling every inch. The deep flush between her tits was stark against the untanned skin there, and her tits jutted straight up as her back arched in pleasure. I let her relax before withdrawing my fingers, which drew a tired whimper from her lips.When her eyes opened, I brought my fingers to my mouth again and sucked them clean. She smiled enigmatically as I licked them, staring directly into her eyes.“Well?” she asked.“Definitely good enough to eat!” I pronounced with a grin.“I love how you feel against my skin when it’s all shaved like this,” she told me seriously. “It added so much extra to everything you did!”“I love it, too,” I assured her. “You’re so smooth and sexy.”“I’m glad you like it,” she said in pleased tones.With that, she sat up and let her feet down, settling them on the outside of my towel. She leaned down, grabbed my face, and kissed me deeply. I know she could taste herself on my lips, and she even lapped my chin momentarily to gather her own deliciousness.“You know what else is gonna feel good?” she asked playfully.“What’s that?” I responded with an innocent look on my face.“Sliding my cunt all over you and letting you feel how smooth and wet it is.”I pulled her up to her feet and gathered her in my arms. “That,” I said seriously, kissing her between words, “sounds, amazing!”My cock was trapped between us, and Des wriggled her belly against it. Copious clear liquid was leaking from the tip, and the whole thing was twitching with the sudden heat and stimulation.“Besides, I think I need to tease you for a while,” she continued. “I don’t want to get you too excited yet!”I groaned at the thought, but consoled myself with the knowledge that my explosion would be even bigger and better when it happened.“Where do you want to do all this teasing?” I asked her.“Grab the towels,” she said. Then she pointed to a broad, flat rock about six feet from shore. The top was worn smooth by the passage of water over the years, but the top was dry now and looked invitingly warm. I laughed and gathered the cushioning towels. Holding hands, we made our way carefully across the slippery gap between our starting place and our new destination. When we got there, I passed her one towel and flipped the other one out to lie flat on the rock. Des followed suit and created a double layer of padding.“Get on up,” she said hotly. “It’s time for some payback!”I happily complied, sparing only a minute to look around.“No one is here,” she said reassuringly as I lay down on my back. Then her voice took on an Eastern European accent: “No one can help you. No one can hear your screams!”“Well that sucks,” I said with a smile. I settled myself comfortably on the rock and closed my eyes against the bright sunlight. “I’ll try to suffer in silence!”Desiree reached across me and grabbed my cock with one hand, aiming it straight up. She moved down and clambered onto the towel between my feet, and then paused to give me a few strokes. Her hand was warm and gentle on my shaft.Shifting one knee outside my leg, Des began to do exactly what she had said she would. She lowered herself and I felt her cunt bump into my knee. Slick and hot, she caressed her way up to my thigh, then moved across my lower body and did the same on my other leg. When I peeked up at her, I saw she had her lower lip between her teeth and a little frown of concentration on her face. I closed my eyes again and grinned as she moved up again. Her silky mound came down on my scrotum and Des rocked herself forward, arching her back so that she slid along the entire length of my cock from base to tip, her lips parted around me and coating me with lubrication before stopping and then moving back down to the base again.“Do you like that? Do you like how soft and smooth and wet I feel?”My mouth was dry as I answered her: “God, Des, I love it!”“I love rubbing myself all over you!” she said in a happy, sexy voice. I opened my eyes and she was gazing directly at me, her hands braced on her knees as she rocked herself back and forth along the underside of my shaft. Each time she reached the sensitive spot below the head, a pulse of precum leapt from my cock in response.“Des!” I said urgently, feeling the flutter of an approaching orgasm.“I know, I know, but it’s fun to tease you!” she said. Then she rose up, allowing the cool air to soothe the dangerous throbbing of my cock. She scooted forward a little more to straddle my chest. Lowering herself again, she rubbed the silky lips of her cunt on stomach, then on my chest as she eased higher. When her thighs were on either side of my head, I couldn’t help but lick her instantly from bottom to top. She gasped and pulled away.“Hey; you already had your turn!” she said indignantly. “Now I get mine!”With a quick, graceful move, she pivoted her body around, keeping her hips high enough so that her cunt was out of range of my tongue. She kissed my stomach, then trailed her hair across it, lower and lower with each swoop until it was tickling my thighs. Her left hand moved to brace herself on the towel while the other wrapped around my shaft again. She lifted it up to a 45 degree angle, perfectly aligned with her torso, and took me into her mouth.My rolled back with pleasure. I loved this position; it let Des take me as deeply as she wanted without awkward angles or pressure. She made the most of it; nothing fancy, but she sucked steadily and her lips moved from tip to base in one effortless motion. I could feel the restrictive heat at the back of her throat for a second, then she pulled back. A quick breath and she did it again. With each stroke, she squeezed my shaft as she rose and flattened her hand out of the way when she descended. I moaned happily and lifted my hands to hold her hips as they hovered above me.“Fuck, Des, that feels so good!”She hummed happily in response, which gave me a shiver of pleasure. Desiree’s motion was tireless, and I began to thrust upward a bit, knowing that I couldn’t hold back much longer. That signal was clear to her as well, and she paused to look back at me.“Do you want to cum?” she asked, squeezing my cock rhythmically.“I have to cum, Des, I have to cum in your mouth!” I gasped.“OK, I’m ready for that!” she smiled. Then she turned back and resumed her suction.Another dozen strokes and I was ready. My orgasm hit just as her mouth descended, and I arched myself up unconsciously. For a moment, my cock slipped past the ring of her throat and I could feel the twitching of her gag reflex against the sensitive head. The first jet of sperm flew directly down her throat, but she recovered quickly and pulled back, holding just the head between her lips and sucking frantically, pumping my shaft to milk out every drop. I could feel her swallowing as pulse after pulse threatened to overflow her mouth.Slowly, my hips fell back onto the towel. Des kept sucking steadily as my cock began to soften, and her tongue snaked all around to make sure she didn’t miss any of my cum. When she finally released me with a pop, I was completely spent. She planted a kiss on the underside of my cock, drawing a twitch in response that made her giggle. Then she turned herself around again and laid her head on my chest, her hand still wrapped around my spent shaft.“That was so amazing!” I murmured into her hair.“That was the most cum ever!” she said with a snort and a laugh.“Well, you are an exciting woman,” I told her, “so it’s kind of your fault. It’s all that teasing, too.&rd
On today's episode, we take a trip back to 1966 – when MM+M was born.A fledgling newsletter focused on pharma advertising, MM+M has since grown into an award-winning publication with digital elements like our website – mmm-online.com – our social media platforms and even this podcast you're listening to.To walk us through the brand's beginnings in a small office in southwestern Connecticut to its acquisition by David Gideon in the early 1980s – is Adam Arnegger, executive director of investment at WPP Media.Adam is not only an adland vet of over 25 years, he's also the grandson of Captain Jack Sullivan, who founded MM+M in 1966.He recently came to our office in Chelsea for a conversation centered around the brand's diamond anniversary, his grandfather's vision for the publication and the Captain Jack Sullivan Founder Award that will be presented at the 2026 MM+M Awards ceremony in October.As for our Trends segment, we're talking about the increasing silliness of the ongoing FDA warning letter spree. Check us out at: mmm-online.com Follow us: YouTube: @MMM-onlineTikTok: @MMMnewsInstagram: @MMMnewsonlineTwitter/X: @MMMnewsLinkedIn: MM+M To read more of the most timely, balanced and original reporting in medical marketing, subscribe here.Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Don't Beat Yourself Up To Progress It doesn't matter how hard you work, there's always more you can do. But there's no point being miserable and hating what you put in your mouth just for the sake of a future you won't reach if you give up. And you will give up if you make it too hard now. You don't have to deny yourself everything. You don't have to deprive yourself. You don't have to beat yourself up. There are ways around it. Ways that are far more sustainable. Okay? Mini Monday Moments (MMMs) are short, non erotic, wholly safe for work, (usually) gender neutral audios covering all manner of small, common little day-to-day scenarios that someone may need support/comfort/reassurance for. I would LOVE to record a moment just for you, so please; feel free to suggest a new MMM by using this form: https://forms.gle/M6uQ7vxmjGVLNWos9 Let me bring a little lightness and joy to your Monday. Support Mini Monday Moments by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/mini-monday-moments Find out more at http://minimondaymoments.com
MMM is sponsored by 321 - a new online introduction to Christianity, presented by former MMM guest Glen Scrivener. Check it out for free at 321course.com/MMM. Just enter your email, choose a password and you're in — there's no spam and no fees. Give the gift of everyday luxury and make every moment comfortable. Head to cozyearth.com and use my code COZYMMM for 20% off sitewide. And if you get a Post-Purchase Survey, be sure to mention you heard about Cozy Earth at the Maiden Mother Matriarch podcast.Testing a foetus or an embryo for some medical conditions is now a routine part of the modern pregnancy experience. Prenatal Down's Syndrome tests, for instance, are now so widespread that in some Scandinavian countries almost 100 per cent of women choose to abort a foetus diagnosed with the condition, or – if using IVF – not implant the affected embryo. The result is a visible change to these populations: there are simply no more people with Down's to be seen on the streets of Iceland and Denmark.New technology is now available – at a high price – for those who want to go further. So-called polygenic embryo screening can give a very full picture of the adult that the embryo could become, including his or her vulnerability to an enormous number of diseases – heart disease, diabetes, cancer – and also the physical and psychological traits that he or she would likely possess: height, hair colour, athletic ability, conscientiousness, altruism, intelligence. Is this a good thing? Should we welcome a world in which parents are routinely selecting their embryos in this way? I'm joined today by two guests who take a very different view. Emma Waters is a policy analyst at the Center for Technology and the Human Person at the Heritage Foundation. Her work focuses on family, biotechnology, and reproductive medicine.Jonathan Anomaly is a philosopher, author of the book 'Creating Future People: The Science and Ethics of Genetic Enhancement', and is also the director of scientific research and communication for Herasight, a genetics startup that offers polygenic embryo screening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode of BRAVE COMMERCE, Rachel Tipograph and Sarah Hofstetter sit down with Kate Hamill, VP of North America Enterprise Sales at Pinterest, to unpack how the platform is evolving from an inspiration engine into a more measurable driver of commerce outcomes. Kate shares how Pinterest is compressing the funnel between discovery and conversion, and how brands can think differently about visual-first experiences across the shopping journey.The conversation also dives into why social search is capturing more search budgets, how Pinterest's AI powers proactive discovery, and why modern measurement approaches—including MMM, MTA, and incrementality—matter more than last-click attribution as consumers shop across weeks and devices. From CPG to emerging non-endemic categories, Kate explains how brands can reach consumers earlier in the journey and better understand their impact on growth.Key TakeawaysSocial search plays a critical role in demand creation, not just demand captureVisual search helps brands engage consumers before preferences are fully formedIncrementality and triangulated measurement are essential to understanding impactAI-powered discovery experiences support both inspiration and performance Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It's time to welcome back MM+M's live events for 2026.On Wednesday evening, we'll honor this year's 40 Under 40 class at a dinner and ceremony in midtown Manhattan.To help preview the festivities is 2026 MM+M 40 Under 40 honoree Shonel Morrison, head of media strategy at AstraZeneca.With more than 14 years of medical marketing experience, Morrison had stints at Publicis Health Media and Digitas Health before being recruited to rewrite the media playbook at AstraZeneca.In a conversation with Pharma Editor Lecia Bushak, Morrison discusses what receiving the honorific means to her and details her experience as a caregiver to her father, who lives with Alzheimer's disease.For Trends, we do some cleanup duty on the pharma ads that ran during Super Bowl LX. We talk about how they performed and spotlight some analyses from ad measurement firms. Check us out at: mmm-online.com Follow us: YouTube: @MMM-onlineTikTok: @MMMnewsInstagram: @MMMnewsonlineTwitter/X: @MMMnewsLinkedIn: MM+M To read more of the most timely, balanced and original reporting in medical marketing, subscribe here.Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Fan Mail me to be on the next episode!Mmm… this one's from Colorado. He wants to hear about my panties. The lace, the tease, the scent. But baby, I can do more than talk about them. I can record the fantasy in my voice — and maybe even slip a pair into the mail, just for you.Want the story? Want the real thing?You know where to find me.I just love recording something just for you. The sound of my voice. The look in my eyes. The scent of my panties...Want a custom audio about what you crave? Or maybe the real thing, worn and dirty with my scent?Support the showOnlyFans Or, support the damn show. It's NOT that hard....But I Can Make It Hard... EMAIL Me at: KrystineKellogg@gmail.com https://www.krystinekellogg.com/ This podcast is literally a passion project. To date, this podcast has between 15k and 20k downloads per month. And yet, it cannot pay for it's own hosting costs, much less the production costs incurred.I take donations. And those donations go directly towards the production of this podcast. Want more? Then donate so that I can keep this damn thing going!VENMO: @KrystineKelloggCashApp: $KrystineKellogg
Most youth camp games fail for one simple reason… and almost nobody realizes it. Leaders spend hours planning activities, but kids lose interest in minutes — and it's not because they're distracted or bored. Today, I'm sitting down with the creator of Camp Clue — a game that's been used in camps around the world to keep kids fully engaged. He's breaking down exactly why it works — and how you can design games that actually hold attention all week long. And how you can get it for yourself! CAMP CLUE ON DYM https://www.downloadyouthministry.com/p/camp-clue/camps-and-events/events-6260.html SHOW NOTES Shownotes & Transcripts https://www.hybridministry.xyz/187 ❄️ WINTER SOCIAL MEDIA PACK https://www.patreon.com/posts/winter-seasonal-144943791?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link HYBRID HERO MEMBERS GET IT FREE! https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry YM Lab - Anthony's Old Podcast https://podcast.downloadyouthministry.com/ymlab/
Today in the business of podcasting: The IAB proposes new legislation protecting publishers from AI scraping, audio is not as visible in MMM as expected, January industry performance from Podscribe, indie podcasters are headed to the Radio France app, and the CBC is taking pitches for documentary podcast series ideas. Click here to find every link mentioned in today's episode.
Today in the business of podcasting: The IAB proposes new legislation protecting publishers from AI scraping, audio is not as visible in MMM as expected, January industry performance from Podscribe, indie podcasters are headed to the Radio France app, and the CBC is taking pitches for documentary podcast series ideas. Click here to find every link mentioned in today's episode.
Hey! Ka ska du høre på i dag? Mmm.. Vettche? Vi og! Øyvind og Lars fra bandet "Vettche" har vært gjesta i dag! Vi snakka alt "Vettche", starten, reisen, målet, ken dei e og kordan i alle dage dei kan studere på dagtid og være artista på kveldstid?! Ellers komme vi ikke unna alt som skjer i verden; Epstein-files, Grammys og mye mer! Hvis du har gjort som Henrik og forsovd de i mens vi va live, frykt ikke ... Du høre oss på Spotify
The 'Ber' Months What, you've never heard of it? Oh, come on! SeptemBER? OctoBER? NovemBER? Aaah, all those months that end in 'ber' are some of my favourites. All sorts of fun things happen then. Mini Monday Moments (MMMs) are short, non erotic, wholly safe for work, (usually) gender neutral audios covering all manner of small, common little day-to-day scenarios that someone may need support/comfort/reassurance for. I would LOVE to record a moment just for you, so please; feel free to suggest a new MMM by using this form: https://forms.gle/M6uQ7vxmjGVLNWos9 Let me bring a little lightness and joy to your Monday. Support Mini Monday Moments by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/mini-monday-moments Find out more at http://minimondaymoments.com
This Podcast is sponsored by Team Simmer.Go to TeamSimmer and use the coupon code DEVIATE for 10% on individual course purchases.The Technical Marketing Handbook provides a comprehensive journey through technical marketing principles.Sign up to the Simmer Newsletter for the latest news in Technical Marketing.NEW SIMMER COURSE ALERT! - Data Analysis with R - taught by Arben Kqiku (coupon code doesn't apply to this course)Latest content from Simo AhavaRun Server-side Google Tag Manager On Localhost ArticleLatest content from Juliana JacksonThe distance between what gets funded and what works has never been wider. (subscribe to the newsletter for more amazing content)Mentioned in the episode:Superweek Analytics SummitMeasurecamp HelsinkiConnect with Sayf Sharif:LinkedinThree Bears DataOptiMeasure This podcast is brought to you by Juliana Jackson and Simo Ahava.
It's In the News.. a look at the top headlines and stories in the diabetes community. This week's top stories: UK looks at starting universal T1D screening, Dexcom's CEO mentions a new product, bariatric sugery vs GLP medications, FDA approves update to prescribing info for inhaled insulin, miscroplastic and diabetes link studied, and more! Announcing Community Commericals! Learn how to get your message on the show here. Learn more about studies and research at Thrivable here Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible! Omnipod - Simplify Life All about Dexcom T1D Screening info All about VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter: Sign up for our newsletter here Here's where to find us: Facebook (Group) Facebook (Page) Instagram Check out Stacey's books! Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com Episode transcription with links: (Stacey Track) Welcome! I'm your host Stacey Simms and this is an In The News episode.. where we bringing you the top diabetes stories and headlines happening now. We are less than one month from our first MNO of 2026. Please join us in Silver Spring MD Feb 20 and 21. It's going to be amazing. We're going to Nashville next March 6-7 and we're going to have a great event a Club 1921 we just added on Thursday March 5th for health care providers and patient leaders. All the info is over at diabetes-connetionss.com events/ Okay.. our top story this week: XX All UK children could be offered screening for type 1 diabetes using a simple finger-prick blood test, say researchers who have been running a large study. This is the ELSA study - Early Surveillance for Autoimmune diabetes, a first of its kind UK study. They tested blood samples from 17,931 children aged 3-13 for autoantibodies, markers of type 1 diabetes that can appear years before symptoms. Families of children found to have early-stage type 1 diabetes received tailored education and ongoing support to prepare for the eventual onset of type 1 diabetes symptoms and to ensure insulin therapy can begin promptly when needed, reducing the chances of needing emergency treatment. Those with one autoantibody also received ongoing support and monitoring. Some families were also offered teplizumab, the first ever immunotherapy for type 1 diabetes, which can delay the need for insulin by around three years in people with early-stage type 1 diabetes. The second phase has launched and will expand screening to all children in the UK aged 2-17 years, with a focus on younger children (2-3 years) and older teenagers (14-17 years). The research team aims to recruit 30,000 additional children across these new age groups. ELSA 2 will assess how screening can be scaled across the NHS and evaluate its cost-effectiveness. https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2026/childhood-type-1-diabetes-screening-is-effective-and-could-prevent-thousands-of-emergency-diagnoses XX At the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference Dexcom CEO Jake Leach says they're going to launch a new product outside the US. I'll link up that interview, The full quote: "When you look at the outside the U.S., there are a lot of structures that are tiered. Patients have access to different types of products, so we've got a new one that we want to introduce that will add flexibility there. It's based on the G7 platform, just like Dexcom ONE+, but it has a unique experience that's tailored for a subset of users that, today, don't have access to Dexcom." Your guess is as good as mine, but sounds more like a pricing or ordering issue than a new bit of hardware or software. Dexcom will also bring Stelo to some international markets this year. And plans a new mobile app experience for the wearable biosensor meant for people who don't dose insulin. Leach also says G8 will be much smaller and with more capability. but is a few years away. https://www.drugdeliverybusiness.com/dexcom-ceo-jake-leach-2026-roadmap-jpm/ XX A new international consensus statement provides guidance for the use of diabetes technology during pregnancy for women with type 1 diabetes (T1D), type 2 diabetes (T2D), or gestational diabetes (GD). Organized by the diaTribe Foundation, the document was based on evidence where available, as well as opinion from an international group of experts in endocrinology, diabetes technology, and obstetrics & gynecology, among others. This is the first set of recommendations specifically addressing the use of diabetes technology in pregnancy – and we'll link it up. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/new-consensus-statement-addresses-diabetes-tech-pregnancy-2026a100020d XX Bariatric surgery beats GLP-1s for type 2 diabetes across income levels. This study was published this month, looking at nearly 300 patients are 4 medical centers. Success here is measured by lower blood glucose levels, higher weight loss (28% vs. 10%), less use of diabetes medications, remission of diabetes to the point of no longer needing to inject insulin, and reduced risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Bariatric surgery was better than medical therapy across all social backgrounds, they found, and not just in areas of higher deprivation. The ancillary study was smaller, and some of the participants randomized in earlier stages crossed over from medical to surgical treatment, and the reverse. The authors acknowledged and accounted for these limitations, along with the rapid development of more powerful obesity drugs not fully captured in the study. This was a long term study – more than 12 years – and by the end of the study more people were choosing GLP1 medications. One dividing line: If someone hopes to lose 100 pounds, that's more likely with surgery than with medications. "Ultimately, we need large, long-term, well-designed studies to clarify the best strategy for a given patient." https://www.statnews.com/2026/01/19/diabetes-study-bariatric-surgery-better-than-glp-1s/ XX Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have reported for the first time that a father's exposure to microplastics (MPs) can lead to metabolic problems in his children, including diabetes. This is a mouse study, but it looks at a previously unrecognized way in which environmental pollution may influence the health of future generations. MPs are extremely small plastic fragments, measuring less than 5 millimeters, that form as consumer products and industrial materials break down. Metabolic disorders describe a group of conditions that include elevated blood pressure, high blood sugar, and excess body fat, all of which raise the risk of heart disease and diabetes. The team found that female offspring of male mice exposed to MPs were far more prone to metabolic disorders than offspring of unexposed fathers, even though all offspring received the same high fat diet. The research team hopes the findings will guide future investigation into how MPs and even smaller nanoplastics affect human development. https://scitechdaily.com/microplastics-can-rewire-sperm-triggering-diabetes-in-the-next-generation/ XX The FDA has finalized four new recalls for certain lots of Abbott's FreeStyle Libre 3 and FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus sensors due to ongoing safety concerns. We told you about this in November when Abbott says some of its continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensors were providing incorrect low glucose warnings. Internal testing identified the issue—carbon building up in the sensors during the manufacturing process—and determined that approximately 3 million CGM sensors were affected. The sensors were distributed in the United States, Canada and several European countries. When Abbott shared that announcement, the FDA was still reviewing the situation. No recalls had yet been finalized. Now, however, the agency has announced four new Class I recalls. https://cardiovascularbusiness.com/topics/clinical/heart-health/fda-confirms-recalls-abbott-cgm-sensors-new-lawsuit-alleges-company-concealed-information XX Insulet brings back it's U.S. Pod recycling program, now making it available to all U.S. customers. The Pod recycling program, offered at no cost to customers, enables users to request a recycling kit online. This allows them to return their used Omnipods. Insulet then decontaminates the returned Pods before transporting them to a company specializing in recycling for electronics and medical products. Insulet began recycling pilot programs in Mass and California and are rolling it out nationwide. Insulet also has "Pod takeback" programs outside the U.S. in several international markets. These programs enable customers to request a takeback kit by contacting their local customer support team. https://www.drugdeliverybusiness.com/insulet-expands-us-pod-recycling-program/ XX Up next a new resource for a population at three times the risk for diabetes, but without a lot of access to health information. I The first diabetes information website primarily in ASL has launched. The site includes GIFs and videos on diabetes management and an ASL glossary of diabetes-related terms. This is from University of Utah Health – Called Deaf Diabetes Can Together. Deaf and hard of hearing people are at three times higher risk for diabetes, but access to health information in ASL is limited. https://healthcare.utah.edu/newsroom/news/2026/01/first-diabetes-information-website-asl-launches XX Novo Nordisk ended all work on cell therapies, including a Type 1 diabetes program, in October – and now has found a buyer. Aspect has acquired rights to the assets and giving Novo an option to reengage for later-stage development and commercialization. Novo is helping bankroll Aspect's development of the assets, investing in the company and providing research funding. The arrangement gives Novo a chance to profit from the programs down the line. Novo is eligible for royalties and milestone payments on future product sales and, having handed the reins to Aspect for now, can expand its role in later-stage development and commercialization. The integration will involve the transfer of capabilities and expertise from Novo sites in Denmark and the U.S. to Aspect's Canadian operations. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/novo-nordisk-offloads-diabetes-assets-aspect-amid-cell-therapy-retreat XX XX Lucas Escobar has carved a role by proving that healthcare marketing can be culturally resonant, commercially powerful and deeply human. As director and head of U.S. consumer marketing at Insulet, he has redefined how the Omnipod tubeless insulin pump shows up in culture, transforming a medical device into a symbol of identity, inclusion and empowerment. Under Escobar's leadership, Insulet launched three breakthrough initiatives: Dyasonic: Sound of Strength, a Marvel comic collaboration introducing a superhero who uses Omnipod; The Pod Drop, which turned the sound of a pod change into a celebratory music track; and Omnipod Mango x Pantone, medtech's first color partnership, honoring the vibrancy of the diabetes community. Each blended creativity with purpose while driving results, helping fuel Omnipod's consistent double-digit growth and its position as the most prescribed insulin pump in the U.S. Living with type 1 diabetes himself, Escobar brings lived experience to his work, using storytelling not just to sell, but to make people feel seen. Click here to return to the 2026 MM+M 40 Under 40 homepage. From the January 01, 2026 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media https://www.mmm-online.com/40-under-40/40-under-40-lucas-escobar-insulet/ -- FDA approves an update to the prescribing info for Afrezza inhaled insulin. This is a revision to the recommendations for the starting mealtime dosage when patients switch from shots or insulin pumps. This is aimed at healthcare providers - the updated labeling was supported by results from the INHALE-3 trial. The FDA is still considering approval of Afrezza for kids – a decision there expect by summer. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/26/3225442/29517/en/MannKind-Announces-FDA-Approval-of-Updated-Afrezza-Label-Providing-Starting-Dose-Guidance-when-Switching-from-Multiple-Daily-Injections-MDI-or-Insulin-Pump-Mealtime-Therapy.html -- UK researchers have developed a calculator to predict whether someone is at risk for type 1 diabetes. They're hoping this helps in screening and in preventing DKA at diagnosis. They used the TEDDY study to create this calculator, which right now is in beta form and only for kids and teens ages 8-18. The current beta form of the calculator asks users to answer questions about four factors necessary to estimate a child's risk of developing type 1 diabetes: age, family history, number of confirmed autoantibodies, and genetic risk score. The calculator has been given regulatory approval as a diagnostic in the U.K., and he's working with a company that's hoping to bring it to the U.S. in the next few months in the form of a home genetic test kit. https://www.healthcentral.com/news/type-1-diabetes/new-calculator-might-help-predict-type-1-diabetes-before-symptoms-appear
We begin the show with a remembrance of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse who was shot and killed by federal agents on the streets of Minneapolis.The killing of Pretti has unnerved the nation as a whole, but also had an even more profound impact on the tight-knit community of front-line workers who serve as the foundation of our healthcare system. In a time of crisis, they are looking for health leaders to meet the moment and offer unconditional support.Not every event in a fast-paced world requires a statement or action from health brands, but when an ICU nurse is the victim of both senseless violence and vicious disinformation, the moment arises. As for the main interview, pharma editor Lecia Bushak speaks with Haymarket Media colleague Vera Luxner at Rare Disease Advisor about some upcoming initiatives related to Rare Disease Month, which takes place in February.Then, editor-in-chief Jameson Fleming and editor-at-large Steve Madden join the Trends segment to discuss the recent launches of the nomination period for the 2026 Agency 100, the MM+M Awards and the Healthcare Marketers Survey.Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music. Check us out at: mmm-online.com Follow us: YouTube: @MMM-onlineTikTok: @MMMnewsInstagram: @MMMnewsonlineTwitter/X: @MMMnewsLinkedIn: MM+M To read more of the most timely, balanced and original reporting in medical marketing, subscribe here.Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Heard a Pop in My Head: The Stroke Warning Sign Most People Ignore When Phat heard a pop in his head, it didn't feel dramatic. There was no collapse. No sirens. No panic. Just a strange sensation. A few minutes of numbness. Then… everything went back to normal. So he did what most people would do. He ignored it. Five days later, he was being rushed to the hospital with a hemorrhagic cerebellar stroke that nearly cost him his life. This is not a rare story. It's a dangerously misunderstood stroke warning sign and one that often gets dismissed because the symptoms disappear. When You Hear a Pop in Your Head, Your Brain Might Be Warning You “Hearing a pop in my head” isn't something doctors list neatly on posters in emergency rooms. But among stroke survivors, especially those who experienced hemorrhagic strokes, this phrase comes up more often than you'd expect. For Phat, the pop happened while stretching on a Sunday. Immediately after: His left side went numb The numbness lasted about five minutes Everything returned to “normal” No pain. No weakness. No emergency, at least that's how it felt. This is where the danger lies. Stroke Symptoms That Go Away Are Often the Most Misleading One of the most common secondary keywords people search after an experience like this is: “Stroke symptoms that go away” And for good reason. In Phat's case, the initial bleed didn't cause full collapse. It caused a slow haemorrhage, a bleed that worsened gradually over days. By Friday, the real symptoms arrived: Severe vertigo Vomiting and nausea Inability to walk Double vision after stroke onset By Sunday, his girlfriend called an ambulance despite Phat insisting he'd “sleep it off.” That delay nearly killed him. Cerebellar Stroke: Why the Symptoms Are Easy to Miss A cerebellar stroke affects balance, coordination, and vision more than speech or facial droop. That makes it harder to recognise. Common cerebellar stroke warning signs include: Sudden dizziness or vertigo Trouble walking or standing Nausea and vomiting Double vision Head pressure without sharp pain Unlike classic FAST symptoms, these can be brushed off as: Inner ear issues Migraine Muscle strain Fatigue or stress That's why “pop in head then stroke” is such a common post-diagnosis search. The Complication That Changed Everything Phat's stroke was classified as cryptogenic, meaning doctors couldn't determine the exact cause. But the consequences were severe. After repairing the bleeding vessel, his brain began to swell. Surgeons were forced to remove part of his cerebellum to relieve pressure and save his life. He woke up with: Partial paralysis Severe balance impairment Double vision Tremors Aphasia A completely altered sense of identity Recovery wasn't just physical. It was existential. The Invisible Disability No One Warns You About Today, if you met Phat, you might not realise he's a stroke survivor. That's one of the hardest parts. He still lives with: Fatigue Visual processing challenges Limited multitasking ability Balance limitations Cognitive overload This is the reality of invisible disability after stroke when you look fine, but your nervous system is working overtime just to keep up. Recovery Wasn't Linear — It Was Personal Phat describes himself as a problem solver. That mindset became his survival tool. Some of what helped: Self-directed rehabilitation (sometimes against advice) Meditation and breath-counting to calm the nervous system Vision therapy exercises to retrain eye coordination Strength and coordination training on his affected side He walked again after about a year. Returned to work after two. And continues to adapt more than four years later. Recovery didn't mean returning to the old version of himself. It meant integrating who he was with who he became. Why This Story Matters If You've Heard a Pop in Your Head This blog isn't here to scare you. It's here to clarify something crucial: If you hear a pop in your head followed by any neurological change, even if it goes away, get checked immediately. Especially if it's followed by: Numbness Vision changes Balance issues Confusion Head pressure or vertigo Stroke doesn't always announce itself loudly. Sometimes it whispers first. You're Not Alone — And Recovery Is Possible Phat now runs a platform called Hope for Stroke Survivors, sharing stories, tools, and reminders that recovery doesn't end when hospital rehab stops. If you're early in recovery, or terrified after a strange symptom, remember this: Stroke recovery is complex Timelines vary Healing continues for years You don't have to do it alone Learn more about recovery journeys and tools in Bill Gasiamis' book: The Unexpected Way That a Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened Support the podcast and community on Patreon: Patreon.com/Recoveryafterstroke “I heard a pop in my head… and because everything felt normal again, I ignored it.” Final Thought If this article helped you name something you couldn't explain before, share it with someone you love. Because sometimes, recognising a stroke doesn't start with fear. It starts with understanding. Disclaimer: This blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your doctor before making any changes to your health or recovery plan. “I Heard a Pop in My Head” — Phat's Cerebellar Stroke Story A pop. Five minutes of numbness. Then everything felt “normal.” Days later, Phat collapsed with a cerebellar haemorrhage. Phat Cao’s Linktree Research shortcut I use (Turnto.ai) I used Turnto.ai to find relevant papers and sources in minutes instead of hours. If you want to try it, my affiliate LINK PDF Download The Present Moment Is All We Have: You survived the stroke. Now learn how to heal from it. Highlights: 00:00 Introduction and Life Before the Stroke 01:14 The Stroke Experience 09:05 Initial Diagnosis and Recovery 13:29 Rehabilitation Journey Begins 17:44 Mental Challenges of Recovery 22:40 Identity Transformation Post-Stroke 30:57 Mindset Shifts and Control 36:39 Breath Control Techniques for Stress Relief 42:04 Managing Tremors and Physical Recovery 48:09 Growing an Online Presence and Sharing Stories 01:01:01 Understanding Stroke Recovery Transcript: Phat (00:00) on a Sunday. And then it wasn’t until I felt like severe stroke symptoms on a Friday, which was about, what is it, four or five days. And then I didn’t think I was having a stroke because I didn’t realize the details of the stroke. And so I just went about my day on that Sunday and until Friday I started getting like some BEFAST symptoms and then, you know, I tried to sleep it off it was actually just me and my girlfriend at the house and then she didn’t feel, comfortable. So then she called the ambulance, even though I told her I’ll just sleep it off. It’s okay. Introduction and Life Before the Stroke Bill Gasiamis (00:37) today’s guest is Fat Kyle, a stroke survivor who experienced something most people would brush off. He heard a pop in his head. It went away, so he kept going. Days later, his brain was bleeding. Fat story isn’t traumatic for the sake of it. It’s honest, it’s thoughtful, and it speaks directly to anyone who’s ever ignored a symptom because it didn’t last. In this conversation, we talk about delayed stroke symptoms, cerebellar hemorrhage, identity loss, invisible disability, meditation, and what it really takes to rebuild a life when your old one disappears. And if you’ve ever had that moment where you thought, was that something or nothing? This conversation really matters. Now, before we get into it, I want to briefly mention something that fits naturally with this topic. When you’re dealing with stroke, whether you’re newly affected or years into recovery, finding clear relevant information can be exhausting. research opinions, patients, stories and updates constantly coming out. And most of it isn’t written. with stroke survivors in tool I personally use and find helpful is Turn2. I like it because it cuts down the time and energy it takes to stay informed. Instead of digging through endless articles, Turn2.ai pulls together all stroke-related research updates, expert insights, and patient discussions in one place based on what you actually care about. It’s not about replacing doctors, it’s about reducing noise. when your focus, energy and capacity are limited. You’ll find the link in the description. And just to be transparent, if you choose to use my link, it helps support the podcast at no extra cost to you. All right, let’s get into Fats story. Bill Gasiamis (02:23) Phat Cao Welcome to the Phat (02:26) Hey Bill, thank you. It’s an honor to meet you. Bill Gasiamis (02:29) pleasures all mine. I pronounce that correctly? Phat (02:32) Yeah, you know you did. It’s not that complicated. Fat Cal is right. I blame my parents. Bill Gasiamis (02:39) Fair enough. that a common name in Vietnam? Phat (02:42) You know, it’s not a common name. Actually, it’s not a common Vietnamese name. But a lot of people do have fat, the first name, and then the last name people do. Some people do have it. It just happens in America, it means something else, you know, in English. Bill Gasiamis (02:58) It totally does, it sounds like I’m being mean. Phat (03:01) Yeah, I get it all the time. I’ve had to grow up like this. It’s been kind of rough. Bill Gasiamis (03:08) I hear you. Have you ever considered making a change to one of the names just for the sake of ease? Phat (03:15) Phat’s so funny. You know what? Because I wasn’t born in the US, because I live in the US. And when I got my citizenship, that was something I thought about. But then after I thought about it, I’m like, well, this is the name that was given to me. Vietnamese, it means something else. And so then I decided to keep it. Bill Gasiamis (03:33) What does it mean in Vietnamese? Phat (03:34) Phat was kind of like, means prosperity and also like high prosperity. Bill Gasiamis (03:41) Dude, that’s a cool name. Phat (03:43) Thank you, yeah. Yeah, so yeah, when I tell people, they’re like, oh wow. Bill Gasiamis (03:47) I had, ⁓ my name is not Bill, it’s Vasili. Phat’s my Greek name. My parents gave me that name when I was born. And when I had, when I turned 18 and I got my driver’s license, they asked me, because my birth certificate says Vasili, what do you wanna have on your driver’s license? And I think I made the wrong decision then. I chose Bill for the sake of ease of use. And once it’s on your driver’s license, then it goes on pretty much every other document after that. And it’s really difficult to go back and change everything. I kind of, I don’t regret it, but I love the connection to your roots, you know, with the original name that you were given. Phat (04:23) Yeah. ⁓ yeah. I get, you know what, I had that decision too, because everyone pretty much in my family, they changed their names. So, you know, when I was at that point, I decided not to. And so, hey, it is what it is. You know, I had to go through some stuff, but I think it kind of set, it created me to, you know, to kind of not care so much and just embrace my roots. Bill Gasiamis (04:59) Yeah. And with a name like prosperity, it’s probably helpful in taking, that attitude to the rest of your life, especially after a stroke, man. Phat (05:11) Yeah, yeah, definitely I had to live it, you know, but yeah. I don’t know how prosperous or how much that is since I had a stroke, but I had to live it. Bill Gasiamis (05:25) You have to adapt it somehow. So what was life like before stroke? Anyway, how did you go about your day? Phat (05:32) You know, before the stroke, was active. You know, I like to do a lot of community service. I was involved with a lot of nonprofits. You know, I felt like I did various things. You know, I went through a lot of different stages in my life, but I’ll start off coming to America here. You know, I grew up in a trailer home. My parents escaped Vietnam, took us over here. And, you know, we grew up pretty poor and so you know he’s just growing up in the US my parents didn’t know a lot of English and so that was kind of my childhood. But just growing up and slowly you know learning how to adjust you know that was kind of my thing and I was trying to learn as much as I could so that way I can help my family and stuff and you know be the one to provide and stuff too and help them out for all their sacrifices. But yeah that was my life before the stroke in a nutshell. Bill Gasiamis (06:31) What kind of conditions did they escape? Phat (06:33) You know what, was towards, it was at the end of the war and so the communists had taken over. So they were fighting for the South, you know, which is allies with the U.S. and they wanted to bring us over here for freedom. Bill Gasiamis (06:48) Wow, pretty intense. old were you? Phat (06:49) Yeah. You know, I was one year, not even one years old when I got over here, but during when they escaped, they went to a refugee camp in the Philippines and that was where I was born. I also have two older sisters that were born in Vietnam, but I was the only one born in the Philippines at the refugee camp until they got, they got accepted to the U.S. and then they took our whole family over here. Bill Gasiamis (07:16) And what year was that? Phat (07:18) Phat was 1983. Bill Gasiamis (07:20) Dude, you don’t look like you were born like in 1983. You look like you were born only like in the 2000s. Phat (07:24) Hey, I appreciate it. No, I was born in 1983. So I’m 42 right now. Bill Gasiamis (07:34) Now you don’t look like you’re 42, but that’s great. Phat (07:38) I it. Yeah, you know, I had the stroke when I was 36. So it’s been about four years and seven months. I did a calculation. Bill Gasiamis (07:48) How did that come about? happened? How did you end up having a stroke? Phat (07:54) You know, as far as the stroke, I had a hemorrhagic stroke. It was actually a cerebellar stroke and the doctors could not determine exactly how it happened. And so, you know, they did some tests and stuff, but they couldn’t figure it out. So mine is considered cryptogenic. Bill Gasiamis (08:13) Defend the means. They found the bleeding blood vessel though, right? Phat (08:19) Yeah, they found a bleeding. ⁓ One of the arteries in the cerebellum was bleeding. And so it was like, I felt like a on a Sunday. And then it wasn’t until I felt like severe stroke symptoms on a Friday, which was about, what is it, four or five days. And then I didn’t think I was having a stroke because I didn’t realize the details of the stroke. Heard a Pop in My Head And so I just went about my day on that Sunday and until Friday I started getting like some BEFAST symptoms and then, you know, I tried to sleep it off and until, you know, it was actually just me and my girlfriend at the house and then she didn’t feel, you know, like comfortable. So then she called the ambulance, even though I told her I’ll just sleep it off. It’s okay. Bill Gasiamis (09:14) Did you actually hear a pop? Felt a pop? I’ve heard similar stories before. like, what was that like? Phat (09:22) Okay, you know, I did feel a pop. And then actually, when I was stretching at that time, which I don’t tell a lot of people because it sounds really funny, but I was stretching at that time and then I felt a pop. And so that’s when like part of my left side went numb. And then I was wondering if it was a stroke and I didn’t know much about strokes, right? You have your assumptions. what a stroke is and so I was like, well maybe it’s a stroke and at that time I waited about five, 10 minutes and I felt normal again. So then I just went about my day and at that time I was doing a lot of stuff so I kind of forgot about it. Which, you know, it doesn’t make sense but yeah, I forgot about it. Bill Gasiamis (10:13) Did the numbness hang around the entire five days before you got to the hospital? Phat (10:19) It did not. It only stayed for about five minutes and then it went back to normal. Bill Gasiamis (10:25) Wow. Phat would kind of distract you from thinking that there was something wrong, right? Because the numbness goes away. hear a pop, so what? Like everything’s fine. Phat (10:26) So then… Yeah. Yeah, then I should have went to the hospital and got it sort of looked into, but at that time I didn’t. And then I just continued with what I had to do and I went back to work and not realizing it was a slow bleed. You know, I think your body, now that I’m looking back, I think your body kind of fixes itself a little bit as much as it can. And then it was like, it turned into like a slow bleed until it got to a point where. Bill Gasiamis (10:50) realizing it ⁓ Phat (11:04) I was nauseous, I couldn’t walk my vertigo, I was throwing up. My eyes, I had double vision, and that’s when it really hit me. Bill Gasiamis (11:05) just being vicious. I could be little bit of wimp, I could be the longest three in the I know why. Friday would have been the worst day, was that kind of progressively getting worse as the days were passing or did it just sort of suddenly come on on Friday? Phat (11:15) Friday. It just suddenly came on on Friday. I had a lingering like small headache, but then it suddenly came on on Friday. Bill Gasiamis (11:27) Thank Hmm. And then from there, were you, let’s go to the hospital or were you trying to play it down again? Phat (11:40) I was trying to play it down until Sunday. So I was trying to sleep it off. And then, you know, by the time Sunday hit, you know, finally my girlfriend just called the ambulance and that’s when they came and then they checked me out and they found out I was having a stroke. Bill Gasiamis (11:58) I had a similar experience. I noticed, I didn’t hear anything, but I noticed numbness in my big toe, my left toe. And that was on a Friday. And then it was slowly, the numbness was spreading from my toe to my foot, to my ankle. And then by the Friday later, so seven days later, nearly eight days later, the numbness had gone down my entire left side. Phat (12:07) Mmm. Bill Gasiamis (12:27) So I was progressively getting worse every day. It was slowly creeping up as the blood vessel kept leaking. The blood clot got bigger and bigger. And my wife was telling me, you need to go to the hospital. You need to get a checked out, all that kind of stuff. I went to the chiropractor because I thought I’d done something to my back. And that’s why I had a pinched a nerve. I thought something like that. Chiropractor couldn’t find anything. I went back to the chiropractor the Friday. The chiropractor said, you need to go to the hospital because whatever’s happening to your left side is not happening because of your ⁓ back or your spine or any of that stuff. And instead of going to the hospital when he said so, I went home. My wife said, you what did he say? I told her, I told her that he said I should go to the hospital. She said, why are you at home? ⁓ I was reluctant the whole time. Like I didn’t wanna go because I had work to do, I was busy. Phat (13:13) Really? Rehabilitation Journey Begins Bill Gasiamis (13:26) It was really busy work week. We were helping out a whole bunch of clients. So yeah, it was insane, but what you’re describing that delay, the delay is very familiar. Phat (13:35) Phat’s insane. You know, that’s the first time I’ve heard someone that has a similar experience to mine and I can relate with you. You know, I was like, it’s okay. And there was a lot going on. didn’t want to, you know, delay certain things that was going on. I was in the process of closing on a house and stuff. So I’m like, okay, let’s just finish this up. You know, I didn’t want it to put me behind or nothing. Bill Gasiamis (14:01) Yeah. What kind of work were you doing? Phat (14:03) You know, I was doing engineering, so I’m an engineer for Boeing. Bill Gasiamis (14:08) Yeah, pretty intense job. Phat (14:11) Yeah, you know, I do see that, but it wasn’t because of stress. I don’t believe it was. Because I really did have a good, I feel like I did have a good balance of with my stress and also a balance of, you know, play and stuff like that too. And I felt like I was handling it okay. Bill Gasiamis (14:31) smoking, drinking, any of that kind of stuff. Phat (14:34) You know, before then I was smoking and drinking more, but I wasn’t smoking that much. Before the stroke, I probably had quit about a year before that, but I was smoking before that for about like 10 years, 15 years. Bill Gasiamis (14:41) Yeah. Yeah, again, familiar. I was 37 when I had my bleed the first time and I was also, yeah, yeah, that’s crazy. Like it happens around the same age for so many people I’ve interviewed between the age of 35 and 40 when they’ve had bleeds specifically. I don’t know why. And my, and I was smoking for, Phat (14:58) ⁓ we’re like the same age. joke, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (15:19) I was 37, so I was smoking from the age of 13 or 14 on and off. Um, I wasn’t drinking heavily, but it was drinking. But again, my thing was, um, something I was born with. was potentially going to bleed at some point. And, um, it’s just one of those things. Uh, but I think that my, uh, my lifestyle didn’t. Phat (15:36) all yours. Bill Gasiamis (15:44) It didn’t make things better. It sort of created the perfect storm for it to bleed. And that’s why since then I don’t drink and I don’t smoke 100%. You know, like I’ve just completely stopped. I have a drink maybe once a year. Phat (15:56) yeah, I’m the same way too, I just… Yeah, I get you. I was never like a heavy drinker maybe once a weekend, you know, but now I completely stop smoking or drinking. It just doesn’t interest me. Bill Gasiamis (16:09) Yeah, what were the early days like? Were you scared? Was it confusing? How do you deal with the initial diagnosis and your brain’s bleeding? Phat (16:21) Yeah, you know, in the beginning, it was a big shock. know, I think looking at me now, you know, you couldn’t tell. But, you know, I’ve built up to this point. But the biggest thing was I had complications when I had the stroke and, know, I had ⁓ my brain was swelling and so they had to do a second surgery on me to remove part of my brain. And so then that’s what left me with the, you know, disabilities and stuff, which, you know, I had most of the symptoms that most stroke survivors experience, spasticity, aphasia. I had tremors, know, partial paralysis, my balance, vision, things like that. But yeah, it was tough for sure, just coming home and at first you’re just so busy in the hospital working to regain, you know, yourself again, to rebuild yourself. But coming home, yeah, it’s just a… It hits you because you can’t do anything that you used to do. And everything changes, know, even your relationships change. Bill Gasiamis (17:22) Yeah. Which part of the brain did they take out man? And why did they need to take it out? Was it just a blood vessel that burst or? Mental Challenges of Recovery Phat (17:33) They took part of my cerebellum out and it was because after they repaired, since I had a hemorrhagic stroke, they repaired that vessel. It was, my brain started swelling and there was blood just filling up so then they had to remove part of my brain so they can allow space for it to swell up. Bill Gasiamis (17:59) Wow. Phat (18:00) Yeah, so I don’t know, you know, they decided to remove part of my brain, but it ended up working out. Actually before that, before they removed the second surgery, I was completely partially paralyzed. But in a way, since that happened, I had some movement. Bill Gasiamis (18:18) It’s just crazy, isn’t it? I had a recent brain scan where, because I’ve been having a lot of headaches and to throw caution into the wind, like they went and got me another brain scan literally about six months ago. And it was the first time I saw what my brain looks like after brain surgery. And there’s like a canal. Phat (18:37) they do. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (18:47) like a canal from my ear, that’s all, there’s like an entry wound and then there’s a line that goes in to the spot where they went and removed the blood vessel, like where the damage has caused my deficits, the ones that are still with me. And it’s just intense that you can have a little bit of your brain missing or gone or whatever removed and you’re still functioning. It is just amazing how far technology and how far Phat (19:04) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (19:17) Medicine has come. Phat (19:18) Yeah, that’s so incredible. The human body too, it makes you think about it. You know, I hear different things about, and just knowing like parts of our brain is dead, you know, and it’s able to, you know, regain different things. Neuroplasticity, right? Bill Gasiamis (19:36) Yeah. How long did it take you to get back on your feet after you realized you can’t walk? Phat (19:42) It took me about a year, but at that time I was still using a walker. Yeah, so about a year. Bill Gasiamis (19:47) And then from a walker, it become, how do you take the first steps away from a walker? What happened to allow that progression? Phat (19:57) you You know, I was told to use a cane and it would have helped me big time. But what I did was I skipped the cane and and then I use I just did it without the walker and I slowly built up built up the confidence. You kind of adjust. think each each time you transition like from one one from wheelchair to walker, you know, and then without the walker, you have to. Re-adapt the whole time and so that’s what I kind of did and it was ugly, know I fell a lot and stuff, but that’s what I did. I just kind of went for it Bill Gasiamis (20:33) So for those of you watching on YouTube, you might’ve noticed the change in scenery. That’s because the first part of the interview was recorded more than a week ago. And we had some technical difficulties because fat was in the car and we couldn’t get a decent connection. So we’re reconvening with that fat at home. Phat (20:55) Yeah, this is is better better connection Bill Gasiamis (20:58) Way better. And we finished the discussion off by me asking you a question about what you had said about how you continued your rehabilitation alone, where you were meant to be walking with the the Walker and you ditched it. And I was wondering, did your team find out that you weren’t walking with a Walker? Did they kind of like suss out that you We’re being, what’s the word, maybe a little bit risky or unsafe in the way that you were going about your rehab. Phat (21:34) Yeah, you know, I didn’t, I kind of, didn’t mention it to them really, but there was one of them that I did mention it to and she recommended I use a cane to be safe. And, you know, I did, I did say, tell her that I was trying it without it because I noticed that when I like switch like from the wheelchair in the beginning to the walker, it just like every time you switch, I noticed that you would have to adjust. so That’s the reason why I just went from the walker just to walking without a cane. Bill Gasiamis (22:08) Is it so that there’s less of an adjustment period between one thing to the next thing to the next thing was a kind of like just bypass everything in between and go straight to walking. Phat (22:18) Yeah, it was me being risky too, because I know if you fall or something, it could cause a lot of damage. But yeah, it was kind of my risk and my therapist, she wasn’t too happy about it. But I didn’t talk about it that much either. So I kind of kept it a little private too. Identity Transformation Post-Stroke Bill Gasiamis (22:40) what would you say some of the toughest challenges that you faced early on? Phat (22:44) I would say the toughest for sure is the mental and getting used to my new identity. You you come home and everything’s completely different. It kind of hits you at once. And I think, you know, living a normal life and then all of a you’re, you have a disability and you know, you can’t do the same things, you know, you could do the independence. So I think it’s all that. Bill Gasiamis (23:14) Yeah, you know, the mental, what does that mean for you? Like what is the mental challenge? Like, can you describe it? Phat (23:24) Yeah, I would say sadness. think anxiousness, fear. You don’t know what’s going to happen in your future. I think the unknown. Low energy. think those are the things that pop up in my head. Bill Gasiamis (23:45) Does it make you kind of overthink in a negative way or are you just comparing your old self to your new self? Phat (23:51) I think comparing my old self to my new self. Bill Gasiamis (23:55) Hmm. Do you reckon, do you reckon you brought some of that old self with you or is there a pause on the old self and why you’re kind of trying to work out what’s happening moving forward? Because a lot of people will talk about how, you know, their identity gets impacted, especially early on. And then sometimes down the track, when I speak to stroke survivors who are many years down the track, they might talk about how They brought some of their identity with them and then, and they’ve integrated that old identity into the new way they go about their lives. Early on is the old identity kind of far away over there and then there’s something completely different here. How did you experience it? Phat (24:44) Yeah, I think initially there were a lot of things and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. But I think throughout this time, you know, part of me has learned how to process it and resolve it and also rebuild myself. And so I think now, if anything, I take that experience to my present day to learn from and grow from. I feel like I’ve invested in myself enough to ⁓ not feel the same way, the negative things that, you know, were coming in the beginning. But now I think I’ve processed it correctly. And so I think I’m a lot better now. Bill Gasiamis (25:27) A lot of stroke survivors always often ask me for a timeline, you how long before this happened? How long before that happened? And we’re all so different, so it doesn’t really apply. But do you have a sense of the time that it took for you to integrate old self with new self? ⁓ I know you ⁓ got a substantial amount of your movement and your function back. How did you integrate? Phat (25:52) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (25:53) the two and how long did it take before you kind of felt okay with who you were. Phat (25:57) Yeah, that’s a that is a hard question to say it wasn’t like Suddenly everything was okay. It was kind of a process I think as you I mean I’m for over four and a half years now and so it was gradual but I would say initially about Two years, you know is when it took me two years to build myself up to when I could finally work again and Maybe about the two-year mark I felt like things were starting to come more together. But it was an evolution. feel like, you know, every year, every month or whatever, you learn different things. And so it’s kind of a process. Even today, you know, I’m still learning different things and, you know, it’s changing too in different ways, right? But that’s how was for me. Bill Gasiamis (26:48) Yeah. What kind of person are you? Are you like curious? Are you a problem solver? I’m very interested about kind of understanding how people come to be on my podcast. I know that there’s a portion of people who come on because they want to share their story and help connect to other people. Also share their story to help people through the early days of their own challenge. People also connect to meet me so that we can create a conversation and meet each other. Phat (26:55) You know. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (27:19) How do you go about your, what is your approach to stroke recovery about? What’s the fundamental thing that it’s about? Phat (27:29) Yeah, you know, that’s what I love about your podcast because it’s people from all walks of life. And I really like how you set it up. I mean, you say you don’t have to even prepare for it, but I think I’m the type of person. Yeah, I think I am ⁓ naturally a problem solver. think, know, in initially someone asked me if I cried and normally I, I don’t cry. And I remember when I had the stroke, once I got home, You know, I suddenly broke out in tears and you know, it was with my mom right there. And so it just hit me. know, initially I think, you know, we all get hit with that and our emotions and, you know, everything bottles up and has to come out or should come out. But, um, you know, I am a problem solver. I felt like after time, it gave me some time to process it. And I started thinking a bit like, okay, so how am I going to tackle this? So I tried to think of it like a problem that I had to solve and I slowly broke it down into pieces and started building myself up. know, I mean, when you look at me now, you you wouldn’t look at me and think like, okay, his stroke probably wasn’t that bad. But you know, it’s a lot different now than it was in the beginning. And so, you know, and that’s why with me, I figured it out. I started figuring out things and slowly improved until where I’m at now. Bill Gasiamis (28:53) That whole thing is that if you look at me now, you wouldn’t know that I had a stroke and I don’t come across as somebody who had a stroke, et cetera. And that’s a real challenge for me because I have had the worst week leading up to this interview again. Today’s probably the first day I felt really good, maybe for about four or five days. And I was struggling with fatigue and I was struggling with brain fog and I was struggling with sleep. And I was just a mess. Phat (29:04) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (29:23) half the person that I was a week earlier. And it’s. I’m always conscious about the fact that I put off of this vibe on my podcast interviews, because I try and be the best version of myself, because you need to be the best version of yourself when you’re interviewing another person, even if you don’t feel the best. ⁓ But at the same time, you want to be, what’s the word like? Phat (29:38) That’s so good, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (29:45) you wanna be authentic. I mean, that’s the only word I can come up with. And that means that I need to tell people about how I’m feeling during a podcast. Like I might be tired, half asleep. I might even come across a little bit off, but then still, this is sometimes what stroke looks like and the part of stroke. After the interviews, you may not see, you may not see what it’s like. And I don’t want people comparing themselves to me just because I mostly look okay on a podcast interview. Phat (30:21) Yeah, I think that’s the frustrating thing. no matter whether you look like it or don’t, I think we still both experience different types of things in After Effects. And I understand your situation because it is frustrating because a lot of times we might not show it, but we’re still dealing with things that survivors still experience. Mindset Shifts and Control And, you know, we in front of the camera, we had to put on a face, right. And even sometimes like at work or in front of my family, they don’t realize I’m still dealing with things. And, you know, even my significant others, there’s things she doesn’t fully understand, and I’m still dealing with it. You know, or I might do something and she’s like, why are you doing that? But she doesn’t realize what I’m going through inside. And the external is one thing and the internal is another. Bill Gasiamis (31:12) Yeah, extremely difficult for me to even wrap my head around it still. And, you know, I’m nearly 14 years post first stroke, you know, and I’m 12 years post surgery and there’s so many things that have improved and so many things that are better. But you know, when I’m, my kids were over the other day and they don’t often hang around with me for a long amount of time. So they don’t often see what it’s like for me. Phat (31:23) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (31:41) But everyone assumes that I am what’s wrong. Like everyone assumes there’s something wrong. And it’s like, I’m not cranky. There’s nothing wrong. I’m just having a stroke day. Like I can’t be better than what I am right now. And it’s not you, you know, it’s me. Phat (31:58) Yeah, big time. Yeah, I really feel like sometimes it’s hard for people to understand too if they haven’t had a stroke, but even for survivors to know that even people with, there are invisible disabilities out there, know, and each stroke is so complex and different. So we’re all, you know, having to deal with different things. And so that’s something to be aware of. And it’s good to be aware of that. Bill Gasiamis (32:25) What are some of the things that you still miss out on that you haven’t gone back to or you can’t do anymore or you choose not to do? Phat (32:36) Yeah, you know, I used to be a lot more active. I like, I love to snowboard before I can’t do that anymore because my balance is not at that point. And, plus I don’t want to take that risk in case something happens. Like, you know, I get some kind of traumatic brain injury or something or fall. ⁓ You know, my coordination, my fine manipulation isn’t good. My memory isn’t the best. I still have double vision, so I can’t do any type of like, like people are trying to invite me to play pickleball and I definitely can’t do that. You know, I can’t fall and track the ball, you know, plus my balance is horrible. Yeah. You know, I think my processing, I can only retain so much information or like Multitasking even though I think I believe multitasking isn’t the best but it’s like I can’t multitask, know, so you have to really focus in on one thing You know, I mean I built myself up to this point But it’s hard to do multiple things like if I’m really focused on something it’s hard for me to pay attention to something else Yeah, those are just some things Bill Gasiamis (33:52) You know with double vision, I don’t know anything about it. I’ve met so many stroke survivors who have double vision as a result of the stroke. Phat (34:00) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (34:01) This might sound like a silly question. If you close one of your eyes, does the double vision go away? Phat (34:08) It does go away. So just to explain, it’s just your eyes aren’t… normally your eyes work together, but then one is kind of offset a little bit. So you’re seeing two pictures, but if you close one eye, then the double vision goes away. But in order for you to improve the double vision, you got to train it to work together. Bill Gasiamis (34:23) Okay. Is that some kind of training that you’ve done that you’re continuing to do? Phat (34:30) So there’s. ⁓ Yeah, know what I did initially, I saw a vision therapist that I was seeing them for about a year, but it got really expensive. So I stopped. But now I’m just taking what I learned and I’m practicing it on my own. There is an option for people to get surgery, but I am focused on just doing everything naturally. And so it’s still healing as long as I continue to practice it and exercises stay consistent. But just recently, since I’m doing a lot of things, I haven’t been as good at being consistent with my vision therapy exercises, so it’s actually getting worse. Bill Gasiamis (35:14) huh. So what does the surgery do? Does it change the position of the eye? Phat (35:16) Yeah. Yeah, the surgery does change the position and then it corrects it right away. Which there’s a lot of survivors that have done that. My double vision actually was really extreme, but it’s at the point now where it’s almost corrected. Bill Gasiamis (35:40) And is that a muscle issue? that like, you know how some strike survivors talk about weakness on their left side? It’s that the muscle activates or becomes deactivated in a particular way. And therefore it doesn’t respond in the same way that it used to. It doesn’t contract and release from the contraction in the same way that it used to. Is that a similar thing that’s happening to the eye? Breath Control Techniques for Stress Relief Phat (36:09) Yeah, it is kind of similar to that. And so what I’ve learned from talking to different therapists, it helps when you like isolate one side and you build that side and strengthen it. And so that’s the part where I’m missing because I’m working them together, but still the affected side is weaker. And so it’s just not strong enough to keep up. It’s kind of like our bodies, like, you know how one side is more affected. So we is good for us to isolate it and build it and that’s what I try to do with my effective side normally but with the eye it’s more difficult with the eye because you really have to like wear a patch or something you know Bill Gasiamis (36:50) Yeah, I hear you. Okay, so you wear a patch, you isolate the other eye, but then at the same time, you’re decreasing the strength of the other eye, or you might be interfering with that one by isolating it. Phat (37:02) Yeah, you’re right. Yeah, that’s exactly it. So you don’t want to patch it too much because you also want the eyes to work together. Bill Gasiamis (37:09) Yeah, that sounds like a task. I know going to the gym when I’m ⁓ pushing weights with the barbell, my left side might be pushing the same amount of weight, but it’s never going to become as big or as strong as my right side. It always seems to be just, you know, the few steps behind it, no matter what I do. it’s improving in strength, but it’s always the weakest link. It’s always the link that kind of makes the last few exercises not possible because it fatigues quicker than the right side. Phat (37:43) Yeah. Yeah, that’s what I deal with too. And a lot of times your dominant side does help it out a lot. Bill Gasiamis (37:58) kind of dominant side, my dominant side kind of over helps. And then it puts that side at risk. Phat (37:58) So yeah, sometimes. Yeah, it will help. Yeah, big time. You know, I’ve learned that there’s different ways to do it. You can build that affected side like with reps and then also sometimes doing a little bit heavier just a few times. I don’t know. I feel like it gets really in depth like how you want to do it. You know, sometimes even like holding a lightweight like up for a long time, it kind of gets heavy and it wants to like fatigue out real fast. So there’s different variations that I’ve learned throughout this process. Bill Gasiamis (38:40) Yeah. Was there a moment, would you say that you had a moment where your mindset shifted and you realized that you were kind of growing through this, even though you had all this challenge and difficulty that you had to overcome? Phat (38:58) Yeah, you know, I have to really think about it. It’s kind of just been a process and I’ve kind of accepted so much to happen, but I would say for the longest time over a year, you know, I would go down on myself and think about, ⁓ I miss the old ways. But I think as I’ve continued on this path and Maybe I don’t think about it as much because I keep myself busy and just trying to recover. so, yeah, but I think I’m trying to think of when it was like kind of like a light bulb moment, but I kind of knew that I couldn’t stay stuck in that because I couldn’t change anything about it. So I had to focus on what I could do or what I had control over. Bill Gasiamis (39:52) Yeah, that control part is really important. It seems like people who lose control of things ⁓ tend to, depends if you’re a control freak kind of person, right? Some people really like the illusion of control. They tend to feel good when things are predictable. I’m kind of that way, I lose, if I lose predictability, take control. I like to take a few steps back and see what I can control. can control the way I think about things, the way I respond to things, the way I act, the way I behave. It becomes about what then I can control on a micro scale. Whereas some people will do control on a macro scale. And some people will control like, Phat (40:16) Yeah. Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (40:44) their environment and if their environment is okay, then they’re okay within their environment. But I don’t try and control external things. I try to influence them in a positive way, but I won’t expect an outcome from something that I don’t have any influence over. ⁓ And then I kind of try and work on what do I need to do to feel better about that thing that I am out of control of that I cannot change. but I can change how I respond to it. That’s kind of where all the work has been. Like where’s the work for you been? Phat (41:21) Yeah, you know, I do know that I do practice meditation and even before I had a stroke, I did practice meditation and that is one of the big things from meditation that you just naturally have that mindset to do that and to understand. And so I feel like that practice has actually helped me to be more flexible and accept certain things and focus on what I can control more. But just to say with the benefits of meditation, a lot of the benefits are specifically for stroke survivors. So I feel like it has helped me tremendously. Managing Tremors and Physical Recovery Bill Gasiamis (42:04) Did it begin, was that kind of one of the tools that helped you to begin to feel hopeful again? Phat (42:10) Yeah, to feel hopeful, to be able to focus better, have better memory, I guess reduce the pain that I was feeling, the depression. Yeah, there’s a list of things, yeah, think that’s, those are the ones off the top of my head. Yeah, I know it’s like. Bill Gasiamis (42:32) Are you a guided meditation? Phat (42:35) You know, I don’t, I just do ⁓ the most simple breath counting meditation. Yeah. It’s kind of, I can explain it, but you just focus on your breathing and counting. So it helps you with your focus too. don’t know. A lot of survivors have a problem with their focus. I did. So, and I still do actually now it’s not like to where I was before the stroke, but it’s getting almost there. Bill Gasiamis (42:45) What’s your kid? Counting how many counts in, how many counts out do you do? Phat (43:10) So you do inhale and exhale is one, inhale, exhale two, all the way till ten, and then you start over again. If that makes sense, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (43:23) So you just basically trying to get even inhale and exhalations. Are they even? they one is longer than the other or shorter than the other? Like how does it go? Phat (43:36) You can do even. I tend to do a longer exhale. Maybe like a, well, cause now I’ve built up the endurance. do about five second in inhale and then like a eight second exhale. But I also put together a PDF. I can send it to anybody for free if they want to just reach out to me. Yeah. And I can, you can put my information on the show notes. Yeah. It’s a really basic thing I put together if anyone’s interested. And Navy SEALs, use this type of, I mean, it’s also called box breathing. It’s kind of box breathing or meditation. And, you know, I know they use it for like extreme stress and things like that too. Bill Gasiamis (43:59) Okay, cool. helps people calm their autonomic nervous system to go into a parasympathetic state, which is the relaxed state. That’s what the, yeah, the longer exhalation helps people go there. You can basically intervene in a ⁓ heightened anxious state or a stressed state or a upset state. And you can intervene within a few minutes and bring yourself into a calm state just by changing the way that you breathe. You know what’s really cool fat? Phat (44:29) That’s exactly it, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (44:53) my gosh, I learned this the other day on TikTok. think I saw it. I can’t remember who it was that showed it to me. So unfortunately I can’t credit them, but also people who do yoga or that kind of stuff probably already know this, but to me it was like the most brand new amazing thing that I’ve ever learned. And what it was, if you can see my fingers, right? They said that if you try this, if you press ⁓ your thumb onto the finger after Phat (44:54) Yeah. and Bill Gasiamis (45:22) your little finger, I don’t know what it’s called, finger. So these two, so not your thumb, your thumb and not the little finger, the next one over. When you breathe, what do you notice? And what I noticed, tell me if you noticed this, is I noticed that my breathing shifts from my belly to my chest. somehow my chest takes over the breathing. Somehow my breath moves to my chest and it feels like a labored more anxious breath, right? And then if you shift it from that to your thumb and your first finger, Phat (45:43) But, sorry, just need to focus. Thank Bill Gasiamis (46:06) your breath automatically shifts to the belly and your diaphragm expands and contracts. And I tried that and I had the most profound experience. The first finger, your first finger and your thumb, two fingers next to them. Phat (46:16) really? on. Bill Gasiamis (46:26) Yeah, those two, yeah, yeah. ⁓ I felt like my breath shifted automatically on its own when I did that. And I don’t know if everyone gets that experience. So then for fun, I tried it with my wife and I said to her, can you please do this with your fingers? The first one was the little finger. I wish I knew what they were called, but the finger next to the little finger and the thumb. Phat (46:26) this. really? Bill Gasiamis (46:54) I asked her to do that and I asked her to tell me how does that feel when you’re breathing and she said that feels really terrible, I feel anxious. And I said, okay, cool. Now just please change it to the other two fingers, the first finger and your thumb and then see what that feels like. And she said that feels far better and the anxiousness has gone away. Phat (47:17) Really? Wow. Bill Gasiamis (47:18) Yeah. So I reckon if you have a play with that and you pay attention, I think I’ve seen a lot of yogis or people who practice yoga or who meditate, think I’ve seen people hold their fingers like that. And as a result of that, perhaps they automatically instinctively activate the diaphragm and the belly breath instead of the chest breath, which is the more anxious breath. It was such an interesting little hack to experience literally by changing which two fingers you’re pressing together. And it kind of connects to that meditation side of it. And I think it would add for me, it would add something extra to meditation that I previously didn’t know about. So isn’t that fascinating? Growing an Online Presence and Sharing Stories Phat (48:09) Yeah, that is so fascinating. I actually don’t even normally sit like that. I just put my hands in my lap. But I did. If you notice, I still have tremors on this side, and that’s how I actually got my tremors to reduce is I would hold it like this sometimes and just meditate. And then it’s just like heels or something. But yeah, before it used to shake a lot. Now it’s a lot better. Bill Gasiamis (48:17) Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So do the meditation from now on. Phat (48:39) but sometimes just doing these finger taps. Bill Gasiamis (48:42) Yeah, right. That’s for coordination and that, right. Phat (48:44) Okay, you might try that. Yeah, yeah. Also you do use the pointer finger and the thumb. Bill Gasiamis (48:47) Yeah, try those first two fingers. Make a circle with it. That’s it, is that what it’s called, the pointer finger? Phat (48:55) Okay Bill Gasiamis (48:57) just connects to your belly. Phat (48:59) I’m off to the end. Bill Gasiamis (49:01) I have no idea how, but I love it. love that it does. It’s such a cool thing. Phat (49:05) Yeah, especially you feel that I’m gonna try it. Yeah Bill Gasiamis (49:10) So you know that tremor that you said about your hand, is that also in your leg? Phat (49:15) No, it’s only the hand. Bill Gasiamis (49:17) and it it gets worse when you are tired, I imagine. Phat (49:19) Yeah. Yeah, it does get worse under like pressure or if I’m tired. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (49:32) but you’ve found that it’s settled down a lot since the early days. Phat (49:37) Yeah, it has. So as I continue to build it, it has. Yeah, in the beginning it was really bad, but I continued to do different things. A lot of resistance training, like with rubber bands and stuff like that, yeah. I do different things. Bill Gasiamis (49:58) Do you remember what it was like in the early days? Is that the dominant hand that you use or? Phat (50:05) No, it’s not my dominant hand. Bill Gasiamis (50:08) Did they make you try and use it too? Okay. Phat (50:09) because I’m bright, dumb, and… Yeah, they said they want me to use it. Sometimes I do get lazy too. I try different things, like even for a time frame I’ll brush my teeth with my effective side, my non-dominant. But a lot of times I get lazy because it is a lot slower. So I just go to my dominant hand. I’m still guilty of it. Bill Gasiamis (50:39) just to get the job done quicker. Phat (50:41) Yeah, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (50:42) Tell me a little bit about your, ⁓ your Instagram page. Phat (50:49) Okay. Well, I started an Instagram page. It’s called Hope for Stroke Survivors. And initially, I just made it for myself to collect information on recovery. Because I felt like I was limited on the information out there. And I would find some stuff on social media. And so I started collecting it for myself and know, eventually I made it public and I started, people started following it and gravitating towards it. And so I decided to start sharing different like tips. And then I continued to do that and more people started following it until I think that was around a year after my stroke. And now I just continue to do that and it’s grown to this point now. And so I felt like a part of it was kind of my outlet. You know, you know, I’m passionate about strokes and I want to share and provide awareness. so, yeah, I started for myself, but now it’s grown to where it’s at now. And I feel like, you know, it’s, I want to provide hope and also share different people’s stories because I really enjoy, and I still enjoy seeing comeback stories. And so, you know, that’s what happened with that. And so now it’s been about, what is it? for four years or something. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (52:19) Hope for stroke survivors like 11.6K followers. Phat (52:23) Yes, call them. I’m sorry, what was that? Bill Gasiamis (52:26) It’s got 11.6K followers, 929 posts, and in the description it says, don’t fear change, trust the process. My goal is to spread hope while recovering from a severe stroke. Check out the stories from fellow stroke survivors too. Phat (52:45) Yeah, you know, after a while, I felt like, ⁓ I want to share survivor stories. feel like bring our community together. There’s a lot of survivors out there that are doing great things like yourself. You know, I found your stuff. And so, you know, I feel like it really gives a lot of us, you know, motivation, hope to believe what’s possible out there, because a lot of us have. you know, we get the wrong information, you know, I want to be able to show people what’s possible because a lot of times, you know, there’s like myths or whatever, and I just want to give people that hope. So I’ve expanded it to YouTube and also TikTok. And so, yeah, it’s grown tremendously on YouTube also. So it’s pretty cool. Bill Gasiamis (53:33) now. What kind of content you put out on YouTube? Phat (53:37) I, the same stuff, I pretty much just blast the same thing on. Well, now I’m starting to do more, I want to do more interviews, but recently I have kind of cut back on it because of time, but I want to do more interviews for like survivors and therapists and doctors on YouTube. I think that’s where I want to take it. Bill Gasiamis (54:00) Yeah. Yeah. To kind of share more information about the kind of ways that they help other people. Phat (54:08) Yeah, it’s exactly like, you know, what you’re doing. I think that’s amazing. I mean, you helped me out so much. remember yours is actually my top podcast and I would listen to it all the time. Bill Gasiamis (54:13) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I really appreciate that. mean, you know what I love is that you’ve been doing this for four years. I’ve been doing this for 10. Somehow you’ve cracked the code. You’ve got 36.8k subscribers. I’ve barely got 8,000. So that’s very interesting to me. Like how that some channels that share pretty much the same type of content grow. And then mine has been going for 10 years and I can’t seem to get above 10,000 subscribers. What’s your trick? know, like how did you manage to get that many subscribers? Is there something that you do consistently? I’m also asking for me, but at the same time, there’ll be other stroke survivors who are thinking about starting a YouTube channel perhaps, or thinking about sharing some way or growing this type of a community. And they’re reluctant because they don’t know what they need to do and they don’t know what could happen. Now I’m not completely dissatisfied with 8,000 followers. I’m perfectly satisfied with that. But of course I wanna make sure I reach way more stroke survivors because that’s the whole point of this is to get out. Do you have any tips as to what it was that kind of helped the channel grow so fast? Phat (55:25) Yeah, yeah. Yeah, you know, I think a big one is consistency. You know that. But, you know, I have learned a lot of things. read a lot and a part of it is also. Initially, I would share other survivors stories and also it was ⁓ like even survivors in who have had like cancer or different types of sicknesses. And so initially I was just doing that for fun. so then I think it attracted more people because it was a variety of things. But then, you know, I know that I didn’t plan to do it. if it’s. If I was going to do that, I don’t want to share other people’s things, you know, like if I want to be more serious, I have to niche down or I got to share my own stuff because I don’t want to take stuff from people. But initially. I was sharing a bunch of stuff and not wanting, I wasn’t expecting it to grow like that and I was just doing it for my own reason, for my own purpose and I think that’s how it attracted so many people too. Bill Gasiamis (56:46) Yeah. Look, it’s, it’s very cool that, um, the people have subscribed. Absolutely. And what’s good about it, even though it’s not all your content, it doesn’t really matter because if you’re putting content out there that people, uh, I mean, you’re not stealing the content, you’re not changing the names or anything like that or repurposing it. All you’re doing is, um, uh, all you’re doing is kind of pointing people to the direction of somebody else’s content channel or whatever. you know what I mean? Phat (56:58) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (57:17) ⁓ but I know what you’re saying. Phat (57:18) Yeah, yeah. mean, I would always put their contact or their credit. But that wasn’t my intent of doing it. And I’m not making any money off of it. But then I’m learning about, OK, what can I do to make this bigger and help more people? And now I’m trying to focus down or just come up with my own content so that way people can see that too. Bill Gasiamis (57:31) Yeah, yeah. Yeah. ⁓ I think there’s not enough voices in stroke recovery and awareness and support and why, you know, we need more. need every version of person, how they’re affected and different cultural backgrounds and that we need way more people kind of putting content out and sharing their version of the story. My story resonates with you, but it might not resonate with someone else, you know? So if, if we can have more people out there listening, who are curious about it. Phat (57:53) Yeah. You’re right, you’re right. Bill Gasiamis (58:17) ⁓ biting the bullet and doing it. It would be fantastic if that happened and then more people to collaborate with. Phat (58:21) You know, I think it’s Yeah, I think it’s easy to pay attention to the subscribers or the followers, but a lot of times too, the way how I did it is if it can just help one person, you know, that makes me happy and then it just grew like that. But that’s what I continue to do. You know, I mean, maybe there’s more subscribers. but maybe your content is connecting really deeply with more people, you know? So I feel like it can’t always be compared exactly to the followers. And if you’re a survivor, you know, I wouldn’t want to let you feel like demotivated because of that. you know, I think if you’re passionate about it, just do it. you know, I think there’s plenty of room for a bunch of people, right? Like you were saying. Bill Gasiamis (59:15) I what you said, like if you’re just passionate, just do it. That’s why I started, I didn’t start out to get a certain number of subscribers or anything like that. I just started out to share. What’s cool is that the subscribers have happened. What’s fascinating is to view like how other people have grown their channel. what, it’s a completely different version of what you’ve done and yours has grown and I’m just keen to learn about it. And I think it will encourage or help other people, you know, do the same thing. Phat (59:24) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (59:45) ⁓ And that’s kind of why I raised it. What I love about what you said is if it helps one person, like I said the same thing, dude, it helps so many more than one person. You just don’t know it because very few people reach out. Not that you’re expecting them to, but people just get the help and then they move on and they go and do good stuff. And it’s like, even better. ⁓ But every so often I get people like you sending me messages going Thanks for that episode. That was a great interview. I really got a lot out of that Can you point me in this direction or can you connect me with that person? One of the things that I do best I think then better than anything is I can connect people from all around the world with people who Are ⁓ listening and they want to get information about the thing that you tried or that service that you ⁓ purchased or whatever, you that’s what I love about it the most is I can connect people and they could be on different continents. And I love that I can do that from Australia, you know, like it’s crazy. Understanding Stroke Recovery Phat (1:00:58) Yeah Yeah. And especially, yeah, it has affected me too. You know, like I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t be standing here like this if I didn’t hear your podcast. You know, I could literally say that, you know, so that’s pretty cool. Yeah. And you’re in Australia. I’m in Arizona. Bill Gasiamis (1:01:17) It’s fabulous, man. It’s so fascinating. That’s one of the things I love about technology is that with time, technology will improve and make things better for people. And hopefully it’ll help way more people than it’s helping at the moment. It’s definitely helped me with my mental health, having this podcast, this platform,
My first hire was a woman I could totally see myself being best friends with-- Turns out that would be the first of MANY hiring and delegation mistakes I'd end up making in my business. If only I had this episode, and Business Scaling Coach Nata Salvatori to learn from, back then!(But also, no regrets, because I still love that first hire and we're friends to this day)In this episode, you'll hear about the emotional and strategic sides of growing a team—from micromanaging fears, to delegating the wrong tasks, to the freedom that's possible when you do it right.If you've ever said:“I need a unicorn” “I'll hire once I'm making more.”“It's just faster if I do it myself.”...this one's for you.We talk about:Why thinking “you're the only one who can do it” is actually hurting your businessThe counter-intuitive shift that's essential before you can delegate anythingHiring people who are better than you What you need to set up in your business before you hireHow delegating is directly tied to wealth, energy, and expansionWhether you're hiring your first VA or managing a full team, this episode is a must-listen for anyone serious about building a business that runs without you constantly feeding the fire.
Give the gift of everyday luxury and make every moment comfortable. Head to cozyearth.com and use my code COZYMMM for 20% off sitewide. And if you get a Post-Purchase Survey, be sure to mention you heard about Cozy Earth at the Maiden Mother Matriarch podcast.The word 'meritocracy' was originally intended as a pejorative. It was coined in a 1958 novel written by the British social scientist Michael Young. In the dystopia that Young imagined, the old order has been overthrown and replaced with a tyrannical system obsessed with merit. Today's guest not only joins Young in his critique of meritocracy, he also takes a further bold step in endorsing some extremely old fashioned ideas about wealth, family, and legacy. In an age when celebrities routinely boast about their plans to disinherit their children and leave them to fend for themselves financially, Johann Kurtz makes a counter-cultural argument for nepotism. Do not give your money to charity, he says. Do not encourage your children to launch themselves into the meritocratic rat race. Learn, instead, from the ancient practices of aristocrats who had very different ideas about how to cultivate virtue in their descendants. Kurtz is the author of the 'Becoming Noble' Substack. His new book is titled 'Leaving a Legacy: Inheritance, Charity, & Thousand-Year Families.'Discussed in the show: 'Leaving a Legacy'Stress induced by downward social mobility'Good Money' podcast seriesSurvey on attitudes towards grandchildren'Toxic Charity''Revolt of the Elites'MMM is sponsored by 321 - a new online introduction to Christianity, presented by former MMM guest Glen Scrivener. Check it out for free at 321course.com/MMM. Just enter your email, choose a password and you're in — there's no spam and no fees. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Download our Mobile App! iOS | Android --- Mmm…the sound of a frying egg is so satisfying! It bubbles gently in the pan, dancing with the heat, changing from fluid to solid, from formless to familiar. You know what to expect, and it never disappoints. It is pure, consistent comfort. ---
In this episode, Jenna sits down with Master Coach Caryn Gillen for a deep, relatable and accessible conversation on how knowing your values shifts the way you make decisions, run your business, and experience all your relationships.If you've ever felt selfish for protecting your time, guilty for doing things your way, or frustrated that you're not being understood-- this is for you.Caryn explains how truly living in alignment with your values takes guts because it inherently requires not making everyone else happy. But it's also the path to clarity, clear decision making, and building an intentional life and business.Identify your core values using Caryn's mini course "The Values Equation": https://caryngillen.thrivecart.com/thevaluesequation/?coupon=JENNA50
What if your marketing measurement didn't just tell you what happened—but actually told you what to do next? In this episode, I'm joined by Peter Grafe, co-founder of Blue Alpha, to break down what they're building: an action system for marketing that combines media mix modeling (MMM), incrementality testing, and AI agents to deliver real-time insights and campaign-level budget recommendations.We dig into why MMM is making a comeback (privacy, tracking limits, offline + brand spend), why deterministic attribution isn't enough, and how Blue Alpha bridges the gap between “You should increase YouTube spend” and the real operational question: which campaigns, how much, and under what constraints? Peter also shares how their anomaly detection agents spot things like creative fatigue, how business goals get infused into “context-aware” recommendations, and why the future of search + discovery (AIO/SEO) pushes marketers up-funnel, whether they like it or not.If you care about customer experience, data-driven insights, adaptability, AI, and business growth, this one is packed with practical frameworks and a clear mental model for modern marketing measurement. Tune in and let me know what you think: are you ready for marketing analytics that actually executes?Peter Grafehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ped-grafe/
The Cat Distribution System Oh. Well. Um, what's that? Oh— you— I know its a cat, but what is it doing here??? Mini Monday Moments (MMMs) are short, non erotic, wholly safe for work, (usually) gender neutral audios covering all manner of small, common little day-to-day scenarios that someone may need support/comfort/reassurance for. I would LOVE to record a moment just for you, so please; feel free to suggest a new MMM by using this form: https://forms.gle/M6uQ7vxmjGVLNWos9 Let me bring a little lightness and joy to your Monday. Support Mini Monday Moments by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/mini-monday-moments Find out more at http://minimondaymoments.com
Ari Paparo and Eric Franchi are joined by Erez Levin, a former Googler who focuses on media and inventory quality. They dig into what “quality” really means in programmatic advertising, why short-term outcomes can be misleading, and how incentive structures have pushed spend toward lower-value impressions. Takeaways Quality is best understood through effectiveness, but most measurement overweights short-term signals. “Not all impressions are created equal.” quality varies by context, format, and goal. Video definition loopholes led to premium pricing for lower-attention formats and contributed to market confusion. MFA, SPO, and curation are connected symptoms of incentives that reward cheap scale and vanity metrics. Verification helps, but quality needs to be addressed across the full media workflow, including experimentation and MMM. Agentic buying could either improve quality controls or make it easier to optimize only to what's measurable in the near term. Publisher traffic declines reinforce the difference between commoditized content and differentiated journalism or creator-led media. Chapters 00:00 Welcome and introduction to media quality 01:29 Marketecture Live updates and announcements 04:18 Erez Levin on why advertising quality matters 06:00 Defining quality vs outcomes in digital advertising 08:30 Brand impact, long-term effectiveness, and mental availability 09:43 Lessons from Google AdX and DV360 10:58 Video misclassification, IAB definitions, and market fallout 14:03 Outstream video, pricing, and mobile gaming use cases 17:00 MFA, SPO, and the real causes of inventory quality problems 19:03 Tools, verification, and the role of measurement frameworks 20:30 Agentic buying, AI, and control over media quality 22:41 AI news: Google UCP, AdCP, and agentic commerce 30:13 Apple, Siri, and Google Gemini's implications 34:16 Publisher traffic decline and the future of content 36:23 Agentic buying vs RTB and portfolio theory 42:34 AppleCart funding and influence-based advertising 45:04 Liftoff IPO filing and the mobile ad tech landscape 47:57 Google antitrust lawsuits update 49:03 Closing thoughts and wrap-up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode I sit down and share the entire inspiration for this D-Now, Winter Retreat & Summer Camp on-going games with my friend, Andrew Jansen. Andrew is a 10+ year youth worker, and his assassin game sparked this entire podcast mini-series. He expains his creative (and super CHEAP) adaptation to this game. Plus! Andrew shared his lock-in survival guide for FREE! Andrew's Lock-in Guide: https://www.patreon.com/posts/10-year-veterans-146449370?utmmedium=clipboardcopy&utmsource=copyLink&utmcampaign=postsharecreator&utmcontent=join_link SHOW NOTES Shownotes & Transcripts https://www.hybridministry.xyz/184 BECOME A HYBRID HERO https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry ❄️ WINTER SOCIAL MEDIA PACK https://www.patreon.com/posts/winter-seasonal-144943791?utmmedium=clipboardcopy&utmsource=copyLink&utmcampaign=postsharecreator&utmcontent=join_link
Nadim Malik drops by, and brings the receipts with him. Nadim is founder of Sutton Place Strategies, the preeminent provider of deal origination and business development data to private equity and M&A firms. The episode begins with Nadim's recollections of early encounters with the MMM hosts, including contemporaneous notes on a 2011 meeting with a characteristically friendly but non-committal Charlie. After jumping back to Nadim's origin story (emigre parents from Pakistan, childhood in New York ) and early career, Sutton Place Strategies gets its due. Nadim founded SPS in 2009, developed it into a key industry resource and then sold the business twice – first to Bain & Co. in 2020 and then to With Intelligence in late 2024. Discussion concludes with Nadim's exit following the second sale – and thoughts to date on his much-anticipated next act.
Okay, confession time
She doesn't hate you; I promise. You just need to speak the algorithm's love language if you want to grow on Instagram in 2026. In this episode, find out how the Instagram algorithm works, why some people get engagement and others don't AND identify why your accounts not growing and how to fix it.No social media marketer knows *everything* about the Instagram algorithm, otherwise we'd all be gaming the system.But after almost a decade working in social media marketing I sure can tell you some strategies never change.Find out:How to get more engagement on InstagramHow to grow your business on Instagram and,Instagram strategies that work in 2026
Featuring perspectives from Dr Javier Cortés, Dr Rita Nanda, Prof Peter Schmid and Dr Priyanka Sharma, including the following topics: Introduction (0:00) Case: A woman in her early 80s with multiple comorbidities and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) develops bone-only metastases 4 months after declining capecitabine for post-neoadjuvant residual disease — Justin Favaro, MD, PhD (1:50) Case: A woman in her mid 70s with ER-negative, HER2-low (IHC 1+), PIK3CA-mutated, PD-L1-positive metastatic breast cancer (mBC) after receiving 3 cycles of neoadjuvant paclitaxel/carboplatin/pembrolizumab, which was discontinued — Alan Astrow, MD (6:47) Previously Untreated Metastatic TNBC (mTNBC) — Prof Schmid (10:47) Case: A woman in her early 80s with multiregimen-recurrent ER-positive, HER2-low (IHC 1+) ESR1-mutant mBC receives sacituzumab govitecan — Jennifer Yannucci, MD (27:19) Case: The role of datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) for patients with ER-positive, HER2-low mBC who experienced disease progression on prior trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) — Ranju Gupta, MD; Case: A woman in her late 70s with bilateral recurrence in the lungs of ER-negative, HER2-low (IHC 1+) breast cancer (PD-L1 TPS 20%) receives Dato-DXd with durvalumab on protocol — Yanjun Ma, MD, PhD (31:35) Integrating Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) into the Management of Endocrine-Resistant Hormone Receptor-Positive mBC — Dr Sharma (36:31) Case: A woman in her early 70s with recurrent ER-negative, HER2-low (IHC 2+) mBC receives sacituzumab govitecan and achieves complete remission — Dr Gupta; Case: Management of neutropenia associated with sacituzumab govitecan — Gigi Chen, MD (50:30) Case: A woman in her late 60s with recurrent ER-negative, HER2-low (IHC 1+) mBC (HER2 V69L mutation) receives T-DXd and achieves a complete response but develops Grade 1 interstitial lung disease — Dr Gupta; Case: Management of T-DXd-related side effects — Laila Agrawal, MD (54:10) Selection and Sequencing of Therapy for Relapsed/Refractory mTNBC — Dr Nanda (58:59) Case: A woman in her early 40s with multiregimen-recurrent ER-positive, HER2-low mBC who has experienced severe nausea with past treatments is about to initiate T-DXd — Atif M Hussein, MD, MMM (1:12:40) Tolerability and Other Practical Considerations with ADCs and Other Cytotoxic Agents for mBC — Dr Cortés (1:18:10) CME information and select publications
Zitten we midden in een zesde massa-extinctie en sterven we binnenkort allemaal uit? Mmm... deze vraag is misschien wat overdreven, maar echt optimistisch zijn biologen prof. dr. Erik Matthysen (UAntwerpen) en prof. dr. Natalie Beenaerts (UHasselt) toch ook niet. Want er is wel een serieus probleem met de biodiversiteit die achteruitgaat. Je hoort het in deze Vooruitblik.
As retail media spending explodes and traditional measurement methods struggle to keep pace amidst inconsistent KPIs across retailers, marketing mix modeling (MMM) finds itself at a critical crossroads. New research from MediaLink and the Digital Shelf Institute lays out the challenges and evolving best practices in MMMs to transform marketing mix models from a quarterly planning tool into a dynamic, real-time strategic asset. This is an audio rebroadcast of a webinar focused on that research, led by Lauren Livak Gilbert, featuring Ben Galvin, Sr. Director of Omnichannel Retail Sales & eCommerce at Monster Energy Corporation, Ash McMullen, Head of eCommerce at Advantice Health, and Donna Sharp, Managing Director at MediaLink.
If you're trying to choose a price for your offer and it feels like throwing a dart blindfolded—you're not alone. This episode gives you a 2 Step System designed from a grounded, experienced perspective that'll help you set a price you and your leads feel good about.This solo episode is a mini-masterclass in pricing psychology, offer creation for service based businesses and online entrepreneurs, and the art of choosing a number that feels good and sells well.We'll cover:Why resentment is a bigger threat than overpricingThe real reason your clients say “it's too expensive” (hint: it's not your price)What to consider before you even think about scalingWhy you should never lead with the priceMarketing, business, entrepreneurship, and social media are all touched on in this honest and tactical episode.Wondering how do you price a new offer to SELL? Service providers and online entrepreneurs who are about to launch a new offer and are spinning out about the “right” price to charge need to listen to this one.
This episode, recorded live at the Becker's 13th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable, features Dennis Disch, MD, MMM, FACC Vice President, Hospital-Based Specialties, Advocate Health, as he discusses fostering collaboration across hospital-based physician leaders and operational teams. He shares growth priorities including tackling ED boarding, improving engagement, and driving operational efficiency across Advocate Health's hospitals.
**Special note to our listeners** Love the show? Help us keep the conversation going! Become a paid subscriber through our Substack. Your contributions help us continue to make content on issues related to the Asian-American, immigrant, modern parent experience.THANK YOU to our super awesome listeners who have already signed up!---------------------------------------Korean BBQ, Kimchi, Bibimbap, Kimbap, Seafood Pancake, Soondu Jigae, Seolleongtang, Naengmyun, Kalbi Jjim - is your mouth watering yet?Riding the broader wave of "Hallyu" (or Korean pop culture) in America, Korean food and ingredients are showing up in more places as well. Kimchi at your local Krogers, gochujang on your pork ribs? And it's not only traditional Korean food that's having a significant influence - what's the story with Paris Baguette in Pittsburgh or (gasp)... Paris? (yes the one in France).In true MMM fashion, we walk through the wonder world that is Korean food and its rising influence in the West. We make your mouth savor with our loving descriptions of how Korean flavors and textures hit our taste buds (we told you - don't listen hungry!), give you a 101 on the traditional Korean table to help deepen your understanding and give you the socio-political-economic take on why Korean food is the way it is and how it's been exported, re-imported and re-exported to be the delightfully delicious array it is today.
In this episode of "Money Meets Medicine," Dr. Jimi Turner interviews Dr. Krystal Sodaitis, a physician, executive coach, and luxury cruise podcaster. They discuss the challenges and strengths of neurodivergent physicians, including how ADHD and dyslexia can impact financial decisions. Dr. Sodaitis shares strategies for managing impulsivity and highlights the importance of tailored financial planning. The conversation then shifts to luxury cruising, covering how to choose the right cruise, the benefits of travel agents, and what sets luxury cruises apart. The episode offers practical advice for both neurodivergent professionals and aspiring luxury travelers.Krystal's Coaching Website: Neurodiversedocs.comKrystal's podcast: luxurycruising.net/podcastGet a personal finance lessons sent to your email inbox once each week! Join the weekly MMM update: https://moneymeetsmedicine.com/updateEvery doctor needs own-occupation disability insurance. To get it from a source you can trust? Visit https://moneymeetsmedicine.com/disability Want a free copy of The Physician Philosopher's Guide to Personal Finance? Visit https://moneymeetsmedicine.com/freebook___________Join us for Doctor PodFest in Florida! Go here to secure your ticket: Here Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
What stood out as the best and worst to our podcast crew in 2025? Join us for a fun look back on our Yeahs and Un-Yeahs from an insane year in pop culture and beyond as we no-look swan dive into 2026! – OUR PICKS: Game of the Year 2025!– MOST ANTICIPATED: What are looking forward to in 2026 and how did our 2025 lists pan out?– SOUND EFFECTS: Sonic the Hedgehog-flavored! Mmm.This episode was mixed by Tony Sadowski and includes Kat Riley, Joe Haygood, Joe Fourhman and Tony Sadowski on vocals. You can download the podcast directly from here or click on one of the links below to subscribe. This episode features “Arcade Heroes,” “Pixel Party,” and “Coin Op Chaos” by Eric Matyas, www.soundimage.org. Also, a bunch of Sonic the Hedgehog sound effects.
Tap play for a funny story and a New Year's PEP TALK. This episode is for business owners who know they're capable of big things, if only you could have the confidence to match your ambition. Love you. Here for you. Hope this makes you laugh and feel 10x more powerful.
Tema del dia Alguns de vosaltres ens heu enviat fotos dels vostres tions. Moltes gràcies!!! I moltes gràcies a tots els oients que ens heu fet confiança durant aquest any i els anteriors. En aquest episodi repassem les paraules més representatives de l'any 2025. Som-hi! Apunta't als cursos de català d'Easy Catalan! (https://classes.easycatalan.org/) Vídeo d'Easy Catalan sobre Nadal (https://youtu.be/xJrrPobVn3U?si=8V4fiWyXCbApww_6) Bonus Comentem les dades més sorprenents del nostre Wrapped Spotify 2025. Transcripció Andreu: [0:15] Bon dia, Joan! Joan: [0:16] Bon dia, Andreu! Andreu: [0:18] Bon Nadal! Joan: [0:19] Bon Nadal, bon Nadal. Andreu: [0:20] Avui coincideix que publiquem l'episodi justament el dia de Nadal. Segurament no ens escoltarà ningú, avui. Joan: [0:29] Espero, espero. Andreu: [0:32] Clar, la gent… bé, no tothom, perquè assumim que tothom celebra Nadal, però en realitat, mira, l'altre dia a Discord hi havia una persona de Turquia, doncs allà, suposo que hi ha cristians que celebren Nadal i d'altres que… tota l'altra part, no?, musulmana o d'altres ètnies, d'altres religions, que no el celebren. Joan: [0:51] Saps que em fa molta gràcia? És que ara m'has fet pensar que la meva neboda, la Magalí, em va preguntar abans d'ahir: "I per què hi ha gent que posa 'bones festes' en lloc de 'bon Nadal'?" I jo: "Tu saps què és la religió?" I diu: "No". I dic: "..." Andreu: [1:10] Doncs ja t'ho ensenyaran a l'escola, no? Joan: [1:12] No, no, em diu: "És una assignatura". Em va dir això. Però ella no ho fa, saps? Em va dir: "És com el contrari de tutoria", dic: "…" Andreu: [1:21] "El contrari". Joan: [1:23] Bé, no ho sé, perquè hi ha com llocs que fan ètica, tutoria o religió. Andreu: [1:28] "Tutoria", què és "tutoria", a l'escola? Joan: [1:31] Tutoria és com una mena de diàleg, no?, entre els professors i els alumnes. No ho sé, no m'ha acabat de convèncer mai, no ho sé. Andreu: [1:39] És com una hora setmanal, no?, o no sé si era setmanal o que es fa cada dues setmanes, en què es parlen coses de… doncs com està tothom, com va... és com tenir un espai, una estona, per parlar amb el professor, per saber si tot està bé, si algú necessita ajuda amb alguna cosa... Bé, jo ho recordo així. Joan: [2:00] Sí, sí, sí, potser sí. O sigui, que era una conversa, segur. Andreu: [2:03] Bé, a veure, avui és Nadal, per tant, avui és el dia que es fa cagar el tió. Ja vam parlar del tió en l'episodi anterior i vam demanar que compartissin, els membres de la comunitat, tions, o sigui, les fotos dels seus tions al xat, no?, al Discord. Joan: [2:19] Sí. Andreu: [2:19] Ens han arribat algunes fotos, que són... bé, que les volia comentar, perquè n'hi ha una, sobretot, la de l'Armando. No sé si l'has vist. Joan: [2:27] Sí, és curiosa, sí. Andreu: [2:29] Clar, l'Armando és professor de primària a França i va fer un tió, o el van fer els alumnes, vaja, amb paper. O sigui, està fet amb paper maixé i cartolina, suposo. I l'altre dia, a la xerrada del dilluns, em va ensenyar un vídeo dels nens fent-lo cagar i de com va quedar al final. Clar, és com el tió versió pinyata. Joan: [2:52] Clar, versió pinyata. Sí, sí, sí. L'altre dia, un conegut que tinc que és belga, dic: "Saps quina és la... Coneixes la tradició del tió?" I quan l'hi vaig explicar, em diu: "És com una pinyata, no?" I dic: "Mmm..." Andreu: [3:05] Doncs el de l'Armando, sí, és el tió versió pinyata. Després hi ha el tió del Michal. El Michal és... No estic segur si pronuncio bé el seu nom. És un nou membre de la comunitat, és de la República Txeca, que estudia Filologia Catalana a la Universitat de Brno. Joan: [3:21] Una salutació a tots els que estudien Filologia Catalana a Brno, perquè tenim un munt de fans, eh?, allà. És increïble. Fes-te membre de la subscripció de pòdcast per accedir a les transcripcions completes, a la reproducció interactiva amb Transcript Player i a l'ajuda de vocabulari. (http://easycatalan.org/membership)
Real accountability isn't comfortable—but it's how we all get free. In this powerful third conversation of our Million Man March 30th Anniversary series, Dr. David J. Johns brings together three organizers whose work centers the intersections that harm Black communities the most: Kenya Hutton (CEO of the Center for Black Equity), Oluchi Omeoga (who leads the Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project), and Preston Mitchum (Black queer-loving lawyer, strategist, and advocate).Together, they name what Black men owe Black women, trans folks, and each other—not through guilt, but through genuine repair. They expose how anti-blackness, misogyny, trans misogynoir, and homophobia work together to reinforce systems that harm us all. They challenge us to move beyond performance to practice: building actual structures of accountability that cross borders, cultures, and comfort zones. From the streets of DC to organizing spaces in South Africa, from the ballroom to the policy room, these three truth-tellers refuse to let us off easy.This isn't about shame. It's about safety and solidarity. Protection rooted in love, not control. Refusing to give up on each other even when it's hard. And remembering that real accountability is a required act of love—because liberation requires all of us.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/teach-the-babies-w-dr-david-j-johns--6173854/support.
Ever watched a student solve 146 ÷ 12 by drawing 146 dots… one by one?In this episode, the MMM team dives into a common but frustrating classroom challenge: students who cling to inefficient math strategies like counting on fingers, skip counting, or repeated subtraction—long after they've outgrown them. These early strategies worked, and students trust them. So how do we help them build confidence in more sophisticated approaches?You'll hear from our newest team member, Beth Curran, as we unpack why students get stuck, what teachers can do in the moment, and how school leaders can build the conditions for long-term change.Listeners Will:Understand why students cling to familiar but inefficient math strategiesLearn what teachers can do in the moment to nudge students toward more flexible thinkingExplore how dynamic assessment and anticipating student responses builds instructional skillHear how one district used the Five Practices to build teacher capacity over timeReflect on what it takes to build a math improvement flywheel that actually gains momentumIf you're supporting students—or teachers—who are stuck using early math strategies, this episode gives you real steps to move forward with clarity, confidence, and purpose.Not sure what matters most when designing math improvement plans? Take this assessment and get a free customized report: https://makemathmoments.com/grow/ Math coordinators and leaders – Ready to design your math improvement plan with guidance, support and using structure? Learn how to follow our 4 stage process. https://growyourmathprogram.com Looking to supplement your curriculum with problem based lessons and units? Make Math Moments Problem Based Lessons & Units Show Notes PageLove the show? Text us your big takeaway!Are you wondering how to create K-12 math lesson plans that leave students so engaged they don't want to stop exploring your math curriculum when the bell rings? In their podcast, Kyle Pearce and Jon Orr—founders of MakeMathMoments.com—share over 19 years of experience inspiring K-12 math students, teachers, and district leaders with effective math activities, engaging resources, and innovative math leadership strategies. Through a 6-step framework, they guide K-12 classroom teachers and district math coordinators on building a strong, balanced math program that grows student and teacher impact. Each week, gain fresh ideas, feedback, and practical strategies to feel more confident and motivate students to see the beauty in math. Start making math moments today by listening to Episode #139: "Making Math Moments From Day 1 to 180.
This week I had the chance to sit down with two fascinating guests who are at the forefront of bridging the worlds of digital performance marketing and traditional television advertising. Nick Fairbairn, VP of Growth Marketing at Chime, and Andy Schonfeld, CRO at Tatari, walked me through how they've transformed Chime from a pure digital-first, DTC neobank brand built on social and search into a sophisticated advertiser that runs television campaigns with the same performance mindset they apply to Meta and Google. Their partnership has evolved from small linear TV tests six years ago to a comprehensive full-funnel TV strategy that blends brand building with direct response metrics.Nick and Andy shared incredible insights into the evolution of performance TV, from navigating the COVID-era inventory opportunities to understanding why linear TV still matters even as streaming dominates the conversation. They explained how Chime approaches television with a portfolio strategy, balancing premium reach moments like live sports with more targeted direct response placements, and why creative and media planning have become the "new targeting" in a world where precise one-to-one identification remains expensive and imperfect. We also dove into the challenges of measuring TV in a fragmented landscape, the role of AI-driven creative, and whether shoppable TV will actually move the needle or remain a marginal innovation. Key HighlightsHere's a shorter version:
Kiera is joined by renowned cosmetic dentist Dr. Pia Lieb to talk about Dr. Lieb's journey in her field, as well as her insights into what the rich and famous ask for (and pay for) when it comes to their teeth. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. And today I am so excited. I have an incredible doctor on our podcast. Dr. Pia is coming to from New York, Manhattan. And this woman is incredible. She has been able to build and sustain a high-end cosmetic practice. She's figured out how to be, you guys are gonna love this, a referral only destination for patients seeking discretion, innovation, and ultra-personalized care. This woman has been named the Michelangelo of dentistry and I am so excited to welcome her on the podcast. Welcome Dr. Pia, how are you today? Dr Pia (00:32) Thanks for having me, Kiera. Kiera Dent (00:34) Of course. Well, I have been so excited about this podcast. I don't often get to bring clinical guests onto the podcast. And so to just kind of hear of how you do your cosmetic dentistry, how did you become this practice of being so sought after? ⁓ How did you become the Michelangelo of dentistry? So kind of just walk the listeners through how did Dr. Pia go from where she was to where she is today? Kind of just give us a background on, on who you are and what your story has been. Dr Pia (01:04) Well, I'm gonna start with, it all started in dental school. There was a lecturer by the name of Dr. Gallup Evans who has passed away since. And he was giving a PG, which is obviously post-doctoral course on cosmetic dentistry. And his reputation was he was the one who did. the supermodel Polina Povaskova's veneers back in the early 90s. And I went up to him after the lecture and I basically said, I'm a sponge, teach me, tell me what to do so I can do the same thing that you're doing. I've completely fell in love and cut out a class to go to that course. And after the course, he turned around to me and said, well, sweetheart. You're either born with it or you're not. So I went home and I cried for five days. and he completely tore me to shreds and that really got me upset and ⁓ I was a great student. was the youngest in NYU as a student. I graduated high school at 16. I was the nerd, right? And basically what I did is I was asked to start teaching after residency and that was my... Kiera Dent (02:03) Absolutely. Dr Pia (02:26) way to make sure that I would never allow anyone to speak to a student like that. And my whole point was, I want to empower the dental students. I don't want anyone to feel the way I did by this particular person. And basically I had nowhere to start. So I started taking all of these courses, these PG program courses, and I met up. Kiera Dent (02:37) Mm-hmm. Dr Pia (02:53) When I was actually in dental school, I went and I met the holy grail ceramist who invented veneers in America. And I went up to him and I said the same thing, I'm a sponge, please teach me. And he was like, great. Okay. You have a car. And I'm like, yes, I do. He goes, all right, come to the lab every Friday after school and every Saturday, let me teach you how to prep and how to do veneers. And this man who also passed away has taught me everything. Kiera Dent (03:12) I'm Dr Pia (03:23) that I know because the doctors were not doing it and there was only two guys in New York that were doing veneers in the 80s and in the 90s and those were older men in their 40s and they were not going to take a young 20 year old female and teach her what to do because they were you know insecure that we were going to take over the business from them. So that's how it all started. And obviously, I taught for 18 years and I did do that what I set my mind to do. I wanted to give every one of my students the best experience that they can have with dentistry and with cosmetic dentistry. And we're still friends after all these years. So I must have done something right, that they still love me to invite me for dinners into their houses. Kiera Dent (04:10) Thank ⁓ I think that you're speaking to my own heart. mean, having that love being in the dental colleges, of to give back, like that's the whole reason Dental A Team exists was because of those students that you just fall in love with. And kudos to you because I got really lucky and I worked at Midwestern University's Dental College in Arizona. And I have been told that the culture there and the experience there is not like most dental schools. It was a very empowering, very enriching. There was no smashing of models. There was no... ⁓ destroying people's dreams, but I know that that's not everywhere. so kudos to you for ⁓ making a stance and also not giving up on your dream. And I think something I took from that is how often are we maybe told something that's not true and we believe it. We take that on as an identity and yes, crying for five days. I don't blame you, I would have done the same thing, but ⁓ it is. Dr Pia (05:03) No, it's demoralizing, you know, like it's just here you are, you're this young bright-eyed and bushy-tailed eager beaver who wants to be the best at her profession and then you get some 50 year old man telling you, ⁓ honey, you can't do this, you gotta be born with it. I'm like, really? Kiera Dent (05:20) Hmm. Maybe I am born with it and have you seen it. ⁓ Dr Pia (05:25) And you know what I was and that's that's the thing and it's just but it's the way he said it but we'll get back to karma because 18 years go by and he was lecturing again and karma if it's a small I don't want to say the b word on a podcast but Kiera Dent (05:42) Mmm. Hahaha Dr Pia (05:51) it is. So he's got the lecture, same thing, same before and afters. And this time I'm wearing a white lab coat and scrubs underneath and I had you know, and at this point, I was clinical assistant professor and there were like 350 doctors in the audience. And he's like, Does anyone have anything to say? And I'm at the back wall, I wasn't sitting down, I was standing up and I raised my hand and I was like, He goes, and he goes, I know that name. You're in press and you're my competition. And he was like, and you know, what is it that I said? said, you know what? Thanks to you, I am who I am today. I want to say thank you. If you didn't say this to me and make me go home and cry for five days, I wouldn't have. done everything humanly possible to be your competition and here I am I didn't know if he was gonna slap me or kick me out or just whatever it was but it was not what I and he said you know come on down and just tell us more about it he goes you've got so much pressure all over the place and it was funny because at that point Kiera Dent (06:52) Ha! Dr Pia (07:08) That was like maybe 10 months after I did 10 episodes on TLC of 10 years younger. And I was all over the place. Like everybody knew me from TV and from press and ⁓ the New York Times wrote that I'm the Michelangelo in Smile Boutique. And it just got to that point. I got the recognition that I worked so hard for. he was like, all right, give me a hug. I was like, thank God. to get a slap. But I was ready to get like thrown out or to. So that's kind of what I wanted to do is I just want to empower every single person out there. And you have to understand, when I went to school, we there were no women, it was 97 % men, we had Kiera Dent (07:43) You Dr Pia (08:02) maybe seven girls in the graduating class. I mean, not that we had a lot. We have much smaller classes back then and we were 97, but seven out of 97 is a low percentage. Kiera Dent (08:14) That is, yeah. Wow, that's such a fun, ⁓ I think kudos to you. And one of my favorite lines through life has been, life is not happening to us, it's happening for us. And I'm sure in that moment, you felt like life was happening to you. Like, who is this jerk? And they destroyed my dreams. And yet, ⁓ again, not to say that that's ever the right route to go. But I just want to highlight and compliment of you took something that people could have said would be sour grapes and you actually turned it into beautiful wine. and you turned it into something beautiful and it was fuel to your fire to make you into this incredible woman that the world needed. And so I'm very curious, how did you then go from, okay, here we are, how'd you become this renowned cosmetic dentist, getting on TLC, getting all the press, like what was kind of the way to get into that? Because I'm sure there's a lot of dentists who want to live your dream. How did you do it? Dr Pia (09:04) I think the way in was truly like in 1998 or 99, I don't remember what year it was, but it was the first gen art fashion show for Fashion Week in New York where they took up and coming young designers and they had a private fashion show with about 10 of small up and coming, which we don't have anymore. mean, New York Fashion Week is no longer what used to be. But I go there and I had a patient from Belgium who had a really good friend who was an up and coming crazy French designer and he was showing the runway and I just basically went with her and I remember that we were after the fashion show there was a VIP with champagne and we got these wristbands and so forth and my my patient was, you know, late 30s, single and ready to mingle. And there was this really cute male model that did the runway for ⁓ another designer that wasn't as big. And she was like, my God, he's so cute. And here I was, I had no makeup on, right? Kiera Dent (10:07) Yeah. Dr Pia (10:23) this long Margiela dress and I have like Doc Marten boots, my hair up in a ponytail, just like mascara and red lips on. And I went up to this guy and I said, hi, I'm Dr. Pia. You know, my friend Jacqueline wants to meet you. And he had this woman who was next to him and she was like, you gotta talk to me. I'm his booker. I didn't know what a booker was. So I'm like, what's a booker? I thought it was like the, you know, betting on horses, know, like booking, you know, that's what I thought. Kiera Dent (10:47) Yeah. Yeah. Dr Pia (10:53) And basically, ⁓ I was like, No, no, no, I'm just, you know, we're going behind if you guys want to come and join us at the after party behind and he was like, great, she goes, No, no, no, we can't go anywhere. You got to go through me. And I'm like, Okay, I said, Look, I'm a cosmetic dentist. And back then we had cards, right? So I was like, Here's my card. She goes, I want one, too. And I and Yeah, that was it. had some drinks afterwards. And she was like, Yeah, I want to come in as a patient. I have to come in first before he comes in. Because he said he needed his teeth done. I was like, okay, so the next morning, I'm like, live it at like nine o'clock. I call Wilhelmina who was like back then the number one modeling agency for men. And I call and I'm like, Can I speak to Jennifer and Kiera Dent (11:32) Yeah. Dr Pia (11:47) She picks up the phone. I'm like, hi, it's dr. P again. I'm like, I just want to make it really clear I'm married. I do not I am NOT picking up on on your male model It was my friend who was interested just making putting it out there and being totally transparent. So she's like fine I Want an appointment so I booked her and the moment that I booked her She introduced me to the modeling industry. So then I started getting all the models Kiera Dent (11:57) Mm-hmm. Dr Pia (12:13) the supermodels, I got everybody in and I think that's how it all started with the press and everything because they've seen my work with the modeling industry and that's how kind of it all started and the thing with me it's always been privacy it's I've never named names I will never name names because it's like plastic surgery if you're going to go in and get a facelift do want it to be plastered all over the press I don't think so so it's the same thing with veneers I mean I do very natural handmade porcelain and the whole secret that I think to my success is I've never gone into that chicklity white Hollywood smile the toilet bowl teeth or the turkey teeth as now they all go to Turkey to have them done well I've never done that so for me I've always followed what I believe in and did the best that I can and I think that that is as long as you love what you do Kiera Dent (12:55) Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Yeah. Dr Pia (13:12) and try to be the best that you can be. think the universe, no matter what God you believe in, you know, I think the universe gives it back to you. Kiera Dent (13:23) I think, well, and also what I heard from that is kudos to you for just going and meeting people and for being out there. Like, I don't think people realize the power of connections, the power of human interaction, the power of who you know. I think we're in such a society where it's all online and we just think, which you can still connect online, but like, don't be afraid to say hi to people. Don't be afraid to introduce yourselves and... Like I said at the beginning, Dr. Pia, it's very rare that I bring on clinical guests to the podcast. So I'm curious, you work on supermodels, you work on really incredible people. I have a doctor, which we will not name names either, who works on movie stars in LA. so I have a couple of questions and if you don't want to answer by all, you probably do. We will chat post show and see, exactly off call. ⁓ But. Dr Pia (14:07) I probably know him. If it's it, we'll do it all off, off. Kiera Dent (14:15) I'm curious, Dr. Pia, just for listeners to know, what is like, I'm gonna ask a few questions and like I said, privacy and respect are my number one. So if there's something that you're like, I'm not gonna answer by all means, audience just know Dr. Pia is so kind to come onto the podcast for us and I did not prep her because I never know what I'm gonna ask. It's just a genuine curious host over here wanting to know, what are the average cases like dollar wise, our low end to our high end of cases that you're doing? I just want people to know, because I think people do not believe that this is real life dentistry and it can be. Dr Pia (14:51) You're talking about veneers or you're talking about all the procedures. Veneers. Veneers are from three to 45, 100 or two. It depends. mean, if someone is a massive grinder and I've got issues with them. Kiera Dent (14:54) I would say let's do veneers and then let's do other procedures. Dr Pia (15:12) having, you know, doing the grinding at night, felspathic, I'm a little bit weary of doing that and I'll do the 3D printed. ⁓ As much as I'm not the greatest fan of doing that, I would rather keep them in a night guard and let them have the beautiful teeth. But it basically is... ⁓ Kiera Dent (15:19) Totally. Mm-hmm. Dr Pia (15:35) You know, for the handmade porcelain, I mean, there are some people out there that are charging over five. And I think that's just a little bit exaggerated because I know how much it costs me to make. think, you know, 4500 is a fair price. You don't have to go above five. I think that's just the ingredient. Kiera Dent (15:42) Totally. Sure. Mm-hmm. Which I appreciate that you say that, especially with the press and with the people that you worked on. You have an opportunity to charge more, but you're also being ethical and fair, which I think ties to the passion, the love, the reason people can trust you. So how many veneers, this is like, now I'm gonna just be like a nerdy patient. How many, because I feel like a lot of people just want like the four veneers and then the six and then. Dr Pia (16:15) Alright, come on, bring it on! Kiera Dent (16:20) Do you just do all of them? there a space where clinically you recommend like we stop here for smile lines? What's kind of your, what's your, what's your clinical excellence on this? What do you recommend? Dr Pia (16:25) No! I think you should have either one or as many as you need. think the biggest problem and the... Okay, now you got me. So my competition in New York will only do 10. And he's my former student. Kiera Dent (16:37) I'm ready. She got fired up everybody. Juicy like sits up. Mm-hmm. Dr Pia (16:51) which is even more infuriating to me. Like I so disagree because I think if you have a beautiful smile and let's say you fell and you've had a root canal and the tooth is starting to change color. I think if you're a good clinician and a good clinician is a cosmetic dentist, I don't believe a GP could do this. Okay. And men, we have the issue with 40 % are colorblind. So that's another issue altogether. Kiera Dent (16:52) That's I do remember there was a girl in dental school who couldn't like really see and I was like, how do you like she couldn't see colors and I'm like, how do you, how do you, how do you get over that as a dentist? I'm just curious. I can't check the color, right? Okay, so making sure you think that you can do one if you're a good clinician, which is, love this. Cause people tell me all the time, you can't do one. Dr Pia (17:29) Well, they get the dental assistant to choose the color. I do one. do one. So I do one. I do one. I'll do two. If you're if you ground I do four. I'll do six, I'll do 10, I'll do 12. If the person has a really big smile and it's a color correction like a tetracycline case, then I have to do 12, you know, like, because it depends if you're someone that has this uber large mouth, then and you when you smile, you go back to the second molars, you have to do it. But I feel that this whole entire ⁓ doing 10 or nothing. think that is so unfair to the patients. And I think it's such bad karma as well, because it's going to come back and bite you later on, because I don't feel that everyone has to have that many done. And the other thing that I'm actually known for is the fact that I don't believe that you have to necessarily file the tooth down. If the teeth are in the correct position, okay let's back it up. If the teeth are not in the correct position do Invisalign first and then do the handcrafted veneers because the way I do them they're as thin as a contact lens so there is no drilling needed. Anytime why I wouldn't want anyone to drill my teeth to put veneers on why are you taking away to add on it's an Kiera Dent (18:42) Love. Mm-hmm. Dr Pia (19:08) moron right so if you are a true cosmetic dentist and know how to do this and have the right support of the right ceramist they should be see-through Kiera Dent (19:09) Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Yeah. Dr Pia (19:24) So if that's the case, there's no drilling involved. And if you need only one, just do one. There's no reason to spend that money on doing more if you don't need them. Kiera Dent (19:32) It's incredible. which I'm so grateful to hear this. This is why I was so excited. I'm like, I have so many questions about this and I'm just curious of how you do it and to hear that being really talented at this, you don't need to do more than that because I hear all the time like, well, if you only do four, then you're gonna see it, but I don't disagree with you. think if you're good at what you, and this isn't just dentists. I also think dentists, well, I'm gonna go out on a limb. Now I'm fired up to be, like, here we go. Dr Pia (20:02) No, no, they want the money. It's clear as day. They're doing it for the money. Kiera Dent (20:06) Right. Well, and also I'm like, if you're not good enough to be able to do one without it looking like a chicklet, I might question, you good enough to be doing this in general? And that I know is a very bold statement, but I might get really good at this. I don't disagree. Dr Pia (20:18) No, they should not be doing them. I'm sorry, they should not be doing it. And with felspathic, with the handmade porcelain, it... I can't say it enough. One is not a problem. Kiera Dent (20:35) Okay, let's talk about different labs and how do you choose a good lab for ceramic, for cosmetic cases? Like what's the difference? I mean, I've heard some people that are printing ⁓ Emax crowns for the front and I wanna like cringe and I'm like, ⁓ that feels really bad. So let's talk about like, how do you pick a good lab? What's the difference of a good lab? How is it handmade versus not? Like what are some of those nuances within the cosmetic world that really make a difference on being able to do one versus having to do eight to 10? Dr Pia (20:48) No, no, no, no, I didn't write. Kiera Dent (21:03) because you're gonna see lines and it's gonna look different. Dr Pia (21:06) Okay, so I'm a nerd. I'm going to give you the whole entire background. Okay. ⁓ So basically the handmade porcelain is felspathic and it can be as thin as 0.16 of a millimeter, which is technically a contact lens. Okay. It's thinner than your natural fingernail, not with gel on it or powder, you know, polish. I'm talking about a natural fingernail. So having said that, Kiera Dent (21:08) I love it. I want this. Mm-hmm. Dr Pia (21:33) Now in the way that those are made they're done on platinum foil so you take the model of the teeth they put platinum foil which is also like super super thin microns it's you know anywhere between 10 microns 20 microns okay and then on that porcelain on that platinum foil the porcelain multiple colors multiple translucencies get added on and that's the veneer is made. Okay so that's how we're able to have them super thin. The 3D printing, different story altogether. So 3D printing needs to have minimum Kiera Dent (22:05) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Dr Pia (22:17) between 1.5 to 2 millimeters of thickness. So those right there are thick. Okay, so that's why you need to file. Otherwise, everything is gonna be out. That's why they need to do 10 because they can't match the flatness of a natural tooth. So those are done by a computer. So what you do is you scan with the feldspathic. You still have to take good old fashioned impressions because the model has to be poured in Kiera Dent (22:22) Right. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Dr Pia (22:47) it cannot be on plastic to do the platinum foil. With the 3D printing, with 3D printing veneers and crowns, you basically just scan the tooth, send it via, you know, the cloud. It gets to the lab, they print out the model, and then they start designing the shape and the size of what they want the veneer or the crown to look like. Kiera Dent (22:51) Interesting. Dr Pia (23:14) and then they have this block which is like about this big and it's like a disc it's like an oversized hockey puck okay and out of those they usually get out of those hockey pucks usually they get 25 crowns and veneers like either or okay ⁓ Kiera Dent (23:22) Mm-hmm. Okay. Sure, okay. Dr Pia (23:35) Now those blocks you have to understand they come in one solid color and very opaque hence why they look like toilet bowls like you can see like ⁓ Simon from What is it the the show with America's Got Talent right now his teeth walk in before him Kiera Dent (23:55) Mm-hmm. Dr Pia (23:58) They're so white and chalky. He had them done and they're too big, personal. I mean, I think they're too, he's too horsey. He should have stayed with the veneers he had before because they looked more natural and. Kiera Dent (23:58) It's true. Dr Pia (24:12) But that's the problem. If you have them very, if you have the 3D printed, the opacity is one solid, you know, base that the computer then drills that hockey puck to form the crowns and the veneers. So you're never going to get the aesthetics of having incisal translucency or having a halo or having them nice and flat. You're not, because the computer is going to make them the thickness that Kiera Dent (24:33) right? Dr Pia (24:41) They cannot drill those any thinner than that because they're going to break. Kiera Dent (24:46) So this is fascinating and I love this because now I have more quite like being an assistant, also having worked in this, also having gone to labs, also having like things done for family and friends that I know. Are you a fan of custom shading where you send your patients to the lab or how, okay, so how do you get it to where it's like a perfect shade match, like consistently, any tips that you have to make it to where it is really that absolutely perfect, making your smiles. Dr Pia (25:04) Hell no. Kiera Dent (25:15) beyond perfect without sending them to a lab. Because I think a lot of people hold back and they're like, I've got to send it. But I've seen a lot of dentists where they'll try to put the shading in, they try to put the translucency in. This is no knock on dentists. This is like, hey, we've got an expert here. Let's ask how she does it so we can all rise up. Dr Pia (25:30) Okay, honestly, I take the patient to the window. My whole main thing is every single office that I've built, I need to have windows that are five feet tall. and sunlight. So I'm able just to move the patient to the window. And that's where the talent comes in. I'm able to take shade without a shade guide. I mean, I'm at that point, but I've been doing this for decades now. So it's like at the beginning, I wasn't so I would do the shade guide and I would write it on a piece of paper and just be like, okay, the neck is an A two and then we have an A one body and then we have translucency of two millimeters and a halo and I just draw it. Kiera Dent (25:41) Fascinating. Dr Pia (26:10) and then they would make every single veneer with the same recipe. It's almost like cooking. But the window and natural sunlight is the key. Because all these computers that you put up against your tooth, all due respect. Kiera Dent (26:15) I see. Mm-hmm. Yep. Mm-hmm. That's great. they shade it differently. Dr Pia (26:29) it's not only that you have to understand everybody's tooth is a different length okay like your centrals are fairly long for the average person right that particular shade guide is not going to read color on your tooth that you probably have 12 millimeter long centrals and i'm diagnosing you over the video right so that particular Kiera Dent (26:35) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Hey, thank you. Yeah. Dr Pia (26:58) light source is not going to be able to read 12 millimeters perfectly from the gum line to the incisal. It's just not going to happen. You're going to need and if you're not good at taking shade, go do endo or oral surgery or ortho. Kiera Dent (27:07) Right. It's true cosmetic is about I feel it's about the precision. It's about the aesthetics and like there I mean I hire designer to do my house. I'm not going to do it. I know that that is not my forte. I'm really good at other things, but I'm not good at color matching and what goes well together and how to put this together. It's just not my strength and skill set and I really do believe like this is what I think going back to your original professor speaker lecturer who completely dash your dreams. I think maybe possibly what he meant was, I think there's some people who have a natural eye for cosmetic and aesthetics and there's other people who maybe don't. And I think you can adapt it and evolve it and become, and you have clearly proven that. But my guess is, I mean, hearing that you're even on fashion week, my hunch is you already by default had a very strong fashion aesthetic. Maybe you didn't, but I would guess that that kind of has been a part of you. Dr Pia (28:07) No, I did. did. And you know, I do like my own makeup and I know my colors and things like that. And so that helped. I have to say that really did help me quite a bit. Kiera Dent (28:11) Mm-hmm. which is why you were drawn to this. You had the passion, fire, because you already knew that. Dr Pia (28:21) And I loved it and I was like, how can I? And then what the other thing is like, you may not know you have it. So the other thing what I say is buy some art books. That's what I did. Buy some art books. Get to learn the difference between the chroma and the hue and just take a couple of art classes and see if you have it. And if not, what can you pick up and learn from those art classes if you really want to do it? And I'm not trying to be sexist by any means, but I do think that women are better at it because of color. And I think we're a lot more patient because the way I do it is I do diagnostic wax ups on every case, whether it's one tooth, unless it's even with the prepless veneers where I don't touch the tooth. Kiera Dent (28:52) Yeah. Dr Pia (29:16) I still do the wax ups to see I've had all let me backtrack a little bit but I've had every single 2d program in the last what 16 years that they've been out more than 16 years okay and it's not the same when you see yourself in a photo with the size and shape and color that you might want okay it's like using it's like using the apps to change your hair color i'm Kiera Dent (29:32) Wow. I agree. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Dr Pia (29:50) the strongest belief that if you do want to change your hair color, I think you should try on a wig and wear it for a couple of days. So that that whole entire ⁓ Kiera Dent (29:58) Yeah, I don't disagree. Dr Pia (30:03) philosophy that I have what I do is I do the diagnostic wax-ups I do the indexes and without drilling the teeth the patients come in and I pop it over their teeth, you know with the Luxe attempt, know the temporary material that sets over it and I tell them to walk out with it and You know, it's not bonded on or anything. They can just take their fingernail and just pop it all off But go out let your family see it. Let your partner see it. See how you feel. Is it too long? Kiera Dent (30:22) Mm-hmm. Dr Pia (30:33) Is it too square? Is it too round? I'm allowed to have my opinion, but you're paying me and if your opinion is different than mine You have you should have the right as a patient to get what you want. Not what I want We have to come somewhere in between sometimes like I'll put my foot down and I'll be like you really don't want them that way Kiera Dent (30:49) Mm-hmm. And I'm glad... You're right. We don't want them to make a statement before you walk in the room. That's what we're going to just highlight here. But hey, if you want white white, like at the end of the day, that's what they're going to have. I love that you, ⁓ I think this is probably what's made you really great. I don't know. I've heard a lot about you. But I think what you do is you make sure that the patients are obsessed with the results and not that Dr. Pia is obsessed. Like you're obsessed with the craftsmanship of what you've done. You're really talented at that. But like hearing that you let people walk out and go try these on and what is it going to be like before you do it? That to me says that you are so obsessed about the outcome and the result for the patient. And then your job is to make sure you have the most excellent craftsmanship, the best product, the best techniques, the best method to get them the outcome they want. And I think hearing that, I'm just so proud of you. And I'm so grateful to hear that there are clinicians in our industry that are obsessed about that rather than the reverse. Because I think some people are obsessed about maybe the dollar, maybe about doing these types of cases, but they're not the best at it, or this is what I think that they should look like. You really want to make sure that that patient is like a walking raving fan of you before you even do the work on them. And that I think is very special about you.
In this episode of the Money Meets Medicine podcast, host Dr. Jimmy Turner talks with Paul Sipple, a forensic retirement consultant known as the '401k vigilante.' The discussion focuses on the hidden, layered, and unnecessary fees often found in 401k and 403b plans that cost participants thousands over time. They explore the technical aspects of these fees, the Form 5500, and how small and large practices differ in fee structures. Sipple provides insights into negotiating fees, the roles of various service providers in administering retirement plans, and the importance of employers paying administrative costs to maximize tax benefits.Learn more about Paul Sippil here --> https://www.paulsippil.comGet a personal finance lessons sent to your email inbox once each week! Join the weekly MMM update: https://moneymeetsmedicine.com/updateEvery doctor needs own-occupation disability insurance. To get it from a source you can trust? Visit https://moneymeetsmedicine.com/disability Want a free copy of The Physician Philosopher's Guide to Personal Finance? Visit https://moneymeetsmedicine.com/freebook Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Hi, friends! Happy Wednesday! What if I told you that one of the most influential... and mysterious cult leaders in American history is someone most people have never heard of? And that Jim Jones himself, yes Jonestown Jim Jones, got many of his ideas from same guy? Today, we're diving into the wild and complicated story of Father Divine—the charismatic leader behind the Peace Mission Movement, a man who inspired millions, shaped pieces of the civil rights era, built entire communities from the ground up… and also demanded unwavering loyalty that crossed more than a few lines. This isn't your typical cult story. It's part spiritual revolution, part empire-building, part “wait, WHAT?!” And somehow still a chapter of American history no one talks about. And we should because it brings up an interesting question... Where's the line between a movement that helps people… and one that controls them? And at what point does something become a cult? Let's get into the Dark History of Father Divine. And when you're done... go check out my MMM episode about Jonestown: https://audioboom.com/posts/8164237-jonestown-massacre-apocalyptic-cult-who-was-jim-jones ________ FOLLOW ME AROUND Tik Tok: https://bit.ly/3e3jL9v Instagram: http://bit.ly/2nbO4PR Facebook: http://bit.ly/2mdZtK6 Twitter: http://bit.ly/2yT4BLV Pinterest: http://bit.ly/2mVpXnY Youtube: http://bit.ly/1HGw3Og Goodreads: http://bit.ly/3IVnO7N Snapchat: https://bit.ly/3cC0V9d Discord: https://discord.gg/BaileySarian RECOMMEND A STORY HERE: cases4bailey@gmail.com Business Related Emails: bailey@underscoretalent.com Business Related Mail: Bailey Sarian 4400 W. Riverside Dr., Ste 110-300 Burbank, CA 91505 ________ This podcast is Executive Produced by: Bailey Sarian and Joey Scavuzzo Head Writer: Allyson Philobos Senior Writer: Katie Burris Research provided by: Xander Elmore Additional research by: Dr. Thomas Messersmith Special thank you to our Historical Consultant: Poulomi Saha, Professor at UC Berkeley who writes and teaches about our cultural obsession with cults. Director: Brian Jaggers Edited by: Julien Perez Additional Editing: Maria Norris Hair: Angel Gonzalez Makeup: Nikki la Rose ________ Stop putting off those doctor's appointments and go to Zocdoc.com/DARKHISTORY to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. That's Zocdoc.com/DARKHISTORY. For a limited time, visit AuraFrames.com and get $45 off Aura's best-selling Carver Mat frames - named #1 by Wirecutter - by using promo code DARKHISTORY at checkout. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. MasterClass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to MASTERCLASS.com/DARKHISTORY for the current offer. Get started today at StitchFix.com/darkhistory to get $20 off your first order—and they'll waive your styling fee. That's StitchFix.com/darkhistory. ________
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