#52 Myabetic with Kyrra Richards

Episode 52 features Kyrra Richards, owner, founder and CEO of Myabetic. If you don't already know, Myabetic sells chic and fashionable diabetes products that are truly beautiful AND practical. From purses to sling bags, backpacks to pillows... they have it all. When it comes to toting around all your Type 1 supplies, why sacrifice style?! Now you don't have to with Myabetic.

Kyrra tells us all about her diagnosis story, how she got Myabetic off the ground and what resources Myabetic offers to the Type 1 community.  Pssst... it's more than cute handbags. Listen in to find out more!

Use Promo Code SUGARMAMAS at checkout to get 15% off your Myabetic order!
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Find Myabetic on the web! https://www.myabetic.com/
Learn more about Myabetic Diabetes TV!
On Instagram: @myabetic 
On Facebook: @myabetic
On Tik Tok: Myabetic 

Transcript

Katie: 0:00

This is episode 52 of the sugar mamas podcast. And today I get to talk with the lovely and very talented Cura Richards owner and founder of Myabetic. If you don't already know Myabetic is a wildly successful company that specializes in the design and. Of chic and fashionable diabetes gear from purses to sling bags, clutches to backpacks products, buy Myabetic let you carry around all your diabetes needs without sacrificing style. Kira has also been living with type one diabetes for the past 14 years today. You'll hear her share her very interesting diagnosis story, how she got Myabetic off the ground. And all about the amazing products and resources that Myabetic has to offer. Just a quick note. There are a few notification sounds sprinkled throughout this episode that I just was not able to edit out. They're really not super distracting, but I just wanted you to be aware. So you weren't looking down at your phone periodically wondering who in the world is texting me. All right. That's it on with the show? You're listening to the sugar mamas podcast, a show designed for moms and caregivers of type one diabetics here. You'll find a community of like-minded people who are striving daily to keep their kids safe, happy, and healthy in the ever-changing world of type one. I'm your host and fellow T one D mom, Katie Roseboro. Before we get started. I need you to know that nothing you hear on the sugar mamas podcast should be considered medical advice. Please be safe, be smart, and always consult your physician before making changes to the way you manage type one diabetes. Thanks. Everybody. I am here with Kira Richard's today and Kira, we're just going to jump right on in. I would love it. If you would introduce yourself and tell the listeners how you are connected to the world of type one.

Kyrra: 2:01

Yes. Well, thank you for having me on Katie. Yes. I am curious. I live in Los Angeles, California. I am the mom of two beautiful little girls. My youngest just turned three and my older one is going to turn five. Next month I live with type one diabetes and I am the founder of Myabetic and our company designs. Beautiful products to help people with diabetes feel.

Katie: 2:27

Yes, I can't wait to hear more about that. I, I already told you when we were chatting before we started recording, but they're just, it's beautiful. So I can't wait to hear the all about that, but would you mind first sharing your, a little bit about your diagnosis story with us? Cause I know you were diagnosed as an adult, correct?

Kyrra: 2:44

I was, yes, I was diagnosed when I was 24 years old and I was working at the time as a professional dancer in Lausanne. So I was on the entertainment circuit auditioning every day for, you know, commercials and award shows and music videos. And I had the opportunity to travel to Afghanistan to perform for the us troops. They were looking for a performance, kind of a USA. That included a lot of dancers so that they can, a lot of the soldiers could listen to a variety of types of music. So I went over to Afghanistan and was traveling around from base to base and black Hawk helicopters and performing multiple times a day, which was just the most unbelievable experience. But while I was over there in Afghanistan and traveling, I became very, very thirsty. As many listeners understand and exhausted, but I could double up to the fact that I was performing and dancing multiple times a day in Afghanistan in the desert. And so I came home and I still. Having to go to the bathroom all the time and drinking and drinking and drinking and on black Hawk helicopters or the planes that were traveling and C1 thirties, there aren't any bathrooms on the flights. And we were traveling around. I had to, I had to pee. I had to keep go to the bathroom and I'm holding it. And so when I got home from Afghanistan, I, what I kept having to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I said, I gotta go to the doctor. And I went to the, my. The my general practitioner and walked in and she goes, well, what seems to be the problem today? And I had self-diagnosed and said, I think that I broke my bladder dancing in Afghanistan and she.

Katie: 4:38

Oh, my gosh.

Kyrra: 4:40

A little bit, I don't think that's the problem, but explain it to me. And, you know, luckily she was very well-informed and checked my blood sugar and I was about 400 at that time. But you know, 24 years old didn't have any connection that I knew of to diabetes. No one in my family had had. And started the cycle that so many of your listeners are familiar with and know, and going to the doctor's appointments and hospitals and understanding what goes into a life with diabetes.

Katie: 5:11

Oh, my goodness. That's a very interesting diagnosis story. How long were you in Afghanistan for

Kyrra: 5:16

We were there for a little over two weeks, so yes. Unbelievable. But, you know, coming from that and then going into my diagnosis, I had to put the dancing on hold a bit until I understood how to regulate and use my insulin. And at the time my auditions were me going into a small casting studio with a camera and standing on an X on the floor and just saying your name and. Spinning a very slow 360 turn in front of the camera. And when you are just diagnosed and already thinking so much about your physicality and gaining weight that you had lost from not any food or nutrients Psychological barriers was, it was really tough to be in that industry and thinking so much about your image and me questioning my image as a patient, living with diabetes. And it was a lot to take.

Katie: 6:15

I bet. Did you, were you wearing any devices at the time? Probably not a pump because that was really early on. But did you have a CGM or anything like that?

Kyrra: 6:23

No. And at the time really wasn't something that was out there that too many people had a CGM yet. And I had just, I was just using insulin pens out there. So just injections and it took me a long time to get to the point where I actually accepted wearing a pump and taking that into my, you know, the daily, the daily image of living with diabetes. So it took me some years to get there.

Katie: 6:47

Cause how you said you were 24, but how long ago was that?

Kyrra: 6:50

So I am now

Katie: 6:52

Sorry, Kira.

Kyrra: 6:55

I'm 38, so yes.

Katie: 6:57

I was asking more for the reference of like diabetes technology, but okay.

Kyrra: 7:02

Yep. Yep. So that was, it was in 2008 that I was diagnosed.

Katie: 7:07

Okay. Gotcha. Gotcha. So after that, did you, did you continue to dance and, and remain in that industry? Or did you take a break from that

Kyrra: 7:15

I did eventually continue. And I was teaching dance at the time and I continued, but really there was. It was kind of a dark cloud at that point that I was suffering with. And not many people knew about it. Continuing my daily life and hanging out with my friends and having this mid twenties fun lifestyle in Los Angeles. But there was that part of me that diabetes side that I really didn't talk about. And I was having a really tough time dealing with, and it was something that I was frustrated and overwhelmed and Honestly, I was ashamed of it. And in, you know, that time and period in my industry, it was, you know, image with everything. I was really suffering emotionally with dealing with something like that. And I didn't talk to many people about it. I went to my doctor's appointments. I. Pretty good about following the directions and figuring out, you know, carb counting well, somewhat good. I'm still not great at it, you know, trying my best on the physical side and following kind of doctor's orders, but the emotional and psychological side was so much harder for me to deal with. So I kept a lot of that hidden and finally, one day, Noticing my numbers weren't getting great were weren't, you know, they weren't the best. And when I was going out, I was hiding my medical supplies and my testing kit under the table and meeting friends and not bringing it up as if this wasn't a part of my life and realizing that my health was really starting to deteriorate. Because I wasn't acknowledging this huge part of my life and I'm able to deal with it. So I happened to go home to the San Francisco bay area and visit some family and just take some time off for a couple of weeks to just think about everything. And I was just really angry and mad about all of it and just felt like there, there, everything else in my life is going really well. And. Beautiful. And there's this ugly thing here that is kind of looming around that I am not paying attention to, and if I don't pay attention to it, I am going to be in trouble. So I started it just kind of as a way to cope. Really. I started, I got out a piece of paper and started kind of sketching things that made me happy. And at the time, you know, I was teaching little girls, ballet classes and teaching little kids in tutus and everything is a metaphor, you know, hold your balloon with your arms and make a butterfly with your feet. And I was thinking if I'm having so much trouble at 24, how would I present? Diabetes in a beautiful, fun way. If I was going to be teaching it to my kids where I am always kind of feeling optimistic and you know, really happy with my students. And so I started drawing pictures of, you know, hearts and stars and butterflies and pretty colorful. And then thought about it for older people. Like what made me happy? Well, you know, what are cool, stylish looking things that I really like, and then I'd go, how, how can I make diabetes look and feel like this? And that's really the start of my ABET. It came from that. I drew a picture at the time of. And a butterfly and made it, I called it a love bug, but I made it into a picture of a diabetes case. If I was going to hold my glucose meter and my, you know, Lancing device and finger pricker and my insulin pen, what would I put in it? If I was a little kid and I drew this picture something, and I'll go, you know what, let me kind of keep working on this and let me draw some more designs. And it just kind of came from there and our company now that's what we do when that we're best known for. Medical supply cases that absolutely do not look like medical supply cases. They're stylish bags and wallets and travel cases and backpacks and and everything that just looked like something that people would really love to wear if they didn't have diabetes. And they happened to be designed for people with diabetes and it was a way to, can I integrate. You know, ugly, flimsy, black little nylon case that we're all given with our meters. And then my school stylish, you know, accessories that I'm walking around with. And, you know, we all have to carry around so much stuff with diabetes. How can I integrate it and make it easier, but also look better. And so that's where it came from, but it really was a personal issue that, you know, life with diabetes can be really hard and it feels really ugly. And I wanted to make something beautiful and stylish.

Katie: 11:58

Yeah. So would you mind like, take us back to that first product that you created and I'm always fascinated, know, I've had a couple other people on the podcast who have like created whatever it might be a book or a piece of technology or whatever, and I'm always fascinated with how you get this idea from your head to actually being produced and sold and shipped out to the world. So tell us about like the first product and how did. Just, how did you get started? How did you get off the ground?

Kyrra: 12:26

Yeah. I thought that too. I, you know, I had no background at all in business. That was something, oh, the word business itself. When I was younger, it was business is something that. Cold and corporate and impersonal. And that's not something that I wanted to do. I was background in arts and education. My parents are both teachers. I wanted to go into something with kids. So this was not my background. If people still meet me and go, what are you doing? And I explained about the company and diabetes. Wait, what you know, like how did you get there? And from that sketch on a piece of paper, I was like, okay, well maybe this can be a business. And I didn't think. Really this big business. That really wasn't what the case. It was more kind of a way to cope with this creatively. Like how can I start at this as a project that would be fun to make something for myself and maybe anyone else who feels this way. But I, luckily we don't, we're living at the time of the internet and Google is your best friend

Katie: 13:27

Yup.

Kyrra: 13:27

I. Everything. I mean, how many questions I asked Google? It was really okay. Well, what should I do? Okay. Formulate a business plan. And the biggest step was I do not know many of these things. So let me find people who do and ask and reach out to people. So I partnered right from the beginning. I called one of my best friends from college at UCLA, and she had more of a background in marketing and advertising and more. Oriented things. And I said, she was in New York at the time and I explained the idea to her and she was really looking for something with kind of more meaning and purpose behind it. And so my partner, Lauren's a Minsky. We started this together and wrote up, okay, now we need a business plan. Yeah. Looking with business books and online classes and okay. How do you write a business plan? How much does this, is this going to take to start? And we'll tell you, we started with a whole lot less than we probably should have, but really just bootstrapping and okay. Now we need a website and a logo where you go for these, like every step of the way it is. It's so much. More work that you think it is that I think that as parents, this is kind of a very common theme that we could all relate to. You know, it's like, oh, we'll just do this. And it just becomes you know, back and forth of the path keeps getting bigger and more and more things, but it is. The steps you can look and ask for help, but it's really finding the people who know what they're doing and you, you learn as you go, you just figure it out. But we started. Getting, you know some small investors in the company. And then it was trying to find someone to make these things. And it wasn't specific patterns that I had done. It was hand drawn with a pencil and my computer paper and going to manufacturers and saying, can you do this and figuring out. You know, what, what kind of materials would work best and a lot of samples and a lot of samples that come back that have nothing to do with what my, my design on the original paper was one time I came back from my little, specifically about the Lovebug case. I was very direct about what I wanted with this little heart and heart and butterfly case. And when the first sample came back, I opened the box. It was so exciting. And it was just a red square with some

Katie: 15:51

No.

Kyrra: 15:52

okay. Back to the drawing board, you know, and finding the right partners, finding the right people that are willing to help you willing to listen and start with, you know, okay, this is a minimum order quantity. You know, 50,000 cases? Well, no. Can we say a hundred? You know, just when I it's, it's almost overwhelming to think back about all the steps it took and how much work it was, but it's also been such a fantastic journey that I wouldn't trade and it makes us very proud to look back on it. But yeah. It really is just putting one foot in front of the other and taking it day by day. And you don't know what you don't know until you get there. You know, the questions I'm okay. I got this prod product. It looks great. Now, how do I put it on the website and how do we take a photo of it for the website and who should be taking the photos? What angles does it have to show? How do I translate this and communicate it to people with diabetes understand how this is beneficial for them? I mean, there's. So many different ways of communicating with our community. And really before social media had really blown up at the time of like how to get your product out to people. So been a

Katie: 17:06

Yeah.

Kyrra: 17:06

gift.

Katie: 17:07

That's true because gosh, when did I get on Facebook? I don't know. Like, I feel like Facebook was the first and that was maybe 2009 or at least when I got on it. So yeah. So you were diagnosed in 2008 and then when did Myabetic start? When did you launch that?

Kyrra: 17:21

We really started that year. Like it was, it was, but you know, it, I would say like 2015 is really when it felt like it started becoming and feeling like a real business. I have a side kind of hobby or project. But we've been working on it since I was diagnosed that year. That really was the, I mean, diabetes and Myabetic to me are kind of all in one. It all kind of started in we're together, which, you know, is both amazing and wonderful, but also really hard since I've had diabetes, Myabetic has been a part of my life. And it's just been a way that I have Coped and worked through my diabetes. I'm using this business to make me, me and so many other people will feel better about.

Katie: 18:04

Yeah, I was going to ask you that, like, did you feel as you were developing Myabetic and it was evolving and you were seeing It become successful, like was your attitude towards your own diabetes shifting and kind of moving from negative to maybe more positive? I can use this for the good type of thing.

Kyrra: 18:23

It always had that feeling. And I knew that would be the case, but it was, it was really pushing me out of my comfort zone. Had I not started Myabetic I don't know how, if I would have. Put my diabetes out there and talked about it, but I was forced to buy, you know, getting in front of people and saying, why do you want to make this thing? Why do you want to, you know, going in front of and big, big industry partners and, you know, insulin pumps and glucose meter companies and going and standing and having meetings and explaining to them why I thought it was really important that they don't just look at the technology and the science of this. Device, but how it's presented and how we're supposed to actually use it on a daily basis. And that you do want to think about different colors and the way it looks, because all of that comes into play with how we're dealing with diabetes. Like it's a wonderful technology piece, but unless you can also show me how that piece can be personal and how I can wear it and feel good about it. I'm not going to want to use it, you know, so having to go and talk. Put myself out there with diabetes made me more confident about diabetes and talking about it. Cause it takes some practice and kind of standing up for yourself and talking about something that maybe it's something that you initially want to hide. But the more and more you put it out there, the more you build the confidence. So I knew it was something that was good. And internally. But also I was more propelled by, I was so upset at my diagnosis with the diagnosis that there wasn't something out there like this yet that I knew that I, it it's got to make other people feel better. It can't just be me. Although at the time it felt like a, you know, it felt, it felt very lonely and isolating. And I was able to meet a lot of other people with diabetes because of my.

Katie: 20:16

definitely. And I think that's So big just to know that there's other people out there just like you, who probably felt the exact same way. And, yeah. I mean, you were angry and upset, but you use that anger in ups, you channeled that into, you know, something productive and I think that's awesome. So what type of, you've already mentioned some of them, but what type of products do you sell the Myabetic one?

Kyrra: 20:37

Yeah. So all of our products are created with that initial thought of style, not shame. And that's really what our goal is. So we are best known for diabetes supply cases. As I mentioned, accessories that are for men, women, and children that are. Backpacks bags, wallets cases belt bags, any kind of fashion accessory, but it, it is created with layers and pockets that are designed specifically for your diabetes supplies. So yes, you can get a beautiful. Lunchbox or bag that fits your things. But this is a way we have thought about what is the best way to arrange the supplies and create a wallet that is specifically designed to hold a big insulin pen or glucagon kit or backup supplies that have. Installations for cooling pouches, as well as a section for your wallet and your car keys, or for kids, you know, for snacks and all the little goodies that you would take everywhere. It's, that is our main product, but we also have things that you just, that would help integrate diabetes into your daily lifestyle. So we have stickers and patches for your CGMs and your pumps and pump cases and to. Hold your pumps as well as log books and little goodies. We have a diabetes team. Pillows and notebooks and stationary and things that make you smile so that any other lifestyle brand out there, they have all these different products, but this is just something that comes in is produced by a team of people, living with diabetes to bring some, you know, light and beauty and humor into all of it. So lots of accessories and goodies and we ship worldwide Had my embedded products sold in over 50 countries by now, which has also so well overwhelming to have to really, when you get these orders. Yes, it's wonderful for the company, but it's mostly me thinking like, wow, there is someone in Saudi Arabia with, with diabetes and the Netherlands, and that's always so fun and to feel connected that there is something like this that is connecting all of us and that we're all kind of dealing with the same issues, no matter where we are.

Katie: 22:53

it's easy to forget when you, you know, have something. Is, you know, worldwide that you, you are. reaching, reaching people, you know, like I, I had a lady reach out to me the other day from Ecuador and I'm like, Ecuador, you know, she's like, I'm listening from Ecuador. And I was like, that's amazing. You know, you kind of get, you just get tunnel vision of like you're in the United States. And, you know, it's, it's always such a joy and so exciting when you realize like, wow, this has gone beyond our borders and that's, that's awesome.

Kyrra: 23:20

Yes. Oh, it's overwhelming to feel that, you know, sense of community, especially seeing your, you know, our products in places and all these continents really helping to shape the image of diabetes is, you know, there's nothing better than.

Katie: 23:36

Absolutely. really, really beautiful products. the Mo most lately, what I've been perusing on the website is like before I even knew I was going to have the opportunity to interview you, like just looking for stuff for my daughter, you know, I'm course looking at like the little kids stuff, but then I got sidetracked looking at like the, you know, the stuff that was marketed for more for women. And I'm like, man, this stuff is really. stylish.

Kyrra: 23:58

It's always the best when I'm, you know, walking around with one of my abandoned bags or like in Beverly Hills and stopped and go, excuse me, where did you get that purse? Where did you end up? Well, I'm going story. It's actually designed for people with diabetes. Yeah. It's feels like, you know, there's just something, I mean, with all the stuff that we have to accumulate for diabetes, it's nice to feel like there's something really special. And we wanted that to be. Crafted, but it's not something that's, you know, here's a high, we'll throw some, a pattern on it or here's some cammo or here's some leopard, it's something that's really beautiful materials that you would be excited to carry if you didn't have diabetes. And if you looked at it, nobody would really know that it's something, it doesn't say diabetes doesn't look like a medical bag and that's always been something that's very important to us.

Katie: 24:47

Yeah, I think that is important too. I mean, like you've already said, you know, you don't want to, want to hide it all the time. You don't want to be ashamed of it. Cause that can be just exhausting and sad. But not everybody wants to. Wants people to to know all the time that yeah. You're carrying around like diet diabetes supplies, 24 7. So it is, yeah. They're they, they definitely look like a real chic designer purse or handbag or whatever, you know, whatever it is that you're looking at on the website. So it's, great. I, I'm curious to know, like, are you, do you still have a hand in designing the styles of the bags

25:20

Hey everyone. This is normally where I pop in to tell you about the product feature of the week. But since we're already talking about all the fantastic Myabetic products, I wanted to let you know that now listeners of the show can get 15% off their Myabetic order using the coupon code sugar mamas that's S U G a. M a M a S just head on over to myabetic.com and use code sugar mamas at checkout for 15% off your order. I'll leave a link in the show notes to the Myabetic website. Thanks Kira. Hey, have you checked out? Buy me a coffee yet. Buy me a coffee is a no strings attached way for listeners like you to support the show. Every single gift given goes to making this podcast come to life each and every week, your donation can be a one-time. Or you can check out our membership levels starting at only$1 a month. A huge shout out to our latest. Buy me a coffee. Participant Allston Allston bought the podcast. Five coffees, gracious sakes alive. We're going to be caffeinated for days. Thank you so so much. If you want to check it out for yourself, you can head on over to buy me a coffee.com forward slash SugarMomma. I'll leave a link in the show notes. Now back to the show.

Katie: 26:37

I, I'm curious to know, like, are you, do you still have a hand in designing the styles of the bags

Kyrra: 26:43

Yes. It's a team effort because as so many listeners know, every diabetes is so personal and we all manage it in very different ways. that also can go through different times of your life. I bet on, you know, multiple different pumps and injections and going through different chapters. At that time, what you carry and how you carry it can be very different. So if I only talked, you know, only designed from myself or my perspective, it just wouldn't it wouldn't be, but it wouldn't benefit the whole community. So yes, our whole team and talks. And what are you carrying today? How are you carrying it? Would you want to put it in this pocket? How would that, you know, like what else would you carry with your diabetes supplies? Where are you going? So the diabetes. Management methods as well as lifestyle and hobbies, all of that comes into play. So yes, I have a handle in it. I will never, I don't know if I really want to give that up. It's something that's. So like, one of the best parts about this business is feeling creative and getting to know. A handle on that side, but definitely it's a team effort to design these, these products diabetes is. So I think, you know, the diversity within diabetes, not only of the management, but of our backgrounds and you know, the ages and, you know, we're all, it's many fashion brands. It's something that is okay. This is designed for, you know, 35 to 40 year old women. But this our brand, if we think about as a fashion brand, it's it is something. People who live with diabetes and that diabetes can be anyone. So making something that feels initially very impersonal and clinical, feel like something that is very personal. We want to have so many different, you know, colors and sizes and designs and looks to it. So you can find something that feels like you, if you were shopping.

Katie: 28:30

Yeah. Do you have other type one diabetics on your team?

Kyrra: 28:33

We do. Oh, yes. That is, that's also been an amazing part of it. My coworkers are now my, you know, diabetes and we have alarms and, you know, a low station in the office and everything. Every, we all beep meetings. It's fun to kind of sit there together, but yes, it is a company that has a lot of people with dogs.

Katie: 28:56

I know that must be a sight to behold when you're in a meeting and somebody likes scrambling for their devices to see if it's you know, chipping their watches. Is it me? Sarah's one of Sarah's really good friends that we've recently met has diabetes. And so Sarah's let me think for a second. Sarah's. Low alarm. Is this on her? Dexcom is this girl's high alarm on her

Kyrra: 29:21

Yeah,

Katie: 29:21

So, So, whenever they're together and if this girl's high alarm is going off, I'm like, oh gosh, you know,

Kyrra: 29:28

can

Katie: 29:28

gotta

Kyrra: 29:29

it?

Katie: 29:29

have some scandals or something like that. And serious. Like it's not me. I'm like, oh, okay. Nevermind.

Kyrra: 29:34

Right, right. It's those signals that only people with diabetes know. But yes, in the office, it is very comfortable to have all of the beeping going on.

Katie: 29:42

Yeah, exactly. So my aesthetic, the at least the, the, you know, the products, the handbags, the wallets, the cases, all of that. That's not the only thing you do. You also my diabetic diabetes TV, that's just amazing to me. Can you tell listeners about what mimetic diabetes TV is?

Kyrra: 30:01

Yes. My medic diabetes was first launched last year in 2020. As we talked about before social media as it's grown and grown and our Myabetic community has gotten bigger and bigger. We really felt like the community was something that was so special that, you know, seeing each other around the world live with diabetes, but feel, you know, look, look, and feel bold and confident. That was a huge impact that we've had kind of emotionally and w how could we show that imagery in an even bigger way? And so that's how we thought of my better diabetes TV that we wanted to you know, transform the image of diabetes on screen. And we are in Los Angeles and using entertainment as a way to. Showcase diabetes. And as we know that, we're just so frustrated by the existing representations of diabetes and media that we're like, you know, let's produce something that people with diabetes would actually like and enjoy watching. So we created my medic diabetes TV as a streaming service that had. Programming beautiful programming that you know, has diabetes, food, and fitness, but also diabetes real talk with people sitting down together dating with diabetes, women with diabetes, men, with diabetes, parents of children, living with diabetes. Pregnancy with diabetes. And we can have people sit sitting with each other and just talking and having communication, open communication and dialogue, as well as scripted shows, you have diabetes, comedies and diabetes, animation, and diabetes events and putting it all on screen with gorgeous production and lighting and color. So it feels very special to the community. But also as a way that people with diabetes who are not able to connect with other people, living with diabetes can see other people's opinions and see the way that other people live. And here are some of the frustrations or some of the The stories that they are going through with diabetes and here, because, you know, especially in 2020, nobody was really going out and able to connect with people in person. So being able to bring that to people's homes so they can enjoy it privately that, you know, so many of our in-person events got canceled, but can you connect with one another? See other people living with diabetes from the comfort of your own home and maybe on your own time? Cause like I said, I don't know if I would have been super. Public about my diabetes, but I definitely would have benefited from hearing other people and the challenges that they have, you know, with how it is to grow up with diabetes or to with some of the issues that you're dealing with and hear other people talk about it. Yeah. It's so impactful. So we really wanted to bring that to people for free. you can on TV and Amazon fire and Roku, and also on your Androids and download the app on your I-phones. But really just sit back and be entertained because when we, you know, mostly we're going to doctors and talking and it can feel very clinical and feel you know, very data centric. And what, what are your numbers? What are you eating? And that emotional and psychological side, we wanted to bring that to the screen in a really beautiful way. With, some lighthearted, you know, comedy and things for some, some programs for kids that we got an animation studio to help with, and we have a diabetes Western that's on there just, just really programs that, you know, people can watch with their families or friends. And it's a way that. Have open dialogue with people about diabetes that maybe you don't really want to talk about yourself if something that you're suffering with, but maybe by watching something with someone else. And, you know, I watched it with my parents and my husband, and as I'm watching it on the screen and I'm kind of watching as a producers, I like looking for different things and then they, they have definitely turned to me and go. Do you feel that way? that happen to you? And it was a way that I didn't even think to bring it up to them because so many times we're dealing with so much on our own that we don't even, we don't vocalize, you know, so to hear someone and watch something, someone else, and in a beautiful setting that we were able to produce in, in Los Angeles it was, it was very meaningful and I encourage everybody to go and check it out again. It is free but a streaming service. People with diabetes.

Katie: 34:43

That's that's amazing. And it's ongoing. I mean, you're continuing to build that and add new art shows. And like when I was on, I just realized that that even existed like a little bit ago. But know, I went on and think like spoke to me, what stood out to me was like the exercise, the fitness part of it, because there's people with diabetes leading fitness classes. Right. And I just like exercise is such a huge part of my life. I've always loved exercise. Like I actually do enjoy it, which I know a lot of people think that's, that sounds crazy. And I feel like exercise can be such a frustrating thing to. People with diabetes, because it's hard to, know, you, you don't want to be eating a bunch of, you know, drinking a bunch of juice or having to treat lows while you're exercising, because that's like not the point of exercising. So I just thought, you know, when I saw that, I thought, oh great. Like, you know, just to have the motivation and the encouragement of from somebody who's actually clearly very successful at figuring out how to exercise and you know, but also manage their diabetes. Well, the same time, you can, you can make it work.

Kyrra: 35:48

Yeah, to watch someone on screen, talk about fitness with diabetes and lead you in exercise. Also wearing a pump is very powerful to be, you know, to see we, we, we shot one of our, our fitness stars on onscreen in on, on the roof of a downtown building in downtown Los Angeles that we had drones coming around and he was doing these push-ups and we were watching on screen with these cameras. Watching him, you know, do these exercises, these gorgeous, this gorgeous imagery of, of him doing pushups, but as he's coming up, it's like the pump is sitting there with a tubing sticking out. And I said, this is just it even just personally, it was really impactful for me to see that and be like, this is, this is strength. This is confidence. As, as someone living with diabetes and thriving with diabetes and someone I would look up to regardless of diabetes or not. And, you know, It is, important to have that imagery and that representation on film.

Katie: 36:47

Yes, absolutely. Well, I mean, goodness gracious. You've got, you've got my Vedic with, you know, the, the products, you've got my diabetic diabetes TV. I mean, you're also, you're obviously extremely successful career women, diabetic has just, I mean, taken off it's it's wildly successful. You're also the mother of two really beautiful girls, young girls. And I mean, how do you manage and you manage diabetes. I mean, that's hard enough in itself. So how do you, how do you do that all? How do you do it all?

Kyrra: 37:19

Like so many periods listening, you just do it. Is it really going to answer? I, I, diabetes has prepped me a lot. I mean, it's so much of it living with diabetes. It's, it's never, you never figured it out. You there's something new every day, something coming and you are always multi-tasking and always thinking about so many different things at the same time. It kind of helped prepare me anyway for entrepreneurship as well as parenthood being a mom. You know, there's always some surprises around the corner and just to like so many times in diabetes, Where there are good days. And there are days that, you know, you think you kind of have a handle on it. And then there are days where you just kind of end up on the floor, crying in a puddle of tears. It's kind of the same way, you know, it is with parenting and being a mom and also your business, you know, you're like, I it's something that is important. And I just like all the struggles of, you know, the hard parts about being a mom or also, I mean, just like. Being a mom and being with your kids, like there's nothing better. And there's something that you would never, you know give up for all the hard parts and trade in the pros are so, so important. And that's the way it kind of feels with my business. Had it not been something that meant a lot to me and feels really personal. I probably would've stopped. Like, it's really hard to balance it all. I mean, I don't want to say balance cause that's a lie. You can't balance it all you just have. But it's it, I would've probably stopped doing it. If it wasn't something that meant so much to me and our team, you know and had such a big purpose out there because there are many times where it's just, it feels really tough and. It's a funny thing to kind of put yourself out there where it's something you started and has taken up over so much of your life and your energy and time and and your you're awake at night, thinking about or thinking about what that customer said or thinking about, you know, how can we help out more? And you want to, you want to give up at some points, but at the same time, you, you just, It means so much to you to have something that that you're doing with your life that feels like it's meaningful. And with my kids and relate to they, they know that they they've told, they said, you know, what does mommy do when they say she helps people living with diabetes? And that means a lot to me, you know? it is very rewarding. And while, while it's difficult, It's something that I'm happy to continue.

Katie: 40:02

Yeah, it's definitely hard to give something up when you see what an impact, what a positive impact it has on, on other people. And if You are exhausted and and it's hard to give it up for sure. And I bet your little girls are going to just be, I bet. They're just so proud of you, you know, like you're such a hardworking mom and they see you helping other people and.

Kyrra: 40:24

You too. And it's, it is so fun that, you know, I laughed that because I bring home all of our products and I mean, they, they think it's fascinating anyway, when I'm filling like a pot up or I have my pens out or something, and they're, they're always looking and touching and poking and but I, I brought home a few products. They were like, Ooh, you know, it was, you know, some, some pink case or something. And they, I said, you know what? I got to put these back in the card and this is for mommy's work. And then go on. Like they wanted, they wanted to have them. And I said, you know what? We got to bring this to the office from mommy's work and have him. And they said, what, what, why is it, what is that? You know? And I said, well, this is the case from diabetes. You know, this is where this, and I've showed them kind of, this is where the pump goes, and this is where your PM goes to this.

Katie: 41:12

Yeah.

Kyrra: 41:12

And they, you know, my older one started kind of crying and saying, oh, I want diabetes. And at this moment she just not have diabetes. Although every time they asked me to for a glass of water in the middle night and you know, my head is racing and again, complete and utter. All the parents out there with people who live with children, living with diabetes. I, I, think there is no one stronger, especially after having kids. Like it is, it is tough living with diabetes, but caring for someone with diabetes when it is not your own body. And it, I mean, it is your heart living outside of your body that has diabetes. I so much respect there, but having my daughter say that she wanted something. Because she sees the stuff that's associated with it as beautiful means a lot. So those little moments, and, you know, when they're climbing on all of my gadgets or hiding my PDM and the microwave, I could go, I can go. How many things, you know, the stories of the diabetes and parenting that it makes it all worth it. And you know, it's, it's

Katie: 42:20

a funny story. Yeah.

Kyrra: 42:22

so many stories. Yes.

Katie: 42:25

I try to encourage Sarah about, you know, like she was picking out a patch for her for her Dexcom not too

Kyrra: 42:32

Yes,

Katie: 42:33

like, you know, who's just going to love these patches. Like, just get the most, have the most fun with the patches. And she's like who? And I was like, your kids are going to love these patches.

Kyrra: 42:45

absolutely.

Katie: 42:46

You know, and I'm like, just think if you have a little boy, he might want to pick out like a robot patch for you or, you know, a little girl might want to pick out like, you know, who knows a unicorn patch and just the biggest smile came across her face. Just to think that like one day my kids might actually be excited about like my diabetes supplies. I mean, who knows where diabetes will be. Sarah is at the age where she's having children. Like there might be, you know, who knows, but anyway, it just, I love that you kind of let your girls just see it all and play with it all and hide it all in the microwave and all that

Kyrra: 43:20

Yeah. Yeah. It's just that that's mommy has diabetes and they don't think anything of it really, you know, it's just that yeah. The devices and the beeping comes with mommy and it's something that they associate with me. And it's never been something that, especially with them that I've hidden or, you know, The mommy has diabetes, that's it. And they get they're very participatory. And you know, my, my little one, she was too was one of the first things you could kind of say was trying to say instrument. And that was, you know what all this is, this is something, this is a concept that you, the, you kind of get, you know, and they like to watch me fill it up and change it. And of course I'd love to grab at things while I'm doing it. You know, it makes it like an adventure, but having them as part of my diabetes management and you know, yes, or this morning, actually my Dexcom went off. My daughter, my older daughter said, oh, you're beeping a lot time to get some apple juice. And she ran in there and of course she wanted apple juice too. You know, it's, it is, it is fun when you're thinking from diagnosis and where I thought maybe. Could be, or the fears of, you know, how is this disease going to kind of take over my life? And while it is a big part of my life, because of my abetting, especially I mean, I haven't had I haven't had to compromise in ways, you know, that I have my beautiful family and I'm able to create this business and connect, but also do the things that I love. And that's, that's important to, you know But day, my, one of my kids develops this, that diabetes is just so much better and we can kind of show them better and world of diabetes now than when I was diagnosed. So it's exciting.

Katie: 45:03

Yeah, absolutely. Well, is there anything else that you want the listeners to know about my aesthetic and just my medic as a brand and all the different things that my diabetic stands for. And does.

Kyrra: 45:13

I would say that my aesthetic is it's a brand that is designed by people who are living with diabetes. And that is just so important that people understand and that we will, we're happy, to be your diet buddy for people who be scared to kind of reach out and talk to someone, someone dialogue that, know, follow my diabetic on or Facebook. We will show you lots of people living with diabetes and fun ways to kind of incorporate and talk about diabetes. But that this is, yeah, this is from a very personal and loving place. And that we, we really understand how it feels live with diabetes, the ups and the downs and all of it. And we continue to do. Try and create products and experiences and you know, media to help with it. So that's really what we're here for is just helping you feel better,

Katie: 46:08

Yes. Well, thank you so much for what you do and people can find you on Instagram. It's at my medic. correct? And then it's Facebook. The same thing.

Kyrra: 46:16

Yep. Just

Katie: 46:17

Yup.

Kyrra: 46:18

M Y yep. Personalizing diabetes.

Katie: 46:20

Yup. And then the website too is my medic.com. You guys have got to go check out their products. They're beautiful. And definitely whatever streaming device you're using to watch TV, which We all have one at this point in time in our lives, you'd be hard pressed to find somebody who doesn't, but download the Myabetic diabetes TV channel. And it's, it's pretty amazing. You'll enjoy it.

Kyrra: 46:42

will, we'll also set

Katie: 46:43

Um,

Kyrra: 46:44

a sugar mama is discount code. So you can check Katie on all the information on the episode notes, et cetera. So we can get a discount code for everybody. Although.

Katie: 46:54

oh man. Thank you. That'd be awesome. Okay, Great. I'll I'll put more information about that at the end of the show and I will link to everything. We just discussed all the social media and website, of course, in the show notes.

Kyrra: 47:06

Great. Thank you. And thank you to all of the listeners. Again, respect for all of you. So thank you

Katie: 47:13

thank you Thank you so much. Thanks for coming on. It was great chatting with you, Kira.

Kyrra: 47:17

too.

47:19

That's it for our show today. Remember that coupon code to get 15% off your Myabetic order is sugar mamas, all caps, S U G a R M a M a S. You can find all the Myabetic gear@myabetic.com. M Y a B E T I c.com. And on social media, they are at Myabetic. You guys have a fabulous week. I'm so excited for what's to come. Next week starts our 10 week series for parents of T one D teens. I have a handful of different guests joining me for that series and whether your T one D is a toddler Twain or full-blown teen. You won't want to miss it, chat with you soon. Bye.