Ep. 84: From TV Reporting to Beating the Winter Blues

[00:00:01] It's home to world-class shopping, great dining, and amazing attractions and events. And these are our stories presented by Bloomington, Minnesota Travel and Tourism. Hey everyone, welcome to this edition of So Much More. We're excited to have you join us. I am your host, Dan Jasper. And joining me is my friend, my colleague, Laura Utec. Laura, how are you doing? I am doing fantastic. Thank you for having me here today. Yeah, this is number two for you. Number two. Twice on the podcast.

[00:00:30] I don't want to put any pressure. Yeah, you will be. Trust me, you will be. Laura is our Senior Director of Communications here at Mall of America. She oversees PR and social media in a bunch of different areas. Really handles the storytelling for the mall. And I'm going to introduce our guest in just a minute, but it's winter. It's cold. It's dark. Preach. And I'm pretty sure the groundhog said there's like six more months of winter left. I'm not sure. Something like that till springtime.

[00:00:59] But the winter time can be tough to handle for some people. It can be a difficult time for a lot of people. And we're bringing on today a guest who is a friend of the mall, has been connected to the mall for many years, and is an expert at people dealing with some of these issues. So it is our pleasure to welcome Brian Pyatt. Brian, how are you? I am doing well. Thank you so much for having me. Yeah, thank you for... It's awesome to be here. It's fun. It's fun having you here. Yes.

[00:01:24] You have been a friend of the mall and you've been coming to the mall professionally since at least 2011, right? Yes, 2011. Probably as a friend or a guest prior to that, I'm guessing? Yep, totally. I was always... I remember I... So I grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, and it was always the big trip every year for back to school shopping. We'd always... We always came to the Mall of America. This was it. This was the destination. It was always a big deal. When you started coming to the mall in 2011, that was in a professional capacity.

[00:01:53] Tell me a little bit about what you were doing and what that experience and journey was like. Yeah. So I worked at Care 11, one of the TV stations here in the Twin Cities for about 10 years. Yep. And I got hired back in 2011 as the morning reporter for Care 11 Sunrise. And so as part of that job, I was the one that they basically sent out to all the morning live shots and got to do all the fun, wacky things that you get to do as a morning live shot reporter.

[00:02:22] And a lot of those included things here at the Mall of America. I got to... I actually wrote down a whole list of things. It was kind of fun to like think back to all the live shots that I got to do here. I love it. We're going to get to that because I want to hear some of those stories. Laura, I'm going to jump to you really quickly because you have a similar background, don't you? I do. I do. I started my career in news as well. I started out first in college with Brian, so we have that fantastic connection. But then went to Duluth for several years.

[00:02:49] I was the morning anchor there and then down in Milwaukee with the Fox affiliate where I did the very similar thing. The morning feature segments where you're out and about doing kind of those fun, entertaining, crazy live shots. Then made the switch to PR, moved back here to the Twin Cities and eventually wound up here at the Mall. Which is awesome. Did you guys both do like the college news station together in St. Cloud? We sure did. Yes, we did. UTS News. UTS News. We anchored together. I remember our first show, I accidentally called him Brian Piot. I actually don't even remember that. You don't remember that?

[00:03:19] No. Oh, I felt so bad because then later you're like, actually, it's Piot. It's Piot. I was like, oh man. I never forgot it after that. And I would have totally forgotten it if you hadn't brought it up again. Now I'm going to hold that against you. I love it. And what's really funny is we actually have that clip. Would you go ahead and run that please? Actually, I bet I could find it. I could find it. Those tapes, those old tapes are still in my closet somewhere. I could find them. I love it. I want to see that. I really want to see that. That would be fun. So you guys got to know each other in college.

[00:03:47] Tell me between the two of you, what is one of your most memorable stories from college, meaning news stories or something you worked on together? Well, I got a fun one. You start us off. We won a college Emmy together actually. Did you really? Yes. So Brian and I were flown out to LA because our newscast was nominated and we won. And it was so much fun. We got to go out to LA. I think was it Tom Bergeron was the host from Dancing with the Stars? Yes.

[00:04:16] I want to say like Seth MacFarlane was there too. Wow. There was all these big celebrities and our whole crew was flown out and got to go and celebrate and then winning. And then we went up on stage and got to accept the award and it was quite the experience. Yeah. It was so much fun. And I think you were like, you were anchoring on that newscast. I was either anchoring or reporting. Or you were the news director. Yeah. You were doing everything. We're trying to remember. You were really pleased to see this together. And Brian was the sports reporter. I love it. And what was the story? What did you win for? Well, it was a whole newscast.

[00:04:46] Oh, for the overall production of it. Yeah. I think my story was on gas prices. I think I was reporting and it was like gas prices or something. Yeah. It was like the best- Super entertaining. Yeah. It was really hard hitting news. Yeah. It was for like best, I think college broadcasts or something like that. It was a really cool experience. And we got to explore LA together and it was good. Some entertaining professors. Oh, yes. So I'm sharing this podcast with two Emmy award-winning professionals. That's right. I love that. Thank you. That's awesome. We're kind of a big deal.

[00:05:15] So Brian, you spent 10 years or so coming out to Mall of America as a morning reporter. Yep. Share a couple of those really wacky stories, fun stories. And you give some thought to your experience because I want to hear how they compare. Totally. What do you? So the one that jumps out to me was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle ride. Yeah. I think it was right when it opened up. Yep. I rode that live on television. Remember? And I remember I had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle t-shirt on.

[00:05:44] We had the whole Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle crew there. We did. We broke a world record too when we opened it. Yes. And I'll never forget Tom Cornell. He was one of the photographers at the time. I think we strapped him in. He was holding the camera and flipping around, going upside down. And I was doing the same thing. He was flipping with the camera? Yeah. He somehow... Did you flip? Were you able to spin? I think I was able to spin. I think I was struggling a little bit. You need to get this footage. It would be good. I bet we can find that.

[00:06:12] But it was amazing because I remember it was set up where I was literally going around on the ride and I was able to talk live to the anchors, Kim Inslee and Tim McNiff at the time, as I was spinning around on the ride. And were you dizzy at the end? I think so. I did. The adrenaline was pumping too, I think. Yeah. What are some of the weirdest other fun stories you did when you were out here? Gosh, what else? I remember... Well, another ride...

[00:06:40] Apparently, I was like the breaking news new ride reporter. For Nickelodeon Universe rides. Okay, good. There was the bubble guppies guppy bubbler. Not quite as adventurous. That was... That was... I remember riding that. It was a little more calm, much more of a calm experience. I think I remember actually watching that live shot. Yeah. It was really fun. I was interviewing Sarah at the time. And then... But I have a lot of memories of... I remember when the Super Bowl was here. Oh. I did a lot of work here. There was the whole like media row was set up. It was.

[00:07:09] And Carey, you had your own booth set up here. Up on third floor. I remember it very distinctly. Yeah. It was really awesome. But then over the years, Black Friday was always a big deal. Yeah. I was always out here doing live shots for Black Friday. And what I will say is I could always rely on the Mall of America. When we needed a fun story, I could always reach out to the team here and be like, we need to have some fun tomorrow morning. And they would pull it together and make it happen. So... Which was really cool. So what I'm hearing is if somebody needs fun in their life, they should just reach out to Mall of America. Just give you a call.

[00:07:38] That's what I'm hearing is spring break is coming. I think that's the deal. I love it. We're sensing a theme here. What... Laura, you were a morning reporter anchor as well at a couple of different cities. What are a couple of the craziest things you had to do in that role? Yeah. So there was one particular that stands out to me where they were doing a Special Olympics fundraiser where you could rappel off of a building. Yeah. Yeah. It was like 30 stories in downtown Milwaukee. Yeah. And I'm like, this is a great idea. I'm going to rappel on live television.

[00:08:08] This will be great. Not realizing that I had a fear of heights. And I didn't realize I had this fear until we got to the top of the building. The elevator wouldn't go any higher. So then we had to take stairs and there were windows. And I was seeing through the window how high we were. And I was like... Yeah. Oh, why did I decide to do this? You're realizing you have to do this on television. And then we got... And they had me sign all these waivers. And they're like, don't worry, we tested it. And I'm like, oh my gosh.

[00:08:37] Well, okay, this is live television. Nothing bad can happen on live television, right? You're fine. So I got up to the edge of the kind of the top of the building. And you look down and they're like, don't look down. Of course you look down when they say don't look down. Yep. And everybody's about this big. And that's when the heart really started racing. And we were about to go live. And I'm just like, I don't know if I could do this. And then the anchors start talking to me and throwing to me from the news desk. And oh, I was... I did it. I did it.

[00:09:07] And on top of it, you've got... It's like weighing you forward. There's all this weight to it. So you literally have to be thrusting your body off the side of this building to get it going. And then I'm rappelling down. It's so funny because I was seeing people in their offices and they were watching the live newscast. So I could see them watching me as I'm kind of rappelling through their window. But that was a crazy one. I love it. Also played basketball at the Harlem Globetrotters. Here we go. Went... Did all kinds of stuff.

[00:09:36] I mean, it was fun. It was fun with dolphins and all kinds of crazy stuff. Very entertaining. That's for sure. That is so much fun. You know, the Harlem Globetrotters have been to Mall of America several times. Yes, they have. Back last weekend, again, they tried to set a world record, which was so much fun. Yep. They were also a guest on this podcast so much more. And they actually spun a basketball on my finger because I could not do it myself. But... I don't know how you do that. I don't either, clearly. Right? But I can hold my finger up and let them spin it for me. They got it going and then you just... They did.

[00:10:06] They got it going and then they said, just hold it like this, right? That's fantastic. And I still messed it up. But it was fun. Yeah. Oh my gosh, totally. Outside of your mall experience, Brian, is there one or two stories that stick out as a morning reporter that you went, oh my gosh, I can't believe this happened. And I... Yes. I'd skated... Do you remember the Red Bull crashed ice course? I do. Yes. In St. Paul. They would set it up out there at the cathedral. I skated a portion of that on live television, which was equally terrifying and exciting

[00:10:35] at the same time. Survived it. Luckily, I had a hockey background. Yeah. But nobody can prepare you for skating on ice like at an incline. Yes. It was very bizarre. And awesome. And what else did I do? I scuba dive on live television. Oh yeah. I was like talking to the report of the anchors there, I remember, underwater. I love it. It was wild. Remember the one where you're on that big sheet thing and they flip you up in the air? Did you do that one too? Yeah. That was with the, I think like the Winter Carnival. Yeah. Oh, okay. That was a good one too.

[00:11:03] I'm totally blanking on the name of them, but they're fantastic. They're like one, two, three, and then they shoot you up in the air. I love that. I did that in preschool. It was fun. It was good. No, it's a parachute. You go underneath. Which one? I love that. I love that. I remember the crashed icing in St. Paul because it was like this bit, when you drive by it and you could drive under it at least one year. I remember it went over a roadway. It did go over a roadway. Right by the cathedral. And it just looked like scaffolding and wood. And it, to me as someone driving by, it looked awesome by the way.

[00:11:33] Yeah. And exciting. But it also was scary just driving by and looking at it. Oh my gosh. I can't imagine actually doing it. And then when you watch those skaters do it in real time, they just, they're not holding back at all. Yeah. It's unbelievable. It was, it was very fun. And the funniest thing about those live shots too, is this is all, at least for me, it was always happening before 7am. Yeah. So it was just the wildest thing to get, even, even when I would come to the mall, I remember it like that. It was a very rare experience to be standing in the mall of America and having it be like totally silent. Yes.

[00:12:03] It's dark. It was always just the weirdest thing initially. Like not many people get to do that. Yeah. It's a special experience. It's fun, isn't it? Yeah. One of the first days I worked here, I came in the middle of the night, right? For a live shot, I think. And back then we had to cable in everything. And I was walking through at that time, Camp Snoopy and kind of dark. And all I heard was Paul Bunyan's voice from the long term, right? Oh, no way. What is that? Kind of creepy is what it was, to be honest.

[00:12:30] I wanted to start off with your past careers because you have fun stories to tell. You guys are friends. I believe, I believe is likely one of the mechanisms or the tools that people can use when they're going through a tough time. Yes. Brian, would you share a little bit about after your television career, how your career took a change and lead us up to what you're doing now. Yeah. And I'd love to talk about, for those people that might be struggling with the cold and

[00:12:59] the dark, what we might be able to do with that. Absolutely, for sure. Yeah, so when I was at CARE 11, you know, one of the coolest things about a job in TV news is the platform that it gives you, like this ability to reach a lot of people. And I have had a real journey in my own life of struggling with my mental health, anxiety and OCD in particular. And when I was at CARE 11, I made a decision to eventually open up and really kind of share

[00:13:28] my story, really with the intention of helping other people know that they're not alone. Because I think there's far too many of us out there maneuvering some sort of a mental health struggle and feeling like we're the only ones. And so I was really blessed to be able to have, you know, the support of a TV station who let me be really open about that. And it was really, really meaningful work to be able to share my story and do a lot of advocacy work in the mental health space kind of led to me doing a lot of public speaking

[00:13:58] and things like that. And then during the pandemic, I actually ended up making a decision to leave TV news and go back to grad school to become a therapist. And so now that's my full time job is working as a mental health therapist. I work for a private practice in Bloomington. We specialize in the treatment of anxiety and OCD. Yeah. And so it's been it's been a huge pivot. It's been a really huge change.

[00:14:22] And yet it just kind of feels like work that I was meant to do and was able to make that change. That is awesome. I think the pandemic hit a lot of people. A, it put a strain on everyone's mental health, right? For sure. But I think it also encouraged a lot of people to look at their life and their careers and is this an opportunity. I would be shocked if the vast majority of people haven't struggled at some point with

[00:14:52] some level of anxiety, depression, something like that. And I don't want to be too personal. But Laura, you shared that in the past you've had like during winter, it may impact you. And this is a person that as a friend, you were able to reach out to. Do you mind sharing a little bit of that? Yeah. I mean, I think this time of year we all get really down. I think it's hard. It's dark. It's cold. People need that social connection too. In the summer, in the spring, in the fall, people are out. They're doing things. They're walking. They're seeing each other.

[00:15:21] They're having that connection. And social connection is so huge too. And in the winter we're all just kind of, you know, it gets dark at four or five o'clock. I know. So I think that that's definitely gotten hard on me. I think that's gotten hard on, that's hard on everybody this time of year. And it's just cold. You know, and Brian's been such a dear friend for so long. I mean, he's just always been a support no matter what I'm going through to be able to call and talk to him. And I think that's been vice versa too, which has just been so wonderful.

[00:15:50] But at least I don't get charged when I give him a call. There you go. Not that you know of. I hope not now. All of a sudden he sees my name coming up and we start the clock. Start getting an invoice. And honestly, lots of people deal with mental health crises. And I've struggled with depression for 40 years, right? And been in therapy and done a lot of things and continue to do that.

[00:16:15] But for somebody who's just struggling a little bit right now, what's some advice you could give to someone who may be listening or watching our podcast going, I just can't wait for spring. This is, I'm a little bit down. Well, I think number one, what I would tell that person is to just acknowledge that it's okay that things are feeling hard right now. I think, and understanding kind of that common humanity a little bit that, you know, even like Laura sharing, this can be a tough time of the year for a lot of people.

[00:16:43] So I'd want them to know that they're not the only one. I think what I really encourage people around this time of the year is really just trying to get back to basics, you know? Like really coming back to trying to focus on getting good sleep, right? Trying to at least get out and move your body a little bit in whatever way that looks like for you. Yeah.

[00:17:08] Leaning into connection, even if it means just calling a friend and talking for five to 10 minutes, you know, just basic foundational things. I think none of these things are like magic fix all cures things that are just going to make everything go away. Yeah. But they're going to make it a little bit more manageable. So I think, you know, rooting into those basics is where I always encourage people to start. I think that's really wise. I know for me personally, a couple of things that can really help me are sleep. Yes.

[00:17:38] Because that's often impacted, right? And either too much or too little. Mm-hmm. And diet, eating. Yes. I know when I struggle at times, I stop eating, right? Yeah. It just seems like it's, there's no appeal. I don't want to do it. And so at those times, I really try to encourage myself, I need to eat one good meal a day. Absolutely. If nothing else, right? Yep. And get some healthy vegetables, fruit, some different things in my body because I feel better when that's done. Yes.

[00:18:06] And a lot of times too, I think people feel like you kind of have to do those things before you feel ready to or before, like you're not going to probably want to call the friend or you're not going to really want to go outside for a walk or, but doing it anyway and kind of learning how to exercise that muscle of, oh, this is like the last thing that I want to do, but I'm going to do it anyway. I'm going to kind of push through that a little bit.

[00:18:35] And then even just notice, maybe there's like a 5% feeling better on the other side. That's where the payoff starts to happen. Yeah. So I think it's important to know. I think we can get really sucked into this mode of sitting around waiting to feel inspired to do the things that we know are good for us. Yeah. And I think sometimes we have to push through those. I agree. I agree. The, you've been out here and done a lot of morning segments at Mall of America. There's a connection here. Trust me, right? Yeah.

[00:19:05] Yeah. Which is out here, we have a lot of people that go mall walking. Yes. Especially in the winter months when people might be struggling a little bit. It's safe. It's dry. Right. And they're out getting their exercise and they're not all senior citizens. We have moms, we have strollers, we have, you know, middle-aged folks as well. And there are malls or locations around the country. Yes. Where people can go and safely get out and do that.

[00:19:30] And I think oftentimes people forget there's opportunities and there's community. You talked about community earlier. Yeah. You've seen Mall Walkers. What are your thoughts on when they're around? I think it's fantastic. And with us too, I mean, we've got thousands of plants, live plants here. We have all of the skylights. So it brings the outside in. So when you do come here to walk or to exercise or have that social connection, it almost feels like you have that outdoor feeling a little bit with the light. Yeah.

[00:19:57] But yeah, I mean, for me, when I'm having those feelings too, I think the exercise is critical and sometimes you don't feel like it. And just whether it is coming to the mall here to exercise and walk or going to your gym or working out from home. And I think also that social connection piece too, that's really, really critical. And I was just reading some statistics and there was a 2023 survey that showed that social disconnection is not only harmful to individuals, but also to our society as a whole. Yeah.

[00:20:26] So it truly is impactful. People need that connection. Yeah. And I think for Brian, it's incredible that he's sharing his story and opening up and letting people know that this is normal. A lot of people feel like this. A lot of people are dealing with these same things. Yeah. Yeah. And I think there's something that happens when we, like if you're having a hard time, right?

[00:20:48] Like even whether it's with anxiety or depression or just the changes in season, we're really good as human beings at being like, okay, I'm having a hard time. And then piling on top of that a lot of like judgment towards ourselves. Why I shouldn't be feeling this way. Why am I feeling this way? Oh, there's something wrong with me. Right? Yeah. And so honestly, what I do a lot of work with clients is just how can we get better at allowing ourselves to be feeling what we're feeling.

[00:21:17] And that might be at this time of the year, just knowing, hey, this is a tough time of the year for me and that's okay. I don't like that it is hard, but can I just allow it to be a little bit harder? Yes. Maybe. And then I think as you go on, you can start to, when you enter into the winter season, just kind of knowing, hey, this is a tougher time of the year for me. And prepare for it. I think just allowing yourself that space for it to be a little bit more difficult as you're

[00:21:44] doing some of these things to help yourself through it, I think can be really powerful. Yeah. And that's something I remember we've talked about too, like when you were starting to really dive into anxiety and how you manage anxiety. And we had a lot of conversations about it. And one thing that stuck out to me is you're like, don't push it away. Yeah. That you really learned. Totally. The more that you try to push it away and force it, the worse that it's going to get.

[00:22:09] And I saw this Instagram post, it was Bill Hader, who was a comic on Saturday Night Live talking about his anxiety and how bad it got. He was saying the same exact thing, but it's fascinating. Bill Hader, he's live on Saturday Night Live. Like how could somebody like that have this terrible anxiety? So it really shows a lot of people are silently suffering. Absolutely. And I think people need to talk about it and trust people and realize that it's okay. Totally.

[00:22:37] And I could talk about this for 17 hours. We don't have 17 hours. So we're going to extend this interview. It's going to be a very long interview. But I wanted to add quickly on like when you're talking about people coming to the mall, what I love about that too is that people can come here and sometimes we just need to be in space with people, even if we're not talking. Yes. So what I like about that is you can come to the mall or any public place, right, and be in the midst of other people energetically.

[00:23:06] I think that really does something for us. I agree. Similarly to instead of sitting at home, what if you go to the coffee shop or something just to be around other human beings? Yes. I think that's what I like. I love that idea of people walking here at the mall. And for those in the Twin Cities area, Mall of America opens, we open our doors three hours prior to retail shopping hours every day. And that's when a lot of our mall walkers come and talking about being in connection with people and in proximity to people.

[00:23:34] We also have, I think, about 94 coffee shops here. Well, maybe not 94, but there are coffee shops everywhere. I believed you. I was like, wow, that's incredible. Let's hop around all of them throughout the day. Yeah, yeah. There's a lot of places to buy coffee and do fun things here or just to get up and motivate yourself and to move around, right? I'm going to ask us a few fun, really quick questions at the end, hopefully. But prior to that, two things.

[00:24:02] One, if somebody's interested in your practice, Brian, and would like to connect with you, how could they do that? Yep. So they can go to our website is, gosh, I believe it's stateofmindtherapy.com. But if you just Google state of mind therapy, my boss is going to be rolling her eyes at me like, how do you not know that? And we will put it in our directions in our written copy. But you can just look us up. If you Google state of mind therapy, you'll find us.

[00:24:27] And you can set up phone consultations and things like that with us if you're interested in working with us. And we have a lot of great resources on there, workshops, things like that. And they can find me on Instagram too. And if someone is in crisis, what do they do? Well, it's an important thing to bring up, right? Because if this time of the year there's things like you're not able to function, right? There's suicidal thoughts happening, things like that.

[00:24:57] Would encourage reach out right away for professional help. There's a lot of really good helplines out there. 988, I believe, is the really common one that people can reach out to. But talk to somebody. You know, I think people get really scared at just taking that first step. There are so many people out there whose jobs are to guide you through that once you make that courageous step. There's help available. There's so much help available. That's what we do all day long.

[00:25:27] And you're not alone. All right. We are going to wrap up our conversation today with a few quick questions. And you don't know this is coming, so I apologize to both of you. It's okay. Oh, boy. But whatever. We love a surprise. Right? Because I'm just making this up as we go. So I'm going to look at the wrong camera here. Just stare at the different cameras. As quick as you can, what is your favorite thing to do at Mall of America? Laura. Oh, I'm taking my son to sea life. All right. Brian.

[00:25:57] Cinnabon is actually what came to my mind first. All right. I was going to ask what's your favorite thing to eat, but other than Cinnabon. Brian. Other than Cinnabon. I love Panda Express. Oh, awesome. Piata. Okay, awesome. What is your favorite outdoor activity, Laura? Ooh, going to the park. Gosh. Outdoor activity would be cross-country skiing. I love it. Name of your favorite pet. Brian. Cooper. Cooper. My dog, Cooper. My dog, Lola.

[00:26:27] Lola. Awesome. And your favorite Minnesota memory of all time, Laura? Favorite Minnesota memory of all time? That's like my entire list of memories. Well, my whole life. Going to college with Brian Piot. Wow. There you go. There you go. Perfect. Okay. Minnesota memory. Didn't we go to the state fair together a long time ago? Oh, yes. Oh, we got an old time photo taken together. I got to see that too. We did get an old time photo. Can you pull that up now? We will. We will. We'll put that on here. I'll try to pull up Brian.

[00:26:55] And they gave me like a name, Madam Trixie or something like that. You were Madam Trixie. You were very serious. I got to hold him a bottle of whiskey. Madam Trixie. This one will never die now. Put that on our office now, outside of the office. We're going to change the name on our office door. I'll show you a picture. I like that. It's a good one. I like that. I love it. Last words of advice just for somebody who wants to look forward to spring. Brian, what would you tell someone looking forward to spring? Oh, my gosh. One moment at a time and be really gentle with yourself. I love it. Laura?

[00:27:25] There's light at the end of the tunnel. Days are already getting longer. They are. The light and it's right around the corner. So we're almost there. They are. Thank you, Laura, for joining us today. Thank you, Brian. It's a pleasure having you here. So fun being here. Thank you so much. And for all of our viewers and listeners, thank you for joining us on this episode of So Much More. We hope that you like it, you subscribe, you tell all of your friends to listen and to watch. And until next time, thanks for joining us. Thanks for listening to So Much More, a Mall of America podcast.

[00:27:54] Subscribe wherever you find your favorite podcasts. This show is presented by Bloomington, Minnesota Travel and Tourism. We'll be right back.