I AM ALL IN: Where you Lead

own podcast inside that hospital. Ryan Seacrest spent millions and millions of dollars of his own money building state of the art recording facilities and studios inside of many, many children's hospitals across the country. So good on them for that. And Maya is one of these lucky kids that has a chance to have her own podcast within one of these children's hospitals, and we're going to talk to her. And there she is. Hi, Maya, how are you, I'm dead?

How are you? I'm doing great? Nice to meet you, and we're very excited to talk with you today. So thank you for asking us and reaching out to us. You emailed us and had a few questions for us. And we're excited to talk to you. So, oh, I'm so excited to be talking to you. This is just great.

So tell me a little bit about why you're there and how you got involved with doing your own You're doing your own podcast, right, yeah, I'm well, it's notoppedly a podcast, it's just it's at the studio that it broadcasts to all the patients rooms and then yeah, and then I record, they record my interviews so I can upload them to my YouTube channel. Wow, that is just fantastic. So also, all the patients over there, all those kids, Hi,

everybody love you. And uh, I am so honored to that you reached out and wanted to talk to us, and we're very excited. Can I ask you a couple of questions before we turn over the floor to you so that you can interview me, because I know you wanted to interview me and you had a lot of questions. But can I ask you a couple of questions? First? Yeah, okay, okay. So first, first and foremost is is why are you there.

I was diagnosed with a brain tumor before I was three years old, so I had surgery and then two and a half years of chemotherapy, and then I was cancer free. But then I still had a ton of doctors appointments for other shoes that would cause But then in January, in January, I was diagnosed with another brain tumor, and so I had six weeks of radiation and now scans every three months. Okay, how's it looking Okay, looking good? Yeah, yeah,

it's stable. There's ship Now there's their issues. Now there's swelling. Like the radiation I caused swelling, So now I'm having treatments to control to stop the swelling. Well, we wish you the best, and you are very very strong and very talented young lady, and you have a lot to

offer the world. And like I said, it's really an honor to be on with you, and thank you so much for reaching out to us, because you know, I can already tell this is going to be my favorite episode that we will record in the whole history of this the podcast, however long it goes. This is really exciting to talk to you and tell us a little bit about have you met Ryan Seacrest? Have you talked

to him? My mom and my sister and I were actually at the hospital when the Seacrest studios opened on accident. It was, and it wasn't actually me that had the appointment, it was my sister, and so we were there when it opened, so we got to meet Bryan Seacrest and everybody that was there, and then my mom had would have to make sure we had time either before my appointment or after so we could go into the so

I could go into the studio. And then yeah, that So it opened when we were in sixth grade, and then a year later I found out patients could do their own show. So then in seventh grade I started my show. And then in eighth grade I started reaching out to people. Wow, what a spirit you have? Huh get you know, well you have a brain tumor. And then uh, yeah, but I want to do my own show. Okay, my god, how strong are you? Unbelievable? How amazing for you?

I mean, just it's absolutely amazing that you can handle all this all I mean, because you know, I know what I go through to try to to prepare for our We're doing two a week now, and it's just like I have no free time. I can't even imagine how you do it or how you find the time. So it's it's it's it's really a testament to you and your intestinal fortitude and your and your life drive. It's it's really remarkable. Okay, so thank you Ryan Seacrest.

Incredible human being, uh, generous human being with a heart as as big as a mountain. That guy. And I am going to turn over this podcast to you because you have questions for me, So go ahead. Well my first well, first of all, I just wanted to say thank you so much for having me on. I've been so excited for this so well, it's it's our pleasure and it's our honor to have you on. Trust me. Thank you. So my first question for you is when was the moment you first knew you wanted to be

an actor. Oh, that's an interesting question. I'm you know, I was, I was. I used to play professional baseball, and I remember I was dating I was dating an actress and she was on a show. She was on an Errand spelling show, and I was, you know, this was a long long time ago, by the way. This was I don't know, nineteen eighty five and I was still playing professional baseball, but in the offseason I'd come to La to stay in shape in the good weather.

So I'd spend my winters in Los Angeles, you know, training and all that kind of stuff. So anyway, so I met this this this actress at a restaurant and we began dating and I would read her. I would read with her for her next day's work, right that she had to go shoot. And she stopped me once and said, you know what, you're pretty good at this. You know, maybe you should consider doing this after your baseball career. And I know, and you know, I never

really thought about being an actor. I mean, I really wrote more than anything, and I enjoyed, you know, the arts very much. I wrote poetry and I wrote short stories and you know that kind of a thing. And uh and I read, you know, I read plays like everybody does in high school. And my mother was an actress in the local plays and players are in the town I grew up in. So the word was she was very talented, and but she had four kids to raise, so she couldn't really put that much time into it.

But I'd never really thought about it. And then I started thinking about it when my girlfriend at the time in nineteen eighty five, suggested I do it. So I took an acting class. That's the first time. I I went to the Stella Adler Conservatory in LA and took an acting class. And then when I a year later, I retired from baseball and moved to New York and studied in New York. So am oh cool. So when you read the role of Luke for Gilmore Girls, did you connect with Luke right away? Yeah? Yeah I did.

I two things went through my mind simultaneously after I finished reading that script, is that I don't want anybody else. The first one was I have no chance of getting this role because it's just too good a role. The script is too good. And at that time, in two thousand, they were starting to hire, you know, film actors with names, real names, were starting to do television. That's when it began. I mean a lot of them were crossing over into television.

It wasn't taboo anymore to do it because they were usually separate. You were either a TV actor or you were a film actor. And very few film, if any, film actors to television, and very few TV actors were lucky enough to do film. But so I thought, hey, I don't have a chance to do this because they're going to hire a big name film actor and the second thought was, I don't anybody else to play this role, so I went for it. So I really prepped it and I worked on the one scene that I thought

I had one and nailed it. And they wanted me to do another scene that I hadn't prepared because they made a typo and it said Duke instead of Luke on the pages that they gave me for the audition, and they said, well, would you mind going outside for a little bit five minutes and prepare the second scene? And I, you know, I didn't think I had a chance anyway, so I didn't care, and I said sure. So then I went in and I did that scene pretty well, and by the end of the day I

had the job. So yeah, it was pretty fast. It was shocking and fast, but it was just a guest star role in the pilot. It wasn't to be a serious regular. It was just to go up and be in the pilot. Oh wow, yeah, yeah, turned turned into something pretty nice from humble beginnings, right, yeah, So did you ever wish that Stars Hollow was a real place. It is a real place. There are there are places

like that. Uh. The Northeast has many many small towns that are that are wonderful, beautiful, eccentric and and just great places to grow up. And all over the country there are actually places like that that is not a stretch by any imagination of the imagination, but it's it's it's really a very accurate depiction of many, many small towns in America. So I don't I you know, I

kind of grew up in a place like that. It was a little bigger than Stars Hollow, but you know, we had our eccentric people, and we had our odd balls, and we had our small town mentality and our communities and you know, our sense of community, and everybody knew each other's business, and you know, everybody was accountable. So it sort of dictated how people your people would behave and you know, so wonderful experience. Yeah, oh cool. Yeah, yeah.

I have been watching Gilmore Girls. I mean I always watch it, but during Quarantine especially, I've just been rewatching it and just I just always wish like I lived in Stars Hollow, Like I just I just want to live there, so you can there are many places that are like that. Yeah, I my mom and I were talking about it than how like I just I kind of just want to live in a small town, and my mom said she thinks my anxiety would probably be better in a small living in a small town. So

I was like, Okay, we're going to move to stars Hollow. Then, well, you know, there are many historic, wonderful, beautiful, quiet small towns. Uh, you know in New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, I mean, Rhode Island, I mean all over the Northeast. I mean, if you what part of the country. Oh, oh, so you're in Denver. I mean they have they have places in and around Denver that are like that. So you know they're they're they're not It's not that hard to

find a place like that. They really do exist. I've been to many of them, and they always remind me of Starsoul. I've been to many of them since I filmed the show, and it's a lot like Starsoul. What was the most challenging part of reprising the role of Luke after so many years for Gilmore Girls, a year in Well, so much had happened in those nine years. I'd lost both my parents and it changed me a

great deal. I got married and had a son in twenty fourteen, and then twenty sixteen came rolling around and we were doing the reboot, and I had a two year old son, and I was married, and it's just, uh, you know, I had mellowed a great deal and my heart had opened up a great deal, which is what happens when you have a child. And I just didn't really feel like the character anymore. But there was you know, we're similar in some way, so I kind of leaned on that and depended on that to get me where

I needed to be. I remember the first and I've told this story before, but I'll tell it to you. You know, the first day of rehearsal, I just did

not feel the first day of shooting. We're in rehearsal and before we were shooting, and I just did not feel like the character at all, and I was in trouble and I just you know, I said to the director, I need to take a walk, you know, give me, give me five ten minutes to walk around stars Hollow because they rebuilt the set the back a lot of Warner Brothers where we shot the original series, so that

was familiar to me. So I was hoping that would trigger the old you know, get the trying to get the old scent back, as it were, and that worked. You know. I walked around and I thought the thoughts and I had the memories and walked back into the diner and said, okay, I'm ready to shoot. I felt like the guy, you know, a nine year old version of the guy. You know. Well, I'm really sorry about both of your parents. It's part of life, you know,

I had. I had fifty great years with my mom and uh rest rest are soul and uh and my dad. My dad passed about passed in twenty thirteen. And it it just changes you. It's it really really changes you. You know. Shooting the reboot was was a lot of fun because we knew it was a finite period of time. It wasn't like we were on a series again year after year after year. It was three and a half months of shooting and then we were out. So I think it made everybody happy that and plus we got

some closure. If it would indeed be the last time, I don't know that it will be the last time we shoot anything. I don't know anything. But it was nice to catch up and so many people had changed yet they'd stayed the same, and it was it was just fun, you know. It was just a lot of fun every day. Oh cool. Yeah, So what was your

favorite episode two film of Gilmore Girls. Well, it's always the pilot for me because it was the most surreal and it was the most enjoyable time I've ever had on a set, and because I knew something magical was in the air, I knew something special was happening, and it felt like it was happening, and it felt very special.

And uh, and I know that first scene I did with Lauren at the counter, you know, please please please more coffee and I said, she you're a junkie and you have a problem, and that kind I just after just rehearsing that scene with her before we started shooting, I thought, boy, this is this is wonderful. You know.

I thought she was wonderful and her timing was great and her delivery and every you know, everything, the physicality of the character, that the Laurel character was just absolutely specific and wonderful, and it gave me so much to play off of. And I just knew it would work. I just knew the relationship would work between Luke and Laureline.

I knew that I was the guy, and I knew that this pilot was just sort of a heat check between Lauren and I to see if I was going to be the guy, you know what I mean, Because it wasn't me, it would have been somebody else, but I was. I was very very pleased with that experience of shooting the Pilot, and especially that first scene because that was the first thing I shot when I got to Toronto, because we shot to Pilot in Toronto, Canada. We shot the series of Warner Brothers in Burbank, California.

But very special. Yeah, it was very very fond, wonderful war memory. Yeah. Cool. So I know that you have your own coffee company and how how did Scottype's Big Mug Coffee come about? Well, I'm very entrepreneurial and as nice as it is and as easy as it is to be an actor and not have any ownership position in the project that you're doing, just being purely an independent contractor is is nice because you show up for work and they pay you, and that's as simple as

it is. You don't have to worry about anything else except just showing up doing your work and then you collect your paycheck. And it's a tremendous amount of fun on top of that. So but I always wanted to own something, you know, be have my own company and build it up from scratch and build it up over time and do it the right way, you know, in small steps, and not try to bite off too much

and grow too fast and all that. So I thought, well, you know, Warner Brothers has done you know, sixteen seventeen years of international marketing for me personally and has gotten my name out there with the Gilmore stuff. And I serve coffee on the show, and I'm kind of known

for being a coffee pusher on TV. So I figured coffee was the natural way to go because we'd already you know, on the marketing side, had already had established that that character did that, So coffee was the natural choice. I'm a big coffee nut, so I searched far and wide for great coffee and uh and have some wonderful partners and and we're just you know, we're just having a great time selling coffee. We love it. So is a line from any Gilmore Girls episode that stuck with

you and has had a big impact on you. Well, the one that resonates with me the most is what I named the podcast after. I am all in you know where I grew up and where I'm from, you know, friendship and loyalty was very, very important. And there's another expression that was not used in Gilmore, but it's an expression I heard growing up a great deal. It's called

in for a penny, in for a pound. And what it means is in terms of friendship and loyalty is if you're gonna be somebody's friend, be their friend, you know, don't dance around the edges, and you know, be an acquaintance, be a friend, you know. And so that I am all in really represents me as a person and always has and it really impacted me because I think, you know, the writing really nailed it in that circumstance with Laurela because he's laying his cards out on the table and

it's like he's not messing around. It's like, I am all in. I want you to know that I am all in, and that means you can trust me, and that you means you know, I'm gonna stick it out through the thick and tin, because all relationships have up and ups and downs. You can't avoid them, you know, And you know, you want you want a solid, solid person. You want to you want to be with a solid

person who's willing to make that commitment. Who's in for a penny or who if they're going to be in for a penny, they'll be in for a pound, you know what I mean. So, is there someone from Gilmore Girls that you've remained close friends with? Yeah, Sean gun Uh probably the closest, Yanni Trusdale a little bit. I just saw CaCO. We just had her on the shelf, so that was nice. Yeah. So what is your biggest pet peeve? People that aren't considerate of other people. I'm

I'm a big stickler on manners. I like it when people are considerate of other people's feelings and considerate of other people's space and are polite and classy. I I like that. You know, there are a lot of people that are you know, they appear to be, you know, nice people and honorable people, and then they turn around stabby in the back. I mean that's everybody has experienced that, and sometimes it really surp rises you. And sometimes it's like,

well I kind of figured that's gonna happen. You kind of know who those people are and they're just not your people. It doesn't mean they're evil people. It's just that they're not your people. So you guys just have to find your people. And uh, but yeah, I'm big on on consideration, you know. I think it's it's it's pretty much the glue that holds our society together. Yeah. So what is Luke's biggest pet peeve? Why? I believe it's cell phones, which means his biggest pet peeve is

technology and change. He doesn't want to change. He doesn't want to leave that town. He doesn't want to see that town change. And maybe another one of his, maybe a bigger pet peeve of his, is that anybody who dates Laurela he doesn't like that because he wants it. But again, and he's wrestling with he's wrestling with all those questions about well if I if I date her and it goes bad, she won't come to the diner anymore.

It could change the complexion of the town. So in a practical sense, as a businessman and as a responsible citizen of a very small town, maybe it's not a good idea to get together with her. And it could

disrupt Rory's education, It could disrupt Rory's world. So I think he's so selfless and his needs are so much on the back burner that I think maybe there's a part of him that feels like the town is better served, He's better served Rory and Laurel I are better served with him just keeping the relationship on a friendship level. But then circumstances propel him into like other guys she's dating, kind of makes him jealous, so he you know, he wants to ask her out, and you got to be brave.

Is there a fine line between where odd Patterers and ends and Luke Danes begins. I think in some aspects there is a fine line, but in other aspects there's a there's a wall. Uh if you will, Uh, yeah, I mean to draw the similarities are he's very hard working and and and I am too. I've I've never nothing has ever been handed to me. I have always had to work extra hard for anything I've ever gotten.

And uh, and that's I learned that very early on in life, that when you you must work hard to acquire a skill set and then take advantage of any opportunities that come your way and apply those skill sets as best you can when those opportunities arrive, and if

it goes well, you could make a nice living. If it doesn't go well, and that happens, then you keep acquiring your skill set and keep adding to your skill set, and when the next opportunity arises, because I believe you create your own opportunities through your hard work, you take another shot at it, and this time you'll be a little bit better at it. You know, I grew up in a world where people didn't complain. They worked. They

just got to work. They rolled up their sleeves and they got to work, and they didn't blame anybody else for their problems. They just sort of got up in the morning and got to work whatever it is they wanted to do. So, I mean, that's what I've always done. That's what I watched my father do. It's what I watched my mother do. My mother got up every morning

and went to work. She walked to the speed line, she took the train into Philadelphia, and she worked all day and then she came home and she walked home. That was her exercise, and she'd make dinner, then she'd take a shower, and she'd go to bed. She'd do it five times a week. On weekend, she read books, and so you know, there's a I was inspired by my parents to have a work ethic, and they always told me, you'll never amount to anything unless you dedicate

yourself to something. And it's if you want to have a nice life, you know, choose something that you love to do and then just work like crazy at it, to be great at it, to be an expert at it, and then you can have a nice living because you're you're earning money doing something you love to do. And So if you could hang up with any of the characters some gale More girls, who would it be if I could hang out with you mean, as Luke or as Scott yea, as Scott Scott. Hanging out with any character?

One character? Who do I want to hang out with? You know, maybe Jess because I was a lot like him when I was at that age, uh, you know, the young Jess the two thousand and two whenever he came on the show. And I think it would be interesting because I could guide him a little bit, you know, I could be a mentor to Jess and let him know in my way what to expect and what to avoid and you know, just provide a little guidance to that that that's searching young man. Yeah, Jess was one

of my favorite characters. So I was so sad when he left. Yeah, we all were, we all were. But he, you know, he was destined for bigger and better things and uh and it all happened for him. So we're all very happy for you know. Yeah. Yeah, So I just have one more question, okay, and it's who do you consider to be a real life superhero? And why? My mom because of her fierce loyalty to her kids

and even when times were tough, she never broke. And where there were some tough times financially and emotionally, and she never broke. She just never broke. She was just so strong, and you know, she wouldn't let anybody complain. She never complained about anything. She just said, you know, sometimes life gives you lemons. You gotta make lemonade. As simple as that that that's the reality. Deal with reality. And reality was this is what we're going through now,

and prove it, make it better. And she did and she did it every day, and she understood that it was a daily discipline. It wasn't and nothing happened overnight. Like if you want something, son, dedicate yourself to the study of it, you know, and it takes time, and if you don't love it, you're not going to hang in there long enough to really become an expert. So

so I think, you know, that's the thing. And I think, because you know your listeners, these other kids they're in the hospital because they're you know, they're sick a little bit here and there, or they're dealing with more serious issues, doesn't mean that they don't have aspirations and doesn't mean

that they don't have dreams. And you know, there was a girl on America's Got Talent who wrote that that been sang that beautiful song and she's now had to step back to take care of her health from what I read, But what an inspiration to so many people in this country that she has been. And I think I don't remember the name of the song, was it Blackbird or something like that or Bluebird? But anyway, she's

such an inspiration and and and she inspires me. And you know, it's it's people like you, it's people like your listeners, and it's people like, uh, this girl that

we're talking about. This you're extraordinary people because you offer a glimpse into a different kind of a world where maybe you can be all taken away from you, and you're living each moment at a much higher level where there's more gratitude or there's it's it's things are sweeter, things are more beautiful, things are more impactful there there, and I think you don't waste your time. You do

what you love. You strive for what you want, and whether it's chemotherapy or surgery or whatever, it doesn't stop you. It just makes you stronger, which is why I admire you so much. And the people that are listening to this right now, it's such an inspiration to talk to you. You have no idea how uplifting this is. And and I know at times you feel down and you feel physically weak and maybe a little sad, but you're stronger than anybody that is considered to be in really good health.

So you're you. You are the inspiration. And and your friends in that hospital and hospitals all over children's hospitals all over the all of the country and all over the world, that those are the strong ones, those are the those are the special people that we learned from that would that inspire us. So thank you. Yeah, I mean, since I got sick at such a young age, TV became like this escape for me in a way, just to leave everything behind. And so Gilmore Girls is one

of those shows that just gives me an escape. So thank you. Well, there's You're welcome, and there's a lot of love coming out of that show, isn't there? And it's a nice uh, it's a nice experience to to wrap wrap those shows around you like a blanket to keep you warm. And I appreciate those thoughts because I never thought in a million years that I would become an actor. But once I decided to, I worked very hard and persevered and went through a long period of

no work and hard times. And it's very satisfying to not only have association with the show any kind of a show, but one that is so iconic and really kind of woven into the cultural landscape and it will be forever and I feel very lucky in that regard. So it's been a it continues to be a very special experience and has colored my life in very positive ways.

And so yeah, so I appreciate it, and I'm glad that you you get comfort and inspiration from the show, because it's really I think anybody set out to do so mission accomplished. Yeah, Well, thank you so much for having me on your podcast and letting me interview you this. You have no idea how excited I've been for this or how much this means to me. So thank you. Well, You're very very welcome, and I am honored to be on your show that all the kids are going to

get to listen to. And and my message to all to you and to all the kids that are going to listen is that that I love you and you inspire me every day, and just to keep fighting and to just continue to pursue your dreams because there is important as anything. I mean, the true, the true secret to life is to just day and day I'll continue to pursue your dreams and you're doing that, so you

should be very proud of yourself. Thank you. And I am wanting to tell you that my mom, my mom is a huge fan of yours too, and so my sister So they boots hi. Okay, what are their names. My sister's name is Leah and my mom's name is Shiwa. Wow, beautiful names. Wow. We'll tell them. I said hello, and thank you very much, and maybe one day I can meet all of you wonderful people. And uh and it's been great talking to you. Thank you so much for

your time. Okay, oh, thank you all right. I hope maybe we can talk soon, you know, yeah, yeah, I would love that. Yeah. Please keep in touch, let us know how you're doing. Okay, okay, thank you all right, much love, thank you, bye, all right bye. Sweet hey everybody, and don't forget follow us on Instagram at I Am all In podcast and emailis at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com.

Oh you Gilmore fans. If you're looking for the best cup of coffee in the world, go to my website from my company scott ep dot com, s c O T t YP dot com, scott ep dot com Grade one Specialty Coffee