Ep. 28: Rob Snow on raising a son with Down syndrome
Rob Snow sums up the heart of his life in two sentences: “I have a son with Down syndrome and a love of comedy. The rest of my life has been a merger of those two things.”
He and his wife had a son, then had another child in 2009 who has Down syndrome.
When people say things like, When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, Rob wants to say, "Did you just call my son a lemon?" Instead he wrote a book, “What I Should Have Said,” founded the charity Stand Up for Downs and created The Improvaneers, the one and only improv group solely for people with Down syndrome.
Rob talks about how to minimize the mountains in front of you and manage the hills that they become.
My Take Aways:
A problem can be a privilege once you decide to embrace it.
Know your “why.” When you know why you are doing something and remember that motivation, you’ll always give it your best and get it done.
Minimize the mountain in front of you. Get it down to a hill, then manage the hill.
Ask for help. People want to give it, so take it!
Official Bio:
Rob Snow grew up near Cleveland, OH and always had a passion for comedy. From obsessively watching it on TV in all its forms, to being the class clown, to studying improvisation at the famed Second City theatre, to performing stand-up on stages throughout the country, Rob tried it all.
In 2000, he hung up his comedy dreams to pursue the "normal life" - wife, children, stability. In 2009, he found out his comedy aspirations were going to come back in a different but possibly more profound way. It was in 2009, that Rob and his wife Ellen, had their second son Henry. Henry was born with Down syndrome.
Prior to Henry's birth, Rob started performing stand up comedy again, purely as a hobby, but he was enjoying. With Henry's birth, he continued performing as it became a bit of a release. Rob and Ellen embraced their son in the same manner they embraced their first, with as much love and compassion as possible. The Snows became very involved in the Down syndrome community, and Rob took his background in comedy and his knowledge of this community and raising a child with special needs to create a one-man show called We Need A Sign. This show was performed throughout the country and told about Rob and his wife's journey raising a child with special needs.
Eventually, this show morphed into a more universal show call Minimize The Mountain, which offered seven unique steps in minimizing our biggest challenges in life. In 2013, the Snows wanted to do more for the Down syndrome community and created the non-profit Stand Up For Downs. Again, Rob stuck to what he knew, and the format for the charity allowed for comedy events that would raise money for the organization.
Rob and his wife would then look to deserving organizations to feed this money back out to. In 2018, Rob remembered his old improvisation days in Chicago, and thought that if he could teach improvisation to those with special needs he could greatly increase skills that would lead to greater social, workplace, and lifetime opportunities.
He called this The Improvaneer Method and cast the world's first all Down syndrome improvisation troupe - The Improvaneers. This new program is now being requested all over the country, and currently, Rob and his lead trainer, Maggie Bisesi teach an online iteration of The Improvaneer Method to over 400 individuals with disabilities on a weekly basis.
Rob could not be happier about the path his life has taken and the role comedy has played in it. He currently lives in Northeast Ohio with his incredible wife Ellen, and their two amazing sons, Charlie and Henry.
Website & Links:
www.facebook.com/standupfordowns
www.instagram.com/standup4downs