IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson

Building a Legacy with Ayesha and Stephen Curry

64 min
Mar 25, 202625 days ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Stephen and Ayesha Curry join Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson to discuss building a legacy through family, business ventures, and personal growth. The conversation covers their relationship journey, parenting philosophy, the challenges of balancing high-profile careers with family life, and their new hydration drink partnership with Plesi Nutrition.

Insights
  • Successful partnerships require continuous learning and adaptation; neither spouse can 'quit on the same day' and both must understand when to lead and when to support
  • Parenting diverse personalities requires individualized approaches; allowing children to disagree and advocate for themselves builds confidence for real-world challenges
  • Women often underestimate their own expertise and knowledge; claiming authority over one's work and ideas is a learned skill that develops over time
  • Compartmentalizing different life roles and responsibilities reduces mental burden; attempting to give 120% to everything simultaneously is unsustainable
  • Family-first decision-making in business partnerships (e.g., product formulation based on children's preferences) can align personal values with commercial success
Trends
Celebrity athletes expanding into consumer wellness products with family-centric positioningIncreased focus on transparent ingredient sourcing and nutritional education in beverage marketingHigh-net-worth families leveraging resources to balance high-profile careers with intentional parentingWomen in business increasingly vocal about imposter syndrome and the delayed confidence gapAnimated entertainment as vehicle for family-friendly sports storytelling and character developmentHyperemesis gravidarum awareness and advocacy within healthcare disparities for women of colorBoundary-setting and self-care prioritization as leadership competency for high-performing professionalsMulti-generational family travel and shared experiences as lifestyle priority for affluent families
Topics
Marriage and partnership dynamics in high-profile careersParenting strategies for children in public/high-profile familiesWork-life balance and boundary-setting for high-achieving professionalsWomen's confidence and self-advocacy in businessFamily-first business decision-makingHyperemesis gravidarum and maternal health disparitiesVoice acting and entertainment industry collaborationYouth sports coaching and community involvementLegacy building through business venturesMental health and self-care prioritizationNavigating normal childhood experiences in non-normal circumstancesSpousal support systems during health crisesProduct development and consumer testing with family inputLong-term relationship maintenance and growthParenting teenagers and managing independence
Companies
Plesi Nutrition
New hydration drink partnership between the Currys, Michelle Obama, and Barack Obama; formulated with family input
Sweet July Skin
Ayesha Curry's skincare and lifestyle brand; mentioned as part of her business portfolio
Sony Animation/Sony Studios
Animation studio partner for the 'GOAT' animated film featuring Stephen and Ayesha Curry as voice actors
Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry's NBA team; referenced in context of his basketball career and games
People
Stephen Curry
Four-time NBA champion and 12-time All-Star discussing legacy, family, and business ventures
Ayesha Curry
Two-time New York Times bestselling author and lifestyle expert discussing family, business, and parenting
Michelle Obama
Co-host of IMO podcast; partner in Plesi Nutrition venture with the Currys
Craig Robinson
Co-host of IMO podcast; brother of Michelle Obama; former NBA executive and current basketball coach
Barack Obama
Partner in Plesi Nutrition; referenced for his parenting approach and support during family challenges
Quotes
"Neither one of us can quit on the same day as a philosophy of understanding, you should know you're significant under the best and understand when they might need a little pick me up or you to carry a little bit more of the load."
Stephen CurryMarriage dynamics discussion
"I never used to do it and now I just make it a priority. I put it on the calendar, I make it a priority and I get it done."
Ayesha CurrySelf-care discussion
"It wasn't until my 50s that I felt like I could claim what I knew. I know. I understand. And I think that may be a woman thing."
Michelle ObamaWomen's confidence discussion
"You can't do everything at 120% and you can't and you don't have to and you learn that over time."
Michelle ObamaWork-life balance advice
"If you're doing it all, some people who aren't 120%ers, they'll be a 20%er a lot. If you don't ask for help, nobody is going to help you."
Craig RobinsonBoundary-setting advice
Full Transcript
We're kind of like in the same circle of friends. Friendly. But all our conversations in high school were about either church or what are you going on Wednesday or Canadian candy. It was like talking about sweet tooth stuff. So no. It was no. No rap. No. No. I don't know if I ain't having a game or if she was nervous or like vice versa. And like neither one of us really kind of it was just, you know. I feel like this is something that gets misconstrued. OK. OK. Publicly. Let's clear it up. OK. Well, it's been a while since I've seen you. I know. It feels like a whole year. Yeah, you doing OK? Doing fine. That's good. I feel good. Have you been losing weight? I have been. Is that what I see or is that just a big jacket? No, no, no. I've actually, remember the last time I was on YouTube, I was on YouTube, I was on YouTube, I was on YouTube, I was on YouTube, I was on YouTube, I was on YouTube, I was on YouTube, I was on YouTube, Remember the last time my knee was bothering me, it's all better so I can do more stuff, be more active, get my workout in. That's good. And then I'm coaching, so running around with these little children. And how many teams are you coaching now? So I'm coaching Aaron's eighth grade team. What's the name of their team? Junior Highlanders. What does that mascot look like? It looks like a guy with big sideburns dressed in a kilt. You can't laugh at that. I'm sorry. That's a serious mascot. It's like, so what's his story? Is he a Sherpa or something? No, he's more like a Scottishman. That's what hints the kilt. Hints the kilt. I'll do some research and find out. Please, please. For our listeners, we are going to find out about the Highlanders and I'm sure all the folks in Mequon will be reaching out to give you information because I want to know. They will. Okay, so you got the Highlanders. And then I'm the assistant coach for the high school team, which are the actual Highlanders. They're not called senior Highlanders. They are the Highlanders. Okay. And they happen to be playing right now. So you're missing the game, Coach? Yeah, but that's okay because we have a couple. It's a good excuse why Coach Robinson is absent and the whole team will be ecstatic. And I'm very excited because see, you know these two and I'm just meeting them for the first time. If you can believe that. I didn't realize that you hadn't met. Well, I mean, I worked in the NBA for five years and I would come out before the games when we would play Golden State and I'd see him doing his workout. And I always wanted to go introduce myself and say, you know, I'm Michelle Obama's brother, but I didn't have the nerve to interrupt his workout. I'm looking forward to talking to Aisha because I probably other than them, I'm the only person who's been the international spoke at this table. Oh, you've been to international smoke. Oh, yes, I have. Okay. Let's bring them on. Okay, let me give them proper introduction. I will do that. All right. Kevin Curry on and off the court legacy is underscored by transformation and innovation. He is a four time NBA champion, 12 time All Star, New York Times bestselling author and Olympic gold medalist. And and now I have to say he's like an actor because did you see goat? I sure did. That was fun. Wasn't it? I sure did. But the real the real star of the couple is the star of the couple. Is Aisha Curry, my girl, a renowned restaurateur, chef, two time New York Times bestselling author, actress, producer and CEO of sweet July skin. Her accessible approach to cooking has made her one of the most sought after experts in food and lifestyle. So without further ado, please welcome Aisha and Stefan Curry. The Curry's are in the house. What's going on? Thanks for being here. Thanks for being here. Hello. Good to see you. Come on in. Thank you for being here. Welcome to IMO. You don't even have to move the chair. I usually have to scoot the chair out. Well, welcome you guys. Thank you for having us. And taking the time. You all got busy lives, but you're here with us and we are grateful, excited. Aisha and I are text buddies. We are. Because you're too busy. I'm not too busy. You are just too busy. You know, I know we've become friends, but sometimes I'm still teetering on the line of I don't want to send too many texts. I know. And I tell you it's like I'm not that nice. So if I don't want to talk to you. You're like, I won't respond. So I will. I will not. But she goes me sometimes. So I do not. That's not true. That's not true. She texts me back right away. But we've gotten to know one another on so many different levels. Barack loves you to death. Loves you both. But excited because we're partners. Yes, we are. You know, and our wonderful new venture, Plesi, Plesi Nutrition and Stefan and Aisha, you guys are the key behind the formulation of our new hydration drink. So so glad to be working with you on that. And I want to just start by asking why what you what makes you excited about Plesi. I know what makes me excited, but was that sure. So I think for me, it was our kids 100%. So our kids really gravitated towards all of the samples when we were doing the sampling. And we looked at each other and they were like, no, they really like this. And then we started to try and we were like, wait, we really like this. And then when you have something that can be for the kids, it can help you on the court. And then if you mix it with a little tequila, it's nice as well. Mixer and urine. That's your thing. Okay. So that really was the key component for us was what did our kids love it. 100%. So that like the energy we got from them, obviously our first conversation with you about how much time and energy was put into what was in the bottle in the can. The roadmap of, you know, a full scale offering from, you know, nutritious or nutrition standpoint. And then now with hydration being a key focus, it's exciting to bring it into the world of sports in a way. There's such a much more educated, you know, kid and family consumer now in terms of what's going on in the bottle that obviously the taste has to be great. But we're trying to check all of those boxes. I think, I mean, we're all biased, but I think we, we accomplished that. I would say you're not biased because the Robinson boys, I've got 16 and 14, both play hoops, play others, they play sports. When Mish sent us a case of it, I was like, no way they're going to drink this because they don't like other hydration drinks. And they were like, whoa, what is this? And it was gone in a week. So we can't keep it. To those to you guys. Speaking of kids, you all got a lot of kids. We have a lot. We do. We have a lot. We have no credit for it. We got the same amount. Y'all got a right amount of kids. Thank you. A right amount of kids. It's a blessing. It's wonderful, but yours are closer in age. Yeah. Although you got that, the baby outlier. He is the outlier. He's a year and a half. Could you all have three and three and three and then? Yep. Then six. Six, big gap. So high school and diapers right there. Yeah. Yeah. So now, given the way, so you're both come from multiple sibling families. Did you always want to have a lot of kids or did this sort of just happen organically? I'm sure it happened organically. That's a good craig. Did we have to start with the birds and the bees? No, I'm just kidding. Growing up, I never saw myself there. But as an adult and when we fell in love, we always said three. Yeah. Then we had the three. Yeah. And then we kind of got that itch and we were looking at each other. It feels like someone's missing. It's like we would get in the car and be like, everybody in here and feel like someone wasn't there. It was more of the conversation. Or like extra setting at the table. On a daily, or just having like, do we want another one? I remember Greg, I was more like, yeah, let's do it. But then, you know, they kind of would flip to where I would. Every six months, I'm not off of it because the schedules are crazy and the juggling of the three kids. And then she had some rough pregnancies too. So that was a part of the consideration of putting her through something that's severe. And then with our third kid, Kannon, she had hyperemesis pretty much the whole time. And so that was another consideration. And just so people know because we can do some education on that front because that, you know, more and more women, particularly women of color. Can you talk about, do you feel comfortable talking a bit about? Of course. Yeah. I feel like with the four kids, I maybe am well versed. Yes. But you're speaking to the hyperemesis, right? Yes. So it's interesting, especially as a black woman within our community, it's oftentimes the pain, the sickness is kind of written off within the health care system. And so women will go in and won't be taken seriously because they'll look at you and be like, well, you don't look like you're in pain or you don't look like something's wrong. And when you say pain, what was just constant? Well, the problem with the dehydration, just constant sickness. Yeah. It's essentially morning sickness all day, amplified times 10. Oh. And sometimes your blood pressure can... Throughout the duration of the pregnancy. Throughout the entire pregnancy. Yeah. Up until delivery. And so I would encourage like any women who are expecting, if you're feeling that way to just continuously advocate for yourself. Yeah. If you're feeling like something's not right, keep going back until somebody listens. Because it's not great to sit in agony like that. No. And Stefan, how were you a support in this? What did you do? Exactly. You were great. Especially because with our third child, Ken, and we had the blessing, I was... Most of all, all three of our babies are July babies. Yeah. So our season. Yeah. Especially that last six weeks, eight weeks, I was fully available. Yep. And then throughout the season, just trying to be as supportive as I could in the sense of if she had to go in and out of the hospital countless times. Especially for with our last one. Yes. What's the unit called? ANC part. Yes, ANC part. But I was trying to, obviously just be as supportive and understanding of if I need to pick up some of the other, you know, some responsibilities, especially with the kids. That was my, I know it's hard to say it because you were going through agony, but it was my favorite part of it. She could be as focused on taking care of herself and baby kias at the time. And I could kind of, you know, be there to support and take care of and run the kids around and make sure that they knew what was going on also. But like, we're going to let mom, you know, handle this and she's going to be good and she's in the right place. So that's the hardest thing. I know you feel like you're always like missing out or like one of the kids has a, you know, they all want attention, right? And they all deserve the attention. But it's hard to kind of manage all of that, especially through her last break. See, I was trying to do my part there, but I have no idea what hyperemesis feels like, but I've seen her face. I've seen her go through it. And it's like to the point of that amplification, what she said in the morning sickness time stand, I saw it up close and personal. What's your community of support period? Right? I mean, you guys are so busy and with the season, look, I had a husband who was in the state legislature and then D. C. Right. And it's almost like a season. He could come home on the weekends, right? But we had our kids in the midst of that. And Barack was really hands on. I mean, the one reason why I always say, like I slept in those early years because we would divide up the time. I mean, I would go to bed at eight, you know, or nine, do that last feeding and then pump. And I would just go to sleep, cover my ears and just let him have the night, right? Up until the last feeding, because he stayed up late. How did you guys, how do you guys manage that? And as kids. So with our first three, I and people would advocate for me and be like, get some help, get some help. I had this strange sense of pride and this need to prove that I could be super mom. And so I didn't do those things. And I was exhausted. And then with his line of work, his games go so late. No one day today scheduled it. Also, he's a bit of a deep sleeper. When you said Barack was up all night, I was like, oh, that wouldn't be me. And I was like, kids are screaming. And you could sleep right there. Literally, yes, yes. So then you just kind of give up on that. It was me. I paid for it though. I paid for it like mentally and physically. So then with Kaikai with our fourth now, I said, you know what? We are so fortunate to have the resources to have a little bit of help. So actually, this time around, we had a night nurse to get those six, eight hours. Van Winkle over here. And then in our last one, I decided to go to the Olympics like six, four weeks after Kaikai was born. So they added a little wrinkle into the support. She did. Our family is starting to plan for trips this summer. Aside from all the basketball travel you've heard me talk about, we want to make time for a family vacation. And we're hoping to travel internationally this year, maybe Spain, France or Italy, because we really love to eat and Italian food is our favorite. We also want to invite our older children and their families to come with us. If they all say yes, we're talking about at least eight adult-sized people and their luggage so we could use the extra space. Traveling with family is so much better when staying at homes on Airbnb. There's more space and it's so nice that we get to explore new neighborhoods and cities thanks to hosts who open their homes so families like ours can explore. And boy, do we like to explore. This episode of IMO is brought to you by Chase Home Lending. What if your home buying journey came with a promise you could trust? With Chase Home Lending, you have a partner who understands that every move is about more than just changing addresses. It's about your plans, your future and the people who matter most. Committed to helping you move forward with confidence, offering local support and guidance you can count on every step of the way. Because when it comes to your next chapter, you deserve a partner who's as committed as you are. There was a time when we moved that things didn't go as planned. We were moving to Oregon for a new coaching position and as always, I went ahead and my wife Kelly stayed behind to get the packing done and get the kids school year finished. I was tasked with looking for potential homes for us to move into. I usually found a few for Kelly to pick from, but this time I was having a hard time finding something I liked. Finally, Kelly came out with my mom and after seeing two or three places they liked, my mom pulled me aside and asked me if I needed some money to help with the purchase. We still laugh about that to this day. I just needed help deciding on what was right for us. When you're ready for your next step, having a local Chase home lending advisor by your side brings real confidence. With their support, you can focus on what matters most, your future and the people you share it with. Get started at chase.tom.io. Remember FDIC, Equal Housing Opportunity. This episode of IMO is brought to you by Ferraflu. Ferraflu, makers of fast acting cold and flu relief, believes everyone deserves the right to rest and recover when they're sick, no matter where they live or how much money they make. When I was coaching, if I got sick, I found it hard to choose between taking time for myself to rest and heal and showing up for my family and my team. Luckily, I had the ability to take paid sick time when I really needed it, but not every American has that option. In 2021, Ferraflu launched the Rest and Recover Fund and they've committed more than $1 million to provide micro grants to families and individuals, helping offset the cost of taking a sick day for those that don't have coverage. Everyone should be able to prioritize their health without risking their ability to put food on the table. That's why Ferraflu is committed to keep fighting because rest and recovery is a right, not a privilege. Learn more or help someone apply for the fund at ferraflu.com slash right to recover. So when I was doing my research, I heard the story of you all meeting, which I had never heard. Can you talk a little bit about you guys meeting first as youngsters and then how you remet? Because I have some questions. It's crazy. So the long story short is in high school, I lived in Charlotte and her family had moved down to Charlotte. She's from Toronto to start high school. I'm a year older and we ended up going to the same youth group at the same church, Central Church of God in Charlotte, North Carolina. Shout out. Yeah, she passed in Levison. We ended up eventually getting married there and he officiated our wedding so it was awesome, full circle. We're kind of like in the same circle of friends, but all our conversations in high school were about either church or what are you going on Wednesday or Canadian candy. It was like talking about sweet tooth stuff. So no rap, no rap. I don't know if I didn't have any game or if she was nervous or vice versa, like neither one of us really kind of it was just, you know. I feel like this is something that gets misconstrued. Okay, okay. Let's unconstru it. Let's clear it up. So no, it's not that you didn't have game. I was 14 years old. I was not out of middle school. I was out of high school. Okay, yeah, that does make a difference. That is the difference. Yeah, no, I'm putting you in. But did I think you were cute? Absolutely. But did you, I also heard you had a no athletes rule. That is true. So tell me about that. I had a very disrespectful comment also on my part. It's so. Okay, okay. Thank you. No, that's really nice. Why is that disrespectful? I had very textbook, maybe misconceptions. I kind of framed like movie plots and things like that. Movie plot ideas of athletes. The job stereotype. I was a theater nerd. So I think I was protecting my piece and just, I don't know. The teacher, it was an activity one day in class and she said, write down what you would look for. And it was in capital letters. Like God is funny. It was in capital letters and my parents found it way down the road. I want to say like maybe eight years ago in an old box and they were like, look at this. And I'm like, oh wow, it's embarrassing. But yeah, I don't know. It was just an activity in class that she had us do. But I definitely did say that. And I think I did think that too. Because I remember our first, he calls it a date. It was definitely that. He calls it a date. I worked. I worked out. We were at, I was in LA. I came out here. And I saw from here in college, I came out here and I knew she had moved out here and I knew acting. So I hit her up when I was on my way. It was me and my dad coming out. And I actually ditched my dad. We were supposed to like go to this party, have a dinner in this party. But I told him, hey, I'm going to hang out with Aisha. Like you cool hanging out here. I thought I was going to be gone like two hours and come back. And then it was the rest of the night. She picked me up and the astro van she had out here. We rolled around Hollywood, like all the touristy stuff you can do in LA. So Stefan, were you always thinking about her? 100%. 100%. Really? We didn't really talk that much when I went to college. Back in the day, the Facebook message type thing. Were you shy? Oh, for sure. For sure. Would you say that Aisha? He didn't come across. I'm shy. And I'm an introvert. He didn't come across that way at all. What was he? Was he Mr. Talking? Yeah. He talked about. Super confident. Very charismatic. Very knowledgeable. About what? Just a cool. Anything. Like something to say about any subject matter. He could hold a conversation really well. But he was funny. And I think that that was the most important thing because going into us hanging out, we had never really hung out before. And so going in on our own. And so going into that day, I didn't know who I was picking up. I picked him up in my, in my, in my, in my, in my, in my, in my, in my, in my, in my, I picked him up in my. Nine years. Nine years. Yeah. Yeah. And I. I didn't know who I was going to get. And it was the second he got in the car. It just felt like we were best friends. And we'd literally been together since that day. That's not. That's cool. Shout out to us at 2008. When over the course of the date. Aisha did you feel like. Oh. There was a moment when, I mean, we were two young kids, so we were just doing, it was silly. When we were looking for the donuts. Oh yeah. In the typical. It was like a typical. We were looking in cop cars to see if they had donuts in the stereo, we were kids. And I think the way that we were laughing with each other and how we just got a kick out of such a ridiculous situation, I was like, oh my gosh, I really like him. But I didn't, this is another thing that gets misconstrued. People for some reason think that in the past, I've said that he wasn't my type. Yeah. But what I was saying was, I didn't think I was his type. Cause this was Mr. Cool. Yeah, yeah. And so I kind of sold myself short and thinking like, oh, there's no way, he must just like me as a friend. So I won't even take it. I'm glad. She left the door open. I'm glad I didn't get friends. I was going to shut up. I was, I was, I would have to say. She had me talking to her cause she picked up the phone after that, after I was a full court friend. So after that date for sure. Yeah, yeah. See, we guys know that y'all in charge. So. When I finally realized that that was the direction it was going in, I verbalized that to him, that I was confused. Cause I'm, if there's one thing I'm gonna do, I'm gonna speak my mind. Yeah. But he looked at me cause he had come to my house for two weeks straight at the time I parents house. So that in Tiff, you all were just like, he's saying, Yeah. He's like, I do think I've been coming over here every, every night for the past two weeks to play video games with your brothers. I was like, oh, it's like that. That makes a lot of sense. No, like, I'm glad it all happened. Those are the days. I was sure it was a beautiful, kind of reconnection at that point. Yeah. Well, it's really interesting to hear that story and then see you guys now with all the stuff you've got going on, kids, businesses, you know, you're still playing, you're doing your thing. Everything. All the stuff. And you guys feel like at least it's my perception from the outside, looking in that you work really well together. We do. Can you talk about that relationship now, how that's evolved given how you met and, Well, from my perspective, the biggest thing is we've learned each other as we've gone through, you know, even when things get a little rocky or, you know, as obstacles you have to go over, people feel stressed out or, you know, overwhelmed or whatever the case are, we're always working towards the same goal of being there for each other. And I think that's been such a rewarding experience through these 15 years, almost 15 years of marriage and all signalizing like you don't know everything either. And you're still learning. You're still learning. You're still growing and trying to have humility through that. I think we try to also approach all of this from like a, it's just a mentality and realizing, like even with the kids, the kids are gonna grow up and they're gonna leave us. And so we always come back to center, like with each other and even with all of like the business. And yes, we're gonna try to make an impact. We're gonna try to do decent things in the world. But at the end of the day, all of this is so fleeting. And so making sure that we at the center of it all realize that it's us and this together. We vowed to do this together from day one. And so as long as we keep that, I think that's kind of what's kept us going. Aisha, I love that you are plain spoken in life. And sort of like me, sometimes, you're stating what feels like the obvious sometimes in life and then people interpret that the wrong way, right? And I love your vulnerability and your honesty because I think that's what helps people. It's like, it's one thing to be hashtag relationship goals, but it's another to tell the truth about what it takes. And I tend to do that when I talk about the challenges of marriage and that it's not all that. It's like, I love my husband, I like my husband, you know? But we also wanna be a part of helping couples understand that it does take work and it is hard even in the best marriages. Can you talk a little bit more about that? Knowing that this is a safe space of not judgment, everybody understands humility and blessings, but it takes work. And so you don't wanna give up on something when it starts to get hard in the way that it's naturally gonna be. Yeah, I think anything great takes work. So I agree with that. I think we're living in this age right now. Everybody wants to romanticize everything. Yeah. And that's a beautiful thing, but I think it's unrealistic in marriage at times because growth is inevitable and change is inevitable. And I think that's a beautiful thing. Like if you expect it to stay the same for 15, 20 years, like that's not... That's so sad, it's sad. Then there's a problem. It's a big deal. We don't run away from the tension on the daily of like, again, I think I heard somebody say like neither one of us can quit on the same day as a philosophy of understanding, you should know you're significant under the best and understand when they might be, when they might need a little pick me up or you to carry a little bit more of the low device. Or I said I subscribed to that philosophy, but also like the tension in the daily, like we try not to run away from it, you run towards it because you know that that's gonna help you get to that next level of, I don't know, togetherness or just the seasons of life that kind of come at you. And so for us, if you feel like something's not, if your marriage is not perfect, you're probably right and that's okay. No, nobody's, nobody's is. How, let's talk about how you're raising the kids, the values, how you're thinking about what kind of people you want them to be. Are you parenting the girls differently from, and the boys are babies, so. But. It's an interesting dynamic with the two older girls and the two younger boys. I'm grateful that the girls arrived first because when the boys get to the girl's age now, I feel like you'll be done playing and it is very important to me for them to have him around more. Very important. And so I'm just grateful that that's how it worked out. But it is, parenting's hard. Like we're sure is. Especially now we have a 13 year old, she's gonna go to high school next year, we're doing the whole high school thing. Scared of her yet? Is she scared of you? Yeah, I am. And I'm in and I'm in and I'm in and I need you these next couple of years. I'm here. It gets, because sometime, well, Barack got scared, you know, he got scared off. Sasha, the feisty one was very scary to her father. There's a lot of scoreboard washing going on in our house. I call it where, why can't I do that? And why can't, oh, and how you parent, you have to parent each one of them a little different. Right, as long as they get the more they notice that. You know, it means something to, at all these stages, to just have these honest conversations where your kids can, they can disagree with you, they can point out stuff because it's like, I think that gave us the confidence that you need, when you're out there and you, at some point you've got to advocate for yourself in life. Oh, for sure. And if you don't feel like you've been taught to advocate for yourself at home, like then who, you know, where do you get the practice of speaking up for yourself and demanding a level of respect and then how to do it, you know? All of that stuff is practice at home around the table, which doesn't require any money, you know? It doesn't require, my parents didn't go to college, they didn't, you know, they weren't wealthy and connected, but they had just a baseline common sense and a respect for us as humans that just sort of came through. And I say that to all parents, because we sit here very privileged, right? With resources and so on and so forth, but we weren't raised, we were raised in a little bitty apartment with a mother that stayed home and a father that was a pump engineer at the water filtration plant, all his life. I think he never had, rarely got a new car, you know? We went on one family vacation every year and drove to this Duke's Happy Holiday Resort. Now, we did not have resources, but we had parents who fundamentally liked us in the same way that you build that like relationship in a marriage. It's like your kids have to know that you like who they are, truly for themselves. This episode of IMO is brought to you by Indeed. 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I mean, how am I doing? Yes, cause you have a lot on your plate. And you're doing it well. Thank you. I had more on my plate and it came to a head where I was like, okay, I gotta lay it all out and figure out what do I really love? What is important to me? What do I value? And so I've really streamlined things. I'd say over the past three, four years, but I'm doing really well. I feel like I'm kind of in a, I don't wanna say the word smooth sailing cause I don't wanna jinx myself in the parenting department. You'll be doing that in the over 60. The parenting situation is feeling really good. You know, we had our fourth and so I'm feeling comfortable in my body again. I'm feeling more like myself and that's such a good feeling. And also like allows me to be a better parent in some strange way because I feel like I know who I am again. And so that's been really great. How do you carve out the space to take care of yourself in the midst of it all? I never used to do it and now I just make it a priority. I don't know how else to say it. I put it on the calendar, I make it a priority and I get it done oftentimes now, even just for getting my body moving and getting outside. I just bring the baby along with me and we get it done. But I find I have to like be outside multiple times a week. I notice a difference from a mental health perspective. And so... Because you can be with four kids. It's like you could be in the house forever. And they have so much going on themselves. The house or the car. I know every time we talk to you all, you all are in the car. The first meeting we had or the first call we had. That's ridiculous. That's like, do they live in the car? We're at the soccer game. We were at the soccer game. And I was like, we got it. Brock and I go, go watch the game. But we're at the soccer game. We're in the Sprinter. And the kids were so mad at us because they don't like when we bring the Sprinter to school because it's embarrassing. Oh, wow. Are you kidding? Oh, they're so embarrassed. Oh my God. They just want to be regular people. Austin and Aaron are like, can we get a Sprinter? That's until their parents come out of one. I mean, Malia and Sasha never wanted Brock to come to their stuff with the presidential motor game. You talk about it. Yeah. That's a different one. I mean, they're just like, they just don't come. Oh, yeah. Don't come. Why are those men on the roof with machine guns? But they don't like the Sprinter, huh? No. The girls don't. They don't at all. How do you manage integrating into normal parent life? I know that was something that we had to work on. I mean, how do you make your kids feel normal, I guess? It's a challenge for sure. You know, worried about, we're at the sleep over nights or extracurriculars, especially with Riley. She wants to be a little bit more independent. And can you drop me off here and do this? Meeting new parents and not making it a big deal, but making sure there's boundaries around how we move so that we feel safe. And if we feel safe, then it allows us to take that necessary step. I feel like to allow your kid to explore, right? You want them to be curious. And it's just showing up. I think it's the biggest deal that you meet people. You definitely show us. We do try to, in terms of, especially for sports activity, school activities, that type of thing, where for our kids and seeing, that's how normal is a weird word. But that's a normal experience. We're going to be at your game. We're going to be loud yelling and going crazy. We're going to be embarrassing you after your theater production performance. You're like, yes, yes, we do do that. We'll do all of that. Fred mess up. And celebrate them. That's, I think we try to do that. The social part of it, there's challenges. There's considerations that we never thought we'd have to make or take to make sure you can let your kids kind of go out and thrive. But part of that too is, again, still learning. Because every year is a little different. It's all so weird. It is weird. I think we're doing a good job of allowing them to feel very normal. And the thing we were on the off-level, it's all the same thing. Like the girls growing up, they didn't want people to come to their house, the White House, because it's not a normal house. And I was like, I guarantee you your friends want to come. They want to watch a movie in the movie theater. It's like, why would somebody want to come here? I was like, but they do. So it took them a second to kind of understand that it's not. It isn't normal from where they came from in Chicago, but it is their normal. And I think it's like everything. Our kids reacted the way we reacted. So if we showed up special, you know, if we just showed up and was like, look the other way, we're just here. It's not a big deal. Then slowly they followed suit. And I also found that the school environment followed suit. So they meet you or you're here. They meet your enemy. You'd hope so. Yeah, it's wonderful. And just watching kids develop, giving them what we can, it is a joy to go to practice every day with my old self and rickety bones. But it's really been a treat. You won't even be as old as him when. I know you'll be able to get out there with him. Show him some things. I show him that I can shoot just for some credibility. That never goes away. Absolutely. And then that's it. It's one of the kids. Wait, Aisha, one of the kids asked me today, he was so. I mean, these are high school kids, right? He's a senior. And he's like, hey, Coach Robinson, can you still get up there and dunk? And I felt, I felt bittersweet. It was nice of him to think that I could dunk. But not being able to dunk anymore was the bitter part. It's like, can you still jump? Yeah. And speaking of basketball, how did you guys decide to do goat? How did that all come about? Because your team was kind enough to let us take a look at that. It's coming out today. It's out today. I know we're dating the spear. It's out today. So good. Thank you so much. It's been a seven-year journey to be honest. Oh, wow. Yeah. Animation takes forever. Animation takes forever. And then that initial process of working with the Sony animation and the Sony studios, we had an initial meeting. And then the idea of having an animated story that was sports-related, then brought me to basketball in an all-animal world was kind of just the starting point. And my favorite part about the whole thing is there's something for the entire families. The comedy is high-paced. High action. The visuals are stunning in the all-animal world. And Aisha is the, she's Carol, the diner. Oh, shit. Yeah. It was kind of always looking awful. But when you guys were sort of working through this, was it always you were going to be in it as well? No. How did that come about? Because you all are darn right good at it. I was drafting over her because I've never done voice acting. And she's been acting her whole life. And so when we had the opportunity to do some of the characters and look at how we were feeling out the team, and Lenny the giraffe was the exact opposite of me as a player and a person. And he's just like the laid-back kind of not really focused. He's just kind of there. He's been cast around the entire Roar Ball League. He's played for 10 different teams in 10 years. He likes music more than he likes Roar Ball. He wants to rap. He wants to rap. He was a little bit more on the nose for Aisha. You know, the culinary kind of connection for Carol the diner. But that whole, I don't know how you felt from the voice acting perspective. It was so much fun. It's so different from being on your traditional set. There's a lot that goes into the voice work. I wanted to have a different voice so badly. You wanted to completely change your voice. So what would have been your voice? I want to hear what you wanted. I gave them a sample and they looked at me after and they were like, just I think your regular voice will suffice. Yeah, what was it? I wanted to be like, you don't get it. Or maybe have a Jamaican accent. And they're like, hey, welcome. Welcome. They were like, no, you're regular. Well, your regular voice was great. Congratulations. Thank you very much. Way to go. All right. Just just another thing on this. How is it working together? I mean, I work with my husband sometimes. You know, I mean, you are essentially two principles. For sure. Right? I mean, it's not like Aisha is your supporting cast. She's got her own thing. Maybe I should ask Aisha. Yeah. How do you break through the noise of him? Yeah. As you were working to assert what you want your vision to stay seen in at all, because you have definitely done that. And I know it's not it's more than a notion to do that. Yeah, I think that's an interesting question. Very multi problem. But I think do I do I like working with him? Absolutely. I love it. We we shot a show years ago called About Last Night. And oh, yeah, we had so much fun on set together. I think where it gets dicey for me is where I I never want to feel like I'm inserting myself or like just being thrown into the mix. I think because I work so hard and sometimes I do feel like I have a point to prove. And so I like to be able to kind of stand on my own two feet sometimes. But I feel like he's always been so gracious about. Either bringing me along or hyping me up or like true like truly putting me on a pedestal, even when I don't want to be up there. And he's been so great about just being such a support system for me. And truly like my partner in crime. He's never been like stand back here, stand right here. It's always like, no, you're going to stand right here with me. And I think that's been it's that to me is very romantic. That to me is very romantic. Yeah. So I love that he's always done that for me and and and been that person for me. Kind of my my confidence when it's maybe lacking in myself. And it gets easier over time. I mean, I've been saying this a lot. It's like I'm 62 now. And it wasn't until my 50s that I felt like I could claim what I knew. I know. I understand. And I think that may be a woman thing. Right. I mean, men are encouraged to, you know, like you a man at 20, it's like you don't know anything. I mean, you were the men. You both were the men in high school. You didn't know anything. I know. But you're you're you're handed that, you know, you're encouraged to be that. Right. Whereas I think us as women, we're always second guessing ourselves and wondering, oh, he doesn't really like me and we don't get to me. I'm trying to make the first move sometimes in life, you know, and I'm trying to figure out what that is because it's not that I wasn't confident, but it took me a while to be like, I know what I'm talking about. Working on your mental health doesn't happen all at once. It happens in moments. One conversation, one deep breath, one session at a time. Growth therapy makes it easier to begin. As a coach and an athlete, I've always believed taking care of your mind as part of taking care of your overall game. You train consistently, you build the right support around you, and you give yourself space to improve. Therapy can be part of that routine. Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 50th. Growth makes it simple to find a therapist who actually fits you. They connect you with thousands of licensed therapists across the U.S. with virtual or in-person sessions, including nights and weekends. You can search by insurance, specialty, identity, or availability and start in as little as two days. No subscriptions, no long-term commitments. Just pay per session on your time. Whatever challenges you're facing, growth therapy is here to help. Growth accepts over 100 insurance plans, including Medicaid in some states. Sessions average about $21 with insurance, and some pay as little as $0, depending on their plan. Visit growththerapy.com-i-m-o today to get started. That's growththerapy.com-i-m-o. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. You guys are both so accomplished at such a young age. What have you learned from Aisha and Aisha, what have you learned from Stefan? I've learned from Aisha what true ambition and passion really looks like on a daily basis. That's not just career-wise, that's for your family. She lives every day with her full self. I know it's scary and vulnerable at times because you want to protect yourself and she puts herself out there. I'm a little bit more reserved in that respect. That fire, I wish I had more of it. I can get there on the court and have those moments, but on a daily basis, I'm a little bit more kind of even-queue. I wish I had that instinct. She has that on a daily basis, and it motivates me. When things can get a little drag or things aren't really going your way, or there's not really a clear path to get what you want, that fire and that passion is a big deal. I definitely have learned a little bit from the way that she shows up in that way. That's a lot from a guy who's got four championships. It's different. Well, that's all he's got. No, I'm messing with you, Stefan. I think I've learned from him on the flip side, or what I'd like. What I'd like from you? Learn from what I've learned from you? I think on the flip side, what he said about me, for me, he is so even-quealed. He can compartmentalize really big emotions very well. He does know how to block out the noise. I've learned little by little, I think, how to do more of that. He said, I am very passionate and fiery, and sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn't. And vice versa. And then I think I've learned this unwavering work ethic. I've never seen anything like it, but it obviously manifests itself in how things work out for him in his basketball career. I'm like, tomorrow he'll be up 6.30 working on himself when he doesn't necessarily have to. And so I've just year after year after year seen him do things when he doesn't have to. And then I see the results that come from that, and it's extremely inspiring. Oh my God, yeah. Thank you. Let's bottle some of that up and sprinkle it over the man. That's very sweet. Thank you. I'm so proud of you too. No, stop, stop, stop. All right, we're going to do the listener question, because the listener question will lead to a little more discussion. Yeah, yeah, so our question today is from Vivian in Raleigh, North Carolina. Oh, Vivian, shout out. I am the first of three children, two girls, and one boy. It always seems I'm the mother of everyone, from my parents to my siblings, then to my spouse in 12-year-old. I recently lost my dad, so it's been very hard on my mom. She wants me to call daily and respond to all the texts daily. I love my entire family, and I want to be there for them. But I'm also a registered nurse, and I owe it to my pediatric patients and their families to give them excellent care. I am working to go back to school to become a family nurse practitioner, a good medical school. I feel I am not enough, but my husband believes that I am smart and I can do all things through Christ. I am also a precinct official. Thanks to your book. Now they want me to take on more responsibilities in face gripping me, but I really want to do more. I was privileged to go canvassing with my daughter knocking on doors. She was so excited about doing what Mrs. Obama did with her dad. My question is, how can I juggle all this and still look like a great daughter, sister, wife, and a mom? I don't even know where to start. The first thing that comes to mind for me is thinking of the cups and not these cups, but how they say you can't pour from an empty cup. And I think for women, I think that statement is false because generally women have many cups. There are many cups we're dealing with. And so my advice would be, my opinion, yes, that's right, would be, I mean also as women we tend to ruminate on things when we're in a different situation thinking about all the other things that need to go on. And so I think my opinion would be to realize, separate everything into these separate cups and realize when you're pouring into that cup, it's just that cup in that moment. And to try and tune everything else out, get to it when you need to get to it so that you can fully give yourself to whatever it is that you're focusing on at that time, whether it's at the hospital or with your mom or with the kids or whatever else it is you're doing. I think there will be so much peace of mind if you can just compartmentalize those moments. You got to applaud her and her, the responsibility that she's carrying for so many people that she knows and she doesn't know or she's beaten on a daily basis at her work. Have grace for yourself too, I'd say too. Because those days where you don't feel like you're killing it, probably the days that you're killing it the most. But it's also okay not to kill it. That's true. But having grace for yourself I guess is the biggest piece of, and hopefully she can set healthy boundaries for herself as she goes to aspire for, what does that mean? People should be able to support her and her endeavors as well in the sense of I don't know how much her mom reaches out or feels like it's maybe a burden at times or maybe not. But if there's moments where she can have the space to go after the things that she wants to and she creates that room for herself, the boundaries are the people who respect that and allow her to go pursue what she wants to and that it's okay even if somebody else gets the short end of the stick for a day or a week or a month. That's not a bad thing. Actually, I think I read that in your first book and you said, say no, they will be okay and we'll move on. That's exactly, yeah. That's just what I wrote down, learn to say no. Yeah. Well, and Vivian sounds like, and I say this a lot, she sounds like what I call a 120%er. Everybody around this table, you don't think you're killing it when you were doing, it's like that extra percentage and you feel like, okay, now I'm putting it in. When life can be okay at 70% and sometimes at 40% and at 30%. I'm learning right now. Yeah, you're starting to learn and it's a sort of a conglomeration of what we've all said, it's like you can't do everything at 120% and you can't and you don't have to and you learn that over time. Maybe you can't be there for your mom in the exact way that she wants you to be there for her and it's okay, right? Because maybe if you're not given 120% to your mom and 40% at times, somebody else will come in. Yeah. And if you're trying to fill all the cups herself, there's no vacuum for need, right? If you're doing it all, some people who aren't 120%ers, they'll be a 20%er a lot. She may be surrounded by other siblings that are just putting in 20% because Vivian's going to do it all. If you don't need, say you need help, nobody is going to help you. So I'd say do less. Do less. Do less and learn to be okay with it. Yeah. That's... No, actually I was just sitting here thinking... I was just sitting here every time you say 120, I'm like, dang, people probably don't even see the 20. No, they don't. They don't even know it's there. That's all in here that's in your mind and heart and you're measuring yourself. Yeah. People are like, you know, like you say no and they're like, okay, fine, next. Yeah. You know? But I like the cups metaphor because people don't see all the cups you see, right? You see all these cups and they're like, ooh, those three cups, you're handling things. They don't even know you got to see something. They don't even know you got to see the table. Yeah, table full of cups. That's a good point. Yeah. Well Vivian, I hope that was helpful. Absolutely. Yeah. But like you said, Stefan, props to you for holding it down. You know, it's like there are a lot of people out in the world who are trying to do it all and hopefully this gives you some guidance, takes a load off and you don't feel guilty about looking out for yourself every now and then. Good advice. Okay. Great advice. Well, what's next for the curries? Not like there has to be because we just talked about that, but... I know we're... What are you looking forward to? Like not even projects, but just life. We have our 15 year wedding anniversary this summer. Very happy about that. Yay. Absolutely. Congratulations. But we have a 17th year in the league. See how many more years on the court and hopefully it's not over too soon, but it is at that stage where you start to think about appreciating every year because... But then after that, who knows? We're very bad at predicting the future. At least I am. I said, next year's not going to be that crazy. Right, right. Okay, I said that. All right, next year. It's been like that for 15 years. And then you got to hear about it from me. I'm the master at that. Yeah, I'm married to one of those. It's like... They just get so optimistic. Right. Oh my God. I call it poor executive function. It's like, you know, it's going to take a lot of work to do that and everything is so big. Every idea is so big. It's just... It's just exhausting. The fun way though. Well, it's been great having you guys spend some time with us. Thank you so much for dropping all the knowledge and being vulnerable and open. And Aisha, take care of yourself, your sanity. I will. It's just noise. Yes. All right. The truth is right before you. And I will fight somebody. That's it. That's it. Dumb. Thank you. And Stefan, take your time. You don't have to leave soon. I got you. I got you. I hear you. No, this has been great. Thank you. We appreciate your time. Thank you for making us feel comfortable. Absolutely. Over the same old news cycle, tune into hysteria, your weekly group chat with me, Aaron Ryan, and my co-host, Alyssa Maastromonico, where no topic is off limits. From politics to pop culture, we're bringing you brutally honest takes on the stories shaping our lives, from powerhouse women like Alyssa Slotkin to wellness trends in education. No sugarcoating, no doom scrolling, just real talk, strong women, and hope to keep moving forward. Catch hysteria wherever you get your podcasts and tune into our YouTube channel for full episodes and our special series.