Episode 1 of Weird Kid on Your Team starts where few stories do — with a high school connection, a path toward sports journalism, and the courage to leave it behind to find where you truly belong. THE Matt Gad joins me to talk about navigating autism growing up, identity, and why a career change can redefine what success means. Watch or listen to hear how his journey led from interviewing athletes to people management at Target — and what he's discovered about himself along the way.

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0:00 - Introduction

1:05 - How did Matt and I meet?

3:00 - Define autism in your own words?

5:05 - Navigating disclosure practices around autism diagnosis

11:38 - Worst autism stereotype?

15:15 - Navigating friendships in high school

21:20 - Why did Matt choose track?

28:00 - Intersection between sports journalism and neurodivergence

35:00 - Redefining the term "special interest"

37:55 - Defeating the stigma behind autism in sports

38:38 - Transition from sports journalism to Target HR

44:04 - Disclosing autism diagnosis in a work environment

56:28 - Matt explaining his job at Target

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