Team Type 1’s philosophy is that no one should die from diabetes. No one should suffer hardship or a lower quality of life because they have diabetes. Access to healthcare is a human right. Our vision is a world without poor health or death from diabetes. Without the common stigma that people with diabetes can’t.
Today, Team Type 1 is the world’s largest diabetes and sports organization with more than 170 athletes with type 1 diabetes spreading our message of hope and inspiration. Our programs focus on affordable access to diabetes medication and care all over the globe.
In 2011, Phil Southerland, founder and CEO of Team Type 1 and Team Novo Nordisk (a team of endurance athletes with diabetes competing around the world at the highest levels of cycling), was invited to be a keynote speaker at a medical conference on diabetes hosted by the Government of Macedonia (North Macedonia), Ministry of Health. At the conference, he shared the powerful story of what these athletes were able to achieve as a result of proper diabetes management – which included frequent testing of blood sugar levels of up to 15 times per day.
In the past 8 years, we have brought life-saving medicine and changes in national diabetes healthcare policy to the people of Rwanda, the DR Congo, and North Macedonia.
A cornerstone initiative, the Global Ambassador Scholarship Program, awards college scholarships to US-based student-athletes with diabetes attending and playing a sport for an NCAA or NAIA school. The funds awarded offset the financial burden diabetes places on families and allow students to focus on what’s important – their health and their education. Beginning in 2020, TT1 will focus its efforts on affordable access to diabetes care in the States. By working with industry, government, patients, and other key stakeholders, we will fight to make insulin affordable to everyone who needs it to live.
HISTORY
Team Type 1 (TT1) was established with the mission to “instill hope and inspiration for people around the world affected by diabetes.” We believe that with an appropriate diet, exercise, treatment, and technology, anyone with diabetes can achieve their dreams. Founded in 2005 by Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge, TT1 operated as a grassroots initiative to inspire people with diabetes to better manage their disease.
Merging a passion for cycling and a desire to raise awareness, TT1 established the first men’s professional cycling team, including athletes with type 1 diabetes, which is now a world-class cycling program bringing global awareness like never before.
Although it can be frustrating when someone says you can’t do something because you’re physically challenged, oftentimes this “can’t” spurs people to defy the odds and find a way to make it happen regardless. That was the case with Phil Southerland.
At just seven months old, Phil was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and doctors predicted he probably would not live beyond the age of twenty-five. But now in his 30s, he has already proved those predictions wrong. Instead, he has turned what was considered a death sentence into a global movement to radically change lives – the lives of people around the world affected by diabetes.
Phil recruited a team comprised of cyclists with diabetes, and together they participated in the demanding “Race Across America” in 2006. Not only did Team Type 1 gain prominence for its mission and perseverance with diabetes, but four times the team has won the event. Phil’s vision has come to life, and he’s embracing it with a passion for cycling while managing his diabetes to carry him through.
“I recognized how important exercise was for my diabetes management,” Phil says. “Exercise and diabetes simply go hand-in-hand.”
“Exercise is the billion-dollar drug that never gets prescribed.” – Phil Southerland
TT1’s impact has reached far beyond racing—the team is leading the charge in cutting-edge diabetes sports research, global outreach and education, and humanitarian initiatives in developing countries.
TT1 is transforming the way the world looks at diabetes, and the brand has become a global movement to demonstrate that with proper education, care, and empowerment – anything is possible.
In 2011, TT1 met with leaders from the Macedonian government to promote healthy living with diabetes and the necessity of medical supplies. The Ministry was funding the Diabetes Camp where Phil Southerland was invited to give a speech. His powerful message showed how TT1’s athletes were living healthy lives, achieving ambitious goals in sports, and managing their disease by checking blood-glucose levels a dozen times or more each day to stay in perfect health. This advocacy helped push for lasting political change, ensuring that people with type 1 diabetes in Macedonia have full government support for their medical needs.
Now, Team Type 1 continues working to provide the best healthcare for people with diabetes through the Team Type 1 Foundation.