The Toxic Truth About Your Christmas Tree

The Healthy Snack That Ruined My Gut

Is 2026 the year we finally get a "glow up"… or are we just going to buy more collagen and hope for the best? ✨🥂 In this New Year's episode of You’re Not Special, we audit our 2025 regrets and set delusional goals for 2026. Rob says "I’m finally going to pack on the pounds." Joel says "my gut is wrecked from protein bars." Otto says "I deserve higher quality treats, please." We recap the highs and lows of 2025—including the fact that Joel ate so many protein bars he destroyed his gut microbiome (turns out "emulsifiers" are the enemy). Rob commits to finally stop being a "shrimpy kid" and hit the gym, and we discuss the financial trauma of hiring an interior designer because we realized our current aesthetic is just "clutter." We also yap about: * Olivia Rodrigo’s potential breakup album (OR3 is coming) * Why Bowen Yang leaving SNL is a tragedy for Asian representation * The specifics of Joel’s skincare routine (Fraxel, RF Microneedling, and Subcision) * Why you shouldn't feel "late" to your own life. You haven't arrived late, you have arrived. Connect with us: * Joel: instagram.com/joelfootsteps [http://instagram.com/joelfootsteps] * Rob: instagram.com/robgentul [http://instagram.com/robgentul] * The Pod: instagram.com/yourenotspecial.pod [http://instagram.com/yourenotspecial.pod] * Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@YoureNotSpecialPod [http://youtube.com/@YoureNotSpecialPod] ---------------------------------------- ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro: The "Packing the Pounds" Reveal 00:46 - Olivia Rodrigo, OR3 Rumors & The Breakup 01:50 - The "Get in the Pool" Mindset (Starting this podcast) 02:15 - Why We Hired an Interior Designer (Apartment Shame) 02:50 - Joel’s 2026 Glow Up: Lasers, Microneedling & Collagen 03:28 - Rob’s Resolution: Finally Gaining Muscle Mass 04:05 - Joel’s Gut Health Crisis (The Emulsifier Rant) 04:45 - Manifesting Ariana Grande & Mourning Bowen Yang on SNL 06:00 - Regret: Being "Lazy" Dog Parents in 2025 06:45 - Quitting Processed Food & Cooking "ABC Soup" 08:00 - "If not now, when?" & The Anxiety vs. Mindfulness Scale ---------------------------------------- 🧠 WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR * Anyone whose gut is personally victimized by processed protein bars * Pop culture stans preparing for the next Olivia Rodrigo era * Anyone looking around their apartment and realizing it looks like a dorm room * Skinny guys trying to gain muscle (we are in this together) * Anyone who feels "behind" in life and needs a reminder that they’re doing just fine 🎧 ABOUT YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL We’re Joel + Rob (husbands) + Otto (anxious poodle/manager). We yap about the high-stakes drama of regular life: gym scaries, gut health spirals, and trying to survive NYC adulthood without losing our minds. Spoiler: you’re not special. And honestly? That’s the best news ever. You can stop optimizing and actually be happy. Welcome to the Normie Gang. Rate us 5 stars if you made it this far. Disclaimer: We are not dermatologists, dietitians, or interior designers. We are just two guys trying to eat less processed goop.

No One Knows My Most Expensive Mistake

I got LASIK 10 years ago… and now I’m back in contact lenses. Yes, this is my villain origin story. 👁️‍🗨️💀 In this episode of You’re Not Special, Joel goes full doom-scroll spiral about long‑term LASIK complications (dry eye, night glare/halos, vision regression), and Rob—Mr. 20/20 Vision His Whole Life—tries to emotionally support someone who is beefing with his own corneas. This is NOT medical advice. It is a very honest “please do your homework before elective surgery” rant + a surprise episode about self‑compassion and not bullying yourself for a decision you made years ago. 🔗 FOLLOW Joel: https://www.instagram.com/joelfootsteps [https://www.instagram.com/joelfootsteps] Rob: https://www.instagram.com/robgentul [https://www.instagram.com/robgentul] The Pod: https://www.instagram.com/yourenotspecial.pod [https://www.instagram.com/yourenotspecial.pod] 📺 WATCH EP 6: https://youtu.be/xaqk9Hkawzk [https://youtu.be/xaqk9Hkawzk] Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL24Ts2mbcSspqQwhMuzEm4meOlxMhgcXZ [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL24Ts2mbcSspqQwhMuzEm4meOlxMhgcXZ] 🎥 EPISODE 7 — THE LASIK EPISODE I regret LASIK (and I had to talk myself off the ledge… with a 5th Ave walk) POV: you’re the third wheel on our Brooklyn couch while Joel processes the most annoying adult realization: Sometimes you pay a lot of money for a “life upgrade”… and your body says, “interesting choice.” Joel did LASIK because he wanted freedom from glasses and contacts. It worked—until it didn’t. Years later, he’s dealing with vision changes, discomfort, and the weird grief of realizing a past decision has long‑tail consequences. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🧠 WHAT WE ACTUALLY TALKED ABOUT • Why “LASIK success rates” can feel misleading if you don’t look at long‑term outcomes • How night glare/halos can mess with your quality of life (especially driving) • Why contacts can feel different after LASIK (the “hill chopped into a plateau” analogy) • The emotional whiplash of: “I recommended this to people… and now I regret it” • The importance of being your own advocate: tests, scans, second opinions, actual explanations • Voice journaling as a spiral interrupter (walking + talking = brain processing) • The deeper thesis: growth means you can look back and say “that wasn’t the best call”… without hating yourself for it ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 ABOUT YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL We’re Joel + Rob (husbands) + Otto (anxious poodle/manager, usually off camera). We yap about the high‑stakes drama of regular life: health spirals, shame spirals, relationship micro‑conflict, and trying to survive NYC adulthood without turning life into a performance review. Spoiler: you’re not special. And honestly? That’s the best news ever. You can stop optimizing and actually be happy. Welcome to the Normie Gang. Sub to join the lore. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ CONTENT NOTE: This episode references mental health spirals related to chronic symptoms/regret. If you’re in immediate danger or thinking about self-harm, please seek help right now. In the U.S., call/text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). DISCLAIMER: We are not doctors. This is not medical advice. Please talk to a licensed ophthalmologist/optometrist about your specific eyes and risk factors.

The Toxic Truth About Your Christmas Tree

We think Christmas Ham is a scam, we’re fighting about the size of the tree, and we accidentally became the "matching PJ couple" we used to bully. 💀 In this Christmas episode of You’re Not Special, we audit the holidays. Joel wants "The Whole Magillah" (a 7ft tree in a shoebox apartment). Rob thinks ham is just "elevated deli meat." Otto is wearing a Santa hat and dissociating. We also discuss why we refuse to buy plastic trees (eco-red flag?), why Ugly Sweater parties are a consumerist nightmare, and how to survive the holidays without spiraling—even when you're missing the "magic" or far away from family. 👇 In this episode, we discuss: * The Hypocrisy: Succumbing to the matching PJ industrial complex. * Food Hot Takes: Why Cinnamon Rolls > Ham (sorry, healthy people). * The Tree War: Real vs. Plastic (and why plastic trees are a commitment). * Santa Lore: Joel wants to gaslight his future kids; Rob just wants peace. * Normie Gang Christmas: How to stop optimizing your holiday and just relax. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🔗 STALK US Joel: https://www.instagram.com/joelfootsteps [https://www.instagram.com/joelfootsteps] Rob: https://www.instagram.com/robgentul [https://www.instagram.com/robgentul] The Pod: https://www.instagram.com/yourenotspecial.pod [https://www.instagram.com/yourenotspecial.pod] WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@yourenotspecialpod [https://www.youtube.com/@yourenotspecialpod] 🎧 ABOUT THE SHOW We’re Joel + Rob (husbands) + Otto (anxious poodle/manager). We yap about the high-stakes drama of regular life: gym scaries, sliced fruit guilt, marriage micro-conflict, and trying to survive NYC adulthood without spiraling. Spoiler: You’re not special. And honestly? That’s the best news ever. You can stop optimizing and actually be happy. Welcome to the Normie Gang. Disclaimer: We are not film critics, environmental scientists, or Santa Claus. We just really like Pillsbury rolls.

The Underrated Noodle Soup You've Never Tried

My husband said Singaporean food is just "sweetened Malaysian food" and now we’re probably banned from the country. In this episode of You’re Not Special, we bring in our first-ever guest—Joel’s cousin Alyssa—to argue why you should book a flight just for a bowl of soup. Rob (the white boy) learns about "wormy" desserts, Joel’s accent code-switches into full "Uncle" mode, and we debate if Nasi Kukus can actually cure depression. We usually tell you to stop optimizing your life, but when it comes to Southeast Asian food? Optimization is required. If you think Ramen is the peak of noodle soup, please have a seat. In this episode: The Cousin Count: Growing up with 19 cousins vs. Rob’s quiet childhood. The Laksa Wars: Sour (Assam) vs. Coconut (Lemak) vs. Spaghetti (Johor). The "Wok Hei" Rule: If the uncle cooking your Char Kway Teow isn't sweating, we don't want it. Nasi Kukus: The crispy chicken curry combo Alyssa claims cures depression and clears skin. The Cendol Controversy: Are green jelly worms delicious or terrifying? NYC Food: Where to find actual Malaysian food in the city (Kopitiam, Rasa). The Singapore Beef: Why we think their food is a "remix" (and why we love them anyway... sort of). Games: We replaced "One Two Juice" with "Lat Ta Li Lat" (the superior Malaysian hand game). Stalk Us: * Joel: https://www.instagram.com/joelfootsteps [https://www.instagram.com/joelfootsteps](https://www.instagram.com/joelfootsteps)] * Rob: https://www.instagram.com/robgentul [https://www.instagram.com/robgentul](https://www.instagram.com/robgentul)] * The Pod: https://www.instagram.com/yourenotspecial.pod [https://www.instagram.com/yourenotspecial.pod] About the Show: We’re Joel + Rob (husbands) + Otto (anxious poodle). We yap about the high-stakes drama of regular life—from gym scaries to food debates—without the toxic optimization. Welcome to the Normie Gang. New episodes twice a week until we burn out. Disclaimer: We are not food critics, chefs, or representatives of the Malaysian Tourism Board. Please do not cancel us, Singapore.

We Ruined Our One Chance At Fame

WE GOT STOPPED BY MEET CUTES NYC (AND IMMEDIATELY SPIRALED) We got interviewed by Meet Cutes NYC outside Whole Foods… and then immediately crashed out like: “Did we look like we even like each other?” 🥶💀 In this episode of You’re Not Special, two husbands + one anxious poodle get stopped on the street with the most loaded question of all time: “Excuse me, are you a couple?” Joel says, “WAIT, ARE WE FAMOUS?” Rob says, “Did we stand close enough??” Otto says, “I’m cold and this set is crooked.” We debrief the most New York thing that can happen on a casual dog walk and the "post-game audit" that anxious brains love to do. We also make a case for going outside even when it’s freezing, why walking is underrated therapy, and the art of voice journaling. 👇 In this episode, we discuss: * The Meet Cutes Interview: Getting stopped, the 18° weather, and the immediate regret. * The Spiral: Auditing our performance—did we look genuine or weird? * Perfectionism PSA: Why you should start messy (like this crooked set). * Winter Walking: Why your nervous system needs daylight and motion. * Voice Journaling: Talking to yourself in AirPods so you look like you have friends. * NYC Tears: The sacred ritual of crying in public and continuing to exist. ⏱️ Chapters: 00:00 Meet Cutes stops us outside Whole Foods 01:05 Crooked set + “learn as you go” 01:45 18° and the question: “Are you guys a couple?” 02:45 Post-interview spiral (did we seem in love?) 04:05 Meet Cutes lore + Book Club Bar 05:10 Perfectionism PSA: start messy 05:55 Winter walking = lowkey therapy 06:40 Voice journaling on the move 07:25 NYC crying + “not nice, but kind” 08:05 ONE TWO JUICE 🧃 09:20 Outro: drop your wildest walk story ---------------------------------------- 🔗 FOLLOW THE CHAOS Joel: https://www.instagram.com/joelfootsteps [https://www.instagram.com/joelfootsteps] Rob: https://www.instagram.com/robgentul [https://www.instagram.com/robgentul] 🎧 ABOUT THE SHOW We’re Joel + Rob (husbands) + Otto (anxious poodle/manager). We yap about the high-stakes drama of regular life: gym scaries, sliced fruit guilt, marriage micro-conflict, and trying to survive NYC adulthood without spiraling. Spoiler: You’re not special. And honestly? That’s the best news ever. You can stop optimizing and actually be happy. Welcome to the Normie Gang. Disclaimer: We are not therapists or experts on being perceived in public. Please consult a professional (or take a walk) before you spiral.