Vic is a designer, community advocate, and the creator of New Rust, a podcast exploring Pittsburgh’s transformation through the individual stories of people doing interesting things throughout the city.

Growing up surrounded by the enormous crowds of New York City, Vic expected proximity to people to create connection. Instead, it was moving to Pittsburgh that showed him what community could truly feel like.

Vic talks with Jim about discovering Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ community, building a found family, participating in the city’s creative and wonderfully unusual spaces, and realizing how helping others can create a support network in return. From jam nights and local zines to simply meeting people doing something they care about, Vic explains why Pittsburgh’s smaller communities became so important to him.

The conversation also explores judgment, curiosity, and what can happen when we approach unfamiliar experiences with a willingness to listen instead of immediately forming conclusions. Vic shares stories of talking with coworkers who had little or no previous experience with transgender people and choosing conversation as an opportunity to create understanding.

Vic also reflects candidly on his own journey toward authenticity. He discusses growing up without the language to understand what he was experiencing, repressing parts of himself, getting married to his high school sweetheart, and eventually recognizing that the life he was living did not feel like his own.

As Vic puts it, transitioning allowed him to “meet myself for the 1st time.”

What followed was more than a change in identity. Vic discovered a version of himself who loves being around people, participating in his community, sharing ideas, and embracing the wonderfully weird interests that make each person unique.

This is Part 1 of our conversation with Vic Costik. The conversation continues in the next episode of Fishing Without Bait.

Learn more about Vic’s New Rust podcast at NewRustPodcast.com.

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This episode dives into Mr. Rogers’ most impactful quotes, including “I like you just the way you are,” and how these simple yet profound affirmations can guide us through fear, overwhelm, and self-doubt. Jim and Mike reflect on the concept of “leveling up” in life like a video game—gaining experience, becoming more resilient, and making meaningful choices.

Listeners will hear discussions on:
• Managing emotions by making them “mentionable and manageable”
• Accepting life’s challenges without needing immediate solutions
• The importance of being a helper—or recognizing helpers around you
• The difference between kindness and being “right”
• Embracing who you are and offering that same grace to others

End your day with a moment of mindfulness, self-kindness, and the reminder that you already have something valuable to offer the world.

🧘 “Do a kindness for yourself. Do a kindness for another.”