An interesting interview that is with the son of Robin Williams and is exclusive with some transcript of Sarah Grynberg podcast LisTNR.
How he bonded with his dad Robin Williams growing up
Reflects on trip to Australia with his dad Robin Williams
Reveals what his dad really thought about Australia and the Aussie way of life
How Robin Williams reacted to his diagnosis
How he dealt with his dad’s death
What it was like to share a parent with the world and deal with public grief
Joining Sarah Grynberg this week is Zak Williams, the co-founder and CEO of PYM (Prepare Your Mind), a mental wellness company focused on daily rituals.
He is the son of the late entertainer Robin Williams, whose legacy of joy and heart remains through iconic films including Mrs Doubtfire, Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting and Good Morning Vietnam. He was loved by the world, and when he died, the world grieved. Having lost his dad a decade ago, he knows it’s possible to live with the scars of trauma, but it takes a lot of inner work to remain resilient.
In this episode Sarah and Zak discuss losing his father to suicide, how he dealt with his own grief, depression and anxiety, and the world’s sadness when his dad – one of the most famous people in the world – suddenly died.
03.45: Zak Williams explains how he bonded with his dad Robin Williams growing up
On my father’s side, it was super interesting because he was a collector and he loved science fiction, and our way of bonding was through playing video games and playing with toy soldiers.
He had bumper stickers all over his car. I was just talking about this with my wife, Olivia, the other day, and he just was a was a collector.
He would find himself surrounded by Japanese toys and comic books and gadgets. And that was our way of bonding, was playing with all those things.
13.58: Zak Williams reflects on trip to Australia with his dad Robin Williams
Yeah. So I did go with him (to Australia). I went with him twice. Once before I can remember, the second time we went to Queensland.
We went diving in the Great Barrier Reef. I think his impression was that Australia is quite dangerous, he felt that it is filled with lots of dangerous animals.
He liked it, it’s filled with people who like the outdoors. And he finds Australians hilarious because, you know, they are self-deprecating, they don’t take themselves too seriously. I think it’s a culture that he vibed with.
18.25: How Robin Williams reacted to his diagnosis
You know, he wasn’t thrilled about it. I think he was seeking answers around why he was feeling certain ways. There was just a level of general frustration, because when it came to performing and the like, it’s a very physical activity. And his performance was generally very aerobic. It wasn’t thrilling for him to have.
20.23:Robin Williams’ son Zak reveals what it was like to share a parent with the world and deal with public grief
There’s a public grieving consideration and a private grieving consideration and. I had a lot of challenges differentiating the two initially, and so that was hard for me because I didn’t really shift into personal private grieving until much later on.
There was a processing disconnect for me. It took some time to really start understanding my personal feelings and emotions around it. It didn’t happen overnight.
22.04: How Zak Williams dealt with his dad’s death
Initially (I dealt with his death) with alcohol, but over time decided to stop self-medicating using alcohol and, realized that I had a set of diagnoses. I had generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and complex post-traumatic stress disorder.
And that’s why I was doing things like self-medicating, using alcohol.
And I found lifestyle interventions to be extremely helpful for me. My now wife, Olivia, introduced me to things like nutrition, which I found to be extremely helpful.
Sarah Grynberg recently celebrated her 5 year pod-versary and shared her top interview moments: Olivia Newton-John, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Deepak Chopra and more. She’s become the requested and sole podcast interviewer in Australia for many visiting international names, people of influence and thought leaders, including Matthew McConaughey, Andrew Huberman, Esther Perel, Mel C (From the Spice Girls), James Clear, Wim Hof and Geena Davis.
