Two Brothers Developed New Low Blood Sugar Treatment After Nearly 50 Years of Combined T1D Experience

They have also experienced severe lows 

Those experiences eventually led the brothers to create LevelUp, a liquid product designed to provide a convenient source of fast-acting carbs for people experiencing low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).

For Asher, the idea began with a familiar situation. He and Tyrus were on their way to work out when Tyrus’ blood sugar dropped. He had a hot bottle of Gatorade in his car, but neither brother had anything specifically designed to quickly treat the low. The hot Gatorade wasn’t ideal or safe to drink anymore.

“I can’t believe there’s nothing small and easy that just brings you up really fast,” Asher recalled thinking.

That moment prompted the brothers to look more closely at what was already available to people with diabetes (PWD).

“We wanted to make something that actually worked and was catered to this community,” Asher said.

Creating a Low Treatment They Wanted for Themselves

Asher has lived with T1D for 22 years, while Tyrus has lived with the condition for 26 years. Tyrus was diagnosed when he was just 11 months old.

Despite their decades of combined experience, Asher said they had rarely been offered options beyond glucose tablets and candy to treat low blood sugar.

The brothers began researching existing liquid products and found that many contained ingredients they did not want in a product they would use repeatedly.

“A lot of these liquid shots, these two-ounce liquid shots, they have dyes in them,” Asher said. “They’re not using the best ingredients. They’re using lower forms of dextrose, lower forms of sugar.”

The brothers decided to develop their own formula. They worked with a laboratory and repeatedly tested different combinations before focusing on flavor and usability.

“We just tested a formula with a lab over and over, got the taste as best as we could, got the use of it the best as we could,” Asher said.

The resulting product contains dextrose and cane sugar. Asher said the goal was to use dextrose for rapid absorption while incorporating cane sugar as part of the overall carbohydrate formula.

The brothers eventually landed on 17 grams of sugar per bottle. Asher described that amount as slightly above the commonly referenced 15-gram approach to treating a low.

“The sweet spot for LevelUp is kind of at 17 grams of sugar, right above that 15 and 15 rule,” he said.

For Asher, the additional carbohydrate also helps reduce some of the mental stress that comes with managing diabetes.

“Even if it’s just a mental safety net, I love having that because as type 1 diabetics, we’re thinking of stuff all the time,” he said. “If there’s any type of stressor that can be relieved off of us, then that’s something I would love to facilitate.”

Why Create a Liquid Low Blood Sugar Solution?

The brothers intentionally chose a liquid format rather than creating another glucose tablet, gummy, or powder. One reason was nighttime lows.

“I know there’s a lot of young kids and a lot of moms that love LevelUp already because they got a trial bottle at Friends for Life and they used it at night,” Asher said.

He explained that a liquid can eliminate the need to chew during a nighttime low, which can be particularly helpful for parents treating a child. Even for adults with T1D, it can be difficult to physically eat something when dealing with the pressure of a low.

Asher also said the brothers were interested in developing a product that could be carried easily and used without consuming a larger beverage.

He knows firsthand how quickly treating a low with whatever is available can become an exercise in overcorrection.

“I stop at gas stations all the time for a soda or for anything,” he said. “And then I end up having a full drink of something. I over-correct my low because it’s there, and then I have to give a shot to go down, and then I’m low again.”

This blood sugar rollercoaster is something many community members can relate to. That experience was part of the gap he and Tyrus wanted to address.

LevelUp is sold in individual bottles, each containing a consistent amount of carbohydrate. While developing their product, Asher said predictability mattered because the amount of carbohydrate in a juice box or other beverage can vary depending on how much a person consumes.

The brothers also decided against adding artificial coloring.

LevelUp launched with three flavors: 

• Galaxy Grape
• Blazing Blue Raspberry 
• Juicy Strawberry

Asher said blue raspberry became the favorite among the three.

“We don’t put any dyes, so it’s not colored,” he said.

For Asher, the ingredient choices reflect a broader desire to rethink what PWD consume during repeated low blood sugar events.

“Over time you eat Nerds and Skittles for your low blood sugar over and over again,” he said. “Eventually that’s just going to really take a toll on your body.”

Turning LevelUp Into a Family Project

LevelUp has also become a family endeavor beyond the two brothers.

Asher recalled an especially frightening experience from Tyrus’ childhood, when Tyrus had a seizure during a low blood sugar event.

“That’s always just been something that’s crazy and scary,” Asher said.

Their mother was there to help Tyrus through the episode, and she has since become involved in developing LevelUp.

“She’s been helping us with LevelUp too,” Asher said. “She really just knows how it is. And so she’s helped us come up with this product as well.”

Growing up with a sibling who also had T1D gave Asher an understanding of the condition that was different from what he might have experienced alone.

“We say that we’re blood brothers,” he said.

The brothers sometimes check their Dexcom readings and discover that their blood sugar levels are nearly identical. For Asher, those moments are reminders of how unusual their shared experience is.

They also understand the fear that can accompany diabetes because they have lived through it together.

The Importance of Seeing People with T1D Lead

Asher’s experiences with diabetes have also shaped how he thinks about community.

As a child, he attended a T1D camp in Florida for two consecutive summers. Initially, he was hesitant because he was trying to hide his diabetes more.

“I didn’t think I was going to like it because as a kid, I was trying to hide my type one a little bit more,” he said.

Instead, the experience became one of the most meaningful parts of his childhood.

“If I had someone like my camp counselors there just hang out with me once a month or something, it would’ve helped my type one journey so much,” Asher said.

That experience has stayed with him as he has become more involved in the diabetes community.

He sees value in organizations and individuals creating opportunities for people with type 1 to connect, particularly across generations.

“It’s good to see all these things sprouting up in the type one world showing just that people really, really care about this community,” he said.

For Asher, community has become an important part of the LevelUp journey itself.

Learning From the People they Want to Serve

LevelUp had not officially launched at the time of the interview, but Asher and Tyrus had already distributed samples at Friends for Life and other diabetes community events.

They received videos and feedback from people trying the product, including children.

One child, Dane, stood out to Asher after the brothers met him at the Breakthrough T1D Orlando Walk.

“It’s really cool to see how everybody uses it,” Asher said.

Those early interactions have reinforced the brothers’ belief that people with type 1 should have a direct role in developing products intended for them.

“It’s so cool to have something out there that people can trust and feel like it’s made solely for them,” Asher said.

The product development process has not been without challenges. Manufacturing delays meant some early customers waited months for their orders.

Asher also learned that developing a diabetes-related product requires careful attention to how it's described.

“We’re not making any medical claims,” he said.

He emphasized that people with type 1 can have very different needs when treating a low.

Factors such as insulin on board, physical activity, and individual responses to carbohydrates can affect what happens during a low blood sugar event.

“I can’t tell him, ‘Drink this one LevelUp and it will for sure work for you,’” Asher said. “Because that’s not true. Every situation is different.”

That understanding has remained important as the brothers move from developing the product to building a company around it.

Changing the Way People See Lows

Beyond LevelUp, Asher believes there is an important conversation to be had about how people perceive low blood sugar.

Lows can be so common for people living with T1D that even those experiencing them may begin to minimize their seriousness.

“I used to sometimes sit around 60 and not even care,” Asher said. “I’m like, whatever. And then I go down to 50, and I’m like, ‘Fine, I’ll get up.’”

That normalization can make it difficult for people outside the diabetes community to understand how quickly a low can become dangerous.

Asher believes there is a reason people with type 1 can make diabetes management appear easier than it actually is.

“I don’t think people realize that the reason why it looks easy is that we make it look easy,” he said. “It’s not because it is easy. We make it look easy because we’re warriors and we’re going to get it done for our health.”

After more than 20 years with type 1, Asher said the cumulative mental burden can also be difficult to describe.

“Low blood sugars, high blood sugars, everything that hits, everything you have to think about takes a mental toll,” he said. “And so it stacks. It stacks on top of each other.”

For him, being connected to the diabetes community has helped.

The same community that has provided support and connection has also become the audience Asher and Tyrus hope to serve through LevelUp.

“We’re doing this for y’all”

When asked what he hopes people remember about LevelUp, Asher returned to the relationship between the company and the community that inspired it.

“We’re here for them,” he said. “We’re going to these events. We’re seeing what you guys like. We’re seeing what you want. We’re going to innovate, and we’re going to keep going.”

He said the brothers want to continue developing products based on what people with type 1 need, without taking shortcuts.

“We’re not doing this for us,” Asher said. “We’re doing it for y’all.”

For two brothers who have spent more than 20 years navigating T1D, LevelUp represents more than a business venture. It is an attempt to solve a problem they have personally encountered, informed by the experiences of the community around them.

And Asher has a straightforward message for others with ideas to improve life with diabetes.

“If you have a solution for something in the type one world or just anything in general, I would say you've got to just go for it, or else it definitely will never happen,” he said.

For Asher and Tyrus, going for it meant taking a moment that began with a hot bottle of Gatorade and turning it into a product they hope will make treating low blood sugar a little more convenient for others living with T1D.