Pete Scalia is a fighter. When he’s not battling his arthritis and chronic illness, he’s on the front lines in the battle against stigma, energizing others who are going through hard times of their own. Now, he’s taking over the internet by storm.
In November 2020, Scalia and his wife Amy launched a multimedia website, PSNeverGiveUp. It combines podcasts, social media, blog posts and more to inspire people to, well, never give up. As a former news anchor (WBNS-10TV), Scalia knows the power his platform can have in spreading awareness and promoting a message of hope.
“We started thinking that everybody has some sort of never give up moment in their lives, right? Something that they’ve had to overcome, it could be something with their career, it could be with their family, it could be their health,” Scalia says. “We thought, what about finding a way to not just share our story of never giving up, but to share other people’s inspirational stories?”
With Scalia’s background in media and Amy’s background in PR, marketing and digital publishing, the work came naturally to them. They even found a silver lining in the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic’s really been a time to focus on what was important to me, what I wanted to do,” Scalia says. “If you could find a way to use your abilities in a way that actually has meaning and find a purpose – that’s really what it’s all about.”
How it all started
Scalia was diagnosed with arthritis at the age of 30 and has been managing the chronic illness ever since. When he and Amy decided to start their family, Scalia’s medications became a stumbling block to their ability to conceive and he had to stop taking them.
“People started to notice. I started gaining weight, and my appearance totally changed,” he says. “It took almost two years for us to conceive and then at that time, I had all kinds of damage being done to my body. It was to the point where we had production people at the station that would meet me at my car every morning with a wheelchair and take me in.”
He went to a rheumatologist in Columbus, who told Scalia that his joints had sustained significant damage without the medication. The doctor recommended a double hip replacement in December 2013.
“(Amy) was pregnant while I was recovering from having both hips replaced. And then I knew I still needed to have both knees replaced, so 14 months later, I had my knees replaced in February of 2015,” he says, “and we had our first daughter, Lola, in between all of this.”
Scalia began sharing his story, which included an interview on Good Day Columbus. Letting people in on his journey was in part, he says, to explain to the public why he had to be away from work for months following each surgery, but also to connect with others who had been through similar hard times.
“For many years I’ve been involved with the Arthritis Foundation and ended up sharing my story at the national level, which is really cool,” he says. “I got to meet so many people who have gone through something similar. And we found that out by sharing our journey through infertility and managing chronic illness.”
The rest is history. Scalia started the hashtag #PSNeverGiveUp, sharing it to his social media and on air as a morning news anchor. Now, the hashtag has a movement of its own and a website to match.
Community support
Pickerington has been an oasis for Scalia and his family since day one.
“When (Amy and I) wanted to start a family, we were looking all around central Ohio and we just fell in love with Pickerington and Violet Township,” he says. “When I was working in TV and in the city, to be able to come home, it was like going to a whole other world.”
Scalia says the way he’s seen community members show up for one another, giving support to small businesses and reaching out to help despite the craziness of the pandemic is something special. One neighbor in particular touched his heart when she donated to the not-yet-established PSNeverGiveUp Foundation.
“She said, ‘Good brings good,’” says Scalia. “Good brings out the good in other people. The overwhelming level of support that I’m seeing from people, even virtually now online and everything, it’s pretty incredible.”
His biggest support, however, is right at home. Amy has been his cheerleader, his motivator, his partner in crime and his hero. In fact, she was the one who reached out to Pickerington Magazine to share his story.
“Being married to someone who is not only as much of a dreamer as I am, but also to live with someone who has chronic illness is not easy,” Scalia says. “(Amy) wrote a blog post once, saying that Superman lives here, with all my replacement parts and all this stuff that we’ve gone through. But to me, she’s the real superhero, because I wouldn’t be able to be who I am without her.”
Let’s talk love
A Valentine’s Q&A with Pete Scalia
Pickerington Magazine: How did you meet your wife Amy?
Pete Scalia: She was actually on a date with someone else!
PM: How many years have you two been together?
PS: 15 years! And married for 12.
PM: What’s your favorite thing about Amy?
PS: I’m trying to think of a romantic way of saying she keeps me in line! She has a knack for keeping me on track.
PM: Where’s the most romantic place you’ve visited with Amy?
PS: I’ll never forget on our honeymoon in Italy on New Year’s Eve in San Marco Square in Venice, and right at midnight, the band starts playing on the big stage, and the snow just starts to fall, almost like it was on cue.
PM: What’s your love language?
PS: I would definitely say quality time.
PM: What’s the best Valentine’s Day gift?
PS: I’m looking right now at a handmade card from my kids. That to me is the best kind of Valentine’s Day gift – something with real meaning to it.
Sarah Robinson is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
