Sean Busby Becomes First Person With Type 1 Diabetes to Successfully Backcountry Snowboard All Seven Continents

WHITEFISH, MT--(Marketwired - Mar 20, 2014) - Riding On Insulin, a nonprofit organization that empowers, activates and connects the global diabetes community through shared experience and action sports, and Insulet (NASDAQ: PODD), the leader in tubeless insulin pump technology with its OmniPod® Insulin Management System, are proud to announce that professional snowboarder Sean Busby has become the first person with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to successfully backcountry snowboard on each of the seven continents. Sean, an OmniPod ambassador and the founder of Riding On Insulin, began his seven-continent mission in 2008, just four years after he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes while training for the 2010 Olympics. From Antarctica in 2008 to Africa in 2014, Sean explored remote corners of the globe while proving that T1D can't stop people from reaching the highest peaks in life.

"This has been something I have been working towards for years, to prove to myself and the world that T1D can't hold anyone back from accomplishing their goals," said Sean. "The support of the T1D community has been tremendous. It is because of their inspiration that I have been able to travel the globe, explore diverse cultures, and spread awareness for type 1 diabetes. I am so grateful for everything they have done for me -- from the kids and teens who inspired me to start Riding On Insulin soon after I was diagnosed, to the adults who have set an amazing example by successfully managing T1D for decades, to the parents and loved ones of T1Ds who provide support and guidance. I share this accomplishment with each and every person in the T1D community."

Sean has conquered some of the most unique backcountry mountain ranges in the world, including the peninsula of Antarctica; extensively throughout New Zealand; Tasmania, Australia; Norway's Lyngen Alps; Kyrgyzstan; Japan; Patagonia; and throughout the Canadian Yukon, Newfoundland and USA. While backcountry snowboarding in subzero temperatures, with the ever-present risk of avalanches and other unpredictable elements, it has been vital for Sean to maintain tight control over his T1D.

"We are traveling in unknown areas with a lot of unpredictable variables. The one thing that I don't want to be unpredictable is my T1D management. I wear the only tubeless insulin pump, the OmniPod. It has allowed me to travel the world without having to take multiple injections every day or worry about getting tangled with tubing or having my insulin freeze while on an expedition. Managing T1D isn't always easy, but it's certainly made more difficult when altitude, humidity and climate are at play. I'm thankful for the advances in technology that have helped make T1D easier to control."

Sean has been a backcountry ski/snowboard guide for the past five years, taking groups into the backcountry of the south island of New Zealand for years. In 2013, Sean guided a group of friends -- two of whom live with T1D -- in the Lyngen Alps of Norway. In 2014, Riding On Insulin will run its first official backcountry expedition for adults with T1D with Sean at the helm. The trip will be held in the mountains surrounding Vail Pass, Colorado where Sean will teach avalanche safety and an introduction to backcountry skiing and snowboarding while managing T1D at an altitude over 10,000 feet.

About Sean Busby and Riding On Insulin:
After enduring complicated diagnosis with type 1 diabetes at age 19, professional snowboarder Sean Busby didn't know if it would still be possible to snowboard at high altitude levels and considered retiring from the sport. While reading stories of children who had been living with T1D since birth, he began to realize how fortunate he was for having been free of the disease for the first nineteen years of his life and was empowered to give back to those kids as they were the catalyst for him to continue snowboarding. Thus, in 2004 Riding On Insulin was founded. The camps promote courage and confidence and show youth with T1D that they may overcome the mental and physical challenges that are often accompanied with the disease. For more information, www.ridingoninsulin.org.

About the OmniPod Insulin Management System
The OmniPod Insulin Management System is the world's first tubeless insulin pump. The OmniPod offers people living with insulin-requiring diabetes all the benefits of insulin pump therapy, with freedom and ease. The tubing-free OmniPod insulin pump has just two easy-to-use parts: the discreet, waterproof Pod, which automatically inserts and can be worn on many parts of the body to hold and deliver insulin; and the Personal Diabetes Manager (PDM), a hand-held device that wirelessly programs the Pod, calculates suggested doses and has a built-in blood glucose meter. To read inspiring stories of people with diabetes living their lives to the fullest with OmniPod, visit our customer blog, Suite D: http://suited.myomnipod.com. For more information on the OmniPod insulin pump, please visit: http://www.myomnipod.com.

About Type 1 Diabetes (from American Diabetes Association)
Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, and was previously known as juvenile diabetes. In Type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. Only 5-10% of people with diabetes have this form of the disease. With the help of insulin therapy and other treatments, even young children with Type 1 diabetes can learn to manage their condition and live long, healthy, happy lives.