Real User Stories
Photographer gains clearer picture of health with G7
Published: Oct. 1, 2025
5 min read
The New York Subway offers a dynamic backdrop to Brooklyn-based street portrait photographer and Dexcom Warrior Chris Maliwat. On the city’s bustling lifeline, he aims his lens at the Wall Street brokers fretting about the economy, parents getting their kids to school and others going about their hectic Gotham routines. His camera is always poised to capture instantly the interesting, precious and surprising moments.
“It’s about finding these inner moments, the inner dialogues people have in their days,” Chris said. “I love the ability of images and portraits in particular to tell human stories and connect people with each other. I’m looking to really capture the authentic moment.”
While a picture might be worth a thousand words, it remains just a brief snapshot in time. But for those who live with Type 2 diabetes, like Chris, successfully managing diabetes demands a more complete picture of glucose levels that goes beyond one moment. It requires knowing real-time data to properly frame and shed light on what goes on in the body as it happens.
A reframed health perspective
The 50-year-old native of Blue Springs, Missouri, is no stranger to Type 2 diabetes. Both his parents have it and continue to thrive in their 80s, and he lived with a prediabetes diagnosis for a number of years. Chris managed that condition as best he could. He studied at Stanford University, moved to the Big Apple 15 years ago, found his devoted partner Josh. He spends time on the board of the nonprofit Out in Tech, and works in marketing and consulting, recently promoting Victoria Beckham’s beauty brand. All this while pursuing his passion for photography, publishing “Subwaygram” and exhibiting his work in places like Soho Photo Gallery in Chelsea.
“Photography is a way to stop the world in action and process it, examine and really think about how it works and how I fit into it,” he said. “In places like New York or Tokyo, the world can move fast and it’s hard to process it without taking the time to contemplate. My photographs are mostly quiet moments in big cities. Some of the most beautiful moments are seeing a couple interact or parents resting with children despite all the craziness inevitably going around them just by living in New York.”
These moments ground him amid the frenetic pace of living and working in America’s largest metropolis. His photos reveal his introverted and observation sides, while exhibitions allow him to expose his extroverted and creative sides, he said.
But right before turning 50 in November 2024, the photographer was forced to focus inwardly when he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. It marked a turning point in his life where he decided to take control – and he chose the Dexcom G7 Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) system.
“I knew it could help me understand my body better,” he said. “Over time, the G7 CGM has become more than just a recommendation – it’s become a source of empowerment. With all the real-time data at my fingertips, I feel motivated to take charge of my health in ways I never thought possible.”
G7 CGM technology brings control into focus
Chris approached his G7 with the same curiosity and confidence he applies when he gets new camera equipment.
“Whenever I get a new camera, I need to understand and learn the settings,” he said. “How does this work? I used my photographer’s brain with the G7. How do I take this device and incorporate it into my life?”
“First of all, you don’t really feel anything and it’s easy to use,” he said. “It was just like, here's this new device that’s helping me understand and regulate my understanding of how my life choices are making an impact on my body.”
He realized soon after how that has an immediate impact on his glucose levels. While at a Broadway show, he ordered a frozen margarita during intermission and drank it quickly to avoid missing the next act. His G7 alerted him to the highest glucose spike he had ever seen.
“It was like, I’m either not going to do that again, I’m going to have only a fourth of the drink, I’m going to eat beforehand or I’m going to go for a walk afterward,” he said. “G7 did exactly what it was supposed to do – give me an instant awareness of how my choices have consequences. It just guides you to make better choices and see the consequences of your actions in a more deliberate way, so you can make better decisions earlier.”
The G7 has also brought Chris closer to Josh, an economist by trade who appreciates data and uses the Follow app* to help Chris monitor his glucose throughout the day.
“As you can imagine, we’re making life choices together, like what we should eat or drink,” he said. “Both he and I love a good graph! I think he responds really well to data and sees it as one way for him to understand me, the life choices we can make together and be supportive.”
Not that Chris really needs it. Within the first month on G7, his time in range averaged 99% to 100%. And his first blood test after using the CGM showed his A1C was 5.5%, improved from 6.5%† prior. He said the combination of making better choices based on the CGM data from the device, including diet and exercise, and taking medication have made all the difference in better managing his Type 2. He was also inspired by his father, who battled cancer for five years and showed him what diligence in self-care can do.
“It’s never been my intent to hide my diabetes diagnosis, but it’s not necessarily pleasant to tell people, or at least that was my previous perception,” Chris said. “But what I really found with Josh, my parents, friends and family is that everyone is super-supportive. More often than not, they ask me about my journey and they relate. I look healthier, feel healthier and have lost weight, and they see me making better choices.”
Now, he looks forward to his next exhibition of photographs from Tokyo and living a life as close to picture-perfect as possible.
“I want to continue to be a good partner to Josh and be around for him and my family, sharing my observations of the world through photography with them and the world,” he said. “In some ways, G7 has enabled me to find out how to be a more complete version of myself. Dexcom helps me stay on track, so I can share a long, healthy future with them and continue to do all the things I love.”
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*Separate Dexcom Follow app and internet connection required. Internet connectivity required for data sharing. Users should always confirm readings on the Dexcom G7 app or receiver before making treatment decisions. †Individual results may vary
BRIEF SAFETY STATEMENT: Failure to use the Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitoring System and its components according to the instructions for use provided with your device and available at https://www.dexcom.com/safety-information and to properly consider all indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, and cautions in those instructions for use may result in you missing a severe hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) or hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) occurrence and/or making a treatment decision that may result in injury. If your glucose alerts and readings from the Dexcom CGM do not match symptoms, use a blood glucose meter to make diabetes treatment decisions. Seek medical advice and attention when appropriate, including for any medical emergency.
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