Rob Scheer was thrown out at 18 with a trash bag.

He was the youngest of 10 children. His mother was married six times. His father beat him and his siblings, punching him in the bladder so repeatedly that by the time Rob joined the Navy, it ruptured. He had spent his senior year of high school homeless — sleeping in the bathroom of the taco restaurant where he worked, on beanbag chairs in the public library after closing, and on the floors of friends' homes. He barely graduated. He had no family to go back to. He had no picture to put on his bunk in boot camp except one of Tina Turner.

Then he became one of the most successful mortgage bankers in the country.

On Episode 237 of Fine is a 4-Letter Word, Rob Scheer sits down with Lori Saitz to share the full arc: the teachers who believed in him when no one else did, the Navy discharge that sent him hitchhiking down Route 7 with a Salvation Army suit and a fabricated resume, the mortgage industry boss who ripped that resume in half and told him he was the most honest person he had ever met, the 28-year banking career, and the moment he looked at his four children in designer clothes and realized he had raised entitled kids who had never learned empathy.

That realization led to Comfort Cases — a nonprofit that packs backpacks filled with brand-new essentials for children entering foster care on their first night. No more trash bags. Over 320,000 cases delivered to all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. Three-month waiting list for volunteers. Published by Derek Jeter. Featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Rob also shares what it means to be a foster and adoptive father to five sons, including one adopted at 18 in an adult adoption. He talks about why empathy is not in our DNA and must be taught, what leadership actually looks like outside of a job title, and why a five-year-old named Grayson was the one who understood from the very beginning that every backpack needs a blanket.

Listen on all platforms:

Search "Fine is a 4-Letter Word" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your shows. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Timestamps:

00:00 How Rob's team pitched this episode: "Anytime I can talk about foster care, I'm gonna do that"
01:30 The teachers who shaped him — not parents — and the book signing reunion with Mrs. Boley
05:00 Aging out of foster care at 18: the trash bag at the door, the youngest of 10
06:30 His mother's choices vs. her environment — and why Rob refuses to blur that distinction
07:30 Senior year homeless: the taco bathroom, the library beanbags, the school breakfast line
09:30 Joining the Navy to have somewhere to go — and being voted Honor Man at boot camp
11:30 The bladder rupture: 12 years of his father's abuse, and how the Navy discharged him
13:00 Hitchhiking down Route 7, the Salvation Army suit, and the fabricated resume
14:30 Confessing the lies to his boss — and the boss who ripped the resume and said "get back to work"
16:00 28 years in banking, mortgage companies across the country
17:00 Looking at four entitled children in designer clothes and realizing something had to change
18:00 What five-year-old Grayson said about the blanket in the backpack
19:00 320,000 cases delivered to all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, and the UK
19:30 Empathy is not in our DNA — it has to be taught
23:00 Derek Jeter published his memoir. The Ellen Show. Walking away from banking for purpose.
25:00 740 children enter foster care every day in the United States
25:30 Three-month volunteer waiting list, 40,000 cases this year, and the expansion plan
28:00 Leadership: not a title, not followers, not waiting for someone else to fix the problem
29:00 How you can help: used books, hotel toiletries, yarn for the women at Topeka Correctional Facility
31:00 The gecko/iguana/frog stuffy knitted by women at a Kansas prison — and Melissa Etheridge's role
32:00 Tina Turner's Simply the Best — the only picture he had in boot camp
32:30 How to reach Rob

Connect with Rob:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-scheer-27482653/
Website: https://comfortcases.org/

About the Show:

Fine Is a 4-Letter Word is the show for leaders who are tired of pretending everything is okay. Host Lori Saitz brings on guests who get honest about what it really takes to lead with empathy, vulnerability, gratitude, and courage. New episodes every week.

Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and if this conversation hit home, leave a review. It helps more leaders find the show.