Being in a relationship with a former collegiate athlete is, quite frankly, the best. Someone who experienced university life in a similar way to you as a student athlete, who understands the pain of walking away from a sport you loved, who navigated life after competing, who has a drive and competitive spirit just like you...the list goes on. However, that's not to say that an athlete can't find that type of understanding in a relationship with someone who didn't/doesn't have that athletic identity. But on this episode we dive into the weird and wonderful world of RELATIONSHIPS.

With special guests Kierstin Collins and Bryan Collins - two former University of Texas Longhorns swimmers who have been together through college, graduate school, new jobs, moving, married life, and more.

Communication and balance in a relationship that allows for individual growth as well as your growth as a couple.

Kierstin describes a moment they innately trusted each other with a big life change (spoiler: it was 5 minutes before practice).

Bryan - a 2x All American and 400 IM school record holder - shares his current outlook on training for Masters Swimming.

Kierstin's work with athletes to overcome mental blocks at the Institute of Sport Performance has brought new reflections on her experiences as a collegiate athlete.

Competitive spirit and drive

And so much more!

Knowing your "brand" is an important identifier for cultivating a fulfilling life after competing. Branding is not just for influencers, entrepreneurs, celebrities, etc...it is important for every one of us to think about in our own careers and lives.

* We take you through our "Google Search Key Word" exercise for identifying your brand.

* We discuss the Masterclass on Brand Development we took with Bob Iger - CEO of The Walt Disney Company.

* How our personal brand is always evolving (and that's a good thing)

“It’s not that I didn’t think I could be successful outside of sports, it’s that I didn’t believe I could feel fulfilled outside of succeeding in sports.” - Excerpt from our conversation this week with Darryll Stinson, founder of Second Chance Athletes .

This week it's all about:

Mental Health

Internal Dialogue

Athletic Identity

How our guest Darryll Stinson survived the lowest point of his life battling Suicide and Opioid addiction, and has created a platform to help others through Second Chance Athletes, his Public Speaking events (TEDx), being a pastor, and being a #girldad father. Incredible insights you don't want to miss. Such as creating a contact list of all the people who supported you and/or wrote about your success as an athlete.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the suicide prevention hotline number at 1-800-273-8255.

Have you or someone you know lost your job as a result of COVID-19? Want to know why your athletic identity plays a part in how you handle the job search? On this episode we dive into how we have succeeded in new areas of our careers amidst this incredibly difficult time, and we get very honest about the hardships of the virus pandemic. We discuss the comeback running is making in the world as people look for ways to stay fit and get outdoors while social distancing. We share our favorite 15 minute HIIT workouts in quarantine, Brooke's newest short documentary made entirely in quarantine, why Don doesn't do Facebook, and much more!

Links Mentioned in this Episode below!

Three Generation Self-Isolation during COVID-19

Follow Along on Instagram

Sponsored by BetOnline.Ag

Promo Code: MYPOD100

Want to know the top insights and main takeaways from our interviews so far? This is a mid-season recap of the first 6 interviews, with personal anecdotes and further explanations from both Don and Brooke. Do you do Rose, Rose, Thorn, Bud already? It's an amazing exercise that Brooke and Don have done for the last 6 months now and is a helpful way to stay connected in gratitude daily.

Distance runners know that being a runner is a lifelong evolution and love affair with the sport. Hannah Luber discusses her evolution of running and being an athlete, how she has found her way back to racing through coaching (and ran a sub 18 minute 5K recently!), living and teaching abroad, deciding the loss of her college running scholarship was better for her mental heath than staying in the sport, working as a "Cambus" driver while at University of Iowa, studying abroad in Fiji, and the importance of following your own path through intuition.

Coaching during the COVID-19 pandemic is uncharted territory that many athletes and coaches are navigating at the moment.

Staying open to new opportunities as a recent graduate and former student-athlete is a helpful component to navigating the transition out of competing.

Our guest, Scott Laliberte's decades of growth inside and outside of the athletics world provides insights on balancing the competitive spirit, being a father of a high performing athlete, the differences of being a coach vs. a player, and much more!

In this episode we dive in to finding worth outside of sports, why Tor Hawley decided to pursue her Law Degree, how faith plays a major role in her life, gratitude, Enneagrams, the new seasons of growth in our lives, and so much more.