Career Clarity with Athletes: A 2ndwind Podcast with Ryan Gonsalves

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Josh Allan thought he had it figured out.

He was fast. Really fast.
Running national-level 400m times.
Training with some of the best athletes in the country.

But deep down, he knew something most athletes avoid admitting.

This wasn’t going to be his career.

In this episode, Ryan sits down with Josh Allan, now Head Coach of Men’s Rugby at the University of Toronto, to unpack the real decisions behind leaving one path… and choosing another.

From growing up in Halifax and playing multiple sports at a high level, to representing at national level in both rugby and athletics, Josh shares what it actually looks like when you’re good at everything… but forced to choose one thing. 

And more importantly, what happens when none of those paths turn into the future you imagined.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

•  Why being talented at multiple sports can actually make decisions harder 
•  The moment Josh realized track wasn’t going to be his career 
•  What it really takes to “go all in”… and why most people don’t 
•  Walking away from elite rugby pathways and what that felt like 
•  The reality behind the “3%” who make it professionally 
•  How he ended up moving to Chicago with no real plan 
•  Why sport became his gateway into life, not his destination 
•  Building confidence through coaching, gyms, and personal training 
•  The identity shift every athlete has to face 
•  What he now tells 18-year-olds who think they’re going pro

This episode isn’t about success in the traditional sense.

It’s about awareness.

Josh knew early on that continuing down a path just because he could… didn’t mean he should.

And that honesty changed everything.

From stepping away from track after hitting a ceiling, to returning to rugby, to eventually realizing sport wasn’t going to be the end goal, this is a story about making decisions before life forces them on you. 

It’s also a reminder that just because something doesn’t become your career… doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it.

Want to go deeper?
If you are looking for career clarity for your next step, visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.

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In this episode, Brad Stanton shares his raw, unfiltered journey from world champion fighter to entrepreneur, coach, and founder of a new wellbeing venture in Abu Dhabi. 

Brad opens up about growing up in a disciplined, athletic household, overcoming bullying through martial arts, and rising to the top of his sport. But behind the success came personal challenges that forced him to step away from fighting, including his father’s illness and the emotional toll that followed.

From working in a warehouse after being at the top… to rebuilding his life in the UAE… to burning out from a successful gym… this conversation dives deep into what it really takes to start again.

Key Topics Covered

•  How early discipline and family shaped Brad’s mindset 
•  Overcoming bullying and finding confidence through Muay Thai 
•  The reality of becoming a world champion at a young age 
•  Walking away from sport at the peak of success 
•  The emotional impact of his father’s illness and passing 
•  Losing identity after sport and starting over from scratch 
•  Why success in business led to burnout 
•  The hidden danger of building a brand around yourself 
•  Lessons from closing a successful gym 
•  Rebuilding with purpose through wellness and community 
•  Why athletes must think beyond sport early 
•  The importance of financial structure when starting a business

Golden Nugget:
 “You are your own worst enemy. The moment you let doubt in, you’ve already failed at day one.” 

Want to go deeper?
If you are looking for career clarity for your next step, visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.

Send us Fan Mail

 Sometimes the hardest part of any journey isn’t the outcome, it’s learning how to make peace with what actually happened. In this episode, we explore what it really looks like to redefine success, especially when life doesn’t unfold the way you expected. We talk about the pressure to measure everything by results, how long it can take to genuinely feel proud of your effort, and why “good enough” often lands very differently when you’re in it versus when you look back. This is a conversation about growth, perspective, and learning how to move forward without carrying the weight of what could have been. 

What we talk about in this episode:

•  Redefining success beyond outcomes and external validation 
•  Why achieving a goal doesn’t always bring immediate fulfillment 
•  The emotional aftermath of not getting the result you wanted 
•  Letting go of “should have, could have, would have” thinking 
•  How identity and purpose evolve after a major life chapter 
•  Balancing passion with a life beyond one pursuit 
•  The role of perspective in healing and moving forward 
•  Why acceptance is often a long-term process, not a quick shift 
•  How having other areas of meaning can support resilience 
•  Learning to feel proud of the journey, not just the result 

Want to Go Deeper?
If you are looking for career clarity for your next step, visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.

Send us Fan Mail

Born with a disability and introduced to swimming as a child, Charlotte went on to become a Paralympic medalist in the pool before stepping away from the sport she had known almost her entire life. But retirement from swimming did not bring instant clarity. Instead, it brought confusion, anxiety, and a deep loss of identity she had not fully prepared for.

In this episode, Charlotte shares how she found her way through that difficult period, why switching to canoeing gave her a second chapter she never expected, and how she now approaches performance, purpose, and life beyond sport very differently.

What You’ll Hear

• How Charlotte’s early disability shaped her path into sport
• Why swimming gave her freedom, independence, and community as a child
• The chance meeting that introduced her to the Paralympic dream
• What it felt like to make her first Paralympic Games in Beijing
• How a serious infection in Beijing affected her first Paralympic experience
• Why missing out on a medal in 2008 fueled her drive toward London 2012
• The pressure and overtraining that nearly derailed her path to the home games
• What really happened emotionally when she retired from swimming
• Why moving into a second sport did not automatically fix the loss of identity
• The moment she realized she needed help to process the transition
• Why even a “dream life” in sport can still leave someone feeling anxious and lost
• How canoeing became the most successful chapter of her career
• What she is doing differently now to prepare for life after sport
• Why exploring opportunities outside of sport has made her a better athlete

Golden Nugget

Want to Go Deeper?

Charlotte’s honesty in this episode is what makes it so powerful. She speaks openly about what many athletes feel but struggle to admit. That you can be living the dream, doing sport for a living, winning medals, and still feel lost.

If you are looking for career clarity for your next step, visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.

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Chris Lawrence went from debuting in the NRL at 17 while still in high school to building a business that now helps athletes keep learning during and after their playing careers. But his path was not a smooth one.

In this episode, Chris shares what it was really like to be thrown into professional sport so young, the pressure of balancing school with first grade football, and the injuries that forced him to confront the reality that his career could end at any moment. He also opens up about the frustration of trying to study in systems that were never designed for athletes and how that experience shaped the business he runs today.

What You’ll Hear

• What it felt like to debut in the NRL at 17 while still in Year 12
• The moment Tim Sheens told him, “Looks like you’re playing, kid”
• How he scored on debut at Suncorp after one simple piece of advice
• Why trying to balance university and professional sport became so frustrating
• The experience that made him realise traditional education systems were not built for athletes
• How a dislocated hip left him in limbo and facing the possibility of career-ending surgery
• What helped him mentally get through serious injury
• Why he started building a business while still playing
• The reason he believes learning is a skill athletes need to keep developing
• How sport taught him lessons about resilience, clarity, sales, leadership, and performance
• Why building skills early gives athletes more options later
• The mindset shift that helped him know when it was time to stop playing and go all in on business

Golden Nugget

Want to Go Deeper?

This episode is not just about retirement from rugby league. It is about what happens when an athlete starts asking bigger questions while they are still in the game.

If you are looking for career clarity for your next step, visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.

Send us Fan Mail

At six years old, Will Mellors-Blair was named a child maths prodigy. By nine, he was modeling space and time on the football pitch. By eleven, he had already decided that sport would be a vehicle, not the destination.

In this episode, Will joins Ryan to unpack a journey that blends elite football, advanced mathematics, artificial intelligence, and entrepreneurship. From the Manchester United academy to the University of Michigan, and now into building AI systems that optimize human performance at scale, Will shares how he designed his second act long before his first one ended.

This is a conversation about identity, autonomy, performance, and what happens when you refuse to be put in a box.

What You’ll Hear

• How Will used mathematical modeling to “solve” football games as a child
 • Why being labeled a prodigy gave structure to his mind rather than pressure
 • The moment academy football began to limit his creativity
 • Why he always saw football as a vehicle, not the final destination
 • The culture shock of moving from English football to the University of Michigan
 • What humbled him academically and forced a shift in habits
 • His obsession with tech founders and what he was really searching for
 • The difference between mimicking success and building your own code
 • Why relentlessness is non-negotiable when building something new
 • How poor data use is costing economies billions in lost productivity
 • The concept of training the mind like the body in elite sport
 • How to step back from being the business and build a true team
 • Why major career decisions should align the head, heart, and gut

Golden Nugget

“Don’t just think with your head when making a transition. Align the three brains. Does it make sense logically, emotionally, and intuitively? If it’s yes, yes, yes, you’re on the right path.”

Want to Go Deeper?

If you are looking for career clarity for your next step, visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.

Send us Fan Mail

Ryan sits down with Tim, founder of Forged in Sport, to unpack what their research revealed after analyzing dozens of real conversations with athletes who were building businesses, thinking about it, or already deep in it.

The big takeaway: if you don’t sort your identity first, the business won’t fix it. In fact, it can make the emptiness louder.

Tim breaks down seven key insights that reshape how we should think about life after sport, especially for athletes considering entrepreneurship.

What You’ll Hear:

• Why identity comes before your business idea
• How chasing business to replace sport’s “high” leads to burnout
• The money trap: why trying to match athlete income fast can backfire
• Why perfectionism delays everything, and why “start earlier” was the most common regret
• The reality of business: ambiguity, no scoreboard, no clear rules
• The mindset shift athletes must make from “I win, you lose” to “everyone can win”
• Why athlete support often disappears when it’s needed most, and how that damages transitions
• The hidden risk of relying only on your sporting network for business advice
• Why athletes often miss key financial fundamentals like pricing, cash flow, and profit
• Why doing it alone slows progress, and how ego gets in the way of asking for help
• How defining success on your own terms changes everything after sport

Golden Nugget

If you build a business to replace sport, you will eventually burn out or feel empty, even if the business “works.” The identity work has to come first.

Want to Go Deeper?

If you are looking for career clarity for your next step, visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.

Send us Fan Mail

Joseph Ogacion grew up in the Philippines, once averaging 0.5 points per varsity basketball game, watching the Sydney Olympics on TV and dreaming of racing there one day. He wasn’t the tallest, the strongest, or the most resourced. But he had something else: the ability to suffer more than anyone else.

Today, Joseph is a marathoner headed to the Paris 2024 Olympics and an elite time trial cyclist, juggling two world-class disciplines while working full-time in pediatric physiotherapy in Australia.

What You’ll Hear

• Why his average of 0.5 points per game in high school basketball became the unexpected beginning of his running career
• How skipping meals to afford a secondhand bike became the gateway to elite cycling
• What it means to be “fair to your sport” and honest with your effort
• The link between his physiotherapy training and athletic edge
• Why he trains at an average heart rate of 181 and what that says about his physiology
• How he learned to channel self-doubt into world-class endurance
• Why switching nationality from the Philippines to Australia opened the door to greater competition
• What every athlete can learn about adaptability and control
• The surprising crossover between hitting Olympic splits and sales quotas at work
• How he balances ambition, fatherhood, and a demanding career
• Why breaking down big goals into daily 3.52-hour training blocks changed everything
• What meeting childhood idol Steve Moneghetti meant after 25 years of dreaming

Golden Nugget

Want to Go Deeper?

If you are looking for career clarity for your next step, visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.

Send us Fan Mail

Ben Herring knows what it's like to be knocked back, knocked out, and still come back stronger. In this episode, he shares the raw, unpredictable journey from overlooked schoolboy to pro rugby player, then international coach. From New Zealand to Japan to Australia, his story is filled with lessons on ego, identity, starting over, and building a life beyond sport. 

In this episode, you will hear:

- Why Ben kept his goals private, and how he methodically mapped out his career

- What it's like to have four kids born on four different continents while chasing a coaching dream

- How early rejection and C-team selections shaped his resilience and humility

- Why being overlooked until 21 gave him a major advantage in pro rugby

- The surprising financial advice he followed that set him up for life after sport

- The hard truths of concussion and how personal ownership helped him recover

- Why he originally said no to coaching—and how his wife changed his mind

- What great coaches do beyond tactics and drills

- The art of building culture, and why environment always beats strategy

- How coaching is really about connection, trust, and helping others shine

- Why every athlete should regularly “start again” with a new challenge

- His take on ego, identity, and letting go of the need to be seen

Golden Nugget 

" If you've never had to start from the bottom, you're going to struggle when your sporting career ends. But if you've made a habit of starting again; learning a language, trying something new, being a beginner, you’ll be ready. And you'll be excited."

Want to Go Deeper?

If you are looking for career clarity for your next step, visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.

Send us Fan Mail

In this epsiode, Ryan is joined by two-time Olympian and European judo champion, Gemma Howell. After a 25-year career that included 12 operations, strict weight cuts, and a near obsessive pursuit of excellence, Gemma opens up about what it truly felt like to walk away from elite sport.

Now a full-time secondary school maths teacher, Gemma reflects on the challenges of injury, burnout, and rediscovering joy in a new chapter. She shares the unexpected grief of retirement, how she found purpose again in teaching and coaching judo, and why staying connected to the sport has helped her heal.

What We Discuss:

• Why retiring after the Commonwealth Games broke her heart
• The impact of chronic injury and surgeries on her mental health
• The unhealthy relationship with food and weight in elite judo
• How her ADHD became a superpower on and off the mat
• The emotional challenges of losing an athletic identity
• Finding joy again through coaching and teaching
• Why having “something else” outside of sport matters
• The role of movement, community, and self-compassion in healing

About Gemma:
Gemma Howell is a retired elite judoka who represented Team GB at the London and Tokyo Olympics, and won silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Now a secondary school maths teacher and judo coach, she continues to inspire young people through sport and education.

Want to Go Deeper?

If you are looking for career clarity for your next step, visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.