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

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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.

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Helen Alfano has worked in elite sport for over 20 years, supporting athletes across disciplines - from judo to netball - through the often invisible work of well-being and personal development.

In this episode, she joins Ryan to unpack what it really means to support athletes as whole humans, not just performers. From early conversations about life after sport, to how programs handle feedback, to the power of coaching without judgment, Helen breaks down the complexity of athlete support in high-pressure environments.

If you're in high performance or responsible for supporting others who are, this conversation will challenge how you think about performance, systems, and care.

What You'll Hear

• Why well-being needs to be part of the performance system, not an afterthought
• How elite programs can create spaces that support both performance and personal growth
• What athletes really struggle with behind the scenes, from identity to isolation
• The importance of early and ongoing conversations about life after sport
• How feedback can be hard to hear and how leaders need to shift their mindset
• Why transitions are hard even when the job is lined up, and what systems often miss
• The unexpected benefits of remote athlete support
• What Helen sees athletes needing most when the spotlight dims
• How to create honest, non-judgmental coaching relationships that last
• Why vulnerability and repair deepen trust, even in high-performance spaces

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.

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What happens when the only life you’ve known as an athlete suddenly stops? For many, the answer is silence, confusion, and a deep sense of loss.

Emily Huston, a former USA volleyball player and founder of Home Team, joins Ryan for a real, thoughtful conversation about life after sport. From discovering her love for the outdoors to navigating identity, burnout, and depression, Emily’s story is a powerful example of how difficult it can be to “move on” and why getting a job after sport isn’t the whole answer.

She opens up about retiring twice from volleyball, what it felt like to free-fall without a parachute, and the personal pain that led her to create Home Team, an organization dedicated to helping injured and retired athletes find community, direction, and healing after sport.

This episode explores the hidden costs of life beyond competition and why support for athletes must go beyond job placements and highlight reels.

What You’ll Hear:

- Why Emily retired from sport twice, and what brought her back
- What athletes lose when they leave the game (and why a job doesn’t fix it)
- The “cliff effect” and how it impacts identity, eating habits, and mental health
- How NIL and social media bring fame too early, and the crash that follows
- What it's really like to go from being “Superman” to not recognizing your body
- Why working at a desk feels unbearable for so many former athletes
- The patterns of disordered eating and control that emerge post-retirement
- Why Emily believes athletic departments have failed retired athletes
- The emotional weight of being labeled “irrelevant” after sport
-  How Home Team is creating a new kind of support network for athletes
- The power of awe, nature, and adventure in post-sport healing

Golden Nugget:

“Most people think if an athlete gets a job after sport, they’re fine. But that job can feel more disorienting than retirement itself.”

Want to Go Deeper?

 If you've ever felt like your post-sport life is harder than you expected, or like you’re the only one who’s lost, you're not alone. The good news? There’s help, there’s community, and there’s hope. Visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.

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Lloyd Ashley spent years on the pitch as a professional rugby player. But what came after is just as powerful. In this episode, we sit down with Lloyd to talk about what it really means to transition from sport, how identity shifts when the structure fades, and how building a career in player support gave him purpose off the field.

From playing for the Barbarians to working as a plumber between games, Lloyd’s story is a masterclass in reinvention. He opens up about the fear of regret, the weight of uncertainty, and how small decisions like enrolling in a 12 week counselling course can change everything.

Now leading mental health and wellbeing support for the Welsh Rugby Players Association, Lloyd reflects on the messy, nonlinear path from elite sport to meaningful work and how he's helping others build futures with clarity, honesty, and courage.

What You’ll Hear

• How Lloyd balanced contracts, education, and part time jobs while still playing
• Why his plumbing apprenticeship shaped how he sees life after rugby
• What he learned from falling through a ceiling and earning £20 a day
• The surprising power of a 12 week counselling course that shifted everything
• Why taking your kids to school mattered more than another year in pro sport
• The difference between having options and having a plan
• How he built a post sport life with intention not panic
• Why regret can be more painful than failure
• How lived experience became his biggest asset as a Personal Development Manager
• What most athletes misunderstand about the real world
• How he supports athletes emotionally and practically during transitions
• Why it’s not just about having the answers but asking the right questions

Golden Nugget

Want to go deeper?

If you are navigating what is next in sport or beyond, visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.

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Dr. Zak Zafrani joins us for a conversation that breaks open a topic rarely discussed in sport: testosterone deficiency in men, especially in aging athletes. If you're feeling tired, low on drive, or like you're losing your edge long before you should, this episode will make you rethink what's “normal.”

Zak is a UK-based doctor with a background in family medicine, sports injuries, and hormone health. He’s one of the few experts bridging the gap between athletes and men’s hormone therapy. 

From elite-level competitors to weekend warriors, too many men suffer in silence. This conversation is about equipping you to ask better questions, get tested early, and understand the difference between clinical testosterone replacement and performance-enhancing drug use. Whether you're still playing or transitioning out of sport, this episode gives you a whole new lens to understand your body and performance.

What You’ll Hear

The difference between testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and steroid use

Why symptoms like fatigue, low motivation, and brain fog might not be “just getting older”

How concussions, overtraining, and endurance sports can lead to hormone imbalance

- The red tape and stigma that stop many men from getting tested, especially in public health systems

- Why Zak believes athletes should get baseline testosterone tests early in their careers

- Real-life case studies where low testosterone was misdiagnosed as depression

- What makes testosterone deficiency hard to diagnose and easy to dismiss

- How retired athletes struggle to train the same way and why identity plays a role in burnout

- Natural ways to support healthy testosterone levels through sleep, nutrition, and training

- What the “enhanced games” reveal about public perception, performance, and health risks

- The long-term risks of anabolic steroid abuse and why it often leads to lifelong hormone treatment

- Why more doctors are finally taking men’s health seriously and what still needs to change

Golden Nugget

Want to go deeper?

If you are navigating what is next in sport or beyond, visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.

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Simon Cox dreamed of playing for Reading FC. That was the goal. And while he wore the badge early in his career, it took almost 10 years and hundreds of games across leagues and countries before he finally earned his first start.

In this episode, Simon opens up about the full-circle journey from youth academy to international football, the grind of lower leagues, and the reality check that comes with retirement during a global pandemic. He takes us inside his unexpected pivot from coaching dreams to launching a gym business, learning how to lead, fail, adapt, and lead again.

What happens when you go from fighting for three points to fighting to keep the lights on in your gym? Simon walks us through that identity shift, the hard lessons in entrepreneurship, and why he stayed in fitness even after closing his first business.

This one is for anyone who's had to start over, anyone trying to figure out what comes next, and anyone learning how to lead a team in sport or business.

 What You’ll Hear: 

- Why Simon’s dream of starting for Reading took almost a decade to fulfill

- His honest reflection on dropping down a league and what it taught him

- The reality of retirement during COVID and navigating life after football

- How he transitioned from pro athlete to gym owner with no business experience

- The steep learning curve of running a franchise and why he eventually pivoted

- How he built loyalty with clients and why that stopped him from walking away

- The pressure of making decisions that impact other people’s livelihoods

- What Roy Hodgson taught him about structure and leadership

- Why relationships, culture, and trust still shape the way he leads today

- His advice to athletes about why retirement planning starts at 18

Golden Nugget

Looking for career clarity for your next step?
Visit www.secondwind.io to learn more or book a consultation. 

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Jabari K. Smith grew up believing sport would be his ticket out. He had the talent, the drive, and the stats to back it up. But when the NFL didn’t come calling, he was forced to reckon with something much harder: the silence after the final game.

In this episode, Jabari shares his extraordinary journey from gang-affected childhood, to a life-changing boarding school, to a college football career at Texas Tech, and eventually, to arena football and entrepreneurship. But the real story begins after the sport ended, when he drove 26 hours home in silence, wondering what it was all for.

What followed was a powerful reinvention. Jabari returned to education, earned a master’s degree, launched multiple businesses, wrote two books, and founded Athlete Mindset Reset, a platform helping student-athletes build a future beyond the field.

This is an unfiltered look at identity, purpose, and how athletes can learn to own their story, not just their stats.

What You’ll Hear:

• How sport helped Jabari break free from gang life and academic setbacks
• Why his first real taste of belonging came through basketball at 13
• The reality of junior college football and the pressure to adapt fast
• His honest reckoning with falling short of the NFL dream
• What it felt like to drive 26 hours in silence after playing his final game
• Why getting his master’s degree became a spiritual turning point
• How he turned his pain into purpose with Athlete Mindset Reset
• The biggest mistake athletes make and what he wishes he knew in college
• How he’s using board games, books, and mentorship to prepare the next generation

Golden Nugget

This episode is for every athlete who’s wondering what happens after. It’s for the ones still grinding, still hoping, still tied to the dream, and for the ones who’ve already walked away and are trying to figure out what’s next.

Jabari’s story is a reminder that your value doesn’t end when the jersey comes off. And your platform doesn’t disappear unless you waste it.

Want to go deeper?

If you are navigating what is next in sport or beyond, visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.

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Charlie Hartley was living the dream. A professional cricketer who’d taken out top international players. Then, just weeks later, he was released. No warning, no time to prepare. Just a crash course in letting go of the identity he had built his life around.

In this episode, Charlie opens up about the highs of pro sport, the brutal business behind the scenes, and how getting frustrated with systems turned him into an entrepreneur with a mission.

From building tech for underfunded sports teams to writing cricket books for teachers, Charlie’s story is less about reinvention and more about remembering who you are underneath the uniform.

What You’ll Hear:

• The emotional rollercoaster of being released at your peak
• Why some athletes are better off leaving sport early
• What sport taught him and why some of it did more harm than good
• How he built Moonrise Sports to level the playing field for underdog teams
• The link between frustration and innovation in Charlie’s entrepreneurial journey
• How sport inflates egos and delays emotional honesty
• Why not every athlete should become an entrepreneur and how to know if you should
• The one piece of advice he’d give anyone leaving a team: find what you love and double down on it

Want to Go Deeper?

This episode is for every athlete who’s been blindsided by a release, left wondering if they’re the problem, and for anyone who's quietly rebuilding something better from scratch.

Visit www.2ndwind.io  to book a consultation and explore resources for career transitions.

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Nekoda Smythe-Davis didn’t grow up dreaming of Olympic medals. She was just a girl from a London council estate who found her way onto the mat, fell in love with judo, and kept showing up through wins, losses, injuries, and identity shifts.

In this conversation, she opens up about the weight of expectations, the complexity of walking away, and the courage it takes to rebuild your life from scratch, not for the spotlight but for yourself.

If you have ever had to let go of something that once defined you, this episode will stay with you.

What You’ll Hear

• Why she never saw herself becoming an Olympian and how that mindset shaped her journey
• The burnout behind the glory and how she held it all together working multiple jobs
• What it took to finally make peace with her decision to step away from judo
• How a career-threatening concussion forced her to rethink everything
• Her deep faith and how it helped her find calm, clarity, and purpose
• Why she gave herself permission to rest for an entire year before choosing what’s next
• What she’s building now with Beacon Judo Club and how she’s shaping the future of the sport
• Her message to athletes who feel lost after retirement: you are not broken, you’re becoming

Want to go deeper?
This is more than a story about sport. It’s about letting go of identity, grieving a dream, and choosing self-worth over outside validation.

Let Nekoda’s journey remind you that your life is not over when your career ends. You are allowed to change your mind, rewrite your story, and come home to yourself.

If you are navigating what is next in sport or beyond, visit www.2ndwind.io
to learn more or book a consult.

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Laura Sidall didn’t grow up dreaming of world championship podiums. In fact, by the time she started triathlon, she was already deep into a corporate career as an engineer. But something inside her kept whispering, what if you gave sport your all? How good could you be?

So at 34, she left the comfort of her steady salary, moved countries, and bet on herself.

This episode is a raw and powerful conversation about risk, reinvention, and resilience. Laura opens up about what it really takes to succeed as a late starter in pro sport, from hitting her physical peak in her 40s to navigating identity loss after retirement.

If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late to start again, this one’s for you.

What You’ll Hear:

• How Laura transitioned from Shell engineer to full-time athlete at 34
• Why structure, rest, and recovery were harder to master than training itself
• The identity crisis of retiring after a decade of elite racing
• Navigating ambition, ego, and the pressure to "do enough"
• The grief of letting go and learning to begin again without a finish line
• What she's learning in her next chapter: giving back, speaking up, and redefining success
• Why women in sport still need louder, braver advocates, and how she’s showing up for that

Want to Go Deeper?

This isn’t just a story about triathlon. It’s a story about courage, curiosity, and rewriting the rules when everyone thinks it's too late to start.

Laura’s story reminds us that starting over doesn’t mean you failed. Sometimes it’s the bravest next chapter you’ll ever write.

 💼 Want Career Clarity for Your Next Step?

Visit www.2ndwind.io  to book a consultation and explore resources for career transitions.