Human or Athlete?

Dan Bigham, race engineer for Team INEOS Grenadiers cycling team whilst also being the 1 hour National record holder and Individual Pursuit National Champion, balances his full time job working for a top cycling team with an incredibly successful almost-ironic part time hobby as a cyclist. We break down how he is objective with the science, logic and the use of his analytical spreadsheets to work out where to improve, how to improve and if this is possible. And how he balances this alongside his passion and grit for cycling to be the best he can be and see what he can physically achieve as a rider. Its fascinating to hear his insight into the culture of peak performance sport such as Formula 1 at Mercedes to Team Ineos Grenadiers. An incredibly brave, rebellious and driven engineer and rider, it was a brilliant conversation of the juxtaposing ideas of creativity and complexity as a human and athlete. 

Acceptance, humility, compassion and an unbreakable resistance all make Tom Bosworth a pretty incredible human and athlete but what this conversation shows is Tom’s real true strength, the ability to be vulnerable. The courage he has to be authentically himself on and one off the race course is what sets him apart. This has made him such a key speaker and role model for the LGBTQ community and for people of all ages interested in participating in sport at any level. He proves the stereotype of being ‘soft’ or not being capable of being an elite athlete whilst being gay or whilst being an open and sensitive human being does not, and I repeat, does not, make him any less of a formidable and incredibly mentally strong competitor, its his strength. His authenticity to be himself provides his own fuel away from the comparison of masks and ego’s. Thank you Tom for inspiring me and all the human or athlete listeners. 

Brendan’s desire and drive to figure out the details of his past, present, thoughts, emotions and actions is inspiring. The curiosity of these details is huge in creating space for you to grow and reach your potential as an athlete. He breaks down how bullying in his childhood and how it has molded who he is today and how it came to a point where the next step was to open up in the company of the team psychologist. From there, he went deeper, grew in awareness of his patterns and actions and is now using these newly-honed skills to become the best athlete/team player he can be as well as keep learning, keep growing and enjoy his life as a human. Brendan’s passion to be curious, to never stop asking questions is infectious, he is truly creating a life out of curiosity. 

The power of unity of body, mind, spirit and energy. Why not unite this alongside our elite sport? Sammy began as a footballer and has now created his own yoga studio after a journey of self-discovery through the practice of yoga. Sammy describes the benefits, where it comes from and why as humans it can be so crucial in balancing ourselves with the world we live in. We compare yoga as movement to sport and how much it can really help athletes on a physical, mental and energetic level. Sammys wisdom will make you sit back and reflect on how you can find more flow, simplicity and connection in your life as an athlete. 

Sammy’s insta: @naijaboybending

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An inspiring story and conversation with Hector Pardoe, a GB olympic marathon swimmer. Hector explains the huge risk he took in moving to France to pursue his goal of making it to the Olympics and developing as a human and as a swimmer. He forged his own path, going against the crowd and took on the changes of a new coach, new language, new environment and ultimately took control of his own growth and it paid off. Against the odds from years before the Olympics, he qualified and made it to Tokyo. He tells us of the difficulties within the Olympic final and how he is facing who he is as a person before and after such a testing experience. Hector is full of ambition and drive as a swimmer yet is also dedicated to giving and exploring the sport in its entirety. Thank you Hector!

Tom takes us through both his physical career and mental journey after having made it the Tokyo Olympic High Jump Final. His energy, driven attitude and confidence in himself is inspiring and infectious. At such a young age to be so aware of the potential he has to improve physically but even more so mentally; planning on introducing a psychologist and already using techniques like journalling. Tom is building himself to be an incredibly successful athlete but also to be an all round incredible human. 

Firstly thank you Max for your refreshing honesty and fearless authenticity, an incredible human being. 

This is a story of courage, resilience and revival. From going up the ranks at Manchester United to being diagnosed with testicular cancer, Max tells us his story. We learn of the heartbreaking moment he found out about his illness to how he then battled through chemotherapy and faced some of his darkest moments mentally. His perseverance to not give up, to keep going and to survive is simply inspirational. Max then comes back in to professional football and physically, mentally and even emotionally revives his hopes and dreams of playing at the highest level. He is now playing professionally at League 1 side, Rochdale AFC, with aspirations to truly love and enjoy his life on and importantly off the pitch. A beautiful conversation full of key tools, advice and a true fightback story!

Daniel Edozie gives us part 2 of this epic conversation. A truly inspiring insight into the last year or so of his life as he begins and continues on his journey of self-healing. He epitomises the strength in openness, honesty and vulnerability and guides us as to how he has grown and learned to understand why he is the way he is. From humour to humility, wit to wisdom and all round super energy this is an episode full of light learning and real open authenticity. What a guy Daniel, thanks for coming back on!

Daniels website:

https://danedozie.com

Sam Courty brings us back brilliantly into the return of the Human or Athlete podcast with a fantastic perspective on seeing yourself as a human alongside the athlete, focusing on enjoyment rather than pressure, numbers and outcomes. Her idea to bring people together through injury in the form of a WhatsApp group chat shows Sam's compassion and understanding of her own journey to learn from her own experiences to help others. So many reminders to have fun, think of others and don't define yourself by the athlete identity and rulebook it contains!

One of the most eye-opening stories I have ever heard. We hear all the details of Daniel's story. From homelessness and abandonment, surviving skid row and pan handling for a basketball, to finding foster care, finding his family and playing the sport he loves. No description can do this story justice, please listen openly to such an incredible man's story. 

There will be a Part 2 out next week that depicts the monumental healing process he went on to find himself.