Life After Sports

On today's show, I welcome Harris Fanaroff. He is a former Lehigh University baseball player who now helps businesses, leaders, and athletes have difficult conversations. As a leadership and business development coach, Harris has a gift for helping people uncover the deep issues that hold them back from excellence in business and in life. But he's had to fight for that skill. He's had to wrestle his own demons, to confront the pain of his own transition from baseball. He's had to learn how to re-tell his athlete story... and that's at the heart of success in life after sports.

In today's episode, you will:

Hear how Harris reframed– and overcame– a debilitating condition that virtually ended his baseball career overnight.

Learn the differences between mentorship, counseling, and coaching... and why athletes can benefit from some of each.

Discover how introverts and extroverts alike can leverage the power of conversation to tap into new opportunities in life after sports.

My guest today is Blair Berry, the Social Media Manager for the Washington Wizards. Blair graduated from East Carolina in 2018, and since then, she's been racking up credentials in the sports media world. Hard to believe that, at one point, she thought she was getting a late start compared to her peers. Needless to say... she's caught up.

 

Blair is honest about the challenges of getting into the crowded, super-competitive sports media world. But she also shows us a winning formula for making it happen, one opportunity at a time.

 

In my conversation with Blair Berry:

 

Discover why former athletes may be in the perfect position to gain experience in sports media– even without the time for a formal internship.

Learn Blair's strategy for building a professional brand through your personal social media presence.

Hear how internships, side-hustles, and on-campus opportunities equipped Blair for a big-time job with an NBA team.

My guest this week is former East Carolina baseball pitcher West Covington, who reminds us that, just because you leave college athletics, doesn't mean you can't be part of a high-performing, satisfying team.

West is a financial adviser with Plancentric Financial Group, a financial services provider within Northwestern Mutual. West took his business degree and pursued a path that a lot of athletes try: sales. But life as a solo financial rep was lonely, and West missed the camaraderie, accountability, and shared wins of being on a team. And so he made a change and found a group that would support him in the same way his baseball team had.

West was honest with me about the challenges that face athletes going into sales... but he's also a huge believer in the skills athletes have to be successful in this challenging field.In my conversation with West Covington:

Hear the one piece of advice West has for his younger self that might have accelerated his sales career.

Learn West's breakthrough strategy for professional networking (I'll give you a hint... it's not on LinkedIn.)

Bonus: hear me reminisce about my own experiences in Northwestern Mutual's grueling internship program... seriously one of the hardest things I've done.

My guest this week is former Duke Baseball player Brett Bartles, who's now the Commercial VP and GM at Kavo Kerr, a Danaher company.

 

In my conversation with Brett, I've found him to be one of the most self aware individuals I've met. You'll see what I mean when you listen to our conversation.

 

We discuss his many transitions from baseball to teaching to business school. Along the way, you'll learn how Brett made decisive decisions to pursue what made sense. In hindsight, his decisions are shaping up to be quite the career. 

 

This was one of my favorite conversations to date because of how much I learned during our conversation.

 

For more episodes go to:

https://blog.parallelplatform.com/

Former Florida Gator and the nation's best softball player in 2011, Kelsey Brinson talks athlete transition, a winner's mentality and building again. 

 

Watch this episode at:

https://blog.parallelplatform.com/kelsey-brinson-being-the-best/

My guest is Devan Kline, former CMU and SF Giants baseball, and current CEO and founder of a fitness community sweeping the nation, Burn Boot Camp. Devan is all about helping the members of his gyms discover the values, passions, and causes that will motivate them to health, wealth, and peak performance. But like Devan says, in order to inspire people, you've gotta be inspired. So I grilled Devan on how to find that inspiration and how to connect the dots between a career as an athlete and whatever's next. Along the way, Devan spills some great insights for athletes in transition:

 

In today's show, you'll hear:

 

The 1 key skill that Devan learned pitching with the San Francisco Giants that has shaped his business aspirations.

The moment Devon knew that he couldn't work for someone else and had to start his own company.

How to align your career plans with your built-in, unique-to-you standards.

Why you have to love yourself now in order to pursue a better life tomorrow.

 

Check out the full show notes at blog.parallelplatform.com

Court Whitman has spent most of his professional life leading– in his career in the Army's elite Special Forces, in companies, and now in his own leadership coaching company. And in today's episode, Court shares how playing football in many ways prepared him for a career in leadership. Court and I have an in-depth, no-holds-barred conversation about goals and what makes elite performers elite. Truly inspiring.

 

In today's episode:

Ever question the value of setting goals when you don't know what you want to do? Me, too. Court clears the air.

Discover how Court uses "deliberate discomfort" to grow trust in teams and companies.

Absorb the tactic court uses to pitch athletes' value to employers – no internships required.

 

Show Notes

https://blog.parallelplatform.com/las-ep11/

 

Connect with Us:

https://twitter.com/parallelco

 

https://www.instagram.com/parallelplatform/?hl=en

My guest is Kovi Konowiecki, a professional photographer who is also a former Wake Forest University and professional soccer player. At one point in this episode, we joke about starting a club for former athletes that are now artists... and how small that club might be. It's true! But in today's episode, Kovi presents a truly compelling argument for athletes in the arts. Essentially, intentionally challenging ourselves to be creative and to explore hobbies can help us unlock our deepest professional interests and passions.

 

In today's episode:

Learn how creatives like Kovi balance their passion projects with the need for, um, food.

Discover how to sharpen your internal intuition to help you make difficult decisions.

See how "distractions" from your sport may actually propel you toward a career.

 

Connect with Kovi

Instagram @kovi.konowiecki

 

Connect with Us

Twitter @Parallelco

Instagram @ParallelPlatform

My guest is Jack McNamara, a former Colgate University and professional hockey player who is the founder of a growing energy drink company, DrinkTru. It is rare you can get an entrepreneur to speak so honestly about the struggles of building a business...as they're going through it. But as you'll see: honesty is not just central to Jack's success and drive, it's essential to the DrinkTru brand. A rare, behind the scenes look at the day-to-day life of a company on the brink of being the next big thing.

 

In Today's Episode:

Learn how Jack creates viral video content that authentically propel's his companies brand

See why Jack quit a job just after two weeks...and why he thinks it's one of the wisest business decisions he's ever made

Discover Jack's reliable strategy for leveraging your "celebrity" as an athlete to find internships, mentorships and career opportunities

 

Connect with Jack

Twitter: @drinktru and @_jackmcnamara

Instaram: @drinktru

YouTube: DrinkTru

 

Connect with Us:

Twitter: @parallelco

Instagram: @parallelplatform