In this episode of No Former Athlete, Erin talks with Jenny Bauer, a lifelong athlete, former DePauw women’s basketball player, All-American track athlete, attorney, coach, and multi-sport competitor.

Jenny reflects on growing up in a small Indiana town during the early days of organized girls’ sports, when softball was one of the only options available and girls’ basketball was becoming a major part of the community. She shares how she found her athlete identity through softball, basketball, volleyball, track, and cross country — and why she chose DePauw because it allowed her to follow joy and play the sport she loved.

Use code JENNYPOD to get a special discount to get lifetime access on the NFA Breathe Here Now Virtual Breathwork session. https://www.noformerathlete.com/bhn

Jenny also opens up about life after college sports, the identity shift that came with law school, and the realization that removing sports from her life meant removing a core part of herself. From intramural teams and pickup basketball to softball leagues, coaching, cycling, pickleball, and cheering on women’s basketball, Jenny’s story shows how the athlete never really leaves.

This episode is about athlete identity, women’s sports, multi-sport athletes, DePauw athletics, life after basketball, and the truth behind No Former Athlete: you may stop competing, but you never stop being an athlete.

Use code JENNYPOD to get a special discount to get lifetime access on the NFA Breathe Here Now Virtual Breathwork session. https://www.noformerathlete.com/bhn

Just two childhood friends and no former athletes catching up on 20+ years of history — and unpacking why neither of us knew how to relax until literally last year. 😅

Erin sits down with lifelong friend Veronica (soccer, basketball, and youth league bowling — yes, really) to talk about what happens when your entire identity used to be athlete and then... it just isn't anymore. No one prepares you for that.

Use code VPOD to get a special discount to get lifetime access on the NFA Breathe Here Now Virtual Breathwork session. https://www.noformerathlete.com/bhn

We get into:

🏀 Why "Are you an athlete?" is somehow a loaded question

🧠 The overachiever spiral (looking at you, GPA above a 4.0)

💭 Internal vs. external validation and why one is SO much harder

🥅 The random moment that cracked open a whole identity realization

😂 Ballin’ out at the bowling alley in wide-leg jeans, no belt

If you played sports growing up and still find yourself needing a gold star for basic adult tasks — this one's for you.

No Former Athlete: because you never actually stop being one. 🍊

Use code VPOD to get a special discount to get lifetime access on the NFA Breathe Here Now Virtual Breathwork session. https://www.noformerathlete.com/bhn

Joshua Jones played college football at DePauw before becoming a social worker and community leader in St. Louis.

Use code JOSHPOD to get a special discount to get lifetime access on the NFA Breathe Here Now Virtual Breathwork session. https://www.noformerathlete.com/bhn

In this episode, Josh shares his journey of athlete retirement, learning to process grief, and redefining success off the field.

We explore how competitive sports shape identity, the emotional aftermath of leaving a team, and why sports psychology, mindfulness, and self-compassion matter for every no former athlete.

Use code JOSHPOD to get a special discount to get lifetime access on the NFA Breathe Here Now Virtual Breathwork session. https://www.noformerathlete.com/bhn

From college basketball to shooting covers for Rolling Stone and SLAM Magazine — sports photographer Nicol's journey is proof that retired athletes never really stop being athletes.

Use code NICOLPOD to get a special discount to get lifetime access on the NFA Breathe Here Now Virtual Breathwork session. https://www.noformerathlete.com/bhn

In this episode of No Former Athlete, Nicol shares her path from playing club basketball alongside Chelsea Gray, to becoming one of the most in-demand names in women's sports photography. We talk about athlete identity after retirement, the confidence she never built on the court, post-athletic career transition, hip surgery at 34, and how her years of training quietly shape every photoshoot she runs today.

This conversation covers imposter syndrome, external validation, limiting beliefs, queer identity in sports, the WNBA's rising visibility, and what it really means to grieve your athletic identity while building a new one. Nicol opens up about photographing Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Breanna Stewart, Lisa Leslie and the viral StudBudz SLAM cover, and why she's still chasing the version of her career she hasn't reached yet.

If you're a no former athlete, a retired college athlete, or anyone navigating identity after sports, this episode is for you.

Use code NICOLPOD to get a special discount to get lifetime access on the NFA Breathe Here Now Virtual Breathwork session. https://www.noformerathlete.com/bhn

What happens when the sport that shaped you is taken away in a second?

In this episode of No Former Athlete, Erin sits down with Ciara — former volleyball player, Navy veteran, coach, content creator, and founder of The New Mix — to talk about athlete identity, career-ending injury, mental health, and rebuilding confidence after sport.

Use code CIARAPOD to get a special discount to get lifetime access on the NFA Breathe Here Now Virtual Breathwork session. https://www.noformerathlete.com/bhn

Ciara grew up as a volleyball player through and through. After receiving D1 and D2 offers, she made the unexpected decision to join the United States Navy instead of playing in college. But volleyball was still part of the plan. After years of waiting for the chance to play for the All-Navy volleyball team, she finally made the roster and got her USA jersey.

Then, on the same day she got her jersey, she suffered a career-ending injury.

Ciara opens up about the reality of nerve damage, relearning everyday tasks like tying her shoes and turning a doorknob, coaching while she was still grieving the loss of playing, and realizing later that she had been struggling with depression. She also shares how being in the military impacted the way she processed mental health, why stepping away from volleyball eventually helped her heal, and how the athlete in her still shows up today.

The conversation also explores Ciara’s life after sport — from coaching and content creation to fashion, modeling, social media, personal style, and building a brand rooted in confidence and representation. She talks about growing up in the South, not seeing herself reflected in fashion, learning to get in front of the camera, being recognized online, and why little C would be so proud of the person she has become.

This episode is about losing the version of yourself you thought you’d always be — and realizing the athlete never really leaves. It just finds a new place to go.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Choosing the Navy over college volleyball
• Playing for the All-Navy volleyball team
• The day Ciara got her jersey and suffered a career-ending injury
• Recovering from nerve damage and relearning basic movements
• Depression after sport and injury
• Mental health stigma in the military
• Coaching while grieving the ability to play
• Athlete identity after retirement
• Competitiveness, leadership, and intensity after sport
• Building a career in content creation and fashion
• Representation, confidence, and personal style
• What parts of the athlete still show up in Ciara’s work today

Use code CIARAPOD to get a special discount to get lifetime access on the NFA Breathe Here Now Virtual Breathwork session. https://www.noformerathlete.com/bhn

Listen to this episode if you’ve ever had to let go of a version of yourself — or if you’re still figuring out where the athlete in you belongs now.

Bree Pear has played basketball since they were five. They never played in college — but they never stopped playing either. Now at 36, they’re still figuring out how to get back to the game after a three-year depression pulled them away from the one thing that always kept them grounded.

In this conversation, Bree and Erin talk about what it means to hold onto a sport when it's no longer a requirement, the darkness that followed a cross-country move, and the complicated grief of watching friends build teammate bonds Bree never got to have.

Honest, unresolved, and deeply human. This is No Former Athlete.

Most athletes don't grieve the end of their sport. They just move on — or try to.

In this episode, Erin talks with Max Guenther, a former D3 quarterback, about the seven years it took to figure out life after competitive sport. They cover the identity loss nobody prepares you for, the injuries that close doors you thought would stay open, and why the feelings sport gave you aren't coming back the same way — and what that actually means for how you live now.

Use code MAXPOD to get a special discount to get lifetime access on the NFA Breathe Here Now Virtual Breathwork session. https://www.noformerathlete.com/bhn

Honest, specific, and deeply relatable for anyone who has ever built their life around being an athlete.

This is not a sports podcast. It's about what lives inside your body long after the game ends.

Dom played basketball at Grinnell College. Then it ended. No fanfare. No plan. Just a routine that disappeared overnight.

Now he's run 16 marathons, founded Sunday Run Day LA, and still isn't sure he'd call himself an athlete.

In this episode, we get into the honest, unfiltered conversation about what happens to the competitor inside you when the sport is gone — and why that part of you never actually leaves.

We cover:

• Why Dom didn't try as hard as he could — and what that cost him
• The "pilot light" theory of athlete identity and why competition always seeps back in
• How losing in card games still ruins his mood (and what that really means)
• Why he built a run club around the community he lost when basketball ended
• The real reason athletes stop placing value on things they know they can't win
• What Merriam-Webster's definition of "athlete" actually proves about your identity

The truth is — the athlete mindset doesn't retire. You just stop giving it a place to show up.

🎙️ Listen on Apple, Spotify, YouTube & Amazon — links below
📲 Follow us @noformerathlete

No Former Athlete is a media company and podcast documenting the evolution of athlete identity beyond structured sport. This is not a sports podcast. This is what lives inside your body long after the final game.

#NoFormerAthlete #AthleteIdentity #MarathonRunner #RunClub #SundayRunDayLA #LifeAfterSport #Podcast

What happens when you stop playing the sport that shaped your entire identity?

In this episode, we’re talking about the very real transition from college athlete to “normal life” — and why so many no former athletes struggle with losing structure, purpose, validation, and identity after sports end.

Jen, a retired Division III soccer player turned physical therapist and business owner, shares her experience navigating athlete identity, ACL recovery, burnout, perfectionism, and the mental side of life after college sports. After tearing her ACL three separate times, including once during her senior season of college soccer, she opens up about grief, rehab, resilience, and learning how to channel her competitive mindset into new challenges outside of athletics.

We also dive into:

• The pressure of chasing athletic scholarships and playing college sports
• Choosing Division III athletics over the D1 grind
• Recovering from multiple ACL tears
• The emotional side of sports injuries and rehab
• No former athlete identity and post-college depression
• Burnout, hustle culture, and productivity addiction
• Learning how to rest without guilt
• Transitioning from student-athlete to working professional
• Building confidence outside of sports
• Finding purpose through fitness, movement, and entrepreneurship
• Hiking to Everest Base Camp after ACL surgery

If you’ve ever struggled with life after sports, missed the structure of being an athlete, or wondered why achievement and productivity became tied to your self-worth, this conversation will hit home.

Whether you’re a no former athlete, college athlete, physical therapist, runner, soccer player, or someone figuring out who you are after a major life transition — this episode is for you.

Okay, here’s the real story.

No Former Athlete didn’t start as a business idea.

It started with an identity crisis.

We were in the middle of the pandemic, feeling off, watching Brittany Runs a Marathon… and by the end of the movie I was signing up for an Ironman.

Why?

Because I missed being an athlete.

Not the glory.

Not the applause.

The identity.

The structure.

The validation.

The feeling of knowing exactly what I was good at.

No one prepares you for the day your sport ends.

It just… ends.

And then you wake up the next morning and you’re still the same human —

but you don’t have practice anymore.

In this episode we talk about:

• Why “former athlete” feels like a gut punch
• How self-worth gets wrapped up in performance
• Why athletes are told to “just move on”
• The grief nobody names
• And why you don’t actually have to stop identifying as an athlete

This isn’t about living in the glory days.

It’s about mental health.

It’s about acknowledging the part of you that trained for two decades and didn’t just disappear because society said it should.

If you’ve ever wondered:

“Why does this still affect me 10 years later?”

“Why do I miss something I chose to stop?”

“Why does draining a shot still feel like proof I’m good at something?”

You’re not alone.

You’re a No Former Athlete.

And we’re done pretending that part of us is supposed to vanish.