Real Talk. with John Rudnicki

Hi everyone!

For this week, I have long-time friend and former soccer teammate Nelson Tabarez on the podcast. Previously, a collegiate soccer player at Concordia University of Irvine and former D1 State Champion for San Clemente High School, Nelson is a direct product of the world of sports and top soccer.

For this episode, we dive through his life up until college, looking into his eventual decision to drop out of collegiate soccer. Here are some of the key takeaways: 

- Losing senior high school season due to COVID
- Rushed and stressful college recruitment process 
- The ups and downs of collegiate soccer
- Dropping out of the team at CUI & making that BIG decision
- Moving to Arizona to attend the University of Arizona
- Trusting yourself and only listening to the opinions from those close to you
- Muhammad Ali quote

Find Nelson at...
Instagram: @nelson.tabarez

Find more of the podcast at...
Instagram: @realtalk.withjohnrudnicki
YouTube: Real Talk. with John Rudnicki
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Hi everyone! 

For this week, University of Washington gymnast Gabi Wickman joins the podcast! 

For many athletes, there is a level of stigma around speaking out and sharing honest experiences, including both of the ups and downs. But in this episode, we both work towards debunking this stigma by being open to honest conversation and sharing our stories from the sports world.

Key sections:

- Initially lacking love for the sport 
- The person must be prioritized over just being an athlete
- Speaking up as an athlete 
- Reaction to "Athlete A" & long-standing abuse by USA Gymnastics
- Injuries
- A gymnasts' typical day/schedule 
- The power of choice
- Mind over matter mentality
- Simone Biles quote 

Find Gabi at...
Instagram: @gabi.wickman

Find us at...
Instagram:  @realtalk.withjohnrudnicki
Podcast: Real Talk. with John Rudnicki
YouTube: Real Talk. with John Rudnicki

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Hi everyone!

This week, I have one of my good friends Tony Stark back on the podcast for the second time. A lot has changed since the last time we talked..and we dive right into it. 

7 months ago, Tony decided to begin his training for the Coast Guard, preparing for boot camp and all of the necessary steps to work through the nationally acclaimed ANNEX-X program. Through these months of training, Tony met a lot of obstacles, many of which he overcame. 

However, through the unique experience of failing, Tony shares all of the ways he continues working towards a career that fits him the best and makes him happiest. 

Some of the main topics are:

- Joining the Coast Guard
- The struggle through boot camp
- The physical, mental, and emotional challenges
- The notion of failure
- How to learn from failure
- Advice for those who are on the verge of taking a risk

Feel free to leave a review if you loved or hated this episode!! I hope you enjoy it!

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Hi everyone!

This week, I have one of my good friends Tony Stark back on the podcast for the second time. A lot has changed since the last time we talked..and we dive right into it. 

7 months ago, Tony decided to begin his training for the Coast Guard, preparing for boot camp and all of the necessary steps to work through the nationally acclaimed ANNEX-X program. Through these months of training, Tony met a lot of obstacles, many of which he overcame. 

However, through the unique experience of failing, Tony shares all of the ways he continues working towards a career that fits him the best and makes him happiest. 

Some of the main topics are:

• Joining the Coast Guard
• The struggle through boot camp
• The physical, mental, and emotional challenges
• The notion of failure
• How to learn from failure
• Advice for those who are on the verge of taking a risk

Feel free to leave a review if you loved or hated this episode!! I hope you enjoy it!

Hi everyone!

For this week, I have one of my second siblings on the podcast, Matthew Rudnicki. He’s someone who I’ve watched grow a ton in the past two years, and I felt it was only fitting for him to come on and share what he’s learned about paradigms and how to change your own. 

Matthew brought this topic to my attention recently and I thought it would be a wonderful conversation and perfect opportunity to do an episode. First we define what a paradigm is, how it impacts your life on a daily basis and then how to modify and change paradigms in a way that most benefits your well-being. 

It’s a very insightful conversation that I hope you all can learn a little from. Enjoy!!

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Welcome to Season 3!!! 

To kick off the winter season, a previous yoga instructor who has become a great friend and mentor of mine, Jaskrit Bhalla, joins the podcast. 

Personally, I have my own unique and relatively bitter relationship with yoga that has its positives, but also its negatives. And in talking with Jaskrit about her own experience with yoga and the concerns we both shared regarding spiritual bypassing and toxic positivity, we finally committed to making an episode.

On this episode we address: 

- Jaskrit’s lifelong relationship with yoga
- Why she got into teaching
- Spiritual bypassing
- Commodification of yoga practice in the West
- Reasons for eventually quitting
- Advice for those interested in trying yoga and diving into spirituality

On this episode I genuinely learned so much and am way too eager to share this conversation with you all. I hope you enjoy it!!

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Hi everyone! Welcome to the SEASON 2 FINALE!!! First of all, thank you to everyone who has shown support and love through this season and the last. It truly means a lot and inspires me to continue producing content. Regardless, I am beyond excited and ready for all of you to listen to this episode. 

For this week, I have my hiking buddy, gym partner, and one of my closest friends from the University of Washington, Teagan Mace, on the podcast. This topic in particular has been on my mind for the past couple of weeks and I’ve been itching to record an episode. 

Personally, exercise has always been a critical part of my life, sometimes for healthy reasons and sometimes not. In this episode, Teagan and I dive into the ways exercise can dramatically benefit your life, particularly 7 benefits, the slippery slope that classifies a healthy relationship with working out, and the deeper relationships that can come with working out with others.

We also touch on the ways credible scientists have conducted experiments and studies around exercise that validate the therapeutic and mental benefits alongside the physical benefits.

Anyways, I really loved recording this episode and hope you all enjoy it. 

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In the news of rising sea levels, coral bleaching, and the burning of forests, there is a tendency to fall into an everlasting state of learned helplessness. But through stories of culture, tradition, and community we are able to relearn the ancient practices that brought the sustainability we once knew.

For this week, the very knowledgeable, passionate and influential Aisha Rashid joins the podcast to dive deep into these stories of tradition and culture. 

Aisha is a former President of the Model United Nations Chapter, technical editor for the Khancept Collective, Sustainability Curriculum Development & Educator in training, and is pursuing Marine Biology and American Indigenous Studies at the University of Washington. In her free time, you might catch her going for a hike or looking for whales while running her Instagram account @aishabytheocean. If you couldn’t guess already, Aisha loves the ocean (especially hermit crabs), learning and sharing cultural traditions that are of service to the earth, and speaking up where there is climate injustice.

In this episode, we specifically address where society falls short in explaining climate change to the general public, how cultural traditions and indigenous tribes are essential to sustainability, how we all can positively impact and contribute at a small scale, the emotional tolls of eco-anxiety and where to go looking for hope. 

Personally, this conversation gave me a newfound sense of hope and faith in our world being able to recover from the perils of climate change that are dwelled on today. Hopefully in your experience with the episode, you are able to reestablish your own sense of autonomy as a human with the influence to make real change. 

I know you are going to enjoy this one.

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Hi everyone!

I am so so excited for you all to listen to the wisdom of one of my beloved friends from the University of Washington, Yahoo! Sports graphic designer, Atay Bulut. 

For this week, we dive into his journey with falling in love with graphic design and how he applied terms like manifestation and the law of attraction to landing his dream job. From finding his passion in 8th grade to working through high school and linking up with prestigious companies such as Wilson, Bleacher Report and Yahoo! Sports....it's safe to say Atay has been on a MISSION. 

I love his story because through the ups and downs and people telling him "no", he's always led by example in continuing to work for what he LOVES, something so brave but also so beautifully simple. 

I really hope you all enjoy this episode and maybe pick up a habit or two from this man...because I know I did at least. 

Enjoy!!!

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For someone who is looking to start their own podcast, this episode is for you. 

This week, the tables have turned, literally. Ryan Glenn, a friend of mine from my hometown in San Clemente, California puts me in the Hot Seat and asks away about why I started the podcast, how to get started in the podcasting world, and other passions outside of podcasting. 

Ryan aspires to start a podcast of his own, which provokes some really great questions and conversation that could be very helpful to those who are also interested in getting started or are just interested in all of the "behind the scenes" details. 

It was a really fun and insightful conversation that I hope you all enjoy!

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