SportsEpreneur

If you listen to anything today, listen to this important story and message from the non-profit founder of We’re All A Little Crazy: #SameHere Global Mental Health Movement, Eric Kussin.

We are all going through something. And each story is unique. This episode is taken from our Raw, Authentic, and Vulnerable podcast series. It’s too critical not to keep highlighting.

Here’s more about our podcast guest, Eric Kussin. Founder of We’re All A Little Crazy #SameHere The Global Mental Health Movement

20-year pro sports exec who was fortunate enough to find a higher calling after an intense mental health battle. Launched a global alliance of athletes and celebrities, along with expert practitioners: We’re All A Little “Crazy,” & #SameHereThe Global Mental Health Movement. Our members believe that life challenges affect all of us, no matter our backgrounds or careers, and that our mental health exists on a spectrum that we all fluctuate on, as opposed to: “the 1 in 5 sick vs the 4 in 5 healthy.”

Together, we are using our platforms and consistent messaging to change the narrative around the world, educate the masses, implement much-needed programs on the ground (programs with schools, colleges, corporate offices, sports teams, service men/women & first responders), and make it socially acceptable for everyone to ask for help when they need it.

The #SameHereMovement is a campaign you will see woven throughout our communications. This is a sign language gesture that can be used universally in the context of the mental health world to mean: Same here, I too struggle with some of life’s inevitable challenges, and yes those challenges have affected my mental health. We’re all in this together.

Movement Website: samehereglobal.org

Instagram: @SameHere_Global

——

If you’re interested in being featured in a future SportsE+ podcast:

Useful web pages from this episode:

More content on Mental Health:

Let’s Connect:

That’s a wrap:

Eric Kasimov is the founder of SportsEpreneur, part of the KazSource media network. Since launching the platform in 2015, he has hosted over 500 podcast episodes, written and published more than 1,500 articles, and advised business leaders, founders, and creators on building authority through media strategy.

Through his brands — KazSource, KazCM, SportsEpreneur, and QuietLoud Studios — Eric leads teams that produce podcasts, develop brand platforms, and help companies grow through modern content ecosystems. He also scaled KazSource Insurance into a seven-figure boutique agency, providing the foundation for the broader media network he operates today.

His work has been featured in Forbes, Axios, and Front Office Sports, and his podcasts have included conversations with top founders, investors, and athletes turned entrepreneurs.

The post

Helping Elite Athletes Transition to a Productive Sales Career | with Founder and CEO of Shift Group, JR Butler

The greatest achievement–pulling off one of the more incredible upsets in your sport. In sports, it is so much about moments like these. But then how do you continue to achieve in other areas of life including your work career? In this episode, we talk about that incredible hockey upset moment, building a career outside of hockey, and then helping others do the same.

JR Butler is a former star hockey player who was on the Holy Cross team that beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the 2006 Midwest regional to deliver one of the biggest upsets in college hockey history. After going through some challenging times that JR talks about in this episode, JR finds himself helping the elite athlete transition to sales as the founder and CEO of Shift Group.

We talk about the anatomy of an upset, the growth of hockey, and supporting other athletes with their transition out of sports.

One key takeaway from this episode is for all athletes to take advantage of their network while they are still playing.

Topics discussed in this episode | How Take Advantage of Your Amazing Network as an Elite Athlete:

In case you haven’t noticed, we love podcasts. In fact, we love building podcasts. Everything from development to production. Because of all that, we’re building a one-of-a-kind podcast network. If you have a podcast or are looking to launch a new podcast then we should talk. You can message me on Twitter @eric_kaz or hit us up any way that works for you. Let’s talk about your podcast joining this one-of-a-kind podcast network. 

SE+ Guest: JR Butler | CEO and Founder – Shift Group | How to Take Advantage of Your Amazing Network as an Elite Athlete

Shift Group & JR Butler on LinkedIn

Athletes spend their lives engaging in team-based activities where they are rewarded for performance-based outcomes. Competitive drive, work ethic, and the desire to win are innate qualities of those performing at elite levels. Athletes at this level must have discipline, resilience, and grit. These are the intangible parts of any elite athlete’s identity. When combined with confidence, curiosity, and coachabi...

Former Brazilian footballer combines Brazilian football and NFTs at the youth level. As our guest, Bruno Pessoa says, “football is like religion” in Brazil. So enabling the connection between fans and players makes so much sense with new Web3 technology like NFTs.

What if we told you there’s a digital way of investing in young Brazilian footballers that gives you access and possible upside? Blockchain technology meets footballer, entrepreneur, and Web3 enthusiast Bruno Pessoa.

This new age of collectibles is bringing fans and players closer than ever before. In this episode of Sports Bring People Together, host Eric Kasimov chats with Bruno Pessoa, a former Brazilian footballer for Flamengo and a youth sports enthusiast. Bruno is a lifelong football fan (soccer fan) who turned his passion for football into a successful business. He works with youth athletes, specifically, the top football players in Brazil, skyrocketing their player brand and generating new revenue streams for both the players and their fans — through NFTs.

By collecting these “packs” (cards) (NFTs), verifiable owners (on the blockchain) will have opportunities to interact with the players and gain access (tickets) to special games or events like the FIFA World Cup. And any NFT has the potential for upside–just imagine owning a Ronaldo NFT when he was a young teenager?!

What drove Bruno to lean into this idea of combining youth Brazilian football and NFTs? During his time playing the game, Bruno saw young athletes often struggle with generating income and feel powerless to make their own decisions off the pitch. This inspired him to found Next Level Sports (now Next Academy) with the goal to generate opportunities for young Brazilian football players. After granting 1,500 plus kids the opportunity to receive sports scholarships in the US, Bruno sold his first business. His latest venture, Tero Labs, recently announced its first proprietary IP called Rough Diamonds which provides footballers under the age of 21 with revenue-based opportunities — while giving owners of the NFTs fan-based experiences and more.

As collectibles join the digital space, fans are being presented with new opportunities to invest in young talent. With Rough Diamonds, football fans (soccer) are able to purchase memorabilia and personalized experiences from young Brazilian talent – they selected the top 11 up-and-coming football players from Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of talent in the sport, to create their exclusive NFTs. Most recently, Tero Labs has signed a collaboration agreement with Crypto.com NFT to work together on Rough Diamonds, and jointly develop an exclusive football jersey in the form of an exclusive NFT collection for the Rough Diamonds team.

Topics discussed in this episode:

In case you haven’t noticed, we love podcasts. In fact, we love building podcasts. Everything from development to production. Because of all that, we’re building a one-of-a-kind podcast network. If you have a podcast or are looking to launch a new podcast then we should talk. You can message me on Twitter @eric_kaz or hit us up any way that works for you. Let’s talk about your podcast joining this one-of-a-kind podcast network. 

SE+ Guest: Bruno Pessoa | Co-Founder – Tero Labs, Rough Diamonds | Brazilian Football + NFTs

Rough Diamonds: site and discord

Tero Labs & Bruno Pessoa: LinkedIn

Tero Labs is a unique NFT studio where they develop proprietary IPs in Sports, Media, and Entertainment. They believe Blockchain-enabled models will present a seismic shift to how business is conducted in the future. Its impact on commerce will be game-changing.

Bruno is a second-time entrepreneur having successfully exited his first venture in Brazil. He holds a Marketing degree from Fresno Pacific University. With over ten years of experience in the sports market in Latin America, he has gone through all stages of a company – from ideation, through fundraising, scaling, and exiting. Bruno helped his companies close deals with Adidas, LaLiga, Crypto.com, Onefootball, and others.

Web3 | So Many Questions! | A Podcast Series

Web3 is happening so fast—or at least that’s what it seems like. In actuality, there is time—a lot of time. It’s very early in the Web3 world. It’s also very confusing (maybe because there are so many buzzwords or maybe it’s because there are a lot of people promising a bright future). I’d say it’s best to talk to those in the space. And that’s where this Web3 dialogue (podcast series) is coming from. It’s an opportunity to share space with those that have experience, stories, and proof of concept related to all things Web3. This episode just so happens to connect footballers and NFTs.

—

Websites you should definitely check out: