Felecia Hayes is a scholarship track athlete, social activist and student at the College of William & Mary in Virginia, USA. During the summer of 2020, Felecia staged a weekly protest against police brutality and social injustice for several months, which caught the attention of the student body, the staff and the city at large. 

I sat down with Felecia to discuss her protest, but also the broader topics of growing up black in America, the Black Lives Matter movement, racist monuments and institutions, affirmative action, the mission creep of social activism and more.

Note: to ease the flow of conversation this was recorded live in a local cafe, so there is some background noise. Efforts have been taken to reduce this and amplify the voices of the speakers in post-production, but some remains. 

My honest belief is that if you live and coach in America, you will be touched by racism in some form. Be that the schools themselves, the system which profits so handsomely from free labour, or simply witnessing the day to day experience of students in majority black sports like football, basketball and track & field. For that reason I apologise for the noise, but I encourage you to stick with the episode and the important topics it discusses.

In this episode you'll hear my conversation with Jay Ashman of KC Barbell in Kansas City, Missouri. Jay is a self admitted reformed white supremacist, and has a powerful personal story about isolation, belief, change, self forgiveness and wanting to give back.

We discussed Jay's upbringing and the factors he feels led to him becoming part of a skinhead gang, its impact on his life, and how he ultimately became disenfranchised to the point where he changed his beliefs and his lifestyle. We finished up the conversation discussing the current political and social injustice climate of the USA, and how Jay intends to use the proceeds from his writings to establish a barbell club for underserved youths in his community.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you check out our exclusive education platform for strength & conditioning coaches at www.strengthcoachnetwork.com.

After the success of episode 1- Special Forces Soldier- we decided to put out another episode on this topic, this time with a different Operator from a different unit and branch of the military. If you have yet to check out episode 1, make sure you do.  

Whereas episode 1 focussed on the toughness, skill acquisition and psychological aspects of special operations, this instalment touches more on the technical aspects of preparing for and undergoing selection for a special forces unit. 

We also explore the wider topics of technology, politics, and ethics inherent in the job of being a special forces soldier. If you've enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts from and leave us a positive review.

www.strengthcoachnetwork.com

James Leonard (Twitter @JamesLeonard85) is a youth worker from Cork, Ireland, with a chequered but ultimately inspiring life story. He was born into low income housing and in his teens began a pattern of behaviour that saw him in prison, on the streets and addicted to heroin. 

After nearly overdosing and dying in an alley, James decided to turn his life around and find work, a stable home and a wife. As a youth worker he now serves the same community he grew up in, and has his sights set on obtaining his PhD and working at the policy level. 

His story is a fantastic lesson in understanding self destructive choices, self identity, taking back control, and building good habits. If you enjoyed this podcast, please like and review! 

"When they unshackled the slaves and said 'You're free to go', the response wasn't 'But I don't have an income stream."

Mark Baker (Twitter: @GuruAnaerobic) in addition to being a writer, speaker and athlete, is in his own words "Unemployable". After stints in banking, the civil service, teaching, even market trading, Mark made the decision shortly after the arrival of his daughter to become unemployable, to never work for anyone ever again.

If you're a coach, the sad fact is that you're almost certainly going to get fired, most likely for reasons that have nothing to do with how good of a coach you are. You'll probably also spend a lot of time waiting between jobs, or working for free trying to climb the ladder. To say you need side income is an understatement.

Mark's writing and the "unemployed" mindset is invaluable for anyone looking to make themself robust to the vagaries of a highly competitive and unpredictable work environment (now more than ever). Learn from Mark's experiences about risk, opportunity, money and living life completely on one's own terms.

To pick up Mark's writings, visit: https://gumroad.com/markbaker

In the first episode of the Strength Coach Network Podcast, listen to my conversation with an unnamed active duty Special Forces soldier. Throughout this hour long conversation we cover many topics including preparing for and undergoing SOF selection, the extent to which sport and the military can learn from one another, dealing with fear and anxiety, habit, character and organisational success, high pressure decision making, violence, death and more.