UndressTheJersey

Jackie's right leg was amputated below the knee at age nine after he fell while trying to jump between train cars. He spent a total of eight months in hospital. This moment not only shaped him into the person he is today, but it fuelled a competitiveness to prove to himself that this accident wasn't going to hold him back in life.  With numerous hurdles both mentally and physically, Jackie found himself competing at the highest level of track. This is his story.  

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Find us on Instagram:  

UndressTheJersey: https://www.instagram.com/undressthejersey/ 

Jackie Marciano: https://www.instagram.com/jackiemarciano/ 

Tristen Ross: https://www.instagram.com/t_ross4/ 

TheTopOfTheFoodChain: https://www.instagram.com/thetopofthefoodchain/  Interview was recorded on December 11th, 2020

We sat down with Kyle Milley, a product and market developer for Air Institutes (Halifax, NS) and former soccer player for Mt. Allison University (New Brunswick). Air Institutes is a mental resilience training company that focuses on helping individuals and organizations work on building resilience. "Just as you can go to the gym to strengthen your body, you can leverage the power of neuroplasticity to gain mental resilience. Your brain has “mental muscles” too!"  Athletes are constantly in a state of building resilience through defeat, conflict with teammates, and often times battling injuries. We sat down with Air Institutes to have a conversation of how athletes tend to be ahead of the game and how they can apply these skills outside of sport.  

To learn more about Air Institutes, including their virtual training services, head to their website by clicking the link below. www.air-institutes.com  

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UndressTheJersey: https://www.instagram.com/undressthejersey/

Air Institutes: https://www.instagram.com/air_institutes/

Kyle Milley : https://www.instagram.com/kyle_milley/

Tristen Ross: https://www.instagram.com/t_ross4/

Nick Voci is a former football player for York University in Ontario. I came across Nick's podcast, The Gut Hut, while scrolling on Tiktok and invited him to be a guest on UndressTheJersey. Nick's inspiration for starting his podcast came after looking back on the conversations he would have with his teammates and wishing they were recorded. We talk everything from the perception of being a university athlete, to the grind, and everything in between. Hope you enjoy.

Dylan Bell is a former U Sports football player for St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. During his time at X, Dylan was an outstanding leader within the football program and studying kinesiology. After his undergrad, Dylan stayed at X where he obtained his Bachelor of Education degree. He is now a teacher at St. Mary's secondary school in his hometown of Brockville, teaching grade 12 kinesiology.  One of the biggest lessons Dylan tries to share is the importance of learning from everybody. Athletes must be willing to learn from coaches, and coaches must be willing to learn from athletes. Just because you're in a position of seniority doesn't mean you can't learn from someone younger than you. It's when we refuse to open ourselves to new perspectives that we see a greater disconnect to those around us.

Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson is a Canadian professional basketball player from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Growing up as a multi-sport athlete, Jarred found his passion in basketball. He played at the University of Calgary, was a member of the Canadian national team, and as of this recording, is in his 6th year playing professionally overseas. Jarred has played in Spain, Portugal, France, Finland, and now currently for Donar Basket in Holland.  We spoke about everything from his upbringing, his decision process for University, building life skills, mentorship, his relationship with time, using basketball as an escape, and the value in travelling the world.  Leave us a comment of your favorite line from this interview.  

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UndressTheJersey: https://www.instagram.com/undressthejersey/

Tristen: https://www.instagram.com/t_ross4/ 

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Dejuan is a rapper from Toronto, and with over 174.8k streams on spotify, he's been able to make a name for himself in the rap game. Dejuan has been featured by Apple Music in The New Toronto playlist and currently has a series titled JuanderTales where he releases 45 second raps around relevant topics going on throughout society.

Before rap, Dejuan was a standout football player for the StFX University X-Men where he sits 4th overall in the AUS record book for most receptions in a single season. 

Some of his most notable stats include:

6.5 receptions/game – 1st in AUS and tied for 6th in U SPORTS

52 receptions – 1st in AUS and tied for 5th in U SPORTS

94.3 receiving yards/game – 2nd in AUS and 7th in U SPORTS

754 receiving yards – 2nd in AUS and 6th in U SPORTS

14.5 average yards/reception – 2nd in AUS

8 touchdowns – tied for 1st in AUS and tied for 3rd in U SPORTS

114.8 all-purpose yards/game – 5th in AUS

918 all-purpose yards – 5th in AUS

Meet Hugh Smith, a former long time Canadian National Team Gymnast and current Cirque Du Soleil coach.

Hugh Smith is the veteran of the Canadian gymnastics team who won his first senior national all-around title in 2013 at the age of 29. He went on to make his FIG World Championship debut in 2014, after having been an alternate for the world team in 2010. Also in 2014, he won silver on vault and helped the team win bronze at the Pacific Rim Championships. Smith missed out on qualifying for Canada’s lone men’s artistic gymnastics berth at London 2012, after which he took a break from the sport before continuing on with the goal of making it to Rio 2016. Smith competed at both the 2007 and 2011 Pan Am games, winning bronze on vault in Guadalajara. His multi-sport competition experience also includes the 1999 Canada Winter Games. He won all-around bronze at the 2015 Canadian Championships.

Meet Troy Crema, a 4 year Dartmouth College hockey graduate and former professional hockey player with the Rochester Americans in the AHL.

Troy is now the co-founder of Green Cube Analytics, a big data marketing technology company and currently working for Gamma Capital Partners here in Toronto.

Growing up in Toronto, Troy was met with a spleen problem during his final year of minor midget, that sidelined him and affected his stock in the OHL draft. At 16, Troy had a soft commitment to go to Yale but due to a poor performance in a prep school tournament in Boston, Yale decided to hold off and wait another year. The following year he played for the Hamilton Heismans, and unexpectedly to Troy, Dartmouth College offered him a spot on their roster immediately following an exhibition game.

The values of hard work and his experience working within teams is what Troy still carries into his day to day now that he’s in the business world.

Aidan is the creator of the instagram community, Ontario Runners, a Seneca College Student Ambassador and a Skechers Canada athlete.  We talk everything from his motivation behind creating Ontario Runners, why people should add running to their routine (even if they don't consider themselves an athlete), and his goal of one day becoming a police officer.  

Check out our socials:  

UndressTheJersey: https://www.instagram.com/undressthejersey/ 

Aidan D'Souza: https://www.instagram.com/aidan_dsouza/ 

Ontario Runners: https://www.instagram.com/ontariorunners/ 

Tristen Ross: https://www.instagram.com/t_ross4/  

Leave us a comment on who we should interview next!

Tyrell Vernon is a former player for the StFX University X-Men. With the retirement of legendary Canadian basketball coach Steve Konchalski, Tyrell is taking over the legacy and looking to bring StFX back to the top of U Sport basketball. As a former player, we chat about all the things basketball players deal with growing up like role acceptance, balance between fun and sacrifice, and how to get the most out of your game.  

 Leave us a comment with your favorite part of the episode!  

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Tyrell Vernon - https://www.instagram.com/tv.905/

 Tristen Ross - https://www.instagram.com/t_ross4/ 

UndressTheJersey - https://www.instagram.com/undressthejersey/ 

 You can also watch the full interview on youtube!