We Are JOX: Recent Episodes
Marina Paul
Do you consciously think about where you sit in the classroom because of how it contributes to your stereotype as an athlete? In this episode, Marina and Classye James discuss how the student athlete infrastructure recently exploited contributes to the negative stereotype of athletes in the classroom, and how it further stigmatizes minorities of race & gender. They also discuss how when done right, the student athlete infrastructure contributes to a well-rounded college experience for all.
Later in the episode, Classye shares how she juggles getting her MBA from Santa Clara while a Program Manager at Cisco Systems and running her own business, Shakeout, a consulting program for athletes transitioning out of sports. Check out her page @shakoutllc on Instagram and don't miss her first retail swag drop on April 27th.
Taj's successful transition started when he changed the question he was asking himself. The question went from, “Who am I now?” to “Who do I want to become?” From there, he was able to form a new vision he had for himself. Ok, maybe he wasn’t going to the NFL or make millions right out of college, but he was going to build a life for himself that made him come alive. Taj is on a mission to build his own system and give one on one help to athletes who are struggling thru the transition into life after sports, working with athletes to re-wire the way they think and helping them set audacious goals. To get in touch, visit tajdashaun.com or email Taj at taj@tajdashaun.com
Sarah Ditmars is a kinesiologist and physical therapist who has committed herself to also helping retired athletes feel the passion and intensity of training again even after the “glory days” are over. To boast about her accolades as a PT, Sarah was Ontario Junior Hockey League 2017 Trainer of the Year, Ontario Hockey Association 2017 Trainer of the Year, awards she received for her incredible work the last 6 years with one of Canada’s best ice-hockey farm league programs.
Her work with retired athletes started after she saw so many athletes struggle once they leave their competitive sports environment. Sarah created a program to help retired female athletes find their competitive edge again. Now, it’s Sarah’s mission to help her clients rebuild confidence, regain physical strength, and really hone in on their new goals thru customized one-on-one online training programs, nutrition programming, and group training programs.
In this podcast, we get real with the struggles we had with our changing body image, workouts and nutrition, and how to incorporate our much-needed athlete rituals amidst difficult social pressures we used to excuse ourselves from while we played because we had to wake up early for practice.
I’m excited to share Sarah’s JOX journey with you all.
Marina Paul founded JOX in November 2018 with dreams to create a physical clubhouse for athletes. She discusses how throughout life transitions, sports lifestyle has always been the thing to save her. She dives deep into her transformation from a 9 year old who couldn't juggle a soccer ball to overcoming bad relationships & two blown out knees to going to the Final Four with her soccer team, and what she's doing to build a sports team for life.
LaTonya Pinkard is currently an English Professor at Independence Community College in Independence, Kansas. You may recognize her from Netflix's docu-series "Last Chance U" Season 3. She's stealing the hearts of people nationwide thru her ability change the lives of the young football players who enter her classroom. Her secret to build success? Give respect before you expect to receive it. In this podcast, we discuss everything from her challenging teaching style, to her relationships with students, to re-defining what it means to be a jock, to living her life by the "Go Do" Project and protecting her peace and joy. You can follow LaTonya on Instagram or Twitter at @latonyapinkard. Don't forget to listen to the end for the book LaTonya and JOX are going to kick-off for our book club!
Leo Sullivan is former Professional and Division-1 College Football player. He played in the AFL and for Stony Brook University. After blowing out his knee 4 years in to his AFL career, he was released. The only thing he knew ended instantly. Leo struggled with depression, substance abuse… mechanisms for trying to forget the game was over; trying to forget the burden he felt of failing his family, not being able to provide, and not fulfilling his purpose in life.
Currently, Leo is working on his master's degree in Mental Health Counseling and Wellness from NYU which he will complete in 2020. He also holds a master's degree in Liberal Arts and bachelor's degree in Sociology from Stony Brook University. As a result of the challenges he faced with life after the game, he was inspired to co-found The Mental Health Initiative for Athletes, a Non-Profit that will aim towards helping athletes smoothly transition out of sports.
After spending time with Leo, I want you to take away from this, the theme of unconditional love and hurt, and fight sports gives you to overcome any struggle… that will tell you why someone who could’ve lost his life six years ago, is on a track to coach others thru their pain . And that unlike winning or losing a game, a mental battle is not something you can win or lose, but it’s also not something to be ashamed of. it’s a lifelong battle that we work to build up armor against and become stronger, more compassionate individuals .
Tina is a mother of two and one of Southern California’s most sought after aestheticians, She started her career with the reputable L’Oreal before building her own flourishing company for the last 25 years. At 8 years old, Tina was doing two-a-days, swimming at 4am and 4pm every day. To put it into perspective, During the day, she was learning multiplication tables and how to write in cursive. To stay fit, she would play water polo with the guys teams. At the age of 15, she was competing to go to the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics, which the US ended up boycotted. She missed the team by one spot. Missing this chance combined with the pressure from her parents and herself was unbearable, so she hung up her suit forever. She dismissed full ride scholarship offers from massive swimming schools, like U Southern California..but who can blame her. A quote I use is Derek Jeter’s, when it stops being fun, that’s when I stopped playing. It wasn’t fun for Tina anymore, everything that came with swimming became destructive. Fast forward to three years ago, was the worst moment of Tina’s life, Tina’s husband Tim was diagnosed with a rare brain disease and given 2 months to live. Tina had re-married Tim Newman, the of Police Captain of Newport Beach in Orange County, CA and someone who was absolutely beloved by everyone. She barely had time to say goodbye to him. In this podcast, Tina will tell you that the little 8 year old girl who practiced to chase after an Olympic dream, was the same little girl fighting to get out of bed, brush her teeth and take a shower, when the pain of losing her best friend and life partner made her feel like she was dying. She pursues excellence in everything she does and fills her life with passion, and reminds us all that being an athlete teaches us the greatest things of all: how to be a good person and how to get back on our game despite losing part of your soul.
Shaina Zaidi is a former professional basketball player and UCLA Bruin. Her experience as an athlete and the lack of nutritious sports drinks on the market compelled her to create TU ME a healthy, delicious sports drink with almost no sugar, made from anti-inflammatory and antioxidant ingredients and electrolytes. TU ME currently fuels the Golden State Warriors, the Jacksonville Jaguars and 6 other professional sports teams. In this episode, Shaina and I talk being a Bruin, running a company with her family and friend Marcedes Lewis, finding a new way to connect with basketball and sports, and working towards self-appreciation.
She's the Founder & CEO of Snow Monkey, a superfood ice treat, and was named Forbes 2019 30 Under 30 in Food & Beverage . Her team is the smallest ever to be accepted into the Chobani Incubator program for start-ups. Before this, Rachel was a member of the Hong Kong National Field Hockey Team and the Boston University Rowing Team. She credits athletics and her relentless drive to her success as a CEO in the natural food industry.
Cassie Bouton earned herself a Division 1 lacrosse scholarship to the University of Albany, after only playing high school lacrosse in a small town. Due to her detrimental experience with a coach, she decided to end her collegiate lacrosse career after junior year in order to salvage her love for the game.
Amanda was a soccer player at George Mason and is now a lobbyist on Capitol Hill, attending events with world-renowned figures, like the Queen of Jordan. At one point, her concussions were so bad, she couldn't spell the word "because".
The doctor said to me, "This is the worst part of my job. I have to tell a serious, competitive athlete that everything they know is over." I remember reading his lips and immediately crying. I thought, 'everything that I know to be true and good is over'. This was my third and worst concussion in the last two years.
There’s this point [in the injury recovery process] where you’re like, ‘What can I do so the day that I’m cleared to run, I’m in the exact place that I want to be?’ In my head, I would say, ‘Just because you’re injured, you’re not off the hook. You’re going to be really far behind everyone else. So what are you going to do so that you’re not as far behind when you are able to run?’ I would tell myself, ‘If this is going to take 3 hours a day of cross training, let’s do it.'
Everyone wants to win a championship. That’s the height of success… along with the hard work of the process, being a good teammate, and having sportsmanship. Everyone working towards that goal – when you have a team that’s all on board with that – it’s special. It’s tough to find the right formula, but when you do, it’s great. Nothing feels better.