Empowerment & Courage

33. Arianna Criscione

June 02, 2021 14:07 - 58 minutes - 54.4 MB

For today's episode, we were lucky to get the chance to speak with Arianna Criscione. She’s an American-Italian football player, currently playing for PSG in France. She’s a former member of the Italian National Team and has previously won three Italian titles, one Italian Cup, and three super cups with Torres Calcio. Arianna is currently also working as the Women’s Sponsorship Manager at PSG. We speak about her taking the step of moving to Europe to play professional football after finishin...

32. Katie Hoff

May 26, 2021 11:13 - 53 minutes - 49.8 MB

For today's episode, we had the honor of speaking with Katie Hoff. She’s a former professional American swimmer, an 8x World Champion, a 2x Olympian and a 3x Olympic Medalist. Today, Katie is a bestselling author, a keynote speaker and co-founder of the company Synergy Dryland. We speak about her relentless attitude of wanting to become the best from a very young age and what it was like for her to compete at the Olympics when she was only 15 years old. She also shares how to deal with expec...

31. Cherelle Thompson

May 19, 2021 04:00 - 1 hour - 62.9 MB

For today’s episode, we had the great honor of speaking with Cherelle Thompson. She’s a professional swimmer from Trinidad & Tobago, currently preparing for the Tokyo Olympics. Cherelle was a 2x NCAA All-American at the University of Tennessee and has broken both national Trinidad & Tobago records and regional Caribbean records. We speak about her childhood dream of competing at the Olympic Games and the crazy journey that would eventually lead to her qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. She a...

30. Vincent Bezecourt

May 11, 2021 23:00 - 59 minutes - 54.9 MB

In today’s episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Vincent Bezecourt. He’s a French football player, a 2013 World University Games Champion with the French Team and is currently playing for FC Alashkert in Armenia. Vincent has previously also played for New York Red Bulls in the MLS and for FC Miami in the USL. Vincent speaks about his time playing college soccer in the US and how he ended up signing his first pro contract with New York Red Bulls after thinking he was already done with...

29. Ana Gros

May 04, 2021 23:00 - 52 minutes - 48.3 MB

For today's episode we had the big pleasure of speaking with Ana Gros. She’s a professional handball player and the captain of the Slovenian National Team, currently playing in Brest in France. At the club level she’s won the Championship and Cup in basically every country she’s played in, she’s been named the French Championship Right Back six times in a row and the All-Star Right Back of the EHF Champions League in 2018. We speak about her many years living abroad and how these experiences...

28. Molly Carlson

April 27, 2021 23:00 - 1 hour - 57.2 MB

For today’s episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Molly Carlson. She’s a professional high diver and member of Team Canada, and a former college diver at Florida State University - where she became a 5x NCAA All-American. We speak about her time as a diver and how she ended up transitioning into high diving after graduating from college. With only about 20 girls worldwide being professional high divers, Molly shares her views of fear and what it’s like to deal with the mental side of...

27. Nicole Heavirland

April 20, 2021 23:00 - 44 minutes - 41.4 MB

For today's episode, we were fortunate to get to speak with Nicole Heavirland. She’s a professional rugby player and part of the US National Rugby Sevens team. We speak about how Nicole found her way to rugby in high school and how rugby sevens is a sport that requires some serious physical, and mental strength. She also shares her thoughts on the nutrition aspect of being a professional athlete and how she has found a balance between eating for performance and eating for pleasure, over the ...

26. Caroline Burckle

April 13, 2021 23:00 - 1 hour - 64.9 MB

For today's episode, we had the great pleasure of speaking with the amazing Caroline Burckle. She’s a former professional swimmer and a 2x NCAA champion, who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics representing the United States. Caroline is also an artist and co-founder of RISE Athletes. We speak about her background in swimming, as well as the difficulties that followed her time as a collegiate and professional swimmer. She shares what it was like for her to heal and find herself a...

25. Grant Wiggins

April 06, 2021 23:00 - 54 minutes - 50.8 MB

For today’s episode, we got the chance to speaks with Grant Wiggins. He’s a professional triathlete and a former college runner at Villanova University, working towards representing the United States at World Championships and at the 2024 Olympic Games. We talk about how he came up short of his own expectations during his college career and how this period of his life was a major learning experience. He also shares his journey to discovering triathlon, how he uses visualization as part of hi...

24. Kaleigh Gilchrist

March 30, 2021 23:00 - 44 minutes - 41 MB

For today’s episode, we had the honor of speaking with Kaleigh Gilchrist. She’s a professional water polo player and a professional surfer. In college she became a National Champion in both sports and is now also an Olympic Champion and a 2x World Champion in water polo together with Team USA. We speak about how Kaleigh developed a love for sports at a young age and her journey to becoming a professional athlete in not only one, but two sports. She also shares some of the tough things she’s ...

23. Charlotte Clarke

March 24, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 65.7 MB

For today’s episode, we’re thrilled to say that we had the chance to speak with Charlotte Clarke. She’s an ultramarathon runner from the UK, who went through 2 heart surgeries in her twenties and have completed 3 ultramarathons and 6 marathons in the past 6 months. We speak about her background in dance and the fitness industry, and about how she found her way to ultramarathon running when she wanted to raise money for the British Heart Foundation. Charlotte also speaks about how to face adv...

22. Hazal Nehir

March 17, 2021 08:51 - 1 hour - 69.3 MB

For today’s episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Hazal Nehir. She’s a professional parkour athlete and became the first Turkish athlete to reach the Red Bull Art of Motion finals in 2019. Hazal is also the first female parkour athlete to join the RedBull family. We speak about how she was first introduced to parkour in 2014 and how her love for parkour has taken her to new countries and to the movie set of the action thriller 6 underground. Hazal also shares her thoughts on the ment...

11. Mattias Falck

February 28, 2021 09:10 - 48 minutes - 44.9 MB

For today’s episode, we had the honor of speaking with Swedish table tennis player Mattias Falck. He’s an Olympian, a World Championship silver medalist, a 3x silver medalist and 3x bronze medalist at the European Championships, and currently ranked 8th in the world. We speak about what it’s like playing a sport where the season stretches from January to December and the sacrifices Mattias has made to become one of the best table tennis players in the world. He also talks about his unique st...

21. Mattias Falck

February 28, 2021 09:10 - 47 minutes - 44.3 MB

For today’s episode, we had the honor of speaking with Swedish table tennis player Mattias Falck. He’s an Olympian, a World Championship silver medalist, a 3x silver medalist and 3x bronze medalist at the European Championships, and currently ranked 8th in the world. We speak about what it’s like playing a sport where the season stretches from January to December and the sacrifices Mattias has made to become one of the best table tennis players in the world. He also talks about his unique st...

10. Tyler Cavanaugh

February 21, 2021 00:00 - 43 minutes - 40.5 MB

For today’s episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Tyler Cavanaugh. He’s an American basketball player who previously played in the NBA with Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz, and now plays for Iberostar Tenerife in Spain. We speak about the difficulties and uncertainty that he experienced when playing both in the G-league and the NBA at the same time, but also about the amazing opportunity of getting to play against players such as LeBron James. He also shares what it was like to leave the...

20. Tyler Cavanaugh

February 21, 2021 00:00 - 43 minutes - 39.9 MB

For today’s episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Tyler Cavanaugh. He’s an American basketball player who previously played in the NBA with Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz, and now plays for Iberostar Tenerife in Spain. We speak about the difficulties and uncertainty that he experienced when playing both in the G-league and the NBA at the same time, but also about the amazing opportunity of getting to play against players such as LeBron James. He also shares what it was like to leave the...

9. Ali Riley

February 14, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 71.5 MB

For this week's episode we were fortunate to speak with Ali Riley. She’s a professional soccer player and the team captain of the New Zealand National Team. She’s a 3x Olympian, has played in 4 World Cups and is currently playing for Orlando Pride in the NWSL. We speak about her soccer journey through college and also about how she moved to Europe to play when the entire women’s soccer league in the US was shut down. She shares a lot of her thoughts on equality and women’s soccer, and speaks...

19. Ali Riley

February 14, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 70.9 MB

For this week's episode we were fortunate to speak with Ali Riley. She’s a professional soccer player and the team captain of the New Zealand National Team. She’s a 3x Olympian, has played in 4 World Cups and is currently playing for Orlando Pride in the NWSL. We speak about her soccer journey through college and also about how she moved to Europe to play when the entire women’s soccer league in the US was shut down. She shares a lot of her thoughts on equality and women’s soccer, and speaks...

8. Lindsay Dare Shoop

February 07, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 77 MB

For today's episode, we had the great pleasure of speaking with American rower Lindsay Dare Shoop. She’s an Olympic Champion, a 3x World Champion, a 5x World Cup medalist and a US National Rowing Hall of Fame inductee. We speak about how she was first introduced to rowing half-way through college after some time of feeling insecure and doubting her own abilities. She shares a lot of insights from experiences and things that she’s accomplished throughout her career and explains how she now us...

18. Lindsay Dare Shoop

February 07, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 76.4 MB

For today's episode, we had the great pleasure of speaking with American rower Lindsay Dare Shoop. She’s an Olympic Champion, a 3x World Champion, a 5x World Cup medalist and a US National Rowing Hall of Fame inductee. We speak about how she was first introduced to rowing half-way through college after some time of feeling insecure and doubting her own abilities. She shares a lot of insights from experiences and things that she’s accomplished throughout her career and explains how she now us...

17. Jacki Gemelos

January 31, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 63 MB

For today's episode, we had the great chance to speak with Jacki Gemelos. She’s an American-Greek basketball player, who has represented both Team USA and the Greek National Team, played for several teams in Europe and who is now with the Washington Mystics in the WNBA. We speak about the transition when she left the US to play basketball in Europe and what it’s been like to travel the world to play basketball professionally. Jacki shares what it was like when basketball was taken from her f...

7. Jacki Gemelos

January 31, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 63.6 MB

For today's episode, we had the great chance to speak with Jacki Gemelos. She’s an American-Greek basketball player, who has represented both Team USA and the Greek National Team, played for several teams in Europe and who is now with the Washington Mystics in the WNBA. We speak about the transition when she left the US to play basketball in Europe and what it’s been like to travel the world to play basketball professionally. Jacki shares what it was like when basketball was taken from her f...

16. Maret Grothues

January 24, 2021 00:00 - 58 minutes - 54 MB

For today's episode we had the great pleasure of speaking with Maret Grothues. She’s a Dutch volleyball player, a 3x silver medalist at the European Championships, a bronze medalist at the World Grand Prix, and the captain of the Dutch National team since 2013. We speak about what it’s like being captain of the Dutch National Team and the honor and privilege it is for her to be able to represent her country at the highest level. She shares her experience from finishing fourth at the 2016 Rio...

6. Maret Grothues

January 24, 2021 00:00 - 58 minutes - 54.6 MB

For today's episode we had the great pleasure of speaking with Maret Grothues. She’s a Dutch volleyball player, a 3x silver medalist at the European Championships, a bronze medalist at the World Grand Prix, and the captain of the Dutch National team since 2013. We speak about what it’s like being captain of the Dutch National Team and the honor and privilege it is for her to be able to represent her country at the highest level. She shares her experience from finishing fourth at the 2016 Rio...

5. Danusia Francis

January 17, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 69.4 MB

For this episode, we had the honor of speaking with Danusia Francis. She’s an elite gymnast, previously representing Great Britain, now representing Jamaica, who in 2019 fulfilled her childhood dream of qualifying for the Olympic Games. She's also a former college gymnast at UCLA, where she became a 6x All-American and the 2016 National Co-champion on beams. We speak about the impact that being a college gymnast at UCLA has had on her as an athlete and as a person, but also about how she, af...

15. Danusia Francis

January 17, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 68.8 MB

For this episode, we had the honor of speaking with Danusia Francis. She’s an elite gymnast, previously representing Great Britain, now representing Jamaica, who in 2019 fulfilled her childhood dream of qualifying for the Olympic Games. She's also a former college gymnast at UCLA, where she became a 6x All-American and the 2016 National Co-champion on beams. We speak about the impact that being a college gymnast at UCLA has had on her as an athlete and as a person, but also about how she, af...

4. Samantha Bosco

January 10, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 69.6 MB

For this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with American cyclist Samantha Bosco. She’s a 2x Paralympic bronze medalist, the 2015 Para Pan Am Games Road Race Champion, the 2017 Paracycling World Champion in the 3k Individual Pursuit and has won an additional 9 World Championship medals. We speak about Samantha's journey from dealing with her disability and chronic pain growing up, to eventually finding paracycling and becoming a professional cyclist. She also shares her advice for how ...

14. Samantha Bosco

January 10, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 69 MB

For this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with American cyclist Samantha Bosco. She’s a 2x Paralympic bronze medalist, the 2015 Para Pan Am Games Road Race Champion, the 2017 Paracycling World Champion in the 3k Individual Pursuit and has won an additional 9 World Championship medals. We speak about Samantha's journey from dealing with her disability and chronic pain growing up, to eventually finding paracycling and becoming a professional cyclist. She also shares her advice for how ...

3. Anna Hasselborg

January 03, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 59.6 MB

For today's episode we had the honor of speaking with Swedish curler Anna Hasselborg. She's an Olympic Champion, a two-time European Champion, a two-time World Championships medalist and a 5x Grand Slam Champion with Team Hasselborg. We speak about how she’s always known that she would one day compete at the Olympic Games, about not being scared to fail and loving the feeling of pressure. Anna also shares how her perspective and approach to the sport has changed after becoming a mom and all ...

13. Anna Hasselborg

January 03, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 59 MB

For today's episode we had the honor of speaking with Swedish curler Anna Hasselborg. She's an Olympic Champion, a two-time European Champion, a two-time World Championships medalist and a 5x Grand Slam Champion with Team Hasselborg. We speak about how she’s always known that she would one day compete at the Olympic Games, about not being scared to fail and loving the feeling of pressure. Anna also shares how her perspective and approach to the sport has changed after becoming a mom and all ...

12. Laura Siegemund

December 27, 2020 00:00 - 59 minutes - 54.9 MB

In today’s episode, we speak with German Tennis player Laura Siegemund. She competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics and has 2 singles and 6 doubles titles on the WTA Tour, including 2 Grand Slam doubles titles. We speak about memories from her career where she got to represent Germany at the Fed Cup and at the Olympics but also about all the pressure and expectations that come with competing and winning tournaments at home. She shares what went through her mind when she tore her ACL and the way th...

2. Laura Siegemund

December 27, 2020 00:00 - 59 minutes - 55.5 MB

In today’s episode, we speak with German Tennis player Laura Siegemund. She competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics and has 2 singles and 6 doubles titles on the WTA Tour, including 2 Grand Slam doubles titles. We speak about memories from her career where she got to represent Germany at the Fed Cup and at the Olympics but also about all the pressure and expectations that come with competing and winning tournaments at home. She shares what went through her mind when she tore her ACL and the way th...

11. Joakim Björkman

December 20, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 57.6 MB

For the first episode of season 2, we had the great pleasure of speaking with Professional Disability Golfer Joakim Björkman. He’s a 2x World and 2x European Champion with the Swedish National Team, which he has represented for 15 years. We speak about how it was for him to grow up with a disability and how golf became his free space and outlet at a young age. He opens up about the tough moment where he suddenly collapsed at home one day and how this experience left him feeling reborn, chang...

1. Joakim Björkman

December 20, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 58.2 MB

For the first episode of season 2, we had the great pleasure of speaking with Professional Disability Golfer Joakim Björkman. He’s a 2x World and 2x European Champion with the Swedish National Team, which he has represented for 15 years. We speak about how it was for him to grow up with a disability and how golf became his free space and outlet at a young age. He opens up about the tough moment where he suddenly collapsed at home one day and how this experience left him feeling reborn, chang...

10. Julie Vanloo

December 02, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 75.9 MB

For this episode we had the chance to speak with professional basketball player Julie Vanloo. Being a part of the Belgian National Team for 11 years, she’s a European Championship medalist, has played professional basketball in many different countries and is currently playing for Basket Zaragoza in Spain. We speak about the meaning and pride in representing your country at the highest level and what motivates her to keep playing but also about focusing on happiness in the moment rather than...

9. Michelle Li

November 25, 2020 00:00 - 39 minutes - 36.6 MB

For today’s episode we spoke with Canadian badminton player Michelle Li. She’s a two time Olympian, the first Canadian to ever win gold at the Commonwealth Games and has won a combined 17 medals, including 12 gold medals, at the Pan American Games and the Pan Am Championships. We speak about the difficulty of traveling the world alone to competitions and facing players who have a coach in their corner but also about being a professional badminton player coming from a country where the sport ...

8. Amanda Pelkey

November 18, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 59 MB

For this episode we had the pleasure of speaking with American ice hockey player Amanda Pelkey. An Olympic Champion and two time World Champion with Team USA, Amanda was also part of the Boston Pride team who won the Isobel Cup at the inaugural season of the NWHL. We speak about the player boycott of professional ice hockey during the 2019-2020 season and the underlying issues of inequality and a lack of resources and salaries within women’s ice hockey but also about what it’s like to become...

7. Clay Dimick

November 11, 2020 00:00 - 52 minutes - 48.6 MB

For this week’s episode we spoke with professional soccer player Clay Dimick. He’s currently an outside back for Charlotte Independence in the USL Championship but also played over in Australia after finishing his college soccer career at Belmont Abbey College, where he served as the team captain for two years. We speak about the challenges and growth he experienced when moving abroad by himself to play soccer and his adoption and the definition of family but also about how his faith and hel...

6. Tonia Couch

November 04, 2020 00:00 - 50 minutes - 46.9 MB

For this episode, we had the chance to speak with retired diver Tonia Couch. Representing Great Britain, she’s a three time Olympian and a European Champion and two time silver medalist as well as a silver medalist at the Commonwealth games and she has many times been recognized as one of Great Britain’s finest female divers. We speak about her favorite memories from her 18 year long career and the issue of beauty ideals and body image specifically within sports but also about what it’s like...

5. Marco Fichera

October 28, 2020 00:00 - 36 minutes - 34 MB

In this episode, we spoke with Italian fencer Marco Fichera. A European Games and European Championships medalist, Marco has been part of the Italian National team for 12 years and in 2016 the team won the silver medal at the Rio Olympics. We speak about his experiences competing at both the Youth and Senior Olympic Games, what it’s like to be a professional in a sport where you compete both with and against your teammates and about the importance of not only focusing on winning but also on ...

4. Jessica Long

October 20, 2020 23:00 - 1 hour - 57.9 MB

For this episode, we had the great pleasure of speaking with American swimmer Jessica Long. She’s a four time Paralympian and has won 23 Paralympic medals, including 13 gold medals, 52 World Championship medals and she has also broken multiple world records. We speak about her background of being adopted at the age of 13 months and having to amputate both legs below the knees and how the pool became the one place she was free from her prosthetics but also about making a Paralympic debut at a...

3. Ander Mirambell

October 13, 2020 23:00 - 1 hour - 71 MB

In our third episode of the season, we were fortunate to get to speak with the first ever Spanish skeleton pilot, Ander Mirambell. He’s a three-time Olympian, the second person ever to become a two time North American Cup overall Champion and the true pioneer of Spanish skeleton. We speak about his introduction to skeleton and the road to becoming a professional athlete and an Olympian in a sport that did not previously exist in your country, the meaning of creativity and thinking outside of...

2. Kirsty Gilmour

October 06, 2020 23:00 - 59 minutes - 54.8 MB

This week on the podcast, we had the chance to speak with Scottish badminton player Kirsty Gilmour. Representing Scotland and Great Britain since 2008, Kirsty is a repeat medalist at both the Commonwealth games and the European Games and became an Olympian in 2016 after competing at the Rio Olympics. We speak about the value of hard work and how her hard work mentality has brought her to where she is today, but also about how she had to learn the hard way that comments on social media (both ...

1. Eythora Thorsdottir

September 29, 2020 23:00 - 1 hour - 58 MB

In the first episode of this season on the Empowerment & Courage podcast we had the pleasure of speaking with Dutch & Icelandic gymnast Eythora Thorsdottir. A three-time European Championship medalist, Eythora has been part of the Dutch National Team for 8 years and made her first Olympic appearance when she was only 17 years old. We speak about her gymnastics career and how to deal with injuries that have you missing out on major championships, the impact that gymnastics has had on her life...

Vladimir Rodić

June 26, 2020 16:06 - 35 minutes - 32.5 MB

This time we had the pleasure of meeting with Serbian footballer Vladimir Rodic. He started his professional career at home in Belgrade, has previously played for the Montenegro National Team and in 2015 he was part of the Malmö FF Champions League squad. Today Vladimir plays for Hammarby Fotboll in Stockholm, Sweden. Speaking with Vladimir and listening to his journey to where he is today was incredibly inspiring. He is a very genuine and generous guy and a hard working professional with a...

Vladimir Rodić : ''I just want to be better every single day''

June 26, 2020 16:06 - 35 minutes - 33.1 MB

This time we had the pleasure of meeting with Serbian footballer Vladimir Rodic. He started his professional career at home in Belgrade, has previously played for the Montenegro National Team and in 2015 he was part of the Malmö FF Champions League squad. Today Vladimir plays for Hammarby Fotboll in Stockholm, Sweden. Speaking with Vladimir and listening to his journey to where he is today was incredibly inspiring. He is a very genuine and generous guy and a hard working professional with a...

Casper U Mortensen

June 23, 2020 09:36 - 38 minutes - 36.1 MB

We had the chance to meet with Casper U. Mortensen to talk about his career as a professional handball player, his future goals, the challenges that he has faced and his best advice for those facing adversity and those looking to fulfill their dreams.

CASPER U. MORTENSEN: "I came to Barcelona to WIN the CHAMPION LEAGUE"

June 23, 2020 09:36 - 37 minutes - 30.1 MB

We had the chance to meet with Casper U. Mortensen to talk about his career as a professional handball player, his future goals, the challenges that he has faced and his best advice for those facing adversity and those looking to fulfill their dreams.

Casper U Mortensen: "I came to Barcelona to win the Champion League"

June 23, 2020 09:36 - 39 minutes - 36.7 MB

We had the chance to meet with Casper U. Mortensen to talk about his career as a professional handball player, his future goals, the challenges that he has faced and his best advice for those facing adversity and those looking to fulfill their dreams. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

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