The Rep Your Story Podcast

As we close out season 3 of this podcast, I am super excited to share this remarkable and inspiring story of a female boxer out of England whose name is Nicola Adams. Growing up with an abusive father, Nicola found boxing as a means of defending and protecting herself and her mother from more violence. From overcoming gender inequalities in her early career to becoming the first double Olympic gol...

There are a lot of things that the average person takes for granted. When you go to tie your shoes, when you swing a bat, or when you throw and catch a ball, these are all actions that are typically performed with two hands. Well today’s episode is about an athlete that didn’t just learn how to do each of these actions with one hand, he excelled at them, even at the professional level. Jim Abbott...

When you go shopping at the grocery store, you’re probably not likely to see a future Super Bowl champion stocking the shelves, but this story is about an athlete that did just that. The theme of Kurt Warner’s life is the underdog - overlooked in high school, college, and the pros. Most athletes would’ve given up long before, but Kurt’s perseverance helped him break a number of records with not on...

So far on this podcast, we’ve discussed athletes whose stories began with broken homes, physical impairments, financial struggles, and issues with the law, but today’s episode is about an athlete who experienced something entirely different. This athlete not only lost his mother when he was just 9 years old, but he also grew up in a country going through a civil war - the Second Congo War. From ru...

In December of 2013, a video went viral showing a football player on the Denver Broncos with tears streaming down his face during the national anthem...and these weren’t normal tears, these were like someone had opened up the floodgates and all the emotions boiling up inside were finally let loose.  Well there’s a pretty inspiring and impactful story behind those tears and it starts with a ki...

This episode, we’re going to be talking about a powerful and impactful woman who, during the 1960’s, was referred to as "the fastest woman in history."  She was one of the most visible black women in America, became a role model for black and female athletes around the world, and was an incredible civil rights and women’s rights pioneer.  But, what makes her story even more inspiring and...

Usually, when you hear about someone with a criminal record of 15 arrests before their sophomore year of high school, you don’t really think that there’s any hope for them.  Well today’s story is about an athlete that turned what he learned from his time in solitary confinement into an NBA Championship ring, two NBA All-Star selections, and numerous multi-million dollar contracts.  Hit t...

This episode, we talk about one of the most accomplished, decorated athletes of all time, and no, I’m not talking about anyone in the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, none of that.  I’m talking about Tamika Catchings. Born with a severe hearing impairment, which led to her requiring speech therapy later in life, Tamika was bullied nonstop as a child for wearing hearing aids, glasses, and eventually braces...

In this episode, we talk about a guy by the name of Jimmy Graham.  If you’re a fan of the NFL, then you’ve probably heard of him, but if you haven’t, he’s a tight end that has previously played for the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, and New Orleans Saints (who drafted him).  Regardless of if you’ve heard of him or not, his story of being dropped off at a group home b...

With our new podcast format, we're excited to get things started with an NBA standout by the name of Louis Clyde Hudson or "Sweet Lou" as people called him. Why start this season off with Lou?  Well, after doing some research on who exactly we wanted to kick this podcast off with, we were reading through some historical accounts of impactful athletes and stumbled upon Lou’s story. AND he rece...

Originally from the Philippines, Joe's parents decided to move the family to the U.S. when he was 11 years old. Coming to the states was initially a culture shock because of the differences in physical appearance, athletic ability, and just overall environment.  Joe didn't actually get into photography after the first time his mom handed him a camera. He recalls she just handed him an old cam...

Born in the Philippines, Paul first arrived in the United States entering 4th grade. His uncle first sparked his interest in football when he took Paul to a Jets vs. Falcons NFL preseason game. Essentially learning how to play the game through Madden and outside with friends around home, Paul soon discovered he had potential. In high school, Paul's father wanted him to focus on a future working wi...

Growing up just outside Gaithersburg, MD, Johnny Hodges started playing sports at the age of 8. Swimming was where he saw early successes, but as he got older and started participating in other sports, the athletes that stuck with swimming year-round began to overtake him. He then decided to make the jump to football, basketball, and lacrosse. As a naturally fast athlete, he was able to excel in l...

Kaili's athletic career, like many others we've had on the show, didn't start out with basketball. She began as a swimmer; her mom would drop her off at swim practice and her brother would head to the outdoor courts to shoot hoops. Once she finished swim practice, she would meet up with her brother and rebound for him before their mom picked them up. Eventually, he convinced her to pick up basketb...

Lindsey Pulliam's athletic career didn't start off how you might imagine. Her parents actually had her taking karate lessons. But, when she was two belts away from earning her black belt, the coaches of her boys basketball developmental league sat down with her parents and suggested that she start taking basketball seriously and join an AAU program. As you can probably predict, since making the sw...

With a heavy influence from her father, MaryKate was introduced to photography and content creation as an eighth grader. She remembers him picking up a camera to shoot her siblings and her as they played sports, but that eventually led to his insistence on her learning the trade of photography, regardless if she stuck with it long-term or not. Entering college, MaryKate was well ahead of her peers...

Growing up in the smallest US state to eventually shooting for one of the biggest sportswear brands in the country, Marquis' story is one we can all learn and take inspiration from. As a kid growing up in East Providence, Rhode Island, Marquis played a number of sports, but was eventually recruited to play D-I football at Sacred Heart University. Like most content creators who have a previous care...

Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Josh Giardina started off his athletic career as an avid baseball player until his passion for basketball completely took over.  Getting shots up in the gym before school started, coupled with his determined mindset, Josh went from averaging 8 PPG his Sophomore year to just over 15 PPG his senior year, earning him an roster spot at Marymount University. Like...

Before the summer was about to start, Mike told himself he'd give his freelance content career a shot, but if he didn't like it or couldn't make it work, he'd always have his attendance coordinator position to fall back on. That dream quickly escalated when he was soon let go and took it as an opportunity to finally test out his new passion for storytelling. Growing up in Urbana, Illinois, Mike al...

Growing up in Kitchener, Ontario, Dhane Smith spent the early years of his life playing both lacrosse and hockey, but would eventually get into football (and a brief stint in volleyball?). After healing from a broken ankle his senior year of high school, Dhane was invited to Canada's Top 100 Camp for both football and lacrosse. We think it's pretty obvious which one he ended up choosing... Fast fo...

It's safe to say that hardly anyone could've started their basketball career later than Brandon Holcomb and had similar success. Playing organized basketball for the first time his senior year of high school, Brandon was extremely late to receive college exposure, but nonetheless picked up a last second offer from Radford University. Following his college career, Brandon had brief stints playing p...

Standing at 6'4" with a 44" vertical, Solo Ball wasn't always so athletically gifted. Just a few years ago, he was a 5'7" scrawny shooting guard with a great shot and outstanding work ethic, but no real dominant presence on the court.  After attending Scotland Campus in Pennsylvania and now Saint James School in Maryland, Solo is looking for a breakout year. He's already gathered interest fro...

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Jaylon's career first started to ramp up when he attended Simeon Career Academy and started to draw attention from a number of high major programs. After committing to the University of Illinois, he lead the team in assists his sophomore year and was named All-Academic Big Ten his junior and senior years. With brief stints playing professionally in Canada, Latvia...

If your mom or dad handed you a flyer for a summer internship, do you think it would result in you finding your next passion? Would you even do the internship? Liam had zero prior media background when his dad did just that. However, after an internship with Capitol Hoops, the UAA Finals, and a few of his brother's games, @leprechaunfilms was slowly becoming a go-to creator in the DMV.  Today...

From a high school injury to having a photo recently featured in People Magazine, Hugo sat down with us to give us the details about just how it all went down. After his parents immigrated from Guatemala, Hugo was born and raised in the DMV. He attributes most of his recent content success to his father's inspiration and developing genuine relationships with the athletes he shoots. We would also l...