Career Clarity with Athletes: A 2ndwind Podcast with Ryan Gonsalves

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Lamia Zafrani saw firsthand what the system lacked and built a new way forward. A powerlifter, an OB-GYN, and a passionate advocate for female athletes, Lamia sits at the intersection of performance and pregnancy, challenging outdated norms that have sidelined women for far too long. In this episode, we go deep into her journey. From being the one who gets called when nobody e...

Send us Fan Mail When the final whistle blew on her decade-long professional basketball career, Abiola Wabara wasn’t just facing retirement. She was starting over, from scratch. In this raw and candid episode, Abi sits down with host Ryan to share the untold side of life after sport. From playing across Europe and representing Italy’s national team, to working in a call centre, driving Uber, and e...

Send us Fan Mail Theo Brown opens up about the messy, uncertain path from elite academy footballer to non-league player, to juggling ten different jobs in five years, before finally stepping into his purpose as a social entrepreneur. He was once chasing football dreams at Leicester City. But after injury setbacks and getting released, life after sport hit hard. No plan. No clear identity. Just odd...

Send us Fan Mail Gerrit-Jan van Velze spent nearly two decades in professional rugby, captaining clubs like Northampton Saints and Worcester Warriors. But in this conversation, it's not just the matches or medals that stand out — it's what came after, and everything he had to figure out along the way. In this episode, GJ opens up about moving from South Africa to England with no backup p...

Send us Fan Mail Emmanuel spent years chasing a dream that so many young athletes grow up holding: making it in the NFL. But behind the highlight reels and ambition was a quieter story. One of internal pressure, identity struggle, and eventually, the courage to say, this isn't who I am anymore. In this episode, Ryan talks with Emmanuel about what it really takes to walk away from the game, an...

Send us Fan Mail Kayla spent years chasing the dream of playing basketball overseas. She trained, sacrificed, and pushed through setbacks with the goal of turning pro. But after college, that dream didn’t happen. What followed was a quiet but difficult shift. One where she had to face the question that many athletes avoid until it’s too late: What now? In this episode, Ryan speaks with Kayla about...

Send us Fan Mail Chris Platts spent over a decade tracking the careers of 303 young footballers. The result? A raw, honest look at what actually happens in the world of professional sport. Some players made it to the Premier League. Others left with nothing. Many fell somewhere in between. Chris is a career coach and academic whose work focuses on helping athletes and their families plan for the l...

Send us Fan Mail Stewart McCully has spent his life around high performers, from elite athletes to engineers, from corporate execs to sheep shearers. In this episode, he joins Ryan to talk about what it means to guide people through high-pressure environments and major transitions. A former SANFL footballer and teacher, Stewart now helps athletes and professionals develop the mental skills they of...

Send us Fan Mail Tara was known for one thing: martial arts. It shaped how she moved through the world. It gave her discipline, confidence, community, and a sense of direction. But somewhere along the way, the structure that once supported her started to feel like a box she no longer fit inside. Leaving wasn’t easy. It wasn’t a dramatic moment. It was slow. Quiet. And terrifying. Because when your...

Send us Fan Mail From Athlete to Entrepreneur: The Power of Multiple Identities and Empathy in Building Success In this episode, Sophia Parvizi-Wayne shares her inspiring journey from competitive athletics and battling anorexia to founding innovative health tech startups. Her insights reveal how embracing your multiple identities, leading with empathy, and navigating life's uncertain transiti...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with Sandile, a former football academy player whose journey took an unexpected turn when the pandemic paused everything. What started as a pursuit of pro football has now evolved into a career in tech, mentorship, and agri-business. His story is about staying ready, reinventing with intention, and finding new ways to win even when the plan changes. We...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a former athlete takes his love for sports and turns it into a movement? In this episode, Ryan sits down with Ed Jones II, founder of Beyond the Field , to unpack how a childhood filled with competition, community, and coaching evolved into a career centered around impact. Ed shares his journey from fast-footed kid in Houston to collegiate player, coach, and now...

Send us Fan Mail What if your career isn’t over, it just needs a reset? In this episode, we’re joined by John Tarnoff, career coach and author of Boomer Reinvention , who shares how he completely pivoted after being laid off at 50. From Hollywood executive to helping thousands navigate second and third careers, John’s story is real, relatable, and packed with insight for anyone figuring out what’s...

Send us Fan Mail When Jeff Horn stepped into the ring against Manny Pacquiao in 2017, few believed the former schoolteacher could defeat a boxing legend. His stunning victory to become world champion capped an unlikely journey that began when he was a bullied teenager searching for confidence. Unlike most elite boxers, Horn discovered the sport at 18 after his football dreams faded. "I went t...

Send us Fan Mail What do you do when your biggest career milestone happens at 23 and you're not even sure how you got there? For Freddie Woodword, representing Team GB in diving at the Olympics was both the dream and the beginning of a much deeper journey. In this episode, we dive into Freddie’s fascinating transition from elite athlete to cruise ship performer to entrepreneur in the generati...

Send us Fan Mail Kate takes us back to her early swimming days, competing in the Sydney and Athens Paralympics, and what it felt like to walk away from the pool after years of intense training. She opens up about facing subtle (and not-so-subtle) discrimination as a para-athlete, the identity crisis that followed retirement, and how she unexpectedly found a second wind through teaching and travel....

Send us Fan Mail What happens when your pro sports career ends with a tweet? Tom Morton found out the hard way. While playing rugby in New Zealand, he saw on social media that his contract with Sale Sharks wasn’t being renewed. No phone call. No meeting. Just a public post that blindsided him completely. From training with England’s under-20s to waking up across the world with no contract and no p...

Send us Fan Mail Josh Katz shares his journey as an Olympic judo athlete and the challenges of transitioning between career phases while balancing training, education, and business ventures. He discusses how early family influence and prioritizing education alongside sport created a foundation for success beyond the mat. In a nutshell, we talk about: • Growing up in a judo family with an Olympian...

Send us Fan Mail Matthew Lloyd, former Australian Olympic cyclist and King of Mountains winner at the Giro d'Italia, shares his powerful journey of transition after career-ending injuries led to addiction and ultimately transformation. In this episode, we chat about how he: • Found freedom and joy in cycling from childhood, exploring nature with his brother • Shifted from triathlon to cycling...

Send us Fan Mail From hiding handwritten goals under her mattress at age 12 to representing England in netball and later Jamaica in rugby, Danielle shares the defining moments that shaped her unique approach to achievement. She vividly recounts the emotional journey of childhood trials that became her catalyst for success—a painful rejection that transformed into an unwavering determination to pro...

Send us Fan Mail Jimmy Gavin’s path took him from crushing self-doubt and a life-changing health diagnosis in high school to seven seasons of pro basketball across Europe, through a humbling tech-sales gig, and now into a leadership role directing sports initiatives. Along the way, he discovered that raw honesty, relentless hustle, and a tight-knit support crew can flip every “end” into the start...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Ryan sits down with Lexi Chambers, an adaptive athlete who has shattered expectations and set multiple world records—all while using a standard NHS wheelchair. After a below-the-knee amputation due to Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), Lexi refused to let disability define her. Instead, she turned to endurance sports, becoming the first person to wheel from Joh...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when an 8-year-old’s Olympic dream doesn’t pan out? For Jess, a former elite taekwondo and boxing athlete, it meant reinventing herself—twice—while battling concussions, identity crises, and the harsh realities of transitioning out of sports. In this episode, you’ll hear: - How a diagnosis of low muscle tone led her to taekwondo, and why she became the kid opponents f...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, we dive deep into the real psychology behind career transitions, decision-making, and finding your true path after sport — and why it’s way less logical and way more emotional than you think. We are joined by Gavin Freeman, a sports psychologist, MBA lecturer, and corporate strategist who shares fascinating stories from working with elite athletes, Olympic...

Send us Fan Mail Greg's journey isn't your typical athlete-to-executive story. This is about what happens when you walk away from elite sport cold turkey (for 10 years), then suddenly find yourself pulled back in – while building a career, starting a family, and even stepping into a boxing ring. In this episode, we get raw about: That moment a 24-hour bus ride revealed his untapped swimm...