ex.clusively: beyond the game

In this episode of ex.clusively: beyond the game, we sit down with Chance Mitchell, the founder of Video Boost and one of the most influential basketball content creators to come out of Alabama. From filming basketball games on an iPod Touch at just 13 years old to working behind the scenes with Ball Is Life, Chance shares the journey that built Video Boost into a respected brand. We talk about be...

In this episode of ex.clusively beyond the game, host Kensley Tolliver and Olivia Blankenship, sit down with brothers Calen and Caden Lightford for a real conversation about basketball, family, discipline, mentorship, and finding purpose beyond the court. From Calen’s journey as a college athlete and future basketball coach to 14-year-old Caden balancing basketball and sports photography, this epi...

In this two-part episode of ex.clusively: beyond the game, Kensley Tolliver and Olivia Blankenship sit down with author, mother, wife, nonprofit founder, and advocate Shenequa Phipps for one of the most emotionally honest conversations the platform has had to date. This conversation dives into healing, rejection, faith, emotional resilience, identity, single motherhood, generational trauma, purpos...

This episode of ex.clusively: beyond the game dives deep into the emotional battles people often carry in silence. Kensley Tolliver and Olivia Blankenship sit down with author, mother, daughter, wife, nonprofit founder, and advocate Shenequa Phipps. From mental health and suicidal thoughts… to generational trauma, father wounds, single motherhood, healing, faith, and purpose. Shenequa opens up abo...

By 21, Nasir Butler walked away from football, built a sports media brand from nothing but an iPhone, got married, and made the hardest call of his life, stepping back from his parents to protect his peace. In this raw conversation, Kensley and Olivia sit down with Nasir Butler, founder of Social Gimmickz, for an honest conversation about toxic masculinity, burnout, navigating an interracial marri...

In this episode, Coach Cody Freeman, founder of Detail Training, elite professional basketball trainer, youth pastor, Marine veteran, husband, and father, shares how prayer, discipline, marriage, fatherhood, and the “micro details” shape the way he leads on and off the court. It’s a conversation about building people, not just athletes. They talk about:• what prayer really looks like• how fast bus...

The game doesn’t end when the clock hits zero, that’s where the real pressure starts. This is the why behind the win, men’s ego, and what athletes carry in silence. In this episode of ex.clusively: beyond the game, Kensley Tolliver and Olivia Blankenship sit down with Quenton “Q” Lawson, the creator behind 2LIVEQ, a force in sports videography. This episode explores his journey from working in new...

Nobody Owes You Anything. In this episode of ex.clusively: beyond the game, Kensley Tolliver and Olivia Blankenship break down the reality nobody wants to say out loud: Fame doesn’t mean money. Success doesn’t mean obligation. And just because someone made it… doesn’t mean they owe you a thing. From NIL deals and athletes carrying entire families… to relationships, entitlement, and social media pr...

Did you really walk away… or did you quit too soon? The “leave the game before it leaves you” mentality isn’t confidence, it’s a defense mechanism. In this episode, Kensley Tolliver and Olivia Blankenship unpack the uncomfortable truth behind why we walk away from things we were meant to fight for. From heartbreak to rejection, this conversation dives into the “Rematch vs. Ball Game” mindset—and h...

What people see on Friday nights isn’t what builds a winning football program. In this episode of ex.clusively: beyond the game, hosts Kensley Tolliver and Olivia Blankenship sit down with Muscle Shoals Coach Eric Little to break down the reality behind championship culture, leadership, and the responsibility coaches carry in shaping young athletes. Fans see the lights, the touchdowns, and the pac...

What does it really mean to fight for the next generation through sports? In this episode of ex.clusively: beyond the game, Kensley Tolliver and Olivia Blankenship sit down with Coach Jarrett Collier to talk about athlete leadership, mentorship, and why sports can change the trajectory of a kid’s life. In this conversation with Coach Jarrett Collier, we discuss: • the pressure athletes face to alw...

In this episode of ex.clusively: beyond the game , Kensley Tolliver and Olivia Blankenship have a conversation sports culture avoids — prison reform, generational trauma, and the athlete-to-incarceration pipeline. We talk about Friday nights, identity, NIL, and why investing in people matters more than building prisons. This is beyond the game. This is the person underneath the helmet. Support the...

ex.clusively: beyond the game is a women-led sports culture podcast, centered on the humanity of the game. In this episode, we share why we created Beyond the Game and why sports needs a space where athletes are seen as more than stats. This conversation goes beyond highlights and headlines. We talk about identity, mental health, purpose, generational impact, and what athletes carry long after the...

Jay Woods joins ex.clusively: Beyond the Game for a real conversation about pressure, purpose, and the Plug-and-Play Mentality that shapes the way he moves through life. Jay opens up about staying grounded, handling expectations, and what it really takes to keep showing up, even when life shifts, plans change, and the pressure gets real. This episode is about discipline, identity, growth, and lear...

If you’ve ever felt overlooked, underestimated, or like you had to create your own path — this conversation is for you. In this episode, I’m sitting down with Lillian Glanton , founder of LG Media Co. and the Muscle Shoals Songwriters Festival , to talk about identity, reinvention, and what happens when you stop waiting for permission. New episodes every Wednesday.

At what point does punishment become revenge? In this episode of EXclusively with Kensley Tolliver , Kensley sits down with Stacy George for a candid conversation about incarceration, accountability, and the human cost of power. Drawing from firsthand experience inside Alabama’s prison system and his involvement in The Alabama Solution , Stacy reflects on mental health, addiction, faith, and when...

In this episode of EXclusively with Kensley Tolliver , Kensley sits down with her best friend and Co-Founder of the November Saturdays Foundation , Olivia Blankenship , for a conversation about friendship, timing, and what it looks like when everything finally comes full circle. Launching Season 2 on January 14 — the Day of the Heavyweight , this episode explores small-town assumptions, creative r...

November Saturdays exists because no child should be forgotten by the systems meant to protect them. In this episode, The Making of November Saturdays , I tell the true origin story, from where the name came from to the life experiences that shaped it. Foster care. Displacement. Addiction. Loving someone the system gave up on. And realizing I didn’t survive that season just to live a normal life....

In this New Year’s Special, I’m opening up about the year that changed me. From burnout and isolation to faith, friendship, and moments of clarity I didn’t see coming, this episode is a look back at everything that shaped my 2025. I talk honestly about slowing down, letting go of old habits, turning 30, trusting God, and the mailbox moment that reminded me I wasn’t doing all of this alone. You’ll...

TSA took my ID more times than I took breaths, Connr dug into my life like she worked for the airport, and somehow this turned into The Modern Day Boston Tea Party. Thank God for edits & 3rd 2nd Chances. Episode 5 now streaming #EXclusively