Listen Now

The post FIT048: Play overseas through persistence and passion, with Brent Schuck appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

The post FIT047: Immerse yourself while coaching hockey abroad, with Barry Smith appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

The post FIT046: Lessons from my rookie season abroad in Finland with Ryan Minkoff appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

The post FIT045: Finding your inner champ after sports- with Pasha Cook appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

BASKETBALL: Marissa Kastanek, a professional basketball player in Puerto Rico, is my guest for episode 44 of the Fit across Cultures Podcast.  As always, you can listen here, by clicking the play button above or subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher. “Going abroad was not only it a great way to propel my basketball career, but it was also a great way to travel. This may be my only chance to travel for extended periods of time. Not just as a vacation for 2 weeks. That’s probably my favorite part [of playing abroad].” Marissa played college ball at North Carolina State University, but wanted to maximize her athlete career before entering “the real world”. She played professionally overseas in Sweden, Czech Republic, and now Puerto Rico. In this podcast episode, we talk about: getting to the highest point in your sports career Marissa’s first unique season of playing abroad in Sweden, staying with a host family getting a first contract overseas via agencies the mindset of a professional player and being a product choosing an offer and having an advisory board and transparent agent social media’s influence on the transparency and honesty in the system of professional sports nerve-wracking cultural differences […]The post FIT044: Seizing the moment while playing abroad with Marissa Kastanek appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

MINDFULNESS: Jenny Ebermann joins me on this episode to talk about mindfulness for athletes. Her background is in sports science & sports management, with her sport being basketball. She worked in the sports industry on “the other side” as well, in governance & sport (FIBA), fundraising & advocacy in sports for development programs, and the anti-doping agency (in Canada & Switzerland). Jenny and I took the time to chat about: what is mindfulness and what is it NOT brain science and research on using techniques such as mindfulness for athletes giving example on mental exercises and how they improve your mental toughness the importance of breathing our evolutionary instincts and how they are sometimes preventing us from performing better getting rid of emotional hijacking, accepting your emotions when being out of your comfort zone what influence has the situation of playing abroad incorporating mindfulness in an active lifestyle effects on your immune system, body health, and well-being   Why is mindfulness a useful technique for athletes? “Through mindfulness, you learn how to accept what comes up without judging and being able to react. Training the brain not to freak out during a competition and to use the adrenaline to perform better […]The post FIT043: Hype or help: Mindfulness for athletes (abroad)? appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

BASKETBALL: Former international basketball player Howard Brown hails from Pottstown, PA, a tight knit community with a sports fanatic family background. After trying out multiple sports, he stuck with basketball and went on to win the state championship during his high school years (going head to head with Kobe Bryant). He played Villanova college ball, received an invitation to try out with a NBA team but couldn’t find his way until 1.5 years later when he went overseas to continue his basketball career abroad in Portugal, Israel, Venezuela, and mainly Spain. There, Howard won two Spanish championships, but that was not the highlight of his time abroad. In his opinion, it was the moment when he meet his Spanish wife. While still playing abroad, he started iballunited, a full service sports management agency, helping players build and sustain successful basketball careers.   What is the one thing that is missing for players that do not make it? “At the end of the day it comes down to THE opportunity, finding that open door. Whether it is going to a camp, knowing which ones are productive, sending your resumes, and finding and signing with the right agents. A lot of hustle, relationship […]The post FIT042: Creating a successful basketball career abroad with Howard Brown appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Kevin DeShazo from Field House Media, started his business with the idea that social media in the sports industry shouldn’t be treated like “the bad guy”. Kevin moved on to educate thousands of athletes and athletic directors about the advantages and potential pitfalls of social media, using it as a tool and not a toy. In this episode of the Fit across Cultures Podcast, we talk about social media for athletes abroad. “If you walk out of a meeting and you are only being told what not to do, you don’t know what you could do. In Sports, every day you are being told how to be the best possible by giving advice, and I think we should take the same approach with social media.” Kevin and I talked about – The negative conversations about social media and college sports – His approach to grow his business and success stories – Impact of social media on player’s confidence – Balance between social media activity and your athletic activity – How social media can help you transition to after pro life – Letting your personality shine through, finding a balance between promotions or bland posts – Benefit of clubs […]The post FIT041: Tips on using social media for athletes abroad appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

FOOTBALL: Born in Alicante, Spain, Ramon Soria Alonso started playing the national sport of football with 6 years old , moved to the famous youth academy of Villareal F.C. and represented Spain in the youth national team, and later played professionally in 2nd division in Spain. Since then he decided to pack his bags and make a living overseas, playing football abroad in Norway, Canada and now Slovenia. Ramon is bilingual because of school education and parents that spoke two languages to him (Spanish and French), which has served him as a great starting point. “I felt that I was growing more abroad. If you stay at home, you never know what is going to happen. You will never have this option of experiencing life abroad.” Ramon and I also talked about The time it takes for an agreement between the agent, club and player Test periods and trials How his experience of an international school in Spain helped him in playing football abroad How crucial patience is in the process of going as a pro athlete abroad What to look for in a foreign team Being out of your comfort zone Setting goals and how to improve and take a step-by-step approach Managing your […]The post FIT040: Playing football abroad in Norway, Canada & Slovenia appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

VOLLEYBALL: My interview guest in Episode 39 is Crystal Palmer, a former DIV I volleyball player at East Tennessee University. The U.S. American learned early on to sell her skills and market her talents to get into a major college after junior college, and used it to her advantage to land contracts abroad in multiple countries such as Finland, Germany, and Croatia. “Selling yourself is a huge part of your success. It’s not just your athletic ability. You are selling yourself as adaptable, a catalyst of change, not a downer who happens to be a good volleyball player.” Click the play button up above to listen to our interview (or download on Stitcher/iTunes). In this episode, we talk about the differences between backpacking and living abroad selling yourself as a player advantages of in person try-outs for volleyball overseas alternative career paths as pro players that are hard to comprehend for the non-athlete population managing the relationship with another pro athlete abroad (Crystal’s boyfriend Eryk Thomas plays professional basketball overseas) the reasons to take a break from pro volleyball overseas and her transition process to work the right mindset to embrace opportunities benefits of playing volleyball overseas for Crystal “Probably the hardest […]The post FIT039: Taking a break from playing pro volleyball overseas appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

TAXATION/FINANCES: Today it’s time to talk about a topic that gives most people, including myself a big headache: taxes! Athena Constantinou and her team at APC Sports Consulting took the time to tell me all about managing your taxes, image rights, and wealth as professional athletes abroad. Athena is no newbie to the accounting and tax scene, and comes equipped with a bulk load of certifications, as you will hear in the beginning of this podcast. She’s also spent years abroad in the U.S. and now supports a number of pro athletes on their path to financial success. “The average athlete may travel to 20 or more different country during one season. Each country has their own legislative peculiarities, which can create a tax compliance nightmare. At the same time, athletes are becoming a tactic target of tax authorities to extract revenues during times of tight budgets.” In this episode, we talk about: What points do athletes abroad need to be aware of in terms of income through sponsoring, product endorsements, television appearances lifestyle choices and investing while abroad judging dubious investment opportunities dealing with overspending as a way to compensate homesickness image rights and tax rights, using the example of Lionel Messi’s […]The post FIT038: What about my taxes? Tax consulting for athletes abroad appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

BASKETBALL: Dre “DreAllDay” Baldwin hails from Philadelphia, PA, and managed to play professional basketball overseas after getting kicked off his college basketball team. Hear all about his struggles of going from intramural basketball his senior year to pro contracts abroad and playing hoops overseas in this podcast episode. We talk about exposure camps, his first gig in Lithuania, gaining exposure through MySpace and YouTube (and a lot of hustle), his lessons learned, and how he built a personal brand before that was even a catch phrase. “I realized that I needed some control of my life, and on this process. It’s a job and you are an employee. The club owns you. It’s a buyers market, there are way more potential employees than jobs. The people that are hiring, they can pick and chose. They can easily find someone to replace you. So, I built my personal brand to become unique.” Contact Dre Check out Dre’s Youtube channel  or visit his Website www.dreallday.com (and grab a free pdf book about Dre’s story), follow him on Instagram @DreBaldwin or Twitter @DreAllDay Other resources Dre mentioned during the interview: Paul Shirley’s book- Can I keep my jersey Rod Benson –Too much Rod Benson blog There is an under-served market […]The post FIT037: Creating a personal brand while playing hoops overseas with Dre Baldwin appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

BASKETBALL: Tyler Smith, a former Penn State College basketball player, had many unique encounters, experiences, and memorable stories throughout his years of playing professional basketball abroad. The 6‘8 (2m30) athlete snatched his first contract overseas in the Netherlands, which happened coincidently at the same time as his parents were on an expatriation overseas in the European country. He moved on to play in Italy, Uruguay, Argentina, had the unique opportunity to play in a training camp with Utah Jazz, U.S. D-League, Japan, and Thailand. We talk about the difficulties in obtaining a new contract every year, the challenges abroad, but also highlight the great learning opportunities. “At the time you have no idea where a contract is going to come from. When you are going over for 8 months, you know that you’ll be unemployed again. Every summer was stressful. You have zero control over the situation.” In this podcast we focus on: how to see if an offer is a potential scam, dealing with the insecurity of waiting for new contract offers in the summer setting up side businesses while still being on the road his video platform “Pro player video” – video platform for pro players having a plan vs. no […]The post FIT036: Playing professional basketball abroad for Kobe Bryant’s Dad in Thailand appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

GOLF/TRANSITION MANAGEMENT: Penny Pulz is one of the top golfer to ever come out of the Australian continent. During her active career, she was considered a Top 10 Golfer worldwide,had  two LPGA wins, and played for 18 yrs on the LPGA tour. After a difficult transition with what she describes as “years of wasting time filled with migraines and panic attacks”, she is now a transition management coach. She helps athletes transition their thinking and mindset to the business world. Of course, I asked her about her cultural transition from down under to the USA. “I didn’t know how good I was at the world stage when I left Australia. It was a very different world. Even though I speak the same language, I really don’t. All the marketing meant nothing to me. Customs like American socialization were odd in the beginning. It took me ten years to fully get adapted. It was a process. The traits of how I was raised cannot be erased. I haven’t lost those ideas, but I describe myself as a half-American/half-Australian. You end up being a nice little mix, and that is a powerful place to be.” Penny and I touch upon many points during our interview, […]The post FIT035: Focus, Transition Management, and U.S. vs. Australian culture with Penny Pulz appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL/FINANCES:  Brandon Williams’ motto is “create a lifestyle that builds financial freedom.” In this episode of the podcast, he shares his reasons for becoming a financial advisor to professional athletes after retiring from a pro American Football career in the NFL in 2010. In our interview, we talk about his transition process and the change of perspectives he had to go through to find a new definition of success.  Press the play button up above or subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher to listen to episode 34 all about financial freedom abroad. “I’ve been playing since I was 6 years. I was putting my body in danger for 14 years for free. When I finally started playing in the NFL, I felt so blessed just to be there. I connected with many people. When I came to the realization that it was my last game, it was hard. I felt depressed when I first stopped. I blamed everybody.  My way to combatting depression was to be massively active. Every year I was reinventing myself. I started to fill like I was not living up to the full potential.” Brandon and I touch upon several subjects of interest to active athletes, […]The post FIT034: Creating brand equity and financial freedom abroad with Brandon Williams appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

VOLLEYBALL: Christy Swagerty and I met in Paris this spring (2015) after finding out we don’t live far away from each other. She is a professional volleyball player and also coaches youth teams in France. Her parents are coaches, so she says it was inevitable that she would take up a sport when younger. The ultimate decision had to be between basketball and volleyball. With her degree in the bags, she found herself a job coaching a college volleyball team. She didn’t know it yet, but it would set the stepping stone to her decision to move abroad. It all came down to a very unlikely event of coaching her new team against her former college team. Clearly, a big emotional experience that made Christy realize that part of her life was gone. She thought she had moved on, but she clearly hadn’t. Thankfully, her husband has always been a huge proponent of going overseas, so when the opportunity came up, they packed their bags. “My dream was always to play in college. I never thought of going abroad as a professional.”…Click To Tweet Joys and challenge of life abroad In our podcast (click the play button at the top of the post, […]The post FIT033: Exploring Europe while playing pro volleyball with Christy Swagerty appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

BASEBALL: Bobby Carrington is the first international baseball player to be featured on our podcast. He started playing in the U.S. as a 10yr old kid. Thanks to his good hand-eye coordination, he managed to develop into a top athlete and gained access to a full athletic college scholarship. An injury in his second passion of freestyle skying ended up costing him his scholarship, but somehow turned out for the better and landed him at a better NCAA Division 1 school. After his college days, he started his path to a professional baseball career with the Kansas City T-bones. An encounter with the shortstop of the team then sparked his adventurous mind to go play professionally abroad. Tune in to our episode to her Bobby tell you the story himself by clicking the player above or finding us on iTunes or Stitcher under “Fit across Cultures”. Bobby’s first day of playing baseball abroad ” I remember when I first arrived. It was a 14 hours ride. I didn’t sleep at all. I just wanted to take it all in. When I got there, I ended up meeting the team straight away. Probably around 50 people. When I finally went to […]The post FIT032: Did you know you could play baseball abroad professionally? appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

MENTAL FITNESS: Jemiah Battle thinks so. He went through his own emotional crisis when the recession hit in 2008. He felt “socially handicapped”, as he describes his mental state in his own words. After losing a lot of his material goods, he invested in personal coaching and certifications to specialize in the one area that helped him out of his hole: emotional & social intelligence. He also saw this topic as a missing piece in the sports industry, the development of emotional intelligence in athletes. “Coaches and clubs teach you what to do, but never show you how to be” In our interview, he shares valuable insights and easy exercises to start your journey to self-development and fulfillment. Jemiah’s tips to develop emotional intelligence in athletes Journaling (find your emotional triggers) 10 minutes affirmations morning exercise (what are you grateful for? , how you want your day to be?,  I am statements) Creating habits Benefits of Self-Development Better relationships Get rid of clutter Better peace of mind Better decision making Better team work and collaboration Reach out to Jemiah to find out more about emotional intelligence for athletes, and his book (Process You: Know yourself, Chose yourself, Give yourself) www.jemiahbattle.com or find […]The post FIT031: Should you develop emotional intelligence in athletes? appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

BASKETBALL:  Former Wisconsin Badgers college basketball player Mike Bruesewitz was known for his red afro in college ball (which he doesn’t don overseas anymore), but , as he notes, he’s really always been into sports. He is currently finishing up his second season playing pro ball abroad in Malta, after stunts in Israel and Slovenia. In our interview, we talk about his path to professional sports the summer of patience of 2013 after the end of his college career (“I was just kind of sitting around, working out and waiting for a job”) the 25 long days of negotiation for his first pro hoops contract the challenges of his second season in Slovenia and why he ended up transferring to Malta mid-season his efforts to brand and market himself while being overseas, talking about his FOX Sports blog and other ways he stays visible dealing with agents and their different ways of handling the business when playing pro ball abroad (see also our episode on how to find the right agent) Mike on Dealing with Agents: “It’s your life, it’s your decision, it’s your business. It’s your job to make sure you handle your business. If you are going to move agents, […]The post FIT030: From Wisconsin college hoops to pro ball abroad in Europe appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT: Dr. Mark Robinson decided to enroll in a PhD program while playing professional basketball on a three year contract in Manchester. Something you don’t hear about every day. Since that time, he has developed his Personal Player Development philosophy and practice, authored a book titled “The Athletic Identity” and hosts a magazine called PPD Mag. “The sport industry needs to stop using athletes only for their skill, but start to support them to be better people. It’s a challenge because it’s an area that is often overlook. Athletes sacrifice a lot of their free time to get better players that they could invest in their own development.” In our interview, we touch upon his personal experience of playing professionally abroad. Additionally, Mark explains the three corner stones of this concept of Athletic Identity: Athletes should ask themselves as a professional.. 1. Who are you? 2. What are you good at? 3. What do you want to become? “If you compare professional athletes and doctors and you look at the time they spend developing their craft: An athlete will have spent more time honing their skills than a doctor. Or can you show me a doctor that started at […]The post FIT029: Developing an Athletic Identity with Dr. Mark Robinson appeared first on Fit Across Cultures.