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Welcome back to the proverbial couch! We are still in a pandemic environment so this is being recorded remotely. ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE This week I am joined by Storie Serres, Team Canada AG Duathlon and founder of Conquer Fitness, where virtual fitness meets accountability. We met out in Toronto at a One Academy summer race circuit through our mutual friend Wendy. We both share a love of fitness, coaching and a general curiosity for how to make things more inclusive in our respective sports. Join us as we discuss the sport of duathlon, its accessibility and the opportunities versus realities of the sport. We also dive into the inclusion within sport and the spaces within it, her work with organizations such as Inclusion Incorporated and how we feel brands such as Zwift are working to be more positive influences within their branding and taking real action versus performative ones in trying to change for the better. Thank for the enlightening conversation and showing how one can be genuine, be curious and do so with authenticity.  To learn more about Storie, you can find her on Instagram @storiethepixie @teamconquerfit or you can visit www.conquerfit.ca Hopefully we will be able to fitness again together soon and give hugs and high fives!

Welcome back to the proverbial couch! This episode is done in collaboration with Driftwood Athletics.   ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE   This week, I am joined by Alnoor Mawji, also known as Flash. We have formerly trained together out of Studeo55 in Vancouver, BC and besides my coach, he was the first person I met when I started going there. A fellow fitness nerd like myself, we've bonded over our shared love of coffee, funky socks and lifting heavy things and overall functional fitness.    Join us in Part 1 of a 3 part series as we discuss the increase in women visibly within strength based sport (CrossFit, Olympic weightlifting with the explosion of social media), the disparity between the various tools given to competing athletes and how his perspective has changed since becoming a father. Thanks Al for joining me on this enlightening conversation!    Stay tuned for Part 2 where we will dive deeper into that change of perspective as well as explore how cultural diversity and race can play a role in both inclusion and visibility within strength sports.    To learn more about Alnoor and see what he gets up to, you can follow him on: Instagram: @flashmawji @driftwoodathletics   When it's pandemic safe enough for me to come back, we will WOD and coffee and podcast!

Welcome back to the proverbial couch! We are currently experiencing a health pandemic across the world and it has drastically changed how we interact and how we work with one another.   ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE  This week, I am joined by Aaron O'Flaherty. We've worked together within BC Rugby, have been around one another within the BC Rugby Premiership and fortunately he'd even agreed to be my forwards coach for Sr rep rugby.    Join us as we chat about how Covid-19 has shifted how we communicate, share ideas and motivate players as well as our experiences as coaches and how we've been able to learn and grow. Thank you for continuing to inspire me with your "en-too-siasm" and just being an all around amazing human being.  To learn more about Aaron and see what he's up to, you can follow him on Instagram @aaronflah101 and on Twitter @AaronOFlaherty3   PS: 9mins of straight burpees was brutal but I am a woman of my word, and did 93 in 9mins #iamawomanofmyword

Welcome back to the proverbial couch! This is the other one of the lost episodes, but an insightful look at sport and mindfulness can meld together. ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE This week, I am joined by my fellow footie bloke, CrossFit beast and all around great human being Bobby Danga. Apparently we both did hurdles in track & field when we were younger and share a love of rugby. Join us as we chat about motivation, community, mindfulness and passion projects throughout our experiences in sport.  Thank you for teaching me and continuing to inspire me with all that you do - you're a legend! To learn more about Bobby, check out his podcast Your Hidden Talent, found on Apple Podcasts as well as on Instagram @ bobbydanga @your_hidden_talent_podcast See you in The Six, real soon!

Welcome back to the proverbial couch! This is one of the lost episodes, but an insightful look at sport in general, how fitness can shape your life and the ebbs and flows of life's many changes. ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE I am joined by none other than my good pal Brad Bodnarchuk - he even made me a delicious egg sandwich for this one. Join us as we chat about all things fitness, sport, food and life changes. I am so happy I got to witness and see how his life has welcomed change in so many positive ways! If you want to know more about Brad, go check out his podcast The Half a Dozen Hospitality Podcast; available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts as well as his YouTube Channel and on Instagram @bradbodnarchuk and @half_podcast Thanks for patiently waiting for this to drop Brad - I thought I'd lost this memory card but alas, it's found, and hopefully y’all enjoy this thoughtful soundbite!

Welcome back to the proverbial couch! I wanted to explore the ideas centred around body image, health and fitness and how culture can impact how body image is viewed. ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE Two Asian's walk into a gym. Neither of us can count very well when it comes to loading weight onto the bar but what we do have in common is how our cultural upbringing has affected what how we view our own body image and how that compares to our cultural beauty standard. On this week's episode I am joined by my good friend and sometimes training partner Julia Chung. Join us as we chat all about the affect Asian culture has on what body image and cultural beauty standards are and how they can affect young women's lives and outlook. We also explore what it means to find comfort in your own skin and going against the grain when it comes to what society deems as being beautiful. Also - shout out to you Deryn Macey, the creator of Running on Real Food, a plant based food blog that has helped to keep us fuelled in and out of the gym. If you want to know more about her, check out her Instagram @runningonrealfood or at https://runningonrealfood.com/ To learn more about Julia or myself, you can catch us at Studeo55 working out at 6am. You can also find me on Instagram @thy_an or on a rugby pitch throughout BC. 

Welcome back to the proverbial couch! This is Part 2 of a 2 part series on Mental Health and Self Care. ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE What do a Doctor, Designer, and Accountant have in common?? On this week's episode I am joined by my two training parters, Dr. Matt Kadatz and Drew William, affectionately known as The Talls. Join us as we chat all about what self care and the importance of taking care of one's mental health in a holistic manner means as well as how things like social media and how changes in corporate space impact the way we deal with and have accessibility and knowledge about all aspects of mental health and well being.  If you want to know more about us, you can find all three of us bright and early in the morning at Studeo55 in Vancouver, Canada Thanks so much to The Talls for this enlightening chat and I will see you two bright and early in the gym tomorrow!

Welcome back to the proverbial couch! This is Part 1 of a 2 part series on Mental Health and Self Care. ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE This week is just me exploring, chatting and sometimes rambling about what self care means to me, how my own mental health journey has been both as an athlete and as an individual. This serves as a prelude to the second part of our series, where I sit down with my two training partners and we explore what self care, mental health and well being means both from a personal perspective as well as a medical one.  Thank you so much for all your support thus far in this little creative venture of mine, as I've used this platform to be able to talk about a variety of different topics. You can follow me on Instagram @thy_an or visit www.theathletedirective.com for more interesting articles about a variety of different topics. Look out for Part 2, dropping soon in a couple weeks.

Welcome back to the proverbial couch! Hopefully this will brighten a rainy day. ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE Experience all the laughs and #creepercoach shade as I am joined this week by Theron White, RMT. Join us as we chat about all things mobility, injury management and movement in general. I also learn how he got into this industry area in the first place, why he loves to help people and how he has helped me and countless other people, continue to move through the injury management process and beyond. To learn more about Theron, you can find him on Instagram @therondw, at Ntegrated Health located in Studeo55 in Vancouver, Canada and you can also email him your questions to theronw.rmt@gmail.com Thanks Theron for the invigoratingly entertaining chat and I'll see you in the gym bright and early!

Welcome back to the proverbial couch! ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE This episode is probably the most personal, both in terms of content and in history of friendship both in and out of the sport of rugby. This week, I sit down with Anastasia (aka Stacey) Welch, former rugby teammate of mine both at the Calgary Saints RFC and the University of Calgary Dinos. Join us we chat about all things rugby and friendship as we navigated growing up in the sport during the non-digital era, pushing one another out of our comfort zones in order to grow, dealing with body issues, diagnosis of illness and general thoughts on women in rugby. What may have started as a seemingly forced friendship through a love of sport has blossomed into a lifelong supportive friendship born out of passion for the same things and the courage to support one another through thick and thin. To learn more about Stacey, you can follow her on Instagram @fromsnowtosurf Thank you so much Stacey for the personal catch-up!

Welcome back to the couch!! Did you miss me?? ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE What happens when Tennis meets Rugby and they both hangout with CrossFit? This week, I get to sit down with my good friend Ashneel Singh, former competitive tennis player and fellow CrossFit doer. Join us as we chat about all things relating to goals, motivation, the importance of strong support and what defines success. We also discover a mutual love for cake - red velvet, with the cream cheese frosting! To learn more about Ash, you can find him on Facebook (Ashneel Singh) and about his ongoing project, Beers That Make A Difference where its about getting together with someone, buying them a beer and sharing! Don't forget to hashtag #beersthatmakeadifference Thanks Ash for the enlightening conversation and for Roots Canada for making me look dope with my sock monkey sweater! PRODUCTS MENTIONED Athia Skincare (https://athiaskin.com/) CODE AthiaTjO1 at Checkout to save 15%!!

Welcome to The Athlete's Wandering Couch Podcast, brought to you by The Athlete Directive! This is the very first episode!! I am very excited to bring this to life - it is something I've worked hard at to bring interesting stories and perspectives to life in a deeper manner. ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE I am so honoured to have had the opportunity to sit down with Travis Murao, Canadian Wheelchair Rugby National Team Athlete, 2 time Olympian and Olympic Silver Medalist from London 2012, PanAmerican Games Gold Medalist 2015. Join us as we chat about all things rugby, parasport, adaptive athletics and life in general. To learn more about Travis or Wheelchair Rugby: http://www.cwsa.ca/wheelchair-rugby/team-canada To celebrate the release of this passion project, I chose to release it on my birthday!!! So as a birthday gift to me, please subscribe! And tune in every 2 weeks as I sit down with someone new and talk about all things related to sport.