No Former Athlete

University of San Diego college dancer Angela Aguilar opens up about life after competitive dance, rebuilding a relationship with movement, and finding new ways to channel the drive, discipline, and competitive energy that never left her.

Angela shares why she stepped away from her college dance team before senior year, the loss and regret that followed, and her search for a new sense of community after leaving the structured world ...

In this episode of No Former Athlete, Erin talks with Jenny Bauer, a lifelong athlete, former DePauw women’s basketball player, All-American track athlete, attorney, coach, and multi-sport competitor.

Jenny reflects on growing up in a small Indiana town during the early days of organized girls’ sports, when softball was one of the only options available and girls’ basketball was becoming a major part of the communi...

Just two childhood friends and no former athletes catching up on 20+ years of history — and unpacking why neither of us knew how to relax until literally last year. 😅

Erin sits down with lifelong friend Veronica (soccer, basketball, and youth league bowling — yes, really) to talk about what happens when your entire identity used to be athlete and then... it just isn't anymore. No one prepares you for that.

Use code VPOD ...

Joshua Jones played college football at DePauw before becoming a social worker and community leader in St. Louis.

Use code JOSHPOD to get a special discount to get lifetime access on the NFA Breathe Here Now Virtual Breathwork session. https://www.noformerathlete.com/bhn

In this episode, Josh shares his journey of athlete retirement, learning to process grief, and redefining success off the field.

We explore how competitive sports s...

From college basketball to shooting covers for Rolling Stone and SLAM Magazine — sports photographer Nicol's journey is proof that retired athletes never really stop being athletes.

Use code NICOLPOD to get a special discount to get lifetime access on the NFA Breathe Here Now Virtual Breathwork session. https://www.noformerathlete.com/bhn

In this episode of No Former Athlete, Nicol shares her path from playing club basketball a...

What happens when the sport that shaped you is taken away in a second?

In this episode of No Former Athlete, Erin sits down with Ciara — former volleyball player, Navy veteran, coach, content creator, and founder of The New Mix — to talk about athlete identity, career-ending injury, mental health, and rebuilding confidence after sport.

Use code CIARAPOD to get a special discount to get lifetime access on the NFA Breathe H...

Bree Pear has played basketball since they were five. They never played in college — but they never stopped playing either. Now at 36, they’re still figuring out how to get back to the game after a three-year depression pulled them away from the one thing that always kept them grounded.

In this conversation, Bree and Erin talk about what it means to hold onto a sport when it's no longer a requirement, the darkness that f...

Most athletes don't grieve the end of their sport. They just move on — or try to.

In this episode, Erin talks with Max Guenther, a former D3 quarterback, about the seven years it took to figure out life after competitive sport. They cover the identity loss nobody prepares you for, the injuries that close doors you thought would stay open, and why the feelings sport gave you aren't coming back the same way — and what that...

Dom played basketball at Grinnell College. Then it ended. No fanfare. No plan. Just a routine that disappeared overnight.

Now he's run 16 marathons, founded Sunday Run Day LA, and still isn't sure he'd call himself an athlete.

In this episode, we get into the honest, unfiltered conversation about what happens to the competitor inside you when the sport is gone — and why that part of you never actually leaves.

We cover:

• Why Do...

What happens when you stop playing the sport that shaped your entire identity?

In this episode, we’re talking about the very real transition from college athlete to “normal life” — and why so many no former athletes struggle with losing structure, purpose, validation, and identity after sports end.

Jen, a retired Division III soccer player turned physical therapist and business owner, shares her experience nav...

Okay, here’s the real story.

No Former Athlete didn’t start as a business idea.

It started with an identity crisis.

We were in the middle of the pandemic, feeling off, watching Brittany Runs a Marathon… and by the end of the movie I was signing up for an Ironman.

Why?

Because I missed being an athlete.

Not the glory.

Not the applause.

The identity.

The structure.

The validation.

The feeling of knowing exactly what I was goo...

From Competitive Cheerleader to Women’s Sports Broadcaster | Athlete Identity After Sport with Ari

Most people assume Ari played basketball.

She’s 6 feet tall. She covers women’s sports. It feels obvious.

But her athletic background?

Taekwondo. Gymnastics. Competitive all-star cheer. Volleyball.

Use code ARIPOD to get a special discount to get lifetime access on the NFA Breathe Here Now Virtual Breathwork session. http...

What happens when the thing that defined you… ends?

In this episode of No Former Athlete, Brad Hauter opens up about life after sport — from being told he’d never play again, to playing professionally for 10 years, to chasing validation long after the crowd was gone.

We talk athlete identity, fake dopamine, ego, grief, and the emotional crash that comes when the season ends — sometimes over and over again. Br...

In this episode of No Former Athlete, we sit down with Megan, a former D1 soccer player whose career ended suddenly after multiple concussions. What followed wasn’t just an exit from the game—it was a full identity reckoning.

We talk about control issues athletes carry into adulthood, why rest can feel like failure, and how so many no former athletes (NoFos) replace sport with work, productivity, or “impressive&rdq...

Ever look back at your high school athlete days and think, “Damn, who was that person?” Same. In this episode, Brandi takes us on a hilarious, honest, and nostalgic ride from being a basketball star to figuring out who she is after the final buzzer.

We talk college hoops drama, identity crises, career pivots, concussions, and why walking away from the game might’ve been the best move she ever made.

Now a director a...

Are you still an athlete if you’re not competing anymore?

In this episode of No Former Athlete, we sit down with Zach, a former collegiate baseball player, to talk about the moment sport ends—and everything that quietly comes after it.

Zach opens up about how his brain still defines “athlete,” why adult leagues don’t quite count, and what it actually felt like to hang up the cleats. From checking his col...

What happens when being an athlete is all you’ve ever known — and then it’s suddenly taken away?

In this episode of No Former Athlete, Kelly Balch opens up about growing up as a multi-sport athlete, earning a soccer scholarship as a goalkeeper, and competing at a high level — only to lose her senior season two practices in. What followed wasn’t just the end of a career, but a deep identity rupture she d...

This week on No Former Athlete, we sit down with BJ Beckwith — co-host of the Just Women’s Sports: Sports Are Fun podcast — for one of the most honest, refreshing conversations we’ve ever had about identity, pressure, and choosing your own path.

BJ grew up in a D1 household.

A sister who played D1.

A dad in two Hall of Fames.

A family where sports weren’t just a hobby… they were the blueprint.

And th...

What happens when the thing that’s defined you your entire life… suddenly ends?

Jazzmyne Jay was born and raised to be an athlete.

Volleyball was everything — her schedule, her identity, her way of belonging.

But two games before playoffs, she tore her ACL, MCL, and meniscus.

In one moment, everything she’d built came crashing down.

In this episode, Jazzmyne sits down with Erin to unpack what it really means to ...