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BIG & Awkward

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Former pro basketball player and current entrepreneur, author, speaker, among many other titles, Dre "Dre All Day" Baldwin joins the show this week. We talk about his basketball career, his life as a young entrepreneur, one of his 27 books "Work On Your Game" (named after his brand), how others can effectively work on their game (not just sports) to achieve goals that were once just pipe dreams and much MUCH more... Music by Oaks & Bans.
Former Guelph Gryphons wide receiver Noah Johns and current Western Mustangs lacrosse player Aaron Ward join the podcast as we continue with our fourth edition of the "Athletes & Mental Health" series. Noah and Aaron talk about how they got their start in sports and how different university varsity athletics has been compared to their experience in high school. The athletes explain how much reception they got from Noah's video (can be found on his social media pages) that he posted on #BellLetsTalkDay with clips of Canadian university students talking about their journey through mental illness. We dig in to the locker room culture surrounding collision sports like football and lacrosse and how the mental health of individual athletes could be affected. Noah also speaks on his lowest moment during his fight with mental illness and the two explain why #BellLetsTalk can't be the only day where we talk about mental health and much MUCH more... Music by Oaks & Bans.
NFL wide receiver, global innovative entrepreneur, philanthropist and international fashion model with LA Models, among other titles, Marcus Peterson joins the podcast today. We discuss his life in football, playing for both the Jacksonville Jaguars and most recently the Los Angeles Chargers. We talk about his brand, MP Motivational Apparel, and how he's used his three mantras to inspire others to be great. Marcus also speaks on his charitable efforts, raising awareness around global homelessness and his program using his brand to get more socks, which are overlooked necessities, to those in need. We finish off by talking about his time with the Chargers and what Philip Rivers is really like in the locker room and much MUCH more... Music by Oaks & Bans.
Former Lindenwood University Lions (NCAA) and current Carleton Ravens (USports) women's hockey player Jordy Pimm joins me as we talk about her athletic career, her studies as an international relations graduate from Lindenwood and now as a philanthropy and non-profit leadership master's student at Carleton, her work on the charitable arm of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), her perspective on the current state of women and girls in sports and how we can improve, and much MUCH more... Music by Oaks & Bans.
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Chris Osei-Kusi joins as we talk shop about football, where he started, his opportunity to compete at camp with the Cleveland Browns, his new project, Switch Mentality, and much MUCH more... Music by Oaks & Bans.
On #BellLetsTalk day, former Western University field hockey player Nakisha Slavin joins to open up about her story with sports and mental illness. We talk about her beginnings in sports, how her mental health began to affect her, how she found help through Western's Student Athlete Mental Health Initiative (SAMHI), how #BellLetsTalk has impacted the mental health community and much Much more... Music by Oaks & Bans.
If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, please visit the following links:
http://www.samhi.ca/
https://cmha.ca/
https://www.connexontario.ca/
http://www.ospn.ca/
https://mindyourmind.ca/
https://cmhaww.ca/programs-services/skills-for-safer-living/
http://www.dcontario.org/
https://www.ementalhealth.ca/Toronto/Home/index.php?m=home
https://www.teeupformentalhealth.com/get-involved
https://bouncebackontario.ca/
https://www.211toronto.ca/index.jsp
Season 2 officially kicks off with St. Lawrence University (NCAA) sophomore quarterback and Ottawa, Ontario native Tyler Grochot as he joins me to discuss his football career, his entrepreneurial spirit, his new software company, Ilumi, and much MUCH more... Music by Oaks & Bans.
Former Western Mustangs OUA All-Star defensive tackle Jimmy Hawley joins as he discusses his recent transition from being a highly-touted student-athlete to living the normal life. We talk about how his football journey started, the invaluable connections he's made, the weeks leading up to the decision to hang up the cleats, how it felt to share the news with family and friends and much MUCH more... Music by Oaks and Bans.
Former Queen's University varsity football player Mitch Henselwood joins as he shares his insights on starting out as an entrepreneur, how and why he, along with his co-founder Isaac Seabrook, built Movement Innovation, an online training platform for individuals looking to maximize their physical rehabilitation and fitness, the lessons he's learned as a student athlete that he now applies to his business and much MUCH more... Music by Oaks & Bans.
Western Mustangs swimmer and student-athlete Menley Langham joins as she opens up about her struggle with mental health, her first year of university when she resorted to self-harm and was eventually hospitalized, her growth as a young female student-athlete battling depression and anxiety, her "fall 7, rise 8" mentality and much MUCH more...
Western University varsity wrestling student-athlete Chris Nikolaou opens up about his battle with Bipolar disorder and how talking to people about his mental illness has allowed him to improve his mental health as a student, an athlete and as a young man. All that and much MUCH more...
Sir Wilfrid Laurier University women's soccer player Patty Lamanna joins for the first episode of my new series, Injuries & Adversity, as we talk about her athletic career, her ACL injury and how she has learned to deal with the physical, mental and emotional effects of being forced off of her beloved pitch for what seemed to be an eternity for the ultra-competitive athlete and much MUCH more... Music by Oaks and Bans.
Western University student-athletes and rising artists Trey Humes and Nate Haye join as we discuss how they manage to balance their young adult lives as growing, young rappers and high performance student-athletes, playing football while also have a full class schedule. We also discussed their recent performance at their very own "Mood Festival" last night in London, ON among other talented artists and much MUCH more...
Edmonton Eskimos wide receiver Harry McMaster joins as we discuss his transition from being a standout student-athlete at Western University to becoming a pro athlete in the CFL and much MUCH more...
Western University women's football Team President and Quarterback Olivia Ghosh-Swaby joins as we discuss her Mustangs team, their sponsor Robinson Mitsubishi London and the impact they've had on the team this year, the current climate around women in sports, the future of female participation in male-dominated sports such as football and much MUCH more...
Ottawa's favourite big and awkward duo, Jordan "The Lanky Dream" Hay and Braeden "Big D" Desjardins, join as we talk shop about the 2019 NBA Free Agency class as Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant and other big name UFA's set their sights on their new homes for the 2019-20 NBA season and much MUCH more...
Deionte Knight is back on the line this week as we discuss Friday night's game 4 road win for the Toronto Raptors and what it means for game 5 on Monday night, Kawhi Leonard's (once again) dominant performance, Serge Ibaka stepping up, an unimpressive Warriors defence, updates from Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant, Mark Stevens' court-side altercation with Kyle Lowry and much MUCH more...
USports Football All-Canadian Bleska Kambamba joins as we discuss his new pilot project, The Garden Initiative, supporting the personal development of youth through sports, nutrition and community involvement. Enjoy!
Western Mustangs Defensive End Deionte Knight joins as we discuss the NBA Finals, Pascal Siakam's emergence as one of the series' top performers, Drake's "scuffle" with Draymond Green, the upcoming NBA Free Agent market and much MUCH more...
Ben Fraser, Staff Writer at The Concordian, joins as we talk shop on the upcoming Stanley Cup Final series between the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues starting Monday at 8pm ET in Boston.