Athlete Story Podcast

Anja Bolbjerg
  • 0.0 (0)
  • SPORTS
  • SERIES
Athlete Story Podcast Podcast

How can you leverage your background as an elite athlete in life after sports? What are the challenges we run into as former athletes and what are some of the advantages that you can lean into? Those are the questions that our episodes evolve around as you'll athletes and experts share their stories, experience and insight. Meet your host My name is Anja Bolbjerg. I'm a former world top ten skier in moguls and freeride skiing, now way into life after sports. Since I retired as from competitive sports, I've been helping other world class athletes prepare for their sport through coaching and conditioning. I've also been working freelance in sports media both off and online. I nurture my athlete identity and global network and help other former athletes do the same, so we can stay connected and keep learning and inspiring each other. For more of my personal story, I invite you to watch my TEDx-talk from Monte-Carlo on https://www.anjabolbjerg.com/anja-at-tedxium

  1. 2018-07-03

    How To Get Sponsored – For Athletes

    Ep.001 Athlete Story PodcastHow to get sponsored – for athletes. A chat with international sports marketing expert to uncover what companies want from a sports sponsorhip.What are the most common mistakes that athletes make when pitching a sponsor? And what are companies actually looking for when deciding whether or not to sign a sponsorship deal? Those are some of the questions you will get the answer to in this episode of the For Athletes series. You will meet a real sport marketing expert from the corporate world who’s been dealing with world class sponsorships for the past 30 years, Keld Strudahl.There is so much great information and insight in this interview, but don’t worry about taking notes okay, I’ve done it all for you. All you have to do is head on over here where you can download an overview of all the main takeaways about how to get sponsored from this session delivered to you as part of Athlete Story.Today’s guest is former Global Marketing Director for the Carlsberg Breweries- Keld Strudahl. He took the Carlsberg brand into sports marketing way back in the early 1990s and then for the following 22 years, together with the marketing team, he fulfilled and nurtured their international sport marketing strategy.Now, for the past six years he’s been acting as an independent sports marketing strategist and consultant through his own company called Brand Activators. He uses his unique experience to help sports properties – that’s what you call things like the UEFA, international clubs, federations and athletes on the one side and then big brands and corporations who need advice in executing a sponsor strategy on the other side.I was lucky to meet Keld in one of his favorite places on a beautiful day in this world rowing club of Humlebæk just North of Copenhagen Denmark. A short break he had just after the World Championships in ice hockey, and the Champions League… which are just some of the clients that he’s working with!If you like this show, don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review. I also invite you to come over to my blog at https://www.anjabolbjerg.com/blogYou can also watch a (somewhat shorter) version of this interview on video here. READ the transcript of full interview by clicking here. ​ About our guest Keld Strudahl is a sports marketing and sponsorship strategist. He works as a consultant for either side of the sponsorship contract (sponsor or sports property/athlete) from a company he founded in 2012, called Brand Activators.Before that, he worked as the Global Marketing Director for the Carlsberg Breweries for 22 years and was the prime motor behind Carlsberg’s international sports marketing strategy and sponsorship activation and execution.

    58 min

  2. 2018-07-05

    Dare to put yourself out there – Inspirational Athlete Story

    Ep.002 Athlete Story PodcastDare put your self out there. A female fighter’s story and lessons learnt on the journey from newbie to 2x world champion.Prepare, then dare to put yourself out there ! Fear of failure won’t get you anywhere!That was what I took away from my Athlete Story session with Nicole Sydbøge, 2-time world champion and winner of the World Games in Jiu-Jitsu. So much so that I will let this be the motto for this show.You will find 19 steps to success in this Athlete Story -and hopefully have a good laugh together with us as we share some memories from common adventures and mistakes we’ve made. « It’s okay to make mistakes, » says Nicole « -as long as we learn from them ». It is something she has herself been working on being okay with, in order to not let fear of failure limit her from from trying new things.Besides all her titles in jiu-jitsu, daring to put herself out there has given her many unique experiences outside her sport. In this interview you will be taken on Nicole’s journey from a newbie in the martial arts to winner og the World Games, gladiator and MMA fights.You will also learn why we were so hungry that Nicole had to teach me how to kill a hen at one point.A few keywords on what it takes dare to put yourself out there:– Defining the project– Choosing your environment– Making the plan– Adapt strategy– Assembling the parts– When to say no– Fueling the drive– Humility– Team & support– Being in alignment– Re-purposing skills– Stay in shape– Prepare or go home– Trust you preparation– Being free – not defensive– Put yourself out there– How do you react– Learn from mistakes– Forget fear of failureI wrote another blog post on fear of failure, disappointment, and the « don’t set you hopes too high approach on the blog here.

    25 min

  3. 2018-07-05

    Balancing risks and rewards in sports – Inspirational Athlete Story

    Ep.003 Athlete Story PodcastBalancing risks and rewards in sports. A freerider’s story and strategy to keep momentum inn challenging conditionsIn this Athlete Story interview you will get tips on how to keep momentum in difficult situations and find flow in a high risk environment full of obstacles from winner of the Freeride World Tour 2012, Reine Barkered. As you will see, that’s essentially what he does for a living.He shares his view on planning and how going high speed in extreme terrain is not merely about taking risk and hoping for the best – even if it may look like that sometimes.Sharing his story, Reine Barkered takes us behind the scenes of freeride skiing and what goes into to being able to blast down 45 degrees raw mountain faces, reaching speeds of 100km/h, dropping cliffs 10 times his own height – in high altitude. We also get around some advice for young athletes who want to build their sports career and the toughest parts of an otherwise fun and adventurous lifestyle.To see Reine Barkered in freeride ski action, check out the video version of this interview which has some awesome footage of him blasting down the mountain. READ the transcript of full interview by clicking here. ​ About our guest Reine Barkered was the winner of the Freeride World Tour in 2012. He has been skiing on this prestigious tour since 2009 as one of the most consistent riders. And he is still far from done if it were all up to him,  His nickname is Mayor of Stomp Town for his ability to stomp the landings when jumping off the most spectacular cliffs of  a mountain face in high speed.  Reine Barkered comes from the Swedish ski resort of Åre, which has fostered many world class skiers. He skis for Dynastar Skis and Giro protection gear.Like skiing?Visit my page Strong Skier for tips on how to get fit for skiing.

    21 min

  4. 2018-08-01

    Sports and performance anxiety. Psychology for athletes I

    Ep. 004 Athlete Story PodcastSports performance and anxiety. Sports Pscyhology for Athletes ISports and performance anxiety is the theme for this first part of a series on Sports Psychology For Athletes with UK Clinical Sport Psychologist of the Year 2017, Phil Johnson. Have you ever been in a situation where you thought :How can I do so well in training and still not perform in competition ?You know that it is something going on in your head that you are not quite in control of – but what is it ? Where does it come from. How can it impair your ability to perform even though you have the skills ?As you might suspect and will hear in this episode, it is a whole dynamic of interrelated mechanisms. Your wellbeing and mental health – how you feel – tends to affect how you act and how you act tends to affect – for example – how well you perform….. So when something is affecting your wellbeing it interferes with your ability to perform, it can be physically, socially, psychologically (– and spiritually probably also, though we don’t get into that here.)For example physically would be everything concerning your body and its functioning, Socially is about your relationships. And psychologically is about how we are wired basically. If you have a little insight in psychology you have probably heard or read how we get programmed from the earliest stages of life.It is important to do this full assessment, because psychology is about context Phil says. Mind and body work together and isolating any one aspect from its context doesn’t get you to the root of the issues. The roots for performance anxiety can go deep – very deep. But it is possible to dig them up and Phil has some pretty cool techniques that he uses to help the athletes and performers he works with.He helps us understand what blocks performance and what you can do about it in this episode on sports and performance anxietyIf you like this show, don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review.You can also watch a video version of this interview here. READ the transcript of full interview by clicking here. ​ About our guest Phil has a background in both family therapy, exercise physiology and sport psychology which allows him to work with athletes as whole persons in their full context.With over 2000 clients total and having helped hundreds of athletes across 25 different sports – amateurs and highly professionals – Phil possesses not only the academic knowledge but the practical experience that is so valuable to understanding our particular context as athletes.

    27 min

  5. 2018-08-11

    How brainspotting can help you both 'getting in the zone' and healing from trauma - Sports psychology for athletes part 2 ft Phil Johnson

    Ep.005 Athlete Story PodcastHow brainspotting can help you both “getting in the zone” and heal from trauma. Sports Psychology for Athletes IITraumas can come from all parts of your life and to different degrees – but in sports we are particularly exposed to trauma from injuries, defeats, humiliations. This is often overlooked in psychology for athletes.Even if you don’t really consider yourself traumatized, it is worth knowing that any deeply distressing or disturbing experience is a trauma. It is stored in the brain subconsciously with all its connected emotions, leaving you with an imprint that can come back to destabilize you and cause a lot of trouble when you least expect it.Our guest in this episode (Phil Johnson, whom you might have already met in part of the Sports Psychology for Athletes series where we talked about performance anxiety) is going to tell you much more about that.We learnt from Phil Johnson in part 1 of Sports Psychology for Athletes, that the impact of unresolved trauma manifests in our belief system – often limiting us to certain assumptions about what we can and cannot do.This wires you with a series limiting self beliefs or barriers to performance that your brain has constructed on your journey for each trauma– often without you realizing it. It originally served the noble purpose of protecting you from another similar trauma. The problem is that this mechanism spills over in other areas where it might not serve you well at all. Areas where you don’t want to feel limited. Like in your sport.Brainspotting – A sports psychology techniquePhil Johnson works with a tool called brainspotting and in this episode he will explain how it works – and how that can actually help you with things like performance anxiety, dealing with and healing from injuries and trauma and even to getting in the zone for optimal performance.Brainspotting is a method for healing trauma in sport and in life. The method was actually developed in a sport psychology session between a figure skater and the therapist who was helping her get unstuck with a certain jump that she couldn’t seem to learn – causing her a lot of trouble and preventing her from moving on in her sports career. The day after the session she could do that jump and hasn’t had any trouble with it since.Now, does that sound like something that you can use as an athlete!? Well, I would have loved to have known about it back when I was competing!Well you can start with some notes. I will gladly share my own notes with the main takeaways from this episode. You can get them here where you can also read a full transcript of this episode.How brainspotting worksIt has been discovered that your vision – where you look – scans not only the external surroundings but also your what’s going on in your brain.Looking at a certain external spot will take you to a corresponding internal spot in your brain where you have a certain emotional energy trapped as the result of a past experience.By keeping your vision focused on this spot, you keep your brain focused on the corresponding internal spot that holds that emotional energy or subconscious memory, if you like. This allows you to process it and release it.In this process of resolution, new neuro-pathways are created, literally re-wiring you. And allowing you to break free of these limitations or barriers.On the other hand if we go to an eye position related to a confidence boosting emotion, we can harvest this energy in stead of letting it go.Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or anything you’d like me to cover – and of course if you like this show, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review.and share with fellow athletes and coaches.You can also watch a video version of this interview here. Brainspotting brieflyWhere you look affects how you feel.

    21 min

  6. 2018-09-14

    Valuable lessons and life skills from a life with sport at the highest level - ft Olympic Gold Medalist Joe Jacobi

    Ep.006 Athlete Story PodcastValuable lessons and life skills from a life with sports at the highest level from Olympic Gold Medalist. Athlete story Joe JacobiAs an athlete, you come across many concepts in your sports career that can help you navigate in life. In fact you gain valuable skills that are actually are transferable life skills.Olympic gold medallist Joe Jacobi is a whitewater canoe slalom athlete turned executive business coach. He has made a whole framework for business coaching out of the images and physical concepts from his sport. He shares that with us in this episode of Athlete Story.Joe describes the world of whitewater canoe slalom and how you try to maneuver your boat in a river with strong currents while trying to avoid touching the obstacles (poles) that have been placed in your path.You have to paddle as fast as you can while avoiding these poles, since touching them adds penalty seconds to your time and the idea is to be as fast as you can. , He describes it as one of the most fun things you can do in your life.‘’It’s that feeling of gravity and working with a force of nature that is so much stronger than you or I could ever be.’’ he says.It’s almost like an art form because Joe describes successful people in canoeing as people who have learned to channel their energy into making the river work for them instead of fighting with it. More like a dance with the river, and this is a way we can choose to live life as well. When you position yourself so that you can take advantage of the currents in stead of fighting them – you don’t have to fight as hard.You can also watch a video version of this interview here. READ the transcript of full interview by clicking here. Hi! This is Athlete Story and I’m Anja Bolbjerg. In today’s Athlete Story you are in for a free world class coaching session. Not only does our guest American Joe Jacobi have an Olympic gold medal in whitewater canoeing, which I think is so cool, he’s also such a reflective generous source of wisdom of all the lessons he’s taken with him from the river that he now coaches CEOs and business leaders. He’s not your typical guru hyped up kind of coach, he just has some really solid points that can just wake you up when you’re getting a little too comfortable.Joe started whitewater canoeing when he was 12 years old on a river in Washington DC. And it was on this river that he fell in love with, the process of improving and see how he could be more efficient so that he could be faster and beat his friends. While the boys were competing against each other, they were also learning how to compete against themselves. This very competitive but still friendly environment was Joe’s incubator, and ten years later he stood at the top of the podium at the Olympics in Barcelona.I am so excited for this call, so let’s not wait any longer. Let’s just bring him in.AnjaHi there!JoeHello!AnjaGood to finally talk to you.JoeYeah, I know, it’s great to connect with you as well.AnjaWelcome to the show Athlete Story.JoeThank you!AnjaI was wondering if you could help me and my listeners by taking us inside a canoe in a river, before we imagine, you know, the picnic trip down a little….JoeI have a description of our sport that I hope you of all people will absolutely love. So I just want you to imagine that you’re in a canoe at the top of a snow-covered mountain. But it gets warm and the water and the snow melts and turns to water, and you’re going downhill in the canoe. And it’s just moving water now, instead of snow. And in our sport of whitewater canoe slalom instead of the slalom poles being fixed into the ground, they’re actually hung from wires over the river. And you have to maneuver, just like slalom skiing,

    43 min

  7. 2018-10-02

    Media Training and Public Speaking Tips for Athletes ft. Media Training Expert TJ Walker from Media Training Worldwide

    Ep.007 Athlete Story PodcastMedia Training For Athletes ft TJ Walker from Media Training WorldwideIf you are looking for public speaking tips and media training tips for athletes, then this episode of Athlete Story is for you.My guest is world renowned expert in media training, TJ Walker and the media training tips that TJ will give you are tailored specifically to you as an athlete.We will talk about how to improve your interview skills with some simple strategies that TJ uses to help public figures such as athletes, presidents and prime ministers and even Miss Universes communicate more effectivelyYou will get tips on* come across your best in your public appearances* improve your communication skills so that you can feel more confident and look more professional in interviews, public speaking and media appearances,He will also tell us :* The one commonly used way to practice speaking skills – that you DO NOT want to use.* A trick about SOUNDBITES that will help you avoid mistakes that can get you misunderstood or prevent you from getting your message across.He also made this exceptional offer for the fast action takers in the audience:If you act fast, you can get free access to his  comprehensive online media training course by clicking here.Live workshop alert for personal media trainingIf you wish to get notified about a live workshop that we will be proposing in Sarasota or New York, with actual personal media training, send me an email and let me know you are interested.You can also watch a video version of this interview here. READ the transcript of full interview by clicking here. Anja INTRO:You can learn to feel more professional in presentations and interviews and to be great on TV – did you know that?Do you want to know how to come across your best ?Well if so I made a scoop for you!Today you will be getting media training tipsTailored specifically to you as an athletefrom one of the best media training experts in the world – founder of Media Training Worldwide – TJ Walker.We will talk about some simple things you can do to improve your interview skills that TJ has used to help public figures such as athletes, presidents and prime ministers and even Miss Universes communicate more effectively.He will also tell us :– The one commonly used way to practice speaking skills – that you DO NOT want to use.As well as a trick that will help you avoid mistakes that can get you misunderstood or prevent you from getting your message across.I’m super proud of this interview because – to be honest, interviewing one of the best media training experts in the world is a little intimidating – and very audacious on my part !But I really wanted you to get access to this info.Even just studying the actual way that TJ answers my questions to get his own message across, is a great lesson in itself. So listen to his tips – and then re-listen and see how actually he practices what he preaches in this very interview for an excellent example of how it’s done.In fact TJ made a fantastic offer for the first 100 of you that you can get access to his complete online media training course – (a course that sells for 200USD)If you’d be interested in more media training specifically tailored for athletes and where you can get personal media training and feedback – reach out and I will let you know when we set up the next live media training program for athletes, coaches and entourage.But now, enjoy the interview. Welcome to TJ Walker.Anja: Hi, TJ. Thank you so much for being willing to accept my invitation to be on Athlete Story. I’m so honored to have you here.TJ: Good to be with you.Anja: Thank you.

    31 min

  8. 2018-10-23

    008 Using your athletic mentality and identity to face challenges beyond sports

    Ep.008 Athlete Story PodcastLife After Sports. Using Athlete Mentality to Repurpose Yourself. Athlete Story ft Matthew Wetschler WorldwideUsing your athletic mindsetHow can you use your athletic mindset to face challenges beyond sports?In this episode Adventure athlete, Matthew Harlow Wetschler shares his incredible story and how he has managed to find himself and thrive in a life where most of what he cherished was taken away in an instant. How what saved him was: Knowing his core values and his athletic mindset.We start with a flashback to his life with sports before his deadly accident. He says his athletic mindset was the foundation that made him find himself “surprisingly well equipped to meet the most intense challenge of my life which is having my entire body taken from me, and my life briefly taken from me. I was able to really meet the challenge head on.”You will hear Matt’s experience and tips on….→ the benefits of the athletic mindset that go beyond sports→ the shadow side to the athletic mentality→ why it’s better to have a vision than a goal→ how art has been Matt’s way of expressing himself→ and a whole lot moreThe episode on brainspotting that I mentioned can be seen here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z56NOgo8wPc&t=80sOnce again thank you to Scott Fitzloff for letting me use clips from his video portrait of Matt.Drone footage by Tylor Norwood. In-hospital footage by Dane Wetschler.You can watch Scott Fitzloff’s full video here: https://vimeo.com/279760575You can also watch a video version of this interview here. READ the transcript of full interview by clicking here. Anja INTRO:Hi, you are in for an inspirational Athlete Story about pivoting into life after sports – when you have no choice but to do so !You can say that it is about seeing opportunities in challenges – only that is a ridiculous understatement n this case.Today’s Athlete Story comes from adventure athlete Matt Wetschler who woke up to a very different reality to say the least, than what his life had been based on until then, when he woke up from a deathly accident that he had while body surfing.It actually took his life for ten minutes – his mobility from the neck down for quite a bit longer – and today it has changed his perspective and circumstances in a way that has transformed his life – but NOT who he is.And I think that is the essential message that we can all learn from Matt’s story.As you will hear, he did not let outside circumstances, his sports awards, his Powder Award, his Stanford education or his work as a medical doctor, -nor his paralysis – define who he is.This is very relevant for anyone who stands in the middle of – or in front of – a big transition in life.Because those circumstances can change and they will change – and in particular for an athlete, since your athletic career can only last for so long and you know this, right ?,Matt’s story is an inspiration on how there are so many different ways to express yourself – as long as you know who you are and what you stand for – even if you can no longer do what it is that has fulfilled you in your life up intil now. .This is athlete story and I’m your host Anja Bolbjerg. If you want to get notified whenever I upload a new show, do go ahead and subscribe. I will be posting lots more athlete stories, interviews with world class sports insiders and valuable tips for athletes.If there were such as thing as a gold medal at winning in life – Matt Wetschler would be having one. So, let’s welcome the multi-talented, life winner Matt Wetschler.Anja: Hi, Matthew welcome to the show.Matthew: Thank you. Thank you, Anja.

    49 min
See All (25)

About

How can you leverage your background as an elite athlete in life after sports? What are the challenges we run into as former athletes and what are some of the advantages that you can lean into? Those are the questions that our episodes evolve around as you'll athletes and experts share their stories, experience and insight. Meet your host My name is Anja Bolbjerg. I'm a former world top ten skier in moguls and freeride skiing, now way into life after sports. Since I retired as from competitive sports, I've been helping other world class athletes prepare for their sport through coaching and conditioning. I've also been working freelance in sports media both off and online. I nurture my athlete identity and global network and help other former athletes do the same, so we can stay connected and keep learning and inspiring each other. For more of my personal story, I invite you to watch my TEDx-talk from Monte-Carlo on https://www.anjabolbjerg.com/anja-at-tedxium

Information

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada