Athlete Story Podcast Anja Bolbjerg

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.



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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.

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.

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.



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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.

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.



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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.

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.

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,