Win-Win-Win John Balkam

We have reached the end of Season One of Win-Win-Win, and we are so grateful for all of our listeners, guests, and partners. Eric and I learned a ton throughout this season, but it’s time for us to hit the pause button. We are going to be back and better than ever in some form or fashion in the future!
To close out Season One, we thought we’d pull together some of our biggest highlights and takeaways from the past eleven episodes. We hope you enjoyed listening in as much as we enjoyed creating the show.
* Why We Believe in the Impact Revolution (3:50 – 6:29)
* Impact Models in Sports & Entertainment (6:30 – 10:38)
* Growth & Development of Women’s Sports (10:39 – 13:37)
* Influence of Athlete Activism (13:38 – 17:12)
* Breaking Down the Stigma on Mental Health (17:13 – 24:20)
* Guest Highlight Reel (26:50 – 29:41)
Thank you to our impact partners at Sports Biz Cares for the great work you’re doing to increase social mobility for students through education, while expanding diversity within the sports industry.



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Welcome back to a very special edition of Win-Win-Win!
This week our guest is the incredible indie pop trio, SHAED. We interview Max, Spencer, and Chelsea from SHAED and cover all kinds of topics including the story behind their brand new single, Part Time Psycho. We also discuss the band’s work to break down the stigma around mental health and mental illness, including details on their partnership with Teen Line.
To open up the show, John and Eric dive right in and Huddle Up about mental health and the power of sports and entertainment figures using their platform to talk about their personal mental health challenges. John shares a personal testimony about his own battle with mental illness, and we also discuss how stars like Kevin Love, Damian Lillard, Imani McGee-Stafford, and Demi Lovato opened up about mental health and how that can make an impact on society.
This is our most vulnerable, powerful episode to date. Please enjoy!
Reminder to go to sportsbizcamps.com to learn about and support our impact partner, Sports Biz Cares.




This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit winwinwin.substack.com

Welcome back to the show! We’re so excited about this week’s episode.
As usual, John and Eric dish out some Big Ws to kick off the episode. Our Wins go to the new women’s sports media company, TOGETHXR, Renee Montgomery and the new ownership group at the Atlanta Dream, and the Oakland Athletics, who are developing a new, sustainable stadium in the coming years.
In X’s and O’s, we breakdown the concept of what it means to build an impact franchise or impact league in sports. We discuss some examples we see in the industry of organizations that are focusing their efforts on impact on people and the planet, including the Oakland Roots, the NBA, and the WNBA.
Our guest this week is Courtney Ksiazek from Angel City Football Club, an expansion franchise in the NWSL. We had a great conversation about how ACFC is redefining what a sports club means to a community, and putting impact at the core of all aspects of their business. If you work for a sports franchise, you will not want to this interview!
Reminder to go to sportsbizcamps.com to learn about and support our impact partner, Sports Biz Cares.




This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit winwinwin.substack.com

Two words - Women’s Sports.
That’s a big topic of discussion this week as John and Eric highlight our Big Ws from the past week, including new deals for Angel City FC and the Portland Timbers & Thorns. We also talk a little bit about the new Anti-Racist Project from Common Goal.Huddle Up with us this week to learn about the “Impact Revolution.” This concept from a new book by impact investing pioneer, Sir Ronald Cohen, will blow your mind and inspire you to dream about a more fair, just, and equitable world in which our economic and governmental systems focus on impact, not just profit and growth.And our guest this week is Megan Perry! Megan is the Executive Director of Women’s Initiatives at Sports Innovation Lab. We talk all about The Fan Project, a new initiative that aims to use fans’ social media data to increase investment in Women’s Sports. We also discuss Megan’s journey from playing on an Ivy League champion basketball team at Cornell to working for the NBA, WNBA, and CBS Sports before landing in her current role. Plus, Megan helps us understand where we are right now in the history of Women’s Sports (hint, it’s SO early) and why the growth trajectory is so promising.
Reminder to go to sportsbizcamps.com to learn about and support our impact partner, Sports Biz Cares.



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit winwinwin.substack.com

In this week’s episode, John and Eric continue their conversation from past weeks on athlete activism. They hand out some Big Ws to some impactful athletes locally in Maryland and give shout-outs to New Balance, and Colin Kaepernick for their recent initiatives.
Our guest this week is Adrian Tracy. Adrian has played football professionally for over a decade. He was drafted by the New York Giants in 2010 out of William & Mary and became a Super Bowl champion as a member of the 2011-2012 Giants team. After going through some brutal injuries and not getting a fair shot to display his talent in New York and Arizona, Adrian transitioned to the Canadian Football League (CFL) where he’s performed at a high level for the past 5-6 years.
You will learn a lot from our conversation with Adrian. We talk about the power of faith, how experience is the best teacher, and why sometimes you need to “separate to elevate.” We also discuss the link between the rise of social media and an increase in athlete activism, plus so much more. Please enjoy this conversation with Adrian Tracy!
Reminder to go to sportsbizcamps.com to learn about and support our impact partner, Sports Biz Cares.




This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit winwinwin.substack.com

We’ve got an NFL-heavy episode for you in the aftermath of the Super Bowl. John and Eric kick off the episode talking about what a let down the actual game was, but share some of the Big Ws that the NFL Community Relations team and its partners were able to pull off for the Tampa community.
During our X’s and O’s segment, the guys break down several purpose-driven Super Bowl ads, giving brands like DoorDash and Oatly grades for their big game advertising efforts.
Our guest this week is the one and only, Whitney Holtzman. Whitney is an entrepreneur and author, and the founder of Social Victories, where she serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for several pro athletes. You will not want to miss our conversation - Whitney dropped so many great nuggets about life and work.
Reminder to go to sportsbizcamps.com to learn about and support our impact partner, Sports Biz Cares.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit winwinwin.substack.com