ex.clusively: beyond the game

ex.clusively media
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Football
  • Updated Weekly

A women-led sports culture podcast hosted by Kensley Tolliver and Olivia Blankenship, founders of the November Saturdays Foundation. From honest conversations to laugh-out-loud moments, Kensley and Olivia sit down with athletes, coaches, and cultural voices around sports to spotlight the person underneath the helmet. Each episode explores identity, relationships, mental health, faith, family, and the real-life moments that shape athletes beyond the game.

  1. Aug 5

    Built on Discipline, Elite Training & Building ProSpire | Mason McKnatt

    Mason McKnatt, founder of ProSpire, joins Kensley Tolliver and Olivia Blankenship to share how growing up in a disciplined, athletic family in Franklin, Tennessee, shaped his competitive mindset and work ethic. After leading the state in scoring during high school, Mason played college basketball at Trevecca Nazarene University and Maryville College before two hip surgeries brought his playing career to an end. What initially felt like the loss of basketball and his identity became the foundation for a new purpose: building ProSpire, an elite basketball training company working with NBA players and NIL athletes, including Keon Johnson, Kobe Brown and Jack Gohlke. Today, Mason is connected to athletes whose combined NIL and professional contracts total nearly $100 million. Mason opens up about the conversation with his mother in a Las Vegas hotel room that inspired ProSpire, letting go of his ego, relying on faith through injury and identity loss, and what success looks like when you work hard and stay focused. For Mason, basketball is more than a career, it is a platform to serve athletes and share his love for God. CONNECT WITH MASON McKNATT + PROSPIREMason McKnattIG: /30masonProSpire BasketballWebsite: prospirebasketball.comIG: /prospirebballWHERE ELSE TO LISTENYouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeartRadioFOLLOW EX.CLUSIVELY: BEYOND THE GAMEWebsite: exclusivelybeyondthegame.comIG: /exclusivelybeyondthegameTikTok: /exclusivelybeyondthegameMEET THE HOSTSKensley TolliverIG: /kensleypaydentolliverOlivia BlankenshipIG: /_livblankenshipSUPPORT THE NOVEMBER SATURDAYS FOUNDATIONCreating opportunities for belonging, mentorship and achievement through sports, education and community.Website: thenovembersaturdaysfoundation.orgIG: /thenovembersaturdaysfoundation

    Built on Discipline, Elite Training & Building ProSpire | Mason McKnatt

  2. Aug 1

    Professional Basketball, the Left-Handed Advantage, and Fatherhood | Lewis Sullivan

    Professional basketball has taken Lewis Sullivan across leagues, countries and time zones. The work is visible. The distance from family is not. Lewis Sullivan joins Kensley and Olivia for a conversation about his path from UAB basketball to an eight-year professional career overseas. He breaks down the reality of playing across Europe and Mexico, navigating foreign-player rules, adjusting from country to country and building a game around the left-handed advantage. The conversation moves from basketball into the parts of the career that never reach the box score. Lewis opens up about raising two sons while playing overseas, missing one of their births while at practice in Romania and learning how to remain present from eight hours away. He also talks about relationships, criticism, personal growth and knowing who he is outside of basketball. Looking beyond his playing career, Lewis shares his vision for an accessible sports facility in Huntsville and why young athletes need more mentors not more people trying to coach from the sidelines. The left hand shaped his game. Fatherhood changed how he sees everything else. Follow Lewis Sullivan: Watch or listen on: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeartRadio Follow ex.clusively: beyond the game: exclusivelybeyondthegame.com @exclusivelybeyondthegame @kensleypaydentolliver @_livblankenship14 The November Saturdays Foundation: thenovembersaturdaysfoundation.org @thenovembersaturdaysfoundation

  3. Jul 9

    Chance Mitchell: Becoming the Blueprint, Building Video Boost, and Longevity

    In this episode of ex.clusively: beyond the game, we sit down with Chance Mitchell, the founder of Video Boost and one of the most influential basketball content creators to come out of Alabama. From filming basketball games on an iPod Touch at just 13 years old to working behind the scenes with Ball Is Life, Chance shares the journey that built Video Boost into a respected brand. We talk about becoming "the blueprint," staying consistent, overcoming criticism, and why longevity will always outlast hype. Throughout the episode, one word kept finding its way back into the conversation: appreciation. It was said 19 times on camera, reflecting the kind of person Chance is. Someone who gives people their flowers, leads with humility, and never forgets the people who helped shape his journey.For us, this was a full-circle moment. Before there was ex.clusively: beyond the game, there was Chance. Watching what he built with Video Boost showed us what was possible. His work inspired us to believe that storytelling in sports could be something bigger. In many ways, this conversation wouldn't exist without the path he helped create.

    Chance Mitchell: Becoming the Blueprint, Building Video Boost, and Longevity

  4. May 27

    Basketball, Brotherhood & Building a Legacy | Calen & Caden Lightford

    In this episode of ex.clusively beyond the game, host Kensley Tolliver and Olivia Blankenship, sit down with brothers Calen and Caden Lightford for a real conversation about basketball, family, discipline, mentorship, and finding purpose beyond the court. From Calen’s journey as a college athlete and future basketball coach to 14-year-old Caden balancing basketball and sports photography, this episode highlights the importance of hard work, networking, and staying grounded.The conversation dives into growing up with strong parental support, the lessons sports can teach about life, overcoming injuries, mental toughness, and how today’s generation navigates pressure, social media, and identity.🎧 WATCH & LISTENYouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeartRadioConnect on Socials:Calen Lightford:@clightf0rd @clightbasketballacademy Caden Lightford:@fatt_productions1@__f5ttBo's Best Wings:@bosbestwingsFollow ex.clusively: beyond the game:@exclusivelybeyondthegameFollow The November Saturdays Foundation:@thenovembersaturdaysfoundationwww.thenovembersaturdaysfoundation.org

    Basketball, Brotherhood & Building a Legacy | Calen & Caden Lightford

  5. May 27

    The Blessings That I Almost Missed Part Two | Shenequa Phipps

    In this two-part episode of ex.clusively: beyond the game, Kensley Tolliver and Olivia Blankenship sit down with author, mother, wife, nonprofit founder, and advocate Shenequa Phipps for one of the most emotionally honest conversations the platform has had to date.This conversation dives into healing, rejection, faith, emotional resilience, identity, single motherhood, generational trauma, purpose, and learning how to keep going through seasons that almost break you.Shenequa opens up about surviving painful chapters of life while still showing up for others, sacrificing her own dreams to raise her children, navigating rejection, and learning how to heal from trauma without allowing bitterness to define her. Through faith, writing, and vulnerability, she shares how brokenness became part of her purpose instead of the end of her story.Together, Kensley, Olivia, and Shenequa discuss the emotional weight people silently carry behind closed doors, the fear of letting go, God’s timing versus our timing, father wounds, domestic violence, emotional survival mode, and what it means to stop diminishing your own pain just because someone else “has it worse.”This episode is a reminder that healing is not linear, rejection is not always punishment, and some of the blessings we almost miss arrive quietly.Topics in this episode include:mental health, emotional resilience, faith, healing, generational trauma, identity, rejection, forgiveness, leadership, single motherhood, purpose, vulnerability, and life beyond survival mode.⸻What part of this conversation resonated with you most?Drop your thoughts in the comments and let us know what conversations surrounding healing, mental health, leadership, faith, and identity you want ex.clusively to explore next.Subscribe for more conversations surrounding sports culture, emotional resilience, leadership, mental health, and life beyond performance.Purchase Blessings That I Almost Missed Barnes & Noble & Amazon⸻WATCH & LISTENYouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeartRadioCONNECT WITH US@exclusivelybeyondthegame@kensleypaydentolliver@_livblankenship@thenovembersaturdaysfoundationTHE NOVEMBER SATURDAYS FOUNDATIONthenovembersaturdaysfoundation.org

  6. May 21

    The Blessings That I Almost Missed | Shenequa Phipps

    This episode of ex.clusively: beyond the game dives deep into the emotional battles people often carry in silence. Kensley Tolliver and Olivia Blankenship sit down with author, mother, daughter, wife, nonprofit founder, and advocate Shenequa Phipps.From mental health and suicidal thoughts… to generational trauma, father wounds, single motherhood, healing, faith, and purpose. Shenequa opens up about surviving brokenness while still finding a way to smile, raising children while sacrificing her own dreams, returning to school later in life, and how writing became part of her healing journey.This conversation is for anybody who’s ever felt overlooked, emotionally exhausted, stuck in survival mode, or questioned if God still had a purpose for their life. And sometimes… the blessings we almost missed are the ones that changed everything.If this episode impacted you, share it with someone who may need to hear it.

    The Blessings That I Almost Missed | Shenequa Phipps

  7. May 6

    Family Ties, an iPhone, and a Dream | Nasir Butler, Social Gimmickz

    By 21, Nasir Butler walked away from football, built a sports media brand from nothing but an iPhone, got married, and made the hardest call of his life, stepping back from his parents to protect his peace. In this raw conversation, Kensley and Olivia sit down with Nasir Butler, founder of Social Gimmickz, for an honest conversation about toxic masculinity, burnout, navigating an interracial marriage , and why being in tune with your emotions doesn't make you less of a man. If you've ever doubted whether your dream is "ready enough" to chase... watch this. SUBSCRIBE & CONNECT Hit subscribe, drop a comment on the moment that hit hardest, and share with someone chasing a dream. Follow @socialgimmickz and tag us when you donate to the Downtown Rescue Mission.

    Family Ties, an iPhone, and a Dream | Nasir Butler, Social Gimmickz

  8. Apr 22

    Coach Cody Freeman on Prayer, Purpose, Marriage, and the Micro Details

    In this episode, Coach Cody Freeman, founder of Detail Training, elite professional basketball trainer, youth pastor, Marine veteran, husband, and father, shares how prayer, discipline, marriage, fatherhood, and the “micro details” shape the way he leads on and off the court. It’s a conversation about building people, not just athletes.They talk about:• what prayer really looks like• how fast business growth tested his spiritual discipline• why character matters more than talent• what JUCO teaches athletes about sacrifice• how he met his wife• what fatherhood changed in him• why real trainers build people, not just playersThis episode is for athletes, coaches, parents, leaders, and anyone who believes sports can reveal something bigger than performance. Train with Mr. Detail: ⁠https://www.detailtraining.org/⁠

    Coach Cody Freeman on Prayer, Purpose, Marriage, and the Micro Details
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

A women-led sports culture podcast hosted by Kensley Tolliver and Olivia Blankenship, founders of the November Saturdays Foundation. From honest conversations to laugh-out-loud moments, Kensley and Olivia sit down with athletes, coaches, and cultural voices around sports to spotlight the person underneath the helmet. Each episode explores identity, relationships, mental health, faith, family, and the real-life moments that shape athletes beyond the game.

Information

  • Creator
    ex.clusively media
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © ex.clusively media
  • Show Website
    ex.clusively: beyond the game

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