For The Love Of: Trade-offs we make in pursuit of our passions Angie Marie + Jeni Stembridge

Like it or not, we live in a capitalist society– so, what can we do to benefit ourselves and the world?
Mel Strong started her career as a first grade teacher and journalist. A fateful interview with her long-time running hero Joan Benoit Samuelson led to a long-shot interview for an entry level job at Nike — a process that included running twice around Nike campus with her future manager.
Mel spent 17 years at Nike, working on the Running, Soccer, Women’s, Snow and Skateboarding businesses. In 2017, she started angel investing and advising early stage founders, and in 2019, Mel co-founded venture capital firm Next Ventures.
 
We talk about…
Mel’s childhood and early career leading to a personal mission to increase access to health resources for communities that need them 17 years at Nike: the ups and the downs and the self-identity of working for the brand The wealth creation gap: Historical female disempowerment around wealth and finances Are women holding themselves back financially, or is it the system? Three things women can do in the next month to become more financially empowered “Soft skills,” “breadwinner,” “wearing the pants…” EWWW, these terms suck! Convincing Angie why she should invest and care about retirement funds Short and long term visioning and planning around wealth in order to maximize your positive impact on the world Leaving Nike and co-founding a venture capital firm When Mel realized she had to examine diversity in her investment base The trade-offs of being your own boss: when things go sideways, that’s on you– which is terrifying but wonderful  
How to connect with Mel:
Next Ventures (Mel's VC firm) Hood River Mountain Bike Adventures (Mel and her husband's business) YouTube video to inspire you from Mel  
👋How to connect with Jeni and Angie:
Jeni on Instagram Angie on Instagram Angie’s website Angie on LinkedIn FTLO on Instagram  
 ⭐Please rate and review For The Love Of:
On Apple Podcasts On Spotify  
 
Shout-Outs:
Music: The Kind of Sandwich Island by Shut-ins Thank you to The Ruins, the best wedding venue in Oregon, for supporting the show.  
Follow FTLO on IG: https://www.instagram.com/for.the.love.of.podcast/
For full show notes and more: https://fortheloveofpod.com
💕
 
 

We want your stories! (Yes, you.) We're collecting emails and voice memos about your own tradeoffs that you’ve made around your career.
Go to fortheloveofpod.com/submit to share your written or spoken story about the pivots you've made in your career, work, gigs, or jobby jobs.
 
This former MLB pitcher discovered that he has more meaning and impact behind the scenes of sports than when standing on the mound himself.
Adam Bernero works in the field of sport psychology and is currently a mental performance coach with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball.
Adam started his pro career as a pitcher with the Detroit Tigers in 1999 and played in the major leagues until 2006. After leaving the big leagues due to injury, Adam was a fishing guide in Alaska for six summers among odd jobs and time for self-reflection. Now, he’s enjoying life more than ever helping other athletes fulfill their dreams. 
Content note: from minute 29:20-30:55, Adam alludes to suicide ideation.
 
We talk about…
 
- Moving from college to the minor leagues to the MLB in a year
- How much Adam struggled after he had to quit pitching in the MLB due to injury
- From $2,000/day to $7.25/hour and having to scrape together odd jobs at 31
- Briefly considering what it would be like to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge before realizing he didn’t want to end his life
- How Adam began to find happiness after depression
- How Adam is “triage for the mind” for players on the Seattle Mariners
- Tools Adam shares with his athletes: mindset, focus, breathwork, and mind-body connection for nervous system regulation
- How Adam’s sweet spot is guiding athletes behind the scenes, rather than standing on the mound himself
- The trade-offs of being on the road for sports: inconsistency in relationships, the desire to have a dog, and how summers don’t exist
 
PSST! If you like this episode, you’ll love these two:
How Dave Watson Navigates Relationships and Fatherhood as an Everest Mountain Guide
How Dancing Transformed Nika Kermani's Mental Health After Depression
 
👋How to connect with Jeni and Angie:
Jeni on Instagram Angie on Instagram Angie’s website Angie on LinkedIn FTLO on Instagram  
 ⭐Please rate and review For The Love Of:
On Apple Podcasts On Spotify  
Shout-Outs:
Music: The Kind of Sandwich Island by Shut-ins Thank you to The Ruins, the best wedding venue in Oregon, for supporting the show.  
Follow FTLO on IG: https://www.instagram.com/for.the.love.of.podcast/
For full show notes and more: https://fortheloveofpod.com
💕
 
 

We want your stories! (Yes, you.) We're collecting emails and voice memos about your own tradeoffs that you’ve made around your career.
Go to fortheloveofpod.com/submit to share your written or spoken story about the pivots you've made in your career, work, gigs, or jobby jobs.
 
Emily Holland is a podcast consultant and strategist in Boulder, CO. In a previous life, Emily was a corporate girlie, working with Fortune 500 companies as an account manager. In 2021, she left the corporate world and set out on the path of self employment, working primarily with podcasters to help build, grow, and monetize their shows. 
Outside of working with creatives in the outdoor industry, she loves being outside, climbing or trail running, preferably with a great female crew and some pups.
 
We talk about…
 
- The identity crisis of leaving a full time job
- Knowing that the conventional path wasn’t for her or her partner after trying to follow it
- Moving from the northeast to Colorado to be closer to outdoor passions
- How your income doesn’t equate to your worth (but that’s hard to not feel!)
- Openness with a partner about money and financial goals, including having money dates (cute!)
- Sobriety and the decision to stop drinking
- The “So you’re not fun anymore?” reaction from loved ones when you stop drinking
- How you can support people in your life who are considering sobriety
- How self-employment is a constant experiment with ups and downs
- Being your own boss through the wins and challenges



 
How to connect with Emily:
Emily on LinkedIn Wild Poppy Creative Consulting 👋How to connect with Jeni and Angie:
Jeni on Instagram Angie on Instagram Angie’s website Angie on LinkedIn FTLO on Instagram  
 ⭐Please rate and review For The Love Of:
On Apple Podcasts On Spotify  
 
Shout-Outs:
Music: The Kind of Sandwich Island by Shut-ins Thank you to The Ruins, the best wedding venue in Oregon, for supporting the show.  
Follow FTLO on IG: https://www.instagram.com/for.the.love.of.podcast/
For full show notes and more: https://fortheloveofpod.com
💕
 
 

What if the day you faced a life-threatening sports injury was one of the best days of your life? And what does that mean for your loved ones?
 
Married couple Sensi Graves and Brandon Scheid are professional wind sport athletes. Sensi is a pro kiter, retreat host, founder of Sensi Graves Swim, and speaker. Brandon is a pro athlete and kite designer, as well as a survivor of a recent traumatic brain injury who’s been coming to terms with his injuries.
 
 
We talk about…
 
- Brandon’s November 2023 speed flying accident that could’ve killed him
- Falling at 60mph, crashing into a cliff, fracturing his pelvis and back, and experiencing two brain injuries on impact
- The lasting effects of one of the TBIs: judgment, criticism, anger, and lack of compassion, often towards Sensi
- Sensi's experience of hearing the news that her husband might not make it
- The early days of traumatic brain injury recovery: experiencing mania, frustration, and having no filter
- Flying FPV drones as a direct replacement for speed flying: getting adrenaline rushes and feeling like he’s flying
- Discovering 2 weeks after the accident that Sensi is pregnant
- What Brandon and Sensi would tell people who are afraid of experiencing a life-changing injury or illness
- How to support loved ones going through a life-changing injury or illness
- Learning to let yourself be held and supported by other people
- Trusting that despite all the challenges and hard work, everything is going to be okay
- The more you experience the hard parts of life, the more you can experience the great parts
 
PSST! If you like this episode, you’ll love these two:
How a Mountaineering Accident Taught Doug Beardsley to Live Life to the Fullest
How Pro Kitesurfer Jason Slezak Stopped Chasing Highs to Avoid His Past Trauma and Changed His Approach to Sports and Mental Health.
 
How to connect with Sensi and Brandon:
Sensi Graves Swim Sensi on Instagram Brandon on Instagram Brandon’s FPV drone footage Sensi’s website  
👋How to connect with Jeni and Angie:
Jeni on Instagram Angie on Instagram Angie’s website Angie on LinkedIn FTLO on Instagram  
 ⭐Please rate and review For The Love Of:
On Apple Podcasts On Spotify  
 
Shout-Outs:
Music: The Kind of Sandwich Island by Shut-ins Thank you to The Ruins, the best wedding venue in Oregon, for supporting the show.  
Follow FTLO on IG: https://www.instagram.com/for.the.love.of.podcast/
For full show notes and more: https://fortheloveofpod.com
💕
 
 

Sports mirror life. So how can we use sports to live our happiest, healthiest, bravest lives?
 
Bekah Rottenberg is the founder of Brave Endeavors, a professional mountain bike instructor, a NASM certified personal trainer, a Patagonia mountain bike Ambassador, and a former professional enduro racer. She retired from pro racing to focus on coaching and strength training through Brave Endeavors. 
 
 
We talk about…
 
- Discovering confidence in all aspects of life through mountain biking
- Finding self-confidence through what her body could do, even when academics were challenging
- Breaking into pro mountain biking while balancing that with being a teacher
- Not wanting to go all-in on racing since it’d sacrifice other important parts of life
- Building confidence in youth girls as media poses unrealistic expectations
- Sexism and microaggressions in women’s sports, on a small scale and as an industry
- Changing her mind about transgender women in sports; it’s not just about testosterone
- Building a multifaceted business around a passion for the bike
- “The gap between expectations and reality is happiness”
- Building muscle is investing in your body’s retirement bank account; you don’t have forever to build strong bones
- Our minds can limit or push us, like with breaking the four minute mile
- There are many elements to identity, not just being a mountain biker
 
 
How to connect with Bekah:
Brave Endeavors Bekah on Instagram  
👋How to connect with Jeni and Angie:
Jeni on Instagram Angie on Instagram Angie’s website Angie on LinkedIn FTLO on Instagram  
 ⭐Please rate and review For The Love Of:
On Apple Podcasts On Spotify  
 
Shout-Outs:
Music: The Kind of Sandwich Island by Shut-ins Thank you to The Ruins, the best wedding venue in Oregon, for supporting the show.  
Follow FTLO on IG: https://www.instagram.com/for.the.love.of.podcast/
For full show notes and more: https://fortheloveofpod.com
💕
 
 

What do you get when you mix a business idea with an out-of-the-box lifestyle? Wildpreneurship.
 
Tamara Jacobi is the author of “Wildpreneurs” and founder of the Tailwind Jungle Lodge in San Pancho, Mexico. She's lived in the jungle on the Mexican Pacific for nearly 20 years.
 
 
We talk about…
 
- Blending personal and professional dreams to build an unconventional business that involves moving internationally twice a year
- Living and operating a business in a touristed area and leaving an impact on the community
- Writing a business plan in college in Vermont, then moving to the jungle at 21 to build it
- Being mindful of a "Then what?" lifestyle trap, being satisfied with "enough," and learning to say no
- Choosing a small scale business model with no desire to expand
- Following passion first; taking a financially nonviable idea and making it work over time
- Raising children and working with a partner while moving seasonally
- Hosting many visitors, but making sure they leave inspired to protect the natural world
- The process to bring her book to life (through a manuscript, baby, and pandemic to now)
- Creating space and flexibility through shifting roles in business with her husband
 
 
How to connect with Tamara:
Wildpreneurs book Tailwind Jungle Lodge
Thermal
 
👋How to connect with Jeni and Angie:
Jeni on Instagram Angie on Instagram
Angie’s website
Angie on LinkedIn
FTLO on Instagram  
 ⭐Please rate and review For The Love Of:
On Apple Podcasts
On Spotify
 
 
Shout-Outs:
Music: The Kind of Sandwich Island by Shut-ins
Thank you to The Ruins, the best wedding venue in Oregon, for supporting the show.
 
Follow FTLO on IG: https://www.instagram.com/for.the.love.of.podcast/
For full show notes and more: https://fortheloveofpod.com
💕