Saya Sakakibara: Turn Your Fear into a Superpower

What do you do when the thing you love most is also the thing you fear the most?

In this episode of Empowering Leaders, Luke sits down with Olympic BMX gold medallist Saya Sakakibara, whose story is as much about courage and inner work as it is about winning in Paris.

Saya opens up about watching her brother Kai’s life-changing crash, the strange limbo that followed, and why she chose to keep racing for both of them. She explains how fear didn’t hit all at once, but crept in later through her own crashes, and how that planted a seed of doubt she had to learn to work with, not run from.

Saya talks Luke through the mental performance tools that changed everything: rewiring her subconscious, using visualisation as “future memories,” focusing on the 95% of the mind that runs in the background and training it like a muscle. She shares how her “Just go” mantra helped her block out distraction in Paris, and why walking away knowing she didn’t leave anything on the table mattered just as much as the gold medal.

Beyond BMX, Saya reflects on becoming an author and public speaker despite a fear of speaking, the tension between being “selfish” as an elite athlete and wanting to give back, and why asking for help has always been her quiet form of leadership. She also shares her dream of helping young athletes and young women find their voice, tell their story and build a life they’re proud of.

Saya shares the mindset you can build from the ground up. And reminds us all that courage is not the absence of fear, it’s what you decide to do with it.

Grab a copy of Saya’s brand new book “Just Go” for more Saya magic!

If you're in Melbourne tonight, head to the The W Club to meet BMX Olympic Gold Medallist Saya Sakakibara and celebrate the release of her brand-new inspiring memoir, 'Just Go'. Tickets are selling fast here.

Luke mentions a brilliant episode with Steve Hooker, Olympic Pole Vaulting gold medalist - listen here.

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