Growing up in a sports family, John Armistead always had a ball in his hand and found success at an early age. In fact, he relied on his talent too much while neglecting the mental side of sports. When he found himself without any college athletic offers, he needed to shift his mindset to create an opportunity by making an impact on the field, in the weightroom and in the classroom.

He traveled across the country to play lacrosse at Richmond for 4 years then took his 5th year to go back west and play football and one of the most historic and prestigious programs in USC. While he didn’t focus on mental health growing up, he quickly learned how important it was while balancing athletics, academics, and college life. Navigating severe injuries also tested his identity without sport and forced him to find satisfaction in new things when his usual things were no longer there.

John is now combing his personal experience and passion to help others to build a platform called AthletesTogether to create awareness, community and actionable resources.

@athletestogether, @johnarmistead