Pivot Podcast

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST:MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcastINSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivotTWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivotTIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivotFACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcastFOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydadFIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/findMay is Mental Health Awareness Month and we wanted to do a special episode around mental health and generate awareness within our community to help reduce the stigma so many experience.Ryan Mundy, Super Bowl Champion and founder of Alkeme Health joins The Pivot to share his work in this space since retiring from the NFL. RC, welcoming his former Steeler teammate, starts the conversation off by talking about their time in the league, their Super Bowl run and life after football. Mundy talks about his experiences with counseling during football and what led him to purse a career and be an advocate for mental health, especially in the black community. Fred opens up about dealing with anxiety and what’s the best way to present situations to kids and sharing advice for not getting caught up in social media. Channing breaks down with the emotion he still deals with after losing friend and teammate Junior Seau to suicide. Asking someone if they are ok and actually listening to the answer is a big part of checking on the people we love and care about. If you know someone who may be struggling, reach out to www.suicideprevention.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST:MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcastINSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivotTWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivotTIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivotFACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcastFOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydadFIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/findAhead of Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals, Miami Guard, Victor Oladipo, joins The Pivot to talk about his storied comeback from injury and his journey that landed him on the Miami Heat. From #2 Draft Pick to five different teams to an injury that most thought he may never play again...Oladipo beat the odds to work his way back into the lineup in time for Miami to be heating up in the playoffs. Victor explains the pain and frustrations behind his quad injury and the recovery process mentally and physically sharing the struggles but accepting the challenge to be better everyday. Fred shares his own challenges on rebounding from injuries and the emotions that come with it while Ryan discusses some specifics about the illness when he was on the Steelers to recovering and playing a year later in the Super Bowl. The guys ask about the locker room and who the leaders are while wondering what playing with Jimmy Butler is like and the mindset the Heat have heading into the finals. Oladipo explains what makes the team so special is that they don't care about opinions of others and embrace being the underdog. When everyone counts us out, we just focus on winning and the leadership of Butler is the glue to the team right now.Ryan talks through the match up against the Celtics and the similarities the teams share but Oladipo recognizes it's going to be a fight but that his team is prepared for the fight.Channing asks about the rumors of Vic turning down 45million from Houston and Vic sets the record straight about those comments and then goes on to say how he is thankful for all the obstacles because they have landed him where he belongs now.  Closing out the show, Channing mentions to Oladipo how his wife is a big fan of Oladipo's music and asks if singing is his way of picking up girls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST:MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcastINSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivotTWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivotTIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivotFACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcastFOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydadFIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/findA Rhodes Scholar, a father, a husband, a doctor, an athlete and now author…Myron Rolle joins The Pivot to talk about his book The 2% Way and his philosophy of how small improvements took him from Oxford to the NFL to Neurosurgery. Ahead of the book's release- Ryan, Channing and Fred sit down with Myron and pick his brain on his unprecedented journey.The guys talk about how rare it is to be successful at two demanding, high profile professions in medicine and professional sports, which also seem complete opposites- one is a sport for entertainment and the other is life and death. Although from the outside it seems very different, Myron explains how similar the two careers really are in philosophy, approach and mindset. Balancing both athletics and academics allowed for a seamless transition from one career to the other and is something he shares with young mentees today .Ryan had the chance to play with Myron in the league and embraced the opportunity of soaking up some of the knowledge he shared along the way as well as the immense respect for his medical work and sacrifice during the pandemic.Referring to him as the smartest player to ever play in the NFL, Channing asks Myron how he could know so much about the brain and consequences of playing football yet still desire to play such a tough sport which opens up the conversation on CTE and the work Myron has done through research and partnering with the NFL.Fred acknowledges the positives and a lot of the success stories surgeons have but the guys get into a tougher conversation on how some of the losses are handled and the pressures of working at highly touted hospitals and institutes such as Mass General and Harvard. Closing out the conversation, Ryan turns it over to Myron to share his message to young people and how it's never too late to choose a different path in life and the value of hard work. The 2% Way is available starting May 17th in all major bookstores and digital platforms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST:MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcastINSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivotTWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivotTIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivotFACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcastFOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydadFIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/findThe always outspoken NBA legend and current television analyst Charles Barkley joins The Pivot in a wide open discussion on topics from his playing days, competing against MJ, criticism of his recent political and racial stances to his current tv career winding down.With only two years left on his television contract, Barkley is ready to sign off from the public eye and at peace with going into full retirement. “Fame is hard, a lot of prices to pay with fame,” he explains to Ryan, Fred and Channing and it’s ok to step back from it.Against social media and calling out people who hide behind it, Barkley explains the different world we live in right now and how everything thought and statement is under a microscope. Ignoring opinions that he is too controversial, Barkley defends his stances on certain hot topics recently especially with race crimes, police treatment and politics.Barkley credits his biggest inspiration, his grandmother, for his work ethic and staying out of trouble as he reminisces how he earned the larger than life nicknames from being 300 pounds playing college ball.Sharing stories about the 1992 Dream Team, Barkley goes into detail about how he believed he was the best player in the world until he got around Michael Jordan and laughed about the good ole’ days. Fred says Barkley never received enough credit for his contributions during that time while Channing challenges him saying he didn’t get the credit because he didn’t warrant that type of MJ attention!Barkley ends the episode addressing the elephant in room of people always judging him about not winning a championship- he defends his career saying “Hey, we got to the ok corral- we just didn’t win it, and I’m good with that”.Join Prize Picks now to compete against Channing, Fred and Ryan throughout the NBA Finals. Get a free $100 matched with your first $100 spent when you enter the code PIVOT. Start playing now: https://bit.ly/PrizePicksPivot Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST:MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcastINSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivotTWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivotTIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivotFACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcastFOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydadFIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/findNFL Hall Of Famer and Super Bowl Champion Warren Sapp joins The Pivot in a conversation about lessons learned and life after football.In a honest and emotional discussion, Sapp talks about his struggles with memory loss and the side effects he is starting to experience as he hits that 20-year mark of playing football. Channing brings up Junior Seau and how hard that was to learn about as Sapp explains to Ryan and Fred the fears that lie ahead.Sapp admittedly discloses that it’s easier for him to recount stories when he is in a familiar environment like the locker room atmosphere and goes on to share some memories with Ryan, Fred and Channing of his playing days and his Super Bowl run along with leading one of the best defensive units in NFL history.Fred asks if Sapp thinks Aaron Donald is the best to play the position as he explains his answer.Leaning into the veteran perspective, The guys ask Sapp what advice he would give to younger players and youth today. Not shying away from his infamous Arizona incident from 2015 and how quickly things can change, “Dungy always told us five things that would keep us on the straight and narrow…And he was right,” Sapp says. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST:MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcastINSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivotTWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivotTIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivotFACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcastFOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydadFIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/findDana White shares his dark moment around the sale of UFC, his relationship with Trump and addresses Jake Paul in an open and brutally honest discussion this week on The Pivot.The UFC President and Business Icon invites Ryan, Fred and Channing to UFC headquarters and doesn’t hold back as he talks tough topics with the guys.As Ryan asks Dana about his mindset during the business dealing of the UFC, Dana breaks down in a vulnerable moment saying how he shut down and went through a very dark time when the sale of the UFC was happening- “I locked myself in a hotel room off the radar and was really F’d up for a few days,” as he explains the moment.Dana goes on to share with Fred and Channing how when the UFC was a nothing brand yet that no one wanted to deal with, one person had his back and let him host events and that was Donald Trump. He discusses his long relationship with the former President and goes on to explain how we all have friends who we don’t always agree with on everything but it doesn’t change us from being their friend.Getting into the pay scale of fighters and often criticized business end of UFC, Dana explains his “eat what you kill”’motto which is something Channing is a big proponent of.One important message he gets across is that you don’t have to like everyone to do business as Dana explains his disdain for the likes of Tito Ortiz, Bob Arum and Jake Paul but doesn’t let his personal feelings get in the way of closing a deal.By the end of the conversation, Fred recognizes the respect level he has for Dana and explains how media misconceptions led him to have a pre-conceived notion about Dana but his openness and honesty changed that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST:MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcastINSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivotTWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivotTIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivotFACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcastFOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydadFIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/findWith the NFL draft underway, we felt it was important to share this episode. We filmed this with Plax as we were just getting started with The Pivot because we felt his story was symbolic of what it means to Pivot.Plaxico was the 8th overall Pick in the 2000 NFL draft, was one of the top wide receivers in the league and is a super bowl champion. But one off the field slip up changed his career and the question always lingers “What If”…what if that never happened, what would the legacy be of Plaxico Burress.In a candid conversation, Plax opens up to Ryan, Fred and Channing about his journey to the league and the infamous night that changed his life forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST:MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcastINSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivotTWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivotTIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivotFACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcastFOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydadFIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/findThe Nature Boy joins the Pivot in an entertaining yet emotional conversation about life with Ryan, Channing and Fred. The conversation opens up with Flair explaining his inspiration for the larger than life persona he cultivated through his in-ring antics and lavish personality which became the standard of swagger for generations."It all really started when I saw Joe Namath at Alabama and heard he slept with a hundred girls his freshman year and I said, that's my kind of man," Flair laughs while telling the story as the guys continue to reminisce with him over some of the more notable stories of his career. Wrestling was a gateway to being an entertainer for The Nature Boy who is proud of the reputation he created while setting a standard for people all over the world who genuinely admired him for his boastful behavior and carefree lifestyle.As the conversation continues, Flair opens up about some of the darker moments in his life: losing his son and his own near death experience.With the anniversary of his son's death near, Ric talks about the loss and how he cried everyday for years after losing him to a drug overdose. "For five years, I drank from 10 in the morning until 2am...Everyday I'd wake up and it's still right in front of me what happened," Ric shares in an emotional moment describing how hard it was to find his son and how it doesn't get easier even though it's been years.Offering comfort as fathers, the men relate to his post loss mentality and couldn't imagine being in that position. Flair goes on to share how he fortunate he feels to be alive and have made the global impact he did on so many lives sharing stories and conversations he's had with various celebrities and athletes over the years.Turning back to a positive note, Flair shares that his infamous coined phrase "Wooo!" was derived from Jerry Lee Lewis' 1957 hit "Great Balls of Fire" while listening to the song on a road trip. Channing goes right for the gusto asking if the rumored number of sleeping with 10,000 women is accurate...The Nature Boy breaks down the numbers by days and explains how although he doesn't know the exact number, it could be close to that figure! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST:MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcastINSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivotTWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivotTIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivotFACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcastFOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydadFIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/findShaquille O’Neal opens up about his divorce, relationship with Penny Hardaway and what really went on between him and Kobe Bryant in a rare look back into his life as he shares with the guys what keeps him up at night.For the most part, Shaq says how he’s lived life his way but as he’s become older, he looks back with a couple of regrets, the main one being his divorce and the other never reaching out to Kobe after they finished playing together.As Ryan leads the conversation about family and all of them making mistakes at one point or another over the years- the men discuss the point of coming to a realization that sometimes mistakes become decisions that can be difficult to come back from. The conversation takes a somber tone as Shaq shares how he is to blame for his marriage ending and the struggles he faced after not having his family with him everyday.Channing lightens the mood, by talking shit with Shaq about his reputation of missing free throws, his eyes being close together and can’t resist asking about the sexual challenges Shaq faces by being such a large human and curious to how it all goes down.Fred gets into the basketball conversation with Shaq and the guys take a trip down memory lane of how his career played out and what he would have done differently if given the chance.Being transparent about his playing days with the Magic his move to LA and then to Miami, Shaq shares how he believes Penny Hardaway was Kobe Bryant before Kobe was Kobe. “If Penny didn’t get hurt, he would have been one of the top 3 players in the history of game” Shaq says.Losing his sister unexpectedly and then dealing with the death of Kobe, Shaq regrets not picking up the phone and has no excuse but shares the lesson- we are never too busy to make a call.The Pivot Podcast releases new episodes every Tuesday at Noon eastern on YouTube with audio only versions available on Spotify, Apple and all other major platforms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST:MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcastINSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivotTWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivotTIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivotFACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcastFOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydadFIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/findUFC Women’s bantamweight champion, Julianna Peña joins The Pivot and is ready to set the record straight with Ryan about who the champ really is after Peña pulled off the win against Amanda Nunes.“I’m here to say ‘I told you so,” to Ryan for picking against me and saying I didn’t have a chance,” Julianna first says as she sits down. Channing and Fred ofcourse egg on the banter and tell Ryan they might not be able to help him if she tries to fight him.Ryan admits he was wrong but that his UFC prediction was influenced by being a longtime fan of Amanda and he is sorry for shit talking her as an opponent.Learning more about Julianna’s journey to the top of the sport, Fred gets into her background as well as some of the legal troubles that she faced while coming up the ranks. “I only fight to get paid, no more street fights,” she jokes with the guys.Channing is amped up as he hears the fight in her and how much passion she has for being the best in the cage and her approach to being a professional athlete.The conversation moves into motherhood and relationships and the challenges facing female athletes to balance both the personal and work side of the sport.Preparing for the rematch in early summer, Julianna says how she still will approach the fight and training as if she is the challenger with a target on her back to be dethroned as the champion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices