

The Post Game Podcast
Joe Poduslenko
A podcast sharing the stories of former athletes who have successfully navigated the transition out of sports into "what's next" in business, entrepreneurship, and much more. New episodes released every Wednesday morning.
Check out The Post Game Newsletter:
https://postgamepodcast.beehiiv.com/
Check out The Post Game Newsletter:
https://postgamepodcast.beehiiv.com/
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 28, 2024 • 58min
Ep. 21 - Matt Phillips: Confronting Self-Doubt, Keeping Track of Your Wins, Just Keep Going
Matt Phillips is a Leadership & Mental Toughness Coach.
He is the Founder & CEO of Matt Phillips Coaching, working with Sales Managers, C-Suite Leaders & Change Makers, and corporations.
He also offers 1 on 1 Executive Coaching to individuals looking to elevate their performance at work and at home.
Matt played Division 1 Baseball at Creighton University and professionally in Austria.
What You'll Learn About:
Picking something and being consistent with it
Asking deeper questions of yourself
Knowing what you want and doing what’s necessary to make it happen
Confronting self-doubt head on
Shortening the time gap between getting off track and getting back on
Asking for help accelerating getting out of your own way
Picking up the phone and making the call
Finding excitement in the next chapter
Getting curious and meeting new people
“The book isn’t done, just flip the page”
Timestamps
(0:00) – Intro to Matt Phillips
(3:00) – Social Media
(5:00) – Experience playing college baseball
(12:00) – Is this really what I’m meant to do?
(15:50) – Balancing act going from corporate world to his own thing
(18:20) – Matt’s mentor Ruben Gonzalez
(20:45) – Finding what you want and going after it
(24:10) – Going to meet your mentors
(29:20) – How do you combat self-doubt?
(33:35) – Keeping track of your wins
(41:00) – Asking for Help
(44:30) – Separating work life from home life
(48:50) – Just Keep Going
(52:30) – Piece of advice to athletes after sports
(56:00) – Where to find Matt
matt@mattphillipscoaching.com
mattphillipscoaching.com
Matt Phillips Podcast

Feb 21, 2024 • 52min
Ep. 20 - Ryan Hawk: Preparation, Curiosity, Opportunities Coming Through People
Ryan Hawk is the founder and host of The Learning Leader Show, one of the top leadership podcasts in the world.
He is the author of two (soon to be three) books - Welcome to Management, The Pursuit of Excellence, and The Score That Matters (coming out in March 2024).
In addition to his podcast and writing, Ryan is a keynote
speaker, facilitates Leadership Circles, and serves as a 1 on 1 leadership advisor for Senior executives.
Ryan has been publishing podcast episodes every Sunday for 9 YEARS. He epitomizes consistency and what it looks like to follow your curiosity.
What You'll Learn About:
Spreading positive energy into the world
The only way to lose is to stop
Doing impactful, serious work while enjoying yourself along the way
Being the hero of your own story
Loving the preparation
Genuine curiosity
Purpose and intention behind what you're doing
Your "Who" is everything
Proving people right
Opportunities coming through people
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Intro to Ryan Hawk
(3:00) - Why come on the podcast?
(5:30) - Keep sending cold emails
(6:35) - Thoughtful, specific outreach
(8:20) - Consistency builds trust
(9:40) - Getting a "real life PhD"
(13:00) - Relationship with his parents and brothers
(16:10) - Keeping it loose!
(17:55) - Easy to root for his brother
(21:00) - Evolution of his mindset
(25:30) - Preparing to overcome fear
(27:45) - The Acknowledgement section
(30:50) - Curious about people's stories
(36:30) - Shining a bright light on his guests
(40:00) - How do I want this to feel?
(42:50) - Gratitude for his work
(45:20) - Advice to college athletes on the next step
(50:15) - Books and The Learning Leader Show
Where to Find Ryan?
The Learning Leader Website
The Learning Leader Show
Instagram
Twitter (X)
The Score That Matters (Pre-Order the Book Here)

Feb 14, 2024 • 46min
Ep. 19 - Taj Dashaun: Thrive After Sports, Drafting Mentors, and Eliminating Victimhood
Taj Dashaun is a former College Football player at Stony Brook University.
He is the Founder of Thrive After Sports, a holistic 1-on-1 program for retired athletes who are struggling to adapt to life after the game.
Taj helps former athletes land jobs, start businesses, and find fulfillment in every area of their lives.
He is also the author of several books: Athlete to Entrepeneur, Thrive After Sports: How to Dominate the Game of Life, and The Six-Figure Athlete.
Check out his Podcast - Thrive After Sports w/ Taj Dashaun.
What You'll Learn About:
Why do you want to go down a certain career path?
What do you want your life to look like?
Asking the question “How are you doing?” and listening to
the answer
How to find people living the type of life you want
Cheat Codes of Mentorship and Apprenticeship
The Who, What, How exercise to figure out what you want
Timestamps:
(0:00) – Intro to Taj
(3:30) - Taj Dashaun Johnson
(5:25) – First jobs after graduating college
(7:45) – Passion for getting people from Point A to Point B
(9:10) – Where people are when they reach out to Taj
(12:25) – Meeting people where they’re at
(14:50) – Learning from other people’s experience
(17:35) – Eliminating Victim mentality
(19:35) – Drafting mentors
(21:45) – What you might not know about Taj
(25:00) – Putting your work into the world that will help
people
(27:15) – Learning something from everyone you come across
(30:25) – Cold Outreach helping you get to where you want to
go
(32:20) – The Who, What, How exercise
(35:20) – A Highschool (Love) Football Story
(39:00) – What’s Next for Thrive After Sports?
(43:20) – Where to Find Taj
Links for Taj:
Tajdashaun.com
LinkedIn
Instagram
Taj’s Books
Thrive After Sports Podcast

Feb 6, 2024 • 1h 7min
Ep. 18 - Joe Ferraro: Creativity, "Secret Projects", and Asking Better Questions
Joe Ferraro is a teacher, founder of DamnGoodConversations.com, Podcast Coach, and host of The One Percent Better Podcast, where he follows his curiosity to help people leverage small changes in mindset, language, and behavior.
He has interviewed James Clear, Annie Duke, Ryan Hawk, Daniel Pink, Seth Godin, among so many others great guests.
In his own words, his mission is to teach you repeatable ways to have damn good conversations every single time.
What You'll Learn About:
Headphones and a microphone heightening conversation
What were you like as a kid?
Is there a better way to do this?
Giving yourself evidence by experimenting with different creative outlets
Eliminating the "white lies"
What's your secret passion?
How can you improve your conversations?
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Intro to Joe Ferraro
(2:30) - Googling Joe Ferraro
(6:10) - The beginning of One Percent Better
(10:50) - Decision to become a teacher
(13:15) - Healthy skepticism
(16:35) - Impact of Baseball on his life
(20:00) - Favorite players growing up
(23:00) - Experience interviewing his Dad
(27:15) - Wine tastes different today than it will tomorrow
(29:40) - Questions for his grandfather
(31:00) - What was Joe like as a kid?
(35:20) - Creativity is just connecting things
(40:00) - How can I make this a little bit better?
(42:15) - What's the most creative thing you've done this year?
(47:30) - Fire bullets before you fire cannonballs
(51:15) - Episode with Derek Sivers
(57:30) - Everyone can use a coach
(1:03:00) - What would fulfill you even if it wasn't monetary?
Where to Find Joe:
Joe Ferraro on X
Damn Good Conversations
The One Percent Better Podcast

Jan 25, 2024 • 1h 9min
Ep. 17 - Casey Bannon of The Golfer's Journal: Persistence and Creating Opportunities For Yourself
Casey Bannon is the Brand Manager at The Golfer's Journal, a golf media company exploring the art of golf storytelling.
He is a former collegiate golfer and DII National Champion at St. Leo's University.
Casey hosts a segment of The Golfer's Journal Podcast, "Mind Game" where he sits down with top performers to dig deeper into mental performance.
He has recently interviewed Sahil Bloom, Kelly Slater, and former Navy SEAL Jason Kuhn, among many other great guests.
What You'll Learn About:
Being persistent to get what you want
Storytelling
Being real with yourself
What is the Golfer's Journal?
Psychology of golf - quieting an active mind
Giving yourself reasons to believe in you
The "What Went Well" Journal
Making stuff because you like it
Finding ways to compete after sports
Increasing your surface area for luck
Just start doing it
Filling gaps and providing solutions
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Intro to Casey Bannon
(3:00) - 5th Time's the Charm
(7:20) - Media heroes growing up
(9:00) - Chasing Your Instinct
(12:25) - What is the Golfer's Journal?
(16:55) - Connecting Community and Content
(20:00) - Broken Tee Society Tour
(23:40) - Origin of "Mind Game"
(31:20) - Mental Game Throughout his career
(34:20) - Realizing you're not special for the first time
(36:45) - Where is the line between self criticism and self doubt?
(38:05) - Unexpected learning from Mind Game Pod
(40:00) - Questions to get the best out of guests
(43:15) - Truth seeking through long form conversation
(46:31) - Short form content lacking substance
(50:50) - Advice to former athletes
(56:15) - Saying "Yes" to opportunities early on
(58:10) - Pitch the story
(1:00:05) - Get into media by doing media
(1:01:30) - Taking on jobs that open doors for you
(1:05:30) - What's Next for Casey and TGJ
(1:07:50) - Where to Find Casey and The Golfer's Journal
golfersjournal.com
Casey Bannon on X
Instagram: @caseyfbannon
The Golfer’s Journal Podcast: Mind Game

Jan 22, 2024 • 1h 55min
Ep. 16 - Bryant Ferate: Don't Act Like the Job You Have, Act Like the Job You Want
Bryant Ferate is the Assistant Director of Performance at University of Portland.
He is also the host of The Bryant Ferate Podcast and writes a newsletter where he consistently publishes his "Ferate's 5."
In his own words, he is cultivating curiosity & consistency through coaching, writing, & podcasting.
Here's What You'll Learn About:
How curiosity can be a super power and enthusiasm can be a competitive advantage
Reasons why we are hard on ourselves at times
How our environment shapes our habits, both good and bad
Helping athletes zoom IN and zoom OUT
What are you in control of?
What do you want to go 100% in on and commit to?
What's it mean to "have it all figured out?"
Being proud of cool things you're doing
Don't act like the job you have, act like the job you want
S&C Career Advice
Is your pinnacle solely external?
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Intro to Bryant Ferate
(3:20) - Mike Posner x Danny Miranda Podcast
(7:30) - Dream Guests
(14:45) - Enthusiasm as a competitive advantage
(17:20) - What would this look like if it was fun?
(21:00) - Teammates who kept it loose
(23:00) - The First Rule of Mastery
(25:00) - Why are we hard on ourselves?
(27:30) - Lessons learned from older teammates
(31:30) - How do you interpret failure?
(36:15) - Leveling up your perspective
(41:35) - Asking "double questions"
(44:15) - Asking Better Questions
(53:30) - Building the podcast
(57:00) - Trajectory of The Bryant Ferate Podcast
(1:01:00) - What do you actually want?
(1:02:15) - Upgrading personal performance / lifestyle
(1:07:35) - You're on the right path
(1:10:00) - Being Happy with a cup of coffee
(1:13:15) - 75 Hard
(1:17:50) - Be the friend
(1:24:30) - Downplaying Things
(1:32:00) - Assuming how people are going to respond
(1:34:50) - "Is that true?"
(1:38:00) - Advice to aspiring Strength Coaches
(1:42:35) - Taking your learning into your own hands
Where can you find Bryant?
The Bryant Ferate Podcast
Bryant Ferate Newsletter
Bryant on Twitter (X)
Instagram: @bryantferate

Jan 13, 2024 • 1h 2min
Ep. 15 - Ryan Watson: Chief Marketing Officer MTNTOUGH
Ryan Watson is the Chief Marketing Officer at MTNTOUGH, the #1 Fitness and mental training toughness app for hunters.
A Missoula, MT native, Ryan attended the University of Montana before spending 7 years at OnX Maps prior to joining the team at MTNTOUGH.
He is a hunter, fisherman, martial artist, and fitness nut.
What You'll Learn About:
Fulfillment doesn't always have to come from a job
What is the next lesson you want to learn?
New opportunities coming from a strong reputation
Building relationships with awesome people
MTNTOUGH's fitness and mental performance app
Documenting and blogging about things you love to do
The idea around just getting started
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Intro to Ryan
(2:50) - Growing up in Missoula & Martial Arts
(7:18) - The Outdoors in Montana
(9:40) - Work in Montana
(14:10) - Trades Industry
(18:03) - Feeling a sense of pride in your work
(19:00) - Get involved in community
(21:30) - His time at OnX Maps
(25:50) - Opportunity to join MTNTOUGH
(28:04) - The best opportunities are word of mouth
(30:30) - Build relationships with awesome people
(32:10) - What is MTNTOUGH?
(36:28) - Mental exercises built into the app
(38:30) - The MTNTOUGH Community
(42:30) - MTNTOUGH during / after COVID
(45:55) - What Ryan enjoys about his work
(48:30) - Getting 100,000 people to change their lives for the better
(50:00) - Relationship with Michael Easter
(54:00) - TOUGHFEST 2024
(55:45) - Online Entrepreneurship Opportunity
(58:20) - Starting something that you're interested in
(1:01:09) - Where to find Ryan / MTNTOUGH
References:
MTNTOUGH Website
Instagram: @ryanunderbigsky
MTNTOUGH Instagram: mtntough_fitness
The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter

Jan 3, 2024 • 48min
Ep. 14 - Pratik Patel: Former NFL Nutrition / Performance/ S&C Coach, Personal Coach
Pratik Patel is a Former NFL Coach with the New York Giants (Nutrition / Performance / S&C).
After graduating from Kansas State with a degree in Kinesiology, he went on to work as a a sports dietitian at Kansas State and Michigan State and was the Director of Sports Nutrition at The University of Oregon.
He is currently a personal coach and an advisor / consultant to teams, startups, and Venture Capital Firms in the health & wellness space.
What You’ll Learn About:
Providing value to an NFL team in multiple capacities
A look behind the curtain of coaching in the NFL
What goes into a good Strength & Conditioning program
You can’t coach a guy until you know him
Working with an inner energy coach
Controlling the controllables
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Intro
(3:30) - Pratik's Family
(6:00) - Experience coaching with the New York Giants
(7:45) - Better to be specialist or generalist?
(14:35) - Defining a good S&C Program
(19:13) - The art of building trust with high performing athletes
(23:00) - Leveraging existing relationships to build trust with other players
(27:10) - Indian players and coaches in the NFL
(30:30) - Going from the NFL to individual coaching
(34:00) - Rediscovering things that make you happy
(37:00) - Personal Accountability
(39:00) - What Makes You Feel Worthy?
(40:44) - Stay present in the moment and what can you control?
(43:30) - Advice to kids looking to get into S&C field
(46:00) - Have people who can speak on your behalf
Where to find Pratik?
LinkedIn: Pratik Patel
Twitter: Pratik Patel
Instagram: @pratikxpatel

Jan 2, 2024 • 1h 24min
Ep. 13 - Derek Jenkins: Mentality, Life Experiences, Life After Baseball
Derek Jenkins is a former teammate and a great friend.
After playing four years of Division 1 baseball, “Jenks” was drafted in the 26th round by the Los Angeles Angels. He went on to play parts of four seasons of pro ball, making it up to AA with the Angels in 2017.
He is second in all time stolen bases in Seton Hall history and in 2016, was named the school’s Male Athlete of the Year.
I’m pumped to have had him on to talk about his experience getting to Seton Hall, playing pro ball, and transitioning away from baseball and into a career in the insurance world.
What You’ll Learn About:
Playing multiple sports growing up
The culture of a tight knit college baseball locker room
Baseball memories and his experience getting drafted
The mental “bubble” pro guys can put themselves in to lock in
Transitioning away from baseball into the professional world
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Intro to Derek Jenkins
(2:00) - The journey to playing baseball at Seton Hall
(12:50) - Freshman Fall in college baseball
(18:00) - Jenks’ college career
(21:35) - Favorite baseball memories
(25:10) - Experience with the MLB Draft
(30:30) - Getting drafted Senior year
(34:40) - Expectations going into professional baseball
(44:00) - His mentality in pro ball
(47:25) - What separates the guys who make it to big leagues?
(52:00) - Life experiences shaping who we become
(57:15) - The brain is powerful
(1:00:00) - Transitioning away from baseball
(1:05:15) - Fulfillment after hanging up the cleats
(1:13:00) - Finding balance and hobbies to keep you going
Where to find Jenks:
Instagram: @djenks6
LinkedIn: Derek Jenkins

Dec 7, 2023 • 51min
Ep. 12 - John Morris: Former MLB Player, Special Assistant to the GM for Cincinnati Reds
John Morris is a former Major League Baseball Player and current Special Assistant to the GM for the Cincinnati Reds.
A former 1st round draft pick by the Kansas City Royals in the 1982 MLB Draft, he played seven years in the big leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, and California Angels.
He has been inducted into the Seton Hall Hall of Fame, Cape Cod Hall of Fame, and New York Baseball Hall of Fame.
In addition to a life in baseball, he has become heavily involved with St. Jude’s hospital, where he assists families who have children with cancer and mentors the next generation of successful kids.
What You’ll Learn About:
The power of a Coach providing words of encouragement
The most important aspects of mentoring
The qualities of a great teammate
Identifying things we love doing / turn us on and light us up
Get rid of clutter with the Rule of Thirds
Having a short memory
Become the best person you can and share it with other people
Timestamps:
(0:00) - Intro to John
(1:20) - Growing up the youngest of 6 kids
(3:30) - Accomplishments come without being handed a lottery ticket
(6:15) - You’re the best player in the league, start acting like it
(10:10) - Does confidence breed success or vice versa?
(13:25) - How we interpret experiences is up to us
(14:40) - Embracing the opportunity to come off the bench
(17:00) - Reflecting on his mentality in the big leagues
(20:30) - John’s favorite teammate of all time
(23:20) - Keeping notes / diaries throughout his career
(25:30) - MLB career winding down
(30:00) - Thoughts on what was in store after baseball
(33:00) - His work giving back through St. Jude’s
(36:00) - Leadership development program
(37:45) - The Rule of Thirds
(40:00) - One thing he’d do differently
(42:30) - What he’s excited about right now
(45:55) - Be kind to people
Cool Article on John:
Ballnine Article on John Morris


