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BEYOND THE ATHLETE PODCAST
Join us on this conversational, learning, and informative experience on 'Beyond the Athlete,' where we delve into the behind the scenes and untold stories and inspiring journeys of people within the world of sports, entrepreneurship and innovation.
In our upcoming episodes, expect an exclusive peek into the lives of renowned men and women from across the world . Discover the defining moments, untapped passions, and the strategies they employ to overcome obstacles both in life and works. From tales of resilience to discussions on personal growth, each episode promises an intimate conversation that transcends the world of greatness.
Get ready to be motivated, empowered, and uplifted by the remarkable experiences and wisdom shared by these extraordinary individuals.
Tune in as we explore the stories that go beyond the game, only on 'Beyond the Athlete.'
BEYOND THE ATHLETE PODCAST
EP29: Continuous Development - Why The Greats Never Take Shortcuts
Coach David reflects on his podcasting journey from humble beginnings to international reach, emphasizing the importance of simply starting rather than overthinking your goals.
• Just start – don't overcomplicate things or overthink it
• Learning happens along the way – from video production to social media management
• We're scaling up the Nation Sports Association with multiple community partners
• This summer brings major events including a Europe-wide football tournament
• Building international connections in Netherlands and France
• The greats never take shortcuts – excellence requires discipline behind the scenes
• We owe our best to the next generation who will carry on the legacy
• The podcast now reaches listeners worldwide from Rwanda to Singapore to Australia
Subscribe to Beyond the Athlete on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Soundcloud and all listening platforms. Follow Coach David at @coachdavidbbn on Instagram and don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe!
Instagram Links:
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Coach David - https://instagram.com/coachdavidbbn?utm_source=qr
what's up guys? Coach david here, your host as well as your guest today on the beyond the athlete podcast. Welcome to another episode. Hope you guys have had a good week, um. A good start to the year of 2025, um.
Speaker 1:I know we're in month three now, um, the year is going super fast, but I know all of you, especially myself, have already kind of hit the ground running, basically for the rest of the year, um. I know this is quite rare. I've come on two weeks in a row now, um, and the reason for that is we do have a lot of special guests upcoming. But I wanted to use this next few weeks, um to really kind of speak to yourselves, um, and also kind of like my own mini diary as well, by using the podcast as my platform to do that, um, and just to kind of create sort of like a personal relationship with you guys as well, um, via video and audio also, um. But yeah, thank you guys for obviously continuously tuning in um. Obviously, before we start, make sure you're subscribed to our channel, like, it goes a long way for you guys to be subscribed so you can see all the upcoming um content coming through as well, especially this summer, which is meant to be a big summer for us, um, and this year is meant to be a big year, to be fair, for us as well, uh, with so many things that we're doing on the sports, in the sports space, um, whether it's in the uk or overseas as well, and, um, today there isn't I won't say there's anything planned for me this year. I just wanted to just come on and speak really, um, especially with the upcoming guests that we have, um, which is going to be quite interesting. I think a lot of them are going to start getting released, um, so, like third week of this month of march, um, and you're going to be really kind of like blown away with the conversations that we've been having and that we're also yet to have as well with some of our guests from the uk, from europe and from the States as well.
Speaker 1:And for me, the podcast itself has always been, selfishly, a tool for me to actually be able to connect to certain people but also learn as well along the journey. But then, at the same time, me recording those conversations and me bringing them into a podcast platform is for also, you guys to kind of go through that journey with me and also go through that learning journey with me as well, and it's been amazing. I think it's allowed me to grow quite a lot. If you guys saw my first episode that I recorded, I was looking at my phone all the time. We had a screen in the background that had Beyond the Athlete that I made on canva um, the place we were using, the wall, was leaking. Um, it was actually nuts. But listen, we started and we got it done. We never released that episode, unfortunately. Uh, it was a great conversation but we never released it. But it kind of I learned a lot of things from that first episode and you kind of learn a lot of things from just starting, and that's one of the things for me that I've been really kind of teaching myself this year Just start, don't kind of like overthink it, don't overcomplicate things, just start.
Speaker 1:Just, if you put your mind to something that you want to do something, just do it. And then, as you go along, there's going to be certain things that you keep learning, keep learning as well. Same with my instagram page for the possible nation and beyond the athlete podcast um, when we started, I didn't know how to do anything. Um, you want, you're looking to hire someone that's a social media manager, and then you're looking to hire someone that's a graphic designer and you're looking to see find someone that's a video editor, a photographer, photographer, all these things. Because, yeah, you're just starting, you don't, you don't know what to do, you're not really a social media person, you're not a graphic designer, so and those things work obviously at like costly and for me, I was already like pretty much I think second year is struggling to like raise funds just to do our sessions, and then that's where obviously now you have to find a solution, so you're not just sitting in your problems or sitting in your situation, but actually finding the solution to certain things you know in order to grow.
Speaker 1:And that's where and that's why it's also good to have a community around you because I had to learn from different people. So my friend who's a videographer, showed me how to set up the camera, especially for the podcast setups that we have, showed me how to organize the lighting, how to record, how to even live stream all that kind of stuff. So I learned from him and then also just doing research, watching other podcasts and kind of seeing the tips that they give. Also got recommended to watch Think Media on YouTube, and that really helped me as well in terms of, like, even things like creating thumbnails, being able to create certain designs, watching Canva videos to teach me how to be a bit more creative with Canva, and just asking questions, even if it's the case that email someone, um, that may not have in the podcast, but just to get tips. I was doing that.
Speaker 1:So now, like, some people actually think that my Instagram page is actually run by a social media manager, but really and truly is actually me. Um, but we do have a team around that, so you support us as well. Um, well, but I love the thumbnails, I love the graphics. I'll say maybe 70% of the graphics. I created them and now teaching other people to do that as well. A lot of the videos. I used to be the one to edit them with my, with my, with my colleague Kwabena, but now I have, I've been able to build a team over time. Just be able to do those things for me to allow free me up to do certain other things. That needs meets my attention.
Speaker 1:Um, but yeah, like, honestly, like it's a learning, learning person. I'm still learning now. I'm still seeking knowledge on how to scale up things. Whether it's social media, whether it's media, whether it's content creation, whether it's entertainment, whether it's events, I'm still always seeking knowledge, and this is what this podcast has provided and allowed me to actually explore as well. So if you're out there and there's something that you want to do and want to start, just start. Just do it. Um, it may lead you to something else, but that might not be the final thing you're doing.
Speaker 1:I'm not saying that podcast is not something I'm going to do forever, but it may not be um, it may be a start to something else, like a um, what do they call it? I don't want to say parachute or something else. That sounds wrong, but it's something that will eventually lead me to something else um, eventually with sports or media, I don't know, but the. What I know right now is to start and make this successful and keep scaling it up. Basically, so, yeah, so that's that and yeah, it's been a journey and watching other people around me as well and really kind of like seeing what I've been doing and and that how it's enabled them to also take up that their own spaces and be creators in those spaces as well. It's quite good to see and that also keeps pushing me as well, seeing them doing it. So it's almost like, okay, now me doing this is not just for me, but there's also there's people, there's people online watching this and saying, oh wow, I, if he can do it, I'm able to do it as well. So it's those type of messages that I actually want to send from actually being proactive in solve this platforms that we create, from the, from Basma Nation to the Beyond the Africa podcast, to the Nation Sports Association, from Basketball Nation to the Beyond the Africa podcast to the Nation Sports Association.
Speaker 1:And talking about Nation Sports Association, I'm going to go away from the first topic. This year is going to be amazing. Obviously, you guys know I'm the president for that. We do have a team of partners with us as well, from other sports communities, such as Locked In Football, block Sports, strong Girl, which is in fitness. We also have Box Nation, which is a boxing community. Obviously, basketball Nation, which I run, beyond the Athlete, is also part of the association. We have True Therapy around the sports therapy side Rollin in terms of the roller skating community, and then many more that will also be a part of us, um, eventually, um, oh yeah, we do also have strong wrong club, which is our wrong club that we're actually launching this year, um, preferably this month, um. So look, look out for us as well. Um, and yeah, it's just been amazing being able to be a part of the whole team um and this year's events.
Speaker 1:We've already started the year with a band with Strongo doing an amazing event um in London and one of the biggest event spaces in London, voxport um, and having over a thousand people being um there in their fitness sessions throughout the week, which is amazing, and also many events that we're actually doing. So we have a camp, a basketball camp, coming up for the Mayor of London office, in partnership with the Mayor of London office, as well as other events such as Pilates classes, fitness festivals, football camps, football tournaments and, majorly, in this summer, we're going to be having a massive football tournament for London as well as the rest of Europe as well. So we are expecting teams from Europe to actually join us. But that's just one of the main events that we're going to have in London. It's going to be amazing. It's going to be bigger than last year. Last year, we had over 5,000 people in attendance, four to two teams made up of seven to nine players. So it was huge.
Speaker 1:And this year we're going to go bigger with the relations that we have, with the structure that we have, the structure that we've created and the platform for young athletes to really thrive in the space of football and also basketball as well. And this year I think it's been quite interesting because it's allowed us to kind of spread our wings a bit more internationally as well, especially with places like Netherlands and France as well, building connections there, building connections with communities, individuals that are sort of tastemakers and community leaders as well, in order for us to constantly keep making impact, which is why I can never stop doing any of this. I can never stop speaking on the podcast, I can never stop running up basketball sessions connecting with young people, connecting with young athletes, um constantly working to even build um platforms, um people that have platforms, supporting them with that um, such as like rolling with the roller skating, supporting him with everything that he's doing. Um guys within our basketball community that want to get into fashion design, supporting any way that I can, whether it's resources, whether it's a platform to showcase um and so many more um, and this is something that we've been constantly doing and it's something that is really close to my heart. Um, and the my, the bigger community I'm part of, this is what we do on a daily basis, non-stop. Um, even today as I'm speaking um, I know this is obviously going to be released a few days after, but even today as I'm speaking, there's about six events happening, and this is all for the community, for young people, for people that just need a platform to become greater than what they see themselves being as well, to become more than what people or society or a system would think that they're not. Basically, and it's quite interesting to see and it's almost kind of like inspiring and allows me to myself and the rest of the people I'm connected with to really push more. And it's so crazy because sports really kind of like and sports really kind of like embodies that, especially when you look at any sports, whether it's tennis, whether it's basketball, whether it's football, whether it's boxing the greats are the ones that push nonstop.
Speaker 1:The greats are the ones that never cheat, that always do things the right way. So when you don't see them on the camera or in the ring or on the court on the field, they're also behind the scenes. They're not, they're still looking after themselves. They're making sure that they're sleeping well, they make sure that they're eating well, they make sure that they're working out, looking after their bodies, they make sure that they're putting in the work. They're making sure that they're not going in for a three-hour workout session and doing two and a half hours as well. Or they're going in for three hours and they're making sure those three hours, every second counts, and that as well. Or they're going there for three hours and they're making sure those three hours, every second, counts. Um, and that's what makes the great great, basically, and that's just. That's just applies to everything else that we're doing within the community.
Speaker 1:In life, you can't take shortcuts. We have to go through the process, but through that process, everything has to be not perfect, consistent, but also an element of excellence in it as well, and this is something that we've been learning. I've been learning and we've been learning as well, constantly, because, at the end of the day, as we grow to become greater, as we grow to become leaders within our industries, whether it's our sports, these things are going to be very, very important, because the discipline in a lot of these things will actually make keep. What's the word now? Allow you to stand out from the rest of the crowd, um, and, almost kind of like, inspire others, especially the next generation, to become that as well, because we don't owe this to ourselves, we owe this to the, to the ones coming after us, um, because once we, once, all is done, um, the people that carry on that legacy are the young ones at the end of the day. Um, so these are kind of my thoughts again that I've been kind of um thinking about and it's been kind of resonating with, resonating with me this week, um, and I just wanted to share that with you guys.
Speaker 1:Um, I know that. I know that, um, a lot of you have asked questions and I want to see more questions being sent through to us. I really want to be able to answer questions on this, especially about myself, about the podcast, about my community and the communities that I'm part of or I lead, um, and, yeah, let's have a conversation. If you actually want to be on as well, um, maybe we can do a live and I can have some of you on that want to ask questions. Let's do that as well. I'm happy to do that. Also, I'm very, very open. Nothing to hide, nothing to hold back Because, at the end of the day, I like I just like to be free, free to speak, free to do what I need to do, but also being able to communicate with you guys is as important to me as anything else, um, so, yeah, so that's pretty much everything for me today, um, and I hope to speak to you guys soon.
Speaker 1:Um, next week, we should have an amazing guest. Um, I'm not going to tell you who it is, but, um, someone that's very, very, very important and pinnacles Sorry, guys, english crazy Very, very important to communities as well, especially within the sports space, and many, many more that's going to come up as well. I'm not really always going to reveal who they are, because I actually want you guys to be surprised and actually tune in. A lot of them are influential names and some of them are like people that you may not know about but are super, super inspiring within the community. Um, and I'm really excited for every conversation I'm about to have and I've had already.
Speaker 1:Um, but, yeah, if you haven't listened to any of the past episodes, you can actually go onto youtube. You can go onto basketball nation tv to watch them on youtube. You can also watch them on all listening platform. I mean listen on all listening platform, but you can actually now watch on spotify, um, so we've started to add videos onto spotify so you can actually watch and listen on spotify as well, but you can also listen to on other platforms such as amazon music, apple, apple Podcasts, soundcloud and every single listening platform that you can ever think of around the world as well. So, yeah, thank you for listening. Thank you from everyone across the world. There are so many of you. I see the stats and it's amazing.
Speaker 1:I didn't know that me starting a podcast would be able to reach places like Rwanda, singapore, australia, where else? Finland, switzerland, france, even where was the? There was a place the other day that came up India as well, taiwan, like it's for me. It's actually mind-blowing. Even if it's for me, it's actually mind-blowing even if it's one person listening from those places. Thank you, thank you very much for listening. I'm hoping that I can continue to create great content for you, which I will, and, like I said, your feedback is amazing. No one's feedback is bad. All feedbacks I'm open to taking on board to make this content for you guys, because you guys are part of the community that we're building here within, beyond the Athlete. So, yeah, I appreciate you guys. I look forward to hearing speaking from you. If you're on Instagram, you can follow me at coachdavidbbn as well. Let's connect that way and, yeah, hope to see you guys soon. Don't forget to subscribe, like and comment. Take care, coach David out Peace.
