You Asked, I Answered: Life After Sports, Losing Loved Ones & Change

Beyond the labels, Rachel is expansive, tough, and intentional. In this solo Q&A episode, she answers listener questions and shares more of her own story - how Unmasked came to be, her transition from collegiate soccer into life beyond sports, and what she’s learned through experiences of loss and change.

She also opens up about maintaining meaningful relationships, what authentic living looks like in her day-to-day life, and how she continues to grow through uncertainty.

This episode is a more personal look at the voice behind the podcast - honest, reflective, and grounded in the belief that we are more than any label we’ve been given.

Tune in and send in your questions for future episodes.

Find Unmasked – A Beyond Worthy Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Transcript

Rachel 0:00

Hello friends. Welcome to Unmasked a Beyond Worthy Podcast. Grateful you are here listening. Today's episode is a little different than normal. It's a solo episode, you're stuck with me. I will be answering listeners' questions, and I'm really excited and wanna say thank you in advance to those who sent questions that I will be discussing today. Let's start by taking a few grounding breaths, whether you're walking, driving, sitting. I ask that you notice this exact moment. And then we'll get started. Wow, this feels so strange. All by myself over here. I will take this second to actually give a shout out to Valeria who is behind the scenes crafting all of this, the audio and the video, so I'm not alone. That was a lie. The first thing I will touch on is my three words. The three words I would use to describe Rachel are expansive, tough intentional. I finally understand why my guests have had a hard time with this question because I'm now doing it myself. It is a fun practice. So I recommend to anyone listening think about your three words. What would they be? What would some of the runners up be? I will jump in with expansive. Say, I feel like I'm always growing. I continue to want to bloom and be the best version of myself, which I will always be chasing. There's never an end, and for that reason, expansive feels very fitting. I would say in every phase of my life I've learned something new that has allowed me to expand and grow on a personal level. Tough people may be like, what? That's not Rachel, but I'm gonna tell you why I chose tough. The first reason is it embodies words like resilient, hardworking, I have been through experiences that have instilled toughness in me For example, playing collegiate sport required a certain level of toughness and drive to be the best and always be better. the other version of tough is something I'm trying to accept about myself and also shift in ways when you think of something that is tough to rip apart, it might be really rigid, and in my life I've tried to not take life so seriously and move away from this wound up tough texture that sometimes can take over. And then intentional. I try to be intentional in everything that I do, whether it's in friendship, whether it's in how I wake up in the morning, and avoid using my phone right away. Also in the way that I care and love I always lead with intention. question number two, tell us the story of building your podcast. Finally, I get to tell you guys how this all came to be. I've always loved listening to podcasts. I'll start by saying that you may have heard it on an earlier episode, but most of the time in conversation you can bank on Rachel saying, I heard this in a podcast, and just wanting to share the knowledge that I hear through my headphones. Not to mention, I always thought it would be fun to have a podcast of my own. thinking about sitting in front of a guest, talking and listening feels like a dream. Getting to soak up other people's knowledge and understand them deeply in an authentic conversation is somewhere I thrive. Which goes back to something else I wanted to say about intentionality is I listen with intention, trying to make other people feel heard. Back to how this podcast began, to give you a rundown, I grew up in Bozeman, Montana. First born in a suburb of Chicago. Moved when I was two years old to Bozeman and then went to Florida Southern for my undergrad degree and to play soccer. Moved to London, moved back to America, started this degree. I know I'm skipping a lot, but I'm just trying to give you some context. When I started the SMB Spirit Mind Body Psychology Master's Degree at Columbia University, I woke up one morning last semester, so that would've been fall of and my mind was going wild. I woke up, needed a pen immediately because I just had so many ideas coming into my brain, what the podcast would be called, what I would ask the guests who I would have, and it unleashed something in me that made it very realistic when for so long it had felt like kind of a pipe dream and yeah, yeah, whatever that's something I wanna do, but it will never actually happen. I remember drawing the album cover I would use for things like Spotify and YouTube and Apple Podcast, which I actually didn't end up using that. It was a side profile of someone's face Now it's just me. But that was the initial brainstorming and then I didn't do anything about it. I just let it sit in my journal by itself. I told a few friends that, Hey, I'm gonna do this and I didn't do it. How disappointing. So then fast forward to Spring, which is the semester I'm currently in. At the start of 2026, I created a vision board and I wrote on it, start a podcast, and I was like, crap, that means I actually have to do something about this. So I proceeded to ask myself, what's one step I can take? And at Teachers College, Columbia University, there is a recording studio Saw that they had studio time you could reserve for free. And I was like, what have I been doing for the last five months? So I took one step, One random afternoon, I texted Erica, one of my besties in New York, who was the first ever podcast guest and asked her if she would come and be with me. So we did the thing, we showed up I thought of questions. It went surprisingly well from what I expected, and as soon as I sat in this chair, I was just on a high so alive, smiling so big, and I knew that this was gonna continue. So here we are. And I'm still winging it, but it's a thing. Question number three. Who would your dream podcast guest be and why? Three people come to mind. I know this might be cheating. First is Fay Peck, who is my grandmother, who is no longer with us. She is a powerhouse of a woman artist, and I would love to have asked her so many more questions. There's so much more I would love to know about how she showed up in the world so confidently and resiliently, and she always told me to find my space, which was actually in reference to playing soccer. Anytime I had a game approaching or a practice that I was going to, she would always look at me and say, Rachel, find your space. And I feel that now. I feel her while I'm sitting in this chair that I've found my space. It's different than a soccer field, but it brings me to life and I would love to share that with her. That's one. And the other two Anne Hathaway is just my celebrity crush, 100%. I don't typically have celebrity crushes, but she is incredible. Any movie that she is in, I will watch it. I am there. I follow her on Instagram. She's amazing. I just think she stands for so many good things and uses her platform in a positive, forward thinking way, and she's incredible onscreen. So to meet her in person would be iconic. And then the third person is Jay Shetty, who is the host of On Purpose, one of the number one mental health and wellness podcasts in the world. I don't say Jay Shetty because he's so well known. I say Jay Shetty because he is one of the people who first got me so excited about listening to podcasts and the idea of having a voice of my own. I was living in London prior to moving to New York, and parts of that experience were really challenging. I would walk to work every morning Guys in St. Thomas Hospital, which is right across from Big Ben, for anyone who has been to London, beautiful walk along the river, and I would listen to Jay Shetty in the morning. There were so many messages that kept me going one quote in particular that actually isn't his quote, but I heard it from him multiple times, is, I am not what I think I am, and I am not what you think I am. I am what I think you think I am, which is actually a quote by Charles Cooley, who is a sociologist, but I'm still giving credit over here to Jay Shetty because that rung true and stuck with me to this day I'll say it one more time. I am not what I think I am and I am not what you think I am. I am what I think you think I am, and something went off in my brain that I don't wanna be what others think I am. I wanna be who I wanna be and what I think of myself should matter the most. So to Jay Shetty, if you ever listen to this one day, thank you. And Anne Hathaway, you're amazing. And to my grandmother, so many questions that I have for you. Okay, I got this question from a friend who loves to play their humor card. Favorite pair of socks was the question I got. thanks for giving us a bit of comic relief. Yes, I have a favorite pair of socks. It depends on the season. Definitely a low top sock for the summer. Hopefully no socks for the summer 'cause it is steamy in New York. Then in the winter, just love a tall sock. I have a pair of these awesome green socks that are the best color, texture, and weight. They're always being washed because I wear them so often. Okay. Back to some other questions. What are your podcasting goals? My first thought is to follow the joy. Podcasting is something, as I've mentioned, has brought me so much joy for so long I was recording episodes behind the scenes and wasn't thinking about publicizing them at first because it was just so fun to be sitting with someone talking about real topics around what it means to be human showing up authentically and how challenging that can be in a world that sometimes sets us up to not feel worthy. So my podcasting goals are to send a message out to the world and to anyone who ever listens to this podcast that you are worthy of love and embrace, and of being human simply by showing up, simply by being your most awkward self in Sophie's terms and you are enough. I just think we don't hear that often, especially growing up in various environments that are centered so much on achievement. Another goal is to give people a voice who don't always feel as though they're listened to. I have been, at times in my life, afraid to use my own voice, and I have always felt so empowered when I have used it confidently and allowed others to hear it when other people have listened to me unapologetically, undistracted made me feel heard. Being heard. That's been mentioned a few times on this podcast. Being seen, feeling heard are invaluable. There's times where I haven't felt heard by myself, by others, by the world. So for the guests on the show, I hope that anyone who is here feels heard and seen. And for myself, this is me enacting and being confident that my voice matters. Okay. Next question. How has the transition been from being a college athlete to a normal person? Oh wow. That could be hours. To put it simply, it hasn't been easy. It's growth inducing, so worth it. I mentioned that I played college soccer in Florida at Florida Southern College it was incredible. I met amazing people, played with girls who are still friends today. Learned so much about myself. It's a time in my life where I developed so much of that toughness and resilience to get knocked down and figure out how to get back up fighting harder than before. I played soccer for 20 years of my life and to lose that after giving everything to a sport for so long at such a young age was a huge slap in the face at one point. I remember my last game. I actually was pretty accepting that it was my final competitive soccer game. I was ready, felt as though I could hang up my cleats, move on, ready to start a new chapter of life. Didn't know what that looked like, but I was ready and I was like, identity crisis what? Who's that? Luckily I didn't face it. Moved back home to Montana. Lived with my parents, bless them. And a year after finishing my final soccer game, I was asked to present to two to 300 youth, female soccer players who were hoping to play collegiately. Part of that presentation was giving my story and trying to share an experience of what it might take to get to that point. To give people confidence that they can play and what preparation they would need. That included a lot of photos from over the years of me playing the steps I took, and I remember collaging all these photos of me playing soccer over the years from when I was like seven all the way up until college. I was sitting outside of my family home putting these photos into a presentation and started weeping so hard that through our thick wooden door i'm pretty sure my dad heard me and came outside and I was like, what's going on? What's wrong? Keeping in mind, this was a year after the fact, I was like, I don't play soccer anymore. Who am I that moment is the very moment I started to discover who Rachel is, beyond a center midfielder, beyond a soccer player, beyond an athlete. And that was brutal. I wasn't prepared. No one told me like, Hey, just so you know, you're gonna play this sport for 20 years of your life. You're gonna give it your all. It's gonna be who you are, and then sometime you're gonna have to figure out who you are when you don't play. With all of that being said, I once again wouldn't take it back. Soccer, and the people I met along the way taught me so much and shaped. Who I am, where I'm going, and ultimately part of my purpose. Another avenue of work that I'm pursuing right now alongside of my master's degree is creating a mentorship program for female athletes who are currently playing, whether that's in high school or in college as well as early retirement to help them understand who they are beyond their sport and why that can be so important. Not only for a healthy transition from sport whenever you decide to leave or whenever it's forced upon you, but also to make you a better competer to make you a better player because if you approach your sport knowing exactly who you are, knowing your strengths, then failures won't feel so hurtful and so demoralizing because you know that you are someone beyond your mistakes. And I wouldn't get to do that if I hadn't had a challenging transition from sports. How do you maintain relationships? I spoke with Carmen on the podcast a couple episodes ago, one avenue we took was consistency in showing up for friends. I will reiterate that for me, once again, I use intention in aspects of my relationship, whether that's showing up for someone when they need it most. Sending someone a message to remind them that they are brave or that they have a great day. Staying in touch and building depth by asking questions that allow someone to bring to light who they are. Oh, there's so many ways to maintain relationship, but really just showing up for someone and listening. What is the biggest lesson you've learned in the past year? Life is short and follow the joy are two lessons that I've learned. Shout out to James Meehan, A wonderful human who is no longer with us had so much to teach the world, and he taught me that life is short to go out and grab it and live for those who no longer can in a physical form. When we lose people, it's a huge wake up call and he showed me that everyone who is currently listening or on this earth or waking up each morning, we all have a chance that not everyone gets. So asking ourselves, how are we going to use that chance and then follow the joy? Why not live a joyful life? So if something brings you joy, IE. For me, this podcast, even though I'm not making money, I have no idea where it's going the only purpose of it is to be what it is and it's so joyful. I'm fortunate that I get to spend time doing something that brings me so much joy, but even following a sliver of joy seems worth chasing also. Life isn't that serious, man. Lander. Peck, another shout out. I was having a day and I called Lander because she is not on the East coast, so it wasn't as late for her. And I was talking about how hard of a day I was having, I was sharing a kind of a spiral moment, so emotional. And she looked at me through FaceTime and said, Rach, life isn't that serious. And it could be taking poorly depending on your situation, but it's so true. It doesn't need to be that serious. Laugh, cry, whatever is needed is perfectly okay. How do you practice your own authenticity? It's a daily practice. I have not mastered it. I don't think anyone ever really masters it. The first thing that comes to mind is thinking about my values. What really matters to me, and then when I go out and do things or say things, asking myself the question, is this in alignment with who you wanna be and what your values are? Is one question I ask myself frequently. I would also say I notice how I feel if I'm showing up in a certain way and I feel anxious or rigid or tight, I ask myself the question, is it because I'm showing up as someone I'm not? With that being said, I'm well aware that we have to put ourselves in uncomfortable situations for a certain level of joy, confidence, thriving. Mainly I ask myself questions and I check in how did I show up today? And was I happy with that as someone who experienced a lot of change in life? Moving new jobs, etc. What do you think makes a person more accepting of change? I was speaking to my grandma earlier today and was actually discussing this question with her. We agreed that change is hard for anyone. Humans are not built for change. Or at least we prefer and enjoy structure plans routine. I would say the difference doesn't lie in the experience of change always. It's in the reaction to change. How are we reacting and able to accept fluid experiences? Having a mindset that the other side of change could bring the best you could have ever imagined could be a way of coming to a bit of acceptance, but also having realistic expectations that change will be hard, and knowing that you've experienced change before, you can do it again. The other thing I'll say is trying to notice what is stable within change. What stays constant? in ways it's ourselves. You go through change with you. So how can you have the best relationship with yourself? How can you set yourself up to better approach change and have the self-trust to know? That you can move through it, which actually aligns with some of the message I'm trying to create in some of the mentoring that I'm doing with athletes, and that is if we know who we are beneath all the labels we carry then things that come our way, that knock us down or kick us into depression or an experience that's really uncomfortable the better equipped we are to know we're still whole beyond the change and beyond the obstacles I will also say I use a lot of gratitude just showing up and being grateful. Speaking well into the world when you're navigating change is a factor as well. Okay last question for the day is how do you decompress after a stressful day? I'm human sometimes it's Netflix watching a soppy TV show or rom-com. I mean, come on that's just a great time. Can't deny it. Another way to decompress after a stressful day for me is definitely movement, exercise, being in nature, walking with a friend. Love yoga, some kind of mindful activity. Journaling, writing things down always helps, especially right before bed. I sleep so good when I journal right before bed. Those are a few. And I didn't have time to answer a few other questions that were asked, but once again, I would just say thank you to everyone who sent in a question for this episode. There will be more Thanks everyone for being here. Rachel is expansive, tough, and intentional. My name's Rachel Peck. You've been listening to Unmasked a Beyond Worthy Podcast.