Chari Hawkins, the 2022 US Indoor Champion in the Heptathlon, and creator of the “30 Days with Chari” program, talks about mental health and the importance of this program for young athletes in the VIS community.  ‘30 Days with Chari’ is a 30-day mental and physical strengthening plan. Each day participants accomplish three tasks: listening to a podcast hosted by Chari, completing a fun mental challenge, and crushing a workout. On today’s episode, Chari breaks down three days: accountability, dreaming big, and purposeful rest. “I think a lot of people who win and who get their goals have a little bit of a secret sauce and I think it's that they have a little bit more control over their mind, especially within their sport.” - Chari Hawkins.  Head to charihawkins.com to check out the program! Today, VIS listeners can get 33% off with code “VIS” at checkout. 

In this week’s episode, we are talking with VIS League Mentor, professional runner for Nike and Stanford alumna, Vanessa Fraser. Vanessa graduated from Stanford in 2018 as a 10-time All American and school record holder in the 5000m. Today, Vanessa speaks about why she chose Stanford, how she recovered from her double Achilles surgery, and how she pursues her audaciously big goals, with small, bite-sized steps! “Never let anyone tell you that your dreams are too big, or that you are too audacious and bold in the pursuit of those dreams”. - Vanessa Fraser

Courtney Gano, a professional softball player in the Athletes Unlimited league, Team USA member, and former member of the University of Washington women’s softball team shares how vulnerability, injury recovery, and mental health challenges have shaped her highly successful softball career. Through lessons of self-embrace, Courtney emphasizes how we can learn to take care of ourselves and become better versions of ourselves by seeking resources like a therapist or sports psychologist; her numerous injuries forced her into learning how to find the much needed resources she utilized to grow into the best version of herself. These recovery cycles catalyzed her firm belief that sport does not completely define us and that we can foster a more compassionate and caring sports environment that benefits every athlete. Courtney compassionately reminds us that love and motivation for sport is not always constant, so “when you can take a step back and get a different perspective, you can find that love again, figure out why do I play this sport? Is this something that I wanna do? Because if you're not having fun with it, you're not gonna be at your best.” - Courtney Gano

In this special series for National Suicide Prevention Month, Dr. Kristin Tugman breaks down seven common myths about suicide. She gives us ways in which we can have better conversations about mental health in order to prevent future suicides. Kristin is passionate about mental health and has just started a non-profit called Community Action for Mental Health.  If you or someone you love is struggling with mental health and experiencing suicidal ideation, always feel comfortable in calling the suicide hotline at 988 or reaching out to your surrounding support system. “It's hard for someone's brain to really allow themselves to decide that yes, this person is at risk for dying by suicide, which again is why it's so important to have the open lines of communication and feel like it's something that we can easily talk about just as we would ask about our physical health.” - Dr. Kristin Tugman

In a special series for September, National Suicide Prevention Month, VIS Expert, Dr Kimberly O’Brien discusses mental health and suicide prevention for student-athletes. Dr. O’Brien is currently a Clinical Social Worker in the Sports Medicine Division and Female Athlete Program at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is also a Research Scientist and Assistant Professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Kimberly played ice hockey at Harvard University and obtained her Masters in Social Work and PhD at Boston College. She continued on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University where her research focuses on the development and intervention for suicidal adolescents. In this episode, Kimberly speaks about suicide prevention and suicide awareness. She shares with us important mental health resources and ways that we can speak about suicide in order to best help ourselves and the people around us. Most importantly there are resources if you or a loved one is struggling, and “sometimes it just takes finding the right fit and it's out there for you.” -Dr. Kimberly O’Brien. If you or someone in your life is struggling with suicide, you can dial 988 for the National Suicide Hotline or you can reach out to a counselor or doctor; on the VIS platform we also have a network of incredible counselors and experts like Kimberly. Please know you are not alone. 

Canadian Olympian turned sports agent, Georgia Simmerling, and Maddy Price, Junior Olympian in the 200m and 400m, and Tokyo Olympian in the 400m talk about all things sports agents and representation! As a road and track cyclist as well as Alpine and Ski cross skier, and the first Canadian to ever compete in three different sports in three different Olympics, Georgia shares her experience on both sides of the athlete-agent relationship. Maddy and Georgia discuss how their relationship evolved, and give us tips on what to look for in an agent, what to avoid, and how to advocate for ourselves when beginning to work with an agency. They also share strategies for marketing ourselves on social media, and illuminate what brands might look for when partnering with athletes. “Things are changing globally and now is the time to invest in women's sport and it's happening. TV rights are going up, sponsorship dollars are going up because there's more exposure on TV and they're seeing the opportunity  is there for women. So I'm just trying to stir the pot a little bit and have some tough conversations and they're starting to happen.” - Georgia Simmerling

Sika Henry is a professional triathlete for team USA. She attended  Tufts University  where she competed in High Jump on the Track and Field team, becoming a NCAA All American. Since then, she has been recognized as the first Black woman professional triathlete, been inducted into the Hall of Fame for National Black Distance Running, became an IronMan World Championship finisher, a two-time Champion One City Marathon Winner, and earned a spot on the podium in a 70.3 ironman five times. Sika uses her platform to gain visibility for Black women in sports like herself and encourages others to follow along in her footsteps. In this podcast, she talks about what it took for her to become a professional triathlete, the adversity she’s overcome, and how we can better support Black women athletes.  “Sometimes you're in those deep dark tunnels and it feels like it's going on forever and you're never going to get out of it. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes you just need to keep going forward and you don't know what awaits you at the end. And usually it's something great.” - Sika Henry 

Paralympic track and field athlete, Scout Bassett, joins us on the VIS Podcast to talk about her childhood as an adoptee from China, overcoming adversity and disability, and important life lessons that go beyond the realm of sports. Scout has tremendous strength and grace with dealing with challenges, and shares the beauty of sport in bringing different people together, as well as the importance of community, asking for help, and never giving up no matter what life throws at you. “Everything that I have struggled with in my life, it's going to mean something. I think that what running really gave me was just that feeling of okay, not only do I belong, but I matter.”- Scout Bassett

Olympian, and professional rock climber, Kyra Condie, shares her journey in sports. She talks about the highs and lows of joining a male dominated sport, what it was like being one of the first rock climbers in the Olympics, and maintaining self-care as an athlete. Additionally, she addresses the struggles she faced as a rock climber with scoliosis and how she not only overcame but continues to overcome this challenge in order to remain successful in her sport. Kyra provides advice for young women who may be interested in pursuing rock climbing or any underrepresented sport. Additionally, she talks about the work being done in order to bring more attention to the sport of rock climbing as a whole. “I think confidence is hard to come by as a woman in our world and so we should definitely foster it and make sure that young women especially, don’t get told that it’s wrong.” - Kyra Condie 

Allie Ostrander, a middle distance runner specialising in the Steeplechase shares her journey in sport, specifically with disordered eating. Allie is an incredibly accomplished graduate of Boise State where she was the NCAA Steeple champion in 2017, 2018, and 2019 along with many podium finishes in Cross Country and on the track.  Since graduating college, Allie has been a powerful voice in the running community, speaking out about healing from disordered eating, as she is going through it. Today, Allie shares how her experience with disordered eating first started, and gives her advice on dealing with harmful narratives around body image. Allie also highlights that whenever we make decisions about our health now, we have to consider how they will impact our minds and bodies later. “You're not good because of your body. You are good because you're talented and driven and you work hard and those things won't go away just cause your body changes.” - Allie Ostrander