My guest this week is Erwin Valencia. Erwin is the Director of Training and Conditioning with the NEW YORK KNICKS.

Erwin is a Philippino-American physical therapist, strength coach, sports scientist, mindfulness coach, social entrepreneur, international speaker, and mentor. He is a true Citizen of the World.

It's hard to even compress his biography into a reasonable sentence. From Non-Profit Rehabilitation Programs in the Philippines to sports clinics of NYC, on to Major League Baseball, to the start-up communities of Silicon Valley, to the dance studios all over the world, to the developing sports medicine in South East Asia, and Eastern Europe, to the Madison Square Garden and the NBA. And clearly, Erwin is just getting started.

This is part two of this conversation. Erwin shares his story of getting into the NBA and being a life-long learner. We also talk about belonging and Erwin shares some beautiful gems of wisdom there.

FIND ERWIN:

https://erwinvalencia.com/

https://www.instagram.com/erwinbvalencia/

https://www.joinclubhouse.com/@erwinbvalencia

FIND WE THE ALIENS PODCAST:

www.WeTheAliensPod.com

YouTube, Facebook , Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and on Clubhouse

Email to wtapodconnect@gmail.com

ASK YOUR FRIENDLY RUSSIAN on TikTok

MUSIC: "My country" courtesy of Ben Bostick www.benbostick.com

ABOUT WE THE ALIENS PODCAST:

We The Aliens podcast hosts conversations with IMMIGRANTS from all over the world who came to the US and found their path to the American Dream. No matter what their status is - undocumented, DACA recipient, permanent resident (green card holder), naturalized citizen - all are welcome here. We talk about the challenges of leaving the home country, finding the legal path, finding a way to belong in the new world, building a career, finding love, and sustaining the family traditions. We talk about IMMIGRATION as a process of growth and self-discovery, adaptation, overcoming cultural shocks, and fighting racial and ethnic stereotypes. We talk about the great contributions that immigrants make to the American economy, culture, science, and society. We also feature stories of the first-gens, FIRST GENERATION American-born, the third culture kids, who have their own set of struggles growing in between the cultures of their parents' home country and America. We talk about their battle to find their identity and carve their path while redefining what American is. We talk about philosophy, psychology, culture, language, and history. We also talk about the news of the day, things that we all worry about - but in the context of the immigrant perspective. If you love NPR, This American Life, The Daily, and Pod Save America, if you read Forbes, LA Times, The Atlantic, and New York Times, if you watch John Oliver, Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, and/or Trevor Noah, if you are a Twitter and Clubhouse addict because you want to be closer to people, if you, your spouse, your parent, or your grandma is an immigrant-alien and you know that you and they came to this country to build and contribute, and you can't stand discrimination and belittling of their lives and contributions - this podcast is for you.

47. Hug Your Way Into The NBA (w/Erwin Valencia. Part 2)