← Sunday Sports Club with Allison Kuch
Sunday Sports Club with Allison Kuch
BTS of running Barstool Sports with guest Erika Ayers Badan
00:56:34
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- [00:00]
A
The following podcast is a Dear Media production. What's up, guys? Welcome back to Sunday Sports Club Podcast, a podcast all about sports and other things. Also just love to have on guests every now and then. If you guys don't know, I'm your host, Allison Cooch. And today we have on a very special guest. We have on Erica Ayers Badan. Did I pronounce that name?
- [00:23]
B
You got it.
- [00:24]
A
Okay, perfect. I'm like, my last name is Kucharzik because so I'm used to people. Yeah. Mispronouncing my last name. But you are the host of the podcast work, CEO of Food52, former CEO of Barstool Sports, and author of nobody cares about your career. Did I summarize it pretty well?
- [00:46]
B
That is. That is it. That's me.
- [00:52]
A
Well, welcome to Sunday Sports Club. I have to ask, how did you get to where you're at today?
- [00:59]
B
Oh, gosh, like a lot of mishaps and mess ups is how I got here. I really like to work. I've always liked to work. I like to work, you know, from when I was in high school and I figured out that I could buy whatever clothing I wanted if I had a job and could pay for it. So I, you know, I think everybody's kind of on a journey and going someplace. And I think the place, place I've gotten to now is through luck and a lot of hard work and putting myself in uncomfortable positions where I could learn a lot and do a lot and kind of being open to new opportunities and being willing to fail in that process. And, you know, it's been interesting.
- [01:42]
A
Yes. I actually, on a recent episode, I talked about how I've found the most growth in myself when I'm extremely uncomfortable or when I'm taking risks that I don't necessarily know that I'm going to be successful in, but that's when I've seen personally the most growth. I have to ask a very California question. What is your horoscope?
- [02:03]
B
I'm a Scorpio.
- [02:05]
A
Okay.
- [02:05]
B
Everybody hates Scorpios, I think, but I'm a Scorpio.
- [02:08]
A
You know, I've heard a lot of that about Scorpios and Capricorns and I'm a Capricorn, but I think it's just that we like to work hard and people don't like that.
- [02:17]
B
Yeah, maybe. I think the Scorpio, Scorpios. I'm definitely a quintessential Scorpio. I think I have a lot of passion, I have a lot of energy. If you really make me mad. I never forget it. So I don't know, I think maybe we're disliked for a reason.
- [02:35]
A
I think we're similar in those aspects. But you are the former CEO of Barstool Sports or Barstool, so what mentality did you need to have as the CEO of a company like that?
- [02:49]
B
Oh, Barstool is so fun. I mean, I loved Barstool Sports. It was the career love of my life. So it's, you know, I feel so grateful to have had that opportunity to work with people like Dave Portnoy. And it was so fun. You know, it was a grind mentality. You had to be very resilient, have very thick skin, be deeply entrepreneurial. I think the people today who succeed at Barstool and really in any company I would, I, I think need to have those attributes. Barstool was also great and that you had to have, you know, a little bit of a sense of humor and.
- [03:26]
A
I can imagine in that office bothered.
- [03:28]
B
You and what didn't. But Barstool is a great, was a great run. I'm super proud of what we did there. I'm a huge fan of the brand and a huge champion for, for Dave. And it was a great experience for me because it was really the first, first time I was in, you know, the, my third startup or fourth startup. Ish. But it was the first time where, you know, I was kind of in the top seat and could succeed or fail at it. So it was a big growing, you know, to the point you made earlier. It was a big growing experience for me personally.
- [04:03]
A
I mean, I feel like I. Well, especially with my experience, I'm like, that would be very intimidating to, to be in that role. A lot of pressure. But it's grown. It grew so much while you were there. So what did you change in Barstool and what do you think Barstool changed in you?
- [04:23]
B
Oh, that's a great question. I think Barstool made me into something very different that than who I was before I went into Barstool. I think it had a really indelible impact. I became stronger, I became harder, I became more wary, I became more curious, I became more public. Like Barstool really, really foundationally changed me and I think Barstool changed. Everyone who's worked at Barstool has been through that change. I don't think it's just me. I think for what I changed at Barstool, which is really not much. I think I just ignited what they were capable of. So it really wasn't about changing them. You know, I think that's part of the reason I got that job when a lot of other people didn't is that I didn't want to change them. What I actually wanted to do was just pour gasoline all over them and sometimes literally set them on fire. But. But what we did was just to ignite so much content and so much creativity and so much exploration and innovation, and that's what, you know, I think that's what I brought to the company. And two exits in eight years, and, you know, a lot of people made famous. And I think that that's what was so fun about it.
- [05:49]
A
You said poor gasoline, which I tend to think is like a very bro. Frat, like mention. And I do believe whenever I think of barstool, I think of a frat. So as a woman in a predominantly male at the time company, how was that?
- [06:08]
B
You know, it's funny. I always. I wrote this in. In my book, but, you know, barstool was, in a lot of ways, the least sexist place I ever worked. You know, I think when I look at my career and the points where I felt really stifled or frustrated or limited, it was in big corporations. I. You know, I was sexually harassed. I. You know, I don't know that I was discriminated against because I was a woman, but certainly I had a harder time in a. In a bunch of places that I worked. Barstool was a locker room. Still is a locker room. And, you know, I think frat locker room kind of all blends. You know, I played sports in high school. I played sports in college. I like a locker room. I think there's something to the camaraderie. There's something to being part of a team. There's something to being vulnerable and dependent on one another to achieve something and to belong to something. So, you know, that didn't ever bother me. I actually think sometimes a rowdy workplace is better than a perfect workplace. Sometimes when you're in workplaces that are projecting perfection, it's actually quite stifling and it's quite dangerous because it's very silencing and it's very limiting. The great thing about barstool was that anything went, and it was all public all the time. So, you know, if you liked something or hated something, if you liked someone or hated someone, if you thought something was great or you hated it because it was super offensive, it was always playing out all the time. And I really appreciated that because it cut through a lot of the bullshit that I think, you know, A lot of companies deal with, a lot of people deal with, a lot of organizations deal with. So maybe I'm fratty, like I wasn't in a sorority. Maybe I am slatty. But, you know, I'm very grateful for it. Sometimes I like have forgotten to mind my manners and, you know, get past that. But it was a good, personally, it was a good experience for me. I think it's a good experience for anyone who wants to do a lot and learn a lot to be in an environment that, that celebrates pace and celebrates doing things and is just radically honest. I like a rowdy environment because I think it can be fun and I think it can be funny. Some of them are not good. Some of them are really good. So I think it's, you know, kind of depends on the person.
- [08:45]
A
I personally love that. I always say, like, if I worked in a regular office, I would need it to be a rowdy office. I would need it to be real. I see on social media all these people, like writing passive aggressive, like emails, like following up or like, hey, hate to chase you on that. Yeah, yeah. Like the office lingo. I find it so, so funny because it is very passive aggressive. Or where I could see a company like Barstool, they're like, hey, don't fucking do that again. Like, let's try and get better in the future. And I'm the type of person that I like that kind of like back and forth dialogue. As a female. You, you mentioned locker room. I love a locker room. Like, I, I always am super jealous that my husband, like got to grow up being in a locker room, hanging out with the guys. And it grows like a sense of community. Do you think there will ever be something like Barstool but for women?
- [09:43]
B
That is a great question. And I have thought a lot about this. You know, way before my time, Dave tried to create a barstool for women called. I think it was called Lulala. No, it was. That was a shopping site. It was Stool la la and it was Jenna Marbles, which is cool. And obviously if you look at Alex Cooper and call her daddy back in the day, that was, you know, the beginning of a female barstool. I hope there is. To be honest with you, I hope there is. I worry that there won't be. I think, you know, just from my experience at Barstool, one of the hard things for women is at Barstool, the guys could fight on camera and give each other a huge amount of shit and then get off camera and be friends and go do the next thing. And I have found in content that women are less inclined to share. And it's probably because there's way fewer spots and there's way. There's far more scarcity and the amount of sacrifice to get to the spot and the amount of fear once you have the spot is much larger. So I think that stakes for women, um, and. But I also think it prevents. It prevents the flow. Part of the reason Barstool grew the way it did is we'd have one person have a podcast, and then they'd show up on the rundown, and then they'd go to pardon my take, and then Dave would have them on their show. Like, there. There was frequency. There was like a media formula. There was frequency. If women don't create frequency with one another and they just want to hold to their thing and how they do it, it's much harder to grow. And you. That you have to be an exceptional talent to be able to grow exponentially just by yourself. So I think it would be great if there was a female barstool. I hope there will be. I don't think there will ever be another barstool because I think the media world has changed and there's so much. So many creators and there's so much fragmentation at this point. But I would love to see it.
- [11:57]
A
Yeah, it is. It is crazy from when barstool first started to now how much the media entertainment content space has changed. I think it's changed for the better in some ways. It's also like, a very interesting environment to be in from the start to now, like, where it's grown to be, especially because I feel like it's so, so much about individual careers versus, like, companies and growing and that way, because I feel like once you grow your own platform, it's like, well, I don't need you. Like, I'm out of here. So I love. I love watching the content creators that are within the Barstool sports community and that started that way and are still there because I can see, like, they love that environment. They love that passion. It kind of is like a family. Whenever I hang around, like some of the Barstool people, it's just like they all love each other. Something that I do find interesting is there is a huge increase of women being interested in sports. And I've noticed a lot of marketing. And even whenever I get a content brief for, like, a company I'm working with, they're gearing it more towards just like the general fans instead of men liking sports. So what is your take on the increase of women being interested in it?
- [13:14]
B
Oh, I think it's awesome. I think I have a whole bunch of thoughts about it. One, it's awesome to see what's happening in women's sports, right? It's just amazing to see the coverage. It's amazing to see the investment. It's amazing to see the production increase and the talent and athlete deals. I'm on the board of the pll. We just launched the, the women's league. Like there's. I think it's awesome for sports, I think it's awesome for entertainment, I think it's awesome for women. I think it's awesome for any type of person who likes sports. So I think that that piece is great. I think in terms of viewership and engagement with sports. You know, I always think about like the NFL, where it used to be, or baseball, where if you were a female, they made one version of the hat. And the hat was pink, right? And it was always the lamest color. Do you know what I mean?
- [14:07]
A
It's like, yeah, the NFL, it's always like a V neck jersey. Like, I don't even like a V neck exactly.
- [14:12]
B
It's like a V neck jersey which is like some fluorescent type of pink and you're like. Or it's like cupped up is small. You know, you have the pink hat for women. And I think what's happening now is that, you know, sports are being consumed in so many different ways on so many different platforms and it is a whole lot more inclusive and it's less like, it's just more inviting. I think sports is really the only media vehicle which is generating national attention and I think it's natural that women follow along with that.
- [14:49]
A
Yeah, it's, it's been so fun to watch like the dynamic of like the woman's growth, not not only interested in sports, but also in sports today. Like Caitlin Clark being a household name. I think so many women athletes have contributed to that. And I think social media has also played a huge part because like the Simone Biles, like you can watch her content still. It doesn't need to be the Olympics, but they're, they're showing, they're showing up on social media. You're aware of women in sports. You can name five big name women in sports. Whereas in a few years prior I feel like it wasn't really like important to these leagues. Do you ever discover something and you're like, wow, I wish I would have discovered this sooner because it has greatly changed my entire life. 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- [22:50]
B
I think it's awesome. Like it was funny. I was meeting with a WNBA owner and she was kind of lamenting the feuds between angel and Caitlyn. And I was like, this is what you're waiting for. Like, the fact that Barstool Sports is covering women's basketball and heroes and villains and people have. It's like the Howard Stern thing, which is the people who hate you watch twice as much. You know what I mean? So I think it's such a good thing for women's sports because not only are you seeing breakout stars just by virtue of their talent, but now people are invested in the personalities. And obviously that's kind of the era of sport that we live in. And I, I think it's a really great thing. I think it's also a factor of the production. You know, I was, when I, I started playing hockey when I was at barstool and I was really interested in the women's professional leagues and I was watching the juniors, and this is probably at this point like five or six years ago, but the production value for the female juniors was so bad that it was like watching like ants on a field. Like, you couldn't forget knowing a player. It was so uninteresting to watch because the production from the nosebleeds was just so bad. And you're never going to have an affinity for a player or a team or a person if you can't see them. And that's like the beauty, I think, of what's happening is women are. There's more money pouring into women's sports. There's more showcase heroes in women's sports. WNBA being the leader in that. Gymnastics, tennis. You look at Coco like they're stars. And the more stars there are, the better.
- [24:43]
A
Yeah, I love it. And I do love that social media allows these athletes to have these platforms. You mentioned it. Like, if you, if you can't see their face, you're not really to be a fan of these people. And it, I think that kind of goes into play. Like when I started sharing me and my husband's journey of him playing in the NFL and me kind of like, I wish it was. Sounded better than this, but I was like following after him, showing everybody this lifestyle and like what it takes and all the moves and whatnot. Because if you think of NFL players, it's only the big name guys that you see them with their helmets off on. The commercials, you see them like with their helmets off on, you know, photos and videos that the team is putting out. And I feel like more recently you're able to see these other players, the secondary players who might not be the big name guys, the o Lineman. The people who don't have the fancy job of throwing the football. And I think social media goes into play with that. But it's so interesting picking your brain because I feel like you have such a diverse background and with that you wrote a book. So your recent book, nobody cares about your career, Love the title. Gets into how people can navigate their careers in a way that works for them. So I want to get into some advice because I think a lot of people would be interested to hear that, are listening to this. What would you tell women in a male dominated industry who want to fit in but also stay true to themselves?
- [26:09]
B
Yeah, I think that's a great. Wait, are you a wag?
- [26:12]
A
I'm a retired wag.
- [26:14]
B
You're retired wag. And do you. Did you resent being called a wag? Is wag a bad word?
- [26:21]
A
I feel like it. It was when my husband first started. That was seven years ago my husband. Or eight years ago now, almost.
- [26:27]
B
Okay.
- [26:27]
A
Jesus Christ. So my husband got drafted to the NFL back in 2014 or 2017. And when he got drafted, that was right after E Network had came out with a show called Wags. And it was like, girls who wear designer drive G wagons, like, have five nannies for their two kids, like, it was extra back then. I hated the term wag. I still probably would never call myself that, but I feel like now we're kind of taking it back and showing that, like, we're our own people. Initially, in my husband's career, whenever we would introduce ourselves, people would ask, oh, like, what do you do for work? My husband say, oh, I'm in the NFL. And then people would just like drop the idea that I even had an identity or a job.
- [27:12]
B
Like, oh, your arm candy.
- [27:13]
A
Yeah, yeah. I'm like, I have a few jobs, but yeah. So it's been an interesting dynamic.
- [27:20]
B
That's cool. Good for you. I think taking Stu is great. Okay, so sorry to your question. Look, I wrote the book called nobody cares about your career because I. I really think the only person kind of to this point who matters in a definition of what's a great career and what's success looks like is you. And I think a lot of times people do things because they think it will make someone else happy or it will make them look impressive to someone else or there's some expectation kind of being born on them or pressed on them of what, who you should be. And I. I just really don't believe in that. I think work is an incredible tuition to change your life. If I Look at my life. Like, my work has changed my life more than any other factor. Any other factor times 100. And I think for women, you know, it's awesome because I think women need to believe in themselves more. Like, if I had a wish for women, it's just like. It's like the go do it. Just do it. Like, you know, don't worry so much about being perfect. Don't worry so much about failing. Don't worry so much about what everybody else will think or, you know, or how you'll be judged for whatever you decide to do, if that thing is, in fact, good for you and if it makes you happy. And, you know, when I took the job at Barstool Sports, I was fired from every board I sat on. Most professional people that I associated with was like, you're an idiot. And a lot of the women's groups who I was associated with were a little bit like. Like, that's. That's like, what's she doing? Like, she's committing career suicide. But I knew that this was, like, the greatest chance I would ever have to create something that was wildly successful. And if not successful, it was going to be super interesting. And that was a good move for me in so many ways. It made me more confident. It changed who I was as a person. And I think everyone should have that for their career. And it doesn't matter if you have a big media job or you're, you know, you're married to someone famous or you just work in the gift shop. Like, it really doesn't matter. You. Your career is your own, to make it what you want and what you will. And I think that's really important for women. I created a group called Work Like a Girl, which is open to women anywhere and everywhere. We have a huge slack presence. We have a newsletter. We do meetups. We have local chapters. And my thing is, like, women should find other women who want to lift other. Each other up and be a voice of reason for one another, a resource for one another, and also to give one another a push when. When they need it. I think, you know, I write a lot about this, which is, you know, there's. There's kind of this, I think, perception that women, at least the women who came before me in media were perfect. You know, they were quaffed. It's the Sheryl Sandberg. Every, you know, everything is Chanel. Like, it's perfect. And that's just like, it's not perfect. It's messy. You're tired, you're stressed, you're exhilarated or you're depressed or you're failing or you're succeeding. And it's all in equal measure and it's all the time and the book and the work. Like a girl gang is really to speak to that and normalize it and be like it's a journey and it's okay.
- [30:54]
A
No, I love that and I love how you've grown that community. I do have to say there when it comes to the workplace, I was in the workplace for quite a while after I, I mean, I guess I'm still working. But I'm saying in like a traditional like going into work kind of job, there, there are scenarios and some disaster scenarios that people might get themselves into. So like taking shots at a company party, is there any like type of disaster scenarios you would recommend people not getting themselves into?
- [31:28]
B
Oh yeah. I mean, and I've made like every mistake there is. So like I have a whole chapter on this. I think it's like sex, drugs and other disasters at work or something like that. Um, I think you've got to try your best to avoid career limiting moves. That. That's kind of how I would say it. I think the funny thing about people and work is that you're going to be in great places and bad places throughout your life and you're going to probably have a job at the same time. So. And your job is also going to be great and terrible at different points in your life. And I think when you're not right or you're not feeling great or you're not super stable to try to like keep the crazy at least contained so it doesn't bleed from one to the other. So I think, you know, try to avoid the career limiting moves like go to your company holiday party, don't get shit faced, say hi to everybody before you get drunk. Like.
- [32:28]
A
Yep.
- [32:29]
B
Wear clothes that makes you uncomfortable or suggest something that is not or is otherwise like putting yourself in a position to be uncomfortable or, or you know, taken advantage of. And I think, you know, I think I have a lot of thoughts about it. I think women should be and do whatever they want. So you want to sleep with everybody in the office and you're okay with it? Like, awesome. Do it. You want to wear nightclub soles for work because that's what you look good in. Awesome. Do it. Just do it. Knowing you're knowing and seeing your way out of it, that's like my big thing. And then the other thing is I think women at work and women who are upwardly mobile or ambitious tend to find themselves in what I call the gray, which is you find yourself in a situation that is overwhelming or where there's a duplicitous meaning, you have a male counterpart or a male boss. They're suggesting something that is not appropriate or not work related. And I write a lot about this, which is just really being able to have clear eyes for what you're getting into and how you're going to get out of it, I think is super important at work.
- [33:44]
A
Work, very, very interesting. And you mentioned a little bit earlier the idea that when you're going through hard stuff in life, you're still going to have a job on the other side of that. So what is your advice when it comes to navigating work life balance while your job is super demanding?
- [34:02]
B
I struggle with this. I'm not a good work life balance person. I would say I, I don't love work life balance as a phrase. And the reason I don't love it is one is I feel like it's kind of the standard, at least for women that you're supposed to like have everything under control and in check. And it's like even. And I'm like, that's just, that's crazy. You could have a Friday, you think you're taking the whole day off and you have some report due or some crisis at work and you're like completely, completely blotto all day, like shit's gonna happen. So I don't love work life, a work life balance, especially for women, because I think it is putting a pressure that you're also supposed to be able to regulate the demands of all parts of your life at all times. So. And I don't think that's realistic. I do think that, you know, I think I not sank. I, I worked away my 30s, like I just worked my entire 30s and I'm now on my way to working through my 40s. So I think there is a point where there is too much work and too much identity that is, that is driven into your work or that comes as a result of your work. And I think that can be unhealthy. It actually makes me really excited for Gen Z. I mean, Gen Z gets a lot of shit at work, but like Gen Z is like these, these ladies and these guys, like they're not defining themselves by virtue of what they do. And I think that's super healthy. And then I think it's just important to as best you can, as often as you can, in whatever way feels good that you create some Boundaries to do something other than work and to create meaning both in your work and in your life.
- [35:56]
A
Mm. I'm similar to you in that I love working. I love being busy. I've never wanted to be the traditional wag. Stay at home, wait for my husband, have dinner on the table. It just is never something that I've wanted. I've always loved being creative or growing a business or doing something along those lines. And it's interesting because I used to hate my job, and now when I love my job, I'm like, I was doing the same thing. I was working all the time in both. But it's crazy because work life balance for me is just loving my job, because then it's like, when I have to do something on the weekend, it's not like I have to do it. It's like, almost I'm passionate about still doing it. I don't know if that's unhealthy, work life balance, but, like, it's. It's something I've found out about myself.
- [36:45]
B
I think it's a great thing. I think it's. Look, if you're passionate about what you do, you'll. You know, there's that phrase, you'll never work a day in your life. And, you know, like, it's a little bit Pollyanna. There are crappy days at work. It doesn't what you do or how you do it. There are shitty days at work. But I. I'm like you. I'm really curious about what I'm doing. I'm super interested in it, and I like to spend my time doing that. And I got a piece of advice once, which is you should make four quadrants, and it's quadrant one, which is the top left is what do you love to do? And what are you good at? And the top right is what are you good at? You don't love it, but you're good at it. The bottom left or not the bottom right is what are you not good at? And the. The bottom left is what are you not good at? And you hate. And if you look at your time spent and where you're spending time in which quadrant, it will help you figure out, hey, I want to do more of the stuff I'm good at, and that makes me happy and fulfilled. And I think that's. That's. You know, that's a good thing for everybody to do around their work.
- [37:53]
A
Oh, that's. I want to do that. I'm gonna fill out that quadrant myself and see where I'm. Where my Life lies currently. We all know therapy is so important. Getting time for yourself and allowing yourself to really open up and talk about some of the things you're going through. Maybe tough breakup during a period of burnout, or just when anxiety and stress are piling up. Therapy is so important. But it can also be difficult to find a therapist online who takes your insurance affordable and accessible. Mental health care shouldn't be out of reach, but it often is. You use insurance to cover your physical health, so why shouldn't also it cover your mental health? Well, let me talk about Rula, because Rula makes sure it does. Rula does things differently. They partner with over a hundred insurance plans, making the average CO pay just $15 a session. That's real therapy from licensed professionals at a price that actually makes sense. And think about it. You use your insurance benefits to maintain your physical health. So like, why wouldn't you do the same for your mental health? And roulette isn't just affordable. The experience is tailored to you. Other online therapy platforms might match you with the first available provider, whether or not they're actually the right fit. But with Rula, they consider your goals, preferences and background to provide a curated list of license in work therapists who are actually aligned with what you need because they know that finding the right therapist can make all of the difference. So I'm talking no wait lists, no frustrating back and forth. Rula makes it really easy to find a mental health provider who is accepting new patients and appointments are available as soon as tomorrow. Plus, Rula sticks with you throughout your journey, checking in to make sure that your care is helping you move forward. So if you guys are interested in in checking them out, you can go to rula.com Sunday to get started. That's R U L A.com Sunday for quality therapy that's covered by insurance. Thousands of people are already using Rula to get affordable, high quality therapy that's actually covered by Insurance. Visit rula.com Sunday to get started. After you sign up, you'll be asked how you heard about them. Please support our show and let them know that we sent you. That's r u l a.com sundae. You deserve mental healthcare that works with you, not against your budget. If you guys know anything about me, you know I love Symbiotica. I rave about their supplements on all of my social media platforms and I rave about them because I thoroughly enjoy them. And now with this podcast, I'm actually able to work with them. So if you guys have never heard of Symbiotica before. They have a wide variety of supplements. Okay. And taking their supplements is one of the easiest ways I found to stay consistent when it comes to my health goals. Even during a busy summer and even during motherhood. Their supplements, one, taste so good. And two, I just feel like the founder of Symbiotica has been so transparent with his journey to get here and what he loves about his company. I actually first discovered Symbiotica through a different podcast while listening to an episode with the founder himself. And ever since then, I've been hooked. My favorite supplement that I rave about all the time is nmn. I take it every single morning. My husband takes it every morning. And oh my gosh, I have noticed such a drastic change in my energy and also in my mood. But some other supplements that I love from them, one, their liquid colostrum. So the liquid colostrum is in liquid form, meaning a faster nutrient absorption. It's the vanilla sea salt flavor, but it supports hair, skin and nails. It helps maintain a healthy gut lining and also supports a healthy immune system, which I'm not trying to be sick for anything this summer. And then another supplement I love from them is their magnesium L Threonate. It enhances focus and reduces brain fog, balances mood and calming, helps support stress management, helps support arrestable sleep. And again, it is the liposomal delivery. So a faster nutrient absorption. And that is the vanilla cream flavor. Honestly, I rave about them so much. If you guys have ever even thought like, oh, like I heard about Symbiotica from that one podcast, I should really look into it. All you have to do, you can go onto their website and they offer a little quiz and it can kind of gear you towards what supplements that might fit your lifestyle. So again, huge fan of Symbiotica and highly recommend you guys checking it out. You can go to symbiotica.com Sunday today to get 20 off plus free shipping. That's symbiotica.com sundae to get 20% off plus free shipping. If you guys have been following me on social media for a while, you know I love my drinks, like any type of drink. I actually used to have a little series on social media that I would like try out a new drink every week and I would rate it like 1 to 10 and it would kind of just be all over the place. All that being said, I just love drinks. And a drink that I have been a recent fan of is called Simply Pop. So Simply has launched a new prebiotic soda, Simply Pop, which is the new juicy soda There are five flavors. They have pineapple, mango, lime, strawberry, citrus punch, and fruit punch. Simply Pop is a new fruit forward bevy of prebiotic sodas made with 6 grams of prebiotic fiber to support gut health and vitamin C and zinc to support immune function, which. You guys, if you've been following me on social media, know that I have some problems with my gut health and I'm always traveling. So anything to support my immune function I'm a fan of. That's why Simply Pop contains the same real fruit flavors you know and love, and no added sugar makes for a soda that even a juice would drink. My favorite flavor is the pineapple mango. I just feel like it's so fresh and juicy and it's. It's perfect for summer. And whenever I'm drinking it, I feel like I'm doing something for my body, both immune system and my gut health. And the best part is that again, no added sugar. So I just feel like you can't beat something like that. I personally highly recommend this. Whether you're on the go, you wake up and you want something juicy, or, you know, just an outdoor summer beverage by the pool. Why not? So if you guys are interested in trying out Simply Pop, I'm a huge fan of it. I would recommend heading over to cokeurl.com simply pop to find out where you can try Simply Pop. How do you handle moments when you feel like your voice isn't being heard or your contributions don't matter?
- [44:48]
B
I think that work is unforgiving. And I don't know if this is a word like discarring, uncaring, in that everyone is replaceable at work. 99.9999% of people are replaceable at work. And I think one thing that happens in work is, I don't know, the company runs out of money or you and your boss don't get along, or your role gets eliminated or. And I think people can kind of be shocked by that. And it is shocking. But I think you have to remember about your work that. And this is a lot of what nobody cares about your career is about is you've got to do the biggest part of it for you and that you are getting satisfaction and fulfillment out of a job well done. Not because somebody else validates it and says that it's good, but because, you know it's good. So the, the first thing I would say that kind of as a fact about work, I think the second thing is not being heard. Absolutely sucks. Like, it's the most frustrating, aggravating, thing imaginable. But a lot of times, I think to understand why you're not being heard, one is you have to. You have to ask yourself, why. Why am I not being heard? And I think it's very easy to always blame not being heard on someone else. And I think you blame the listener or the lack of listening. And I think in a lot of times, that's totally appropriate and makes sense. In other instances, I think you have to ask, how am I communicating? You know, what is the tone that I'm using? What is the format I'm trying? What is the frequency? You know, I used to be like this a lot in my career, which is. I would be like. I would be like. But I said something like, three months ago, and they haven't done anything with it. And I'd be, like, incredulous that nobody picked up that I had this angst and this passion or this rejection of what we're doing. And I'm like, nobody cares about my career. Nobody's sitting around being like, what does Erica think about this? So I think just being cognizant in that and then also just advocating for yourself and keeping trying. And look, if you're in a position or place where nobody listens to you and it's super unfulfilling, you should leave.
- [47:19]
A
I love that. If no one's listening and you. You truly feel that, get out. You've also mentioned that you've fucked up and made some bad decisions while at work. How do you think people should go about, like, cleaning up their fuckups?
- [47:35]
B
Yes. This is a big one. I think when you screw up, it. Everybody screws up. Probably most every day at work in.
- [47:42]
A
A microway, or hopefully not my doctors, but.
- [47:45]
B
Yes, exactly. Yeah, those guys should. Or girls should. Should have a higher standard. But I think when you go through a failure, big or small, it's important to. To mourn and to have all the feels. I think a lot of times, like, for me, if something goes really wrong or if I screw up, which I do all the time, you know, like, I. I call it, like, I need to take to my bed. Like, I like to, like, sleep off a loss, and I think it's okay to sulk and mourn and kind of have your pity party and, like, you know.
- [48:25]
A
Right.
- [48:26]
B
You got to do that.
- [48:27]
A
I think you're validating my experiences, so. Oh, good.
- [48:30]
B
Yeah, I always take to my bed. But I think the second thing is, you know, let's say you screw up on a project at work or, you know, you let somebody down or whatever. Everyone knows you screwed up, including you. And the faster and sooner you can have, you know, we call it@food52 a wash up. You might call it a postmortem or an after action review. Whatever you call it doesn't matter. But you've got to be like, hey, this didn't go well. And here's why it didn't go well. And here was my part in, in contributing to that. And I think it's important to do that. And I think it's important to do that non defensively and unemotionally because the reality is, is most everyone is on the same page or likely on the same page about why everything went wrong. And the person who puts the voice to it in a way that is mature and in a way that is productive, that person wins. So if you screw up and you're that person kind of neutralizes. And then I think the next thing is like, what have you learned for yourself about how you would do something differently? We had a thing in the work like a girl Slack Yesterday, our daily topic was exactly this, like, when have you screwed up at work? What did you learn about it? Whatever, failure. And one woman told a story about how she worked at an agency and someone who worked for, worked above her. They had a difficult client and the person was like, we need to send this nasty email to the client. We need to put the client in their place. We're going to, we're going to push back on the client. And the person who worked above her wrote the email, but made her send it from her account and she got fired as a result. The client reacted poorly. It all came back to her and she was like, it was devastating. Like, it was really devastating to me. But I learned a bunch of like really good things. I knew I shouldn't send the email. I wasn't comfortable sending the email. I did send the email. I wish I hadn't. And so she, she was able to tell the story about what she learned from it. And I think that's the great thing, which is, you know, if we're lucky, life is long and meandering and you might think something is like a catastrophe in this moment and it might be, but there's a tomorrow and there's a new place and there's a way you can learn from things. And I think that's, you know, that's a healthy way to look at it.
- [51:08]
A
Wow. Oh my gosh. That I would have to take a few days laying in bed after that week in bed. Yeah, it's also funny you mentioned, like, try to come out as like the voice on top because that person's winning. I struggle with being emotional whenever I know I did something wrong. So I'm going to have to work on that one so that I come out, come across as like a strength, like a strong voice instead of like, guys, I fucking up, like, oh my gosh. But I feel like there's so much like growth that happens in the workplace for a lot of different reasons. There's so many personalities you have to get along with. Whenever people ask me in the past, like, oh, are you close with all the wives and girlfriends on your husband's NFL team? I would always say if you're in a group with a hundred other women, you're going to naturally gravitate towards some rather than others. So there's not drama in it, but it's just, you know, normal human personalities. Right. Getting along. And then, last question before we jump into some rapid fire questions. What advice would you give to women interested in careers specifically in sports business or sports media? Ooh.
- [52:19]
B
I mean, I think sports is awesome. It's a great place to work. It is a locker room. Like, you are in a highly, highly competitive, very male dominated, very intense, cool industry. So it's like this. The sports jobs are not the easiest jobs to get. You want to like get a job easily, like go into healthcare or go into, you know, a growing industry. So that would be my first piece of advice is like, know what you're getting into. You're getting into working at night, you're getting into working on the weekends. You're getting into very fast cycles where accuracy and speed is really important. I also think there's a lot of ways to get your foot. I think the hardest thing is to get your foot in the door, to be honest with you. Like, it's so hard. Everyone, you know, if you want to work at a corporate office or you want to work at a league or you want to work for a team, it's hard to get in the door. And, and a lot of times it's the internship or the volunteer work that can get you there. I think that's, that's, that's a second piece of advice. I think the third piece is like, you're not going to make a lot of money. Like the, you know, you don't make a lot of money, but it's very cool. So I think, you know, just, just being realistic about what will come out of it. And then I think sports business is super interesting, yet Also totally uninteresting. You know, I think if you look at most of the leagues, they're run by lawyers. So it's not like you're not going to go do something crazy and, like, fly by the seat of the pants. When you work for the NFL or you work for the NBA teams, I think you can get more creative because the teams want to make money, they want to grow fandom, they want to. They want to explore. I also would look at, like, look at up and coming. You know, look at the W. Look at the wnba. I bet the WNBA is looser than the NBA. Look at the premier lacrosse League. Look at the women's hockey leagues. Like, I think there's also ways where you could get your foot in the door with a smaller, more nascent league. Look at the minor league teams. And I think that's a good way to get your. Get yourself out there.
- [54:39]
A
Yeah, I love that. Oh, my gosh. Well, it has been so fun talking to you. Before we end, we're gonna do some rapid fire. Yeah, we're gonna do some rapid fire questions. Very easy. This or that. Okay. Who is the goat? Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes?
- [54:55]
B
Oh, I'm a Tom Brady. I think Tom Brady just turned into a cyborg, but I'm like Tom Brady all the way.
- [55:01]
A
I love that. Running a marathon or cheering on a friend who's running the marathon?
- [55:06]
B
100% cheering on the friend running around.
- [55:08]
A
Hot yoga or reformer Pilates.
- [55:11]
B
Oh, reformer Pilates.
- [55:13]
A
NBA or wnba?
- [55:16]
B
Wnba.
- [55:17]
A
Cold plunge or hot tub for recovery?
- [55:21]
B
Ooh, I love a cold plunge. I think, though, I read, though, that cold plunges are bad for women, so I'm not sure.
- [55:28]
A
Oh, interesting. Well, that's a good thing, actually.
- [55:31]
B
Not good for us, but I hate being cold. Work out more to earn a recovery, so I. I would probably say, like, neither, but I love that.
- [55:39]
A
Coaching your kids teams or cheering from the sidelines. Shearing, Kelsey Brothers or Manning brothers?
- [55:50]
B
Oh, Manning Brothers all the way.
- [55:53]
A
Thank you so much for coming on. Where can the people find you?
- [55:57]
B
You can find me on Instagram. I'm just at Erica, which is E R I K A. You can find me on LinkedIn under my name. You can find me if you on my socials. You can find work like a girl. So you can find me in there all the time. And that's it.
- [56:13]
A
Perfect. Well, thank you so much for coming on and thank you guys for tuning in to this episode of Sunday Sports Club. Be sure to tune in every Sunday wherever you get your podcasts. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.