Love Your Inner Athlete

The "Love Your Inner Athlete" podcast, hosted by Hans Skulstad, is all about mental fitness. Hans interviews professional athletes, coaches, and all around fitness-minded individuals to hear their perspectives on the mental side of sports and athletics. They share their experiences, stories, and how Hans and the Center for Sports and the Mind has changed their mental trajectories, making them fitter, healthier, happier versions of themselves. Follow along to hear inspiring stories from ordinary people who have taken the steps to become mentally fit!

Love Your Inner Athlete is a health podcast hosted by Hans Skulstad, with 46 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Hans Skulstad hosts Love Your Inner Athlete, a health show with 46 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Love Your Inner Athlete

  Critter Johnson: Growing Up in Hockey’s Most Famous Family

  Jul 28, 202642 min

  What’s it like to grow up in one of hockey’s most legendary families – and then find your own path in the game? Chris (Critter) Johnson, assistant coach with the Minnesota Frost in the PWHL, has seen hockey from every angle: as a player, a youth coach, a college coach, and now at the professional women’s level. And the most important thing he’s learned? It has nothing to do with winning. In this episode of the Inner Athlete Podcast, host Hans Skulstad reconnects with his Augsburg connection to explore what coaching professional women athletes is really like, why nothing matters until puberty when it comes to youth development, and the piece of advice from his dad that has shaped everything about how he shows up – on and off the ice. Whether you’re a hockey parent, a coach at any level, or someone trying to figure out how to separate your identity from what you do, this conversation will make you think differently about the game. Connect with Chris: Minnesota Frost / PWHL Minnesota The Inner Athlete Podcast explores mental fitness strategies for athletes at every level. Subscribe for more conversations on coaching, athlete development, and what hockey really teaches us about life.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Love Your Inner Athlete

  Bethany Brausen: What Two National Championships Really Taught Me

  Jul 14, 202640 min

  What does it take to go from national championship player to Division I head coach — and what does the rapidly changing landscape of college hockey mean for the next generation of athletes? Bethany Brausen, head coach of the University of St. Thomas women’s hockey program, has seen the game from every angle, and her perspective might challenge everything you think you know about what makes a champion. In this episode of the Inner Athlete Podcast, host Hans Skulstad sits down with Bethany to explore what two national championships really taught her about culture and team building, why the transfer portal and NIL are changing the game in ways nobody fully understands yet, and what she wishes every parent of a young female athlete would hear. Whether you’re a coach, parent, or athlete trying to figure out your path, this conversation offers an honest, thoughtful look at what it means to develop people — not just players. Connect with Bethany: University of St. Thomas Women’s Hockey The Inner Athlete Podcast explores mental fitness strategies for athletes at every level. Subscribe for more conversations on coaching, athlete development, and building championship culture.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Love Your Inner Athlete

  Sam Terris: What Hockey Parents Need to Hear

  Jun 30, 202632 min

  Building Championship Culture from the Bench: Sam Terris on Coaching, Relationships, and the Game What does it take to build a program that sends the first Bantam A team in Armstrong Cooper history to the state tournament - and then do it again? Sam Terris’s journey from Armstrong Cooper captain to youth hockey coach reveals how relationships, compete level, and doing things the right way create something special that players remember long after the final buzzer. In this episode of the Inner Athlete Podcast, host Hans Skulstad sits down with longtime coaching friend and former Armstrong Cooper Bantam A head coach Sam Terris to explore what separates good coaches from transformational ones, why mental fitness changed his approach, and what every hockey parent needs to hear right now. Whether you’re a youth hockey coach navigating pressure and expectations, a parent wondering how to best support your athlete, or someone who loves the game and the community it builds, this conversation offers honest insights from someone who lived it. Connect with Sam: Lead Instructor, MAP Hockey - Plymouth Location The Inner Athlete Podcast explores mental fitness strategies for athletes at every level. Subscribe for more conversations on coaching excellence, youth development, and building winning culture.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Love Your Inner Athlete

  Erin Ayala: The Accidental Sports Psychologist

  Jun 16, 202639 min

  The Accidental Sports Psychologist: Erin Ayala’s Unconventional Path to Elite Performance What happens when a self-described mediocre JV athlete accidentally stumbles into sports psychology and discovers it’s exactly where she belongs? Erin Ayala, founder of Skadi Sports Psychology, has built a practice around the athletes who don’t see themselves in traditional sports performance spaces - and her approach is changing what mental fitness looks like. In this episode of the Inner Athlete Podcast, host Hans Skulstad sits down with his office neighbor Erin to explore how her own endurance athletic career shapes her work with athletes, why the “leave it at the door” approach to life stress is a myth, and what parents are getting wrong about the car ride home. Whether you’re an athlete, parent, or coach, this conversation offers a refreshingly honest look at what mental fitness actually requires. Connect with Erin: Practice: Skadi Sports Psychology Website: https://www.skadisportpsychology.com/ The Inner Athlete Podcast explores mental fitness strategies for athletes at every level. Subscribe for more conversations on mental performance, athlete development, and building sustainable athletic careers.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Love Your Inner Athlete

  Dana Thiede: What Officials Actually See From Ice Level

  Jun 2, 202641 minS0

  <p>What does hockey look like when you’ve seen it from every angle - as a parent, a Special Hockey coach, and a referee? Dana Thiede has spent decades inside the game, and what he’s observed from ice level might surprise you.</p><p>In this episode of the Inner Athlete Podcast, host Hans Skulstad sits down with longtime friend Dana to explore what officials actually see and feel during a game, why Minnesota Special Hockey represents everything right about the sport, and how the culture of hockey has shifted - for better and worse - over the deca...

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on Love Your Inner Athlete. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.