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 49 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Hans Skulstad hosts Love Your Inner Athlete, a health show with 49 episodes published.

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  Love Your Inner Athlete

  Charlie Curti: Be Malleable, or the Game Will Make You

  Sep 15, 202634 min

  Be Malleable: Charlie Curti on Adapting Your Game and Your Mind Charlie Curti has played pro hockey for eight seasons across the ECHL, the AHL, Denmark, and the UK — but the lesson he keeps coming back to isn't about skating or shooting. It's about being malleable. In this episode, Charlie joins Hans to talk about the identity crisis that hit him at Yale, when the offensive defenseman who'd never faced real adversity suddenly found himself in and out of the lineup. He reached out to Hans at his dad's suggestion, and what started as a hockey problem turned into something broader. They get into why consistency beats talent over a 70-game season, how separating who you are as a player from who you are as a person protects you through slumps, and what changed in Charlie's game once he stopped insisting his way was the right way. He's candid about the setbacks — a torn ACL, a sophomore slump he blames on his own stubbornness — and about the call-up to the AHL at 28 that made the whole thing feel worth it. A good listen for any athlete who's been told to adapt and didn't want to hear it.

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  Love Your Inner Athlete

  Jessica Poole: NIL Is for the 40, Not the 4

  Sep 1, 202642 min

  NIL Is for the 40, Not the 4: Jessica Poole on Identity, Branding, and What Nobody Tells You What if the most important question in NIL has nothing to do with money? Jessica Poole, founder of The Poole Collective and creator of the Own Your NIL program, has spent decades inside college athletics watching athletes chase deals before they even know who they are – and she’s built her entire approach around fixing that. In this episode of the Inner Athlete Podcast, host Hans Skulstad sits down with Jessica to explore why identity work comes before brand deals, what parents and athletes consistently get wrong about NIL, and the one piece of advice from a women’s basketball coach that has shaped everything about how she operates. Whether you’re a parent trying to figure out NIL, an athlete building a brand, or a coach wondering how to prepare your players for life beyond sport, this conversation offers a perspective you won’t hear anywhere else. Connect with Jessica: Website: thepoolecollective.com Instagram: @thepoolecollective LinkedIn: The Poole Collective Free 1-hour consultation available on her website The Inner Athlete Podcast explores mental fitness strategies for athletes at every level. Subscribe for more conversations on athlete development, identity, and life beyond sport.

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  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.

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  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.

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  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.

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