Do you feel called toward something bigger — a dream, adventure, or purpose — but fear keeps holding you back?Welcome to The Discomfort Zone — the outdoor, mindset, and leadership podcast where courage meets the edge.Every Tuesday, host Anna Levesque — world-class whitewater kayaker, World Championship medalist, author, and mental agility coach — dives into raw, real conversations with paddlers, athletes, leaders, adventurers, and purpose-driven humans who choose growth over comfort.From powerful stories on wild rivers and mountain trails to navigating major life transitions, these conversations explore what it truly takes to face fear, build confidence, and find your flow — on and off the water.You'll hear:Stories from whitewater kayakers + outdoor athletes pushing their edgeInsights from guides, coaches, and leaders creating impact in their fieldsPractical mental-agility + leadership tools you can use right awayLessons from expeditions, competition, and personal transformatio
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The Discomfort Zone is a sports podcast hosted by Anna Levesque, with 128 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.
About the host
Anna Levesque hosts The Discomfort Zone, a sports show with 128 episodes published.
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The Discomfort Zone
Replay: Abby Holcombe on Facing Fear and Staying True to Yourself
Aug 18, 202648 min
What do you do when you are the only thing between you and the line you know you can run? Abby Holcombe, world champion freestyle kayaker, four-time USA national champion, and three-time USA team member, joins Anna Levesque on The Discomfort Zone Podcast to talk about the fear she knows is irrational, but still gets in the way. This conversation is a replay, and since it first aired, Abby has joined the Mind Body Paddle team as Content and Marketing Coordinator. We're thrilled for her to join the team, and bring the authenticity, courage, self-awareness and experience you hear in this conversation to our work. If you have ever talked yourself out of something you were ready for, or spent sometime cry-yaking, this one is for you. In this episode: The three hours Abby spent scouting Lava Falls before she ran it a twelve years old Why she hiked her boat into Oh Be Joyful and then hiked back out What she started filming after noticing every river beta video she watched was of men The mantra she picked up after winning Worlds and getting torn apart on Instagram What it was like to live van-life as a kid, and adventure-life as a family Listen now if you want a reminder of how to get out of your own way and stay true to yourself.
Ep #122 Doing It Scared: How Confidence Actually Gets Built
Aug 11, 202612 min
How do you break through the resistance to doing the things you know will build your confidence, but you're afraid of doing them? In this solo episode of The Discomfort Zone Podcast, Anna Levesque, former professional whitewater kayaker and founder of Mind Body Paddle, takes on the hard truth that more confidence, more skill, and more joy all live on the other side of the stuff you're avoiding. The roll is the obvious example. Most paddlers know they need to practice it, but too often, put it off for months, even years. Anna shares the story of facilitating her first adventure week, and the joy she re-discovered when she was pushed into unexpected new experiences. Find out how her client went from saying she would absolutely not whitewater kayak to then giggling joyfully at the bottom of every rapid. In this episode you'll explore: The importance of recognizing the pattern of resistance What resistance Anna had to overcome to break out of her comfort zone How kindness and challenge work together in the same container Why courage is easier to find when you're in community with others Whether you're resisting your roll, a rapid or a move (on or off the water), tune in to get inspiration for breaking through and finding more joy and confidence.
Ep #121 Kayaking Is 95% Mental: Bryan Kirk on Nerves and Flow
Aug 4, 202657 min
How do you settle your nerves when the pressure is on and everyone is watching? In this episode of The Discomfort Zone Podcast, Bryan Kirk, a former member US Freestyle Kayak Team member and Worlds medalist who has taken social media by storm with his old school boats and tricks, claims that once a paddler has the skill set, performance is 95 percent about keeping the mind under control. He walks us through the visualization and breathing practices he has used for two decades, and shares the story of how his performance fell apart at one of the most important competitions of his life. What he took from that day changed how he has approached pressure ever since. If you've ever trained hard, prepared well, and then watched your mind come apart the moment it counted, this one is for you. In this episode, Anna and Bryan explore: Why your mind is your biggest limiting factor, not your skill The awareness and breathing sequence Bryan uses before anything that scares him Hard moves in easy water for the mind, and why mental training deserves the same hours as skills training The strategy that allows him to throw down linked cartwheels at age 47 without getting hurt Whether you're chasing your first reliable roll, coming back from an injury, or figuring out how to keep paddling for the next thirty years, this conversation will provide you with strategy and training tips. Listen now, and start working your mental agility on and off the water.
Ep #120 Juliet Jacobson Kastorff on Confidence vs Control
Jul 28, 20261 hour
What does it actually take to lead a team, run an international guiding business, and still choose the hard line when it would be easier to stay comfortable? Juliet Jacobsen Kastorff is co-founder of Endless River Adventures, owner of Rio Quijos Ecolodge in Ecuador, and founder of the nonprofit Need More Outdoors. She's been teaching and guiding whitewater kayaking in Western North Carolina and internationally since 1991. On this episode of The Discomfort Zone Podcast, Anna Levesque talks with Juliet about leadership, building a guiding business that outlasts you, and staying uncomfortable on purpose after three decades in the outdoor industry. This conversation is really about what it means to lead well: building a team you can eventually hand things off to, taking responsibility instead of making excuses, and noticing when your own expertise has quietly turned into a comfort zone. If you lead a team, run a business, or coach others and want to hear how a 30-year industry veteran keeps growing instead of coasting, this one is for you. In this episode, you'll explore: Why staying in your comfort zone as an expert, running the same line or the same rapid, can quietly stall your growth How Juliet builds leaders who could replace her, and why that's the goal, not the threat The hotel industry lesson that changed how she handles mistakes and hard conversations Why "a bad moment, not a bad day" changes how you show up after things go wrong What three decades of guiding in Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Chile taught her about community over ego. Whether you're leading a business, coaching a team, or just trying to get comfortable being uncomfortable again, this conversation will meet you there. Listen now, and start noticing where your own comfort zone might be holding you back.
Ep #119 How to Break Big Fears into Small Steps with Sara Hunter
Jul 21, 202652 min
What do you do when fear shows up and your instinct is to either force your way through or quit altogether? In this episode of The Discomfort Zone Podcast, Anna talks with Sara Hunter, a licensed clinical mental health counselor, certified emotionally focused couples therapist, and PMBIA Level 1 mountain bike instructor based in Asheville, NC. Sara takes clients out of the office and onto the trail, using mountain biking to help them notice what's happening in their bodies, name what they're feeling, and practice new ways of responding to fear. This conversation is really about the skill of slowing down, and why the smallest step toward what scares you is often the most courageous one. If you tend to white-knuckle your way through hard things, or freeze when the pressure is on, this one is for you. In this episode, you'll explore: Why slowing down and naming what's happening in your body changes how you respond to fear What titration means, and how to break an intimidating goal into steps your nervous system can actually handle Why beginners often grow more on the trail than seasoned athletes, and why sitting still is the real discomfort zone for adventurers How the rhythm of pedaling and scanning the trail calms the body's threat response The surprising link between perfectionism and the courage to ask a clarifying question Whether you're eyeing a rapid you've been walking around, a trail feature that gets in your head, or a hard conversation you keep putting off, this episode offers a kinder and more effective way through. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts!
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