Welcome to The Human Athlete, a podcast devoted to peeling back the layers of athletic excellence and illuminating what happens when sport ends, and the next meaningful chapter begins. Hosted by Jared Markiewicz, this solo episode explores the complexities faced by athletes and former athletes as they navigate identity transitions, reclaim purpose, and redefine the meaning of success beyond the field or court.
Why The Human Athlete?
From the very start, Jared Markiewicz is candid: he doesn’t hail from a Division I or professional athletic background. Instead, his expertise lies in coaching and ultimately running a fitness business. After years spent helping clients, Jared Markiewicz became intensely curious about the journey of re-engaging with physical activity after one’s competitive career ends. What happens to athletes when their structure and purpose, so deeply entwined with their sport, suddenly shift?
This question isn’t just professional, it’s personal. As Jared Markiewicz shares, stepping off the coaching floor was his own identity transition: moving from best-on-floor coach to behind-the-scenes leader brought freedom and flexibility, but also guilt, FOMO, and a loss of structure. This mirrors what athletes often feel when their own careers come to an abrupt halt.
Life After Sport: More Than Staying Fit
The podcast dives into the heart of these transformations. Athletes’ lives are tightly structured and myopic, with focus solely on their sport, training, eating, sleeping, recovering, all for the next game or competition. When the final whistle blows, everything widens: suddenly, there’s family, career, relationships, and “normal” life to contend with. For many, this hyper-optic perspective is overwhelming, especially as they realize they must start fresh, building social connections, finding meaningful work, and forging a new identity.
Jared Markiewicz draws parallels between his own experience and the athletes he interviews, highlighting a universal truth: everyone, athlete or not, faces identity shifts throughout life. Whether it’s marriage, parenthood, career changes, or other turning points, recalibrating and finding meaning is part of the human journey.
For Former Athletes, and Anyone Facing Change
The podcast, and this blog post, isn’t just for elite or former athletes. It’s for anyone who’s lost touch with their physically active self, those seeking inspiration to rediscover passion for movement, and those navigating any kind of identity shift. Jared Markiewicz’s hope is clear: the lessons, teamwork, dedication, and discipline gained from sports can propel anyone through life’s challenges and transitions.
But The Human Athlete aims to go deeper. Athlete stories are not just about the highlight reel or the contracts, they’re about who these individuals are beneath the surface. The “pedestal” is allowed, but only to show where they came from, these stories are ultimately about humanizing athletes, reminding us all that they are real people experiencing real struggles and triumphs.