210 episodes

On October 5, 2007, Kevin Saum suffered a traumatic brain injury called second impact syndrome during a high school football game, which ended his athletic career and nearly ended his life.

Kevin created the Head's 'N Tales podcast to serve as a platform for other athletes who have been dealt life-altering injuries, illnesses or other obstacles throughout their careers to share their story's and to learn how they persevered in the face of adversity. He additionally interviews subject experts in the sports health industry to provide tools for athletes who are currently writing their own comeback story's. Each week Kevin shares an athlete's story of perseverance or expert knowledge on one of the following topics: injuries, illnesses, obstacles, concussions, or the athlete transition to life after sports.

Kevin highly values his time spent on the football gridiron and wants to see the sport prosper for future generations of athletes. In an attempt to tackle many of the health and safety concerns inherent in the sport, Kevin and his childhood buddy Josh Boyd host a fantasy football injury report every Monday night as a bonus episode throughout each NFL season, where they discuss ways to make the sport safer to play.

Thanks for tuning in and there is no doubt your story will resonate with those of the guests on the show.

Heads 'N Tales Podcast - Talking Sports Injury Rehab, Prevention, Perseverance, Concussions & Athlete Transition Kevin Saum

    • Sports
    • 5.0 • 44 Ratings

On October 5, 2007, Kevin Saum suffered a traumatic brain injury called second impact syndrome during a high school football game, which ended his athletic career and nearly ended his life.

Kevin created the Head's 'N Tales podcast to serve as a platform for other athletes who have been dealt life-altering injuries, illnesses or other obstacles throughout their careers to share their story's and to learn how they persevered in the face of adversity. He additionally interviews subject experts in the sports health industry to provide tools for athletes who are currently writing their own comeback story's. Each week Kevin shares an athlete's story of perseverance or expert knowledge on one of the following topics: injuries, illnesses, obstacles, concussions, or the athlete transition to life after sports.

Kevin highly values his time spent on the football gridiron and wants to see the sport prosper for future generations of athletes. In an attempt to tackle many of the health and safety concerns inherent in the sport, Kevin and his childhood buddy Josh Boyd host a fantasy football injury report every Monday night as a bonus episode throughout each NFL season, where they discuss ways to make the sport safer to play.

Thanks for tuning in and there is no doubt your story will resonate with those of the guests on the show.

    Mike Wahle | 11 Year NFL Vet Shows Us Why Athletes are Entrepreneurs On and Off the Field

    Mike Wahle | 11 Year NFL Vet Shows Us Why Athletes are Entrepreneurs On and Off the Field

    Mike Wahle is a retired 11 year NFL Veteran. He played 7 Years for the Green Bay Packers, 3 with the Carolina Panthers and 1 season with the Seattle Seahawks before being medically retired after a shoulder injury. More recently, Mike is the founder of Unrivaled Systems and Process2Perform where he serves as the host of the Process2Perform podcast.
    I had so much fun recording and preparing for this interview. I grew up a Green Bay Packers fan and proudly wore the number 30 in my Pop Warner days just like my favorite player at the time, Ahman Green, running back for the Packers. Mike was responsible for clearing huge holes for Ahman to run through on his way to becoming the franchise leader for rushing yards. My 10-year old self would be so jealous of me right now, and to be honest, I genuinely felt like a kid again while talking to Mike.
    In this interview, Mike tells us stories about injuries he suffered throughout his football career, concussions, losing 50 lbs and his retirement from football all through the lens of the 3 Dials (Mindset, Technical Mastery, and Lifestyle (Making ownership decisions )) that he teaches to his athletes and clients today. Listeners of this episode will learn about the toolset Mike relied on to be elite in football and elite in his field today.
    Topics covered:


    Achieving your goals on or off the field will always go back to your Mindset, Technical Mastery, and Lifestyle (3 Dials).


    You can still be elite and not have your full identity associated with your sport or craft.


    The importance of automating decision making.


    Why athletes are always making business decisions on and off the field and how the recently added player safety rules impact these decisions.


    Why athletes need goals and routines post-career.


    The corporate world might not be the right fit for athletes post retirement.


    What is is like playing in an Army-Navy Game.


    Mike’s decision to become a Hall of Fame Behavioral Health ambassador.

    • 46 min
    Jonathan Katz | Body Builder Finds Success Through Innovation

    Jonathan Katz | Body Builder Finds Success Through Innovation

    Jonathan Katz is the founder of Blendi, which brought the first portable, rechargeable and battery powered blender to the market. Jonathan is a competitive body builder, which is where the inspiration behind Blendi came from. Jonathan took the initiative to solve his own problem of having to drink clumpy protein shakes at the gym. Jonathan is also another active participant in the Dulye Leadership Experience.
    In this interview Jonathan takes us through his weight loss journey that cost him a spot on his high school football team, but ultimately lead him to body building and entrepreneurship. If you are an athlete who desires to run your own company one day, you are in luck. Jonathan gives us the roadmap that transformed Blendi from an idea, into a tangible product. In addition, Jonathan talks about valuable experiences he’s had in both sales and sports that have made a positive influence on growing his company. To this day his company has been self funded by his own hustle.

    • 52 min
    Taking Ownership of Your Life After Sports | Linda Dulye and Marcus Coleman

    Taking Ownership of Your Life After Sports | Linda Dulye and Marcus Coleman

    Didn’t plan for life after sports? Don’t worry, its never too late as long as you are willing to take ownership of your career!
    Linda Dulye is the President & Founder, Dulye & Co. and the mastermind behind the Dulye Leadership Experience (DLE), which provides expansive learning programs, networking opportunities and delivers premiere professional development for individuals who are passionate about their career and their community.
    The DLE was established in partnership with Syracuse University as visionary, immersive training to prepare undergraduates to successfully transition into the workplace. Entirely funded and managed by Linda Dulye, a dedicated Syracuse alumna, this pioneering program has helped hundreds launch careers in diverse industries, locations and positions.
    Becoming a member of the community is completely free of charge and open to all, regardless of geographic location, industry, job title or experience. The DLE offers a welcoming, supportive community and a sincere commitment to inspire it’s members to be their best and do their best—thereby benefiting not only themselves and their careers but also their organizations, their communities and each other.
    After witnessing one of her Syracuse classmates struggle with life after a career ending football injury, Linda wanted medically disqualified Syracuse athletes to apply for the DLE as well to aid in their transition to life after sports. Marcus Coleman, was one of those selected applicants and in this episode he discusses the role the DLE played in his transformation to life after football.
    Marcus is a Former Syracuse University Football Player, Registered Client Service Associate at Park Square Financial Advisors of Raymond James. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the DLE and is the former roommate of one of our former guests, Terrel Hunt.
    In this episode, both Linda and Marcus provide tips on how you can turn your transition into a transformation and it all starts with taking ownership.
    Where can you connect with Linda?
    LINKEDIN
    Where can you connect with Marcus?
    LINKEDIN
    Apply to the DLE (HERE)
    Download Episode 166 : iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher

    • 53 min
    Patrick McQuown | Are You The Cow That Gives Milk Or Steak?

    Patrick McQuown | Are You The Cow That Gives Milk Or Steak?

    Patrick McQuown serves as the executive director of entrepreneurship at Towson University. After listening to my interview with Desiree Melfi Bozzo, Patrick connected me with Former Syracuse Quarterback, Terrel Hunt and he invited me down to TU to record this interview on why athletes make great entrepreneurs and meet the fellows in his StarTUp Accelerator.
    The StarTUp Accelerator, an intensive eight-week, cohort-based fellowship where selected fellows take residency and work in a collaborative space to accelerate their ventures. Terrel Hunt is participating in this program while working on his Good Choice Productions venture highlighted in episode 163.
    Patrick launched his first company Proteus in 1996, working out of his dorm room at George Washington University. He started Proteus with $1,000 and no outside funding. Proteus grew into a mobile media industry leader and was first in the world to create an application that allowed users to send short text messages from a Web site to a handset. Proteus is also responsible for creating the text-polling for the reality television show American Idol. His second startup, SinglePoint, raised $50M in venture capital and deployed two of the largest-ever messaging campaigns—one for the 2008 Summer Olympics and one for Obama for America.

    • 44 min
    Christian Lezzer | Success in Real Estate After College Football

    Christian Lezzer | Success in Real Estate After College Football

    Christian Lezzer is a former Boston College and University of Central Florida football player. Most recently Christian was named Berkshire Hathaway’s “Top New Agent,” was inducted into the company’s Honor Society and founded the Lezzer Realty Group. Christian was formally on the podcast in November of 2015 (Episode 9) to talk about his decision to retire from the sport of football after suffering from multiple concussions. A lot has changed since 2015 (luckily for my podcast quality too) and Christian gives us the update on what he has been up to for the last 6 years and gives us some insight into what has made him a successful Real Estate agent.

    • 35 min
    Injuries leading to Entrepreneurship w/ Former Syracuse Football Captain, Terrel Hunt

    Injuries leading to Entrepreneurship w/ Former Syracuse Football Captain, Terrel Hunt

    Terrel Hunt is a former Syracuse University Quarterback and Team Captain. He ranks in the top 10 in school history for passing yards, completion percentage, completions and rushing touchdowns despite suffering 2 season ending injuries including a broken leg in his junior season and an Achilles injury that he suffered midway through the first quarter of the first game in his senior season. Most recently, I met up with Terrel and his Co-Founder Jeremiah Kobena (like your favorite basketball player) down at Towson University in Patrick McQuown’s StarTUp accelerator program where they are working on their latest entrepreneurial endeavor of Good Choice Productions. We talk about Good Choice Productions at length in this interview and how they are striving to share the stories of the 98% of retired athletes. The 2% are the Michael Strahan’s, Tony Hawk’s and Michael Jordan’s of the world. Most retired athletes have a hard time relating to those successful transformations to life after sports and that is where Good Choice Productions comes in to play.

    • 57 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
44 Ratings

44 Ratings

SofaYama ,

Loved the interview with Penelope!

SO INSPIRING! I was hanging on every word and story. Especially loved when Penelope shared about her hardest moments, and tools and resources she leverages to obtain a high level of self awareness. I also had the same definition of toughness as Penelope at the end and love how she leads with vulnerability ❤️

penelopeyamauchi ,

Love this podcast!

This is an incredible podcast, as Kevin is an exceptional active listener and he has no problem being vulnerable. His journey to inspire and uplift is magnetic and I feel honored to listen to his exceptional work!

EPS64 ,

Five Stars! ⭐️

This is an incredible resource for anyone struggling to persevere and overcome life’s adversities. Each episode delivers valuable and relevant information to help athletes and parents alike. Kevin is well educated and informed on the topics he covers and most importantly is empathetic and compassionate toward his guests. He is also a survivor. He walks the talk.

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