Career Clarity with Athletes: A 2ndwind Podcast with Ryan Gonsalves

167: Abiola Wabara - GloBall Life: Building Bridges for Athletes' Second Wind

• Ryan Gonsalves

Share episode

Send us a text

When the final whistle blew on her decade-long professional basketball career, Abiola Wabara wasn’t just facing retirement. She was starting over, from scratch.

In this raw and candid episode, Abi sits down with host Ryan to share the untold side of life after sport. From playing across Europe and representing Italy’s national team, to working in a call centre, driving Uber, and experiencing panic attacks, Abi reveals what it really took to rebuild her identity and why she created GloBall Life, a platform designed to support other athletes through the transition she had to figure out alone.

This isn’t just about sport. It’s about ego, burnout, identity loss, and the uncomfortable process of starting again. But it’s also about strategy, courage, and how small choices, like carrying a resume in your Uber, can change everything.

If you’re approaching a career pivot, feeling behind, or wondering how to turn chaos into clarity, this episode is for you.

What You’ll Hear

  • The hidden cost of leaving sport without a plan
  • How Abi went from elite basketball to interpreting, Uber, and PT work
  • Why she turned down money in her final season for a master’s degree
  • The ego battles of saying no to second division offers
  • Experiencing burnout, anxiety, and identity crisis after retiring
  • The life-changing Uber ride that led to a job at Accenture
  • How being an athlete became her superpower in corporate life
  • The early struggles of launching GloBall Life solo
  • What it took to build a founding team and stay focused without funding
  • Advice for athletes preparing for life after sports

💎 GOLDEN NUGGET:

"I was willing to hustle for a short amount of time so the long-term would be something I’d be proud of. I knew what I wanted for myself. I just didn’t know how to get there yet."

 — Abiola Wabara


💼 Want Career Clarity for Your Next Step?

Visit www.2ndwind.io  to book a consultation and explore resources for career transitions.

Speaker 1:

So for you, what did you want out of basketball? What did you see as the target?

Speaker 2:

That's an interesting question, because I don't think I ever had one other than I want to win as many championships as I can, but over time, I think one decider was for me. Once I graduated college, my home team from back, parma, wanted me to come back and play, but the offer that they made was not what I expected. After going through all of that right, I was like no, no, no, you should treat me like the Americans now, don't treat me like the kid. It was like oh, so you've changed. No, I have an agent, go talk to him, you know. So that was my first like huh, okay, so now I know my value.

Speaker 3:

Hi, I'm Ryan Gonsalves and welcome to a Second Wind Academy podcast, a show all about career transition through the lens of elite athletes. Each week, I invite a guest to the show who shares their unique sporting story. Please join me to delve into the thoughts and actions of athletes through a series of conversations. Don't worry, there's plenty to learn from those of you that aren't particularly sporty. Elite athletes are still people after all. Let's be inspired by the stories of others.

Speaker 1:

Abi, great to have you join me on the Career Clarity show today. Thanks very much.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1:

Wonderful. Again, I always start with how much I'm looking forward to the conversation and, I think, with you. What makes it quite interesting is one the diversity of your background, but then also how you're going about what it is that you're doing today, and I just think those things are just going to make such a fascinating conversation for me and for those listening and watching as well.

Speaker 2:

Well, I certainly hope so.

Speaker 1:

It's all good. It's all good. Well, look, I thought that the chat we're having before was to me was just quite interesting. But before we do step into that, for those who don't know you, please just give us the quick introduction as to who you are and what you're up to nowadays.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, sure. So my name is Abiola Wabara. I go by Abi. I'm originally from Italy. By way of Nigeria, I came to the US to go to college as a basketball player, so I had a scholarship to go to Baylor University. I won a championship there, then played professionally for 10 years and once I retired it took me some time, but I figured it out I got a job as a technology consultant and I also started Global Life, which is a company that I'm hoping will help other athletes transition to life after sports in a seamless and supportive manner wonderful.

Speaker 1:

That was a really cool and succinct intro. I quite like that. So, look, I want to just understand a bit about what global life is and what you're aiming to achieve through it start off as a part of my experience, right?

Speaker 2:

so the last year that I played, I played in the uk. While it wasn't necessarily what I was used to from a money and league aspect, the teams have relationship with the schools, so I went there. I told the coach hey, I'll play for you if you pay for my master's. I did that and once I was done, I'm just really Googling what do you do? International business management? Because I do not know.

Speaker 2:

I spent my first year after my professional career ended by driving Uber, selling artwork, working as a personal trainer while I was applying to jobs and doing interviews, just because I did not know what to do. I did not know what I liked to do, and how do you find something else you love just as much as basketball? That's kind of hard to do, right? And so that experience was really depressing and that's probably the first time I experienced depression also.

Speaker 2:

All of those things together is what propelled me to create global life, because I started doing interviews with other athletes just to kind of see like, is it just me, am I the problem or is this a thing? And it was literally the same story with everyone. Like different scenarios, but the same story, so that's what made me want to create Global Life. It's a technology-based platform where athletes will have access to resources, so like service providers that are professionals in career coaching, interview coaching, entrepreneurship, financial education, mental health but also there is a platform where they can find jobs of companies that want to hire athletes specifically, so trying to create an ecosystem where the athletes are the center and they have every resource that they need, instead of doing it by themselves.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I love all of that in the company, what global, global life is all about. But then I think, also your path into that, what you have said, like you say, resonates with so many of us, so many former athletes. Where you get to the end of the career and you fall into this, well, I guess to this loop, this negative cycle of not knowing what to do, or or indeed what kind of excites you and energizes you moving forward. But you, it sounds like you did so many things whilst trying to figure that out. You, you kept very busy in that moment.

Speaker 2:

I'll blame my Nigerian side for that, but yes, I did. Um, the art specifically was something that I have done since I was a kid and it was the only thing that could carry me when I played overseas. I could do art anywhere, so whatever country I was in, I could either paint at home or find a studio to go and learn, and so over time that became like a second business almost, because initially I was just doing it for myself. I never really shared it because it was like you guys say you like it just because you like me on the basketball court. You don't really think I'm a good artist. And then, after some convincing, they were like no, your art is good, you should sell it, you should do this. And that convincing. They were like no, your art is good, you should sell it, you should do this and that.

Speaker 2:

So I created an online gallery. I started doing art shows. My first solo show was actually in Italy when I was playing over there, so that was one of the things I was able to do after sports was done. That was still something I enjoyed, but I also realized I didn't want to do that full-time, because I wanted to keep enjoying it and if you paint to make money, then it becomes a job, and then it's not fun anymore, at least for me it's funny because that's an expression of, like you said, what interests you, of those passions.

Speaker 1:

How is that different to playing basketball? Isn't that a similar expression? And yet you could work.

Speaker 2:

That became a bit of a job uh, yes and no, because yes, in a sense that it is an expression of self. And for me, actually, it was interesting because on the basketball court I was a very aggressive player, like I was a defensive player, very aggressive, but by nature I'm not, so when I would paint I would be able to bring myself back to my core, to my center, right. It was a way to kind of like decompress and do that and it was a very personal space. But I also don't believe in the life of a starving artist. So many artists that can sell a banana taped on a wall for $8 million, right, I haven't had that luck.

Speaker 2:

So being able to sustain myself with the artwork was becoming too much of a hustle and, like I said, the starving artist lifestyle is not for me. I like things. And, like I said, the starring artist lifestyle is not for me. I like things. And so I realized that I didn't want to compromise my passion for the arts to try and just start producing consistently, just to sell, and so I knew that that wasn't going to be the path for me.

Speaker 1:

But some artists are prolific and they're able to sustain it. It was just not for me. Yeah, for me, yeah, and so it is interesting. That sort of disconnect not a disconnect, but the connection you have between art was a way for you to consistently be yourself. Like I say, it's a personal space where you could express and it helped bring you down perhaps from that competitive, that aggressive approach that you needed, or recognized what traits you needed to have in order to be successful on the court, and I like that. So it meant it kind of gave you this balance all the way through as you traveled around. And in fact, let's get into the travel around. Let's understand a bit more about, certainly, your background and some of your career. You reopened up at the start. You grew up in Italy. Talk to us about that sort of your heritage, that mix, and how sport weaved its way in for you.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so, like my background, my chocolatey comes from Nigeria. Both my parents are Nigerians, so they moved to Italy for school. My dad became a study architecture in Italy, so my brother and I were born there. So we are Italian by culture and Nigerians by blood and heritage, and so I started playing basketball there. And then once they realized that you know, the cool thing about Italy is they don't have sports in school. Everything is a club. Yeah, so the clubs you have to pay for them and you know you play, but it's separate from school.

Speaker 2:

So those are the teams where the professional players that are in the US come to play professionally. So I'm in Parma, which at the time was a huge basketball hub. If you ever seen Love and Basketball, at the end, when they have the championship game with the Spanish team, they're playing against Parma in that movie. Yeah, so that's my home team, right? So I have people like Cynthia Cooper, yolanda Griffith, like those players were playing in my home team. So I grew up watching them. So in my mind is, okay, well, I want to be like them, I want to get paid like them, I want to be looked at like them, and to do that, my mind was well, I have to go to America and do it, and so I decided I wanted to go play college basketball, and I did that, and I was able to get a scholarship at Baylor University.

Speaker 1:

For you back then, was it typical for italian women to not necessarily play basketball but then aspire to get over to the us? Was that sort of a path that was well etched out for you?

Speaker 2:

no, not at all. Uh, it was the way I did. It was very unconventional and I feel like that's how I do everything. I wasn't recruited. I wasn't sought after. I was never one of the best players, I just really worked hard and I played hard. And after I was never one of the best players, I just really worked hard and I played hard and I always ended up being one of the players that I was needed on the team. I started on every single team I ever played on Right, but not because I was the best one on the team, but because I had, like, my role. I played my role well and I did what I was supposed to do. And so same thing with Baylor. I wasn't recruited. I showed up. I told Coach Moki, like hey, I would like to play college basketball. She was like okay, well, you and everybody else Like who are you? It just so happened that one of our college teammates- you turned up, so you were like a walk-on.

Speaker 2:

No, I got a scholarship before, even like I was able. Yeah, she had to go through the proper channels, of course, but, like, the main decider was one of her college teammates. Jens Lawrence was a professional player on the team that I practiced on. So she called her and she was like, hey, this young lady says that she should play for me. And Jens was like, yeah, you should definitely. You know, look into her and, if everything works out, give her a scholarship. And so I got my scholarship the next year. And so I got my scholarship the next year. And so I started off. I didn't walk on. I started off as a full-on team member and then, after four years there, I started off in Israel for three years. So that was my first overseas experience. Played in Israel for three years, then from there I went to Hungary Not my favorite place, that was only six months and I was so ready to go and then from Hungary, I ended up in Spain. Then I played in Italy and then back in the UK. That was my last season.

Speaker 1:

Wow, the amount of movement that you had as a player. But I guess for other female basketball players that have joined me on the show player, but I guess for other female basketball players that have joined me on the show, that movement around not just clubs but countries seems quite typical yeah, I mean it also depends on, like, your position, etc.

Speaker 2:

but there are some countries that you want to go and play in right, just because the championship is better, the pay is better, so so, like Turkey, russia, italy, spain, france, those are countries that you want to go. So sometimes you start on a country that might have a lower level league, but once you prove yourself then you start hopping around to the better countries.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So for you, what did you want out of basketball? What did you see as the target?

Speaker 2:

That's an interesting question because I don't think I ever had one other than I want to win as many championships as I can, but over time, I think one decider was for me. Once I graduated college, my home team from back, parma, wanted me to come back and play, but the offer that they made was not what I expected. After going through all of that right, I was like no, no, no, no, you should treat me like the Americans now, don't treat me like the kid. It was like, oh, so you've changed. No, I have an agent, go talk to him, you know. So that was my first like huh, ok, so now I know my value.

Speaker 2:

So to me it was more so figuring out how I can make sure I kept growing as far as my paycheck go up every year, going to better team every year, and while overseas I didn't actually win a championship. I finished second, I think, in three different leagues. I always played on a team that was better than the team the year before, except for my last year when that was by choice and by design, when I went to the UK. But I always played on a team that ended up being a better position. For the most part that's not, that was not always the case, but I would say 80% of the time. I was able to always go on the team that was better than the year before.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so it's like this incremental improvement, incremental target that you had to keep being better, keep playing better and moving up the leagues as well. Right, interesting then that value, value, finding your value and, certainly with palma, sorry, coming back, treating you in in that way. Do you think did the agent, did having an agent help or sort of hinder that process for you?

Speaker 2:

it helped once I had the right agent. Uh, I had to fire my first two agents, um, because they were just not working my best interest. And then my last agent I'm still in good terms with today, even though I retired in 2016. So nine years later, I'm still in good terms. So having an agent definitely helps. I think after a while, once you establish yourself, you can really just do it on your own. No-transcript.

Speaker 1:

So, as you were doing the travel and as you were playing, at what point did you start to realize, hey, this is going to end soon. And what did you do?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think it was my last year in Italy because I was playing for the national team and I had something happen. I hurt my knee I know they give me an injection to make you feel better and then something happened my knee popped. I can't remember. All I know is I was in pain. I move as I used to move anymore and you know, 90 percent of my game was based on my athleticism. So, not being able to run as fast, it was just not fun for me anymore.

Speaker 2:

So that's when I decided to go play in the UK, because I knew that was going to be my last year of being able to do anything with my body and I wanted to make sure I made it count right. I wanted basketball to give me something at the end of my career that I use for whatever comes after. So that's when I started doing some research about, okay, what's going on in schools in the UK, and so I reached out to the coach and he was very happy to do that deal with me, and so I played for him. He paid for my master's and I also played for the university team, which was.

Speaker 2:

I played for two leagues, yeah, but the regular league was fine. Like the athletes were talented. They were really young, so they were like high school and most of them were hoping to go to play college in the like high school and most of them were hoping to go and call to play college in the US, which a lot of them do. But that was fun for me because I got to be a mentor to them as well yeah, I was going to say that that must be such a shift now I'm interested in.

Speaker 1:

I want to just take it a step back and understand that sort of decision making approach. Decision-making approach you did and they say the research in picking the English or the UK league, but then for most athletes that I speak to in that final year it is about financial gain. It's about how can I just earn that last little bit to keep me going to well, to just give me that push so I've got a runway to then play with at the end you didn't take that path.

Speaker 2:

Because to me, I thought about that too, but to me it was just like well, for one, I don't play as well as I did before, so I'm not going to make more because I'm hurt, Like my body is like I'm not able to produce, so I'm not going to be able to get a contract like I did five years ago, for example. Right, I'm a prime, it's not going to be the same. But at the same time I had saved enough to where, when I decided to pay for the UK, I knew that I wouldn't be getting paid. But they were paying for my master, they were paying for my accommodation and they were giving me like a small stipend for groceries. So London is expensive.

Speaker 2:

So I still did like leave off of my savings for a year and a half, but I was able to do that because I planned for that and my thought process was well, whatever I do after needs to pay me the same or more than what I've done playing basketball. And so that's why I wanted to go for the master, because having an undergrad and 10 years of basketball experience it sounds cool, but it's not a great resume. That was my thought process. Was getting a master's that once I Googled the average salary of people that have that, I was like, okay, I can, I can rock with that, and that's what my plan was.

Speaker 1:

That's a great plan. It sounds like it started in many respects two years before, three years before, but starting to think getting that money together so you could, like you say, live off your savings. But then the guts bravado to speak to the club and say, don't pay me, fund my education Because, like you say, you did the research that's going to help you hopefully get onto the career ladder faster, or the typical career faster.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I mean I got lucky again because the advantage that I had was the coach of that team was also the coach of the UK national team and we played against Italy. So when I reached out he knew who I was. He was a fan of me as a player and as a person, so he was happy to make that deal because I knew I wasn't able to get paid. You know what I wanted to get paid regardless, so might as well get something that works for both. And, if I'm being honest, the mentorship that I was able to provide to the younger kids was also really rewarding. Like, I enjoyed that part, which it was fun. It made it more fun for me because the basketball wasn't as fun anymore.

Speaker 1:

You've just hit on a wonderful part there about that shifting role that we go through and we often talk about that career transition. But within our athletic career we often go from that rookie and, you know, if we're lucky enough, we are privileged enough, we go from that rookie and sometimes we get to mentor towards the end of our careers and, you know, it sounds like that was something that was meaningful for you as well.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, for the club kids, yes. Now, if I'm being honest with the university, I think I had a chip on my shoulder because the level of basketball there was very, very low. It was beyond junior varsity. It was bad. So the first practice, you know the coaches teaching them how to do it. And so I went to the coaches that, listen, I'm here to play, but I will not learn how to make a layup, I can help you coach them.

Speaker 2:

But that was where my ego came in. I was like, all right, listen, okay, everything, but what I will not be doing is do what I did 15 years ago, like I'm not doing that. And so it was more so that I'll help you coach them, like I'll help you, however, you need me to help, but I'm not doing that. So that's where, I'll say, my ego came in. But when it came to the younger, the young ladies on the Barking Abbey, that was the team. They were talented, you know they worked hard. And there were other two older players that were like my ace group, that actually I played against them during the league. So I had peers and also had the younger ladies to mentor.

Speaker 1:

So when you look back at your professional career, what stands out as your highlights?

Speaker 2:

that's a good question, I would say. Aside of, like you know, winning games and things like that, I would say just the creating relationships in different countries. Like I'm still friends to this day with a lot of teammates that I had, and while I guess I had a specific like bond with american ones, because we just kind of like have the background, I was made it a point, if I was in a foreign country that was not Italy or the US, to become friends and actually understand the culture and things like that. So in Israel, for example, my second year I went to Ulpan, which is a class where you learn Hebrew, and not because I needed to, because everybody speaks English over there, but we practice two hours a day.

Speaker 2:

I had a lot of time on my hands, right, and so I just wanted to do something useful with my time. So I went and learned Hebrew and did the whole ceremony where you teach what you read in front of a class and things like that. I went to a art workshop from an artist there just to learn how to paint with oil, because before that I was only painting in acrylics, so I learned how to paint with oils when I was out there. So to me. Those are some of the highlights, just because they added value to me as a human being, I feel like, and basketball was just the vehicle that got me there.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, fascinating. The highlight moments for you are the people, the experience, that immersion in culture.

Speaker 2:

Those are some of the richness of what you've taken away from being a pro basketball player yeah, no, I really enjoyed it, like when I was in Spain, because I like playing with people like that. But when I was, I speak Spanish fluently. But I did not speak Spanish for the first week because I needed to know that my teammates were good people. So when they were speaking behind my back, I would have known. But then once the Americans came and they needed someone to translate, I became the translator. So one of my teammates looked at me like this whole time you spoke Spanish and I'm fighting for my life to speak English. I was like I'm sorry, I just had to make sure you guys were cool and they were. They were amazing teammates. But those are the things that make up my highlights.

Speaker 1:

That is fantastic. I've got to use that. It's kind of cold, but it works right.

Speaker 2:

It does what it's supposed to do.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's right. So I'm not going to ask you how many languages you speak, just in case you need to play that on somebody else. Now I got Hebrew, got Italian. Somebody else, now I got Hebrew, got Italian. Okay, I'm joking, it's good, it's good. So now, one of the bits you mentioned I'm thinking now coming off the back of your masters was that it for basketball. Were you like, boom, I'm done and sort of cut the ties athletically?

Speaker 2:

partially. Yes, basically yeah. Once I came back from my masters's, that was pretty much it, like I will still play here like city leagues and things like that. But yeah, I was done. I just physically could not. Like I had four surgeries on my right knee and so I did not want a fifth. And I know I needed it if I even wanted to have a chance at doing more. And I was 33 when I retired. So I felt like I ran my runway pretty much close to the end. I probably could have had a couple of extra years if I really wanted to push, but I also want to be able to walk in the future.

Speaker 1:

And even that hits ego at times, doesn't it the? I can still play, I can, I've still got it.

Speaker 2:

That was hard. That was definitely hard. And I think what helped me fight that ego was still ego, because I did receive a couple of calls from coaches in Italy but they wanted me to go play in second division. I was like no, I'm not doing that, like I refuse to do that, and that was just an ego thing I probably could have, but I just didn't want to.

Speaker 1:

So the ego, I guess, fought the other ego and the other ego one in the end you were somewhere in the middle and you're doing lots of different things and I'm curious. Then ego tells you right, I'm not playing div two, I've got to do something else. How did you figure out what that next mountain was, what your next sort of? Well, here's what I'm gonna do yeah, I had no idea, honestly.

Speaker 2:

So once I got my master's I came back and so I was still doing my dissertation, but I left because I mean London is cool, but not for that long, the grayness of it and everything. It was. Just my brother lives there. It's been there for 15 years.

Speaker 1:

I don't know, I cannot do it it hurts me to say that it does. However, I do live in Sydney, so there is an element where I'm not there, but still.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, the grayness. I live in Houston. It's hot, it's sunny. It was a big change, and so when I came back, I was still writing my dissertation. So what I did was, because I wasn't done with that officially, I got a job working on a call center as an interpreter. A job working on a call center as an interpreter, so I was doing medical and financial interpretation from English to Italian and vice versa, and it was from 3 am to 11 am because I had to work on Italian time zone. So I had all day to work on my dissertation and go on interviews for jobs, on interviews for jobs.

Speaker 2:

But me being me, I also had a plan B or C. I took the LSAT and got accepted into law school because that was like the alternative. Like, okay, well, if I don't get a job, I'm going to go to law school. But I deferred for a year because that would have been a school that I actually had to pay for and I did not want that type of student loan debt. So I deferred for a year and in that year I became a personal trainer at Equinox. I was doing the interpretation stuff and I was driving Uber. So I was doing all these things.

Speaker 1:

Did you get a sense of burnout from doing that?

Speaker 2:

I was getting panic attacks and did not know that was a panic attack. One of my friends told me because I was like, I was like Nick, my heart just goes really, really fast. I don't know what's going on. I was like, Abby, you don't sleep, you are having a panic attack. And I was like, oh yeah, I didn't know until somebody told me that's what it was. But I kept getting this like anxiety feeling and I couldn't pinpoint what it was. So, yes, burnout definitely kicked in.

Speaker 1:

And which, in itself, you know, you're pushing yourself, like you said, this complete lack of sleep, because even I'm trying to work out three till 11, and then you're doing personal training and you're having to drive an Uber and sleep, you know, hopefully, while not doing any of those things. Right, how do you put them together? An Uber and sleep, you know, hopefully, while not doing any of those things, how do you put them together?

Speaker 2:

So I want, so I kind of want, to understand why you felt you needed to be doing all of those things at that time because I spent most of my savings in the year and a half in London, so I didn't have anyone that could sustain me in charge of me. So I had to figure out a way to make money, while I found what I wanted to make money with in a more consistent way, and I also had certain standards that I was not willing to go below of. So I was willing to hustle for a short amount of time so that the long-term would be something I'll be proud of doing. Right, because I could have done the call center forever. But that is not my lifestyle and I don't have anything against specific jobs. I just know what I want for myself.

Speaker 2:

And so once my dissertation was done, I quit that job and they try to keep like ma'am. I did not go to school to do this to talk on the phone and be a robot, because that's literally what it is You're just hearing and repeating the other language. And so once I was rid of that, you know I was still doing personal training, which I enjoyed. But again, I need a steady paycheck. I cannot do sales and commission and I just don't function that way. Way, I like stability and I like knowing what's coming, so that's what I needed to do to get to where I wanted to be.

Speaker 1:

Considering the 10 years spent traveling as a basketball player, the contract, the negotiations, the moving around, the length of the seasons that felt stable, predictable, compared to where you're moving into it actually did, because you know it's the first couple of months is the unknown on every team, right?

Speaker 2:

you gotta like just got to know your teammates. You gotta learn to know the team. You get to learn the cities. After you do that, that's your family for the year, so it's stable. That's your people, that's your friends, that's your co-workers. I mean, not all of them becomes your friend but, like most of them usually do, those are your co-workers. So to me that's okay. Now I know what I'm going to do for the next 12 months. Cool, I know how much is going to come in my pockets. Great, I know when I'm going on vacation. I know when season is off. I know everything because I have a schedule right. And now I'm just out here like ping-ponging trying to figure out what to do, with no structure, no schedule, no nothing, and that does not work. That did not work for me at all.

Speaker 1:

What came next? To give you the shining light on, here's how I'm finding the stability to help me get to where I want to be.

Speaker 2:

So, while driving Uber, my resume is in my car. My car has a decal on the back that's like Baylor decal. So the lady that comes in the car tells me, oh, you went to Baylor. I was like, yeah. I was like, oh, she went to Baylor, her husband, all her kids went to Baylor.

Speaker 2:

And so we start conversation. She's asking me that, well, she learns that I play basketball, that I have a master's, so why are you driving Uber? I was like, well, ma'am, because I'm trying to find a job and I don't want to be stuck at a job that to go on interviews and keep going and still make money to survive. And so she was like wait, my husband works for this great company that they love people with a diverse background. Do you have your resume? I'm like, yep, from under my seat, there you go. And then she gives me his business card and tells me to email him. And I do. The next day I send him an email and the following day I receive an email from a recruiter saying that they would like for me to go through the interview process. And that's how I ended up at the job. That is a career with growth, a salary that has surpassed what I was making playing basketball. Flexible and challenging too, because I like challenges obviously.

Speaker 1:

So I want to come back into what that role is. So last week I got an Uber okay, because I like challenges, obviously. So I want to come back into what that role is. But so last week I got an Uber okay, and following our conversation the other day, I said to the person I said so what are you doing outside of driving Uber and things like that? And they started talking to me. It was actually trying to set up a business and things like that. Then I said to him so do you have a business card? And then I even, jokingly, thinking of you, said I've even got your resume in the car. He didn't have any of those, right, but I laughed and then I just said to myself right, I've got to be asking Abby this again. He did a good chat, so it was good. I won't go into that, but I just think for you driving the Uber, you really hadn't. Did you think you were going to meet somebody in the car?

Speaker 2:

I was strategic about it because I hate driving. I absolutely despise driving and I despise small talk and uber is both right. But I was very strategic because I will not drive at night. I think I tried once and I picked up the drunk guys. I never again. So I will not drive at night. I only drive pick hours when people go to work. So I will go to the business district and I only drive there, and so my goal was to meet someone who knew, someone that would be like yeah, you're so interesting, I love talking to you, let me get you in touch with somebody I don't know. That was my hope.

Speaker 1:

Usually my accent helps here in america, so that's kind of like what I'm going for now I'm listening to you, it makes me think of you go to Hollywood or somewhere and everyone's an actor.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, an actor.

Speaker 1:

So you were doing the same thing, which is I'm catching all the commuters moving between the offices. It's just. I think it's just brilliant, right, thank you. You spoke about luck before in your coach in the UK Was England coach played against you and found you and here you talk about this. The honest look would have it. Someone came in, but you were set up for that, you were ready, that was your strategy yeah, I mean yeah, like I said everything I've gotten.

Speaker 2:

I had to do something to put me in a position to be in front of someone. I could say yes, they could have very well said no, but I had to play the same way with Coach Mulkey, with Coach Clark Barking Abbey, all of them.

Speaker 1:

Well, actually, let me ask so through your career, a playing career, what support did you get in terms of thinking beyond the game, in terms of supporting you in that way, because it feels like you've had to do so much yourself?

Speaker 2:

I did. I did. I mean, like my parents, they will tell you what they want you to do, but that doesn't translate as support. It was like, well, you didn't go to medical school, that's what I was supposed to do. It was like, well, yeah, I'm aware I didn't go to medical school because I'm playing basketball, like let's point out the obvious, you know. So it was more so like telling me what I didn't do versus OK, how do I do it? What's next? But also, at the same time, I have to think about the fact that they're not here, right, they do not function in American mindset or culture. So even if they wanted to give me advice, they wouldn't know where to start. Right, they're Nigerians, they live in Nigeria. They don't know how things work here in the US.

Speaker 2:

So I had one of my best friends. Unfortunately she passed a few years ago with cancer. But at Shemika we would be spending. We got used to spending summertime doing nothing, right, because we were both still playing, so we would be by the pool and whatever. But we talked about plans, what we want to do, what business we want to start, and things like that. Plans what we want to do, what business we want to start and things like that.

Speaker 2:

So she was a big person in terms of being able to bounce ideas against and figuring out what to do next. She actually put me in touch with the person that ended up becoming my career coach when I was trying to figure out what to do after my master's, because I was someone that she met when she needed it. So she was a big support when it comes to being able to figure out what next is, even though, yes, I did a lot of it by myself when I was driving uber. In between calls, I will go to her house and sit there until something else pop up and we'll talk about, okay, what we're doing, like what's the plan or whatever. So, yeah, she's definitely one person that I miss dearly every day just because she didn't get to see the after right, like things that came after and things like that.

Speaker 1:

So, yeah, well, thank you, thanks for sharing that as well. And look, it is. You know, someone who joins you on those journeys and, like you say there, just gives you little nods of advice and guidance, those small introductions. So, coming back to the Uber journey, coming through then this recruitment process, what is that job and how do you think? What do you think it was that made you good for the role?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so today I'm a manager product manager at Accenture. It's a global technology firm, pretty big. If you know anything about consulting, you probably heard about our company. I had to Google it the day before at the time, right, so good, but what I think for one, the person that did the referral was a managing director, so it's the highest level that you could have there. So I guess their word is way heavier.

Speaker 2:

But when I went through the interview, it was a four rounds of interviews and the last one was the behavioral one and the use case. The behavioral one was interesting to me because the person that interviewed me was so fascinated by the diversity of my background that during the interview she actually ended up going on my art website and just looking at the art and things like that, right, and she was just saying that you know, we get a lot of people that come through this door. Everyone has the same exact resume, everyone has a business degree, everyone knows how to speak, but no one comes as not no one, but not a lot of people comes with something that just makes them different, like makes you memorable, and I think that's what it was. And it's funny because I was initially trying to hide the fact that I was an athlete because I didn't want to be seen as a dumb jock. But come to find out that was my superpower at the company to be able to be someone that is not like everyone else but is also still willing to learn.

Speaker 2:

And I made a challenge, too, that, once I got hired, my goal was to catch up to my age mates, because I'm an analyst when I first started and usually I only saw people coming out of college, so they're like 10 years younger than me, 10, 15 years almost. So I was like okay, so are all the managers? Okay, I need to be a manager in like four years or five years. And I did it, challenging myself. I made it a game not a game, but I made it a game to myself because I wanted to do that.

Speaker 1:

How did you do that.

Speaker 2:

Finding mentors. So one thing I had to learn was you're not the best anymore at anything here. Actually, you're probably the worst at everything here. Be okay with asking questions. I hate wasting people's time and I hate my time being wasted. So one thing I did is, if anything was asked of me and I knew that I couldn't figure it out in a timely manner, I will go and say hey, if you want this to happen in X amount of time, you need to give me a little bit more instruction, because I have no idea what we're doing here. And that worked for me and I was very transparent. I will ask questions and I'll make sure to find mentors that had roles that I found interesting, so that I could ask them hey, what do I need to do to be where you are in X amount of time? And a lot of people just wanted to give their time to teach me and to guide me, and that's where I am today.

Speaker 1:

I'll ask kind of an obvious question, as I'm listening to you, I can hear the answers, but what do you think it is about? Being an athlete or being a pro basketballer? That's helped you in your role as a manager at Accenture, one of the largest management consulting firms in the world yeah, no, definitely is.

Speaker 2:

The team mindset is one, because a lot of our projects are team-based, right. So, being able to not think about the individual goal but, like the overall goal of the project. But like, for me, as far as, like my career path, was being coachable, being humble, being resilient and just being ready for the unknown, because every project that I get on is something new, is a new industry that I probably never even heard of before. There's new language that I never heard of before. So if you know, the first technology project I was ever on, and there was an architect that knew what everybody was talking about after the meeting, like yo, can you translate that? I don't know what.

Speaker 2:

Nobody said what is happening here. So it's making friends with people that have a skill set that you know you're missing and just making very obvious that, hey, I'm going to, I'm debugging you on a daily basis until I know what is being said in this room because I have no idea. So that's what worked for me. As far as just being resilient, really that was the main thing, that, and I think that's what I was on a basketball court. I was very resilient player and that got me places.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, because you've described yourself as quite an aggressive player on the court. Which elements of that athletic nature did you have to tone down to be successful at Accenture?

Speaker 2:

honestly, none, because the, the aggression literally stays on the court. Like as a person, I'm very like I could be shy, so I actually had to learn how to to network. That was really, really hard for me. The networking piece because that's a big part of our job like every project you want comes out of networking with your peers or your co-workers. And then I'm also an introvert. There's so much people I can do at a time and working in consulting it's people all the time.

Speaker 2:

So I had to learn how to do those things because on the court you know you're playing with your teammates and then you go home If you want to hang out with them. You choose the people you want to hang out with. I'm not forced to be with everyone here. Now it's like team dinners and this and bonding and I'm like, oh my God, I'm tired. So I had to learn how to do these things and you know, trying to do them in an organic manner and not just feel like I don't like fakeness. So if I could do it to wear, but it's tiring for my personality. So I would say from the, the resilience is the main thing I was able to keep, but I didn't have to take anything away, because I never took those things out of the court, because they're not part of my day-to-day personality.

Speaker 1:

Successful rather than have it naturally. So what's been the turning point or what was the turning point for you on this journey to build global life? What was the turning point for you to start to focus on that career transition and sort of well-being?

Speaker 2:

yeah, so interestingly enough, when I first started global life, it was a completely different idea. Once I, when I first started, was after playing. I wanted to create. I don't know if you're familiar with that Yelp go and describe it though yeah.

Speaker 2:

So it's like a tool where people go to find out if a restaurant or any business is good, right, so I wanted to create a Yelp of basketball, so basically a platform for the athletes to be able to know before they sign a contract, if the team is, you know, the coach is good, the city is fun and safe, they pay on time and all those things that you would like to know about your team before you actually sign. But then I realized that once I was done playing, I couldn't care less, like I just did not care anymore because I did not want to be involved. I didn't want to be, I didn't want to be around basketball at all once I was done. And so a few years later I was really thinking about I still want to do something that will actually help athletes. And once I got my first job at Accenture I went through all of those steps to get there I was like you know what we need. We need help to figure it out. Everyone's going to have to quit at some point. So I don't care what you do in your career, that's on you, your agent, whatever. Everyone's going to have to come to the end of it. How can I help make this transition seamless and supported, instead of all the crap that I went through.

Speaker 2:

So that's how it came to be, and initially it was more of a consultee type of business plan. But again my thought was like, well, there's only one of me and I can only help one person at a time. That way, that's not sustainable. So what can I do? And that's when I came up with the app and just having like a SaaS platform that is scalable, anybody can help themselves. So it's like self-serve, but it's this element of technology and AI, but it's also a big element of human-centered support, because that's important to me still being able to talk to a human being. So that was like the transition of how global life came to become what it is today.

Speaker 1:

And look great mission. That's why we're talking here on Second Wind, because it is all about helping individuals find, as I say, that second wind in life, but also finding the tools, the networks to help them well, actually to figure it out and then get going. And so how are you finding life as well? I guess this entrepreneur as well entrepreneur as well.

Speaker 2:

We're back to not sleeping, that's for sure.

Speaker 2:

It's not as bad now, but when the app was getting built, I have a team in india, right, and I still have my full-time job at accenture, so I will have to work with the team before, which is between 6 and 7 am that's when I'll have meetings with them and then 11 pm, because I will challenge out to them at the start of their day and then at the end of their day to get their feedback and updates, et cetera.

Speaker 2:

And so we did that two or three times a week for almost four months, because that was when the app was getting built and needed to get feedback, et cetera. But I will say one thing that has changed my trajectory completely was finding team members, because I was doing this by myself up until January, and then I finally found a co-founder that she joined and then, shortly after that, now we have a chief marketing officer, a chief experience officer and an advisory board, and every time we add a team member, I I can definitely see better things happening, you know, getting in front of people faster. And it's also been a learning experience for me, right, because now I have these people that trust the vision, knowing that there's no money to be made yet, right, but they trust the vision and to me it's been just such a vote of confidence, but also a vote of belief in what I'm doing, from people that could be anywhere else and make money Right, but I'm choosing to actually be here and help bring Global Life to life. So that's been an amazing experience.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely brilliant. And when you think then about where you want to go next as a person, can you describe that for me? What's the next goals for you? What's that aspiration?

Speaker 2:

yeah, the immediate goal is definitely I want to see global life being what I envision it to be right like the epicenter of athlete transition. Right like I think you can come here, you can find a job, they can find support if they want to be an entrepreneur, they can find all the steps that are missing when you're transitioning, so that you don't feel so lonely. And I would love to see, like, like my vision is literally like partnering with companies, like and I don't know why I keep saying this in my head but like you know how nike has, like, uh, just do it so I can see nike global. You need it. Like. That's just what I see in my mind. That's just like the slang that comes up and that's what I want. And, yeah, we'll see Nike.

Speaker 1:

You put that in my mind as well. Listen, one of the bits I really like about just the name is the global part. But the bit that links to the global aspect because of where you've traveled, of you're a global athlete, you know, I think, so many people I speak with. Sport is that passport around the world, and I love the way you've pulled those two together as well. I think that's fascinating.

Speaker 2:

No, thank you. I mean, obviously we started in the US this is where I'm based, but, like the goal is to be global right, every athlete everywhere have the same experience, so we definitely want to be able to support as much as we can. Yeah, and the phoenix is the rebirth, so this is also by design, okay yes phoenix bird yeah I like that, the good imagery as well.

Speaker 1:

So you're working for us all, and so, look, when you think then of those athletes coming up who are at the point of approaching that transition into that perhaps last contract and you know, maybe thinking ahead, what advice or guidance would you give them?

Speaker 2:

Don't wait till the last minute. Start while you're still playing to think about what else do you like outside of your sport? Right, because when you're not on the court or in the field or in the swimming pool, what else do you do? What else do you think about? Those are the things that you can do while you're still playing, while you still have that runway, because when it's too late, you just have to go with whatever works immediately instead of being able to actually choose, unless you are a super saver and you can give yourself, you know, a lot of time. But being able to actually get out when and having a plan that takes you towards something that you actually love already, it makes life so much easier. Because having a job that you hate, it's tough, it's not fun, but guess what? You gotta pay the bills, you gotta eat. So, as an adult, those are things that you have to do yes, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1:

So, abby, listen. I got to say thanks so much for sharing your time, bringing your perspective onto the show. I think there's so many athletes and and non-athletes out there who can learn a lot from what you've shared and listen. For those who want to follow your journey, perhaps get in touch. What's the best way to do that?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, absolutely. First of all, thank you for having me. I really enjoyed the conversation, and Global Life is the name of the website, globallifecom. The Instagram is global underscore life. The email is abiolaw at global life, so I kept it very simple, so that was the place where I can be found easily.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, wonderful, abi. Once again, thanks very much for sharing today.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Second Wind podcast. We hope you enjoyed hearing insights from today's athlete on transitioning out of competitive careers If you're looking for career clarity for your next step, make sure you check out secondwindio for more information or to book a consultation with me. I'd like to thank Claire from Betty Brook Design, nancy from Savvy Podcast Solutions and Cerise from Copying Content by Lola for their help in putting this podcast together. That's all from me. Take it easy Until next time.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Ryan Gonsalves

Host