The 2% Solution: 30 Minutes to Transform Your Life
Feeling overwhelmed by the struggle of the juggle of life's demands? Dive into "The 2% Solution," where Dai Manuel, your charismatic host and renowned fitness and lifestyle coach and mentor, brings his wealth of experience and infectious energy. Discover research-backed strategies, mixed with humor, that optimize just 30 minutes of your day to transform challenges into triumphs. With Dai at the helm, you're not just listening to advice. You're embarking on a journey. Harness the power of 2% and reshape your life!
The 2% Solution: 30 Minutes to Transform Your Life
From Hits to Healing: Shea Emry’s Path from the CFL to Men’s Health Advocacy
Two-time Grey Cup champion Shea Emery joins us for an incredible conversation about his inspiring transition from CFL All-Star linebacker to a dedicated advocate for men's health and well-being.
Discover how Shea's early experiences in college and professional football forged his understanding of leadership and resilience, ultimately leading him to create initiatives like Wellman and Toxwood Axe Throwing.
Hear firsthand how Shea is helping men reconnect with their inner child through play and adventure and get ready to be moved by his passion for living with intention and building true community.
Shea opens up about the significant challenges he faced, including battling identity loss and depression after numerous concussions. His honest take on mental health, shaped by his experiences in sports and supported by a strong partner, highlights the importance of sharing personal stories and fostering community support.
We explore the ongoing relevance of mental health discussions, especially in the post-COVID era, and celebrate Shea's impactful work in this space. This reminds us of the power of resilience and a positive mindset.
This episode covers a wide array of topics, from exploring the profound effects of concussions on athletes to discussing the whimsical idea of a commercial snowball fight.
Tune in for an inspiring episode that encapsulates themes of innovation, resilience, and the ever-evolving journey toward creating supportive communities for men.
Connect with Shea
- Website: Axewood Crew
- LinkedIn: Shea Emry's LinkedIn
- Instagram: Shea Emry's Instagram
- Facebook: Shea Emry's Facebook
- YouTube: Avalaunch Blitz
TEXT ME here - Have a question? Comment? Feedback? I’d love to hear from you.
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Dai M.
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Welcome back, my friends, to another episode of the 2% Solution podcast, where we dive into those small, intentional shifts that create massive impact in our lives. I'm your host, don Manuel, and today we've got an extraordinary guest with us, someone who's not only a powerhouse in the sports world but also a passionate advocate for men's health and well-being. Shea Emery, a two-time Grey Cup champion, is with us today. Shea isn't just a former all-star linebacker known for his grit on the field. He's now tackling an entirely new game off the field, one that's all about helping men reconnect with their inner child through play and adventure.
Dai Manuel:If you've ever wondered how a professional athlete transitions from the rough and tumble of football to creating a safe space for men to embrace vulnerability and personal growth, then this is the episode for you. We're going to unpack Shea's journey from the CFL to founding Wellman and toxwood Axe Throwing, and how his passion for play is transforming lives. You won't want to miss his insights on how to live with intention, embrace adventure and foster true community. So stick around. This is going to be one inspiring ride. And hey, before we dive in, make sure you hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode of the 2% Solution. Let's get into it.
Dai Manuel:Welcome back to the 2% Solution podcast. I am the host, hi Manuel, I haven't changed yet, even though there's days I wake up and I'm like, who am I? I'm excited because, as I said in the intro, we have Shea Emery here today, and man talk about a diverse background, but also a guy that's making huge impact in waves, and not only his communities locally, but also these waves are being felt globally. And so today I just got to say welcome to the show Shea.
Dai Manuel:So good to see you.
Shae Emry:Likewise, thanks for having me on Always stoked to have conversations with people with as much energy as you.
Dai Manuel:And just to quote you I appreciate that, shane, you're from the same book, so I know that you are very much an energy guy as well. Just based on your background, especially as a professional athlete, I mean you can't get away from it. And for those just to remind you what I said in the intro you know two-time Grey Cup champion. Now, for my American listeners and those in other parts of the world, the Grey Cup is like the epitome of Canadian football. I mean, you've made it. That's what us Canadian footballers, we aspire for, that. And so he did it twice, not once, but twice.
Dai Manuel:Also a CFL All-Star middle linebacker, founder of Wellman axe throwing crew, and ava launched snowball blitz, which I want to talk a bit about too. So, uh, anyways, there's so many cool things that you do, shay, and I guess what I wanted to start off I think you know. Obviously we could go back, so tell me about where you're born and your childhood. We're not going to go there, we're going to start things off from sort of where your career in the CFL started to really shine, because obviously there's a lot of things that you had to do mentally, physically and emotionally to prepare for the CFL to play at that level. But I was wondering can you share your journey from professional footballer to becoming a men's health advocate?
Dai Manuel:Because I know that's a big part of what you do today.
Shae Emry:Yeah, thank you so much for the great intro. Definitely I've had a journey, because I know that's a big part of what you do today. Yeah, thank you so much for the great intro. Definitely I've had a journey. You know I I went, I got a scholarship out of high school and played college football in the U S. So first experience ever playing college football was in front of you know, 70,000 people.
Shae Emry:It was 30, you know, 35, 40 degrees on the pitch, and I just remember my, my feet. They felt like melting off and I was like, well, this is what you signed up for.
Dai Manuel:And.
Shae Emry:I had a very similar moment. I got drafted into the CFL, into Montreal, and I was blessed to be in the perfect situation, right. I had a very stage leadership group of players in that organization and I kind of stepped into the young guy with a bunch of spit and vinegar and just started hitting people, started talking smack and really just got to the point where, you know, I was able to earn the respect of my peers and earn a spot on the squad and really, uh, you know that came from years and years of of preparation through great guides and coaches growing up, on how to prepare for competition, uh, how to, how to ready your body for competition, your mind for competition, and uh and and also to to prepare yourself to have to endure the hardships of wins and losses and, you know, getting knocked in the teeth a couple of times here and there. So, uh, yeah, started in Montreal, went to three great cups in a in a row and got that.
Shae Emry:That was what was normal, which was hey, I'm starting in the great cup, there's 14 million people watch, this is what I'm supposed to be doing, right, and just setting that at my expectation, my standard of operation, like, hey, this is where I expect to be doing right and just setting that at my expectation, my standard of operation, like, hey, this is where I expect to be in life. I've done it in high school, I've done it in college, I've done it in in the pros and and I just it really, you know, consider, at that point it really just can really like concreted the fact that I was meant to be one athlete and two a leader, uh, which then, you know, transition into being a spokesperson for, you know, the health and wellbeing of our, our, the community of men in this country that really didn't feel like they had a voice at the time. And, uh, I was glad to have the platform of, you know, being a pro athlete to, you know, have a voice that could be really echoed into, you know, the chasms of this community.
Dai Manuel:Man and echo. You have, like, there's been some pretty powerful messages which we're going to get into, so we'll come back to that, but I you know to play at that level, I mean it is that's it right, like the margin of error shrinks, uh, the expectations increase, the pressure increases and I I mean you rose to the occasion.
Dai Manuel:It was that something that you, was that a trait of you that you've always had, or was that something that you sort of cultivated through maybe mentorship or coaches? Like I'm just curious, where did it come from? You know? Failing, failing, good answer, oh yeah.
Shae Emry:I think I think really what happened was that I've, you know, played all the sports growing up and you know I played the opposite position. So I played quarterback in high school. You know I didn't like to hit people. You know I was a very fast athlete in high school and then I was given the adversity of being put on the other side of the ball and being basically told hey, bro, you got to learn how to tackle people if you want to play this sport. And so, you know, I had to learn. I had to learn something completely new when I thought that I had already arrived. And so then I moved into the professional ranks and realized that I didn't know anything about the X's and O's of the game and hadn't really paid attention to the data, really afforded the opportunity to learn for an entire year my first year playing pro football from the defensive player of the year previous, the year before and because I was on special teams.
Shae Emry:So in football you got offense defense. You got the people you know running down on kickoffs not, you know, the young guys trying to earn their spot. So I did that. But then I also was the backup and got to learn from, you know, these great football players and leaders and and and that's really where I I failed the most by missing assignments and not understanding the defenses and not understanding you know how to manage my emotions and you know, get penalties on in different aspects of the game and really, um, get told and shown that that's not how professionals operate and that I needed to, you know, really level up even more than I thought I could, to the point where, you know, I was able to earn a starting job my second year because I showed up, I did the work, I made the sacrifices and I really focused on the details of the, the the game.
Shae Emry:When it came to the cerebral aspect of it, which I didn't pay attention to because I was just naturally gifted as a young kid, which you know. You see that with really really tall basketball players, like I don't really need to work that hard. I'm just bigger than everyone, right and uh, I was very similar for me. I was just big, fast, strong and I could do all the things that was asked of me at the lower ranks. And then I think this really echoes into where I'm at right now, which is I was able to kind of jimmy rig my career together post-football, because I just had the juice to kind of create things, and now it's about stepping back and really focusing on the details again, which is the learning that I learned from failing and failing forward.
Dai Manuel:Great lessons and I I've got a couple of questions I want to, but before I jump ahead uh, well, you know I, when you think about your career, especially as a professional athlete, what were some of the biggest lessons that you've pulled forward that you now continue to leverage? Do you know what I mean? Like those? Because I think there's certain life lessons that we achieve, you know, or, I guess, collect along the way of these experiences, but you know, we don't take them with us. It's not like we pack a suitcase and carry on and take them. You know, sometimes we have the experience and then we forget it.
Dai Manuel:you know, but I imagine there's been some very impactful life lessons that you've taken forward with you, and I'm just wondering would you mind sharing some of those?
Shae Emry:the key life lesson that I learned from professional football and being an athlete for my entire life is that you're going to get kicked in the teeth, you're going to get run over, you're going to feel like crud before a workout, you're not going to feel up to it during the. You know you're going to be on your back. And I remember that same football game that I was telling you about, where it was 70,000 people and it was super hot and I actually, within the first couple of minutes of the game, I got poked in the eye with somebody's hand, or both my eyes got jabbed, deformed, right in the eye. Uh, the guy ended up playing like six or seven years for the Seahawks. Right after that he was a senior you know he's a grown man and uh, I went. I basically couldn't see out of both my eyes for about five minutes.
Shae Emry:But I had made a commitment to show up that day. Right, I had made a commitment to my teammates, to my family who had traveled out to West Virginia to watch this game. My cousins and aunts and everyone kind of was like rallying around this big moment for me. And uh, and I knew that I needed to show up again and step back out on the field, even though I felt like I wasn't prepared to do so. It was that, just outside my comfort zone where growth comes, and that was really the lesson that I learned is that on that day, all the guys under their pads, after they took their pads off after the game, we shook hands and you know, people were saying what's up? They said slot the ball right, which is basically the mindset in football, like check in basketball, next play right. And yeah, uh, such is life. You gotta put your feet on the ground every single day and have a proper foundation and to provide you with the positive trajectory to move into that day. And so spot the ball was really about around, like you know, letting the past go, taking your learnings and moving forward, and I remember I was like well, I'm not going to get poked in the eye anymore today.
Shae Emry:So let's make sure my, you know, duck and dodge a little bit and uh, and I just remember that that moment was pivotal for me because I didn't want to spot the ball, I didn't want to go and get poked in the eye. We lost 56 to three. It was not a fun day, I remember. After the game, the entire stadium was belting out John Denver's Country Road and it gives me goosebumps to this day. Right, this is in the state of 67. Oh, my gosh. And and it really to this day. Every time it's such a popular song. Every time I hear I feel that day, I, I can smell the turf, I can smell the sweat and and it just continuously reminds me to, you know, approach every day with positivity that you can endure. Uh, if you just spot the ball, take a deep breath and and, and you know, attack it and.
Dai Manuel:I'm like, oh, I guess we can stop the podcast now. That was awesome.
Shae Emry:Enough said drop the mic Got to go.
Dai Manuel:Uh, you know, but that was great. I see a lot of parallels in just life lessons that I've had, but not to that level, of course. I mean talk about pressure, but to be able to still keep your head in a good place and just embrace the moment, right, that's super cool.
Shae Emry:I think we can all learn from that.
Dai Manuel:Now I need to ask you a question, because I also know that you're you're huge in advocacy for for men's mental health and I know there's a story, there's obviously a connection to it and I'm curious, you know, because I would be remiss if I didn't at least ask this, because I know I've. I have a number of other friends of professional athletes. I've read a lot of autobiographies of professional athletes and I see a common theme when it comes to shifting away from a professional career as an athlete because it's been such an identity piece for these athletes. And I see some athletes are great at navigating the change or the shift, meanwhile others aren't. And and I'm just curious, how was that experience for you, you know, when you decided that, okay, I'm retiring, now I'm moving on next phase of life? I mean, what was that like for you and how has that impacted the work that you do with other men and mental health?
Shae Emry:Straight up, not, I didn't handle it well. Mental health, straight up, not, I didn't handle it well. And I, at the at the time of my transition out of sport, uh, I had met my partner. We had had a child at that point, uh, so I was already in the fatherhood. So, um, I had, you know, lost the identity piece. And I, I didn't have a traditional trade or professional degree to or or any sort of certification that I had been working on.
Shae Emry:Um, much to you know, I was advised to do so. I just that is not the path that I took. And so, yeah, you know, young, another one on the way, right when I retire, and I'm sitting there like I don't know where I'm going, what I'm doing. And I just knew that I wanted to support my community. I wanted to. I had been advised to share my story, to be real and transparent and take risks. So that is when I jumped into the mental health game. I started to share my story of. You know, the trauma that comes with concussion, the difficulty that I was personally having in the transition, knowing that I had blinders on my entire life. Athlete, shake, be the job, do that thing and do it well. And so when you know that was essentially taken away from me because I had had my umpteenth concussion, I think I probably had about 20 or 30 somewhere in there.
Dai Manuel:Gosh, so many Wow.
Shae Emry:It's a lot right, A lot of hits to the head.
Shae Emry:That is a lot, right, a lot of hits the head a lot, and when I realized that I was no longer going to be strapping up the pads, I didn't want to move into fitness training and coaching football camps. And you know the truth, I was an innovator. I wanted to do things differently and I wanted to. I wanted to really lean into what was important to me, which was, you know, I knew that there were other men out there that were in the very same situation that I was in, which was concussed, you know, out of sport due to injury, depressed, lack of identity, no certainty in my future, and I really was heavily associating myself as an enforcer on the football field. I played middle linebacker, you know. You mentioned that I had won two great cups. I was also all-star, but great.
Dai Manuel:Right.
Shae Emry:The thing that I was most proud of, Dai, was that I was peer voted the nastiest player in the CFL twice Don't worry, are you kidding? Me.
Dai Manuel:I didn't know that Dude. Wow, how'd you earn that one?
Shae Emry:exactly. I don't want to tell you, um, but I earned it right and, and so when I I was going through a lot, I was trying to figure out okay, who am I gonna?
Shae Emry:be, I just gotta keep smashing, keep smashing, round block. You know, square block, round hole mindset like I don't care and uh. And so I remember when I started, I knew that it was going to be over and I didn't have all these ducks lined up in a row that I just needed. I needed to do something, I needed to take the risk, I needed to be real and tell my story of how scared I was in that moment. One from concussion, two from you know I'd already dealt with depression, my entire you know adolescence and you know young adult life and had numerous bouts where I had just kind of gone down this deep, deep, dark hole. Football training, sacrifice and success really kind of pulled me back out of that. And that's continued, you know, really to this day. I continuously battle it. That's why it's saying, you know, spot the ball every day. You got to set up your trajectory and your aim for the day so that you have a purpose and you're guided towards light and positivity.
Shae Emry:But yeah, I just remember starting with what I knew, knew, which was I love to be outside.
Shae Emry:I wanted to share my love of the outdoors as a mechanism to kind of let get men to let their guards down so we could have conversations around their true human experience, which is what's actually going on. Are you good, like what's happening, not like I'm fine, like I'm looking for a little bit more depth and I had gone to counseling, I had a wonderful partner and have a wonderful partner who guided me through and up into those conversations and and to have the confidence and courage to have confident converse, uh, conversations around mental health and depression and concussion and lack of certainty and identity and what have you uh. So I just again I listened to my advisors and I just kind of went and and what was created was wellman and you know, retreats across the country and a bunch of uh notoriety in the men's health space, uh, which continues to this day to provide me with a platform to share my story and really just support dudes and having again those conversations with themselves around how they might want to show up better and might need to show up better.
Dai Manuel:Man. Thank you for the vulnerability, shay. I know anytime we start talking about mental health pieces, it's not always easy, right?
Dai Manuel:But yet it is more common than most people are even aware you know and I think we're becoming more aware of that, especially after COVID and the COVID hangover that we're still enduring and there's still lots of those remnants around the conversation around mental health and isolation and just the stuff that we were sort of enduring and and we didn't really have any choice in the matter, right. So, um and I know that your advocacy started a long time ago you were really leading this conversation in this space online. I remember I was still, uh, you know, running fitness town.
Dai Manuel:You know, back in the day when we first really were connected, and it was because we had so many mutual connections, you know, even if our names kept coming up in conversations. We had one another, which I thought was really funny.
Dai Manuel:You because, like you know, like even harvey stable, I was at tommy europe and I know these guys that you trained with and guys that I talked to, right, and I just think they're always bringing up your name right and the work you're doing and then also following you online, and so I really appreciate that you have been leading the charge in this conversation for a long time now over a decade and sorry, excuse me, uh, I wanted to you know before I dive into the wellman conversation, because I I know there's a lot of real important values that you support within that community and it's and it's being embraced and it's helping a lot of men.
Dai Manuel:But before we get to that, I I did want to talk briefly about the concussion piece okay because it is more common than most people are aware of the the head traumas and how it's affecting professional athletes in many, many, many sports. I lost a friend many years ago. This is going back about 17 years ago. He was a professional bobsledder competing in the olympics and unfortunately had so many concussions he really suffered mental health-wise and eventually took his life. It was just awful. None of us knew, but also the conversation wasn't front of mind, none of us had the resources or the tools to even address it.
Dai Manuel:It was just sort of like ignored it. We knew he was suffering, we could see it in his personality and yet nothing. You know, and I wish I knew. Now you know, and back then I wish I knew what I knew. Now you know, because I would have loved to have been able to support and help, and I know that this is something that's very real for you. You know, you've experienced this firsthand on the field, but also with people that you know. And I'm just curious do you see change happening around this? You know the concussion piece because I've seen it hit and miss, right like they talk about it but then they sort of brush it aside again yeah, you know, and I just I was curious your opinion on it.
Shae Emry:That's all you know my my experience with it is when I was playing I I didn't like even when I was hitting I was having the concussion. I didn't feel like I was making, like creating permanent damage. I felt like I was still structurally good and everything was good. I just had a headache for a little bit, or I could, you know, swoggy for a little bit, but then and I came back to life pretty quickly. But what I came to understand over the longterm is that when people would ask me this question or what are your symptoms? How is it? How has it manifested itself within your life? I don't get headaches, I don't have sensitivity, crazy sensitivity to light all the time.
Shae Emry:But what it did was it was really again, I'm going to use the word echo it echoed itself in a negative fashion when I was having too many drinks, or I wasn't sleeping properly, or my diet was crap, or my relationship energy wasn't in alignment, diet was crap, or my relationship energy wasn't in aligned, in alignment, or you know, go through the list of all of the different aspects of your life. Uh, I wasn't managing the, the little details of those, because I was so I was just kind of, you know, masking the pain of whatever, the uncertainty of identity or the identity piece that we talked about before, and so I didn't really come to understand that really, where concussion shows up for me is lack of organization, my inability to handle stress, irritability, not concussions or light sensitivity or you know those sorts of things. And and this is really where I've actually come to understand now is that when precipitation comes into the atmosphere, no different than someone with a bad knee back in the day would be like oh, I can tell it's going to rain in an hour because my knee is sore from the arthritis right or the the scar tissue or what have you. I get the same thing in my head If the weather changes and it's about the rain, all that, whatever barometric pressure.
Shae Emry:I'm not a doctor, but I know that every single time that it happens, my mood goes down and maybe I get a tiny little headache not really, but it's my mood that changes and I'm like huh, and that's really been my experience and the fact that it's not showed up in physical feelings, more so now, emotional feelings and obviously, as you mentioned, with what your friend had taken his life, is when you see these men in community or women in community that are, that are taking their lives or not.
Shae Emry:Well, due to concussions. I always want to take a look at the root cause, which is the things that we can control, which is our diet, our sleep, our stress, what we do for work. You know again, do we live in a climate where it's rainy and sunny all the time? Like all of these, they actually do matter, and so that's really where I come back to the concussion part is that it is real. There are physical, mental, emotional side effects and we need to be mindful of them, and I think you know, not trying to reinvent the wheel, but just taking care of the basic, basic health and wellbeing practices has been so crazy effective for me.
Shae Emry:Right, it's like it's been so crazy effective. Like just go to sleep at nine, don't 30,.
Shae Emry:Like don't stay up till midnight and wake up at five and be like I gotta work, I gotta do this bro, you slept four hours, you had nine cups of coffee, you smoked a joint last night and I think you had three beers at dinner with your buddies and you ate mcdonald's. How are you feeling today? Not great, not great. So it's really. It's really like take care of the basics and manage my concussion experience. But when I saw what was happening with Derek Bouguere, rick Griffin, wade Belak, junior Sayle, javon Fletcher, all those guys that was 2011,. 2012.
Shae Emry:That's when I was in my deep, dark depression from concussion. I was just like oh, what this is, I can see myself there. That is dangerous. Something needs to change. And that's where I started whelming to have that conversation and just be like. I needed to get it off my chest. I needed to share, like, hey, this is a serious thing for me. Like, am I going to be okay? Like, am I going to be okay? I still have those conversations with my wife now I have to be like, hey, like I know, this is the thing. Like, well, I'm not, it's not an excuse, I'm just, I'm sorry, I'm really having a tough day today and I'm not providing. It's like I know that I need to have more mindfulness around my communication or my hydration or what have you, because I didn't sleep and I didn't eat well, but at least I know I can again adjust those inputs a little bit more so that I can just again show up as a happier, healthier person when I spot the ball.
Dai Manuel:Thank you for sharing. I know it's not always easy to talk about some of these things, especially you know it's, I hate to say. It's not always easy to talk about some of these things, especially you know it's. It's I hate to say it, but it almost feels like a dirty little secret at times. You know, about professional sport especially in the high contact sports. You know, it doesn't really happen in tennis, uh or golf right Like a lot of these of sports where they're separated by distance.
Dai Manuel:But man, when you get that contact, you know I mean, gosh, like football is as primal as it gets. Man, it's like straight up, and as much equipment as you wear still isn't very much. All right, yeah, I know you're a big dude, man, I'm a big dude, but I'm I look small compared to you. Okay, when we're side by side, I know that. But I'm working on it, you know. But uh, regardless, I can just imagine it feels like you run into a brick wall or a brick wall is running into you, you know.
Dai Manuel:And so do you feel that this has been addressed by sport? Do you feel that they're actually taking steps to deal with this or at least offer support? Because what you so eloquently put, you know your experience in 2011, 2012,. Have you started to see change in professional sport? Like, I hear snippets and once in a while, you know, but I always wonder. It's like ah, this is just a PR stint. You know that they're just trying to. You know, as they say, they uh, I forget the term, but you know it's. It's it's like whitewashing in the media, right, like they're just sort of make themselves look really good but really no big significant changes are happening. And I'm just wondering, with your connections in the industry and what you've seen around sporting, are changes being implemented to help with this issue?
Shae Emry:I would say that there are 1000% new programs that have been created and implemented within player associations. Alumni associations are really supporting the issue of the lack of identity in that transition piece. Okay, nice, which was difficult for me from a mental health standpoint within my concussion equation. Yeah, with regard to the concussion equation, football is football. You know, jumping off of cliffs on mountain bikes, he's going to be jumping off of cliffs on mountain bikes. Um, you know, jumping off of cliffs on mountain bikes, he's going to be jumping off of cliffs on mountain bikes. Um, you know, I did this talk a couple of weeks, a couple of months ago, with a bunch of you know, really, really brilliant UBC neurosurgeons and doctors and around concussion and you know the.
Shae Emry:What I gathered from it is that we are in a. You know, we have some scuba gear on and we are trying to get down to the Marianas trench Like we're just finding out, we're just figuring out the imaging, we're just like. Time and energy needs to go into this, how to figure out how we can prevent concussion. We're not going to prevent broken bones, right, unless weverine and everyone you know can heal themselves.
Shae Emry:We're not going to prevent concussions, right, people are going to hit people, or the sports are just going to need to change, and I don't see that happening anytime soon because, right, the almighty dollar just loves that, those things, they love entertainment. And so when it comes to within the sport, I think, yes, there there's a little bit of a pr cloak going over all of the sports, and I was, you know, the first couple years of me being out of football. I didn't want to have anything to do it, I didn't want to watch it. I didn't want to go anything to do with it. I didn't want to watch it. I didn't want to go to the games. I was like football, my son's never going to play football, right. And then I would go to the Crankworx event up here, where the people are doing triple backflips on mountain bikes, landing on concrete wood, and my son turned around and he goes after everyone cheered Dad, I want to do that. And I was like football practice is next week, bro, yeah, right. I was like cause those guys need right and and and I, again, to Easter, own apples and oranges here. But if and then.
Shae Emry:This is what I said in this, this panel conversation is really if, like, if you're gonna have, if you're gonna coach your kid and provide the energy to your kid where they need to walk around wearing a bubble on their head, they're not gonna take risks. They need to fail. They need to fall down right. They need to learn how to pick themselves back up because you're not always going to have the ability to give them a hand to pick them up off the ground. They got to learn that from themselves and and whether it's concussions or you know, I have some friends in my adventure in adventure sport world who have 20 times the injuries that I've had and I'm at this.
Shae Emry:So I stepped away from trying to manage or gatekeep what my kids would like or maybe not like to do and just say what do you want to do? Because I'm going to support you, I'm going to push you, I'm going to train you to be the best in whatever you decide to do, and life will happen. And that's my mindset towards concussions right now, no different than it is towards spinal injury, or you know. I mean we can even talk about diet and how that's affecting people's chronic illnesses and diseases. So again, there's so many different things that can come at you these days. I think for now it's like go live your life again, spot the ball and get after and don't work. You can't always worry about the. You know everything coming around the corner for sure I listen.
Dai Manuel:I appreciate that. Again, it's uh when I I I notice out there it seems like there's a lot more conversation and dialogue around this and I think that just makes more awareness and presence around the conversation. So as soon as people are more aware of it, it changed normally happens organically, right, like just people recognize. There's got to be a better way or a safer way, you know. So yeah, but I do also appreciate sports. Of sport there's always gonna be a risk.
Dai Manuel:There just is it's the nature of it um, I don't know if they can create a helmet that's to be guaranteed to be concussion proof, but who knows, maybe somebody's going to figure that out right but, uh, I, I don't think so, because our noggins just don't have that extra support yet. So, uh, um, listen, I I thank you for this, because I can see how that would have been the seeds for what grew into wellman, but also your businesses that are really focused on play.
Dai Manuel:And I was wondering what's, what's the deal with that man? What's up with all the play? I mean, I love to play, so I'm not. This is not a negative, this is a positive. But why, why? Why that focus, or that intentional focus to create? Businesses that encourage more play, especially for adults. Okay, like this is adults play time, man and some of your business dude, I've seen it on social. My wife um you know she's. She's uh been a big Joey's restaurant supporter.
Shae Emry:Correct.
Dai Manuel:And often we get hired to come and support them during their big event. That's always in Whistler and I know that you've been contracted by them a number of times your businesses to support the play. And, man, she comes back and she can't wipe the grin off her face, okay, so, um, I, I remember her telling me about those experiences. So please just talk about where did this, where did this inspiration to help people play more come from and why?
Shae Emry:thanks. That's such a great prompt. I think, really, how it all formulated was playing football, right, you're a kid a kid when I was 28,. I was playing a game that I grew up playing right. And you play with so many different people from all over the world and you come together in that moment of competition. There are no titles, there is no bank accounts measurements, there's none of that right. It's like, hey, we're here to do this job. I don't care if you have an accent like this or an accent like that, or you grew up playing this sport or going to that school. We're here to do this job, do your job, I'll do mine. We'll win High five, boom French for life.
Shae Emry:And so, transitioning out of football and not knowing what I want to do, but knowing that I want to service this community and bring people together through positive experiences, because I had such a great upbringing, was afforded so many great opportunities to play golf, tennis, snowboarding, play all the sports and do all the camps. And I was very privileged in that when I got to the point where I didn't have an answer to the question, when my wife asked me like what are you passionate about? What do you want to do like you should get a job or start something or whatever. And I started wellman. I just knew that I wanted to create those positive experiences for people to, you know, come out of their skin a little bit and, you know, have fun around activities that we love do.
Shae Emry:And then it really turned into like competition and play are something that really brings people together. So, whether it was through Wellman or then you know, which transitioned and transformed into my events company, axewood, it was really around. I can have a CEO, a CFO, a janitor, the head of marketing, all competing on four acts, throwing targets and I'm making jokes and they're all competing and they're high-fiving against each other. And you know, johnny and Sally are competing in the finals and it's just. I'm there like a commentator but I'm also facilitating the shit talking a little bit, you know.
Shae Emry:Well, we already know that you were voted twice by your peers, so I can imagine you're a great shit talker precisely precisely and uh, and so I had that experience with axwood and then I just wanted I kind of wanted to do more, but lay, it really prompts camaraderie and togetherness. So, whether it was the work that I did within corporate or in community events, I just really loved the moment that you and I we never met each other but we're doing this random carnival stand thing together and now we're competing and we're high-fiving at the end. I just love that and the playfulness really prompts, you know, again, people take their jackets off, they put their wallets and their sunglasses down and they're like, okay, I get to throw a snowball at my boss right now. This is pretty awesome play and and it all spawned from again such a positive upbringing and being able to, you know, be a kid in a locker room till 28, 29 and and wanted to provide that opportunity for other you know work environments and that's where actward and and everything came together and and I've been super fortunate honestly died to work with. You know.
Shae Emry:You mentioned, you know, joey and every organization in the lower mainland, tons of global organizations that would come to Whistler or to BC to work, you know, to do some sort of conferencing or team building and be vended out and I actually, yeah, just really thrived in front of people and having that micro opportunity to say to get them to smile and to compete and to have fun, uh in a way that they might not have expected, or throw axes, it's like no, I'm like, I'm, I'm, I'm like kind of surgical with this whole thing, right. So, yeah, it's a fun opportunity. I'm super grateful to have had the opportunity to to kind of work into the, the business community, uh, through play and and really through camaraderie and, you know, the growth of the people that are, that are there I well, I think it's great.
Dai Manuel:Yeah, because again, I've spoken to a number of people that have had opportunities to play with your specific events, you know and. I've even had the opportunity. I forget which event it was, but you had set up your axe throwing kits and gosh.
Shae Emry:Superhuman.
Dai Manuel:Summit. Thank you, superhuman Summit man. Good memory Shay Gosh look at this guy. This guy's awesome.
Shae Emry:Cautions what.
Dai Manuel:Yeah, how you doing man, I can see those neurons firing because mine weren't. But, uh, I, I, yeah, and it was just. It's such a fun experience. You can't help but just smile, right, and that that emotion and psychological benefit, but also the physical uplifting of that right. Things just feel lighter. So I can see how this impacts things. But also, competition's not a bad thing. Competition breeds innovation, right, but also it does bring people together. It builds camaraderie. I really got to you know. My hat's off to you. Thank you, it's awesome. A little logistical question what was the deal with snowballs? Do you have a snowball machine or do you hire a team of people that pack snowballs, like?
Shae Emry:a couple of Sasquatches, you know. I think you know. Speaking of innovation and competition, I've been running an axe throwing business for about six years and then Axtron became this like global trend, kind of like, you know, and you know every town, you would go to every city.
Shae Emry:there's now an Axtron venue, right like you know, a bowling alley or whatever, with beer and food, great social, and I was like I got what's different, what's next? What's next here, right. And so I remember I was at the top of Whistler St Patrick's Day, 2017, 2018. And there's this big party out there, right, a bunch of young adults having fun, maybe a thousand people on one side, a thousand people on the other, with a big event. It was unsanctioned, but a big jump in the middle and people are, you know, going off with their shirts off it's. You know, springtime, spring skin, classic whistler vibes.
Shae Emry:And I remember that this massive snowball fight broke out and everyone was so uninhibited because they had helmets on and they had goggles on and they had like some sort of balaclava or whatever, so they felt super and so it was just like crazy. So I was like that's it, and so I came up with this idea for avalanche avalanche, which is essentially a paintball style snowball fight, and that turned, you know, turned into, you know, taking over the tennis club here in whistler, implementing an entire advanced program and this brand new ideated tourism option. You know, unfortunately, covid hit the day. So March 13th, 2020, was the first time I ever operated a commercial snowball fight and it was all I remember the kids from the birthday party there was a or the.
Shae Emry:It was a school field trip. The kids were like, hey, take my COVID helmet. And I was like, ah, maybe this is going to be a thing. And, you know, ended up ended up working through that and uh, and creating the idea and and being able to operate at great events like the Joey event and a couple of different you know big events and. But done it all over and in this winter, in the summer, anywhere, right, and uh, I just had so much fun again, you know, leveling the playing field, creating some competition, innovating and just completely surprised with people with the amount of fun they can have, just like what I'm going to say it's 25 degrees.
Shae Emry:They're snowballs. These are real. Oh my God, boom Right, it's the coolest thing man yeah.
Dai Manuel:Like Shane, so, and it's just so novel but also genius, you know, I, I really, I think it's just great, I think it's great.
Shae Emry:Thank you.
Dai Manuel:Like, who doesn't love to throw snowballs, you know?
Shae Emry:it's fun.
Dai Manuel:There's just something about it and it's instant nostalgia, right like I grew up in ontario, I mean there's snow out there, you know, and snowball fights. It was a, you know, it's a rite of passage, man. Yeah, so um speaking of rite of passages, though, back to wellman for a second here. Yeah, um, I I was curious, you know, like with the work that you've done with malam, because you were, you were ahead of the curve there. Yes.
Dai Manuel:You know like and I I'm not a big fan of the terminology around woke and the woke movement. Okay, like I, just I think it's been misappropriated and it's not necessarily.
Shae Emry:You know it's, it's very. Don't get me started. Yeah, I don't want to go there. Um want to go there. Um, I've already got a podcast episode in the can where I go off a little bit about.
Dai Manuel:we don't need more woke men, we just need men that are awake and present to life, you know. But again about the work thing, anyways, I don't want to go there, um, but I do realize that you were getting involved in these conversations online and offline, before it was really a thing, because, I mean, the me too movement really brought some of these conversations and themes to the forefront, yeah, and that didn't happen until, you know, mid to what was it like around 2014 to 2017? I mean, the Me Too movement really brought some of these conversations and themes to the forefront, yeah, and that didn't happen until, you know, mid to what was it like around 2014 to 2017?
Shae Emry:Somewhere in there.
Dai Manuel:Somewhere in there, but you were doing this before that. So what have you learned? Since operating Wellman Because Wellman's now you know it's got tenure it's been around. For over 10 years You've been facilitating so many different conversations bringing men together. What, for over 10 years, you've been facilitating so many different conversations bringing men together? What are some of the themes that you've been seeing?
Dai Manuel:but also how have you been seeing some of those things improve or change Like cause, you know, I want to get a little bit of optimism here as we get to the end and let all the men out there know that listen, hey, it's all good yeah. It's going well, you know.
Shae Emry:So, please, I'd love to hear your thoughts on that. So there's a pendulum, right, yeah, and I think when I found my calling with Wellman and I wanted to have these conversations and do this type of work, yes, I was. I was 10 years early, because now you look at where it's at now, there's tons of men's, groups, lots of retreats happening, so much great work being done Amazing Right. So much great work being done Amazing Right. And uh, and again, I I would say from a operational standpoint I stopped doing the retreats probably about, yeah, five years ago. I wonder what prompted that.
Dai Manuel:Yeah, right, right.
Shae Emry:So I stopped doing that and really focused on the commercial operation of my business, which was like corporate events, activations, those sorts of things that were, you know, paying money so I could feed my family. But I digressed, going back to the pendulum. So when I jumped into it it was very like yoga was exploding and mindfulness and conversation. So I I, I lost myself right in that.
Shae Emry:I stopped lifting heavy weights and and feeling like I could be like a man with bravado and as transitioning out of football and into this, I didn't know if I had any left or where we were going to come from went from where it was 10 years ago to, you know, like you said, uh, the wokeness, and men being even further repressed or feeling that they were further repressed. Thank you, uh, hey, you can't be like that anymore. You can't even be how you were raised to be right and to the point where it's. It went way over the side of it in the screen anymore, maybe two, three years ago, where myself I mean men, they just didn't want to open their mouth because they're just like, well, if I say anything, the rest of my business might get shut down right Might get canceled.
Shae Emry:God Canceled right Totally. But business family, who knows? Who knows what people are thinking and where they're at on the spectrum and it is coming back right and I think there's like a normalcy that people are like hey, everyone is welcome right.
Shae Emry:Yeah, and the conversation is welcome, the reasonable conversation around. Hey, you have your human experience. This is a dude that's showing up in the world and they're making it approachable for all men to have conversations. Yeah, some are a little bit more off sides, which you know, take it or leave it, the information's there, but the lines of communication have opened back up. Lines of communication had opened back up and I feel like, personally, I'm being called back to the table and I remember, I remember I think it was a Jordan Peterson thing or something like that, and he was like we don't need leaders who slap back right All this pendulum stuff. We don't need leaders who are coming back and just start slapping everyone and and cause slapping turns to kicking and punching and it's just back and forth, back and forth. We need leaders who can have that conversation, take it in you, you know, water off a duck's back, but also provide with you know, a little bit more empathy and compassion.
Shae Emry:But still go, lift weight, still grunt, still be the man that you were raised to be, the one that you've been always trying to become, and and empower young men to do that as well right and and I think that's where it is it's like we need to empower young men to be men and young women to be women and people to really, you know, blossom into themselves and then whatever they choose to do, because the whole conversation around um, you know where, where our economic, where our economy is going, uh, how we're going to survive, we need trades, we need, we need people who are going to do the dairy work and, and you know, be able to work with their hands and get shit done.
Shae Emry:And that's where I I love it, because those conversations are happening and I see them and and that's kind of what I'm communicating to my young son, who's nine, is, you know, hard work, being a good person, proper etiquette of the dinner table, just simple stuff. Like you know all the rules, and if something doesn't fit with my ethos, which reverts to like some of those other voices, then I just exclude it, or it's just not the way that I'm nurturing my child, and and that's really where I'm the positivity and optimism comes from, because you can make your own decisions, you can do whatever you want, uh, as long as you're not hurting people. Like, go after your dreams and the things that you want to do right. I wanted to start an axe throwing company and a snowball fight company, and it really provided me access to every demographic of people. So I've worked with X to Z, a to Z.
Shae Emry:I've worked with everybody and I've had the opportunity to, you know, show up in that moment as myself, not someone who you know, is a bravado masculine dude, but like a guy that coaches young five, six year olds how to make snowballs and makes jokes and have fun with them.
Shae Emry:But you know, because you know, at some point, as you know a 22-year-old man, you're going to need to learn how to have a conversation with a young, six-year-old girl, because you might be a father one day, and so that's really where I'm so optimistic. Again, a lot of noise coming from all angles. We need to really protect our sphere, we need to protect our ecosystem and and that is what I've been focusing on the most which is the energy that I have, the music that goes on my ears, how I, you know, launch my day, because everything's reflective and how I'm gonna, it like literally goes down into my bones if I'm listening to the wrong music and I come home angry because I'm like, oh, I had to hype myself up at the gym and now I'm just angry. Dad, like no, bro, like, manage your frequency, manage your energy. Who's in your life, what kind of people are they complaining all the time? You got to cut out that negative frequency and really just nourish everything about what you spend your time doing, who you spend your time with.
Dai Manuel:You know those are all wonderful insights and reminders and I know that's also come through not only the experience that you've had professionally, but also just your own personal journey, and that's why I resonate very much with what you've shared and I relate a lot to it. And you know keep in mind everyone that's listening that we are two men. You know, she and I, that you know we identify as men. Okay, like this is our perspective, our experience.
Dai Manuel:Uh, just like you know, my daughters are women who identify as women you know, and I have friends that are are transgender, I have friends that are lgbtqt, you know, like all that stuff. So we all, gender is important, you know, but the watering down of the conversations around genders, I I think is a little bit misleading at times, right like because it's, you're right, this whole woke movement has made men start questioning what's okay and what's not okay to say anymore and how to express ourselves, and we're already challenged to be vulnerable, right?
Dai Manuel:like we already are like just the cliches, the stereotypes, especially since you know the 50s, 60s, 70s, you know, and beyond. It's really done a number on how men are represented, especially in north america and developed countries. And, um, I, I just love that you have an organization that is just opening people's ears, minds and hearts to this conversation. That's how we all grow and how we identify change. Is we got to just be able to talk about this in a civil way and constructive way, you know, and I just really appreciate what you're doing to help facilitate that and to create the space for these conversations to happen organically and and and actually make a difference you know, like it's.
Dai Manuel:Uh. So I, I just I commend you, but I also a deep amount of respect for what you've created, shay, and what you continue to create, what you're going to continue to offer the world. Uh, it's been such a treat having you here today, and I I was curious because I want to just ask this before I go to my sort of last question. I always like to let my guests have the last word and I I know what.
Dai Manuel:So what's going on with the the golf long drive competitions? Because, dude, I, I, you know what that's about. As manly as it gets all right.
Shae Emry:Yeah, that is awesome. It's a, it's a great segue. So, quick story COVID, my wife and I separate for three and a half years. We just got back together.
Shae Emry:A year ago I had been running a tennis club, axewood Wellman, doing a lot of this and not showing up as my best self, so I've actually ceased operations of Axewood, of Avalanche, of like well, I'm again, I show up as myself and I provide the vision for what I'm I want my voice to sound like and that is the ethos of it. And you know, play is super important with how I'm showing up in, you know, public speaking or conferencing, or you know, corporate events, moving forward activations. And I needed to get a blank slate and move on. And so, you know, we got back together and we've kind of like journeyed to the point where, hey, what are you committing to physically to make you in alignment every day? I've got proper trajectory.
Shae Emry:And so she started bodybuilding, uh, to really just get back into her body and really connect with everything. And she's like, well, I'm doing this, what are you going to do? And that, as a pro athlete or former pro athlete, I have been looking for something where I could compete, to be long to be world class at something right, or to be professional at something. And I was on Instagram at the time and I was like what about this? And I turned the camera around. It's like two like six foot two, six foot four dude, just like hitting and be like after the screaming at the ball right, and she's like you need to do that. Yes, and so you know, I kind of dabbled a little bit. I went to a couple competitions and you know, didn't register one on the first competition. You know came second in the second competition, got the longest ball of the day in the third competition and then uh how far did you hang it?
Dai Manuel:wait, wait, wait. How far to go?
Shae Emry:383. Yeah, um, so that was that's my pr right now. And then I went to another one last sunday and it was like the Canadian team qualifier.
Dai Manuel:So you have to get a certain, I won Dude.
Shae Emry:So does that mean you don't have Ken I. You had to get enough points to make it onto the team, so I didn't make it, but you know I'm. This is the. The decision that I made this year, uh, was again step away from most businesses and and really move into the business of facilitating team growth and team building through my wife's company, sphere, where we provide access to the 400 coaches that use our app that my wife created, and so it was in alignment with me, is getting back into competition, getting my own personal fitness coach, swing coach you know, coach coach on the platform as well and and really striving for something different, striving for something great, and so in that process, I told myself like, hey, this year is going to be about a slow step into the golf world and figure it out. I just won my, my first competition and I'm competing at the world long drive uh amateur event in Ontario July. Wow, which golf course.
Dai Manuel:Is it at?
Shae Emry:It's, it's in port Rowan, so I can't remember the name of the golf course. But the World Long Drive Tour is essentially, you know, the PGA Tour, but for a long drive and I think they're on ESTN for like five of the events or three of the events. So this event is in Canada. And so I was like, hey, I'll go over there, I will look at the stage, step on the stage and if I win that amateur session I go into the regional qualifier the next day and then, if I win that, I actually can go to the world championships.
Shae Emry:And so, you know, die, I've put everything into my fitness over the last two years. It was my one foundation, and so I'm stronger now than I was playing college football, where you're lifting heavy every day. I am, you know, obviously dialed in watching my nutrition and my and my sleep and my recovery. But you know, I'm using a fitness trainer, my old trainer, jim deal from ellipse athletics, who I've been working with basically my entire cfl career. Uh, and you know, we're getting myself to be ready to be a professional athlete again, and that day on last sunday was the first time that I showed up at any of these events as a pro athlete here, right, yeah, all the things stopped.
Shae Emry:And you know, my and I was, I was, I was locked in, I had my notes, I had my and I was prepped and, uh, it wouldn't have happened if I didn't have all the coaches and the guides to. You know, invite me to do that. No, show up as your best self, bro. And that's where, you know, the work that I've been doing with sphere has really it's been. You know, it's been forcing me to to really think about what I'm selling. Right, what I'm selling is like no, you've got to show up as your best self because you're going to be able to serve your people.
Shae Emry:Take care of yourself, manage all those little aspects of your life that we talked about. All. Manage all those little aspects of your life that we talked about so that when you show up for your kid, you have good energy, or show up for work, you have great energy, or you show up for your wife's or date night, it's the best version of yourself. And when I showed up to that, that tournament, I was like I'm I gotta win this thing, like, if I want to do this, like I gotta, I'm gonna start like let's perform. And uh, and that's where I was just stoked to. You know, I hit it 351 into the wind, uh, and it was. I was just stoked to be able to compete with, uh, you know, guys that are on team canada last year and the year before that and win, and just know that. Like I know that I'm supposed to be there and I'm just getting started.
Dai Manuel:I think that's so great and, uh, you know, keep my eyes out to watch the competition as it unfolds. And good luck in the area. Crush it man. And uh, it must be exciting for you to just to get back to that competitive Like I know myself, like I never played professionally in any sports, but I've always been competitive with myself. You know self, like I never play professionally in any sports, but I've always been competitive with myself, you know. And when I discovered crossfit and started competing in that, it was just this.
Dai Manuel:It's still more about just me competing against myself, but it was fun to to have that camaraderie so I can see where that appeal is, just to connect with the community that are as passionate about something like a sport, uh and, and share that passion, right Like it's just it's fun, like to come right back to your plate, comments and and I think that's the important piece right Like I can imagine now being at the level that you're at maturity wise, especially mentally and spiritually. You know just being much more mature. You know, as a father and just as an entrepreneur, that's built in businesses.
Dai Manuel:You know it's always easy to say in hindsight, you know I wish I knew that's back then um, but the fact that you're approaching this, this new sporting endeavor it looks like you're, you have it's fun, right like, right from the get-go. It's playtime and, uh, is that fair to say? Is it is, is this play Like? Do you look at sport and competition differently now than you did in the past?
Shae Emry:My mom is calling me.
Dai Manuel:Oh, that's okay. Hey, mom, what's?
Shae Emry:up. Sorry, are we going to edit? No, totally.
Dai Manuel:Hey, so so when it comes to play and the new sport, like when you're looking at new sports now, and especially now with long drive, right, yeah, it did you find that your approach coming back to sport now is so much different than when you went into professional football?
Shae Emry:100% Right now. I know that what it takes to perform at a high level, I trust my physical abilities, my mental capabilities, you know, and my spiritual preparation for it all. And so, you know, moving into it, uh, and understanding that I want to take it slow, I'm not, I'm not expecting to win the world championship in. After six months of work and using a driver my buddy gave me out of his bag Cause he's like oh, I have a long drive driver here, you go, go um. But you know I'm gonna give it my darndest, that's for sure. And I am, you know, I'm gonna compete at with every facet of my being, uh, and and so that's really where I know that I'm, I'm able to give something, my all uh, because I'm okay, I'm, I'm already doing the fitness training and now have a purpose for that. It's not taking any more time, uh. And then, with the mental stuff is like I'm having conversations with my wife and my kids around how much time it's going to take, and taking it slow, uh, but uh, you know, knowing what it takes to compete at the highest level. And you know I'm not doing that this year.
Shae Emry:This is next year's summer goal, which is world tour, and you know, build up to the starting job, right, I'm not trying to expect her come into camp and be like, yeah, this is my team, but it's like, no, you're going to work up to that. I'm all in an effort to one. It's a great business community golf. It's on an upswing for sure. So everything leads towards me being in the ring, being in the, in the arena, uh, and you know, conversing with, you know, the sponsors, people that I'm, you know business development for sphere, right, so, uh, everything, everything is in alignment with the direction that we've decided to go. And it really brings me back to the primal nature of playing football, right, the gladiators, and, and you know, when you come back to golf, you know it's like golf is such a crazy sport. You know corporate golf tournaments I'm sure you've been to a bunch of those oh yeah, and you, you know for golfers who golf the long drive contest.
Shae Emry:It means something, right?
Shae Emry:Ah, it sure does right and and in within that golf tournament.
Shae Emry:And so I was trying to explain it to my, my wife, and she I don't know if she gets it yet on like that that specific part of the tournament.
Shae Emry:But I told her my dad is like, oh yeah, it's like the only thing that matters, like people just love, like who can hit the ball furthest, and and so that's really where I'm just excited to get onto the stage and be able to unleash and ventilate all the stresses of life into that singular moment when I know I've hit the ball and it's the prep, is all in alignment and again just enthused to again, you know, release some of the shackles that I put on myself in the past, whether it be through COVID or, you know, being a transition athlete out of football, you know a young entrepreneur trying to figure out that and juggle all those things and now just be, you know, super focused on my, my, my family's frequency, and you know, moving through kind of a financial hardship of COVID and running an events company and truly just being able to kind of step back into my, you know, visceral being and and absolutely annihilate a goal and and do it in in a fashion that really, um, you know, I've been playing golf since I was like a walk and, uh, I feel like I'm right where I need to be.
Dai Manuel:Yeah, it's exciting, man, and, uh, it's been just such a wonderful conversation today. I know we didn't really get into sphere too much, uh, but I I do. I would love to have your wife on in a future episode to really talk about sphere and where that came from. And, uh, you know, I think that would be wonderful to have her back because, uh, I know I have a lot of coaches that listen to this podcast. Uh, just be part of my network and any tool that helps us make greater impact with the people that we work with and the communities that we work with.
Dai Manuel:I'm all about promoting so Wonderful Footnote here everybody, we're going to have more conversation on Sphere, but I do link to it in the show notes for those that are curious and want to know a bit more about it. It's in the show notes. Go check it out, Along with all of Shay's contact information and links to his socials. You definitely want to follow along. It's always entertaining. But also, you're going to learn something, You're going to be inspired, You're going to get motivated, You're going to be you know what.
Dai Manuel:You're going to get treated to some real conversation you know, which we all need more of, especially in the filtered world and filtered landscape of social media. It's nice to see you know people being raw, being wrong, to be honest, yeah, so, uh, I I thank you for that, shay, and you know it is. I like to give my, my, my guests, the last word, and so I got a question for you. You ready, you ready, you ready.
Shae Emry:I'm ready.
Dai Manuel:Sure For those that are listening or watching this and they're still here, right? What advice would you give someone that's feeling stuck but also looking for a way to realign their lives their life specifically? What advice would you give that person?
Shae Emry:fearguide. All transparency coaches need coaches. All the great leaders have leaders. You know you've had parents or advisors raising you, teachers in school, older friends. Find people that you can align with, that have the right energy, not like what it's serving your mentality right now, people that are going to call you up and out. And you know, do a uh inventory on the Rolodex of your friends, because I'm I'm sure that half of them might not fit the bill for who you want to be in the future.
Shae Emry:And, uh, and I'm just so grateful that I've been able to, you know, have those conversations with myself and and nourish the friends that might not fit. Nourish them to have those conversations with them. Like, hey, is this how you want to show up? So, again, again, coaches need coaches and leaders need leaders. And I'm just happy to have had, you know, the gamut, full gamut of great people in my life to you know, support me through dark, dark times and tough times, uh, and stand by me when I wasn't showing up as that person. So I showed up to my wife for, you know, again, three and a half years of separation and now we're back and happier than ever. And it only happened through counseling and working with people to help us get to where we want to be.
Dai Manuel:Well, thanks for being just a wonderful example of what's possible, you know, possible when we embrace hey, I want to change, I want to make some changes, I want to be intentional with my changes and and it's okay not to know how to do that but also a great reminder about we'll find someone, a mentor, a coach, you know, somebody that maybe a few steps ahead, that can offer a hand and just help us along a little bit for that next little leg of the journey. It doesn't have to be forever, but for the moment that that segment of the journey right, that segment of the trailheads, I guess and and I, I just look at your life it's been very much that living example, and so thank you for being here today to share some of those highlights. I know we, we, we condensed a lot into a very short period of time and it just means I'm going to have to have you back again to talk more about some of the topics let's do it.
Dai Manuel:Yeah, there's going to be questions. I know that and everybody. If you haven't seen the new feature and when you click open the show notes, there's a little link there it says shoot me a text questions, thoughts, feedback, suggestions for future shows. Please take that, use it, just click on it. Send me a message, comments for Shay anything that you've taken away from today, uh, I like to pass that on to the guests, uh, so they can also come back and address some of those questions. So, uh, don't hesitate to to engage and interact. Go check out Shay's profiles and, and, shay, you know, thank you and honestly, this has been just an awesome conversation today. I really enjoyed it. I know it's gone a lot longer than my normal episodes, but it's because, man, we were just vibing and I loved what we were talking about.
Shae Emry:So this has just been, awesome, amazing, well, thank you.
Dai Manuel:Appreciate the time Now. As I said in the intro, was that not an incredible convo with Shea Emery? I'm so inspired by his journey from a fierce competitor on the football field to a compassionate leader in men's health and wellness. His message about the importance of play, adventure and fostering authentic connections is something we can all take to heart. Remember, growth isn't just about the big wins. It's about those small, consistent actions, those 2% solutions that all add up to real change.
Dai Manuel:Today's episode resonated with you. Be sure to check out Shay's work at Exwood and Wellman. You'll find all the links in the show notes. So don't hesitate to dive deeper into the world of men's health and adventure that Shay is pioneering. And, of course, we want to hear from you. What do you think of today's episode? What's one small action you're going to take after hearing Shay's story? Drop us a review, share your thoughts and let's keep this convo flowing. Your feedback means the world to me and helps me bring more impactful content your way. Lastly, if you found value in today's discussion, make sure to subscribe and maybe just hit that little share link, because I bet you there's one person in your life that could benefit from Shay's story. Feel free to share it out to them and let's keep that ripple effect of positive change flowing, one 2% shift at a time. Thanks for tuning in and until next time, keep challenging yourself to be just a little bit better every day, because you're worth it. Take care, I'll see you next episode.
