Real Talent with Phil Gaimon

Real Talent is a podcast by Phil Gaimon, a former professional road racing cyclist, which features interviews with a wide variety of current and former athletes on their professional journeys.

This episode came across my radar because of its interview with Andrew Ference, a former National Hockey League defenceman. As a true Canadian, I'm a hockey nut, and so it's always interesting to hear the journeys these guys have taken for me.

Ference's path is especially familiar to me as he hails from my home province of Alberta. His interview is a really interesting one: he was never a superstar-caliber player, but a guy who made it on the basis of hard work, forging a very successful NHL career (16 seasons) that includes a Stanley Cup win with the 2011 Boston Bruins. Ference is very down-to-earth and over the course of more than an hour provides a great narrative of what being an NHL player actually entails, from the routines, to the off-ice locker room dynamics, to the emotions of the playoffs.

This is a great interview even if you're not a hockey fan, but merely have an interest in what the life of a professional athlete actually looks like. Phil gives his guests wide leeway to talk and with good interviewees like Ference it works well. Enjoyed the episode thoroughly.