Today we’d like to introduce you to Katy Galli.
Katy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I graduated college and my track and field career came to a close, I did not know who I was… I truly believed that, on all fronts, I had peaked. I felt as if I had no identity, because my whole life, it seemed my identity was wrapped up in being an athlete. If I did not have my sport, then I did not know who I was. Through a long journey that began with starting a dog bed business (MallardMade in the USA), then starting a blog, (This Week At Disney), and eventually, to learning about the medium of podcasting, I found myself on the path I am on today.
Upon graduation, I started researching former athletes in an effort to help me through this “mourning” season, but all I came up with was blog post after blog post of former athletes lamenting about the life they once lived as athletes and seeming unhappy in the careers they found themselves in post-sport. And I didn’t like that. Other than realizing, I wasn’t alone in my identity struggle, I would not accept a life of reminiscing and stagnation. So, I started curating the stories of any former athletes who would speak to me so that I could better understand this transitional period in my life. I began by interviewing people over email, but upon learning about podcasting, taught myself how to record and edit shows, and captured my interviews in the form of audio. Today, I have collected 141 episodes of my Keep Moving Forward podcast (though if you look, I am on episode 142, because I skipped episode 100 and reserved it for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. I have a social media pursuit in the works to get him on my podcast). I created the resource I wanted when I graduated college, the one that shows you that you are not alone and that everything you learned as an athlete is directly transferable into whatever you choose to do next in your life.
Today, every decision I make is determined with my “true north” driving me: will this help me get in front of former athletes so that I can help them to keep moving forward? With the mission of my podcast in mind, I am the Sprints and Jumps Coach for the Oglethorpe University Track & Field team (my Alma Mater) and I am a Level 2 CrossFit coach.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I have an incredible family and support system who’ve always encouraged me to pursue my dreams, so when things do get challenging, they are always there to pick me up. Even after starting a business, though, truly the most difficult thing was learning to accept my identity is not dependent upon any one thing that I do, but is rooted in something much larger than myself. This is a journey I am very much still on today.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Keep Moving Forward – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
When I started Keep Moving Forward, I did not find any other medium like it. So, I started what I wish existed. Today, I am certainly not the only podcast out there with this mission, but I know that I am in a very small niche, targeted at an audience in desperate need of this content. I know this intimately because, before Keep Moving Forward, I was one of those individuals in desperate search of meaning. I used to believe that I was destined for the Olympics, to stand on the World’s Stage as an athletic champion. But now I see that was never my purpose, that was never the path I was on. Through everything, I was always meant to help the athletes just like me. Every athlete’s career comes to a close at some point in life, there is no way around that, but that does not mean her life ends at that time. It means her purpose is far greater than any sport played. And that is what I am most proud of: knowing that the stories I have the opportunity to help share could fall on the ears of exactly the person who needs to hear it most… the former athlete who needs to know that she has worth beyond her sport.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
To grow Keep Moving Forward into all that it can become. I want to help every athlete I come across on some piece of his/her journey, no matter how small.
I also have the goal of interviewing The Rock for episode 100 of Keep Moving Forward. I have had a social media pursuit out to get him since Thanksgiving 2017, and I will not give up until I get an interview with him. This last part of the year, my pursuit is taking the form of trying to get his attention by training to do the workout “Murph” in a 14-pound weight vest on December 31, just before the year is out. I’ve been documenting my training every day on my social media channels, and I put out there that if I successfully complete “Murph” in my vest on December 31, then he should give me this interview. I put out a call to action for anyone who is willing, to do Murph with me on the 31st, take a picture or video of it, and tag The Rock and Keep Moving Forward on all social media to try and get his attention.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://keepmovingforward.us/
- Phone: 9084727932
- Email: katygalli.kg@gmail.com
- Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/keepmovingforwardstudio/
- Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/KeepMovingForwardStudio/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/KMFpodcast
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katy-galli-a44222a2/
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
