In this first guest episode of Beyond Strides, I sit down with Ieva — movement lover and community builder — to talk about what it really takes to create something meaningful as a woman in a male-dominated industry. We get into the messy, beautiful reality of building community through sport, the mental and emotional toll of competition, and why movement has to be about more than performance or aesthetics.

We talk about our own upbringings in Lithuania and Berlin, what COVID did to our sense of belonging, and the identity shifts that come with growing older in sport. I share my story of finding my way back to running — not through metrics or milestones, but through intuition and mental health — and Ieva opens up about the challenges of starting Beyond Berlin, a space for connection and liberation through movement.

This conversation is for anyone who's ever felt like they didn’t quite fit into traditional sports spaces. We talk about gender dynamics in coaching, accessibility in tennis, the illusion of social media leadership, and what it actually takes to build an inclusive, honest, and sustainable sports culture.

If you have any questions or topics you want me to talk about, feel free to shoot me a message.

Your support means a lot to me - pls like, comment & share this one - more people tuning in means I can spend more capacity on this work

Thanks for tuning in,

Andi

Find me on IG: @the_andi_g

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Edit: Juju Kim / IG: @juju__kim

Graphic Design: Anna Ruther / IG: @tabula__rassa

Sound Design: Johannes Wagner & Felix Wagner / IG: @j.manuel.live & @fjaak