Today we’d like to introduce you to Jourdan Johnson

Hi Jourdan, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?

My name is Jourdan Johnson—reformed athlete, author of *The Sports Tunnel: Every Athlete Dies Twice*, and a voice of motivation and empowerment for athletes and individuals striving for more. My journey began with sports; it’s the foundation of who I am and everything I stand for. Basketball didn’t just teach me about life—it prepared me for the path I walk today. It gave me my “toolbox” filled with determination, discipline, grit, resilience, and so much more. These tools shaped me into a performer, but for most of my life, I only knew how to perform with the ball in my hand. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I started to envision life without it.

Growing up, basketball was my way out. It exposed me to different parts of the world, but in terms of career options, I didn’t see many beyond the game. While I wasn’t surrounded by heavy crime or chaos, those realities felt more relatable to me than corporate America due to my family roots. So for me, basketball wasn’t just a choice—it was the best option out of a limited set of opportunities.

I’ve seen many athletes fall off course. I’ve watched some give up when the road got tough, and others struggle to balance their dedication to the game with other distractions. But for me, I made a promise to give my life to basketball. The game protected me. It kept me safe from bad influences and helped me connect with the world. When you ask me how I started, it’s important to understand what that ball meant and still means to me up until now .

I picked up a basketball at four years old, and from that moment, my identity , value and purpose was tied to the game. From four to twenty four years old, basketball was all I knew. As a shorter guard, I had to overcome both physical and mental challenges early on. While basketball is said to be 80% mental and 20% physical, shorter players tap into that mental aspect even earlier. We have to develop grit and heart just to compete, and that shaped me from the very beginning.

My life was a series of transitions—four different elementary schools, three different high schools, and four colleges. Each move brought uncertainty and empty promises but basketball served as my constant. It gave me a sense of purpose, kept me grounded, and gave me my identity. The challenges I faced on the court mirrored the challenges of life—stress, uncertainty, and adversity. But through it all, I found growth in the struggle and ultimately, I found myself.

One of the highlights of my career came during my senior year of college. I was in a great system, surrounded by good coaches, and playing great basketball. I was confident, focused, and in my zone. The future looked bright. And then, on January 4th, 2020, everything changed.

I was standing on the left wing, the shot clock winding down. I drove toward the free-throw line, and as I planted my right foot to stop, I felt a pop in my hip and collapsed. Moments later, I was in the emergency room, listening to a doctor explain how I had generated so much force through my leg that my femur broke through my hip socket. In that moment, my world got flipped upside down.

That injury was the turning point in my life. Everything I had believed to be true—my identity, my future plans, my connection to the world—was centered around basketball. And just like that, it was gone. But that moment also set the stage for a new chapter. It forced me to confront who I was without the game and pushed me to find a new way to channel my passion, my drive, and my desire to make an impact in the world.

After dedicating 20 years of my life to basketball, it all seemed to vanish in a matter of 3 to 5 seconds. In that moment, I became a victim of my circumstances, questioning God and everything around me because it didn’t make sense. For a year, I lived in the shadow of that victimhood, feeling lost and disconnected from the path I thought I was destined to follow. But eventually, I had to make a choice: remain stuck in my pain or rise above it. While it wasn’t the ideal situation and didn’t align with what I thought was “my” version of success, I came to realize that God had bigger and better plans for my life. That shift in perspective changed everything, opening the door to a new journey of impacting athletes through my story and motivating others through my experiences.

As I resonate more deeply with today’s athletes, I’ve come to understand the importance of curating your own narrative in life. I continue to embrace my role as an athlete, but now I perform in the game of life. Everything I’ve learned through basketball frames the way I see the world—the only difference is that my gyms look different, the rules are more fluid, and the components of life have new functions and labels. But I still manipulate the pieces to reach my version of “scoring.”

In this new game, my mentors are my coaches, my money is my scoreboard, gaining wisdom and knowledge are my shot repetitions, and the world itself is my playing field. There’s so much I’ve learned since transitioning from student-athlete to life-athlete, and there are things I wish I had known earlier. But as I continue to reinvent myself and navigate life, my goal is to share the tools, wisdom, and blessings I’ve received with student athletes who are still in their journey.

So, how did I get here? I got here by writing a new narrative for myself. Through curiosity. Humility. Determination. The list could go on, but ultimately, it comes down to one thing: my desire to be a top performer in this game called life.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

Has it been a smooth road? Absolutely not. I don’t believe any journey is smooth, and mine has been far from it. I live by the philosophy that wherever there is growth, there is stress, and wherever there is stress, there are challenges. The biggest challenge for me—and I believe for most athletes—is the reinvention stage. When you’ve spent 15+ years in a consistent routine and rhythm, having that stripped away is a major shift. But when you’re unprepared for the game to be taken from you, the impact is amplified tenfold.

It’s like singing the same song every day—you know every lyric, every rhythm, and it becomes your favorite song. Then one day, that same song plays in a different language with a new rhythm. You’re bound to feel anger, confusion, or even resentment. That’s what the reinvention stage feels like—everything you’ve known suddenly changes, and it feels disorienting.

In the beginning, I became a victim of my circumstances, asking, “Why me?” After victimhood comes imposter syndrome—where you feel like you don’t belong. From the outside, people see your potential and believe you can be great in other areas of life. But internally, you feel like an outkast because your lived experiences no longer align with the world around you.

Suddenly, everything is different. The environment, the expectations, and the way people view you haven’t changed, but you feel like you’ve failed. That’s where isolation sets in. You withdraw, and that isolation turns into depression. Depression leads to stagnation, or worse—you start falling victim to your surroundings, using them as a coping mechanism.

This is just a snapshot of the struggles I faced in the early stages of my journey. For some, depending on mental strength and support systems, this spiral can happen quickly. But I’ve learned that the reinvention process, though hard, is necessary. Growth always comes from challenges like these.

Another struggle I faced was having a “destination mindset.” As student-athletes, we’re conditioned to focus on arriving—whether it’s scholarships, stats, or professional goals, there’s always a clear destination. But when you’re playing the game of life, there’s no finish line. You’re always evolving, always required to perform. There’s no arrival point. As one of my mentors always says, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying,” because the world around you is constantly evolving. Once I embraced this philosophy, I moved closer to falling in love with the journey itself and away from the anxiety of chasing a desired level of success.

As a former student-athlete, I also had this internal timeline, which can be challenging at times. In sports, 28 years old is considered a veteran with not much time left in their career. But this is the mindset of an athlete, not someone performing in the game of life. I’m constantly reminded by seasoned veterans that I’m still a “baby” in this new world of business, and that my twenties should be filled with humility, learning, and growth so that I can achieve greatness in my next decade.

The road hasn’t been smooth, but the bumps along the way have shaped who I am today and continue to fuel my passion for helping other athletes navigate their own journeys.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

The Sports Tunnel is an incubator designed to help athletes create new narratives and identities beyond the sports they play. We specialize in guiding athletes through the tools of curiosity, ownership, and optionality thinking, allowing them to explore new avenues of self-discovery and purpose. What sets The Sports Tunnel apart is our focus on the often-overlooked space of post-traumatic challenges that athletes face when they separate from the game they’ve dedicated their lives to. While others may advocate for Plan Bs or career readiness courses, we tackle the deeper emotional and psychological shifts that occur when an athlete’s identity tied to sports is no longer there.

The Sports Tunnel, as both a book and platform, works alongside coaches, parents, sports programs, and institutions to reform what it means to be an athlete today. Through our consulting services, speaking engagements, and transformative workshops, we take athletes on a journey that goes beyond the game—equipping them with new tools, perspectives, and a mindset shift that prepares them for life’s diverse possibilities.

What I’m most proud of is the feedback we’ve received from top-performing athletes at universities like USC, UConn, West Virginia, Villanova, South Carolina, Baylor, BYU, and many more. Our roadmap has been tried and tested, with real impact. I want readers to know that The Sports Tunnel isn’t just about helping athletes become their best selves within sports; it’s about empowering them to thrive in every aspect of life, using the skills they’ve gained on the field, court, or track to become high performers in the world at large.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?

Thank you for taking the time to learn about The Sports Tunnel and the mission to redefine what it means to be an athlete beyond the game. We believe in empowering athletes to create new narratives for themselves, and we’re proud of the impact we’ve had on athletes at institutions like USC, UConn, Villanova, and many more.

If you know of any athletic programs, teams, or organizations that could benefit from our message, we would greatly appreciate your referrals for speaking engagements and workshop opportunities. We’re passionate about spreading this important conversation to athletes and helping them transition successfully into the next phase of their lives.

For those interested in taking the next step, I invite you to visit *thesportstunnel.com* to purchase *The Sports Tunnel* book for your athletes. It’s more than just a read—it’s a tool for transformation. Whether you’re a coach, parent, or mentor, this resource will guide athletes on a journey of self-discovery and help them find success both on and off the field. Thank you for supporting this movement!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thesportstunnel.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C56i5VyPsKC/

Image Credits

Josh Egel
Deanna Shipman