Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chauncy Haney. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Chauncy, appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
One of the biggest moment in my Career was the actually the end of my career, spring of 2022 i played professional football for the last time. I was cut from the Birmingham Stallions, at the time i hadn’t known that, that would be the last time i’ll suit up again. confident i go home in preparation to receive a phone call to return either ot that team or another. As i waited, waited & waited there was no call. Thankfully for an ” Affair” i had on football when i haven’t received a call i moved on pretty quickly. i had just finished my RYT-200 certification to lead Yoga. with that i jumped immediately into teach at one of the biggest studios in charlotte nc. the end of one career was the beginning of another.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My Name is Chauncy Haney i’m a 26 year old leaving in charlotte nc, born & halfway raised in columbia sc. i say halfway because my father and step mom were military so i was blessed to live in spain and england at separate times for about 3 1/2 years in my childhood. i mention that because i believe that’s a huge part in the diversity i have in my perspectives of life. growing up in the inner city of columbia sc i haven’t always been around the best things in my childhood and thankfully for the opportunity to live abroad i was able to be exposed to things outside of the city. as one of my core beliefs in my business is ” Exposure equals Expansion”.
i came back to the states permanently in the 6th grade where i lived with my mom and two of my brothers. growing up we had not lived the best life but our mom made sure we had what we needed even if that meant not being around as much as she was an extremely hard worker sometimes working two even three jobs to make sure her kids had what we need ..Physically. Emotionally there was lack and at the point even though i didn’t know just yet, that was the start of my mental health journey turned business. i’ve always been the wise friend or the friend, sibling or son that would always be asked for advice. it was natural to me to help and aid others anyway i could.
Since a Youngin i’ve been active so, once i got to high school i carried that with me playing all sports that i could. My personal choice was basketball which led me to transferring to a power house high school in basketball, leaving a football powerhouse. well, although basketball went well, god had a different route for me when i received my first out two offers to continue my education and athletic career in football. that led me to North greenville university a small southern baptist christian school in the middle of nowhere tigerville sc.
This is where i spent four pivotal years of my life. i’ll always thank NGU for what it has done for my life and how it matured me in a way i may have not elsewhere yet, it also shielded me from a lot of the world on top of the intense focus i had on football. which ultimately paid off after having an explosive junior on the field the NFL teams started to come visit this small school in the middle of nowhere and who’d they come to see? well me and it was a shock why? well something i’ve always struggled with was self confidence even as the All-American, All-Conference, Team Captain i was it was hard for me to believe sometimes. My senior year came around and thanks to a few of my coaches, (Harris, Vols) i believed in myself which led to an incredible senior year that garnered attention from the nation and the national football league.
Fast forwarding through my professional career the last year of college and 2 years pro was pivotal in me started my platform. During my senior year i dove heavy into philosophy & Biographies wanting to garner the wisdom of people before mebecause i lacked mentorship during my adolescence no real father figure in the house. That lead to a conclusion that i love to say ” the origin of life comes from stories” i truly believe everything we know or do comes from a story. of some sort. so it sparked something in me to write one of my own “Accidental Isolation: the memoir” a memoir telling my story of the past four years isolated at NGU. although i was ignited to write this memoir i had know clue what i was doing, and not having guidance i eventually gave up on it. some time went by and id expressed my journey in writing to a few of my friends and many of them loved the idea and was quite disappointed that i decided not to finish. yet disappointed the were still very encouraging which led to me having a pivotal thought. ” what’s more important than my story? Every ones story.” that brought “Accidental Isolation the podcast”. Accidental Isolation is a podcast that dives into meaningful conversations about mental health and personal growth. We invite guests from various walks of life. Business owners, athletes, musicians, and advocates, to share their personal journeys. Through these stories, we offer listeners actionable tools to overcome physical, mental, and emotional isolation. Our episodes create a space for deep reflection, Vulnerable conversation, and untold screts from ours guests Journey.
Now entering season 3 of the the podcast we’ve flourished into so much more: Accidental Isolation LLC. Accidental Isolation helps young adults overcome physical, mental, and emotional isolation through storytelling, mindfulness practices like yoga, and personal growth tools. We achieve this through our podcast, yoga sessions, live events, and written resources such as Books, Newsletters & more. what sets me apart is my vulnerability and authenticity as a 6’6 buff black male with locs it’s not often you see men like me who talk about these topics or not only has mindfulness practices but lead them as well. I come to you not as an expert in life but as someone who is quite the opposite and still willing to be a face or present to you people who are willing to talk about their isolations.
I’m mostly proud of the growth, i was afraid to start this platform and now i don’t know what i would do without it. the work i’ve done, the guest ive had on the show, and the partnerships i’ve had so far would shock the little boy in me who always believed he wasn’t good enough. this work is indeed for those little kids that are still within us.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
As an athlete, and as an athlete whose made it to one of the highest levels, one of the biggest lessons i had to unlearn was “Know one Cares, work harder” this phrase was often used on football teams or even men in my life, as athletes and often time men sob stories/excuses don’t matter,” what have you done for me lately” is another phase that was embedded into my brain. and it became a way of life which caused an friction in my life that looked like anytime i didn’t achieve something or i haven’t done something for someone i must be unworthy or worthless.
Through the power of yoga and mindfulness practices i’ve learned the power of duality. although there are some truths in these statement, especially if you want to succeed in anything you do,you may have to deal with some things to grow. You can’t use your story as an excuse or a reason to hold you back. but on the other hand while everyone might not care. Someone does, and that’s what matters in business and in life. your story isn’t for everyone that doesn’t mean someone can’t relate. learning that has been pivotal in my entrepreneur career. understanding that my platform won’t be for everyone and there are some people who can careless about stories, my stories or the guests. yet there are so many people ive been able to impact wether it be directly or through the work i’ve done through the podcast, yoga or my books.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
some athletes have shared their struggle with their career ending abruptly or not how they wanted. Many have not, like any career that ends abruptly, it’s often a shock especially if it something you’ve been doing your entire life. since this career is so time consuming it allows less time to create other hobbies or other interests. so when your career is pulled from under you, many are left with the question so many young adults face, what now? as i was faced with this question i rushed to fill that identity with the next as quickly as possible. at the moment i saw nothing wrong with what i was doing i thought i was doing what was right. in reality what i was doing was running away from the emotions of what just happened. instead of sitting with my life completely changing within a matter of days, i rushed to fill the void i hadn’t even known i had yet. Thankfully for my “Affair” i was able to pivot directly into yoga and leading transformational classes with a studio in charlotte.
Life is all about adapting and pivoting after about 6 months at the studio like a wave rushing to sure it hit me. because i rushed into this new identity i never had time to feel the aftermath of my pivot. bieng hit with all these emotions it dawn on me that i wasn’t done with my professional career and i didnt like the way i prepared for the end. So, i pivoted back to training full time to see if i can pursue this one last time. i spent the next 6 months training as hard as i could for an opportunity that came in the last seconds of the game. i had one last try/workout for a team in the CFL. putting my hat on that hoping to get that call, it never came. now i’m back at square one what now? through all my experience through life so far, all the encouragement i decided that it was time to focus on myself and my business. pivoting away from the studio i now needed a career that well help me fund my business and relieve some stress of that so i left the studio to find a better job and i did just that. leaving something i was so passionate about hurts but i was doing it for the betterment of something that i created. so, in the end i’ve been working tirelessly on creating season 3 of the podcast and growing the business.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @_11Reasonz, @Accidentalisolation, @_cjyoga
- Linkedin: Chauncy Haney
- Youtube: Accidental Isolation
- Other: Etsy: accidental Isolation store
Image Credits
@JayFlybaby