49: Love at First Spike with Travis Mewhirter

Underdog

Travis Mewhirter picked up sand volleyball for the first time at 24 years old and found a way to become a professional athlete in this sport. Life on the beach as a sand volleyball player may seem glamorous, but there are often extensive hardships outside of the court that all sand volleyball professional players deal with day-in and day-out. Travis shares how he turned pro, the sacrifices he has had to make, and why he loves this sport above all others. In this episode:

• How a bartender initiated his interest in volleyball
• Sacrificing brand name credibility in his career with the Washington Post to pursue a better lifestyle
• The training, practice, and regimen that a 24 year old with no volleyball experience did to become a pro
• Newfound motivation after getting embarrassed in his first professional competition
• Pursuing greatness in a sport that doesn't offer much financial compensation, even if you are one of the best in the world
• Using a passion to create a platform and find a career in writing about volleyball
• The man in the arena
• The most exhausting sand volleyball day ever
• How his best friend retired from volleyball for 2 years due to an autoimmune disease and returned to compete at an elite level

Travis Mewhirter is the co-host of the Sandcast Beach Volleyball Podcast and the author of We Were Kings: A Deep Dive Inside the Lives of Professional Beach Volleyball Players. You can buy his book on Amazon or online at Barnes and Noble. You can follow Travis on Instagram @trammew and on Twitter @tram_mew.