A year after tearing my ACL and unexpectedly ending my college soccer career, I look back at everything that came with it — the injury, surgery, rehab, loss of identity, and the process of figuring out who I was becoming outside of soccer.

More than an ACL story, this episode is about what happens when life changes the plan you had for yourself — and what you choose to build afterward.

Take what helps you on your journey.

Unpacking our journey through life is not as we understand it to be. Be an ATLien on your journey through this weird thing called life!

today is the best day every and tomorrow will be even better. Turn and live because the world needs you more than you can even imagine - you have a special gift that no one else can replicate.

Unpacking whether our choices are truly free. As humans, do we truly have free will, or are our choices predetermined and unchangeable? Here, I unpack some scripture and try to unpack what free will looks like to me, and whether we as humans have it, or if we're just looking to place blame for our choices.

Rebuilding the foundation blocks of Unpacked. Revisiting what made me curate this idea and the new ideas I plan to implement. Also, visiting my moment that I constantly revisit and Unpack that has helped define who I am and have become.

This episode explores the pressure athletes feel when the race everyone sees isn’t the one that hurts the most.

Featuring two student-athlete ambassadors from The Hidden Opponent, we talk about the battles runners face off the track, the importance of support the expectations, the fear of failing publicly, the quiet burnout, and the mental weight they’re expected to carry alone.

Track is the setting, but this conversation is about so much more: identity, masculinity, performance anxiety, loneliness, purpose, and the struggle to keep going when your mind is exhausted, but everyone around you only sees your speed.

About the series: This month, we’re peeling back the layers on men’s mental health, not from a distance, but through the voices and stories of real athletes. These aren’t highlight reels. They’re conversations we need. Resources: The Hidden Opponent — student-athlete mental health advocacy https://www.thehiddenopponent.org/ 🎙️

Host: XayThomp

Guest : Shane Lyons & Nathan Lee - SU XC/TF

🎧 Clips on TikTok: @xaysosly

📩 For guests & inquiries: xaviertthomp@gmail.com

You’re not racing alone. Someone else is fighting the same quiet battles you are.

This episode dives into the mental health battles athletes carry long before anyone sees them break. Using the story and mission behind Morgan’s Message, we explore the pressure, the silence, and the moments young men feel like they have nowhere to put the weight they’re holding. Lacrosse is the backdrop, but this conversation is about identity, expectations, grief, masculinity, and the hidden struggles that follow athletes into adulthood. If you’ve ever felt like you had to “keep it together” for your team, your family, or your image… this one’s for you.

Resources: Morgan’s Message — student-athlete mental health organization https://www.morgansmessage.org/ 🎙️

Host: XayThomp

Guest : Dylan Taylor

🎧 Clips on TikTok: @xaysosly

📩 For guests & inquiries: xaviertthomp@gmail.com

If you’re struggling, you’re not alone. Reach out. Talk to someone. Your story matters.

This isn’t therapy talk, it’s real talk. Mens Mental Health month is going and we are going to unpack how to overcome this social problem.

Understanding how many different things cause such a problem that is still going unnoticed. How do you deal with pressure when no one sees it?

Unpacked a fantastic plan in action on attacking a fresh ACL injury. Mo Tucker of GMU soccer had some fantastic insight on how his spirituality will carry him, and even looks into new anime. See more of what he had to say in this fantastic conversation.

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Unpacked bySly

In this conversation, I link up with NightsnLA to unpack what it’s like juggling music, school, and self-discovery. We talk about prom night, the drive behind the art, and the challenges of building something real while still finding yourself in the process. It’s a look into what it takes to stay authentic when life pulls you in different directions.

In this first episode of Unpacked bySly, I sit down with Jordan Vite to talk about navigating the shift from high school to college life, experiencing the transfer portal, and finding balance when everything slows down. We dive into how experiences shape identity, what it means to slow down, dive into new hobbies, and love the badge.

On this episode I had the fantastic opportunity to catch up with an old friend Nightsnla. A musician who's grind has not gone unnoticed at all, a man of many talents from music to photography, from managing to streaming. We got to have great conversation about his growth as not only a musician but a person. Got to unpack a lot of great information and takeaway a lot of fantastic things. Thank you for tuning in. Let me know who you want to see next ! The raw & uncut version, Enjoy.