At 16 years old, Mark O’Brien was told a routine medical screening might end his football career at Derby County. Months later, a surgeon looked him in the eye and said if he didn’t have open-heart surgery immediately, he would be gone. What followed shouldn’t have been possible. Mark returned to professional football, played for over a decade, captained Newport County, scored one of the most important goals in the club’s history, and defied every medical expectation placed in front of him. Then, at 27, he faced open-heart surgery again — this time ending his career and forcing him to rebuild his identity from scratch. This conversation isn’t just about football. It’s about fear, resilience, mental health, identity loss, panic, depression, purpose, and what happens when life forces you to start again. If you’ve ever had something taken from you — your career, your health, your identity — this episode will stay with you. Chapters; 00:00 - An Irish Boy with dream 01:19 - Realising the Talent Gap 05:11 - The Demands of Professional Football From a Young Age 11:08 - The First Miracle 21:35 - The Comeback and Realisation 25:29 - Floating Opinions Triggering a Journeyman spell 30:10 - A Heroic Rise 39:00 - The Hearts Expiry Date 51:07 - The Link Between Athletic Retirement and Bereavement FREE Newsletter - https://simpleconversations.substack.com/ ASG; https://www.instagram.com/only_asg https://www.reddit.com/r/SimpleConversations/ Mark; https://www.instagram.com/mobrien1992/ https://uk.linkedin.com/in/mark-o%E2%80%99brien-3167a4229 #resilience #mentalhealth #football Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.