What an Athlete Transition Coach Knows That Sports Don’t Teach — With Dom Johnson

Send us Fan Mail Dom Johnson on Athlete Transition, Trauma, and Building Spark Coy Brown III talks with Dom Johnson, athlete transition coach and founder of Spark, about the long arc from childhood trauma to college sports, coaching, and entrepreneurship. Dom shares how his upbringing, his mother’s resilience, and his own post-athlete identity crisis shaped the mission behind Spark.We discuss what athletes lose when sports end, why mental health and financial literacy matter in transition, and why Dom believes every athlete should have access to a coach for life beyond the game. This is a personal, specific conversation about pain, purpose, and building the support system he wishes had existed earlier. Key topics Dom shares his background as a Canadian kid born in Winnipeg, raised in a sports-heavy family with a father who played in the NFL and CFL. He opens up about growing up in an abusive home, including a childhood memory at age two that shaped his understanding of fear and safety. Dom explains how his mother left, went to law school as a single parent, kept the family together, and eventually built a successful law practice. He reconnects emotionally and practically with his father later in life, but says that relationship remains limited and unlikely to become truly close. He describes playing football and basketball at the University at Buffalo, including scholarships, injuries, and the pressure of being a dual-sport athlete. Dom talks about the crash after sports, when identity, money, structure, and attention all changed at once. He recounts a dark mental health moment while injured at a bowl game in the Bahamas, showing how isolating athlete injury and transition can be. He explains how coaching at Alabama under Nate Oates, low pay, and constant work pushed him into self-education and entrepreneurship. He details the Chicago chapter, where working with vulnerable populations taught him that people need listening, grace, community, and trust more than advice. He breaks down Spark as athlete life coaching built around support, purpose, alignment, resilience, and knowledge, with camps, coaching, books, and tools for current and former athletes. Timestamps 00:00 - Introducing Dom Johnson and the mission behind Spark  01:20 - Growing up in Winnipeg, family roots in football, and a complicated childhood  03:14 - What Spark stands for and why athlete transition became his purpose  05:31 - Childhood fear, abuse in the home, and the memory he never forgot  09:47 - Watching his mother leave, rebuild, and keep six kids together  14:53 - His mother’s law career and the example of relentless resilience  16:43 - Reconnecting with his father after 17 years and why the door stays mostly closed  18:41 - Facing fears on the road tour and deciding to call his dad  23:12 - Why that conversation fueled his mission to protect younger athletes  26:42 - What Division I football and basketball gave him, and what it took from him  29:39 - Injury, isolation, and the mental health reality of athlete life  36:44 - Leaving Buffalo, $47 in the bank, and the shock of post-sports uncertainty  39:06 - Getting the Alabama coaching job through a Christmas text  40:04 - Life as a graduate assistant, learning to add value, and cutting hair as a side hustle  42:00 - The books, speakers, and ideas that shifted his mindset  46:35 - A relationship that changed how he thought about money, habits, and personal growth  51:53 - Chicago work with vulnerable populations and the power of full immersion  57:51 - What Spark actually is and how the camps and coaching work  61:28 - Why Spark serves current athletes, former athletes, and people in transition  66:27 - Bootstrapping the business and building proof without investors  72:41 - Why trust matters more than hype in sports and coaching  76:22 - Betting on human connection in an AI-heavy future  81:21 - Scaling Spark globally and what stays universal across countries and sports  86:48 - Pain, purpose, and the idea that what hurts you can also build you  90:43 - Advice for former athletes trying to figure out who they are  97:33 - Where to find Dom and Spark  99:03 - What life means to Dom right now Resources & Links The Self Discovery Blueprint  The Mental Edge Coherence Diagnostic  Coherence Intake - The Life Is Podcast Books That Build The Life  St. Joseph County Public Library Events  Schedule Call with Host  Connect with Dom Johnson Website: Spark Coaching  Instagram  Organization Instagram  Notable Quotes “People do not care about what you know until they know that you care.” “Some of the most painful things we go through will be the thing that brings us the most purpose.” Support the show