Female Disruptors: Atoya Burleson of InsideLINES Podcast On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

Your life is your responsibility! No matter what your circumstances were growing up, once you become an adult your life is left up to you. When you work hard and remain positive, doors open that are meant for you and you only. Make sure you are brave, confident and prepared to walk through.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, we had the pleasure of interviewing Atoya Burleson.

Atoya Burleson is no stranger to the sports world. She is a collegiate hurdler Conference Champion from the University of Nevada where she earned a Master’s Degree in Education. Atoya founded InsideLines Podcast to celebrate women in and around sports. She enjoys collaborating with diverse women through connecting, empowering, and creating a safe place for other women to share their life journeys, endeavors, and all the meaningful moments in between.

In addition to insideLINES Podcast, Atoya also founded Ladies Playbook, a digital and mobile friendly website created exclusively for NFL women, which provides access to unique resources necessary for a professional sports family to thrive wherever their career takes them. It also provides a community chat forum specifically for the women to communicate with one another and has a hub for team calendars so that the ladies can stay in the loop of what is happening within their team community.

Aside from Atoya’s entrepreneurial endeavors, she continues supporting her husband ,NFL star and media mogul, Nate Burleson’s career. They have three children Nate, Nehemiah and Mia who enjoy sports just as much as their parents.

Atoya has also modeled in a Trish McEvoy Beauty Campaign, appeared in a Super Bowl Pizza Hut Commercial, moderated Essence Fest Panels, and was featured in the New Jersey Family Magazine and People Magazine.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I have played sports for as long as I can remember. In college I won a championship in the 100 meter hurdles and collectively as a team we also won the conference championship title. We worked hard and believed in each other. It was a special time I will never forget. Throughout that experience I was surrounded by amazing women who competed at the highest level while pulling each other up and expecting greatness from one another.

I met my husband in college and we have been together ever since. We spent 11 years in the NFL and once again I enjoyed meeting and connecting with amazing women from so

many different walks of life. I think my psychology degree and Masters in Education helped me to relate to all the different types of people I met during that time. I would host dinner parties, invite the ladies over to eat so that we could get to know one another and more importantly so they didn’t feel alone. I attribute that Kim Culpepper, QB wife of Daunte Culpepper, who during my first year in the NFL was my first example of kindness and making everyone feel welcome. After each game she would invite everyone over to eat and hang. So many friends truly became family. You need that in the NFL. It’s a small and exclusive group, however, it can be a lonely circle if you don’t find your tribe. Through my career path and examples God placed in my life, I came to understand and appreciate the importance of community, support and encouragement.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

I founded InsideLINES Podcast which celebrates women in and around sports. You always hear about the male athlete and what he is doing, however, I have met their fascinating significant others and they are incredible women doing amazing things in their own right! Whether it’s their career, running a charity, taking care of their family, managing multiple homes, or taking care of extended family while supporting their husband in all his endeavors. These ladies are truly gems who understand that talking about your journey and explaining how you got there can inspire or encourage another person. We are all unique with our own challenges and perseverance, so the goal is to share stories of encouragement and inspiration so that listeners will feel they are not alone in their struggles.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The funniest mistake I made was while hosting a podcast I completely lost my train of thought while I was speaking. I literally said in real time that I forgot what I was saying and laughed about it and was so embarrassed. I was so hard on my self about afterwards. Later on, I remember a few ladies reaching out to me and saying how funny that was and how they could relate because they do it all the time as well. It was so reassuring and I realized people can relate to mistakes. It’s okay to be candid and human. Through this podcast, I knew I had found my tribe!

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

I have had amazing mentors in my life. From Kibi Anderson, to Sybil Amuti, to Candi Carter to Nikkia McClain. These are inspirational career women that work hard and still pull other women up! And I can’t forget my Godmother Norine Richardson. She was my first of many examples of consistently seeing this. I feel like each one of these ladies brought their own unique set of skills and encouragement that was heartfelt and God knew I needed along the way. Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank my husband. He has been helpful and supportive in the media space and I am grateful for that.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

Disruption means to interrupt a process or activity. I think disruption is necessary and change is inevitable. Why can’t it be you that steers the ship in a more positive and forward driven capacity? It is through your ideas and disruptions that positive change is born. When we are not willing to be creative and push the needle forward, many systems become stagnant and fail. We have to always think in an innovative way in order to become better as a human as well as within the workplace.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey?

1. Your circumstances do not define you. Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it. Ex. I got injured my junior year in college and not being able to compete. I was devastated. I asked God why. Everyone was yea eking and I was forced to be at home. I worked my butt off that summer. I came back my senior year and became a collegiate champion. It was all worth it.

2. The way someone treats you is a reflection of how they feel about themselves. We’ve all had that certain someone that said something hurtful and made us feel less than only to find out that it wasn’t ever about you and they were going through their own personal issues. Hurt people hurt people.

3. Your life is your responsibility! No matter what your circumstances were growing up, once you become an adult your life is left up to you. When you work hard and remain positive, doors open that are meant for you and you only. Make sure you are brave, confident and prepared to walk through.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

I created a website called Ladies Playbook. Ladies Playbook is an exclusive community dedicated to providing access to unique resources necessary for an NFL family to thrive wherever their football career takes them. I spent 11 years in the NFL, and I understood pretty well what was needed when I was there, but I also listened to the needs of current ladies in the NFL. I created this space to help other women find all their needs conveniently in one place. NFL ladies are also welcome to share their thoughts, recommendations and communicate with one another as a community.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

I think the biggest challenge for women disruptors is often getting the right people to listen to you and understand your perspective. As women, we touch every side of most ideas. Even when men appear to be in the forefront, there have always been women behind the scenes making sure the ship is being steered correctly while supporting the ones steering the ship. Once we get our foot in the door and have our counterparts support, there is nothing women can’t do! It doesn’t take away from our peers it adds even more support to the tasks at hand. I don’t believe that our male counterparts have to struggle as much to have their voice heard and validate their experience.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

Yes, I have a few: For Podcasts, I love Deepak Chopra’s: Infinite Potential and Sybil Amuti’s: The Great Girlfriend’s Show.

For books, I love Brene Brown’s “Atlas of the Heart,” “The Four Agreements,” by Don Miguel Ruiz and “Now What?! Get Over Yourself and Move,” by Dr. Angela Anderson.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Take a moment to let ALL your guards down and genuinely speak from the heart. Emotional vulnerability breeds connectivity, power, and support!

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life? My Life Lesson quote is:

If better is possible, then good isn’t enough! This is my mantra in relationships, in career, and personally as well. Always striving to be my best self will only better any relationship that is for me whether that be personal, career, or beyond! How can our readers follow you online? You can find me on my blog at atoyaburleson.com, on instagram @atoyaburleson including all other socials and you can email me in regards to my podcast at admin@insidelinespodcast.com or insidelinespodcast.com. Also, if you have questions or comments about Ladies Playbook email me at Atoya@ladiesplaybook.com or head to ladiesplaybook.com and leave us a message!

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!