From Career-Ending Injury To LA 2028 Olympic Comeback, Torrey Van Winden Pro Beach Volleyball Player - HumanizeHer with Erica Lockheimer | Lyssna här

In this episode of the HumanizeHer Podcast, professional beach volleyball player and former tech Product Marketing Manager Torrey Van Winden joins us to discuss the systemic financial disparities facing female athletes, her experience overcoming career-threatening injuries, and her ambitious comeback bid for the LA 2028 Olympics.

Torrey left her stable corporate job to chase one thing: a spot on the 2028 LA Olympic team. She's a professional beach volleyball player and a newly named 2026 Cal Poly Hall of Famer - but this comeback almost didn't happen. In her first professional match out of college, she tore her ACL, fractured her femur and tibia, and learned her tour offered injured athletes nothing (not even health insurance). It took years of resentment before that pain turned into purpose. She rebuilt herself through rehab, then built a second career at GameChanger in Product Marketing. But this year, she gave up her apartment, became a nomad, and bet her entire savings on one more shot.

Inspired by a previous podcast clip highlighting the reality that many Olympic athletes receive zero income from their sport, Torrey shares her perspective on the stark gap between collegiate support systems and the domestic professional volleyball circuit. She shines a light on a pay gap most fans never hear about: her mother earned roughly 40 percent more on tour in 1998 than Torrey does today for the same finish. Drawing from her background in sport management, her tenure at tech company GameChanger, and her family's sports legacy, she outlines her vision for building a sustainable infrastructure for women in sports and leveraging her personal brand to drive meaningful change. Her own words: stop complaining about it, and do something about it. No sponsors. No guaranteed paycheck. Just her, betting on herself.

Key Highlights:

College-To-Pro Financial Drop-off: Discussion on how NCAA beach volleyball programs offer extensive support, whereas domestic professional leagues offer minimal financial security or medical safety nets - even as costs for elite training climb.
Overcoming Career-Threatening Injuries: Torrey recounts suffering a severe knee injury (ACL, meniscus, femur, and tibia fracture) in her pro debut and a subsequent re-injury, detailing the mental and physical recovery process that shifted her perspective from resentment to purpose.
Transitioning To Tech And Back: How an opportunity at GameChanger led to a role as a Product Marketing Manager, equipping her with corporate and sports-tech insights on athlete monetization and brand-building.
The LA 2028 Olympic Comeback: Torrey outlines the mechanics of the international beach volleyball point system, her decision to bet on herself financially, and her strategy for climbing the ladder from Futures to Elite 16 events with her partner, Lindsey Sparkes.
Redefining The Female Athlete Narrative: A candid look at body image in media, rejecting narrow stereotypes about what an elite beach volleyball player looks like, and using social media authentically to advocate for women's sports.

"It's hard to even describe...the energy within me had fully shifted from fear-based to: how much are you going to complain about it before you do something about it? And that really hit me hard." - Torrey Van Winden

Special Shoutouts in this Episode:

Devon Newberry, Ilona Maher, Victoria Garrick Browne, & Serena Williams

Ana Patricia Ramos & Duda Santos Lisboa

Her Cousins ❣️

Her Sister - Adlee Cass (Van Winden) ❣️

Her Mother - Kelly Van Winden ❣️

Listen in and join the conversation with host, Erica Lockheimer and co-host, Elizabeth Wendorf-Bloesser.

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