This isn’t a career.
It’s a conveyor belt.
And unless you get off it — you’ll spend your best years waiting for a promotion that will never come.
In this solo episode, Sam Portland pulls no punches on the broken system of strength & conditioning. From unpaid internships to dead-end “high performance” titles, this is the brutal truth every young coach needs to hear before burnout becomes your reality.
Sam shares real stories from his time in professional rugby — cleaning Wattbikes, putting players’ weights away, and learning the hard way that degrees don’t equal respect.
🎯 You’ll learn:
Why strength & conditioning isn’t a “career path” — it’s a conveyor belt.
The illusion of prestige behind postgraduate degrees.
The disconnect between passion and recognition in elite sport.
Why senior jobs rarely open up (and what to do instead).
How to build your own legacy through business, freedom, and leadership.
📈 This episode will hit hard — but it might just save your coaching career.
🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
🔥 Join the Mastermind: https://www.speedbysportland.com/legacy-mastermind-home
💬 DM Sam on Instagram: @coach_samportland
⏱️ 3. Timestamps
00:00 – The conveyor belt of coaching
00:55 – The illusion of prestige in postgraduate education
02:00 – When your degree means nothing at your first club
02:50 – Cleaning Wattbikes and gym floors: the real start of the job
04:30 – The culture of over-serious S&C
05:40 – Why coaches create false importance
06:45 – Humor, humility, and being told off for a joke
07:50 – The broken hierarchy of pro sport coaching
08:40 – Developmental vs senior windows — know where you belong
09:50 – The bottleneck of promotions in elite sport
10:30 – The real path: build your own business, not someone else’s dream
11:00 – How to build your legacy today