Former Irish international LGBTQ+ hockey player Nikki Symmons has teamed up with The L Word’s Rachel Shelley to release a new podcast, the 94%. The project sees the two friends engage in powerful conversations with other women from all walks of life who have used sport as a springboard for their success.
Symmons is thought to have been the first Irish female athlete to publicly discuss her LGBTQ+ identity after appearing on the show Second Captains in 2014, ahead of the Marriage Equality referendum. She had been open about her sexuality to friends and family for years, but felt a responsibility to “show other women and girls that everything was going to be OK if you come out”.
She has over 200 international caps in hockey and also played cricket for Ireland. Now based in Switzerland, she moved into media, DEI advisory, consultancy, partnerships and public speaking after retiring from elite sports.
The Irish athlete’s podcast co-host is LGBTQ+ ally Rachel Shelley, who played the English heiress Helena Peabody in The L Word. The actor is also the award-winning Head of Audio at Mookville Productions.
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The podcast launched during Lesbian Visibility Week, with the first guest being none other than Jennifer Beals. One of Shelley’s co-stars on The L Word, the actor played Bette Porter on the show and its Generation Q sequel. In the first episode, Beals shares how sports (particularly triathlon racing and kickboxing) shaped her journey, building resilience, teamwork and discipline – qualities that have guided her career both on-screen and off.
Future guests include DJ and marathon runner Adele Roberts, as well as the founder of LGBTQ+ women’s dating app HER, Robyn Exton. Listeners can also look forward to hearing Ireland’s own Anna Nolan on the podcast, who is currently Series Producer at COCO Content and Chair of the National LGBT Federation, the governing board of yours truly, GCN. Anna was an international basketball player and runner-up on the first series of Big Brother, before presenting numerous television programmes in Ireland and the UK.
Listen to the 94% here, and follow their Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.
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