401 How Olympic Beach Volleyball Pioneer Margo Built a Career Without a Playbook

401 How Olympic Beach Volleyball Pioneer Margo Built a Career Without a Playbook

From Rain or Shine | Marketing & Entrepreneurship Podcast by Kelsey Reidl | Business & Marketing Coach

March 30, 2026 · 39 min · Season 16

About this episode

Margo, a Canadian Olympian, shares her journey of building a career in marketing and sustainability while advocating for herself in competitive environments.

Quick Summary Margo is a Canadian Olympian who competed in the first-ever Olympic beach volleyball tournament at the 1996 Atlanta Games — and spent the years before that building the sport from the ground up with nothing but a group of passionate women, a bag of volleyballs, and a relentless vision. Nearly thirty years later, she brings that same pioneering spirit to her work in marketing, communications, and sustainability. In this episode, she shares what it really means to forge your own path, advocate for yourself in rooms that weren't built for you, and know when to be brave enough to just start. In This Episode How Margo's athlete mother shaped her relationship with sport and competition from a young age The moment on Bondi Beach that changed the entire trajectory of her life What it took to qualify for the 1996 Olympics in a sport that wasn't yet officially recognized by Canadian sport organizations The key differences between indoor and beach volleyball — and why beach volleyball is essentially an entrepreneurial sport How competition can be community, and why your "competitors" might be your greatest allies The self-advocacy mistake Margo wishes she had avoided on her…

People in this episode

Host: Kelsey Reidl

Guest: Margo

Topics covered

  • Olympic sports
  • entrepreneurship
  • self-advocacy
  • marketing
  • sustainability
  • community
  • career development

Keywords

  • beach volleyball
  • Olympics
  • self-advocacy
  • marketing
  • sustainability
  • entrepreneurial spirit
  • community competition
  • career ownership

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Toronto Climate Week, Echo Athletes

Books & works: Good Girl Pearl

Places: Canada

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