Episode 140: Jenny Nguyen The Sports Bra

January 26, 2023
Jenny Nguyen picked up a basketball right around the same time she put down her milk bottle. From an early age, people called her a tomboy. Instead of playing with dolls and wearing dresses, she climbed trees and rode bikes. But most of all, she loved to play basketball. That love shaped her whole identity and helped her to fit in all the way through high school.

When she was 19 years old in her first year playing college ball at Clark College, Nguyen ruptured her ACL. She was devastated by the career-ending injury, but stumbled upon a newfound passion: cooking. She cooked all through college, first for her roommate, then for the whole floor and then for the entire dorm. She landed her first kitchen job at age 22 and fell in love with the craft all over again.

After graduating from college, Nguyen enrolled at the Western Culinary Institute in downtown Portland. There she graduated from the expedited program while working full time at a couple of fine dining restaurants. When she was in the kitchen, Nguyen was in her element. The zone. The basketball court and the kitchen have been the only two places she has ever felt like she belonged. Later, she realized that both those places are very male-dominated and that she had struggled, endured and found success in her own way. She went on to work her way up in kitchens for another 15 years, with the last four years as an executive chef at Reed College for Bon Appétit Management Company.

The Sports Bra
The Sports Bra on IG, Facebook, Twitter
Notre Dame vs Miss State, 2018 Womens National Championship (Full Game Highlights)
Arike Ogunbowale
Carman Ranch
Vibrant Living Farm
Girls Who Build
Order Girls Who Build, (the book)
(Find all our book recommendations at hearhersports.com/books.
Buying books through our Bookshop page is an easy, significant way to support the podcast. Thank you.)
Dempsey Arsenault of Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse, Ep102
Haley Rosen of Just Women’s Sports, Ep98
Tour de France Femme Avec Zwift
Much of what we talked about in this episode reminds me of my conversation with Flash Foxy Founder, Shelma Jun, who started Flash Foxy as an instagram for a few of her friends. It’s still one of my favorite episodes for so many reasons.