How being authentic is essential to your success, according to two groundbreakers

Whether your biggest dream is to become an Olympic athlete or a major player in the sustainability movement, you’ve likely thought a lot about what it takes to achieve your goals. Female role models? Real ambition? A constant flow of matcha?

We’re saying yes to all three. To find out more, Jessica Williams—the intrepid host of the new Nike Air Society podcast—got the scoop from fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first female Muslim-American athlete to win an Olympic medal, and Dounia, a Moroccan-American singer empowering women to be 100 percent themselves.

“I have to speak my truth […] I have to be that example for the younger girls.”

“This is who I am, I have to speak my truth always,” Muhammad says. “Because when I look at predecessors that I looked up to growing up as an athlete like Serena and Venus [Williams], to see them dominate on the tennis court changed my life and how I viewed myself. So I have to be that example for the younger girls.”

For the full insightful conversation between the sport and cultural trailblazers (with boundary-pushing advice you’ll want to jot down), listen to the podcast via the player above, and catch up on wisdom from female phenoms in every episode.

Want more inspiration on how to own your summer? Click here for more advice from awesome women (plus score some next-level fashion intel).

In partnership with Nike

Photo: Tim Gibson for Well+Good