Brandon Saho’s battle with mental health began long before he became a sports journalist — and eventually a mental health advocate.

Saho spoke on campus Wednesday night about his battle with mental health at an event held by advocacy group Northwestern Active Minds.

Saho currently hosts a podcast called “The Mental Game,” for which he interviews athletes, musicians and celebrities about their battles with mental health. Notable guest speakers on his podcast include actor Terry Crews, rapper Kevin Gates and “The Office” actor Kate Flannery.

Saho’s mental health struggle started when he was 14 and continued throughout his life. The struggle intensified in 2021 and 2022, when he out lived his dream as a sports broadcaster for his hometown Cincinnati Bengals. After checking into a mental health facility and spending time getting the help he needed, Saho decided to start “The Mental Game.”

“I just looked at my therapist and said, ‘What if we combine mental health and sports broadcasting?’” Saho said.

The podcast has run for almost three years, and he has told his story to at least 150,000 people in 42 states across the country.

Weinberg freshman and NU Active Minds member Mia Cavallo heard Saho speak at her high school last year. She said she was drawn to how approachable and down-to-earth he was. After she saw he was touring again this year, Cavallo reached out to invite Saho to speak at NU.

“I wanted to do something this year that had a bit of an impact, and I knew that he was the right person for that,” Cavallo said.

With Saho’s background in journalism, SESP sophomore Active Minds co-President Jack McNiel agreed with Cavallo and supported bringing Saho in.

“We thought he would be a really unique and relatable perspective for the students at large,” McNiel said.

Saho said his career in journalism working with a camera and editing audio helped him when he moved to podcasting. As a sports reporter, he learned how to get people to open up and talk — skills he used for his podcast.

Saho said in a majority of his episodes, prominent figures say something about their journey with mental health that no one has heard before. “The Mental Game” was the first platform that Terry Crews publicly talked about his battle with suicide, he added.

“That’s the kind of safe space I want to create,” Saho said.

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