NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - The Drink with Kate Snow: Michael Phelps

Episode Date: August 2, 2020

The secret to Olympic Gold? Swimming champion Michael Phelps says it has all to do with dreaming big, even at a very young age.

Hi everyone, this is Kate Snow. I'm so excited to share this conversation with Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps. He has, of course, won gold for Team USA so many times, and he told me it's partly because he always dreamed really big, even when he was a young kid just getting into the sport. He also spoke candidly with me about his struggles with mental health, particularly right now during this pandemic. The interview is part of my series, The Drink with Kate Snow. You'll find other conversations with people at the top of their game at NBCNews.com slash The Drink. When did you set that goal for yourself that I'm going to do something nobody else has ever done? I mean, probably 11, 12. I mean, it was early. But I mean, you know, I. I mean, it was early.

But I mean, you know, I think like for me as a kid, like I just wasn't afraid to dream as big as I possibly could. I see you have a coffee. That is good. I also have, I have decaf, a giant mug of decaf. How are you doing today? I would say better today than I have been. You know, I think one of the scariest parts of in time through my life has probably really been

over the last six months, you know, kind of all this unknown. With the heavy toll this crisis is taking, affecting the mental health of Americans. The pandemic, it's been hard for everyone, but you wrote about how difficult it's been for you. I mean, I felt like I've almost been like in the corner just hiding for a few days just because it's been difficult, scary, but real.

And I think the biggest difference for me is being able to understand that it's okay to talk about it. I think for so long I would stuff them down and really compartmentalize things and stuff the emotions. Yeah. You know, like I did that for almost 20 years. You know, I was, I'd say I could have won probably another gold medal at compartmentalizing and that's not a good thing. You are the most decorated olympian in history how did you become that hard work that's really it i mean it's it's day in and day out you know i went for what for five or six years i went 365 days straight it was literally you would swim on christmas right oh yeah oh yeah there was a little things that made the big difference you know like for me 65 days straight. It was literally, you would swim on Christmas, right? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. It

was a little things that made the big difference. You know, like for me, I was trying to do something that nobody else has ever done before. When did you set that goal for yourself that I'm going to do something nobody else has ever done? I mean, probably 11, 12. I mean, it was early. Um, but I mean, you know, I think like for me as a kid, like I just wasn't afraid to dream as big as I possibly could. And, you know, I just felt like if I wanted something bad enough, there wasn't a single soul on this planet that was going to hold me back. And sure enough, just went from one thing to the next. And I just kept getting hungrier and hungrier. And yeah, we just never looked back.

Most people I talk to when I ask about how they got to the top, there are setbacks. There are failures. There are people telling them you're never going to make it. Did you have any of that? I had a middle school teacher tell me I was never going to amount to anything. So that was a little motivating. Yeah, because I was always bouncing off the wall. As you can see, I don't sit still very often.

So I was bouncing off the wall, a kid with ADD growing up. She said I wouldn't make it, would never mount anything. And I was like, okay, well, that'll be a little extra motivation for me to actually show you. But honestly, at the end of the day, I controlled my own destiny. Your kids are little right now, your three boys. I know you play in the pool all the time. I've seen great video and photos. Would you let them, would you want them to be elite athletes?

If they want to be a swimmer, that's fine. But I don't ever want to force them to do something. You know, I was very fortunate as a kid growing up to find swimming and find a sport that I loved. And that allowed me to take this passion to where I did. And, you know, I just hope that they're able to find that, whatever that is. Your new documentary on HBO is called The Weight of Gold. The weight of how hard it is to be an olympic athlete michael phelps is one of the

fastest swimmers in the world none of us had normal childhoods tell me why you call it that you put your whole life and soul into it into getting ready for that maybe 30 seconds 40 seconds and then what it's like you're looking over a cliff and you almost fall off of that cliff after the olympics like that's how it's felt for me. I had to stand up and talk about this stuff because I saw so many other athletes that were going through similar things. And, you know, when watching the documentary, it's wild to see how similar our stories are. Every single one of them. I know.

That's mind blowing. After my second DUI, I spent a few days, you know, just not wanting to be alive in my room. And, you know, during those times, that time, I kind of realized there was something else that I could do. I could try to ask for help. And, you know, honestly, doing that and seeing a therapist and talking to a therapist saved my life. So that's the reason why I'm here today. And that is such a powerful message that just, just that act of reaching out can change everything. And can I do a quick lightning round, like just fast questions? What's your guilty pleasure? Reese's um oh absolute favorite

but the holiday edition because the peanut butter to chocolate ratio is better you do breakfast a lot right for the boys everything yeah so like this morning we'll probably have eggs it's either eggs oatmeal or fruit, or yogurt. It's one of those things. And honestly, the coolest thing for me is watching Booms and Becks come in and get what they want out of the fridge. So if they want blueberries or blackberries or raspberries, they just go in and grab them. And it's just, as a dad, it's so cool watching them just grow up because it happens so fast. And that's the one thing that somebody told me to never blink an eye and I don't know where the time has gone trust me but you know I'm trying to enjoy every minute as I can and and it's

awesome and that is the one benefit of this shutdown right is that people like you and me who traveled all the time, you don't have to. We get to see every moment and yeah, I'll say it's been challenging at times, but it's also been some of the most incredible moments that I've seen. Worst goggle malfunction you've ever had? 2008, 200 butterfly filled up with, I guess the first 25 meters into the race, swam the last one. Full of water? the race, swam the last 175 blind, counting strokes and lunging for the wall, hoping it was there when I reached. Well, where did you finish?

I won, broke the world record, won the gold medal. I imagine the water is a peaceful place for you. Therapeutic. Yeah, for sure um it's funny because after 2012 i basically like heisman the water because i didn't want anywhere close i didn't want to be anywhere close to i didn't want the smell i didn't want to feel and now it is the only place where i can go where i can be in my own head and just release. I can jump in for 500, I can jump in for 5,000 and get the same thing.

So for me, it's therapy and I try to get in as much as I can. It has been a pleasure to talk with you, Michael. Thank you so much for being so open. Cheers, thank you. Cheers.