November 8, 2021 • 27 mins
Olivia is getting to know Ryan Lochte, professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. He's had his own ups and downs and highs and lows. Now, a dad to two young kids...he is a loving husband and father who has found happiness greater than all his gold medals. He is sharing wisdom and lessons learned in a Conversation with Olivia Jade.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is Conversations with Olivia Jade and I Heart Radio podcast.
Hello everybody, welcome back to another episode of Conversations. I
am so so excited for today's guest, be amazing Olympic
swimmer Ryan Lockty. I honestly didn't know too much about
(00:23):
Ryan Lockty, and I know one thing that we have
in common is that we have both been on Dancing
with the Stars, and so that really piqued my interest.
And I just want to learn more about him personally here,
about his personal life, his goals, how he got into swimming,
and I want to bring you guys along to talk
about his journey as well. So with that being said,
let's jump right into it and let's hear from Ryan
(00:46):
Locktey himself. How are you doing. I'm really good. I'm
really excited to be interviewing you. This will be fun. Well,
thank you for having me on. Oh my gosh. Of
course I'm really new at this, so you can take
over as much as you want and you know, just
speak your mind. Um. But obviously I know you as
(01:10):
an amazing, famous swimmer, Olympic swimmer, and I don't know
the proper way to get into these types of podcast,
but I think we should just jump in and I
want to hear everything about you in your life and
how you got into this and I know you have
a baby or two babies or yeah, I just want
to hear it all. So I think, yeah, maybe you
(01:34):
just want to start off by telling the audience like
who you are, where you're from, how you grew up
a little bit. Okay, Um yeah, um I'm Ryan Lockey. Um,
I'm a twelve time Olympic medalist. I've been to four
for swimming. Um, I've been to four Olympics, um in
two and sixteen. And yeah, I mean I grew up
(01:59):
in New York, up state New York. Yeah, I grew
up there and I was always around the swimming pool.
Um both my swimming My parents were swim coaches. So
I mean I guess you could say I grew up
on the pool deck. Ah, so that makes sense. So
I fell into the pool like um my parents. It
(02:21):
was unique was my parents never pushed me to swim.
I kind of I chose um it. And one thing
they did say is like whatever you do, like you're
not gonna half act, like you're gonna go wall in
and give it a shot. So I gave it a shot,
and I immediately just fell in love with the water,
like it was like my happy place. So I I
(02:46):
just stuck with um swimming. Um. I did a lot
of sports growing up, like you name it. I did
a basketball, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, surfing, skateboarding, like I did everything.
So you're an athlete in general, not just swimming. So yeah,
I believe it. And but it was always like swimming
(03:07):
that just brought me back to the pool. Um. I mean,
I could be having the worst day of my life,
and once I stepped foot in that pool, everything just disappears.
That's so awesome. At home, that's so cool. Wow, because
I had a totally different experience. I was forced to
do swim class when I was in like seventh three
grade and they put me in the swim cap and
(03:28):
make me go in the pool, and there was just
like the slowest hour of my life. I was like,
get me out of this pool. So it's really cool
to hear you know something that you're genuinely super passionate about.
Are you still swimming? Yes, Yes, I am still swimming. Um.
It's a lot harder now than it was back in
the day. I'm sure, how do you manage all that
(03:51):
with like a family and um, you know, that was
probably one of the hardest things that um, I was
trying to deal with. UM is when and when I
started having kids, UM, you know, just trying to be
like my life changed. UM. I was no longer like
swimming was my number one thing. It wasn't like swimming
(04:12):
was just like the cherry on top. UM. I became
a dad, a husband, and that's what I was so
passionate about, and nothing else really mattered in life, Like
it was just me and my family, and I was
just so happy. UM. I was genuinely happy. Um. And
(04:34):
so swimming became like a second priority. UM. So that
was the hardest thing I was trying to juggle, you know,
just being a super dad and a super husband, but
then going to the swimming pool and trying to compete
against kids half my age. UM, I just um and
it was just hard and it was taking a toll
(04:54):
on me. So I started trying to think outside the
box of how can I recover, how can I do
things to help my energy levels to help just basically
everything that I was doing, um, and trying to keep
up with these younger kids So one of the main
things that I started finding. I found out was this
(05:18):
on It's this unique form of vitamin B three that
supports a healthy aging and sillier repair UM called true nitagen.
And I started taking it, and I immediately started feeling
my energy levels like skyrocket skyrocket, Like I was I
(05:39):
was going to swim practice in the morning, training with
these younger kids, then going home and being a super
dad playing with my kids all day, and then going
back to the swimming pool later on that afternoon and
having more energy than the kids. I was swimming against
the Like where did you get this stuff? They called
me like, they call me Big Daddy. That was my nickname, Solar,
(06:02):
a big daddy, Like how are you doing this? How
are you kicking her ass? I'm like, I'm not telling
you my secret. She just told it on my podcast
to these kids. I wasn't saying I didn't tell them
that was like my secret weapon. So like that was
one of the things I was doing. And then of
(06:22):
course you know as you get older, like it's harder
for your body to recover. UM. So I also started
I found out this dr Riggs relief UM. It's like, um,
it's a supplement that you can take that helps your
aches and pains. Okay, this is really good for me
(06:42):
to know because I'm doing Dancing with the Stars right
now and I'm in so much hurt. And I congratulate you,
like I know you did it too, which we'll talk about.
I will train eight years straight of swimming every day,
then dude, dancing with the start again, because that was
really do you think that's how it? Then Olympic training
(07:02):
and swimming like pointing your toes and having your like no, no,
it was. It was brutal. So hey, actually this stuff
will help you. Way what's it called again? All right?
So we got true Niagen that will help your like
cellular energy levels. And then dr Riggs Relief, the suplement
(07:23):
that you put in your water. And it's like, because
I used to take at Ville all the time for
practice just to get through the pain, but I stopped
taking it because you know, it messes up your digestion,
like your organ Yeah. I started taking the doctor Riggs
Relief and it works even better. So achs and pain.
(07:45):
So like when you're like dancing all like for eight
hours straight, take this stuff and you will be back
at it. Oh my gosh, my partner is gonna be like,
who are you? You're a different person, and yeah, I
got the inside scoop. Okay, well obviously we can. I don't. Also,
(08:20):
being somebody who's you know, gone through stuff publicly, I
know that sometimes it can be weird to talk about
certain things, so there's no pressure to cover stuff that
you don't want to cover or but obviously you did
make headlines, um, which I get. You're not alone in this.
I do get it, and I know you know. It's
like I I tried to explain it when people ask
(08:42):
me in interviews where it's just like it's hard to
talk about at least for me, and like my situation
it was hard for me to talk about and it's
so weird because it's just like I carry around so
much like embarrassment with it that it's just like I
don't want to be like brought back to that place
every single time somebody does an interview with me. Just
asked me the same question again, and it's just like
(09:02):
you really want to move forward. But I also think
what is so important when you do make headlines like
that is to hear from the actual person and their
perspective because at least for me personally. I feel like
so much got twisted in the media in my situation
where I just like I still haven't really cleared much up,
but I could imagine something similar happened to you or
(09:25):
one one thousand percent Like it started, the story started
getting twisted, and it started getting to the point where
I like robbed a convenience store like it was. It
was the media like twisting everything. But I mean, I
just had to stay true to myself. Um. I mean
I was getting interviews and it always went back to
(09:47):
two thousand and sixteen. The headlines started. So I was
younger than I was, probably like fifteen turning sixteen. So
from your perspective, walk me through what happened back then.
Well back then, I mean, well everyone knows the story.
So my story that I told it was the actual truth. Um,
the media turned it and it started becoming like I
(10:11):
was lying, um and everything like that, and it just
got misscrewed. And but and then like all the shaming,
Like I think the hardest thing that I had to
deal with back then was going on social media and
looking up messages being like from little kids being like
(10:31):
you used to be my role model and now you're not.
Like stuff like that killed me out of everything, Like
I'd wake up crying every day. Um, and then you
know she was my she was my girlfriend at the time.
She's my wife now she like kind of like slap me,
he said, snap out of it, Like this is not
(10:54):
who you are, Like you can't let them win. Like
I know who you are. I know the person you are.
You gotta keep fighting and change people's minds about you
because this is not This is not you. Like what
people think about you is not the real you. So
you have to keep fighting. You have to be a fighter.
So I was. I started fighting every day trying to
(11:14):
change my image because you know, being uh like a celebrity,
I guess, um, and I had this persona of like
the rock star of swimming, so I had that better. Yeah.
So I had that bad boy image and I had to,
like I feel like I had to live up to it. Um,
(11:35):
but it deep down it wasn't really me. I wasn't
truly happy with myself until I found out, Like until
I had a family on my own and my entire
life changed. Do you how old are your kids or
how many? First of all, how many kids do you
have two kids, kid and my boy he's four years old.
Then I had a world live that is too Oh
(11:57):
you got babies. I got babies. Every day It's like
it's a gift. Yeah, every day I wake up, I'm like, jeez,
this is this is what life is. Yeah. Do you
feel like you from that experience that we were just
kind of talking about a little bit, like you, what's
like your biggest takeaway or learning lesson or something that
(12:18):
maybe you would pass down to your children. And you know,
someone asked me, like, are you gonna let your kids
know like what happened with me? And I was like, yes,
I'm gonna set them down and tell them like everything
that happened, because I want them to know. And this
is probably one of the things that I want to
get them across and things. Thing. The thing that I
(12:40):
learned was you know, in life, you're gonna get knocked down,
and I'm gonna be like your dad got knocked down
to the very bottom. I lost everything, all my sponsors, friends, money,
like you name it. I lost everything. I was like
the most hated man in the world. Like at one point,
(13:01):
it was just brutal, and but that's what happens. In
life sometimes, but it's how you get up and how
you keep moving forward is that is what's going to
define you as a person. And that's what I want
to like teach my kids, like in life, you're going
to get knocked out, but you gotta keep up. You
gotta get up and keep moving, keep moving forward. So
(13:23):
that's definitely what I want to teach them. Yeah, that's
a great takeaway. I feel I feel similar towards that.
Like when you do go through something publicly, it's interesting too,
because you know, a part of you feels like, Okay,
this is I deserve it, and then a part of
you feels like, oh my gosh, this is such a
bandwagon effect of so many people having this mob mentality
(13:44):
that it's hard to see straight and for in my experience,
like when I would read certain things about me, it's like,
even though I know myself, it's like kind of what
you were saying and you're now wife was trying to
probably tell you and get you through, it's just like
you kind of lose sight of who you are and
you kind of start to believe everything that's being told
about you, and it's really hard to like bring yourself
(14:05):
back down and just pick I'm a good person at
my core, Like I messed up bad, but I want to, like,
you know, show who I am. And I deserve a
second chance at life. You know, you know everyone in
life does does deserve a second chance. I agree with that,
and it's just how you how you use it, use
(14:26):
that second chance. And I changed and I started people
started seeing the real Ryan mocktey Um and this past
Olympic trials, Um, I saw a huge change. Um, Like
I got like a standing innovation when I got finished
my last race. U just people all around reaching out
(14:48):
to me on social media, like on the street being like,
oh my gosh, you're a huge role model like that,
just like it's like a full circle moment. May my
heart explode? Yeah? Like yes, I'm like like people are
starting to see the real me now, Like what my
closest family, like my family, my closest friends like that
knew me, that stuck by me. Um, people are starting
(15:12):
to see that. And it was awesome. It was amazing feeling.
So this might be a dumb question, but I feel
like I don't know too much about the Olympics. So which,
like were you in the most recent Olympics or is
this just walk me through all of this because I
know nothing, so I don't even know how to phrase
these questions. Okay. Um So, in two thousand four I
(15:33):
got a gold and silver at the Olympics. That was
my first Olympics. In two thousand eight, I got four
Olympic medals. In two thousand and twelve I got five.
Was in sixteen I got one. Um so I just
missed this last uh this past Olympics. Um I fell short.
(15:55):
And you know, I think it was just I put
a lot of weight on under my shoulders just because
I think I wanted it more for everyone and everyone
wrong then for myself. Um I wanted definitely more for
my family and not me. So I felt short. But
you know the turn around, everything that happened, like everything
(16:16):
is meant to like everything happens for a reason, and
you know, like the whole thing, like and you can
take away from this too, Like in two thousand and sixteen,
everything that all that bad stuff that happened to me,
it was a sign that like I had to wake
up and smell the coffee, like I had a like
if I was going down this path of like just
this rock star image. I probably wouldn't have kids right now,
(16:41):
and who knows where i'd be. Um, So everything does
happen for a reason and you just gotta keep moving
forward with your head up. Yeah, totally Again, could be
(17:10):
a totally obvious question. But you have, like you people
like try out every new Olympic season basically, and then
if you don't make that cut, then obviously you're not
in it. Yes, So a month before the Olympics, the
actual Olympic Games, we have in the US Olympic trials
and you have to get first or second out of
(17:32):
every swimmer in the United States. You have to get
first or second in your event. And then once you
get first or second, you make the Olympic team. Then
you go to the Olympics and compete for United States
against the world. What is that like like being actually
because it just sounds so insane, like really like, you know,
(17:53):
competing for your country. But then also you know so
many people are watching and cheering you on or maybe
not cheer you on, and like what is that genuinely
feel like When you're in that moment, it is the
greatest feeling in the world, Like you're not swimming just
for yourself. You're swimming for your entire country, the country
that you like. When I put on that swim cap,
(18:15):
that the one that you said you, hey, don't ever
put me in a swim cap. When I was putting
on that American flag swim cap and having my name
under the American flag, that just was like, you know,
I freaking made it. Yeah, thing like that is that
is the best, the greatest feeling in the world. When
you were younger, did you know, like you said, you
(18:38):
started swimming at a young age, and both your parents obviously,
um kind of introduced you to that world. But did
you know, like or I guess at what age did
you know, Okay, this is going to be my career,
Like this is everything to me, and I just want
to like I was a late Bloomerum yeah, I wasn't
that good. And like in high school like growing up interesting,
(19:00):
Um yeah, Um, I just had to work my butt
off every day. Um when I got to college, UM,
I still wasn't sure like if swimming was for me.
Like I mean I love swimming, but like I wasn't
great swimming. College was so hard just because I mean
coming from high school to college and like you get
(19:21):
introduced to like the college scene, like all that, like
it was just it was brutal. Um. But in swimming,
it took me a while. After probably about my freshman year,
I was like, you know what, I think I can
make a name for myself in this sport. You're a
freshman year of college. Yeah. So for anybody out there
that's listening to this right now and you're down on
yourself in high school for not performing your best, you
(19:44):
heard it from Ryan Locktey and don't give up. Don't
give up. You never give up. Just keep going. Go
for that gold, go for the goal. That's crazy. And
you won your So your first Olympics, you got a gold. Yes,
my first Olympics. So my Firstlympics was after my sophomore
year of college and I got a gold and silver
(20:04):
at the Olympics. And then seriously I used all that
like momentum that I had from that Olympics to carry
on throughout my swimming career. Um. After the two thousand
four Olympics, I got back to Gainesville, Florida. I went
to University of Florida. Um, I got back home and
I immediately started setting goals for two I was like,
(20:26):
I want to do better. I want to get my
gold so um. Yeah, and then it just kept on
going in that kind of pattern every four years, like
setting new goals, trying to improve myself, trying to make
myself better every day. And what what's the training like
behind that to like really get or I guess too
batter yourself, Like what things were you doing differently? Just
(20:47):
like practicing more and being physically in the water. You know.
I started setting more, um, short term goals every day
in practice. Um because all those little short term goals
like having short uh those goals every day like they're
gonna add up. Um. So I started setting little goals
every day. UM. Started taking care of my body outside
(21:09):
the pool, um and just pushing myself. UM. Started doing
more weightlifting, UM things like that. So you're just like
all in all bettered yourself and took it like up
a notch, really like took it next level to perform.
I just kept on taking my body. I kept on
pushing my body to like I can out train anyone.
(21:32):
I feel like, just because I don't have a stopping point. Yeah,
I will go until I pass out. I'm bleeding from
my eyeballs, Like I'll just keep going because the goals
that I wanted, that was long term goals that I wanted.
Nothing was going to get in my way. And hard
work yeah, hard work, Yeah, it sounds like it. And
(21:53):
I'm I'm asking that because I do want this podcast
and I want people listening, Like, especially when I have
guests like you and somebody that's worked so hard for something,
I want people to have a takeaway and then maybe
people in a similar situation would be like, Okay, So
even though there were tough times, like he got through it,
he's still persevering. He's still trying to, you know, make
(22:14):
Olympics like he had. He really hasn't given up, which
I think is really inspiring. Um, what do you do now, Like,
what's your day to day? I know you're still swimming,
but I'm still I'm still getting in the water. Um.
You know. You know, after after Olympic trials in July,
it was really hard for me. Um, Like mentally, I
(22:39):
mean physically, I was drained from the sports swimming. I
mean I've been doing it for what twenty eight years,
so I was a little tired. Um, But mentally I
was I was really frustrated with myself because you know,
I care so much about everyone and I wanted me
(23:00):
to make the Olympic team for everyone else, to prove
everyone wrong, and that I didn't make it. I was
I would wake up after Olympic trials, like when I
was home, I would wake up, go to the mirror
in the bathroom and be like, I'm a I'm a
failure because I felt like I failed, I failed everyone,
(23:22):
and it was the hardest thing to move on throughout
my day. I was just I was depressed. I was
like I just failed everyone that like was cheered for me,
Like I failed my family, like looking at my kids
and my wife every day being like like your dad's nothing.
And then there's a different way to look at it too,
(23:43):
where it's just like but you still went out there
and tried and like that's so. So that was like
that was the hardest thing to me overcome that, How
did you overcome that? Um honestly playing with my kids
every day, like having my kids come up to me
and being like I love you, dad, Dad, like this
(24:05):
is like I love you, and so like I had
to turn to my family. I had to turn to
my close circle, and that's what I did this time,
Like I turned to my family. I'm like, you know what,
like I can't be depressed, Like there's there's no like
look at my kids, Like look at my family that
I brought into this world, Like I can't be depressed
(24:27):
over that. Like this is the greatest thing in the world.
So like I kind of like basically snapped out of it. Yeah,
and like now I'm I mean I still think about like, man,
I wish I made the Olympic team, but I'm not
suppressed anymore. Like I'm the happiest I've ever been right now.
That's amazing to him. Getting back myself. I'm getting back
(24:48):
into the water. I'm starting to train again, hanging out
with my family more. Like it's just it's funny. Do
you think you're going to try for the next t Lympants?
Oh is that a voted question? I know? Um to me, continued,
Maybe we'll see. You know, I'm definitely gonna be involved
in the sport, whether it's me competing or me What
(25:10):
I really want to do is I want to help
the younger generations. I love that I want to teach
kids how to swim. I want to teach kids things
that I've learned throughout my swimming career and help them.
Just help the younger generations because I want to see
the younger youth like grow totally. That's so cool. I
don't want to take up too much of your time.
(25:32):
I think the last question I have because you are
so iconic, I think in so many ways and such
a talent. If you could give advice to kids or
adults or whoever is listening to this, what would you
say that really got you through those moments to persevere
um and just to keep your mental in check. And
I'm even going to take a page out of this
book because I could use it. I say, never lose yourself.
(25:56):
You out of anyone in this entire world, know who
you are. Do not lose who you are, and try
to better yourself every day, no matter what. You might
have everything handed to you, or might have everything going
for you, but always try to better yourself every day
and just keep moving forward. Like you can learn from
(26:16):
the past, but don't dwell on the past. I love
that love that you guys heard it here first. Thank
you so much for coming on. Ryan, you were so sweet,
so much for having me and hey, kick some ass.
Thank you. I'm going to try it. It's been so
much fun. I mean, it's so hard. Yeah, I totally
(26:39):
agree with you, but I don't know how it is
so much fun. Yeah, but it's a it's a blast.
I'm having a good time for sure. Hey, good luck. Well,
I'm gonna start watching. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank
you so much. Yes, thank you, You're the best. All right, Hey,
thank you so much for having me on. Thank you
for coming on. I have a great rest of your day, right,
(27:00):
thank you YouTube by Wow. That was such an amazing conversation.
And I think one of the things I'm gonna love
most about this podcast is that we really get to
know people beyond just the surface or what we see online.
And it was so much fun talking to him. He
seems like an amazing dad and his family's his main
priority now and it's just so beautiful to see that
(27:22):
growth and just to hear from him personally. So that
was really really exciting, and I hope you guys all
enjoyed listening to him, and make sure to keep messaging
me and tweeting me or whatever it is you guys
have any other people you want to see, any other
experts or mentors or anything that you guys are interested
in I really want to incorporate on this podcast. So
(27:43):
thank you guys again for tuning in and we'll see
you soon.
This is Conversations with Olivia Jade and I Heart Radio podcast.
Hello everybody, welcome back to another episode of Conversations. I
am so so excited for today's guest, be amazing Olympic
swimmer Ryan Lockty. I honestly didn't know too much about
(00:23):
Ryan Lockty, and I know one thing that we have
in common is that we have both been on Dancing
with the Stars, and so that really piqued my interest.
And I just want to learn more about him personally here,
about his personal life, his goals, how he got into swimming,
and I want to bring you guys along to talk
about his journey as well. So with that being said,
let's jump right into it and let's hear from Ryan
(00:46):
Locktey himself. How are you doing. I'm really good. I'm
really excited to be interviewing you. This will be fun. Well,
thank you for having me on. Oh my gosh. Of
course I'm really new at this, so you can take
over as much as you want and you know, just
speak your mind. Um. But obviously I know you as
(01:10):
an amazing, famous swimmer, Olympic swimmer, and I don't know
the proper way to get into these types of podcast,
but I think we should just jump in and I
want to hear everything about you in your life and
how you got into this and I know you have
a baby or two babies or yeah, I just want
to hear it all. So I think, yeah, maybe you
(01:34):
just want to start off by telling the audience like
who you are, where you're from, how you grew up
a little bit. Okay, Um yeah, um I'm Ryan Lockey. Um,
I'm a twelve time Olympic medalist. I've been to four
for swimming. Um, I've been to four Olympics, um in
two and sixteen. And yeah, I mean I grew up
(01:59):
in New York, up state New York. Yeah, I grew
up there and I was always around the swimming pool.
Um both my swimming My parents were swim coaches. So
I mean I guess you could say I grew up
on the pool deck. Ah, so that makes sense. So
I fell into the pool like um my parents. It
(02:21):
was unique was my parents never pushed me to swim.
I kind of I chose um it. And one thing
they did say is like whatever you do, like you're
not gonna half act, like you're gonna go wall in
and give it a shot. So I gave it a shot,
and I immediately just fell in love with the water,
like it was like my happy place. So I I
(02:46):
just stuck with um swimming. Um. I did a lot
of sports growing up, like you name it. I did
a basketball, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, surfing, skateboarding, like I did everything.
So you're an athlete in general, not just swimming. So yeah,
I believe it. And but it was always like swimming
(03:07):
that just brought me back to the pool. Um. I mean,
I could be having the worst day of my life,
and once I stepped foot in that pool, everything just disappears.
That's so awesome. At home, that's so cool. Wow, because
I had a totally different experience. I was forced to
do swim class when I was in like seventh three
grade and they put me in the swim cap and
(03:28):
make me go in the pool, and there was just
like the slowest hour of my life. I was like,
get me out of this pool. So it's really cool
to hear you know something that you're genuinely super passionate about.
Are you still swimming? Yes, Yes, I am still swimming. Um.
It's a lot harder now than it was back in
the day. I'm sure, how do you manage all that
(03:51):
with like a family and um, you know, that was
probably one of the hardest things that um, I was
trying to deal with. UM is when and when I
started having kids, UM, you know, just trying to be
like my life changed. UM. I was no longer like
swimming was my number one thing. It wasn't like swimming
(04:12):
was just like the cherry on top. UM. I became
a dad, a husband, and that's what I was so
passionate about, and nothing else really mattered in life, Like
it was just me and my family, and I was
just so happy. UM. I was genuinely happy. Um. And
(04:34):
so swimming became like a second priority. UM. So that
was the hardest thing I was trying to juggle, you know,
just being a super dad and a super husband, but
then going to the swimming pool and trying to compete
against kids half my age. UM, I just um and
it was just hard and it was taking a toll
(04:54):
on me. So I started trying to think outside the
box of how can I recover, how can I do
things to help my energy levels to help just basically
everything that I was doing, um, and trying to keep
up with these younger kids So one of the main
things that I started finding. I found out was this
(05:18):
on It's this unique form of vitamin B three that
supports a healthy aging and sillier repair UM called true nitagen.
And I started taking it, and I immediately started feeling
my energy levels like skyrocket skyrocket, Like I was I
(05:39):
was going to swim practice in the morning, training with
these younger kids, then going home and being a super
dad playing with my kids all day, and then going
back to the swimming pool later on that afternoon and
having more energy than the kids. I was swimming against
the Like where did you get this stuff? They called
me like, they call me Big Daddy. That was my nickname, Solar,
(06:02):
a big daddy, Like how are you doing this? How
are you kicking her ass? I'm like, I'm not telling
you my secret. She just told it on my podcast
to these kids. I wasn't saying I didn't tell them
that was like my secret weapon. So like that was
one of the things I was doing. And then of
(06:22):
course you know as you get older, like it's harder
for your body to recover. UM. So I also started
I found out this dr Riggs relief UM. It's like, um,
it's a supplement that you can take that helps your
aches and pains. Okay, this is really good for me
(06:42):
to know because I'm doing Dancing with the Stars right
now and I'm in so much hurt. And I congratulate you,
like I know you did it too, which we'll talk about.
I will train eight years straight of swimming every day,
then dude, dancing with the start again, because that was
really do you think that's how it? Then Olympic training
(07:02):
and swimming like pointing your toes and having your like no, no,
it was. It was brutal. So hey, actually this stuff
will help you. Way what's it called again? All right?
So we got true Niagen that will help your like
cellular energy levels. And then dr Riggs Relief, the suplement
(07:23):
that you put in your water. And it's like, because
I used to take at Ville all the time for
practice just to get through the pain, but I stopped
taking it because you know, it messes up your digestion,
like your organ Yeah. I started taking the doctor Riggs
Relief and it works even better. So achs and pain.
(07:45):
So like when you're like dancing all like for eight
hours straight, take this stuff and you will be back
at it. Oh my gosh, my partner is gonna be like,
who are you? You're a different person, and yeah, I
got the inside scoop. Okay, well obviously we can. I don't. Also,
(08:20):
being somebody who's you know, gone through stuff publicly, I
know that sometimes it can be weird to talk about
certain things, so there's no pressure to cover stuff that
you don't want to cover or but obviously you did
make headlines, um, which I get. You're not alone in this.
I do get it, and I know you know. It's
like I I tried to explain it when people ask
(08:42):
me in interviews where it's just like it's hard to
talk about at least for me, and like my situation
it was hard for me to talk about and it's
so weird because it's just like I carry around so
much like embarrassment with it that it's just like I
don't want to be like brought back to that place
every single time somebody does an interview with me. Just
asked me the same question again, and it's just like
(09:02):
you really want to move forward. But I also think
what is so important when you do make headlines like
that is to hear from the actual person and their
perspective because at least for me personally. I feel like
so much got twisted in the media in my situation
where I just like I still haven't really cleared much up,
but I could imagine something similar happened to you or
(09:25):
one one thousand percent Like it started, the story started
getting twisted, and it started getting to the point where
I like robbed a convenience store like it was. It
was the media like twisting everything. But I mean, I
just had to stay true to myself. Um. I mean
I was getting interviews and it always went back to
(09:47):
two thousand and sixteen. The headlines started. So I was
younger than I was, probably like fifteen turning sixteen. So
from your perspective, walk me through what happened back then.
Well back then, I mean, well everyone knows the story.
So my story that I told it was the actual truth. Um,
the media turned it and it started becoming like I
(10:11):
was lying, um and everything like that, and it just
got misscrewed. And but and then like all the shaming,
Like I think the hardest thing that I had to
deal with back then was going on social media and
looking up messages being like from little kids being like
(10:31):
you used to be my role model and now you're not.
Like stuff like that killed me out of everything, Like
I'd wake up crying every day. Um, and then you
know she was my she was my girlfriend at the time.
She's my wife now she like kind of like slap me,
he said, snap out of it, Like this is not
(10:54):
who you are, Like you can't let them win. Like
I know who you are. I know the person you are.
You gotta keep fighting and change people's minds about you
because this is not This is not you. Like what
people think about you is not the real you. So
you have to keep fighting. You have to be a fighter.
So I was. I started fighting every day trying to
(11:14):
change my image because you know, being uh like a celebrity,
I guess, um, and I had this persona of like
the rock star of swimming, so I had that better. Yeah.
So I had that bad boy image and I had to,
like I feel like I had to live up to it. Um,
(11:35):
but it deep down it wasn't really me. I wasn't
truly happy with myself until I found out, Like until
I had a family on my own and my entire
life changed. Do you how old are your kids or
how many? First of all, how many kids do you
have two kids, kid and my boy he's four years old.
Then I had a world live that is too Oh
(11:57):
you got babies. I got babies. Every day It's like
it's a gift. Yeah, every day I wake up, I'm like, jeez,
this is this is what life is. Yeah. Do you
feel like you from that experience that we were just
kind of talking about a little bit, like you, what's
like your biggest takeaway or learning lesson or something that
(12:18):
maybe you would pass down to your children. And you know,
someone asked me, like, are you gonna let your kids
know like what happened with me? And I was like, yes,
I'm gonna set them down and tell them like everything
that happened, because I want them to know. And this
is probably one of the things that I want to
get them across and things. Thing. The thing that I
(12:40):
learned was you know, in life, you're gonna get knocked down,
and I'm gonna be like your dad got knocked down
to the very bottom. I lost everything, all my sponsors, friends, money,
like you name it. I lost everything. I was like
the most hated man in the world. Like at one point,
(13:01):
it was just brutal, and but that's what happens. In
life sometimes, but it's how you get up and how
you keep moving forward is that is what's going to
define you as a person. And that's what I want
to like teach my kids, like in life, you're going
to get knocked out, but you gotta keep up. You
gotta get up and keep moving, keep moving forward. So
(13:23):
that's definitely what I want to teach them. Yeah, that's
a great takeaway. I feel I feel similar towards that.
Like when you do go through something publicly, it's interesting too,
because you know, a part of you feels like, Okay,
this is I deserve it, and then a part of
you feels like, oh my gosh, this is such a
bandwagon effect of so many people having this mob mentality
(13:44):
that it's hard to see straight and for in my experience,
like when I would read certain things about me, it's like,
even though I know myself, it's like kind of what
you were saying and you're now wife was trying to
probably tell you and get you through, it's just like
you kind of lose sight of who you are and
you kind of start to believe everything that's being told
about you, and it's really hard to like bring yourself
(14:05):
back down and just pick I'm a good person at
my core, Like I messed up bad, but I want to, like,
you know, show who I am. And I deserve a
second chance at life. You know, you know everyone in
life does does deserve a second chance. I agree with that,
and it's just how you how you use it, use
(14:26):
that second chance. And I changed and I started people
started seeing the real Ryan mocktey Um and this past
Olympic trials, Um, I saw a huge change. Um, Like
I got like a standing innovation when I got finished
my last race. U just people all around reaching out
(14:48):
to me on social media, like on the street being like,
oh my gosh, you're a huge role model like that,
just like it's like a full circle moment. May my
heart explode? Yeah? Like yes, I'm like like people are
starting to see the real me now, Like what my
closest family, like my family, my closest friends like that
knew me, that stuck by me. Um, people are starting
(15:12):
to see that. And it was awesome. It was amazing feeling.
So this might be a dumb question, but I feel
like I don't know too much about the Olympics. So which,
like were you in the most recent Olympics or is
this just walk me through all of this because I
know nothing, so I don't even know how to phrase
these questions. Okay. Um So, in two thousand four I
(15:33):
got a gold and silver at the Olympics. That was
my first Olympics. In two thousand eight, I got four
Olympic medals. In two thousand and twelve I got five.
Was in sixteen I got one. Um so I just
missed this last uh this past Olympics. Um I fell short.
(15:55):
And you know, I think it was just I put
a lot of weight on under my shoulders just because
I think I wanted it more for everyone and everyone
wrong then for myself. Um I wanted definitely more for
my family and not me. So I felt short. But
you know the turn around, everything that happened, like everything
(16:16):
is meant to like everything happens for a reason, and
you know, like the whole thing, like and you can
take away from this too, Like in two thousand and sixteen,
everything that all that bad stuff that happened to me,
it was a sign that like I had to wake
up and smell the coffee, like I had a like
if I was going down this path of like just
this rock star image. I probably wouldn't have kids right now,
(16:41):
and who knows where i'd be. Um, So everything does
happen for a reason and you just gotta keep moving
forward with your head up. Yeah, totally Again, could be
(17:10):
a totally obvious question. But you have, like you people
like try out every new Olympic season basically, and then
if you don't make that cut, then obviously you're not
in it. Yes, So a month before the Olympics, the
actual Olympic Games, we have in the US Olympic trials
and you have to get first or second out of
(17:32):
every swimmer in the United States. You have to get
first or second in your event. And then once you
get first or second, you make the Olympic team. Then
you go to the Olympics and compete for United States
against the world. What is that like like being actually
because it just sounds so insane, like really like, you know,
(17:53):
competing for your country. But then also you know so
many people are watching and cheering you on or maybe
not cheer you on, and like what is that genuinely
feel like When you're in that moment, it is the
greatest feeling in the world, Like you're not swimming just
for yourself. You're swimming for your entire country, the country
that you like. When I put on that swim cap,
(18:15):
that the one that you said you, hey, don't ever
put me in a swim cap. When I was putting
on that American flag swim cap and having my name
under the American flag, that just was like, you know,
I freaking made it. Yeah, thing like that is that
is the best, the greatest feeling in the world. When
you were younger, did you know, like you said, you
(18:38):
started swimming at a young age, and both your parents obviously,
um kind of introduced you to that world. But did
you know, like or I guess at what age did
you know, Okay, this is going to be my career,
Like this is everything to me, and I just want
to like I was a late Bloomerum yeah, I wasn't
that good. And like in high school like growing up interesting,
(19:00):
Um yeah, Um, I just had to work my butt
off every day. Um when I got to college, UM,
I still wasn't sure like if swimming was for me.
Like I mean I love swimming, but like I wasn't
great swimming. College was so hard just because I mean
coming from high school to college and like you get
(19:21):
introduced to like the college scene, like all that, like
it was just it was brutal. Um. But in swimming,
it took me a while. After probably about my freshman year,
I was like, you know what, I think I can
make a name for myself in this sport. You're a
freshman year of college. Yeah. So for anybody out there
that's listening to this right now and you're down on
yourself in high school for not performing your best, you
(19:44):
heard it from Ryan Locktey and don't give up. Don't
give up. You never give up. Just keep going. Go
for that gold, go for the goal. That's crazy. And
you won your So your first Olympics, you got a gold. Yes,
my first Olympics. So my Firstlympics was after my sophomore
year of college and I got a gold and silver
(20:04):
at the Olympics. And then seriously I used all that
like momentum that I had from that Olympics to carry
on throughout my swimming career. Um. After the two thousand
four Olympics, I got back to Gainesville, Florida. I went
to University of Florida. Um, I got back home and
I immediately started setting goals for two I was like,
(20:26):
I want to do better. I want to get my
gold so um. Yeah, and then it just kept on
going in that kind of pattern every four years, like
setting new goals, trying to improve myself, trying to make
myself better every day. And what what's the training like
behind that to like really get or I guess too
batter yourself, Like what things were you doing differently? Just
(20:47):
like practicing more and being physically in the water. You know.
I started setting more, um, short term goals every day
in practice. Um because all those little short term goals
like having short uh those goals every day like they're
gonna add up. Um. So I started setting little goals
every day. UM. Started taking care of my body outside
(21:09):
the pool, um and just pushing myself. UM. Started doing
more weightlifting, UM things like that. So you're just like
all in all bettered yourself and took it like up
a notch, really like took it next level to perform.
I just kept on taking my body. I kept on
pushing my body to like I can out train anyone.
(21:32):
I feel like, just because I don't have a stopping point. Yeah,
I will go until I pass out. I'm bleeding from
my eyeballs, Like I'll just keep going because the goals
that I wanted, that was long term goals that I wanted.
Nothing was going to get in my way. And hard
work yeah, hard work, Yeah, it sounds like it. And
(21:53):
I'm I'm asking that because I do want this podcast
and I want people listening, Like, especially when I have
guests like you and somebody that's worked so hard for something,
I want people to have a takeaway and then maybe
people in a similar situation would be like, Okay, So
even though there were tough times, like he got through it,
he's still persevering. He's still trying to, you know, make
(22:14):
Olympics like he had. He really hasn't given up, which
I think is really inspiring. Um, what do you do now, Like,
what's your day to day? I know you're still swimming,
but I'm still I'm still getting in the water. Um.
You know. You know, after after Olympic trials in July,
it was really hard for me. Um, Like mentally, I
(22:39):
mean physically, I was drained from the sports swimming. I
mean I've been doing it for what twenty eight years,
so I was a little tired. Um, But mentally I
was I was really frustrated with myself because you know,
I care so much about everyone and I wanted me
(23:00):
to make the Olympic team for everyone else, to prove
everyone wrong, and that I didn't make it. I was
I would wake up after Olympic trials, like when I
was home, I would wake up, go to the mirror
in the bathroom and be like, I'm a I'm a
failure because I felt like I failed, I failed everyone,
(23:22):
and it was the hardest thing to move on throughout
my day. I was just I was depressed. I was
like I just failed everyone that like was cheered for me,
Like I failed my family, like looking at my kids
and my wife every day being like like your dad's nothing.
And then there's a different way to look at it too,
(23:43):
where it's just like but you still went out there
and tried and like that's so. So that was like
that was the hardest thing to me overcome that, How
did you overcome that? Um honestly playing with my kids
every day, like having my kids come up to me
and being like I love you, dad, Dad, like this
(24:05):
is like I love you, and so like I had
to turn to my family. I had to turn to
my close circle, and that's what I did this time,
Like I turned to my family. I'm like, you know what,
like I can't be depressed, Like there's there's no like
look at my kids, Like look at my family that
I brought into this world, Like I can't be depressed
(24:27):
over that. Like this is the greatest thing in the world.
So like I kind of like basically snapped out of it. Yeah,
and like now I'm I mean I still think about like, man,
I wish I made the Olympic team, but I'm not
suppressed anymore. Like I'm the happiest I've ever been right now.
That's amazing to him. Getting back myself. I'm getting back
(24:48):
into the water. I'm starting to train again, hanging out
with my family more. Like it's just it's funny. Do
you think you're going to try for the next t Lympants?
Oh is that a voted question? I know? Um to me, continued,
Maybe we'll see. You know, I'm definitely gonna be involved
in the sport, whether it's me competing or me What
(25:10):
I really want to do is I want to help
the younger generations. I love that I want to teach
kids how to swim. I want to teach kids things
that I've learned throughout my swimming career and help them.
Just help the younger generations because I want to see
the younger youth like grow totally. That's so cool. I
don't want to take up too much of your time.
(25:32):
I think the last question I have because you are
so iconic, I think in so many ways and such
a talent. If you could give advice to kids or
adults or whoever is listening to this, what would you
say that really got you through those moments to persevere
um and just to keep your mental in check. And
I'm even going to take a page out of this
book because I could use it. I say, never lose yourself.
(25:56):
You out of anyone in this entire world, know who
you are. Do not lose who you are, and try
to better yourself every day, no matter what. You might
have everything handed to you, or might have everything going
for you, but always try to better yourself every day
and just keep moving forward. Like you can learn from
(26:16):
the past, but don't dwell on the past. I love
that love that you guys heard it here first. Thank
you so much for coming on. Ryan, you were so sweet,
so much for having me and hey, kick some ass.
Thank you. I'm going to try it. It's been so
much fun. I mean, it's so hard. Yeah, I totally
(26:39):
agree with you, but I don't know how it is
so much fun. Yeah, but it's a it's a blast.
I'm having a good time for sure. Hey, good luck. Well,
I'm gonna start watching. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank
you so much. Yes, thank you, You're the best. All right, Hey,
thank you so much for having me on. Thank you
for coming on. I have a great rest of your day, right,
(27:00):
thank you YouTube by Wow. That was such an amazing conversation.
And I think one of the things I'm gonna love
most about this podcast is that we really get to
know people beyond just the surface or what we see online.
And it was so much fun talking to him. He
seems like an amazing dad and his family's his main
priority now and it's just so beautiful to see that
(27:22):
growth and just to hear from him personally. So that
was really really exciting, and I hope you guys all
enjoyed listening to him, and make sure to keep messaging
me and tweeting me or whatever it is you guys
have any other people you want to see, any other
experts or mentors or anything that you guys are interested
in I really want to incorporate on this podcast. So
(27:43):
thank you guys again for tuning in and we'll see
you soon.
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