November 26, 2021 • 22 mins
Rai is an american professional hurdler and sprinter specializing in the 400 m and 400 m hurdles. He is the second fastest man in history in the 400 m hurdles. He won a silver medal at his first Olympic Games in 2021 and at the World Championships in 2019 in the men's 400 m hurdles, and gold medals in the 4 × 400 m relay.
Rai discusses his journey to becoming one of the fastest people alive. The sacrifices athletes make, balancing an athletic career & personal life, representing himself as a business, his eating habits on and off-season, his future endeavors, and advice to anyone who wants to become an athlete.
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Guest IG: @_kingben_
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, money Movers, Welcome back to Money Moves, the daily
podcast determined to give you the keys to the Kingdom
of financial stability, wealth and abundance. Pay money Movers, Welcome
back to the Money Moves podcast powered by Greenlands. Our
(00:23):
celebrity guest this week is an American professional hurdler and
sprinter specializing in the four hundred meter and the four
hundred meter hurdles. He is determined to become one of
the best hurdlers that's ever been, and so far he's
off to not just a good start, but a fast start.
In college, he set a four hundred meter relay record
(00:44):
and at the World Championships he won gold and silver,
and just this summer at the Olympics in Tokyo, he
brought home both gold and silver medals for Team USA,
breaking records in the process. I am honored and super
excited to welcome to the Money Moves Podcast one of
the fastest men alive, Team USA's own Olympian Rye Benjamin
(01:08):
hi Ry Welcome to the podcast. Hello, thank you, thank you,
thank you for having me. Oh my god, you're happy
to talk and you know, chop things up. Yeah, let's
do it. Let's do it so ry. Congratulations on all
your success and hard work this summer. I think every
kid was at home watching you win gold medals and
(01:28):
it was truly a historic and incredible, incredible race to watch.
So congratulations, Thank you. How does it feel to be
back now? Are you back in the US? Now? Yeah,
I'm back in l A. Uh it was. It was
pretty good. It was kind of strange, you know, especially
you know, being in the village for like two weeks,
(01:50):
you know, kind of being confined to a space, and
then now you're back and it's like it just it
feels sort of weird, like it almost it's almost like
nothing ever happened. So yeah, it's been pretty good. Uh I.
I was in Oregon a day or two ago for
my last meet and now we're in like full vacation
mode right now. Okay, so now you get a little
(02:12):
bit of downtime. What does vacation mode look like for
a professional athlete? Because I can't imagine you're sitting around
eating five guys and like, I am, I am? How
was that shake Chack yesterday? And I just had Popeyes
for for lunch today too, So I'm enjoying it. Okay, Well,
I guess I take that back. Yeah, yeah, for me vacations,
(02:33):
Like I mean, of course, I don't have the luxury
of eating at you know a lot of good restaurants
here because of you know, dietary restrictions throughout the year.
So I'm trying to experience the l a food scene
some more. Um So that's the goal for this offseason. Um.
(02:54):
I'm going jet skiing next week with boys and uh
some their friends. We're in a jet ski from Long
Beach to Catalina. Oh wow, I love this. Yeah, that
should be pretty fun. And then I'm heading to New
York back home for a couple of days. Uh so,
you know, hang out in the city a little bit,
(03:16):
you know, experience that food scene because I love food
and stuff like that. So that's that. Those are my
plans right now. That's great. Well, you deserve it, so,
I know. You know, so many kids dream of being
an Olympic medalist and competing amongst the world's greats. And
one of the things we love to talk about on
the Money Moves podcast is just excellence. And you truly
(03:36):
embody that can we talk about, you know, the mindset
that it takes to really become an Olympian and where
are you sort of first saw those sparks? Were you won?
Were you two? Were you three? Or did this come
late in life? Um? Well, first of all, it's it's
I know it sounds cliche, but it's a lot of sacrifice,
(03:56):
Like a lot of sacrifice, Um, not going home for Christmas,
not going home for Thanksgiving, you know, just being here
locked in on on on what it is that you
want to achieve in knowing that you know, this small
sacrifice right now is gonna set me up later along
in life or or you're going to reap the benefits later.
(04:18):
But um, I think I noticed how driven I was, um,
probably my sophomore year in high school, Um, just to
be you know, even great then on on that scene,
wanting to be the best in my area in New York.
And uh, I think it started from there. And I
(04:39):
think that work ethic um through track kind of golled
over into my personal life. And uh, I think I
got even more so serious about it my junior year
in college. My first two years, I kinda I was
just having fun, you know, you know, your first year
in college you kind of want to experience some things
and and and and do a lot, and you know,
(05:01):
I was definitely having fun, but I think I kind
of locked in on what it is I needed to
do my junior year in college. And did you go
to college on a track scholarship? Yeah, I went. So
I went to u C l A for two years
and then I transferred to USC for my last two years.
But I only ran collegiately one year and then I
(05:22):
went pro. But I gotta say I experienced both both
ends of l A, you know, the c l A
side and the USC side, So it definitely is uh,
definitely was a great experience. So when you talk about
this drive and being able to tap into that drive, Um,
what does the training schedule of an Olympian look like?
(05:42):
Because I think a lot of times, you know, I
want our audience and our young listeners out there to
really understand that mindset and what it takes to be
excellent at that level. So tell us about, you know,
an average training day. So in the fall, that's when
I mean, that's we call it, that's what the money
is made, um, And that's when you put the big
(06:03):
deposits in. It's it's pretty hectic. So um uh we
start at I probably lift that around ten o'clock and
I lift for about an hour, sometimes an hour and twenty,
depending on how long the lift is and how strenuous
it is. And then we come back for a second
session during the day from one to maybe about three o'clock.
(06:27):
And um, in between that time you're doing you're doing
prehab stuff to get prepared for practice, to get ready
for that second session, and it's it's it's a lot
of running, a lot of technique stuff getting done. UM.
So that's Mondays and Tuesday's Wednesdays, I'm up at four
fifty because we have practice at five am in the morning.
(06:50):
And it's like we're running hills out here in l
A and it's it's pretty dark. So you're like, you're
you're going to practice and it's like you can't see
anything at all, and it's it's dark outside, and it's like, yeah,
run up this hill a few times. We're usually out
there for like an hour or two hours sometimes. So
that's a Wednesday and uh, and then we have the
(07:10):
rest of the day off, but it's a it's a
lot of those days back to back to back. UM.
Saturday sometimes we have off, but it just depends on
what we're doing that week. So with this Olympian mindset,
and you talked about you know in the falls where
the money is made, do you correlate this to making
deals that can actually translate into money or you know,
(07:31):
cultivating your skills and talents as a hurdler. I mean,
I'll go with that lot. The Ltder statement, um is
cultivating those skills and realizing that, Okay, this is what
I need to do to get better in order for
me to have a successful spring season. So for a
lot of us, the pandemic was a hard hit to
(07:53):
our day to day regiments. Obviously it pushed the Olympics
back in extra year, But how did it affect your
training regiment? And did you notice the difference? Was it
a benefit? Uh? For me? Was it was rough because
now you spent so the pandemic hit, what was it March?
(08:15):
About March so in you spent the later half of preparing.
January came around, you're preparing, February came around your preparing,
and you know, I felt really good. And then as
an athlete and as a person like you set goals
like this is where this is what we're training for.
(08:38):
So now we're going to work back from that in
order to get there, and the goal was the Olympics,
and now you take the end goal away and now
it's like what are we doing? Like what then? Like
what's happening now? And when COVID first started, everyone was
(08:58):
just scared mind us, like we didn't know what to do,
We didn't know the effect of this, of this virus
and stuff like it was rough, like it's really rough.
So and now we're all indoors, sitting down and then
it was just a moment where I was just lost
and it was like do we keep practicing? How can
(09:19):
we keep practicing? Facilities are closed? And then they announced
that okay, it's being postponed, so now we have to
find ways to train um without being on a track.
So I don't know if you're familiar with l A,
but like we were just everywhere at Griffith Park, at
Culver City, in the neighborhoods, like people were coming out
(09:40):
on their on their front steps like watching us, like
run in the streets, like it was legit crazy. It was.
We were doing everything. I was like, you know, doing
workouts in the alley way here downtown, like it was
just it was just ridiculous anywhere you can get anywhere
you can and and and we worked because we knew
(10:01):
that are like, we can't take the whole year off
because that's just not something you can afford to do, uh,
in this sport. So you know, we worked and we
were able to salvage you know, whatever it was of
the season that we have doing it safely. Um. Thankfully
none of us you know, got COVID and we were
really safe about it. And uh, you know, we did
(10:22):
what we needed to do. But that year was just
very trying, and it just made you realize that I
can't take things for granted because just you know, things
could just disappear from right in front of you, just
like that. So it was just one of those moments. Well,
I applaud you because I know that hard work paid
off and you know, getting to the Olympics and taking
(10:42):
home the medals you did, like it is a huge accomplishment. Um.
A couple more questions for you and then we'll let
you go. So, I mean, in addition to being a
highly trained athlete, you are also a business. You know,
can you tell us how you look at you know,
your athletic we're as a business opportunity, um and how
(11:03):
you sort of manage that? Uh Well, I like to
sometimes refer to myself as a walking billboard for Nike,
because I mean, you know they, you know, they and
the essence pay me to perform well and support and
represent their brand as well. But you know, through do athletics,
(11:26):
like as a business. If I think of myself as
a business, it's it's from a marketing sense, you know.
Um I I I don't necessarily get too involved in
the nitty gritty of actually running a business because it's
so time consuming what I'm when I'm doing right now. Also,
(11:47):
it's very time consuming, so it's hard to really navigate
that whole you know, like all right, like how do
I build a business from the startup and all that
type of stuff. But I look at it from a
marketing standpoint, like how can I represent myself on an
international stage, on a global stage? Um? And you know,
(12:08):
be personal, be relatable and and be able to sell
a product. And that's the way I look at it.
And so far, I think I've been doing a good job,
you know, I I think I have been and uh
I try to be responsible with you know, the way
I even spend money and how I allocate funds and
(12:29):
stuff like that, and it's been a lot of saving. Um.
I like cars, so everybody has advice. I can see
the second fastest man in the world should like cars.
I like, I like cars, so like that's my that's
my hobby and stuff like that. So all right, so
now you gotta tell us, like what cars you have
and what's your dream car? So my dream car is
(12:53):
a Lamborghini eventa door SPJ that's my dream car. But
right now I have I have a range Rover and
I just bought an AUDR eighth. Yeah, so that's It's
it's been pretty exciting here the past couple of days.
But yeah, but I I tried to be smart about it. Um,
I try to make if it doesn't make sense economically,
(13:15):
then I will never ever make that decision. But I
mean it's it's, you know, one of those things where
I worked hard and that was my goal. You know,
I told myself if I meddled, if I meddled twice,
I would get that car. And uh, you know, I
got it done. And that was like one of my
(13:36):
that was my only treat to myself. Actually, Wow, that's
gotta feel so good. Like now I felt really it
was unreal because you know, it's like as a kid,
you saw that car. It wasn't like iron Man and
I want that car, and you you I was walked
into dealerships and saw it and like you just have
no idea of how you're gonna get there and how
you're gonna do it, but you just know you're gonna
(13:56):
do it. And it was just surreal to just drive
off the lot car. It was just honestly insane. Oh
I love it. What a feeling. Yeah, and it's been
it's been pretty good. But you know, as as a
as a person and as a as a business, I
try to represent myself as best as I can because
(14:16):
as athletes that that's what we could do, and that's
what I could do in this moment. Definitely post track,
I definitely want to venture into, you know, the financial
side of of of business. UM. So you know, we'll see,
we'll we'll see. You know, I I know quite a
few people here in l A. And you know, being
at usc ALUM that also helps tremendously because I've met
(14:40):
so many amazing people that just genuinely want to help you.
So I mean, hopefully you know, when this is all
said and done, then I could venture into something else,
you know, pretty exciting and do some things there as
well too. Well, that's great, and we will definitely be
looking out to see more from you shaving off times,
war medals, and of course entrepreneurial pursuits. You know, there's
(15:03):
a lot of people in the Money Moves audience that
have young kids, up and coming athletes that would of
course love to follow in your footsteps and pursue their
dreams to become a professional athlete. And I know a
lot of the legalities are changing now in terms of
sponsorship at the collegiate level and in high school. Can
you offer any advice to our audience on how parents
(15:23):
and athletes can help, you know, monetize and pursue those goals? Uh? Yeah, sure,
I mean it's been very interesting, uh these past couple
of months with this new n L LIE thing going on.
I wish right when I was in school, I mean,
who couldn't use some money, But of course, but it's
(15:46):
it's it's very interesting, and it's a very tricky situation
because now you were giving young kids essentially you know,
some won't even be eighteen or just turned eighteen and
and you've never handled this much money before, and it's
like what do I do with it? And like you
can't spend it all because of course you have to
(16:08):
pay taxes on that money depending on you know where
it is where if if you're in Florida here in California,
you have to pay taxes with that money and stuff
like that, and you have to be smart with it because,
like I said, nothing lasts forever, and that money will
be it could be gone quickly. And especially being a
freshman in in college, you see all these nice things
(16:30):
and you think that, Okay, I have the money to
buy it, so let me go do that. But you know,
sometimes it's just not the case and it's not the
smart move right now. Um, like I said, like you guys,
what I mean, Like I said, like if it doesn't
make financial sense, you know, in two to five years,
(16:51):
then don't do it. But I mean, the the advice
I would have is, you know, sit down, speak to
your kids, talk to them about the importance of money
and saving money and and you know, spending responsibly. Um,
I'm not saying that you I'm not saying to not
(17:11):
go buy things that you like and stuff like that.
But you know, have them make that important decision. It's
it's it's their life, and at some point, you know,
they have to take accountability for what they're doing. But
I mean it's a it's a it's an awesome time
right now for kids coming out of high school to
make money. And like I said, like, if you're personable,
(17:34):
if you're relatable, I mean that goes a long, long
long way. And being the face of a brand that
could you know, that that could push and and and
and sell numbers. I mean, like you're you're in a
you're in a great position, and especially being on the
collegiate scene where things like March Madness is like crazy.
(17:54):
You know, people you know love football when it's on
and stuff like that. So it's a great time. It's
a fantastic, pretty exciting. Yeah. Yeah, to market yourself and
and you know, be that young person and be that
individual that you've seen on the TV, whether it's like
Steph or Lebron or right or yeah me, you know,
(18:19):
Kevin Durant. You know, but it doesn't matter, you know,
you know, be that person and you know, don't take
it for granted. And the one thing I would say
is just you know, no matter you would just be respectful.
That will go a long way, a very very long way.
And that's that's my two cents on that's great advice.
That's that's a whole dollar right there of advice. You've
(18:40):
got a great head on your shoulder. So such a
pleasure talking to you. And I'd be remiss if I
didn't ask you what your favorite songs on your playlist were.
I need to know what Olympians trained to, So like,
what are you listening to these days? And what when
you got metal? Listen to everything. I'm kind of drink
if you're watching this as it can mean, I'm a
true fan. So I love that you mentioned Drake. Yeah,
(19:03):
I listened to a lot of Drake. Uh but I
have a lot of Drake on the playlist. I listened
to a lot of g herbo Um, a lot of
Young Dolf. I'm like, secretly like the biggest young Dolphin.
I feel like the best rapper coming out the South,
you know, honestly, Uh, no shade to anyone else, but
(19:25):
let's tell you a lot of young Dolf. I listened
to Hans Zimmer. I really like his his his movie scores,
stuff like that. So I think that's like sometimes you
just wanna you just want to you know, chill and
get to that. It's like more of a meditative type. Yeah. Yeah, yeah,
for me to think about what it is I have
to do without you know, having everyone um wrap it
(19:49):
you and stuff like that. So I mean it's ah,
that's uh, that's basically my my playlists. No honesty, that's great. Okay, last,
but not east. What's your average training day meal? Look like?
Average training day meal? Uh? So in the morning, I'll
(20:09):
have two eggs or three, depending on what I'm doing
that day, um, some bacon, avocado toast, and sometimes I'll
have coffee like I have like a little coffee maker
behind you. That's pretty nice. Um, and uh, for lunch,
I'll probably have something like depending on because of course
(20:31):
I have to go run in the afternoon, so I'll
probably have like a sandwich or something like that. And
then for dinner, I'll probably do salmon or steak, some potatoes, rice. Uh.
It just yeah, it depends on what I'm feeling that day.
I'll just go to Whole Foods, I'll look up a mine,
I'll look up a recipe online, and then I'll go
to Hope foods and grab what I need and just
(20:52):
make that that night of wow. Well, we love it, right,
it was such a pleasure having you here on the
Money Moves Podcast. We're really proud of the work you've
put in. Thank you for representing Team USA this summer,
and congratulations on winning these medals. All the best to you.
I hope you shave off seconds and minutes off your
time in the future. Thank you so much for being here,
(21:13):
Wishing you all the best, all the best, Thank you
so much. Thank you guys for having me appreciate it
so much. All right, stay tuned, and right before you leave,
can you tell everybody where they can find you on
social media? Okay, so on Twitter, I am Underscore King
Ben Underscore and it's also the same on Instagram as well,
Underscore King Ben. Okay, so you've heard it there, follow
(21:35):
him there and we'll keep our eyes peeled for what's
coming next for you. All right, Money Moves, fam that's
all we have for this episode of the Money Moves
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(21:55):
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(22:16):
or wherever you get your podcasts from.
Hey, money Movers, Welcome back to Money Moves, the daily
podcast determined to give you the keys to the Kingdom
of financial stability, wealth and abundance. Pay money Movers, Welcome
back to the Money Moves podcast powered by Greenlands. Our
(00:23):
celebrity guest this week is an American professional hurdler and
sprinter specializing in the four hundred meter and the four
hundred meter hurdles. He is determined to become one of
the best hurdlers that's ever been, and so far he's
off to not just a good start, but a fast start.
In college, he set a four hundred meter relay record
(00:44):
and at the World Championships he won gold and silver,
and just this summer at the Olympics in Tokyo, he
brought home both gold and silver medals for Team USA,
breaking records in the process. I am honored and super
excited to welcome to the Money Moves Podcast one of
the fastest men alive, Team USA's own Olympian Rye Benjamin
(01:08):
hi Ry Welcome to the podcast. Hello, thank you, thank you,
thank you for having me. Oh my god, you're happy
to talk and you know, chop things up. Yeah, let's
do it. Let's do it so ry. Congratulations on all
your success and hard work this summer. I think every
kid was at home watching you win gold medals and
(01:28):
it was truly a historic and incredible, incredible race to watch.
So congratulations, Thank you. How does it feel to be
back now? Are you back in the US? Now? Yeah,
I'm back in l A. Uh it was. It was
pretty good. It was kind of strange, you know, especially
you know, being in the village for like two weeks,
(01:50):
you know, kind of being confined to a space, and
then now you're back and it's like it just it
feels sort of weird, like it almost it's almost like
nothing ever happened. So yeah, it's been pretty good. Uh I.
I was in Oregon a day or two ago for
my last meet and now we're in like full vacation
mode right now. Okay, so now you get a little
(02:12):
bit of downtime. What does vacation mode look like for
a professional athlete? Because I can't imagine you're sitting around
eating five guys and like, I am, I am? How
was that shake Chack yesterday? And I just had Popeyes
for for lunch today too, So I'm enjoying it. Okay, Well,
I guess I take that back. Yeah, yeah, for me vacations,
(02:33):
Like I mean, of course, I don't have the luxury
of eating at you know a lot of good restaurants
here because of you know, dietary restrictions throughout the year.
So I'm trying to experience the l a food scene
some more. Um So that's the goal for this offseason. Um.
(02:54):
I'm going jet skiing next week with boys and uh
some their friends. We're in a jet ski from Long
Beach to Catalina. Oh wow, I love this. Yeah, that
should be pretty fun. And then I'm heading to New
York back home for a couple of days. Uh so,
you know, hang out in the city a little bit,
(03:16):
you know, experience that food scene because I love food
and stuff like that. So that's that. Those are my
plans right now. That's great. Well, you deserve it, so,
I know. You know, so many kids dream of being
an Olympic medalist and competing amongst the world's greats. And
one of the things we love to talk about on
the Money Moves podcast is just excellence. And you truly
(03:36):
embody that can we talk about, you know, the mindset
that it takes to really become an Olympian and where
are you sort of first saw those sparks? Were you won?
Were you two? Were you three? Or did this come
late in life? Um? Well, first of all, it's it's
I know it sounds cliche, but it's a lot of sacrifice,
(03:56):
Like a lot of sacrifice, Um, not going home for Christmas,
not going home for Thanksgiving, you know, just being here
locked in on on on what it is that you
want to achieve in knowing that you know, this small
sacrifice right now is gonna set me up later along
in life or or you're going to reap the benefits later.
(04:18):
But um, I think I noticed how driven I was, um,
probably my sophomore year in high school, Um, just to
be you know, even great then on on that scene,
wanting to be the best in my area in New York.
And uh, I think it started from there. And I
(04:39):
think that work ethic um through track kind of golled
over into my personal life. And uh, I think I
got even more so serious about it my junior year
in college. My first two years, I kinda I was
just having fun, you know, you know, your first year
in college you kind of want to experience some things
and and and and do a lot, and you know,
(05:01):
I was definitely having fun, but I think I kind
of locked in on what it is I needed to
do my junior year in college. And did you go
to college on a track scholarship? Yeah, I went. So
I went to u C l A for two years
and then I transferred to USC for my last two years.
But I only ran collegiately one year and then I
(05:22):
went pro. But I gotta say I experienced both both
ends of l A, you know, the c l A
side and the USC side, So it definitely is uh,
definitely was a great experience. So when you talk about
this drive and being able to tap into that drive, Um,
what does the training schedule of an Olympian look like?
(05:42):
Because I think a lot of times, you know, I
want our audience and our young listeners out there to
really understand that mindset and what it takes to be
excellent at that level. So tell us about, you know,
an average training day. So in the fall, that's when
I mean, that's we call it, that's what the money
is made, um, And that's when you put the big
(06:03):
deposits in. It's it's pretty hectic. So um uh we
start at I probably lift that around ten o'clock and
I lift for about an hour, sometimes an hour and twenty,
depending on how long the lift is and how strenuous
it is. And then we come back for a second
session during the day from one to maybe about three o'clock.
(06:27):
And um, in between that time you're doing you're doing
prehab stuff to get prepared for practice, to get ready
for that second session, and it's it's it's a lot
of running, a lot of technique stuff getting done. UM.
So that's Mondays and Tuesday's Wednesdays, I'm up at four
fifty because we have practice at five am in the morning.
(06:50):
And it's like we're running hills out here in l
A and it's it's pretty dark. So you're like, you're
you're going to practice and it's like you can't see
anything at all, and it's it's dark outside, and it's like, yeah,
run up this hill a few times. We're usually out
there for like an hour or two hours sometimes. So
that's a Wednesday and uh, and then we have the
(07:10):
rest of the day off, but it's a it's a
lot of those days back to back to back. UM.
Saturday sometimes we have off, but it just depends on
what we're doing that week. So with this Olympian mindset,
and you talked about you know in the falls where
the money is made, do you correlate this to making
deals that can actually translate into money or you know,
(07:31):
cultivating your skills and talents as a hurdler. I mean,
I'll go with that lot. The Ltder statement, um is
cultivating those skills and realizing that, Okay, this is what
I need to do to get better in order for
me to have a successful spring season. So for a
lot of us, the pandemic was a hard hit to
(07:53):
our day to day regiments. Obviously it pushed the Olympics
back in extra year, But how did it affect your
training regiment? And did you notice the difference? Was it
a benefit? Uh? For me? Was it was rough because
now you spent so the pandemic hit, what was it March?
(08:15):
About March so in you spent the later half of preparing.
January came around, you're preparing, February came around your preparing,
and you know, I felt really good. And then as
an athlete and as a person like you set goals
like this is where this is what we're training for.
(08:38):
So now we're going to work back from that in
order to get there, and the goal was the Olympics,
and now you take the end goal away and now
it's like what are we doing? Like what then? Like
what's happening now? And when COVID first started, everyone was
(08:58):
just scared mind us, like we didn't know what to do,
We didn't know the effect of this, of this virus
and stuff like it was rough, like it's really rough.
So and now we're all indoors, sitting down and then
it was just a moment where I was just lost
and it was like do we keep practicing? How can
(09:19):
we keep practicing? Facilities are closed? And then they announced
that okay, it's being postponed, so now we have to
find ways to train um without being on a track.
So I don't know if you're familiar with l A,
but like we were just everywhere at Griffith Park, at
Culver City, in the neighborhoods, like people were coming out
(09:40):
on their on their front steps like watching us, like
run in the streets, like it was legit crazy. It was.
We were doing everything. I was like, you know, doing
workouts in the alley way here downtown, like it was
just it was just ridiculous anywhere you can get anywhere
you can and and and we worked because we knew
(10:01):
that are like, we can't take the whole year off
because that's just not something you can afford to do, uh,
in this sport. So you know, we worked and we
were able to salvage you know, whatever it was of
the season that we have doing it safely. Um. Thankfully
none of us you know, got COVID and we were
really safe about it. And uh, you know, we did
(10:22):
what we needed to do. But that year was just
very trying, and it just made you realize that I
can't take things for granted because just you know, things
could just disappear from right in front of you, just
like that. So it was just one of those moments. Well,
I applaud you because I know that hard work paid
off and you know, getting to the Olympics and taking
(10:42):
home the medals you did, like it is a huge accomplishment. Um.
A couple more questions for you and then we'll let
you go. So, I mean, in addition to being a
highly trained athlete, you are also a business. You know,
can you tell us how you look at you know,
your athletic we're as a business opportunity, um and how
(11:03):
you sort of manage that? Uh Well, I like to
sometimes refer to myself as a walking billboard for Nike,
because I mean, you know they, you know, they and
the essence pay me to perform well and support and
represent their brand as well. But you know, through do athletics,
(11:26):
like as a business. If I think of myself as
a business, it's it's from a marketing sense, you know.
Um I I I don't necessarily get too involved in
the nitty gritty of actually running a business because it's
so time consuming what I'm when I'm doing right now. Also,
(11:47):
it's very time consuming, so it's hard to really navigate
that whole you know, like all right, like how do
I build a business from the startup and all that
type of stuff. But I look at it from a
marketing standpoint, like how can I represent myself on an
international stage, on a global stage? Um? And you know,
(12:08):
be personal, be relatable and and be able to sell
a product. And that's the way I look at it.
And so far, I think I've been doing a good job,
you know, I I think I have been and uh
I try to be responsible with you know, the way
I even spend money and how I allocate funds and
(12:29):
stuff like that, and it's been a lot of saving. Um.
I like cars, so everybody has advice. I can see
the second fastest man in the world should like cars.
I like, I like cars, so like that's my that's
my hobby and stuff like that. So all right, so
now you gotta tell us, like what cars you have
and what's your dream car? So my dream car is
(12:53):
a Lamborghini eventa door SPJ that's my dream car. But
right now I have I have a range Rover and
I just bought an AUDR eighth. Yeah, so that's It's
it's been pretty exciting here the past couple of days.
But yeah, but I I tried to be smart about it. Um,
I try to make if it doesn't make sense economically,
(13:15):
then I will never ever make that decision. But I
mean it's it's, you know, one of those things where
I worked hard and that was my goal. You know,
I told myself if I meddled, if I meddled twice,
I would get that car. And uh, you know, I
got it done. And that was like one of my
(13:36):
that was my only treat to myself. Actually, Wow, that's
gotta feel so good. Like now I felt really it
was unreal because you know, it's like as a kid,
you saw that car. It wasn't like iron Man and
I want that car, and you you I was walked
into dealerships and saw it and like you just have
no idea of how you're gonna get there and how
you're gonna do it, but you just know you're gonna
(13:56):
do it. And it was just surreal to just drive
off the lot car. It was just honestly insane. Oh
I love it. What a feeling. Yeah, and it's been
it's been pretty good. But you know, as as a
as a person and as a as a business, I
try to represent myself as best as I can because
(14:16):
as athletes that that's what we could do, and that's
what I could do in this moment. Definitely post track,
I definitely want to venture into, you know, the financial
side of of of business. UM. So you know, we'll see,
we'll we'll see. You know, I I know quite a
few people here in l A. And you know, being
at usc ALUM that also helps tremendously because I've met
(14:40):
so many amazing people that just genuinely want to help you.
So I mean, hopefully you know, when this is all
said and done, then I could venture into something else,
you know, pretty exciting and do some things there as
well too. Well, that's great, and we will definitely be
looking out to see more from you shaving off times,
war medals, and of course entrepreneurial pursuits. You know, there's
(15:03):
a lot of people in the Money Moves audience that
have young kids, up and coming athletes that would of
course love to follow in your footsteps and pursue their
dreams to become a professional athlete. And I know a
lot of the legalities are changing now in terms of
sponsorship at the collegiate level and in high school. Can
you offer any advice to our audience on how parents
(15:23):
and athletes can help, you know, monetize and pursue those goals? Uh? Yeah, sure,
I mean it's been very interesting, uh these past couple
of months with this new n L LIE thing going on.
I wish right when I was in school, I mean,
who couldn't use some money, But of course, but it's
(15:46):
it's it's very interesting, and it's a very tricky situation
because now you were giving young kids essentially you know,
some won't even be eighteen or just turned eighteen and
and you've never handled this much money before, and it's
like what do I do with it? And like you
can't spend it all because of course you have to
(16:08):
pay taxes on that money depending on you know where
it is where if if you're in Florida here in California,
you have to pay taxes with that money and stuff
like that, and you have to be smart with it because,
like I said, nothing lasts forever, and that money will
be it could be gone quickly. And especially being a
freshman in in college, you see all these nice things
(16:30):
and you think that, Okay, I have the money to
buy it, so let me go do that. But you know,
sometimes it's just not the case and it's not the
smart move right now. Um, like I said, like you guys,
what I mean, Like I said, like if it doesn't
make financial sense, you know, in two to five years,
(16:51):
then don't do it. But I mean, the the advice
I would have is, you know, sit down, speak to
your kids, talk to them about the importance of money
and saving money and and you know, spending responsibly. Um,
I'm not saying that you I'm not saying to not
(17:11):
go buy things that you like and stuff like that.
But you know, have them make that important decision. It's
it's it's their life, and at some point, you know,
they have to take accountability for what they're doing. But
I mean it's a it's a it's an awesome time
right now for kids coming out of high school to
make money. And like I said, like, if you're personable,
(17:34):
if you're relatable, I mean that goes a long, long
long way. And being the face of a brand that
could you know, that that could push and and and
and sell numbers. I mean, like you're you're in a
you're in a great position, and especially being on the
collegiate scene where things like March Madness is like crazy.
(17:54):
You know, people you know love football when it's on
and stuff like that. So it's a great time. It's
a fantastic, pretty exciting. Yeah. Yeah, to market yourself and
and you know, be that young person and be that
individual that you've seen on the TV, whether it's like
Steph or Lebron or right or yeah me, you know,
(18:19):
Kevin Durant. You know, but it doesn't matter, you know,
you know, be that person and you know, don't take
it for granted. And the one thing I would say
is just you know, no matter you would just be respectful.
That will go a long way, a very very long way.
And that's that's my two cents on that's great advice.
That's that's a whole dollar right there of advice. You've
(18:40):
got a great head on your shoulder. So such a
pleasure talking to you. And I'd be remiss if I
didn't ask you what your favorite songs on your playlist were.
I need to know what Olympians trained to, So like,
what are you listening to these days? And what when
you got metal? Listen to everything. I'm kind of drink
if you're watching this as it can mean, I'm a
true fan. So I love that you mentioned Drake. Yeah,
(19:03):
I listened to a lot of Drake. Uh but I
have a lot of Drake on the playlist. I listened
to a lot of g herbo Um, a lot of
Young Dolf. I'm like, secretly like the biggest young Dolphin.
I feel like the best rapper coming out the South,
you know, honestly, Uh, no shade to anyone else, but
(19:25):
let's tell you a lot of young Dolf. I listened
to Hans Zimmer. I really like his his his movie scores,
stuff like that. So I think that's like sometimes you
just wanna you just want to you know, chill and
get to that. It's like more of a meditative type. Yeah. Yeah, yeah,
for me to think about what it is I have
to do without you know, having everyone um wrap it
(19:49):
you and stuff like that. So I mean it's ah,
that's uh, that's basically my my playlists. No honesty, that's great. Okay, last,
but not east. What's your average training day meal? Look like?
Average training day meal? Uh? So in the morning, I'll
(20:09):
have two eggs or three, depending on what I'm doing
that day, um, some bacon, avocado toast, and sometimes I'll
have coffee like I have like a little coffee maker
behind you. That's pretty nice. Um, and uh, for lunch,
I'll probably have something like depending on because of course
(20:31):
I have to go run in the afternoon, so I'll
probably have like a sandwich or something like that. And
then for dinner, I'll probably do salmon or steak, some potatoes, rice. Uh.
It just yeah, it depends on what I'm feeling that day.
I'll just go to Whole Foods, I'll look up a mine,
I'll look up a recipe online, and then I'll go
to Hope foods and grab what I need and just
(20:52):
make that that night of wow. Well, we love it, right,
it was such a pleasure having you here on the
Money Moves Podcast. We're really proud of the work you've
put in. Thank you for representing Team USA this summer,
and congratulations on winning these medals. All the best to you.
I hope you shave off seconds and minutes off your
time in the future. Thank you so much for being here,
(21:13):
Wishing you all the best, all the best, Thank you
so much. Thank you guys for having me appreciate it
so much. All right, stay tuned, and right before you leave,
can you tell everybody where they can find you on
social media? Okay, so on Twitter, I am Underscore King
Ben Underscore and it's also the same on Instagram as well,
Underscore King Ben. Okay, so you've heard it there, follow
(21:35):
him there and we'll keep our eyes peeled for what's
coming next for you. All right, Money Moves, fam that's
all we have for this episode of the Money Moves
Podcast powered by Greenwood, but make sure you join us
next time. We've got tons of things that you won't
want to miss. Thank you so much for tuning in.
Money Moves audience. If you want more or a recap
(21:55):
of this episode, please go to the bank Greenwood dot
com and check out the Money Moves podcast blog. Money
Moves is an I heart Radio podcast powered by Greenwood
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