Trial Attorney Finds Solutions While Swimming: William Robinson, EP 295

A pool deck can feel like a second home, and today’s conversation proves why. In this brand New episode we chat with attorney and masters swimmer William Robinson at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center to trace a life shaped by laps: early lessons in New Haven, Connecticut with Olympic great Don Schollander, a joyful return sparked by his daughters, and a training rhythm that blends endurance heart with sprint ambitions. William shares the open water feat that tested his grit—a nine-mile lighthouse swim—and explains why the 50 free still calls his name as he chases speed, craft, and longevity.

What stands out most is how the water sharpens his mind for the courtroom. William describes using swims as moving meditation, a place where arguments settle, focus deepens, and solutions surface. He walks us through his go-to set of 10x100 on a sustainable sendoff, the value of three to four weekly sessions at Victory Pool, and the quiet confidence that comes from realistic, consistent training. We also swap notes on heroes: Michael Phelps for his relentless range and Katie Ledecky for decade-long excellence and process-driven mastery.

The heart of the episode is purpose. William celebrates his family, including a daughter who became the first Black woman to earn a PhD in nuclear engineering from MIT, and he channels that pride into advocacy for a more diverse aquatics community. From Florida to Texas, he sees momentum and calls on all of us to extend more invitations, build pipelines, and make the deck welcoming for every swimmer. If you care about performance, balance, and impact, this story offers a model: use sport to think better, live calmer, and open doors for others.

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Email us at [e-mail]. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

Check out Kelly's Books at www.KellyPalace.com

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_02 (00:00):
I need to do my part to make sure there's a diverse

(00:02):
community of swimmers becauseit's the greatest sport ever.

SPEAKER_01 (00:07):
It's time for an on-deck interview to help you
live well and swim well.
Welcome to Champions Mojo.
And now your host, Kelly Palace.

SPEAKER_00 (00:17):
Okay, here we go.
We're on deck for a 10 for 10on-deck interview at the
beautiful Fort LauderdaleAquatic Center in Florida at the
Masters Fall Classic ShortCourse Meters Meet, and I am
with attorney William Robinson.
I have been trying to get him onthe show for years, and I'm so
excited to talk to him.

(00:39):
William, I know uh the firstquestion is your name, your age,
and your team.
So let's let's start there.

SPEAKER_02 (00:44):
All right, William Robinson.
I'm 69 and I'm with uh TeamGold.

SPEAKER_00 (00:49):
Team Gold out of Florida.
All right.
What is your swim history and uhhow did you get here on a pool
deck all the time?

SPEAKER_02 (00:57):
I'm from New Haven, Connecticut.
My father worked at YaleUniversity there in admissions,
and he took me to get swimlessons with an Olympic swimmer,
Don Scholander, when I was uhnine, ten, eleven years old.
So I swam with him, but itreally didn't kick in until I
was a father, and I had threedaughters, and I started taking
them to swim when I was 40, andseeing them enjoy it so much, it

(01:20):
got me back involved.

SPEAKER_00 (01:22):
Very nice, very nice.
All right.
What is your personal favoriteswimming accomplishment?

SPEAKER_02 (01:30):
Um, I like this open water swimming, and uh they have
a swim to the lighthouse in Isleof Mara.
And I competed in thatcompetition and swam in the four
and a half miles out and thefour and a half miles back uh
once.
So that's a great great swim inthe open water.
And my daughter says there's nofences in the water, Dad.

(01:51):
So you have to be careful.

SPEAKER_00 (01:53):
That is a that's a difficult swim.
Well, congratulations on that.
All right.
What is your best or favoriteevent?
They may not be the same thing.

SPEAKER_02 (02:03):
My favorite event, I really like distance, but uh I I
I'm not very fast and I want tobe a sprinter.
So I like the 50-free.
I like a 50-free because I'mswimming against Cab Kavanaugh,
who is a uh uh a hero and alegend, and I want to be fast
and have a longevity like him.
So I I try to beat Cab Kavanaughone day.

SPEAKER_00 (02:24):
Very good.
It's it's funny.
You do swim at a lot ofdistance, but your favorite
event's the 50.
I uh uh I think I feel youthere.
I I understand that.
All right, and uh what is thetraining regimen that you're
doing right now?

SPEAKER_02 (02:37):
I go uh about three three to four times a week.
I swim in Victory Pool in NorthMiami Beach, and I try to get in
2,000 to 3,000 yards, you know.
Uh Cav always talks about 10,100.
So I try to do that, and uh Ilike to do very workouts, but I
really enjoy swimming.
It's a great meditation for me.

SPEAKER_00 (02:56):
So you've had a very successful law practice all
these years.
Are you still practicing law?
And how do you how have you fitswimming in all these years with
that?

SPEAKER_02 (03:05):
I love practicing law.
I love working with people andhelping people.
I just had a wonderful oralargument before the third
district court of appeals.
Uh, swimming helps me to focusand to think and to meditate and
to relax.
And I come up to s with greatsolutions for people's problems
in the pool.
So it's a great benefit foranyone to swim and think and

(03:26):
meditate on life.
It's a great experience.

SPEAKER_00 (03:28):
Yes.
Did you listen to Judge BobBeach's interview that we did on
Champions Mojo?
I did.
Yeah, it reminds me of you.
Yeah, you that's amazing.
All right.
Favorite set in the pool?
I think he's a good one.

SPEAKER_02 (03:41):
10 100s, 10 100s on one 145, not 130, but 145.
That would be my favorite, but Ienjoy that a lot.

SPEAKER_00 (03:49):
That's a good set.
All right.
What Olympian, Olympic swimmer,dead or alive, uh, would you
want to have lunch with?

SPEAKER_02 (03:58):
Well, uh, Michael Phelps.
I read Michael Phelps' book.
I read Katie Ledecki's book.
Uh, Katie would probably be themost uh interesting person to
sit down with because she's beensuch a champion over such a long
span of time.
So probably Katie Ledecki, thegreatest swimmer ever.

SPEAKER_00 (04:14):
I I love that.
What is a fun fact about youthat maybe people don't know?

SPEAKER_02 (04:21):
Well, I am uh a father of uh four children, and
uh I have three daughters, andmy daughters were swimmers, and
um one of my daughters is thefirst black female PhD graduate
in nuclear engineering from MIT.
So uh she's a very smart woman,and I want to think she got all
of her brains from me.

SPEAKER_00 (04:42):
Wow.
Wow, that is that is a very funfact.
Um, is there anything else thatyou would like to share with the
master's community?

SPEAKER_02 (04:52):
Yes, I I am very happy to be a part of the
master's community.
The people are very warm andfriendly and uh helpful in
learning to swim.
Uh more African Americans, theminorities need to get involved,
and I need to step up to theplate and get more kids involved
so they can get scholarships andswimming programs.
We see an increased number ofAfrican-American swimmers

(05:13):
swimming in Florida and aroundTexas.
Uh, Simone Manual has been doingvery well, and uh, I need to do
my part to make sure there's adiverse community of swimmers
because it's the greatest sportever.

SPEAKER_00 (05:24):
Beautiful.
Thank you so much.
All right, thank you.
Good to see you again.
You too.

SPEAKER_01 (05:31):
Thank you for listening to the Champions Mojo
podcast.
Would you consider leaving us afive star review on Apple?
That's like getting a best timefor us.
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