Anthony Ervin is a U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist, former world record holder in the 50 freestyle, and former World Champion in the 50 and 100 freestyle. After winning the Olympic gold, 2 World Championships, and 7 NCAA titles, Anthony retired at the young age of 22.

Ervin then spent several years traveling the world and exploring other interests, including his higher education, music, tattoos, teaching people all over the world about swimming, and tsunami flood relief. His vision is to use his experiences and his platform as a chance to give back and inspire people of all ages to live the life they love.

His return to the swimming at 30 brought a renewed outlook of enjoying the journey and appreciating the moment. Anthony’s story is especially unique in that his family tree represents a broad demographic of Jewish, Native American, and African American decent.

Anthony truly embodies the diversity of our modern world. Over the years Anthony has grown to embrace his place in the world as an opportunity to reach out and try to give back.

“If there was some skill you had and maybe you think you’re too old to do it now, that’s not true. Nor is it too late to learn. You’re never too old to learn. Nor are you too old to try to achieve.”

In This Episode:

• His relationships with others and the water
• Family structure growing up and why he wanted to stand out as the middle child
• Suffering from turrets and struggling to control his own body
• Channeling his anxiety into swimming
• What a good coach means to him
• Winning a gold medal at 19 and not being ready for the spotlight
• How he saw himself vs. the way the media portrayed him
• Drugs and alcohol impacting his ability to perform
• Expecting to win his first Gold medal in the relay and letting down his teammates
• Approaching competition with an optimistic vs. pessimistic mindset
• How he became free of past failure
• The cost of his success
• His contribution to the sport of swimming

Quotables

“Learn to write. Learn to express yourself in written form. That prepares you to better talk about it. It allows you depth of perception and analysis. It was a long road for me to get to that point.”

“If your heart isn’t in it, it’s hard to do anything. It’s near impossible.”

“The master can meditate while walking through the busiest intersection of the largest city in the world.”

“You’ve got to overcome those things that are capable of pulling your attention.”