YouSaid · the spoken record

Michael Phelps

lines on the record

78

first

2020-09-21

most recent

2020-09-21

sittings or episodes

1

sources

podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

1. “But I think that was the thing, it was as a kid growing up, I truly did, basically like I was a boy in a bubble, you know, like I lived in a bubble really. Like I was isolated from a lot of stuff. I was never putting myself in any bad situations. And the people that I had around me, I think, were the reason why I was able to keep everything moving forward. I had the best support around me. My friends understood exactly what was going on. My true friends did. And obviously my mom and my family and coach wanted everything to work out perfectly smooth. So, I mean, I think it was kind of easy for me to kind of go through high school after that, you know, but I got the expectation.”

   2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

2. “Amount of attention. I mean, I remember the first press conference somebody said, Do you have a girlfriend? Have you kissed them? And I'm like, I'm like, wait a minute. What is going on here? I'm 15. Why are these people telting questions like this at me?”

   2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

3. “I mean, she was number one in the nation, number three in the world in 95 going into the 96 trials and then found out that she had bulging in her kneaded disc in both of her neck and her back from overusage and overwork. So that put her, kind of put her out of the sport for good. And we both made Olympic trials in 2000 and she was there. And she was one of my biggest supporters through this whole thing. She knew what it took. And that was something that she really wanted just to be able to be on the Olympic team and to represent your country at that meet.”

   2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

4. “You were 15, we were 15. Yeah. So she kind of backed off a little bit. And Bob and I kind of controlled everything. You know, he was the one that was obviously doing all the stuff in the pool. And, you know, mom was in charge of making sure I was eating well and sleeping as much as I could. The rest is on me. So it's like we had this little triangle going on that, you know, all of us work together to be able to give me the best opportunity that I had. And I think that was She was awesome. I mean, watching her with my sister and I think she learned a lot from Whitney's career as well.”

   2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

5. “Yeah, I mean, I remember we came back from a nationals like six months before the trials. And my mom was always very supportive of everything that we did. So she decorates the front yard with stars and stripes, way to go, this, that, the other. And Bob is like, take that down now. You're getting your head of yourself. There's a lot more that's going to come. So she kind of...”

   2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

6. “He just knew how to press the exact button. That was something that was so good. He was able to get whatever amount of percent extra out of me every single day when I had something like something away from the pool that was a conflict or something that was bothering me, he was able to get me to focus for those two hours and get the job done that I wanted to do. And I think that was probably what made him so good for me. And the reason why if I was swimming for any other coach in my life, it never would have been as well as it was.”

   2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

7. “Within probably a couple months I was swimming for them. And I remember seeing him on deck and I was like, I'm never swimming for this guy. All this guy does is yell and whistle and I could never ever deal with just this kind of craziness this guy brings to the pool. And sure enough, a couple months later, in his workout and we started just cranking out sets. I mean, obviously when we spend that much time around each other, he's more than a coach. You know, and I think that was the only way that we were able to keep our longevity like we did. I mean, we're never going to be able to go that long unless we're both willing to make changes and grow as we go through that process. And I think that was something that was probably the most enjoyable, but most frustrating as well. Because you always looked back at me as that 11-year-old kid and that pissed me off a lot.”

   2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

8. “I got a swirly. Well, I was like an inch away from getting a swirly that day. I had two older guys that had me up by my ankles getting ready to dunk me in the toilet at Towson University. I remember the two guys exactly. He came in, ripped those two to shreds.”

   2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

9. “I mean, it's stink. Like, it's awful. Like there's that feeling that you get so excited and then just get let down and then you have to carry that and then try to deal with that among the other things that you have going on and just makes it more challenging.”

   2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

10. “Olympic medals? I mean, I 100% agree. I don't think I would have been able to get to the point in my swimming career without having that anger. Like that was something that drove me. I mean, I still think back to, you know, I thought about this the other day. I broke the American Record short course in the 200 fly in my hometown. And my dad was supposed to be there and he wasn't and he never showed up. And that was really my first American record ever, ever short course. And I was never a very good shortcourse swimmer. So it was a big deal. I was really excited. I was in high school. Like you never really saw many high school kids do that. And that frustrated me.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

11. “Yeah, honestly, that's one of the things I think back of, like, if it was the picket fence, like, would I be in the same shoes I am today? And I think that that was a part of life for me that I had to go through and had to experience. And we all experienced that part of life differently. And for kids, for my kids' grandparent especially, like I would never want them to go through that and have those feelings, those negative feelings that I carried for so long through my life. I said it to you on stage when in Chicago. I was really good at compartmentalizing things and stuffing things down and just letting them sit inside of me forever and carry them. And at a certain point, that's when I have my meltdown and a blow up. And that's what it leads to. And it's unhealthy. And, you know, that's one of the things that we're working towards now and the initiative that we're trying to get people to stand up and talk about things that are frustrating them.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

12. “I was young, but I remember arguing. And I was always around Whitney. Whitney was the closest, you know, we were closest in age and she was there when I was growing up coming through middle school and that stuff. So she saw me the most. And we spent a ton of time together. She actually just left this morning. Of funny you brought that up, but no, I mean, it was just hard. And there were times where I spoke to this the other day, somebody asked me if I ever screamed underwater. And if you could hear people screaming underwater. I let out a lot of profanity underwater. I mean, there were times where I'm pushing off the wall, whether in pain or pissed off and I am expletives out the wazoo, either to get through that repeat or just because I was frustrated.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

13. “Oh, for sure. I mean, I definitely, there were moments growing up when I was training where I swam with aggression and I swam with, you know, a lot of anger. And yeah, part of it was probably coming from home and coming what I was going, you know, coming from what I was going through when we were in our home life. There was a lot of”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

14. “You had two sisters, yeah, and I was the baby of the family, and it's like, I wanted that as a kid growing up. I saw my friends having it. And I think that was kind of like the first real struggle that I had kind of growing up because he was never there. He said he was going to be there sometimes and just never was there. So for me as a kid growing up and really almost caring that abandonment feeling through my life for so long until I got to that point where I just needed to figure out something that was going on inside of me and what I needed to let go of to be able to move forward in life.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

15. “Athlete? Yeah. I mean, he was a great football player, great basketball player, track and field, played baseball. And he was good in all of them. And at a very young age, my parents split. It was challenging. As a kid, I did want sort of like the white picket fence and the family dinner. And you were the only person.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

16. “But I mean, and that I think is like the cool thing about life, right? Right, like we're all different in so many ways and our minds are all structured so many ways and our bodies, we all have so many different things that go on from a day-to-day basis. So it's like that, I think, is something that's cool about human nature. Just we have to have, we're all programmed in a slightly different way and we all need different things to get by. And I think that's what makes the human race so cool and so fun. And, you know, for me now having children, I start seeing all of these different things. And it's a cool part of life.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

17. “I don't know. And honestly, I've thought back to a lot of childhood moments, whether it's been this or other things that have happened where in my head I'm like, well, what if this went this way instead of this way? Would I have changed? I think really the only solution or the only answer that I have in my head that ever comes up is like it happened for a reason. And I was able to get through it and I was able to get to where I needed to go”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

18. “So I basically asked my mom, I was like, can I not take this anymore? And she kind of gave me a challenge that, you know, if you can show me that you can focus and you can get your work done, then we can figure out another way and another route. Go down”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

19. “You were taking communication. I mean, they knew I was going to see the nurse every day at that same exact time. And you're going to get medication. So I didn't like that.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

20. “Right. Like, what do they call it? The math pill or the happy pill. I think that's what they referred to it as. So for me, it was interesting because I grew up, like you said, taking riddle in. And that was something that for me, it was something that was very helpful, but also at the same time, I think growing up in middle school, I didn't want to be that kid that was being called to the nurse's office to get my prescription to help me through the day. And the other kids know.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

21. “And basically, how nowadays it's second behind the opioid crisis. And if you look at it, it's basically adults and it's not children who need it. It's adults who have used it, who have gotten into using it during college years. Yes.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

22. “We just watched it. I just watched a documentary about, I think Maria, Trevor, I think she was behind some part of it and it was insane.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

23. “I mean, really, in everything. I mean, I was never really a great student growing up. I was good at math and good at science, numbers and that stuff always fascinated me. But other than that, I had a hard time really sitting down and grinding and getting down to the work. So I guess when that kind of happened in middle school, it kind of opened up my eyes. Well, let me just.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

24. “At that point, I think I was more just kind of ticked off more than anything else. I was like, how can somebody say this? How can you say this to a kid number one? And that just motivated me even more. Like when somebody says something like that to me, it instantly flips a switch and I automatically am going to do everything in my power to prove you wrong and show you that I can do more than what you think.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

25. “Telling me and telling my mother that I'd never amount to a thing because I had ADHD and I couldn't sit still and I couldn't focus and I couldn't get the task done.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

26. “It is. And I mean, like, I can still remember growing up, whether it was in middle school and then on in high school The same problem. I could never sit still. I was leaning back on my chair constantly making little dents in the floor of the school classroom. And I got in trouble because I couldn't sit still. And I still to this day remember an English teacher, I think in seventh grade, sixth or seventh grade.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

27. “Yeah, yeah. I mean, we, but like, you know, for me, like, I grew up walking to school. I grew up down the street from all my friends. And I guess, you know, sort of once we started getting into the sport of swimming, that was, you know, for me, that was kind of my exciting point because as a kid growing up, I was made fun of a ton, whether it was for big years, bouncing off the wall, never being able to sit still, all this stuff. And swimming for me was a kind of a place where I could channel my energy and I ended up being good at it. I have to tell you.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

28. “Well, yeah, growing up in Maryland, my mom put myself and my sisters all in the water strictly just for water safety. That was the only reason why we ever started in the pool. And we grew up around the summer pool, so we were always playing and splashing around. And my mom just wanted us to be safe whenever we were around the pool. This is Roger.”

    2020-09-21 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Best of the Axe Files: Michael Phelps · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source