Miami Living Magazine features the best Miami has to offer. Click on any magazine below and enjoy. You can download our free app on iTunes. Ideal for iPad and iPhone users.
Issue link: https://digital.miamilivingmagazine.com/i/1275200
and of becoming vulnerable, but that's par t of growing up and learning. Overall, I think the journey with her is something I can look back on and be proud of how I've enjoyed this experience with her. What is your relationship with fame today, as opposed to a decade ago? MP: I don't know that I have a relationship with fame. For the majority of my career I would say I didn't really think about it because I was just focused on swimming. Ever y thing else just came along with it. At this point, my wife and I live our lives how we want and don't really let any thing affect that. We are laid back, relaxed people. We don't go out a lot. We are homebodies, in general, so the quarantine has almost helped us in that respect. [Laughs.] In some odd way, our relationship has benefited even more from it. It's an introvert's paradise, right? MP: Yes! [Laughs.] How do you quell stress and anxiety? MP: I don't even know how to put it into words. My scariest days are dark. My scary moments, in general, feel like I can't do anything right. It feels like the whole world is out to get me. On those days, it's almost better for me to fall asleep and wake up tomorrow. That's how I feel when I have days like that. I know I need to get into the swimming pool. I know I need to get into the gym even more, just because that's my calming place. Swimming is therapeutic for me and working out is something I do every day because it's all I know and it's the only thing I've done consistently for 20 years. [Laughs.] Being regimented helps me be my best; that and taking quiet time for myself. That's one thing my wife and I are both good at. If we aren't taking time for ourselves, the other one is very pushy about making sure we each take that time. If our glasses aren't full, we can't help our three kids. Because of all the Olympic gold medals you have won, people would define you as "great." How do you define and identify greatness? I ask, because while watching The Weight of Gold, you and other Olympians talk about the price of achieving Olympic greatness, and the toll it takes… MP: Would I change any thing? Probably not, to be honest. It has all allowed me to be who I am today. If it had to take me going through some of the scariest moments to look at myself and love who I see today, then it is all okay. I think greatness is a bunch of small things done well. That is really all it is. If you look at any of the greats in history, in sports or whatever, we basically all do it the same way. There is no real rocket science behind it. It is hard work, dedication, not giving up, and pushing through. I do think there are healthier ways and smarter ways to do it, and people who see this film or people who are going through these things now, hopefully, they can see that there is a healthier way to do it than what we've done in the past. When I interviewed Mike Tyson, he told me that you can't be happy and be great. He felt that at the height of his boxing career he had to sacrifice happiness for greatness. Do you think that is true? MP: I think what he is referring to is that, as an athlete, you are just trying to chase something. That is the biggest thing for a lot of people. I can say for myself, when I retired in 2012, the feeling was, "I need a break. Leave me alone. Stop!" I knew deep down inside I still wanted to come back because I was frustrated with how I finished, and I wanted to finish on my terms. That's why I came back. When I was swimming or when I retired in 2016, I felt I did everything that I could, and I did what I was meant to do in this sport. For the longest time, I saw myself strictly as a swimmer, and just this kid who went up and down staring at a black line [in a swimming pool] and not a human being. That's that feeling of trading happiness for greatness you are referring to. I didn't like who I saw in the mirror when I was like that. Do you think you ever bought into the notion that you were superhuman or a superhero, at all? MP: No, because I just wanted it that bad. It was always more of a wanting and a striving. Going into 2008, that was just… me. When I become super focused on one thing, it's that and only that. I'm a competitor, and I'm the biggest competitor you will ever see. It's that blood-in-the-water mentality. At that point in my life, when I wanted something bad enough, I was going to outwork every single human being, no matter what it took. How would you say your mental health is today? MP: Today, meaning over the last couple of months? [Laughs.] Well, all of us are having some issues these last couple of months. [Laughs.] MP: I will say this, I did a piece with ESPN three months ago and it was a disaster. Yes, I have ridden a roller coaster of emotions over the last six months, as I'm sure we all have. But all in all, honestly, today, I don't think I could be in a happier place. I probably have one or two bad days a month that are a 6 or 7 on a scale of 1 to 10, whereas before, it would be 10 bad days a month that were at a 9. Quarantine has also forced me to learn and to grow. I almost feel like that is what this is all about. Whether it's the work that my wife and I have done, or work on myself, I've broken through some barriers. It's almost been good for me to have this time, not to, like, sit in my own shit [laughs], but to deal with myself. I feel like everything in life happens for a reason. I understand what you mean. It is scary but necessary to be still, and we've all had to be still in recent months. MP: It's been fun though. It was scary in the beginning, but if we can all take a step back and look at the beginning of the quarantine process, I bet we can all see how much we've learned and grown through the process without even realizing it. It's kind of crazy that I have worked within