So, I had the pleasure to hang out with him for quite a while today. I was asked to take a few publicity photos of him, for his dad, Gary Hall Sr. and Rowdy Gaines.
I was very pleasantly surprised, Jr. is a very nice and very personable guy. I thought perhaps he'd have a hot shot attitude... Not even close.
As I was asking him to make couple poses for the camera, for the publicity, he and he did... and we chuckled about them, he made a comment something to the effect of, about I dunno why people take some of that so negatively, and think I'm a total jerk :(
He seemed pretty genuinely bummed out.
I was thinking how he is always being asked to pose and do publicity things, and do some showing off or what not, then it turns around and ends up giving him a bad rep.
Later on introduced him to a massage therapist friend of mine who works on a lot of pro athletes, to work on him and they can compare notes, and Gary's first response was, oh, that would be so nice but, aren't there people here that need it a lot more then I do, they'll say, what does he need *that for*.... he was all embarrassed, and rather humble about it.
He's the kind of a guy that wouldn't squish a bug! I mean literally.
As we were sitting and chatting, a June bug landed, he reached for it, and I reacted, oh, no, don't hurt it!
Before he had a chance to respond, I realized that he proceeded to check it out and started petting it with one finger, saying hi little guy...
Parents
Former Member
I sat with Gary briefly before my 50 fly, and had a brief conversation. I thanked him for swimming at the meet, and that it meant a lot to the swimmers there. I joked about picking up some sprinter speed by proximity (I know, but I am not very good with small talk with current Olympians.)
He was soft spoken and friendly. However, that is what I expected. What surprised me was that well before his event he was going through the exercises that I used to call 'sprinter psyche up'. These include rapid breathing, deep breaths, twitches, and a sometimes vacant stare. This was not a couple of heats before his swim, but many heats before his swim.
I am sure that the primary reason for his presence was to raise money and support for the Sprint Club, but he took the event he swam very seriously.
It meant a lot to me.
I sat with Gary briefly before my 50 fly, and had a brief conversation. I thanked him for swimming at the meet, and that it meant a lot to the swimmers there. I joked about picking up some sprinter speed by proximity (I know, but I am not very good with small talk with current Olympians.)
He was soft spoken and friendly. However, that is what I expected. What surprised me was that well before his event he was going through the exercises that I used to call 'sprinter psyche up'. These include rapid breathing, deep breaths, twitches, and a sometimes vacant stare. This was not a couple of heats before his swim, but many heats before his swim.
I am sure that the primary reason for his presence was to raise money and support for the Sprint Club, but he took the event he swam very seriously.
It meant a lot to me.
