At 42, I’m Chasing My Childhood Olympic Dream.

So this is one big step towards the bigger goal of being on the USA handball team playing in the Olympics 2020. They broke through glass all over the place. They came through the window. They've broken the whole house and ripped it apart. Martha's not coming. She's not coming. The whole thing. Someone just broke into his car and took the stuff out of his car. If you do it, it's an incredibly big accomplishment. I'm thinking of going for 2028. Like, I'm literally handball. You think you can do it? Something that I think is even more valuable, which is. And being okay with, like, being thrilled that you don't have to regret it. Lewis, how. Love you. Two. Two weeks. I love you. Soon. Bye. See you soon. You're more. Go get your dreams. Let's go. She's been sad all week, man. She's been like, don't leave me. She's excited for me to leave, but she's like every day she's like, you're leaving. We had to change our flight cuz she was finding ways for me to stay two extra days. So she's. She's sad, but she's coming soon. She'll be there in 12 or 13 days. So this could be good. There he is. Ready? Let's go, bro. Let's go. This guy's freaking jacket. Okay, bienvenidos. Ah, Madrid, Espana. We've had an amazing adventure so far. Grayson over here passed out in the line for customs. And so he literally at one point, Timmy over here is talking about his vasectomy and all the medical stuff and getting shots. And then Grayson all of a sudden says, I don't feel so good. I feel like I'm gonna faint and literally falls on the ground backwards. And people are screaming, medico, Medico. And people are rushing up to us. And he's got his eyes rolling in the back of his head. And I said, wow, the adventure has begun. We're here in Spain and Grayson almost dies. So it through customs. We're here. The driver, Jose. See Jose. Hi. Hi, sir. Good to see you. Good to see you. And now we drive three hours to Leon. So so far, life is good. How you doing, Grayson? Doing good. I'm so much better now. That's good. Yes. And then I took a picture and we almost. And then you got to jail. Yeah, he almost took me. He wanted to take me to jail. So that was not good. An eventful couple. 30 minutes. I'm not sure if I should have brought these guys after. Yeah, we'll see. We're in Leon, Spain. First day of arrival, Sunday. I feel like it's very symbolic because it's just rained. So it's creating a fresh start, a cleansing of the city for our arrival. And we just checked into our apartment for a walk to the center of town. Getting ready for practice in two days. Sleep tonight. Tomorrow prepare for the week of training and start the journey. 2008, I'm on my sister's couch in Columbus, Ohio, and I just got done playing arena football. I broke my wrist. I had a surgery here where they took a bone out of my hip. They put it into my wrist, and for six months I was in this position with a cast on living on my sister's couch. Stressed, depressed, overwhelmed, sad that my dream was over, playing professional football and I'm not making any money and I don't really know what's next. Then the olympics happened. July, August 2008, in Beijing. I'm on the couch late at night. They show handball. And I was blown away at what this sport was. I was just like, what is this? I've never seen this before. And I said, that is the sport for me. I'm going to get on the USA team and I'm going to go to the Olympics. Because I talked to the head coach and he said, you need to be playing in Europe more consistently. Yeah. And then I need to see your playing. Either come watch you or watch film and then bring you to a USA tournament and see how I'm playing with USA and then we'll go. So I feel like it's good timing. Three years away. This month will be an interesting test. See how I feel with you guys. So. Buenos dias. Buena vertes con los Estados Unidos in Los Olympicos y necesito entrenar in Espana or professional now para. How do I say? Get better? Improve para mejorar, mejorar. To improve, need to be number 14 on the team. Because it's 14. Go to the Olympics. So I need to be number 14. He's got three pivots already. So I need to figure out what my strategy is going to be. But the last two guys aren't going to play anyways, you know, unless they're losing by a lot, they'll play for a few minutes. I don't even care. For me, it's like, I just want to be on the team, you know, if I can contribute, great. But be good enough to be on the team and play. So my first goal, number one, is practice more, Play more. Yeah. With you Guys. And see how my body feels. And then stay healthy. And stay healthy. That's it. And learn. Like, I've never practiced for more than a week at a time. Really. Or two weeks at a time, maybe. USA Team I remember when I came here 12 years ago, I. I felt so much better after one week. Yes, of course, I didn't really know what I was doing. And then one week I was like, you just with the energy and the people, you just start to feel it out. So hopefully after a month, it'll improve. What is that? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of them. He says, you're the guy, you're the guy. You're the main guy, the manager, the agent. I know. After 2019, I thought, this is a, this is nine years away. How much more do I want to play? And then Covid happened 2020. So I didn't get selected. There was no international competition or something happened where I didn't play 2020 or 2021. Covid. I gained a lot of weight. I wasn't practicing. Then I got injured. I hurt my Achilles 2022. So I was like, huh, I might be done. But then a year ago, I started healing, I started losing weight, I started training again. And I go, I don't know if I'm done. Like, I need to go watch the Olympics and see how I feel. And so I book a flight to Paris and I went to watch Argentina play someone in the first, first round. And it was like, man, it's still alive. Like the fire. I was like, oh man, it's still in there. So I was like, I either need to go all in on the dream or I need to, like, let my dream die. And I literally called you when I was in Paris and I said, can I come play? And he said, fly to. Fly to Leon right now. I left the Olympics early to fly to Leon. So we, we came to Leon for a day, two days to check it out. And I wasn't ready to get on the court then, but I was like, lift. We lifted for the, for a session. I was like, oh, this dream, it's still inside of me. I need to, like, figure out a game plan. So this has been an 8 month journey, 9 month journey of getting back in shape, training, recovering, planning steps to see what's possible and getting to here now, knowing that I need to play in Europe professionally in order to get back on the USA team, in order to give myself a chance to be on the Olympic team in three years in LA 2028. So this is One big step towards the bigger goal of being on the USDA handball team, playing in the Olympics 2028, which will be a 20 year journey from the first spark that I saw it on TV on the Olympics. How do you project you're going to feel at the end of. I'm going to feel incredible. I'm going to feel incredible. I feel like, oh, okay. It wasn't as hard as was putting it in my mind, you know, let's go, let's get ready. Let's do it. Let's start going to practice every day or every other day. So that's, that's what I think it's going to be like. I think you're going to feel amazing in the sense of it. Your inner child is going to feel so happy. It's going to be good. Yeah. It was a year ago you envisioned this. I know. And to equipo and to practice. In Espana or professional. But how do I say get better, Improve. Para mejorar, mejorar. To improve para mejorar, Improve, get better. It's been on my mind every day for months, this moment, like just getting on the court. Okay, just finished my first practice. I'm alive. I made it. And I was very nervous to see there was a moment in the middle of practice where my lungs were gassed. We were sprinting so much, and I haven't sprinted in six years except for playing pick pickleball on a small court. So there's a moment in my head I go, oh, my gosh, is this what it's going to be like every day? I don't know if this is possible. But then we took a break and then it was like getting into half court and then full court training and I was starting to get into a rhythm. I was starting to feel like, okay, I'm remembering how to play. It's been six years, but, you know, they blocked a few shots and then I scored one. I was like, oh, I just scored against professionals. Okay. I had a good block defense this. So little by little I started to get more confidence and felt like a success coming back the first day. And I just finished just taking it in right now. And I'm feeling kind of emotional because it's been six years since I played and this is a professional team at a high level in Spain. Just to be able to get back out there and to be able to show myself that I was able to do it was a big step for me personally. So I'm just so grateful that the first practice is complete and we'll see how I feel after tonight when I go to bed. Holy. Oh my God. They came in the upstairs window. They broke it. Look at this. Yes, they broke through glass all over the place. That came through the window, bro. They've broken the whole house, ripped it apart. Call the police and go outside. Get the key. That is crazy. That's insane. Broad dealer. I never thought that would happen. We have like fence with gate. So they broke through the upstairs, cutting me in the inside. Someone had to have been there before it took where to go. 100%. That is messed up. So the weirdest thing just happened. Spoken in shock about it, but I just celebrating the moment of getting here. All that it took for me to train to get here. Finishing the first practice, feeling really good about it. And then I get a call from Martha that our house was broken into and she's FaceTiming me and there's stuff everywhere and they took all of our valuables and broke the windows and trashed everything and took everything. I've been kind of emotional just all night because I was excited about what I was able to create to get here. And then I saw that happen and it's just. I feel violated. You know, you feel like you've created safety measures for your life, but it really doesn't feel safe. And we've created a sanctuary in our home. It's this beautiful home. You know, I lived in a two bedroom apartment for 20 years. Saved all my money to be able to create this dream home environment, this sanctuary. And it's so weird that pursuing my dreams and there's so much good that is happening. You know, me and Martha are trying to spread positivity to the world and inspire people. And then we get broken into and it's just. It's weird, you know, it's. It's unfortunate, sad. Get some sleep soon and try to assess tomorrow. But day one, practice for the first time in six years with a professional team and we get broken into. It's just weird timing. All these birds and the trees are a blessing though. This nature is incredible. So grateful. Just the insecurity of it all. Like was this targeted, was this planned? You know, people must have been watching to know that I left the country. People watch to see Martha leave. It's very scary for her being alone and knowing that she doesn't feel safe in our home. And it's for me, I felt helpless just because I can't go anywhere. I'm across the world, I can't do anything except for call the police. And have them come and file a police report. But other than that kind of this helpless, sad feeling while I just finished this amazing, you know, practice, Just kind of emotionally drained at the end of the night. On one end, I think you can have two emotions at the same time. At one end, I'm grateful that we still have our home. But the other end, it doesn't feel safe because someone broke in and stole a bunch of stuff. And I'm grateful we have our health. And Martha wasn't there, thank God, so she didn't have that trauma of being broken into while she was there alone. Because I don't want her to. You know, I don't. She doesn't feel safe now in our home, which is not what anyone wants to feel. Rehab today, How'd that go? Rehab was good. Yeah. I mean, my body's pretty sore. It was the most sprinting I've done in six years. Tears for sure. So my body's sore, my feet, my legs. But I got treatment done for an hour. Deep tissue massage needles, stem therapy, all that stuff. We'll see how practice number two is. I feel. I definitely feel a little sluggish. Took a nap, but I feel like hopefully the warm up, I'll get back into it and feel good again. Sa. Victorious. Yeah, let's go. I want that steak pizza. We have the best boss ever. I'll tell you what, I'm wet. Oh, my gosh. A little bit of moisture on the way here. You're not gonna believe what just happened. Matt, my coo, he just texted me a photo with the line, the universe, universe is speaking to us. Look what happened to his car, literally just now. I don't know if you can see that. Said, the universe is speaking to us. Someone just broke into his car and took the stuff out of his car in our office parking lot. I'm like, what the going on? This is crazy. Holy. Did they break into anyone else? Just you. I don't think anybody else. Why would it just be you? My gym bag was sitting on the seat. You got a bag? What do you think it's saying? Prepare, Be vigilant. Prepare. It's crazy, dude. How did I get broken into two days ago that you get broken into today? Sitting in the same chair. Same chair. Oh, right here. When I got the news, it's right. I got the news here both times. Yeah. The universe is. He's like, the universe is speaking to us. I don't know. He's like. I said what he said just to prepare. To prepare for whatever's to come in the future. Isn't that crazy? We celebrated my first day of practice and then I get the news and now we're celebrating the end of the week of practice and now I'm getting this news. What the heck is going on? Morning. Ready? Let's go. Beautiful morning. The main reason I'm going after getting back on the USA team and going trying to go to the Olympics is because I don't want to let down the little boy in me that always watched the Olympics and dreamed about it, dreamed about maybe I could be a party to Olympics one day. Maybe I can play in the Olympics one day. So part of it is I don't want to let my younger self down. The boy and me that watched Olympic athletes with awe, hearing the stories about all the things they overcame, how their families supported them for decades to get there and experiencing life in that richness with the Olympic spirit of mind. So I don't want to let go down little Lewis who's had this dream. I don't want to let it die. And I also want my future self to be able to look back and say, wow, you actually did it. You actually went for it. You actually like did the scary thing. You did the thing that most people will never do and you didn't let down us. So I don't want my older self to think you didn't let down younger self. No matter what the outcome is, I can be proud of me. So we just took a two hour train from Leon to Madrid. Now we're at the Madrid train station. We finished a week of practice and we're going to go kind of celebrate, hang out, relax for the day, walk around Madrid, have some good food, see some good sights, enjoy the time. And then the end of the day we headed back on a train back to Leon. But now we get to go on an adventure in Madrid. I think this place is like a hundred years old. It's been here forever. It's right down here and it's got the grilled mushrooms with meat that when I came here by myself 12 years ago, I stumbled upon this street, found it, ate it and I was like, this is incredible. So every time I'm back here I have to go get these mushrooms because they're amazing. Where are we? I don't even know. I think we're close to the center of town. We're walking to a park and we're gonna check out the park, hang out. How are you feeling energy wise today? Feeling tired? I'm feeling really tired. I Feel like I need to sleep right now. Tomorrow is going to be sleep in, relax, recover. But it's been an emotional week. Highs, lows, a lot of physical energy, a lot of mental energy. So I think I needed a couple more hours of sleep before we came. But. Sa. That's what we call the groundy nut toss. Thought I hit my foot. Didn't know you were a birdman. It's a New York City. They're like, right, what if I get petted? We were talking about how, I don't know, the last time I put my feet in grass. Just sat in nature, so it feels a little bit more recharged. The sun was just beating on us. Oh, my gosh. I think we forget a lot about what it's like to just be in nature and be bored and not do anything and just to disconnect. It feels incredible. Very, very blessed. He said it's been a long time since you found felt bored. Yeah, I don't know. Last time I felt bored because I think as an entrepreneur, you're always creating and thinking of, how do I build the business? And there's a problem you got to solve. There's, you know, you're looking to. For the next idea to launch. To create, to build. You know, you got to deal with someone on your team that needs support with something. So you're always thinking of generating revenue, optimizing the business. It's hard to really disconnect, but this whole month is allowing me to think in a different way and allow myself to play more. Obviously, it's tense on my body, but it's allowing me to play and think in a different way. Not in a business creative way, but in a inspirational, creative way as an athlete. And I think that's a nice change of pace for my mind, and I think that's powerful because most people don't give themselves the space to be bored, the space to. To reflect, the space to just recover, recharge. Even just walking in the grass barefoot for a while, it just allows me to feel grounded and get back into alignment. You know, I woke up this morning, I was feeling exhausted. And this is that little reset that recharge, even for an hour or two, and I feel better already. So just a simple reminder. Madrid, finishing up, heading back to Leon on the train. Had a good time in the park. Some good food, some good sightseeing, good distraction for the day. Now we head back, hopefully get some good sleep, rest tomorrow, get ready for another big week. Yeah, because. Because I don't. I don't I don't. If there's even some risk, why am I risking this? No, it makes sense. I understand. It's good. Okay, good. Well, it is and it isn't because I'm gonna miss you so much. Safety first. Guess what? What? Martha's not coming. No, she can't make it. Why? What? She can't make it. She's not coming the whole trip. Really? I swear to God. Just now. She just told me just now she can't make it. So. There was a moment on the first day of practice, after nine months of buildup, after all the excitement, the anticipation, the nerves, the worry, the stress, all these different things, there was a moment in the middle of the first day of practice this week where I thought to myself, I made a big mistake. I made a big mistake because I was in so much pain and my lungs hadn't felt that much pain sprinting as much as I did. And it was only the warm up. It was the warm up of the practice. And I was thinking, we have another 90 plus minutes and I'm already feeling this way. And that's after rehabbing and training for nine months just to get to the first day of practice. So there was a moment where I was like, oh, I don't know if I could do this. This is three more years of suffering and pain. I'm not sure. And I had to switch that critical thought off my mind because if I allowed that to happen and stayed in that, I probably would have quit after day one because of the critical thinking in my mind. And instead I just said, just focus on the next moment. Take a breath, get a sip of water, and focus on the next moment. Focus on improving. Focus on getting better. Be here. Be now. Don't think about all the pain and all the suffering for the next three years and how it's going to be hard. That really helped me get through that first practice. However, on the last day of practice, I was feeling a lot of pain. My feet were hurting, my toe was hurting, my Achilles were hurting, my knees, my throwing arm. I hadn't thrown that much in a long time. It was all hurting me. And I had to take the last practice a little slower. The day after practice, I felt like I could barely walk. I was dragging my foot. My Achilles was really tired. I was just like, man, this is tough. I went to therapy and rehab, and thankfully, as I was doing treatment, he did an ultrasound on my Achilles. My toe. He did an ultrasound and he said, the Achilles looks good. And now I tore my Achilles a couple years ago. So that's what I was really worried about. So I think it's more mental, more psychological about the pain that I might be feeling or just that it's a little weaker. And I think that's the thing that I'm most nervous about, making sure that I don't push it too hard, that I take it slowly by slowly, step by step. That's the thing that I just need to be mindful of, making sure my ego doesn't get in the way and feel like I have to over train and put push so hard and, you know, go one more every rep. It's actually about pulling back. It's actually about doing the least amount with maximum effort, not how can I over train, how can I do another rep, how can I go the extra mile? It's actually doing the least amount of miles, but with the best effort possible. I'm proud that I was able to be in Spain and practice Spanish and have conversations and order food and talk to people on trains and car rides and people that come up to me on the street and have conversations in Spanish. That was a big dream and goal of mine, to continue to practice Spanish in a foreign country and be forced to speak. But again, my big concern and big fear is my body and making sure that I get rest this weekend so that next week I can take it on one step at a time. Because it's going to be an intense week of practice and I got to make sure mentally that I don't over push myself to try to keep up. But I play my game, I stay in my lane and I do what I'm meant to do here, which is focus on my goal. So I'm proud to be able to get through it all without emotionally or mentally collapsing. And as long as I can do that day by day, make sure I get good sleep, good nutrition, do my treatments and have a positive mindset, then I think it's going to be a great month. Thank you guys for watching my first episode on my brand new channel about chasing my dreams. Make sure to subscribe below right now so you can stay up to date and everything that's happening from this moment in the future. We've got a lot more great videos coming soon, so make sure to subscribe. See you in the next video.