{"id":704,"date":"2009-07-23T10:10:49","date_gmt":"2009-07-23T17:10:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=704"},"modified":"2010-02-19T11:16:22","modified_gmt":"2010-02-19T18:16:22","slug":"dangerous-when-wet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/dangerous-when-wet\/","title":{"rendered":"Dangerous When Wet"},"content":{"rendered":"

July \/ August 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ian Crocker: Chapter 2<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

interview By Michelle Susan Twomey<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"crocker\"With five Olympic swimming medals locked tight in a safe in his closet, Ian Crocker (Cheverus 2000) has always been a free spirit dancing to his own tune. But now that he\u2019s daring to change lanes in the face of worldwide acclaim, what can he do for an encore, and how will he stay fit? And really, Ian, swimming in Guant\u00e1namo Bay?<\/span><\/p>\n

Swimming in Gitmo seems like such a bizarre follow-up to the 2008 Games in Beijing, almost like a scene out of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind<\/em>. How did this happen?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The opportunity to go to Guant\u00e1namo Bay, Cuba, was amazing, the\u00a0 chance of a lifetime. I was contacted by an armed forces support group called the MWR (Moral Welfare and Recreation). They specialize in bringing in actors, athletes, musicians, and comedians to come and entertain the troops who are stuck [in strange places with faraway names] for months on end. We got invited down last October\u2013a really cool opportunity. We did a lot of meet and greets with various military [personnel], and we also had some free time to check things out as well. We toured Camp Delta and the detainee camps and saw where the prisoners were kept until the maximum-security prisons were built. It\u2019s really interesting, the way they have it all set up. If I were a prisoner, I\u2019d rather be there than in any prison on U.S. soil.<\/span><\/p>\n

When exactly did you join the CIA?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Laughs] Yeah, they want us to go down there and show us everything and come back and tell everyone it\u2019s not quite what CNN tells us it is. For example, not many people know you can get permission to visit family [service] members down there. <\/span><\/p>\n

Could you see Florida from the base? You must have wondered, can I swim that far<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh, no. It\u2019s like 90 miles off the coast, and Guant\u00e1namo\u2019s on the opposite side of the island. You can see the Caymans and Haiti from there, but they\u2019re 90 miles away, too, quite far off in the distance. <\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of open-water swims, would you ever consider swimming in the Peaks to Portland race?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, that would be something I\u2019d do. I was always scared of swimming in the ocean, but I\u2019ve gotten more comfortable with it. When I was at Guant\u00e1namo Bay, we had a chance to go snorkeling a few times, my first time in tropical waters. We swam with barracuda. So I think I\u2019d be able to swim Peaks to Portland with no problem now.<\/span><\/p>\n

How\u2019d you handle crowd noise during your first Olympics?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2000, I remember walking alone to the pool deck for the prelims for the 100 \u2019fly. No one else was there yet. The roar of 15,000 people on one side of the crowd and all the other teams and media on the other side had me grinning ear to ear. I was still nervous, but it blew my mind. I proceeded to jump in, over-swam the first half of the race, and almost didn\u2019t make semifinals. I just had so much adrenaline from the roar of the crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019re self-aware, introspective. So contrast your last answer with your experience in Beijing in 2008.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Going into that summer, I wanted to make sure I enjoyed that experience. I realized <\/span>I\u2019m not getting any younger, I\u2019ve been to three Olympics, and who knows if I\u2019ll go for the London Olympics after that<\/span><\/em>? It can be really stressful and overwhelming, and it\u2019s hard to remind yourself to enjoy it. After swimming for 8 days in competition,\u00a0 you\u2019re physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. So I found a hotel with really good food and a massage spa and just kind of crashed. But I made sure to see Tiananmen Square, and I went to an Olympic basketball game.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is really Chapter 2 for you, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the last few years, I\u2019ve been curious about what I wanted to do when I was done swimming competitively. After the Beijing Games, I decided I\u2019d focus on that more.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m opening up a swim school here in Austin. The clientele will be young children, infants, and toddlers who need to get water-safe. We\u2019ll also prepare kids for competition and help them prepare for the mental aspects of the sport. <\/span><\/p>\n

Where\u2019s the money coming from?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over my swimming career, I tried saving as much as I could so I could start my own business. So far, it\u2019s been out of my, and my other two business partners\u2019, pockets. I swam with both Neil Walker and James Fike at University of Texas. Neil was an Olympian in 2000 and 2004, and James went into investment banking. He\u2019s our business- smarts guy. We\u2019re still raising funds for the facilities. Meanwhile, we\u2019re using pools in Austin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why not start a swim school up here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right now, living in Austin has more of a year-round need for water safety. But I would definitely like to branch out and start a school up in Maine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tell us about your eating habits, in Beijing and now.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a swimmer, you try to get as much fuel in your body as you can. You are constantly trying to find good quality foods. Whether it\u2019s before or after a workout, there are very important times in the day to get your food. It\u2019s more about trying to <\/span>find<\/span><\/em> a lot of food.<\/span><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t do that anymore, though. I\u2019ve always been pretty good about getting a good balance of the food groups. I like healthy food, and I like good food. I also like food in general. If you\u2019re a foodie, you like butter and everything butter goes on. Basically, you try to eat in moderation the things you know aren\u2019t that good for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

How has your body reacted to the physical effects of swimming so intensely for so long? Is there a kind of jet-lag?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was pretty fortunate about injuries. Toward the end, my shoulders got worse and worse. That was one reason I decided to take a long break after last summer. If I kept training, I\u2019d need to have surgery on my shoulders.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do you keep your medals?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a safe in my closet most of the time. I had one out last week when a buddy of mine was down here, visiting. It\u2019s probably still on my kitchen counter. The only reason I take them out is when I\u2019m going to work with a bunch of kids. Young kids want to see the medals.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you want to see<\/em> when you\u2019re back up here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I love going to Beale Street. I love eating Memphis-style barbeque and have eaten my fair share, but I still think the best is in South Portland, Maine.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you tell young swimmers hoping to make it big?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Make sure you set goals and write them down. Just try and work on refining your technique and having fun at a young age. Don\u2019t get too serious, and don\u2019t work out too hard before you get into high school.<\/span><\/p>\n

Any romantic interests at the moment?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No girlfriend. It\u2019s been too crazy of a year to be able to.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tell us about your home in Austin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I live in a house\u2013well, the bank still owns it, but I paid for it. Unfortunately, it\u2019s one of those newer cookie-cutter homes. I decided to get a newer home still under warranty.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to be in one of those older bungalows, because Austin is full of neighborhoods with those.<\/span><\/p>\n

Any pets to keep you company?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was just talking about them, actually. I collected three cats over the years: Murphy, Hazel, and Dinah. They are good friends.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Austin, with the big independent film colony, have you ever hung out with Matthew McConaughey?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen him at football games and out and about in Austin, but we\u2019ve never hung out.<\/span><\/p>\n

What was toughest part of training for Beijing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The coach I had down here, Eddie Reese, is also the head Olympic coach for the men\u2019s swim team. A year before Beijing, he had us running in the football stadium here in Austin\u2013it seats 90,000. [Somewhere in my mind, I think I\u2019m still] running up and down all those stairs of the stadium, over and over.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ever do any team bonding as part of Team USA? I don\u2019t recall seeing segments like that during the Olympic coverage.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Laughs] They never encouraged us to do anything super crazy together before or after competitions\u2013nothing beyond mini-golf\u2013because we aren\u2019t too coordinated on land. <\/span><\/p>\n

Portland has been called the ‘Paris of the northeast\u2019 and Austin the ‘Paris of the southwest.\u2019 What\u2019s the difference?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Austin, we have a beer to cool off; in Maine, y\u2019all drink to warm up. <\/span><\/p>\n

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