Frederick ‘Fred’ Richard has changed the length of men’s gymnastics in the USA. As the skipper of the men’s team at the Paris Olympics, he led the squad from the front. Ultimately, the team left the French metropolis with a bronze medal—the USA men’s gymnastics team’s best result since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. When Fred returned to his hometown in Massachusetts, the locals came out in droves to greet their hometown athlete. Such a scene had been rare in American men’s gymnastics, but the former world champion made it seem normal. However, was that journey a smooth sail for him?

No, it never was. In his recent conversation, Fred Richard talked about a few critical points that made the gymnasts of today. The days were grueling for him, but it did what they say, “Iron sharpens iron.”

Fred Richard shares the avenue he took to make gymnastics most followed 

Holding millions of followers on social media, Fred Richard has established himself as the common name. His stature in the discussion can only be second to Simone Biles, the two-time Olympic all-around champion. However, Fred’s journey to social media fame started in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. He started by uploading a snippet of his small skit on social media. But it attracted a lot of views. Soon, Fred Richard took it seriously and started to share videos of his gymnastic moves. Describing those hours, in his interview with NPR, the 20-year-old said, “I have a goal that I wanna reach.” The goal was to make men’s gymnastics popular or a household sport in the USA. In doing that, he was ready to go to any extent, even shedding thought of his starvation. But how?

In the meantime. Fred Richard realized the vastness of his audience and the subsequent effort that had been needed to reach every corner. Therefore, the necessity was to employ a content team. But that would need a bagful of money. The Olympian was ready to take the call. He explained further, “Felt like risk,but I knew like I have full scholarship here, I have no debt. I could stay living off of the dining meals for, for a little longer.” So he skipped his food to save the scholarship money and dedicated it to recruiting the team. The result was astonishing. 

Fred Richard started to be celebrated, and it was something on the top. Commenting on that overall experience, Amira Hussamy, the vital cog from Fred’s content team, said, “He’s always wanted to bring more attention to the sport and give it the applause that it deserves. … That’s definitely a big part of his mission.” The reward was the consistent views, likes, and flowers that awaited Fred Richard when he returned to his hometown with a bronze medal hanging around his neck. It was a day of reaching the heights he had once aimed for, pushing past all limits without concern for his appetite. Meanwhile, Richard received heartfelt recognition from his biggest fan for achieving his goal.

Men’s gymnastics is living the dream to match women’s gymnastics in the USA 

The day felt like a holiday when Fred Richard returned to his hometown of Stoughton, Massachusetts. The crowd erupted in cheers upon seeing the gymnast with his Paris Olympics medal. All they wanted was to show their love and admiration for the Olympian. Witnessing this unexpected outpouring of support, Fred’s mother, Ann-Marie Richard, recognized it as a watershed moment for men’s gymnastics in the USA.

Seeing the entire town go gaga over his son’s achievement, the loving mom says, “The girls’ gymnastics is very popular. The men haven’t been getting a lot of attention.”  Additionally, Ann-Marie was hopeful that her son’s result would bring more changes in the popularity of the already blinking sport in the USA. She further laid out, “Hopefully now that will change. I’m honored and blessed to see this happening for Fred. His dream is coming true. And this outpouring of love from the community is incredible.” Yet it needs a tectonic change to keep men’s gymnastics besides women’s in the USA. 

Notably, in 2023, only 12,000 men joined various contests under the banner of USA Gymnastics, whereas in the women’s category, the number was 138,000. But Fred Richard is optimistic about having a positive outcome. Based on the Team USA men’s gymnastic performance at the Paris Olympics, he said, “Somehow what we did that [team finals] day actually inspired a lot of people and made them really want to root for our journeys in this sport. I don’t think it’s ever been a situation where that many people are watching men’s gymnastics … and left feeling like it was worth it.” And he will not stop until he reaches a higher scale of popularity. 

He summarized perfectly, “My overall goal for the future is to grow the sport as much as possible and bring as many eyes to it as I can, and I think the Olympics is just one part of this whole journey. The men’s side of gymnastics has been much smaller than the women’s side for a long time, and while I’m here, I want to change that.” So the upcoming months are going to be vital for men’s gymnastics. Are you excited to know more about this? Stay tuned for updates in this space.