20-year-old Frederick ‘Fred’ Richard was an integral part of the squad that ended Team USA’s 16-year medal drought in Paris. However, long before the Olympian elevated the Team USA gymnastics men’s team to the podium, Richard had envisioned his success on the grandest stage. Even when he couldn’t find inspiration in his future self, the gymnast looked within.

“I started looking up to my future self,” the two-time world championship bronze medalist explained. Although Richard aimed for greatness, he felt lonely in his pursuit, because he didn’t see the same drive in his fellow gymnasts. “I might have felt excluded at times,” the Junior Pan-American Games champion said in an interview with Cleveland Magazine.

Yet, despite feeling alone in his endeavor, some supported his dreams to become a “high-level” gymnast. Yet when looking at the U.S. Olympians who competed on the grandest stage, the prodigy realized he couldn’t pick a role model. “There was no one on the Olympic stage that looked like me or lived [the] lifestyle that I wanted to live.” Fred Richard explained.

So the gymnast looked within himself. Could the future Richard inspire his then-ambitious self? “So, I started imagining, What will future Frederick Richard look like? What will 20-year-old me look like? And that’s the person that kind of inspired me, that’s what got me excited.” the Olympian revealed to Cleveland magazine.

The year’s worth of efforts paid off when at the Paris Olympics. Fred Richard contributed to Team USA’s 257.793 score with his performances on the pommel horse, rings, horizontal bars, and floor exercise. His effort helped the USA win all-around team gold. However, amidst their historic success, the gymnast felt dissatisfied with his disappointing individual finals performance.

“I’m going to go back to the gym extremely hungry… I’m not satisfied,” the gymnastics icon said after slipping off the pommel horse and ending up in 14th place during the individual finals. However, even with his personal goals in mind, the Boston native hoped to do something special for the sport.

Fred Richard’s goals went beyond personal accolades

The Olympic bronze medalist is among the most followed gymnasts among the men of Team USA. With nearly 700,000 followers on Instagram, the Olympian started his social media journey in 2020. After a few skits went viral on social media, the gymnast got serious about posting snippets of his gymnastics content. Soon, Richard made it his goal to promote the sport he loves

“I have a goal that I wanna reach.” the 20-year-old told NPR. And Fred Richard was ready to go to extreme lengths to make men’s gymnastics as popular as women’s gymnastics in the USA. So despite having no funding, the gymnast went out on a limb to hire a content team by sacrificing the money for her meals.

“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 a little longer.” the Olympian thought. Thankfully, his gamble paid off. Fans loved the gymnastics content, and Richard’s growth and accolades only accelerated his social media growth.

“He’s always wanted to bring more attention to the sport,” said Amira Hussamy, a member of Fred Richard’s content team. Today, Richard continues to post on social media after achieving Olympic glory at Paris 2024. And now, with a team full of like-minded individuals, the bronze medal is no longer alone in his pursuit of Olympic gold.