The destination Paris: Stoughton gymnast Frederick Richard would like to share his passion with the masses.

The founder and president of “Frederick Flips” an apparel manufacturer for sports isn’t only an athlete. He’s CEO. Influencer. YouTuber.

By WILL GRAVES AP National Writer

Jul 29th, 2024 at 06:38 am.

The rites of passage for teenagers were readily available for Frederick Richard while growing up in Stoughton.

Soccer game. Dances. Parties. Socializing.

Text messages would appear on his phone frequently to check whether he was taking on a task. And Richard’s response was usually a variant of “thanks however, not this time. I’ve practiced.”

The invitations to participate in things that are “cool things” and the peer pressure that goes along with them were never surpassed by the gymnast’s constant confidence in himself as well as the constant pull of his sport regardless of how uncool and insecure it’s considered to be in the case of a man and in America. United States.

“It was difficult because I was sort of lonely on my journey and felt a bit lost out, and other things,” he said. “But I’m hooked on this. I’m hooked on the dream.”

A vision that goes well beyond that of the Olympics.

Don’t be a Richard mistaken. The charismatic 20-year-old realizes that when he walks onto the stage in Bercy Arena in Paris on July 27th this is the end of his relatively young career. However, it’s only one part of a strategy which goes far beyond a single talent, single competition, or medal.

Frederick Flips

The president and the founder of ” Frederick Flips,” a sports apparel company, doesn’t view himself as being an professional athlete. He’s a CEO. An influencer. A YouTuber. A budding visionary who lists Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan as his idols.

Yes the man knows what invoking those names means.

“I’m not attempting to duplicate things and take the paths that have already been created,” Richard said. “I’m always asking myself: What is my plan for during the next ten years? What can I do to create this path that’s never completed or this profession? It’s not even a thing.'”

Doesn’t.

Gymnastics for men has been mostly a sideline throughout the U.S. for decades, mostly being a shadow of a women’s team that frequently produces gold medalists that reach “first first name-only” standing within gymnastics.

Richard is well aware that this type of status isn’t available to American males. He’s trying to make a difference with by performing one show, one viral social media post, one television appearance at an time.

“One one of my dreams is to see someone walk through the streets at some point and you ask for their name of the name of a male gymnast, and they choose an athlete of male gender,” he explained.

What’s in a name?

This will bring his name to University of Michigan junior to his name.

Fred? Frederick? He’s been bouncing around between them for a while, before settling between both based on the situation. Yes “Fred” is popular for the U.S. but “Frederick Richard” is an ode to his French roots — has some more style internationally.

If you’re looking to establish a brand in the end, you’ll have to understand your target audience.

Richard made a major step towards getting his name whatever one you decide to chooseout after he took home medals in all around event at the world championships in 2023. It was the first time an American male at an international competition in the last thirteen months. It was a huge step for a men’s program that has been for the better part of 10 years.

It was supposed to be an exciting experience. It wasn’t. It wasn’t exactly. Richard’s high bar routine in the final round wasn’t his most impressive. Richard thought his chances of winning getting a medal were over. In the end, other players were struggling too, which led to the result Richard didn’t think he was worthy of.

When the Great British’s James Hall came over to thank Richard that Richard changed his mind. The exchange offered an opportunity to remind him that despite all different ways Richard is working to become a crossover superstar while trying to make his sports more available for general public, the truth is that he’s “obsessed with his sport and pushing the boundaries.”

It is possible to become involved in all that is required to create an image. Yet underneath Richard’s breezy attitude is a determination based not on bragging or ambition, but on something more fundamental.

“You can see Fred in (the training facility) and he’s grinding and sweating and pushing his body all the time,” said Michigan and Olympic teammate Paul Juda. “And I’m going”I’m supposed to be doing this.'”

Richard does not have any intention to become one of those influential people who are only loosely connected with the things that was influential about them in the first place.

He is truly at home at the gym, with chalk in his hands, playing around with an exercise routine or ability or playing with videos of the athletes who he’ll be competing against at Paris.

He is aware that a medal of any kind would be significant in this U.S. program. But why should we settle for making it to the podium? Why not work to get to the top, knowing that the defending Olympic winner Daiki Hashimoto from Japan will be arriving at Paris as a strong odds-on to win another?

This isn’t Richard’s style. When Juda, Richard and the majority of the U.S. team made their way to the world championships in the past there was a feeling of satisfaction among the team for having done it. This was not enough to Richard.

“(He’s) saying”‘Oh but what’s the coolest idea? Let’s do the cool thing, and get people talking about the cool thing”” Juda said.

Goals higher

Richard isn’t programmed to shoot at a lower. If he was perhaps, you would have given up on all the practices on weekends and attended a party instead. Perhaps he’d been able to let the fact that he was often the only Black athlete in a competition packed with mostly white athletes take a toll on him.

The program never succeeded. Partly because he states that he felt always welcomed. Partly because he knew the possibility that was in front of him, if he were to remain with it.

“Kids are influenced by these famous athletes,” he said. “But I couldn’t find anyone who was Black like me, thriving at the international level (in gymnastics for men). … I would like to be that. I envisioned that gyms would be filled with Black children. This remains one of my main ambitions. This is why I do it as well.”

It’s among Richard’s top priorities on his ever-changing “to-do” to-do list.

Some of his best mornings start by having a brainstorming session with his team of creatives, one which has grown in the past few years to comprise two cameras as well as one of his business partners, among other people.

He switched between film and business, television and the media. His long-term goals include growing the range of clothing he sells, performing some acting, and working as an executive producer.

“Every day that I improve by learning things that are new to me,” the man stated. “Every day I have some clarity about what I’m looking to do and who I want to be. In the moment, I feel that anything is feasible.”

This clarity can also provide Richard with a feeling of liberty. Maybe he sticks all of his stuff during the Olympics and then returns home with one or two medals in the carry-on. Perhaps there’s no way to know. He’s putting everything that his energy into the present moment Yes. However, he won’t let the outcome define his life.

“(Either either) I’ll head home and live the life I’m living now,” he said. “So let me show off my fun and I’ll think I’ll showcase.”