Matt Marshall was just two weeks shy of his ninth birthday when he first hit the water. Who knew years later Matt would become a 12-time All-American swimmer at UW-Madison, a model in Europe and earn the admiration of his family, friends, coach and teammates? His story shows how one athlete's experience as a Badger swimmer shaped him for the rest of his life.
""Matt has a natural born competitiveness and tenacity, and he hates to lose,"" Marshall's father Wallie Marshall said. ""He's been that way his whole life.""
Growing up in Chico, Calif., Marshall said his son always possessed the characteristics to achieve greatness. However, it was during his sophomore and junior years in high school, when he began breaking 20-year-old records, that Matt realized his swimming potential. After receiving several offers from Division I colleges, Matt chose to accept a full-ride swimming scholarship at UW-Madison, where he swam from 2000 to 2004.
""Matt was definitely one of the hardest working athletes I've ever encountered,"" said Eric Hansen, head men's and women's swimming coach at UW-Madison. ""He got a lot out of what he was capable of.""
According to Hansen, swimming is a ""very different sport."" A year-round sport, swimmers train five hours a day with only a week off in the spring and summer.
""Swimmers, I think they have to be comfortable with a routine. Consistency is what is going to make them great,"" Hansen said. ""They have to become accustomed to suffering because that is a daily part of what we do.""
Marshall said the sport of swimming shapes an athlete's entire life because it is all about time management.
""When you know you're going to be at practice for five hours every day, you have to fit your schedule around practice, keep up with homework and be able to stay awake in class when you get up at 5:30 a.m.,"" Marshall said.
Adam Mania was Marshall's roommate and teammate for three years. Together, Mania and Marshall lived the scheduled lives of swimmers on campus, pushing each other and helping each other out.
""Matt was probably the hardest worker I've ever met,"" Mania said. ""He would literally try to make himself throw up. He almost felt like if he didn't make himself throw up, he wasn't working hard.""
Wallie Marshall said his best memory of his son swimming at UW-Madison was in his junior year when Marshall scored three second-place finishes, missing first place in the 100 butterfly by one-hundredth of a second.
""This was the third time in his life this happened,"" Wallie Marshall said. ""As much as a parent you love to see your kids win, knowing how hard he worked at becoming a good swimmer, I was so proud of how he did at that meet.""
Mania, who is currently training for the 2008 Olympics, said he and Marshall found ways to cope with the stress of lives as swimmers by just having fun.
""We put so much hard work into it, we would be goofy because everything is so scheduled, we don't have much time to relax,"" Mania said. ""As a swimmer, you're stressed 24/7, it is just non-stop pain.""
Mania said he and Marshall were friends and roommates out of the pool and competitors in the pool, pushing each other.
""Me and Marshall had a really good friendship, but in the pool we were always competing against each other,"" Mania said. ""In practice, we were always racing, getting at each others' throats.""
After swimming four years and volunteer coaching his fifth, Marshall graduated with a Bachelor's in economics from UW-Madison. After swimming with the club team Wisconsin Aquatics, he moved to southern California where he trained with Irvine Aquatics. He retired from swimming about a year ago to pursue his next move—modeling.
Wallie Marshall said while his son's modeling career came as a surprise, it made a lot of sense.
""I actually talked to him about the idea once he quit swimming because he put so many years into his body to swim fast, maybe somebody would be interested in paying him money for all that hard work,"" he said.
From March to July 2006, Marshall spent time in Italy, Germany and France, modeling men's apparel in shows and magazines. Marshall said the most well-known brand name he modeled was Polo Ralph Lauren in a show in Germany.
""Matt wore sweatpants and a sweatshirt every day, never cared how he looked, got his buzz cut from Cost Cutters,"" Mania said. ""Everyone thought it was a complete joke.""
However, Mania said modeling turned out to be a good fit for Marshall because of his motivation and ""well-rounded character.""
Currently, Marshall lives in Orange County, Calif., where he works as a manager at 24 Hour Fitness. He advises all college students, particularly athletes, to savor the college years because they may not be as tough as they seem.
""School is the most simple time you're going to have in your life,"" Marshall said. ""You have school and you have practice, that's what you have to concentrate on.""
Having earned a full-ride scholarship, Marshall said one big change from college to life after graduation included paying bills, working nine to 10 hour days and finding time to work out.
However, when you ask his family, coaches and friends, all would agree Marshall has handled the responsibilities of adulthood well.
""Hopefully when [swimmers] leave our program with a work ethic, accountability and punctuality,"" Hansen said. ""I have a ton of respect for Matt for who he is and how he did his sport. He personifies all of that.""
At the end of the day, Wallie Marshall said his son is more than just a good swimmer, or a good-looking model, but a great person who has been shaped by his hard work and sacrifice in the pool as a Badger.
""I'm pretty darn proud of that kid,"" he said. ""He has become a terrific young man who will do very well in life and that's all a parent can ask for.""
