Miles Chamley-Watson exclusive on life-changing advice from Kobe Bryant and world travels with best friend Lewis Hamilton
The two-time world champion and Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist spoke candidly to Olympics.com about keeping balance with his life in high-fashion and those Rihanna rumours.
He's been on top of podiums with the best in the world, walked down Fashion Week runways across the globe, and he's become a red-carpet regular — as he puts it best himself, two-time world foil champion Miles Chamley-Watson is “not like any other athlete.”
In every way, the London-born American with Jamaican, Irish, British and Malawian heritage, has broken the mold in the age-old sport of fencing, which made its Olympic debut more than a century ago.
From being expelled from a handful of schools as a child, to his rumored relationships with A-list celebrities and the mark he’s making in the world of fashion, Chamley-Watson had myriad stories to tell Olympics.com – most notably on his bromance with Formula One superstar Lewis Hamilton and the advice Kobe Bryant gave him that changed his life forever.
So, ahead of the Turin Grand Prix that begins 9 February, where the world's best male and female foil fencers have the opportunity to get points toward qualification for Paris 2024 - where Chamley-Watson has his eyes on gold - the 34-year-old reveals his life less ordinary.
- As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
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Miles Chamley-Watson (R) during the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2023
Miles-Chamley Watson's school of hard knocks
“I was a pretty bad kid,” said Chamley-Watson, reflecting on his formative years.
Expelled from two schools before the age of 10, he and his mother and stepfather moved to New York where he was kicked out of two more.
“Growing up in London, you’re a mixed kid - you don’t know who you are,” said Chamley-Watson talking about why he might have got into so much trouble.
“I didn’t really have a dad growing up…my mom was my mom and my dad,” he added.
After being expelled from the second school, his mom told him he had to pick up either tennis, badminton or fencing.
“You know what, swords are fun," he remembers thinking. "Let’s give it a shot. Immediately when I put the mask on, I just felt a special energy and feeling.”
Putting on the protective head gear, the hyperactive kid felt like a superhero, and for the first time had a purpose and began to train tirelessly. He wanted to be nothing short of the best.
Miles Chamley-Watson competes against Giorgio Avola during the Men's Foil Team Bronze Medal Match bout at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
He quickly gained momentum in the sport and never looked back.
In 2009, at his World Championships debut, came a first pivotal moment.
Mid-match, the then 19-year-old reacted to his opponent by whipping his sword around the back of his head to score a point. The move had never been done before.
The referee stopped the bout and had both athletes watch the replay with the judges until the move was deemed legal.
‘The Chamley-Watson’ - his signature move - was born.
“That was the point where my life changed,” he said.
He began coming into himself, honing in on the strength of his individuality, saying, “I started to be more eccentric and unconventional, which is, I guess, how it was since I was a little kid.”
It was the genesis of the Miles Chamley-Watson we know today.
Miles Chamley-Watson’s celebrity circle
The fencer continued to thrive on and off the mat, as his modeling career also began to take off.
The six-foot-four athlete was initially scouted by an agency as he was walking around New York City at 17 years old.
Today, he doubles as an Olympic medalist and runway model, having walked in many high-profile fashion shows. He even appeared on the coveted red carpet at the Met Gala multiple times after breaking the internet at his first in 2017 when the seating chart put him between Rihanna and Madonna.
The next morning, headlines read 'Rihanna ‘gets cozy; with stylish Olympic fencer Miles Chamley-Watson' and 'Rihanna and the fencer?'
When asked about the Bajan superstar, Chamley-Watson blushed and said, “She’s awesome. No. Nothing. Super friends.”
That star-studded event was also the start of the fencer’s friendship with Lewis Hamilton, whom he refers to as his ‘brother.’
The two have since been seen sunning themselves in Australia, four-wheeling in Namibia, dressing up as Mario characters in Japan, feeding giraffes in Kenya, and yachting around Europe.
**“**We love taking trips together. I think that's what helps me in my sports life is keeping my mind free in the off season.”
They publicly support each other in their respective sports, sometimes even swapping places, as we saw with Chamley-Watson’s ‘hot lap’ at the Miami Open, where he was also seen fist-bumping Max Verstappen, hugging Serena Williams, and chatting with Pharrell.
Kobe Bryant’s life-changing advice
Chamley-Watson became an Olympian at the London 2012 Games, where he was the second-seeded foil fencer.
“I wasn’t myself,” he said, explaining how he went into the Games rigid and serious - something that was not his default setting, but which he thought would be appropriate for the biggest stage in the world of sports.
He was knocked out in the second round.
“It was a hard pill to swallow, but ultimately it helped me make history the next year,” he said.
That Olympic experience brought him two things – the drive and motivation to push on, and a moment in London that he still regards as “the best day of [his] life.”
After Team USA basketball defended their Olympic gold, the players walked into USA’s training room and the fencer sparked up a conversation with icon Kobe Bryant.
In learning about Chamley-Watson's round two loss, the late Bryant had one piece of advice for the disappointed youngster: “the best athletes have the shortest memory.”
“I was like that’s so true - you win, you forget about it. You lose, you forget about it. When your career is done you then can sit back and reminisce. [So] that’s when I was like…what am I doing? I was like, you know what? I’m gonna be me - crazy Miles."
'Crazy Miles' became the first American man to win an individual fencing world title the following year in Budapest, and he hopes to follow that with Olympic gold at the Games in France, and if he needs to miss a big fashion shoot to get back in time for training – true story – then so be it.
Miles Chamley-Watson has trails to blaze.