Ryan Lochte is one of the worldâs fastest swimmers. Heâs an 11-time Olympic medalist, and holds four world records for his aquatic abilities. Recently, heâs been in the public eye for headlines surrounding his personal life: comments made by his mother about possible one-night stands, public hook-ups with celebrities, his occasionally stumbling interviews (âThe reason why I love swimming is because racingâ). But what do we know about the Olympianâs personal life outside of the tabloids? In his latest endeavor, What Would Ryan Lochte Do?, an eight-episode reality TV show premiering April 21 at 10 p.m. on E!, we might just find out.

The showâs first episode showcases Lochte both in and out of the pool, but the results are anything but gold. We see Lochteâs budding bromance with Gene, his assistant and friend, as the two get drunk together on the golf course, talk about women, and engage in debauchery. âIs that bad if your pee is neon?â he asks Gene while relieving himself on the golf course. (According to this chart, if your urine is âneon,â you may be severely dehydrated.) Lochte also takes a trip to D.C.; upon arriving in Washington, Lochte exclaims, âWeâre going to meet Abe Lincoln!â He also has his first encounter with Washington women, who quickly intimidate him with a plethora of political queries. The rest of the season appears to follow suit, as Lochte goes on dates, shows off words from his fictional vocabulary, and goofs around with friends and family.
Earlier this month, Lochte spoke to The Daily Beast about his fitness routine, his family, his romantic relationships, and more. What follows is a completely unedited transcript of that conversation.
Between swim practice, family, friends, and dating, how do you balance everything?
You know, I kinda roll with the punches. I take each thing at a time. I donât try to really overwhelm myself. And, you know, just, yeah, baby steps basically.
Your family appears on the show. What did they think of the idea of being on a reality TV show with you?
They think itâs great because they understand why Iâm doing the show. They completely respect that decision. I told them like, you understand, youâre gonna be a part of the show, cause like youâre my family, and Iâm really close with you guys, and are you guys OK with having cameras around you 24/7? And theyâre like âWhat?â Yeah, thatâs one of the things with having a reality TV show. And, but, I talked them into it, and they loved it. Once the show was done shooting they said, âOh my gosh, I hope we get a second season cause that was so much fun.â
Would you do a second season?
Oh, by all means. This was like a once in a lifetime experience and I enjoyed it because ⌠you know what the best thing about this show was? It was I was able to hang out with my family more than Iâve ever hung out with them in the past, just because with my hectic schedule, I didnât really have time. But the show, like, I was able to hang out with them more, and my friends, and guess what? I get to call it work. So like, that was like the best thing ever.
You go on some dates while filming. How did they go?
UmâŚwell, I can tell you that Iâm still single.
So you didnât meet anyone special?
No, but you know, girls that, you know, they, theyâreâevery girl that I went on a date with on this show was, like, on paper, they were like perfect. They made me laugh, I enjoyed their company, they were smart, funny, prettyâlike, everything. The only thing why it didnât really work out was just because of my lifestyle, my hectic lifestyle. You know, because I have obligations to sponsors that makes me travel a lot. Thatâs one of the main reasons why they didnât like it. And if they donât like it, well, then itâs not going to work because itâs just gonna cause a lot of arguments and stuff like that, and I donât want that.
What are you looking for in a woman?
You know, honestly, if a girl can make me laugh, Iâm pretty much sold. In life, like, Iâm always living life to the fullest to always have fun. So Iâm always, like, a happy guy, and if somethingâs bothering me, like Iâm gonna go out, Iâm gonna fix it, just so Iâm not miserable. Life is too short to wait, you have to experience it and enjoy it as much as you can. If theyâre on the same page as me with that, weâre sold.
Whatâs the first thing you notice about what a woman is wearing?
What a woman is wearing? Um, itâs not like a particular clothing. Um⌠if sheâs, like, really well dressed and takes care of her body, like, sheâs not like going out there in like basketball shorts or something, sheâs actually watching what she wears, and she, like, wants to dress really nice, that, to me, is attractive. Like Iâm gonna look at that and be like, âWow, sheâs really like, independent. Sheâs independent, she can handle herself.â So I like that.
Your friend on the show, Gene, claims youâre always with a different woman. Is that true?
Um⌠(Laughs.) I asked him about that. I was like, âWhat did you mean by that?â I go on different dates because something happens where that girl doesnât work out, so I go on a different date because that one didnât work out. He knows that, he understands that, so thatâs why he says Iâm on a different date all the time, with a different girl. And itâs just because it didnât work out and you know, like, what I really want is, I want to find that one true love that I want to spend the rest of my life with. And I just havenât found that yet. So, Iâm still looking.

In the trailer for your show, you joke at wanting to run for president. Do you have any political aspirations?
(Laughs.) You know, I donât, just because with swimming I spend pretty much all my time in the swimming pool, training. So I havenât really had time to get into politics, the whole president thing was kind of just a joke, because I was in Washington D.C. with my mom and I was just making a joke and she was like, âOh no! Donât say that!â
Obviously youâre an incredible swimmer. Whatâs something youâre not so good at?
Um, hmm⌠I think anything with sports Iâm pretty good at. Because, like, I am an athlete, Iâve been known to, likeâI can do other sports.
What can you tell me about your fitness routine?
I love working out. I mean, Iâve been doing it for about 20 years every day of my entire life. So I enjoy working out. And, um, I mean, with swimming, you have to train all the time. You donât really get breaks. If you take a day off from swimming, itâs going to take you like three or four days to get back in shape. So if I take a week off, it takes me months to get back in shape, so, I mean, I always have to stay training at all times.
Can you share any tips for staying in shape?
I guess the biggest thing is you have to just be committed to it. Thereâs a lot of people that, like, you know, want to be in shape and want to have that physique, that athletic body. But they donât understand that itâs not gonna come easy. Theyâre going to have to work for it; you honestly have to. Itâs not like, âOh, Iâll work out today and next week Iâll work out once again.â You have to do it on a daily routine.
What about diet? Do you follow any rules or do you eat what you want?
With swimming, I burn a lot of calories. Iâm able to eat pretty much anything and it wonât affect me. But I donât. When I was younger, I did that. I mean, my diet consisted of Skittles and Mountain Dew. Itâs definitely not healthy. But when I got older, I started maturing and knowing my body a lot more. And one of the things that I found out was, everything you put in your body actually has an effect on just your overall, on how you feel, your attitude, everything. So I started eating healthy and Iâve been eating healthy for the past four or five years. My training, my attitude in life has just been phenomenal. Iâve been in a great mood. I train really hard and I just feel good.
I know you have an interest in fashion. Whatâs the status of your Lochte fashion line?
You know, I put my fashion line on hold, just because anything I do in my life I want to do 100 percent, and right now my biggest goal is Rio 2016 Olympics. So Iâve got to focus on that. But after my swimmingâs all finished, when I hang up the Speedo, I definitely will commit to fashion and take that more seriously.
On the show, we see you showing up to swim practice hungover. Was your coach upset?
Yeah. I mean, they know Iâm not your average Olympian. I mean, when you think of an Olympian you think they train, eat, sleepâthatâs all they do. But if I did that Iâd have quit swimming years and years ago. So like, I do like to go out, I like to go out, have some drinks with my friends, go dancing. I have another life outside of the sport of swimming, and youâll see that on the show. So there are times where I go out, I have a good time, but I have a job to do, and I have to show up in the morning and train. Sometimes the coaches donât like that, but they understand.