Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps is making quite a splash in his latest ad for Under Armour’s “Rule Yourself” campaign. The idea behind the campaign, besides selling their apparel, is that “you are the sum of your training”. The campaign has enlisted some heavy hitters – American Ballet Theater’s principle ballerina Misty Copeland, golfer Jordan Spieth, Stephen Curry from the Golden State Warriors (Strength in Numbers!), Tom Brady, soccer player Memphis Depay and the US Women’s gymnastic team. With Michael’s ad, they are broadening the message to include, “It’s what you do in the dark that puts you in the light.” Phelps, who is engaged to Nicole Johnson and expecting a son in the next few months, is shown swimming laps in a darkened pool and putting in some serious gym workouts. The ad also shows him sitting in an ice bath and undergoing cupping, the process of mobilizing blood flow to promote healing by suctioning (with heat, in this case) localized spots on the body. The overall feel of the ad is fairly forceful:

Michael Phelps’ training regimen is extensive, brutal and really, really impressive. The 22-time Olympic medalist is featured in a 90-second Under Armour ad that shows just how much work the swimming legend puts in to stay in tip-top shape.

Phelps, 30, doesn’t just swim to get competition ready. In the spot, the ripped athlete sweats it out at the gym, shivers in a freezing tub of ice, swims several laps in the pool and eat carbs, carbs and more carbs.

Phelps’ new ad is part of the “Rule Yourself” campaign, which promotes Under Armour’s apparel, but also encourages athletes to dig deep.

“It’s about what our young athletes do in the dark. That means this idea of maybe you can’t go to the party, maybe you can’t hang out, maybe you can’t do the things that everyday kids are doing, but you’re sacrificing those moments to really step into the light, to really get that win and that championship moment that you really deserve,” she said at the time.

[From Us Magazine]

Here’s the ad:

Gah, watching him swim is like fine performance art. The feel of Phelps’ ad is more haunting than the ones prior, which focused more on training being manifold. Phelps’ message is particularly poignant because Phelps has not been the squeaky clean Wheaties boy we expect our Olympians to be. Before his record breaking 2008 Olympic run, he already had one DUI under his belt. After Bejing, Phelps was photographed smoking pot, which cost him sponsors in addition to begin penalized by USA Swimming. Another DUI in 2014 got him suspended. As he trains for what might be his last Olympics in Rio, Phelps appears committed to rehabilitating himself and his career. I really hope so because two DUIs is completely unacceptable for anyone.

When Phelps and Nicole saw the ad, they both teared up. Nicole said, “… it’s knowing what’s sacrificed and being able to see it on the screen, it’s cool… “. I get what Nicole is saying. We hold our Olympians to another set of rules. They are our heroes and we expect them to always be those heroes. I know I don’t consider what or how much they have to sacrifice to meet those ideals.

Now for the superficial – OMG does he look hot! I am not usually a fan of male facial hair but he’s like a wet, American Christian Bale/Liam Hemsworth hybrid. I really wanted to watch this ad for all of the emotion it is trying to convey but I kept hitting pause to stare at his back.

Photo credit: Getty Images and WENN and FameFlynet Photos