Olympic Speed, Harvard Brains & Big Gains: How Gabby Thomas Races Toward Wealth
49:59 Share

What's the biggest misconception people have about professional athletes' lifestyles and incomes? I think that people have such a misconception, especially about track and field athletes. And the biggest one might be, I really had to start from the bottom. Same with in academics, right? I just remember feeling like I was already behind. How much do you think you and your family have overall spent to, like, get you in this sport? Yeah, for me personally, nothing.

This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Apple Card is everything a credit card should be. It's easy to manage, built to be secure, and gives users up to 3% daily cash back on every purchase. The best part about Apple Card is applying is quick and easy. Apply in the Wallet app on iPhone and see your credit limit offer in minutes. Subject to credit approval, Apple Card by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City Branch. Member FDIC. Terms and more at applecard.com.

What's up, rich friends? Welcome back to another episode of Net Worth and Chill with me, your host, Vivian Tu, aka Your Rich BFF and your favorite Wall Street girly.

Like the rest of America, there is nothing I like more than sitting on my ass and watching the best athletes in the world fight for gold. And by that, I mean I am talking both the summer and the winter Olympics. I'm glued to my TV screen. I'm eating chips off of my chest, complaining about how this person couldn't flip 18 times in the air.

But because I'm me, I'm always wondering, how much do people actually win for winning a gold medal? And how much does it cost to just get an athlete to the Olympics, period? So to help answer my questions today, I've got a three-time Olympic gold medalist joining us. And trust me, she's the definition of unstoppable, nonstop.

Not only is she the third fastest woman in history in the 200 meter dash, but she's also a Harvard grad. Okay, smarty. We're talking athletics, academics, and of course, the money moves behind professional sports. Everyone, please welcome Gabby Thomas. Yay, thank you. Thanks for having me on. Of course. Gabby, I'm so excited to have you here with me today. But before we get started, I want to know, what's the biggest misconception people have about professional athletes' lifestyles and incomes?

I mean, that's probably my favorite question. I think that people have such a misconception, especially about track and field athletes. And the biggest one might be that...

We are training situation, right? So I think people have this idea in their head that we train at these really elite kind of Olympic training centers and that we have- Like a coliseum. You're right, like a coliseum. Anything, honestly, not even that, like just simple facilities and resources that they think maybe our governing body is giving to us, for example. But no, I think-

in our sport specifically, you're lucky if you are training like on a college campus. Like if you're a professional runner and you can stay at your college campus, you're already like

Miles ahead, no pun intended, of your other competitors. A lot of us don't have that. So me, for example, I went to Harvard. And when I decided that I wanted to run and be an Olympian and try to go for that dream, I moved to Texas. And we don't train at any type of Olympic training center. We actually train at a public park, sometimes at a local high school. And

We do our weight training at a warehouse that is not temperature controlled. It's like a small warehouse that is enough for my group, which is about 10 girls to train in. And then you're kind of on your own when you're looking for physio, nutritionist sports, all of that. You kind of have to do that and outsource it yourself. And if

If you can get away with training on your college campus, like let's say you're a great collegiate athlete, you graduate, and maybe you're at Florida, for example. We have a lot of Olympians at Florida. You can stay on Florida's campus and use all of those resources, right? You can use their track. And then you have a private track where the public isn't going to come bother you.

I was going to ask, when you're running, do people just run into you? No, absolutely. As they should. They use the track. They pay taxes. They can use it. A lot of times, people will stop me for photos, or they're just walking, trying to get a workout in, and they're in our lanes. It is what it is. Or if it's a crowded time, if the weather's nice, you're just navigating that. I think people really do think that we have this really nice setup, but a lot of times when people come visit me or when I do shoots at my local track, they're like, oh,

Humble. Yeah, very humble beginnings. But, I mean, that's really what it is. I mean, and you can make it using the bare minimum, right? We just – all you need is a pair of spikes and a track. So I think that might be the biggest misconception. There are some athletes who do use training centers, right? Yeah. And there are some that have their college resources, which is incredible. But I know for myself and my group and for a lot of professionals –

making that transition is actually very difficult. Making the transition from college to professional is difficult because you are on your own in that regard. Have you ever felt any type of way about the athletes that can personally afford or have the wealth to be like, oh, and this is my cryo chamber and this is my track and this is my little, and then like you're in a warehouse lifting weights. I do think about that. And I do want to say like,

the way I trained in my setup, it was a choice. Like when I graduated from Harvard, I did, I, I toured different areas and I wanted to see what would be the best fit for me. And I saw how they trained, um, and they were successful regardless, right? I mean, it's all about the coach and the team that you kind of create. So I knew that if I wanted to move to Austin, Texas, I would have to curate a team for myself and make it work. Um, and I think one of my favorite quotes is from an Olympics swim coach, um,

Coach Bauman. And he said, you know, don't worry so much about making the right decision. Just make sure the decision, you make it right. And so I thought, okay, I'm going to make this decision. I'm going to move to Austin, Texas. I love the coach. I love what these girls are doing. And we don't have the facilities, but we're going to make this work. We're going to make it happen. And we did, obviously. We made it happen. But I definitely do feel a way. I mean, people have advantages. Do you think that's unfair? Yeah.

I do think it's a little unfair. Yeah.

But, like I said, you make it work with what you have. And track is a sport where you can do that. What I love to have, like University of Texas's weight room facilities and their access. You can't just, like, DM them and be like, yo, can I come over? I wish I could. I wish it worked that way. But they have a group there. And they're trying to beat me, right? Like, they're a girl. Like, Julianne Alfred, she won the 100. She trains in Austin, too. She trains at UT because she went to school there. And so, you know, and she's –

You know, running my event, trying to beat me. It's not like, oh, hey, come join us. Come train here. Use all my resources and facilities, right? It's not that simple. But I wouldn't say I'm jealous of it. I would just say I'm cognizant. And if it means that I have to be a little bit more intentional about, you know, where I'm training, what I'm doing, and how I'm spending my money, then so be it. And speaking of, like, the financial investment for all of these resources and this training, like, how much do you think you and your family have overall spent –

to like get you in this sport? - Yeah, I think I actually was talking to my mom about this the other day, which is really funny. For me personally, not much, not much at all. I grew up doing all types of sports, but it was never something where my mom was like, okay, we're gonna invest a ton of money, we're gonna do these camps to get private coaching. We never did any of that.

And track and field specifically is actually one of those sports where you really don't have to pay to play. It's like get a pair of running shoes. They don't even have to be nice. I didn't have new running shoes every season. And get out there and run. And I think that's what's so great about track and field is that there's such a low barrier to entry. Everyone out there probably does come from humble beginnings. Yeah.

And my mom, when I got into sports, I mean, we were broke back then, right? She was just a single mom trying to make it work. She was in education. And so we didn't really have money to throw around and invest in sports. And I remember...

you know, people would recommend it in high school. I remember people would say, "Oh, you should go do this camp. Go do this track camp if you want to get recruited by colleges." My mom was like, "You don't need to do that. You don't need to. Like, they'll see you." Or they have these high school meets a lot, you know, like New Balance Nationals is one. And I'll never forget, like, asking my mom, "Oh, we should go. You know, this coach said we should go to this meet."

And the way she looked at me, like I had three eyeballs or something because Amit was in North Carolina. You know, we were living in Massachusetts at the time. And it just felt so unnecessary. But track and field is full of that, right? People who just didn't really have the means to do anything.

bunch of different things or invest in sports like that, but everyone is super hungry. Like everyone, you know, going back to that theme of making it work, you just, you make it work. You just, people have a pair of spikes and they have a drive and you do it. And then you can earn a scholarship. You can earn a place in college at university. And then if you work hard there, you can be a pro athlete, but you really don't need that much. So I would say the most my mom spent on, you know, my investment in track and field would be maybe

I mean, zero dollars, but sports in general, maybe a thousand. Yeah. Maybe two thousand just with registration fees. Yeah, of course. Soccer that I did, basketball. You got to get the shoes. Right. You got to get the shoes, all of that. But everything was was free in season, in school, you know, at my high school club. Now, at the professional level was a completely different game. Yeah. So when I signed a professional contract after college, I

I mean, that takes money and investment, right? And thankfully, I had sponsors by the time I graduated, which we can get into that because that is a whole other side of the sport. But that definitely was. I mean, you have to pay a coach. You have to pay an agent. You have to pay for your travel to meets. You have to pay for a massage therapist, access to a weightlifting facility if you don't have that. All of that you have to pay for out of pocket. Right.

And in track and field, another misconception is there is no salary for us. Once you're a professional runner, there is no league that you're going into where you get a salary. In fact, professional runner is not even a real term. Anyone can kind of say they're a professional runner. You could go for a jog outside and say you're training for the Olympics and call yourself a professional runner, to be honest. You could. And maybe you get some type of

influencing deal or marketing deal for doing it and now you're a professional runner so there you go Strava please call me I mean literally um so there's that so for me I had sponsorships that would help support yeah that endeavor so New Balance was my first one yeah and they helped me get to the Olympics and they helped me pay for everything and I would say I mean that

That journey to my first Olympics in Tokyo, I had to invest somewhere between $50,000 to $100,000. Wow. Just paying a coach, paying an agent, paying for travel to meets. Yeah. So that, I mean, that's a sizable amount. That's certainly a sizable amount. Roll back the tape just a little bit. You mentioned like, you know, growing up, not having a lot of resources. Your mom was a single mom. Was that ever like a sore issue for you when it came to like,

comparing yourself to other athletes on the field or even just other kids at your school? I definitely think so. As I look back and reflect on that, there were definitely some insecurities around that. Just watching, I think, other girls in my grade do sports outside of school, for example. So everything I did had to be in season at my high school. And when you see other people doing multiple teams, like doing club soccer. Like the travel team. Yeah, the travel teams and the club basketball because...

that was kind of the blueprint to do your sport in college. And in a way, you're made to seem, and I know because I spoke to my mom about this too, you kind of made to believe that you have to do that in order to make it in sports. And I think the truth is you just really don't. I'm glad that my mom did not make me feel like I was doing less than any of the other kids because we couldn't do that. Yeah.

But, you know, that still creeps in your head, right? You're thinking, oh, are we doing everything right? Are we doing what we need to do? FOMO. FOMO. Classic FOMO, right? But for me at the time, I also – I put my focus in academics. Like I poured my focus in that. So if I didn't make it in sports, it was not the end-all, be-all, right? Sports was a fun outlet for me. And it wasn't something that I stressed too much.

about. And that's another benefit, I think, to my journey and got me to where I am now, right? It's not stressing about sports, not worrying about paying for all of these lessons and being the best out there all the time. It was just genuinely something that we had fun doing. But yeah, I mean, those thoughts definitely crept in a little bit. And I...

I was just so grateful to have an offer when I was in high school and I never saw myself being a collegiate athlete, but that's the way it worked out. And everything, you know, worked out the way it was supposed to, but definitely had those doubts at times, just not,

You know, doing everything that the other kids were doing, right? Of course. So obviously we go to Harvard. Cool, cool, cool, cool. It's got this, you know, panache. It's really sexy. Were you ever worried, like going from your local high school, all of a sudden going to a college where it is very known that billionaires kids go to. These are some of the top athletes in the country. Also some of the smartest minds. Like, did you ever feel like you weren't ever going to Harvard?

ever going to be smart enough or fast enough or like, did you have any of that imposter syndrome?

I would say, well, yes. In short, yes. When I decided to go to Harvard, I knew that I was going to be putting myself in an environment where I would be challenged and forced to push myself. And to be honest, that is something that I welcomed. I usually thrive in those environments. I am no stranger to being put in uncomfortable situations. I moved schools quite a few times growing up. And

always I felt like I was in classes where I had to push myself and I was not the smartest in the room. And so that wasn't something that I was not going to be used to, right? Not being the smartest girl in the classroom.

that's fine. Not being the most athletic person on the field, also fine. And so, yeah, but I definitely walked into Harvard having those experiences. I do remember freshman year being incredibly difficult for me just because of that. Same. I went to public school and I was not prepared for college. I mean, it's, yeah, right? It's such a different beast. But I think that's so important is putting yourself in those types of environments where you are not

the top, right? Like where you were not the best at everything. That means you're doing something right. It means that you were getting to where you're supposed to be. It means you were going to be better and you're going to be the best version of yourself. So I welcome that. But there were definitely times where I was like, I don't know if I could do this. Like I really don't. And

A lot of people that I ran track with at Harvard, I mean, they grew up kind of doing that club track stuff, right? They went to the junior high school championships. They did AAU track. Somebody probably had a track in their backyard. Right, like exactly. So I'm like, I'm feeling kind of out of the loop here. Like I walked into my first day of warmups at Harvard, like doing drills with same arm, same leg. And if you know track and field, that's just amazing.

So I really had to start from the bottom. Same with in academics, right? I just remember feeling like I was already behind in some ways academically, but I just had to catch up. And then at the same time, I had to work jobs more.

at Harvard too. I was just going to ask, how did you pay for school? They don't, yeah, Harvard doesn't do scholarships as many people probably know. Ivy League doesn't do athletic scholarships. And so you get financial aid, which is very, you know, generous at the Ivy League and at Harvard, but they are expecting you to do some work to contribute. So I was also managing, you know, classes and then athletics and then my jobs. And so at times I did feel like, oh, this is a bit harder for me than I feel like, you know, it is for a lot of other people. But

just you make it work. You make it work. And I mean, it was a really great time for me. Like, I loved my time at Harvard. And I love that I had to go through something like difficult. And I love that because look where it got me. Like, I don't feel like, I feel like there's nothing I cannot do because I did that. Right? Like, and I needed that experience. I needed to grow like that. I needed to prove that I can be in a place where I feel like I might not belong here. And then just...

genuinely belong. And that's why I moved to Texas too, to be in a situation where I was uncomfortable. I moved to a group full of Olympians. And when I graduated from Harvard, I mean, I was not Olympian caliber at that point, right? I definitely had the potential, but I was not there. So I needed to be in a place where

okay, I feel like I don't really belong here. I'm with Olympians, Olympic medalists. And I had to be there and I had to push myself and get to their standard to become an Olympian. Yeah. So I was just looking at your ring. It's beautiful. The Olympic one. Oh, thank you. Talk me through this process. How's qualifying for the Olympics and then competing and winning the

How do you think that's changed the trajectory of your life, sponsorships, everything else? Significantly. It's been such a tremendous change in trajectory.

There are the way I see it, there are really tiers to this. Yeah. You you can become kind of this tier where you're a professional athlete and you get sponsorships and you have you have some money to support, you know, the career that you're trying to have. Right. That was me when I came out of college. Yeah. I had the support of sponsors and that means I can go run and I can go live my dream of trying to become an Olympian or becoming one.

But I had to win. And the main point of all of this is you have to win. Track and field is a sport where you kind of eat what you kill. So if you're not winning races, you're not making money. Win as in like one, two, three or just one? One. It's one, right? That's what matters. That's what America cares about. Okay, okay. Got it, got it. Cool. So when I was in college, I won the NCAA championships. I won that.

Yes, thank you. Thank you. But that's what got me my sponsorship, right? So I had to win that. After that, you know, I tried for the Tokyo Olympic team. Yeah. I won Olympic trials and I had to win. And my life kind of changed overnight after that meet. Yeah. And this was back in 2021. Yeah. Because suddenly people are like, oh, she might win a gold medal. Like she's Olympic caliber. Yeah. You know, I won the meet. And that I got a lot of sponsorships out of that too. So that was really great financially and helped a lot. Yeah.

Fast forward a couple more years to the Paris 2024 Olympics this past summer. When I won the gold medal, everything has changed. I mean, you just, it's about winning, right? I just, sponsors, partnerships. Yeah, I mean, my entire life has definitely, definitely been altered. And the plan after that, I think, is just to make it so that

You can make so much money in such a little amount of time. And that's kind of the name of the game in track and sports in general. And so this is kind of my period of time to do that. Yeah, of course. And I've set myself up well to do that now. But you have to win. That's what it is. And if you're not winning, I'd say the average kind of life and –

money-making situation for a track and field athlete is you make enough to really support your career as an athlete, but then you retire and you're definitely going to have to figure out how to work and make money after that. Another job. Right. You're going to go back to just working kind of your typical job. Okay. So in Paris, you won three gold medals.

Did you get rich? How much did the Olympics pay you for those medals? Okay, so I get paid for a gold medal in the U.S. You get paid $37,000, $37,500. Yeah, that's it. Sorry, like not to like— That's it. I don't want to sound insulting, but 37 Gs for— Olympic gold. What could be a lifetime worth of work? No, absolutely. Absolutely.

That's it. Oh. And if you do relays, you get to split it. You get to split it in months off. Oh, between four. Yeah. Oh, nice. So we can each walk away with $8,000. Yeah, exactly. For a lifetime of work. Exactly. And silver medals, I think you get $23,000 and bronze something like $15,000. So that's how much you're making. Yeah.

And World Athletics, so if you do track and field, actually this year, this year's new, if you win a gold medal, you do get $50,000. Okay. And that's from World Athletics. Okay. That's our track and field governing body. Okay. So very specific to us and very new. So you also get to split that between your relay members if you win it. So that's great. But yeah, I mean, that's how much you're making. Yeah.

So you did not get rich off of the actual winning itself. It was that winning gave you a platform. Yes, exactly. And I always tell people, like, I have a job that is to run, but I have a second job. And that second job is to essentially be an influencer. It's to run my own brand.

Spokesperson. Yes, a spokesperson. Face of an athletic label. Exactly. That's how I make my money. Yeah. I don't make my money on the track running at all. That gives me an opportunity to make money. And on the track, I mean, so you win these medals. That's how much you get, $37,000 for an Olympic gold. In our regular season, I mean, if you go to a track meet, I think the most we can make in a track meet, if you win, is $10,000. Right.

And when you look at other sports, right, what they're making by showing up to a game and doing – like you're making $10,000. If you get second place, it's $8,000. Third place, $6,000 and so on and so forth. So if you're not on the podium, you leave a track meet in debt, right? Because when you're making this money, you also have to think about you're paying for travel. You're paying your agent. They get a cut and you're paying your coach and you're paying whatever other fees are associated with that. So if you go to a track meet, there's a very good chance that you leave owing people money.

This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Apple Card is everything a credit card should be. It's easy to manage, built to be secure, and gives users up to 3% daily cash back on every purchase. The best part about Apple Card is applying is quick and easy. Apply in the Wallet app on iPhone and see your credit limit offer in minutes. Subject to credit approval, Apple Card by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City branch. Member FDIC. Terms and more at applecard.com.

And so a lot of track and field athletes, we either do it for the experience. It prepares you for the Olympics or world championships. Or you go and you try to stack as many races as you can close to each other. So it makes it worth it. But don't you get more tired? You do. You get really tired. Yeah. I mean, you're tired. And then you have to go overseas and do it, too. So now you're jet lagged as well. Yeah.

Yeah. There aren't a lot of racing opportunities in the U.S. for us. And so a lot of times athletes are going overseas and they are tired, but you do what you have to do, right? Make it work. Make it work. That is the theme of this episode. It really is because that's how you make the Olympic dreams come true. And then, like you said, once you've done that, you have an opportunity to make money. So that's where I am now. I'm just...

I have two jobs. Yeah. Right? I have two jobs now. So we've talked a little bit about your wins. I want to take a quick moment to talk about your L's. What do you think in this process of racing, competing, all this stuff, like what has been the biggest money mistake that you have made in your career? I would say for –

It's really, I actually don't spend that much money. And my accountant was joking with me the other day that I don't spend enough because we were going through all of my taxes and trying to figure out what I could deduct. And he's like, you don't spend enough. But I will say after Tokyo, there was a brief stint where I did, I feel like I felt victim to lifestyle inflation a little bit. Yeah. Because once you start winning, you're just, you're introduced to different people, different types of lifestyles. Yeah. And you just are,

in this world where it's kind of expected that you're spending more money. Yeah. And in a way, you kind of do have to invest in yourself and spend this money to –

to set yourself up to be in rooms to make more money. And so I was doing all that. And so right after Tokyo, I mean, I bought a new car. What kind of car? I bought a Tesla. Okay. Which I don't even have it anymore. I don't like the car. I didn't like the car. It was so impulsive. And then because now I drive Toyota, Toyota gang. That's right.

And new house. And I would say the house was probably my biggest financial mistake. I did not realize. Mistake? I will. Yes. I bought a second house in Texas. The property taxes are insane.

Yeah. And I mean, I don't think buying a home is a mistake. I think buying a home without doing your due diligence and a lot of research is a mistake. And so the taxes that I'm paying on that is absolutely ridiculous and not something I did enough research in before I actually purchased the home. And now I do rent it out to pay my mortgage, but I mean, I can't beat those taxes. Mm-hmm.

I thought, oh, like Texas is great. We're moving to a state with no income tax. Like it'll be great. I'll make so much money, but they get you. So I think for me, it's just, I was so young and excited having just made my first Olympic team and I was getting so much sponsorship money, but yeah.

You thought you had it like that. Yeah, exactly. But then it quickly came back to reality and realized, you know, what my life was going to be moving forward. Yeah. You know what? I think that was very sage wisdom. And I hope everyone listening can learn from something that you regret. Yeah. And they don't make that same mistake. Yeah. No, absolutely. And I mean, there are so many younger athletes and just young people who just come into money, right? Just don't do it. Just like take a deep breath, relax, take a beat. And like...

Take your time in making those decisions. And I think for someone like me, like I didn't come from money. I grew up renting. I was so excited to like just have a house and own another house and just – I don't know. I just liked that ownership idea. But just I rushed into it. Yeah. Just rushed into it. And then buying a home can just be a headache. Yeah. I mean it is. You're fixing those toilets at 2 a.m. on your own. Like you're fixing things on your own. Exactly. Yeah. So yeah, that's what I would say. Take a beat. Make a plan. Yeah.

Make a long-term plan and then talk to people. Like, get as much advice as you can before you start spending money. Let's pivot a little bit. So we've talked about some of this athletic stuff that you've been doing, but that's like –

Just a side hobby for you because you are also so incredibly smart, such an academic. You studied neurobiology. Like, you really could have picked an easy major. And you said, actually, I would like for it to be as challenging as possible. Can you just break down, like, how you made that work and why you wanted to study neurobiology? Yes, actually. So...

I knew I wanted to study neurobiology when I was in high school. I have two neurodivergent brothers and just kind of watching how they navigated the world, how the school system worked for them. I wanted to do research and I wanted to see how we could make the world, I think, just more accommodating, different learning techniques we could use and just understanding the mind more. Also, neuro is just such a cool, newer field of study where groundbreaking research is constantly happening. And I wanted to be a part of that.

So I knew that going into it. And when the opportunity to go to Harvard came up, I was like, no brainer. I mean, this is a great place to do research, obviously. No brainer. But you're right. Look.

So I knew it would be great. And I had done my official visits and I had met the team and the girls on the track team and I knew it was a culture that I wanted to be a part of. They were so great on holding each other accountable and just being really competitive athletes. So I was like, okay, perfect. A great place for me to grow. Boston was just a couple of hours from where I grew up. So I made that decision.

And when I got to Harvard and started neurobiology, I definitely had my doubts. So like we were saying, there was imposter syndrome. I called my mom and I'm like, this neuro thing is probably not gonna work out. I'm gonna switch to psychology. I was like, I just don't wanna do it anymore. And my mom was like, no.

No, we're not paying for a degree that's not neuro. And I think, you know, my mom was a psych major undergrad. And I think that, you know, just from this mindset of you have to do something where you can, you know, make a living afterwards, right? Yeah. Like something that...

Because you didn't know if you were going to be able to be a track athlete full time. Oh, absolutely not. I had no idea. And yeah, I mean, different generations have different lines of thinking and different backgrounds. My mom was like, no, you're going to do a degree. You're going to get a major. That's applicable to the real world. So I said, okay. So I had to stick with it. Didn't really have a choice there. Although my twin brother got to have an art degree, but I won't hold that against my mom. Yeah.

But I'm not mad about it. I'm not mad about it. It's fine. I'm not bitter. But yeah, I had to do neuro. So I stuck with neuro. And ultimately, it was really challenging. Like I said before, just managing the neurobiology classes and lab and then also doing a D1 sport where we truly trained like a D1 program. I mean, it's many hours a day. And then the travel to the meets and then also working. I worked at the dry cleaners and

I was a poster girl on campus, so I would take all the ads and posters from different businesses and put them around the dorms and buildings. And then when school was not in session, I worked at the library. So it was definitely a lot to juggle. I learned...

So much about time management and prioritizing and setting boundaries. And I still made time to do the extracurricular activities that I wanted to do and make friends and join organizations. So I wouldn't say it was, you know, like the hardest thing in the world to juggle. But I just, you know, I prioritize my time and I learned so many lessons in doing that. And I learned a lot about myself and.

met a lot of people who helped me. I mean, I had mentors along the way. I think mentorship is so important for that reason. And my coach, my college coach, was such a great mentor to me and was very understanding and helpful with my time management. When I told him, hey, I need an off day or this is too much, you know, we made adjustments. So that's really how I dealt with those four years. How do you think your experience would have been different if you were five years younger and went to college during the NIL era? Yeah.

Gosh, I mean, so different. The NIL is crazy. I could have never imagined that when I was in school. I think on one hand, it would have alleviated a lot of financial stress for me. Working definitely was challenging and I

We would go on track trips sometimes like to go to meets and we get, you know, the NCAA gives you an allotted amount of per diem for food. And I remember like sometimes it just wasn't enough. Yeah. And I had to like ask my friends sometimes, oh, could I borrow five bucks so we can afford the salad or like because I didn't have it. And so that was really stressful. And I do think NIL would have helped alleviate a lot of that for me.

But at the same time, there's – I'm not sure if I had, like, the maturity to kind of build my brand and business the way I have now. I'm not sure what I would have done or what my brand would look like if freshman, sophomore year Gabby was already building that. I'm not sure I would have had the tools or just the mindset. We all regret freshman and sophomore year. I don't want to see those memories when Facebook brings them back up. I don't want to see that.

I don't want to see what I would have been saying. I'm not sure if, you know, the brands that I partner with now, if that would have been a good fit and what would have happened. So there's also that. But on the other side of that coin, there's I maybe would have leaned into more things like fashion and advocacy because I'd be pushed into that branding and that business world. And maybe I would have leaned into that sooner. So that would have been exciting. I mean, ultimately, it did all work out well in the end. But I think it would have alleviated a lot of financial stress for me.

But I'm not sure how long term it would have been as beneficial. I have such meaningful partnerships with brands now that I love working with that have happened so organically. And I love how that's happened. And I'm just not sure that would have been the case. But yeah.

I don't know. I'm loving seeing how they're doing it now. I'm loving seeing how these college students are kind of handling themselves and partnering with these brands. They do feel very organic and I mean, it looks so great for them. I'm so glad that they're able to kind of alleviate some of that financial stress. But at the same time,

Harvard, like I said before, it was also like we don't get athletic scholarships. Right. So it definitely would have been helpful. Yeah, for sure. And somehow in between getting your bachelor's degree, going to the Olympics, doing all of this other work.

You managed to get a master's degree in public health, and you've been pretty open about your own health struggles as an athlete. What made you want to get a master's? That's a lot of schooling. Well, that was plan A, right? So I think when people see my success as a track athlete now, it's so easy to just forget that that was not my plan originally. And even I forget that sometimes. I just was not...

You're a typical professional runner. Like that was not my path. So when I was a junior in college, undergrad, I knew that I wanted to go get my master's. And I knew that I wanted to do public health because along with my neurobiology studies, I also was really into sociology. And I remember a freshman seminar that I took about race disparities in health care. And I was so into it, right? I was so intrigued. I took so many classes on that. And I wanted to make a difference and I wanted to gain –

just more of a foundation on that. So I knew I needed to get a master's. And my dream was to get this master's, do some fellowships and run a hospital and like just be that change. Like I wanted to be that boss. Like I wanted to be the CEO of my own hospital. That was the dream job. That was the dream job. At this point, I had kind of drifted away from the research because I needed something a little bit more social, hands-on, even though I loved it, but I just needed to be

in front of people. Yeah. So that's what I wanted to do. And so it was a plan. I was doing internships and I applied for this master's, got in, moved to Texas. And while I was training, I started working at a clinic and

The Olympics was kind of a pipe dream. It was like, okay, I'm going to train for it, but I mean, this is what I'm doing with my life. And so that's what I did. I trained and worked on my master's at the same time and I loved it. And I finished my master's in 2023. So right before we started training for the Paris Olympics and everything just happened so fast after that. And I made the Paris Olympic team and got the gold medals and

the whole trajectory of my life, like we said before, it's just changed significantly. I now have jobs on top of my track job now. And so it's a, it's a little bit different. And now I'm, I'm kind of having to restructure and kind of re envision how I see my life going and where I want to go in the healthcare field. Um, I'm definitely still very deeply involved, but you still want to do it. I am. Yeah. I still work at the healthcare clinic, um, in Austin and, um,

Still involved. But right now I've just been so busy juggling these extra jobs just to kind of pay for this running dream that I have, right? So yeah, but I definitely still value that dream and the importance of healthcare. At that point when you started your master's, you still hadn't won the three gold medals in Paris yet. Exactly. How were you planning on financing that master's degree?

Um, geez. So the master's degree at the time, because I was, I actually had my sponsorships. So I still had my sponsorships from New Balance and New Balance was my first partner. And I had negotiated in my first contract with them that they would pay for grad school. So genius. No, that was a whole, I remember being in college, negotiating this contract and asking for that and being told, no, they don't do that. Yeah. And I was like,

Just ask them. Like truly just ask them. And New Balance is one of those partnerships where I know their values. Our values are very aligned. And I genuinely do feel like they would support me and my dreams on and off the track. And it was the easiest yes. I mean they said yes immediately.

There was no negotiation. There was no negotiation. So I'm so glad that I asked and I'm so glad that I did not take no for an answer when they told me the answer was no. Not New Balance, but the other people I was working with at the time. And so that's how I planned to fund grad school. And it's how I did fund grad school. That's awesome. It really is awesome.

That is also a very unique negotiation point, though, because I don't think I've heard of many athletes or influencers or anybody being like, hey, can you put my higher education into this contract? That's genius. You don't get what you don't ask for. Exactly. You don't get what you don't ask for. Amazing. So now you are still kind of seeing this long-term healthcare dream. You want to fund the running dream. Yeah.

But you gotta be funnin' some other stuff in your life. Burleigh, let's talk about what you are investing in. What is your financial planning approach for the future? 'Cause like you said, as an athlete, you don't necessarily get 40 years. You are not gonna be able to be running like the way you are running at 60. - Yes, yes, yes.

So, I mean, I would say first and foremost, just saving and investing early. Everything that I have, I mean, I probably live off of 10% of my income now and I put everything else away in stocks, investments, financial advisor.

handling all of it. So all of that is just put away. And I remember USA Track and Field did have an onboarding course for us very early. So when you graduate college and you're first year pro, USA Track and Field, which is our national governing body nonprofit, they put on these classes for us and they told us

They taught us a lot and they were like, look, the power of compounding, compounding interest and all that. Invest early, invest now. And I was like, all right, great. Doing that. That's part of it. I also think, you know, diversifying my income. So like I said, we don't make a lot of money on the track. And as an athlete, as a track runner, I would just urge people to not rely on the track income as their primary source of income as much as you can. Try to get

different streams of income in any way you can, whether that's speaking engagements. A lot of athletes have figured out influencing and trying to leverage their platform using social media. I think that's really great. A lot of athletes are already doing that. And I mean, if you can do any other type of side hustle, I mean, I do really recommend it. As athletes and as track athletes, we have more of an opportunity to do that than anyone else. And so I take advantage of that while we can.

And, I mean, lastly, what I do is just having a really strong team around me for financial planning, right? I have an accountant who sets me up and knows the sport very well. So I can set my business up and set up my LLC so that I'm paying, you know, as little –

as I have to, and not wasting a lot of my money on taxes or expenses and just knowing what I can do. A financial advisor. I urge everyone to get one. We are so young when we get in the sport, and we are so young when we have these opportunities, and we don't have a league that's guiding us. We are really thrown out there by ourselves on our own.

And there are a lot of people around us who don't have our best interest. Naturally, it's the name of the game. So a financial advisor that you trust. I have one that knows the sport. So it's fantastic. So, yeah, having that team. How did you find specific like people to be in your financial arsenal who like no track?

I just leveraged my network and really relied on people that I trusted. I definitely have made some mistakes along the way, and I have had to reshape my team and the people around me a couple of times. It happens. Was there like a teachable moment that you could share with us?

Yeah, I mean, without, you know, being too messy. I mean, I would say, I mean, I had a team before, you know, that was handling a lot of my contracts and my deals and my partnerships. And it was somebody that I was introduced to and I thought I could trust them. But I was young and I thought I could trust anyone because they were nice to me. And I just realized that the contracts that I had and the deals that I had, they were definitely...

taking more money from me than they should have been. And I was definitely being taken advantage of and had lost money. Maybe this is actually my biggest financial mistake, but just trusting people who...

have too much conflict of interest in your life and you really have to pay attention to your business and the deals that you're signing and the contracts and actually what's going on with your money, how your money's being moved. You need to see every little detail, every line item. And you think it's common sense, but when you're in the game and so many things are moving very quickly and people are telling you this and that, it's very easy to overlook a lot of things. And when someone's on your team and you trust them, it's easy to say, okay, well, I'll get the money. I'm sure I'll get the money. But no, I would say

Every time you sign something, every time someone owes you money, you need like a deadline for when you're getting paid and you need to see how much you're getting paid, how much of a cut they're taking, all of it. I mean, I know Usain Bolt right now is...

going through something like this publicly where his team took six million of the US dollars of his money under his nose. He had no idea. They were sending him fake documents. That's a huge bulk of his savings that he thought people he trusted. But if you're not looking at every line item very diligently and doing the work yourself...

You lose a lot of money. So I think I definitely fell victim to that and had to move around and find some people that I genuinely did trust. And even if I do trust them, I'm sorry, I'm still doing the work myself too. Like you might be actually like doing the work and filing things and getting it done, but I see everything. And also, even if no one has malintentions, just people make mistakes, people mess up. At the end of the day, it's our responsibility to handle our own finances and our money and make sure...

That we're set up for future success. At the end of the day, future Gabby is only me, present day Gabby. I am responsible for future Gabby's success. Nobody else. And there's nobody else I can blame if my finances go sideways. So that's something that I really did have to learn. And yeah, I found the right people over time. But it's also why mentorship is so important and reaching out to people who've been through it.

I mean, I want to put everything you just said and put it on a billboard because I feel like that's the key takeaway. Like no matter how rich, how successful, how big you've become, no matter how busy your schedule gets, even if you have people who are actually doing the button clicking and the paper shuffling, you better be checking every receipt, making sure you're getting paid. Because like to your point, the only person that can take care of future Gabby is today Gabby. Yep, exactly.

Exactly. And people also don't know is in our sport, it is normalized to not receive your payments for like six, eight months after whatever the job was. Oh, the net 90, net 120. Why am I doing it this year and getting paid next year? Yes, exactly. Exactly. You race in January. You might not see that money until next January. You really might not. And it'll just show up in your bank account. There'll be no...

No documentation, nothing. Notification, nothing, exactly. So it gets really challenging to track all of these things. Yeah. So just being really diligent about it. Yeah. If you could kind of go back in time and, like, give past Gabby a little bit of advice to manage her money more responsibly or maybe even just be like, hey, you should have bought this instead of that, like, what would you say? I would say I would urge her to –

find a mentor sooner and find somebody who has walked the path sooner. I was so young when I started this track journey and I didn't know anything about the professional world of track. And I didn't even know what questions to be asking. And I didn't know who to ask or what people did. I didn't even know how much I was supposed to pay my coach or like pay my agent. I just didn't know any of this stuff. And so I wish I had just seeked out that kind of advice sooner and just understood what

What's a normal amount of money to be getting? And once you do have that amount of money, like what to do with it? Like how much did you put away, right? For example, what kind of lifestyle are you living? And in our sport, it's so normalized not to talk about money. And it's so normalized not to talk about how much we're making. And all of our contracts are so private. And because we're not on salary, I mean, these are really private marketing deals. So you're not allowed to disclose that information, but it's so private.

And so nobody knows what anyone else is making or what they're doing with their money. And I think it's just not beneficial to anyone at the end of the day. So I would say that. I would say find someone who, you know, I have those people now that I really trust and figure out what the plan is. Just make the plan and stick to it. Yeah. How did you find your current mentors and should we give them a shout out? Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, my coach right now is my biggest mentor. I mean, she's incredible. When I moved down and met her, I mean, she's been in the game for a while. She knows what she's doing. So shout out to you, Coach Buford Bailey, and just the best mentor ever. She was an Olympian herself, and she taught me to fight for what I'm worth, to know what I'm worth, to –

figure out how to get the research, get the information from people and advocate for myself. She really did. I would not be where I am now as an athlete, but definitely financially without her. So definitely shout out to her. I'm so grateful that I made that coaching choice. And I just knew, I just knew when I met her. She's another black woman who's just been in the game and she gets it, right? Track and field. I mean, it could be such a boys club. It just really can. So having her on my side has been

So, so incredible. Your coach on and off the track. On and off. Exactly. Absolutely. So speaking of on and off the track, thank you so much for joining me today. But tell us what's next for Gabby Thomas. Yes. So definitely still running. Still a journey for me. I am trying to get better each day. Just trying to be even more great. A millisecond faster. Exactly. Even less than that. Longevity is the game, right? Allison Felix, Sonia Riches-Ross are two of them.

my idols and mentors as well, just watching their careers. And they've been in the game for a while, so I'm hoping to do the same. Off the track, I would say continuing with advocacy work, continuing in healthcare. I love the work that we do at the clinic, at the Volunteer Healthcare Clinic in Austin.

And definitely investing in myself and wealth planning. I mean, that's a big part of my life now. I run a business. I'm a brand. And making sure that I'm on top of that and just building future success for myself financially. But, yeah, I'm loving it, and I'm still in the game for a while. That is good news for the rest of us who love to watch. Thank you so much for joining me. Let everyone know where we can find you. Absolutely. So I am on Instagram, Training Stuff, Twitter, Facebook.

fun training stuff, hot takes occasionally. And TikTok is when I do a lot of my behind-the-scenes stuff. But track and field is also kind of on the up and up right now. We have two new leagues coming up. Grand Slam Track League is a new league that is in America. I'm really excited about it. So stay tuned for how to watch that on TV. And then Athlos is another one, the first women's only track and field league. Highest

price purse in track and field history. Wow. So we're really excited about that too. So more on that later on my socials. Amazing. Everybody check out Gabby Thomas. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you. Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Net Worth and Chill, part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. If you liked the episode, make sure to leave a rating and review and subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Got a burning financial question that you want covered in a future episode? Write to us via podcast at yourrichbff.com. Follow Net Worth and Chill Pod on Instagram to stay up to date on all podcast related news. And you can follow me at yourrichbff for even more financial know-how. See you next week.

This is advertiser content brought to you by Hanes, Bali, and Maidenform. Okay, we can admit it. We all have that one undergarment stashed in the back of the drawer that's just a bit past its prime. And you've probably had those ancient undies longer than you care to admit. So toss that old undergarment you'd never let anyone see and refresh your underwear drawer.

Whether it's the comfiest boxers or bralettes from Hanes, beautiful and supportive bras from Bali, or sleek and seamless shapewear from Maidenform, there's something for everyone for that much-needed undies upgrade. Because if you wouldn't flaunt it, then it's time to refresh it.