Michael Phelps won't tell me what Boomer's being for Halloween
It’s almost Halloween, which means everyone should be asking themselves one important question: What’s Boomer Phelps dressing up as?
I recently caught up with Boomer’s dad Michael (yes, the most decorated Olympian in history — that Michael) to chat about everything from his role as Global Ambassador for Colgate and thoughts on self care to the imminent new addition to his family.
But when I — perhaps the biggest Boomer fan after Coach Bowman — asked what his son was being for Halloween, he wouldn’t tell me.
SEE ALSO:Boomer Phelps' Instagram is the best thing about social media these daysAs you can imagine I was very hurt, but I guess I kind ofunderstood? Most of my adult coworkers won't even tell me what they're dressing up as for our Mash-O-Ween office party, so I suppose it makes sense that the proud parents of a toddler who's effortlessly amassed 797,000 Instagram followers might want to keep the big reveal a secret.
Still, I really wanted to know — so Michael was kind enough to at least give me a few clues.
"I don’t know if I’m allowed to say, but my wife picked up his costume the other day and he’s going to be amazing in it," Phelps said about little Booms. "He loves his character that he’s going to be. He likes animals so I’ll tell you he’s going to be an animal."
And while Phelps couldn't share share any costume specifics, he did mention that the animal is from one of Boomer's favorite television shows. "When you see it you’ll know what it is," Phelps assured me, adding that Boomer has his animal noises down pat and is ready for the big day.
From the toddler's precious Instagram posts we already know he's a fan of dogs, sharks, otters, dinosaurs, and monkeys. Perhaps a cute little Curious George?! 🐒
Boomer's future fame
You know what? I'm cool with having to wait until Oct. 31 to find out what Boomer's costume is, because I got to learn some other super cute stuff about him.
For instance, Boomer's 2032 Olympic training is coming along quite nicely and he's been perfecting his kick in the pool. "He loves splashing around and I’ve always said if he wants to swim and if he does something he’s very passionate about that’s what Nicole and I are really pushing more than anything else," Phelps said.
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However, swimming is far from the only talent Boomer has to fall back on. Whether he's picking up his rubber baseball, padded bat, or plastic golf club, driving around in his toy cars and wagons, or playing his tiny guitar or drums, the toddler is always moving.
"I've always said as a father and an athlete I’m rooting for him leading the Masters on a Sunday or something," Phelps said. "I'm rooting for a good golfer, but whatever he wants to do is obviously totally his decision."
New baby, new Instagram
According to Michael, though Boomer's growing fast he's still full of firsts. Just the other day he said "all done" for the first time, and apparently did a little moonwalk, 😍 but he's about to get some competition in the cuteness department.
"We’re excited for the next part of our mission: having another child in the household and seeing the interaction that they have with one another," Michael said about baby number two. Back in June Nicole Phelps revealed her husband is the mastermind behind Boomer's Instagram account, and Michael confessed he's more than ready to take on a third social media persona.
"We believe we have the name of our next child picked out and we’ve already secured an Instagram account for them," Phelps said. "We wanted to make sure we got on that because last time finding the right one for Boomer was challenging."
"As soon as the public knows any name they’re automatically picking out all of the social media handles, so we’re keeping everything very hush hush but we do have a couple things locked in."
Life after the Olympics
On a more serious note, Phelps opened up about what's been keeping him busy lately: the environment. As Global Ambassador for Colgate he joined the Save Water campaign to inspire people to save water any way they can — whether it’s something as small as turning off the sink when brushing their teeth, cutting down on shower time, or heck, even brushing their teeth while in the shower.
"This is a resource that’s so powerful and so big in our everyday lives,” Phelps said. “We might not have clean drinking water forever because we’re wasting so much.”
An average American family uses over 300 gallons of water a day according to the EPA, but Phelps is already teaching Boomer conservation tricks. "By the time he’s fully able to brush his own teeth and turn his water off himself he’ll be ready because he’s seen it for so long,” Phelps said.
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The Olympian is also traveling to schools, handing out water-activated drain stickersto children with the hope of inspiring them to be mindful of water usage at a young age, spreading awareness with the hashtag #EveryDropCounts.
And like many of us, when attempting to save the world feels a bit too overwhelming, Phelps turns to self care. "I think every person needs some kind of self care, whatever that may be. For me I’m constantly taking time whether it’s me on the golf course or working out — I know that’s something that I need every single day six days a week to be a better husband, to be a better father, and to be a better friend.”
Phelps has been very open about his struggles with depression and anxiety over the years, and he explained how he’s learned to prioritize his mental health and communicate his emotions to others. "I think it took me going through the low point in life to be aware of what I need and what i have to do as part of my growing process,” he said.
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