“Swimming is what I do, not who I am” – Michael Phelps’ NFT release makes a strong statement 

Michael Phelps has announced the release of his official line of NFTs in collaboration with @OneOfNft. The American swimming legend took to various social media platforms to announce the release.

Various celebrity athletes such as Neymar and Serena Williams have recently jumped onto the hype surrounding the newest form of art! Phelps has now joined them with the latest announcement and there is no doubt that many people will be looking forward to investing in it!

In an astonishing Twitter post announcing the release of the NFT, Michael Phelps posted a video of the upcoming piece with an eye-opening message. It simply read:

“For most of my career, I only saw myself as a swimmer. But swimming is what I do, not who I am. I am a person with feelings and emotions just like everyone else.”

Michael Phelps' strong statement associated with the NFT release

Michael Phelps is, arguably, the greatest swimmer in the modern history of the sport and one of the greatest athletes of all time. He has won everything under the sun in the sport and retired in 2016 with 28 Olympic medals (23 golds), 33 World Championship medals (26 golds), and 21 Pan-Pacific medals (16 golds).

Six years into his retirement, Phelps still holds multiple world records in various events. For an athlete of his calibre to come out and make the above-mentioned statement is an odd sight for some. But in truth, it brings to light the importance of mental health.

Phelps at his last Olympics in Rio (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

At the 15-second mark of the promotional video, a glimpse of Sports Illustrated's magazine cover can be seen. It reads: "The Rehabilitation of Michael Phelps".

This refers to an excellent piece by author Tim Layden that dives deep into Phelps' journey towards a better state of mind. The swimming legend has been very open about his journey as a star athlete, especially emphasizing the mental health issues that affected him.

He has talked extensively about his struggles with depression and anxiety and how people around him helped pull him up.

The iconic former swimmer is known for his philanthropic work around a variety of fields. The scope of this ranges from promoting the sport of swimming to, perhaps most importantly, breaking down the barriers that shield people from seeking help when needed.

Michael Phelps and Swim Across America Charity Swim (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The psychology of 'Enmeshment'

In the field of Psychology, the term 'Enmeshment' is used to refer to a scenario where a person's identity begins to amalgamate with the identities of the people around them.

However, mixing identities is often seen between a person and their career too. This is referred to as career enmeshment. It is often seen in people who work in a highly competitive, reward-driven environment, such as athletes.

When a person's identity is enmeshed with their career, they tend to lose a sense of self outside their career. Habitual career enmeshment is co-related to higher possibilities of suffering from a variety of mental health conditions. These could be depression and anxiety, especially when the career is no longer rewarding or after retirement.

It is clear that the message associated with Michael Phelps' NFT release is not only strong but also very informative.