Michael Phelps is arguably the most decorated Olympian in American history, having competed in 5 Olympic Games and won an impressive 28 Olympic medals. However, for all his accomplishments in the pool, Phelps views himself as the “the latest and greatest commodity that Olympics promoters cared about only as a medal-producing swimming machine”(New York Times). Phelps is not the only Olympian to have this view and recently co-produced an HBO Sports documentary, “The Weight of Gold,” that highlights different mental illnesses Olympians struggle with including depression.⁣ ⁣ Frequently, athletes are seen only as athletes and people often forget that athletes are people too. We at A Frugal Athlete commend Michael Phelps for using his platform to speak out about high-level athletes and mental illness.⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #afrugalathlete #morethananathlete #michaelphelps #HBO #HBOsports #theweightofgold #olympics #olympicathlete #mentalhealthsupport