JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - In 2016, Ryan Lochte's name was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
People weren't talking about the 12-time Olympic medalist's performance in the pool during the Summer Olympics in Rio, but rather his actions outside of it: An embellished story about a gas station robbery, which led to public embarrassment and Lochte apologizing on national television.
"That's why I'm in this mess,” Lochte told NBC’s Today Show in 2016. “I left certain things out and I over-exaggerated some parts of the story.”
Lochte claimed he and three others on the U.S. swim team were stopped and robbed at gunpoint while they were trying to leave a Shell gas station. Days later, Rio police revealed that Lochte and the other swimmers reportedly vandalized the bathroom.
Lochte was charged with falsely communicating a crime to authorities. An appeals court later ruled no Brazilian laws were broken because Rio police initiated the investigation, not Lochte, according to a USA Today report.
Two years later, Lochte is moving forward from the incident.
“A lot of people say, ‘Do you regret everything that happened in 2016?’ I mean, I wished it turned out differently, but I don't regret it ... because it happened,” he said. “I learned from it. I made myself a better man because of it.”
Now, Lochte is a married man to his wife Kayla Rae Reid. The two had a child, Caiden Zane. Caiden means "fighter" and Zane translates to "a gift from God." Lochte said Caiden is his world.
"All the world records, all the gold medals I've ever accomplished doesn't even compare to when I get to hold Caiden,” he said.
Fatherhood has been quite the experience for Lochte, who is also a former reality TV star who performed on Dancing with the Stars, but also had his own show What Would Ryan Lochte Do? in 2013. Despite the fame, he said can't imagine life without his son who will turn 1 in June.
So, who is Ryan Lochte? He describes himself as a positive person, maybe to a fault.
"I think that sometimes people say that's my downfall because I trust everyone,” he said. “I just feel like there's good in everyone and sometimes people can mistake that as a weakness and try to use me."
Lochte has faced public criticism over the years, portrayed as immature and self-absorbed in the media. But, he says that is far from who he actually is.
"I have a big heart and a lot of people don't know that,” Lochte said.
Lochte teamed up with the Baby Otter Swim School to teach small children how to swim. When the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida happened, Lochte said he felt compelled to help.
"I just thought about if that happened to my son,” he said. “I just immediately started crying. I can't understand what those parents are going through."
He visited Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and while there, learned about Nicholas Dworet, the captain of the swim team and one of the 17 people killed.
"He wrote a letter to himself saying I want to make the 2020 Olympic games and I'll train harder and I'll dedicate my life to swimming,” he said. “Reading that letter really touched my heart."
Lochte asked Nicholas' parents if he can swim in the 2020 Olympics in their son's honor.
"I guess that you can say I'll have a little advantage over everyone in 2020, because I'm not just swimming by myself,” he said. “Nick will be there swimming with me."
The four-time Olympian said he's returning to his roots in Gainesville. He lives there full-time now. Lochte admits in the past he wasn't always focused or dedicated to the sport.
"When my son was born, everything changed,” he said. “I had a new purpose for swimming. Everything I do from now on is for my family."
A renewed focus as he swims in the waters of redemption with hope for a gold medal in 2020.