Olympic Decathlete - Garrett Scantling Update Interview

We sit back down with Garrett a little more than 2 years since our first interview. We discuss his decision to train and prepare for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles and why and how he has changed since he competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. We also talk about his journey as a coach and trainer over the past two years and what he has learned about himself in additional to the skills he has learned and honed. He talks about his upcoming meets as he prepares to train and compete for Team USA!

Brian Harbin: Hello, my name is Brian Harbin. Welcome to Grit.org!

Today we actually get to sit back down with Garrett Scantling. So our first interview with Garrett was episode 15 of the Grit.org podcast, all the way back in February of 2023. And that episode, we dive into your younger years, talk about your progression through sports, competing at Georgia, the Olympics and more.

But today we're catching up over two years later, as a lot's changed since then. And after competing in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, you've decided to train and compete again in the next Olympics coming up in 2028 in LA. So for you, what now has led up to that decision?

Garrett Scantling: Honestly, just still having the drive, I think, and still having the physical ability, I feel like you have that once in your life and you might as well capitalize on it. So if I feel like, you know, I can do it, I definitely want to give it a shot.

And that's exactly how I'm feeling right now. I know it's going to be a lot of hard work, just because I am that much older than I was the first time around, that I did it. But I believe in myself, and I think that, you know, that's the first step, and the second step is just going out and just doing it.

So I leave in five days to go back up to Illinois, in Champagne to join my coach, Petros Cipriano, and I'm going to give it a shot and see what I can do.

Brian Harbin: So do you feel like there was a tipping point over the last couple years where you made that decision, like, any defining moment, or was it kind of a gradual progression of, like, just all these scenes kind of culminating to leading back to training again?

Garrett Scantling: Yeah, I definitely think it was the latter, with just seeing if my body could survive for a couple more years, and just seeing if I could handle the training, you know, along with working at a high school with kids all day, you know, that can be exhausting. So if I could mentally handle that, and physically, obviously, but mentally, I think it was the most important thing for me.

Then I wanted to definitely give it another shot. And so I still feel like I have a lot left on the table for the decathlon. And I know saying that at 31, 32, is, you know, you look at me and you're like, hal, that's not necessarily your prime. But I honestly feel like my mental has finally caught up to my physical side, and I still have a lot to offer for the sport of track and field. So, I'm excited and I'm ready to see where I can take myself.

Brian Harbin: And I know what gives you comfort, too, is knowing that, hey, I've been there before, I've done it. You know exactly what you're getting into in terms of the training, the prep, the sacrifice. At the same time, you know that you've been able to do it before. You know where your body stacks up to where it was previously.

Garrett Scantling: Exactly.

Brian Harbin: And over the past couple years, you've been working at your high school alma mater, Episcopal School of Jacksonville here in Jacksonville, Florida, coaching and teaching, from track to weightlifting to college prep. What have you learned about yourself being a teacher and a coach and any skills you felt like you've honed over the past couple years, specifically?

Garrett Scantling: Honestly, when you say all that, the first thing that pops into my head is patience. I've learned a lot of patience. And don't get me wrong, the kids are unbelievable. But at the same time, they are kids. And so I've dealt with in the past when I coached at Georgia, their kids, yes, but they're also almost experts in their field. And so teaching kids from 6th to 12th grade, most of them have no idea what they want to be, and they have no idea how much effort they want to put into their sport or whatever they're doing at Episcopal.

And so just learning that, you know, you can't force things, especially on kids, and learning to have patience with them and walk step by step with them, I think that that has given me the most from my time, and so I feel like I can use that to my advantage when I'm coming back. It's allowed me to grow more as a man than anything else.

And I think, outside of sports, the one thing that you want to have is your grasp on who you are as a person. And so I think that my time at Episcopal has given me that exponentially. And so I couldn't be more grateful for what I've experienced there and everything that has happened… so.

Brian Harbin: Well, one of the challenges, too, I think, for superior athletes like yourself is a lot of the things that you've done, you've just done it for so long. But to be able to have to explain and teach somebody else how to do it. Do you think that's kind of helped you in the process, like having to dissect, you know, form and all these different types of training and workout and endurance? Do you feel like that's kind of helped prepare you even as you're as an athlete, preparing yourself?

Garrett Scantling: Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, you would think, you know, I made it to the Olympics, I'm an expert in my field. Like, I understand every little piece of what track is. And I've learned so much over the past three years about just coaching and certain cues that help people who aren't as athletically gifted as me, which in turn, that helps me in my own training.

So, like, let's say in the shot put, I'm training by myself. So if I feel like my leg isn't underneath me, I know exactly where it's supposed to be. I know exactly how that feels. And so just being able to coach that to a person that was a sixth grader who had no idea what they were doing and trying to teach them to spin and discuss, that kind of allowed me to break down every little piece of my athletic ability and my form in every single event and just understand that I can be a little bit better in this area. I can be a little bit better in this area.

And so, for the decathlon, it's all about trying to find places where you can gain extra points. I think that that's especially at my stage of my career. You know, I've definitely put out a score that I think is the ninth best score in world history.

So there's not very much room for improvement in certain areas. But since I've been at Episcopal, I've realized there is. And there's a lot of different things that I can do for my body to help me be stronger, help me jump higher, help me just mentally be ready to run a 400 all out, run a 1500 all out.

And so I'm really excited to see, you know, what that translates to in a real competition. Because, I mean, you never know when you're competing. You know, everything's out the window. You don't know how you're going to be responding that day. You don't know how your mind responds, your body responds. But if you have an arsenal like I have right now, where whatever's thrown at me, I can adapt to, I definitely learned that over the past couple of years, and I'm excited to see what that, what that'll do for me.

Brian Harbin: And I think one of the other challenges of coaching, too, is a lot of these kids, some might be doing track or weightlifting to check a box. Right? Because they have to do a sport. But then some kids do have that extra passion. And for you, you've always had that passion. You want to compete at a high level for, you know, from a very young age.

So how do you kind of meet those kids where they're at in terms of, you know, if they're doing it just to have fun or be with their friends like you, you know, still. But then you recognize kids that do want to compete another level, you give them extra attention in that way. Or how do you feel like you meet kids where they're at?

Garrett Scantling: Yeah, I mean, I think that at Episcopal, the kids are smart enough to know, sort of if they want to be an athlete or not. And so I have a lot of kids come up to me and ask for extra work. And if they ever do that, I'm open and I'm there for them. I have probably about 10 to 15 kids that I train on the side, that I really dive into as much as I can, whether it's in track or even in football or weightlifting, if they want to get better, I'm there for them to get better.

I think the biggest thing that kind of helped with that was being able to do, like, summer camps over the summer and understand who I am in a group setting where I'm the leader and everyone kind of listens to me. And I feel like having that experience allowed me to expand my training for helping kids and helping them achieve their goals.

And so I've got a few 8th graders that are going to be rock stars, you know, if they keep at it and they keep doing what I'm seeing. I've trained a few seniors that, you know, have gone on to colleges for their sports. And so, you know, it's kind of a broad spectrum of athletes. But, whenever you say kids that, you know, might just want to be on the book side of things, on the fine arts side of things, but they're doing the sports for, you know, credit for their colleges and stuff. I've definitely had that experience too, where my kids are out there laughing in the shot put circle while they're throwing.

And that's the patient side that I think that I've grown to understand is that you know, you can't force things on everybody. And everyone will be happy in their own way. And so just having that ability to kind of step back a little bit and let them enjoy themselves doing, you know, what they're loving in the moment, not necessarily what they'll love 10 years from now. Like, I, you know, had the experience of, it's been huge for me and it's been big for my growth, like I said, as a man, at the same time as a coach.

So, yeah, I'm, like I said, I'm excited. And I think that just having this experience has been one of a kind. I don't think that I could have had something that meant so much to me because it was so close to home, being my alma mater and being how I've grown up in the Episcopal system. It's kind of showed me the other side of Episcopal, just the side where the grownups get to be and I get to kind of hang with the teachers that taught me things. And I actually spoke to about a group of 40 faculty members last or two weeks ago, just about my time there and how, you know, I've been able to see it from a different light now.

And the biggest thing that I can say about that place is that they truly do care, and they care about you as a person and obviously bringing me back. They care about you not only as an athlete, but just as someone that can give back to their community that has been through everything that they have instilled in people. So I'm very grateful to Episcopal for everything they've given me, for sure.

Brian Harbin: And do you feel like, you know, your time there being a teacher and a coach has helped you kind of redefine your purpose and, and, you know, instead of just your personal achievements leading up to that point, now you've been able to help other people achieve things that maybe they didn't think were possible. Like you said, I know you've helped people do well in state and get college. Do you think that's something that's kind of helped you and is going to help you moving forward in terms of your own purpose and drive?

Garrett Scantling: Yes, 100%. I think that the biggest thing for me was just like I said before, understanding who I was outside of track and understanding who Garrett is as a man. And, you know, just the gratification that I've gotten from seeing people hit their goals. I had an 8th grade girl this year who was a high jumper, and she started from scratch. I taught her everything that she knew. And her dad gave her a goal that if she jumped the middle school record, she would get a puppy.

And when I tell you this girl jumped 4'11, 3 quarter middle school record was 5 feet even, she jumped that 4'11, 3 quarter about four or five times this year. And finally two weeks ago, she jumped 5'1", got her dog. And I cannot explain how good that made me feel. Just a sense of pride, because obviously I put so much work into it, but also a sense of just pride in her and her ability to move on from disappointment after disappointment.

I think that's the biggest message I've had for my kids, is that failure happens and adversity is going to come in your life no matter what you do. And it's all about how you bounce back from it. It's all about how you adjust your life towards it. And just…. That's one of the many examples that have just shown me that what I want to do in the future is help the next generation, no matter what it is, no matter how… what capacity it's in, that I feel like is and should be the story of Garrett Scantling. So, it's been wonderful.

Brian Harbin: I love that story about the dog, too. What'd she end up naming it?

Garrett Scantling: I don't. So she's gonna get it after the summer. I guess they're going traveling. But yeah, I'm excited to see, the mom and the dad were like, we need dog advice now. I'm like, I have Gary at home, my silver lab. So I was like, I got you when the time comes. But just that whole different side of life has been really cool to experience because, like, even the parents have been telling me, like, I'm so happy that you're there and you're around my kid.

And, like, they get to learn from someone who's kind of been in their shoes. The importance of it is, you know, it's monumental. And honestly, you can't put a price on it. So, I think I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

Brian Harbin: Yeah, I know. That's so true in so many ways. So in addition to teaching, you've been doing individual training and coaching and running your own business as a trainer. You know, I know you've worked with my boys as well, multiple times. What has being an entrepreneur and business owner taught you? Seeing it from that perspective?

Garrett Scantling: Yeah, it's…. Honestly, it's taught me to grind and that if you don't put in the work, no one else is going to do it for you. I think that that is. That's also like, the biggest thing for me is that, you know, not necessarily that people would put in the work for me, but I would always be able to kind of my early years in college get by on. I wouldn't say the minimum, but kind of not my maximum.

And so now, you know, whatever you get into it, you're going to get out of it. Especially, you know, having a training business to where you get paid per athlete you train and how many athletes you train. It's all about, you know, getting your name out there. It's all about parents understanding that, you know, you're there for their kid.

I think that's the biggest thing for me is that, you know, I have. I train athletes from different schools, and sometimes the coaches get kind of protective, and they're like, don't go see Garrett. Like, this is not what you're supposed to be doing. Like, let me coach you. And I feel like I have a different perspective on that. Like, I'm not trying to take your athlete. I'm trying to prepare your athlete from a different person's, you know, point of view. And I feel like the more people they have in their ear that are there to support them, the better off they will be.

And so just being able to kind of show that to parents at track meets and help kids out who might not be on my team, and just kind of let them know that, like, I'm here for you if you need me. I think that's the biggest thing that I can give to them. And that's the biggest thing I've been doing, especially when it comes to my training. And, like, my business and stuff is just letting the parents know that, like, I can take them for a day and hopefully give them everything that they need to be successful that next week at the track meet.

And then kind of, that's where it starts. Even being around, like, lacrosse games and soccer games. Like, the parents come up to me, Garrett, can you teach my kid how to run faster? Like, he needs this. She needs this. And I'm like, yeah, absolutely. Like, that's what I'm here for. I'm here for you guys as a resource in whatever capacity that might be.

And so, yeah, it's been crazy that that's worked out the way it has, but I once again owe that to Episcopal. And just having a network of so many different parents and so many different kids that come from so many different backgrounds. But I feel like the one common denominator they have is that everyone wants to get better. And just…. So if I can be that person that helps you get better, that's huge.

Brian Harbin: Yeah, no, I agree with that 100%. I think success in anything, it's like a combination lock and having access to different tools and resources and mentors that you never really know what's going to help you unlock that final next level. But it's always a process, no matter what level you get to.

And one of the qualities that I immediately. I never forget meeting you for the first time, walking into the podcast studio, and you just have this air and energy about you, just the way you carry yourself. And, and so I just so appreciate that. And then seeing how the students react and follow you is inspiring.

And so I knew when we met, I was like, we got to figure out, you know, how to do something with this guy. So you actually became our first NIL sponsored athlete with Grit and going on two years now, and that's, you know, included a monthly stipend with appearances for Grit.org.

We worked on elements of mental performance, securing endorsements from, you know, like a Morpho Float therapy, a few speaking engagements, and helping you work on personal branding. But what do you think's been the most rewarding part about working with Grit in that capacity?

Garrett Scantling: Honestly, I think that the best part about Grit for me, I had a podcast a couple weeks ago with a lady named Demisha, and she said something in there that was huge for me, and it's that she likes to say that God sends destiny helpers into people's lives, whether they know it or not. They're there to kind of help you understand what your destiny and what your purpose is supposed to be.

And I think that when Grit came into my life, when you came into my life, I was at a low point. You know, I didn't know I was done with track. I didn't know what was next for me. And being able to have an organization that not only helps with physical and relationships, it helps with your mental side of things. I've never really put that much thought into reading, into kind of writing my thoughts down, into understanding, you know, what I can do better mentally and for my performance.

And so having that kind of work on through one of the most toughest times in my life as an individual has been priceless. You know, there's nothing. I honestly don't know where I would be without Grit right now. I don't know if I would have the mental wherewithal to want to go back to sports, to want to kind of give this whole thing a shot again.

And so just the fact that I am able to understand how much sports means to me, but also how much giving back means to me at the same time. Like, I've been a part of Grit camp over the summer, being able to spend time with kids that are even younger than I experience at Episcopal, but understanding how much I mean to them at the same time, even with all of my expertise and even though everything I tell them might be confusing and a little bit more of the expert side than they can understand, just being around them and understanding who I am to them has given me so much confidence.

And I know you talk about my energy. I say the kids call it aura nowadays, just that sense of being able to be who I am in the same environment, in a different environment than what I was before when I was competing. You know, I was in a college town. I was Garrett the athlete. That was it. You know, Garrett's the decathlete. He's one of the best in the world.

Now I'm Garrett the decathlete, Garrett the coach, Garrett the mentor, Garrett the goofball that just. I'm the best energized coach that they have around Episcopal. I get a lot of that from my kids. But once again, there are so many more facets of Garrett now, and I think I owe that majority to Grit and just understanding that there are so much more pieces to a man than what just their passion is, if that makes sense.

So, I definitely want to thank you a hundred percent just for being who you are and being one of my destiny helpers in my life. And, so, yeah, I really do appreciate everything it's given me.

Brian Harbin: Well, no, and I've appreciated getting to know you and be along this journey with you. And. Yeah, I mean, one of my favorite things is when you know a kid that I've coached, you know, I love being called coach. You know what I mean? And I think, you know, you understand that, too. It just…. It's kind of a deeper meaning, you know, in a lot of ways.

And, you know, one of the things I said to you a while back, and it kind of made you uncomfortable, but I said, Garrett, you don't owe me anything. Right? I use a little bit more colorful word than that. And that's kind of been our whole thing with Grit. You know, all the interns that work with us is like, you know, being a passion project for us. It's like, you know, having that mentality and then seeing you, you know, have that mentality towards these kids and, you know, really genuinely wanting to help them become the best version of themselves, and I think just a lot more fun way to live. Right.

Garrett Scantling: 100%. And I feel like also, like, I've had experiences with people who—Garrett, you don't owe me anything. All right, great. And then when things go bad—Garrett, I don't really want to be around you anymore. I don't want to. Like, you know, the attitude changes.

And so the fact of having someone so consistent. I have “be consistent” on my mirror, written on my mirror, so I see it every morning. And just being around people who are consistent in what their beliefs are and what they tell you, I think coming back to track and being away from track has showed me who's in my corner and who's in my corner as Garrett the person, not Garrett the athlete.

And I think that's the most important thing for me coming back is just realizing that, you know, people are going to smile to your face and say stuff behind you and act a different way. But the people I want in my corner and in my circle are people who are always consistent with me, you know, whether I'm doing bad, whether I'm doing good.

And I think that's why I have so much freedom coming back to track this time around is like, I've done what my dream was. Make the Olympics. Yes, I do want a medal. Yes, I have so many other goals for myself, but at the same time, like, I know who I am away from track. Like, if it doesn't work out, I'm still Garrett and I'm still me to my core.

And I don't think I had that the first time around. I felt like everything rode on. Garrett, let's make the Olympics. Let's, you know, that's who I want to be. But at the same time, like, that's a fleeting moment, and you still have your whole life to live. And so now knowing that I have in my arsenal so many different pieces of Garrett, as a person, that's going to help me monumentally and help me so much more.

Brian Harbin: Absolutely. And that's one of the biggest, you know, value adds of kind of that mental performance side of it is, like, being able to separate yourself from the athlete. Right? Separate Garrett from the athlete and the achievements and everything else. And so being able to do that is really a huge breakthrough way beyond sports, like you said.

And I wanted to ask you, too, I know, you know, on the mental performance side, there's a lot of things that, you know, diving into. You know, whether it's reading books, podcasts, journaling, meditating. Just a lot of different facets of your schedule. But I know one of those has kind of resonated the most with you. Tell us a little bit about that.

Garrett Scantling: Yeah. And I told you this before, it's the journaling. It's being able to see my thoughts on paper. I can't remember before a couple years ago the last time I wrote in a book. Like, it's been since college. I mean, obviously I did paperwork for financial advising and stuff like that along the way.

But at the same time, I'm not writing what I'm thinking on a piece of paper and being able to just put it out there and have it on something concrete that, like, I mean, yeah, you can erase it, but at the same time, like, you're writing your thoughts down. It's been huge for me just to understand that what I'm working for is real and kind of what I'm working for is what I want to work for. And some days it's not about track.

 Some days it's about my life and, like, a meeting I'll have the next day that I'm kind of upset about. Why do I have to talk to this person about this? Well, let me write it down, and then I'm no longer anxious about it. I understand that the next day I'll be writing in that journal again about what happened. And so time keeps going. Time keeps happening.

And I think that's the biggest thing that it's taught me, too, is that I'm writing every night. Well, if I'm writing about something I'm stressing about the next day, I'll say the first thing that I'm going to write in my book is what happens with X, Y, Z tomorrow. And so being able to have that to look forward to has made the process of getting through whatever I'm stressed about, it's made it that much easier. So that's a trick that I think has stood out the most for me in being able to move forward with it.

Brian Harbin: Yeah, there's a lot of elements that I think make it so cathartic in the fact that, A, it helps you take all these different things that happen, helps you have a way to kind of process it, think about it, put it through your own filter of, like, okay, how do I—you know, similar to, like, when you're in a relationship, you know, being married. I've been married for 25 years, but I'd have been in relationships. And women, you know, they like to talk. And for men, it's not for us to come in and fix it. It's just let them talk it all out so they can talk for five to seven minutes, and by the end of it, they've kind of figured it out. Right?

So it's like women, a lot of times, they like to talk to figure things out. So I think men, a lot of times, we don't necessarily use that as an outlet as much. So to have something like writing or journaling gives us that outlet to be able to get those thoughts out and figure out how we want to process it and move forward.

Garrett Scantling: I agree.

Brian Harbin: And I think it's helpful too, like, you know, having the principles that are important to you and letting all the things that happen kind of filter through that. Right? And that's the reason, like, having your purpose, having your decision why you're doing something, knowing what's important to you. And once it all filters through that, then the solution kind of presents itself a lot of times, which is amazing.

Garrett Scantling: And I mean, the one thing that it's allowed me to do as well is just kind of like you're saying—men don't really share their thoughts as much as they should. And it's allowed me to kind of rely on my family a lot more of just being open with them.

Before, if I'm going through something, I don't want my mom or my dad to know about it. Like, physically, if I'm hurt, if I'm mentally kind of, you know, burnt out, I don't want them to know because I just want them to understand, like, I'm working and I'm working towards a goal that I—hopefully we can all share in. And that's kind of the reason why I did that.

But nowadays I lean on them a lot more. You know, I'm more open with them about how I'm feeling, about, you know, where my life is heading, and just having that support from people who have different perspectives, and different outlooks on life. I've definitely benefited from that a lot as well. So you're right. We should talk more. 100%.

Brian Harbin: But yeah, it's great to hear that about journaling because I know different things kind of resonate with different people. And I know too, even the meditating, like, I know from the very first time meeting you, you talked about ADHD a lot. And I think being able to slow down.

Garrett Scantling: Yes.

Brian Harbin: And it's really helpful as well.

Garrett Scantling: I think the one thing that's helped with that is the “be still”—being able to float in a saltwater bath like a tub. And it's not just sitting still, like you're floating. There's another element to it. And I think for me, sitting still is still one of the hardest things that I can do. I mean, you see my hands moving all over the place. But having a different stimuli in that environment I think has helped me really enter into another state and be able to meditate the way I want to, and just kind of step away from everything that I'm stressed about and just immerse myself in my own mind and just relax.

So there are definitely certain things that have helped and kind of encouraged my ability to meditate a lot better too and sit still.

Brian Harbin: And that's a big part of the maturation process as an athlete because so many people want to work, put in more work, lift more weights, putting that stress on your body. But then the growth actually comes in the recovery. Right? And it's not just the physical recovery like the floating, it's the mental, the emotional side. And so being able to combine those two is really powerful, as you've seen.

And one of the things I wanted to talk about today too was one of the challenges of branding on social media is that you don't own that relationship with your client and the social media company kind of dictates your audience. So after being shut down on Instagram for having too many photos with your shirt off, you basically had to rebuild from scratch on social media.

So recently you launched gscant.com and are promoting your social media handles there—some merch, videos, all the different things to follow Garrett. So how is going through this process of building a personal brand helping you and how do you plan to move forward with your content and messaging?

Garrett Scantling: Yeah, I would say it's kind of given me a purpose with social media. You know, sometimes people just post aimlessly and it's like whatever you put out there is whatever you put out there. And I'll be honest, that's how it was before I lost my Instagram. It was just like, let's crank out as many pictures as I can.

Now there's a purpose to it. There's a purpose to get people to gscant.com and understand what I'm going through, what I have been through. It's all about my story. It's all about—I’ve got pictures, videos, all my other podcasts, YouTube videos of me training kids—and it's just more of Garrett's life and who I am as a person more so than who I am as just the athlete. And that’s kind of what I wanted to see from my social media more. Because before it was just track pictures, track pictures, track pictures. Now it's track pictures and me training people, me hanging with my family. It's more authentic.

And I think that that gets lost in social media—the authenticity of who a person is. It's more so who they want the world to see them as. But I think the process of me coming back home, working at Episcopal, understanding who I am with these kids and being vulnerable in it has shown me that I can be vulnerable in my social media as well.

And that’s kind of what I wanted gscant.com to be: a place where someone can go and check and see how I’m doing, when my next competition is. If they want to look at my pictures, they can. But it’s also a place that they can support me, they can understand what’s next for me off the track. They can just see that it truly is an immersive experience of Garrett all around.

And I feel like that's been lost in translation recently, just kind of with everyone in their social medias and wanting to be the social media person. Like, "Oh, I'm rich. I'm having fun every day. I'm driving these fast cars. I'm doing all this stuff." But I think what people are missing is, like I said before, the authenticity of it.

Brian Harbin: So yeah, the evolution of where your social media was before that happened to where it is now—it’s really… like you said, it gives the full picture. And huge shoutout to Andrew Furious, your good friend. I know he does a phenomenal job helping with the footage and the drone shots and everything.

So it’s great that you have him in your corner too to help with all that and the message. So if you go to your site at gscant.com, you sell a t-shirt, and on it says “Unbroken.” So why is it that word—of all the words to choose—why that as your message?

Garrett Scantling: You know, I'm not sure why it popped up in my head. I'll be honest with you. I was trying to figure out one word that kind of summed up everything that I had been through. And I was like, “adversity” or something—it just didn’t sit well with me. I remember there’s a movie about a track athlete called Unbroken, and I want to say it’s like World War II or something like that where he was taken prisoner and just had to go through so many—

Brian Harbin: Zamperini?

Garrett Scantling: Louis Zamperini, that's right. Yeah. And he's a miler or a long-distance runner. So I just, you know, I said the word “unbroken,” and I made it in a different font, and I took the "un" on one side and broke the “broken” off—it just didn’t look right to me. And so I put it all together, and it was just like—that is exactly what I want people to know about me. It’s that since my time off from track, yes, you haven’t heard from me.

Yes, I haven’t been competing and doing what I feel like is my first love. And everything I want to do with my life is revolved around track. But the adversity that I faced has not shattered who I am as a person. I am unbroken. And so, as much as I might be the same athlete coming back this time around, I am not the same person. I’ve got so many more things going for me and just understanding who I am as Garrett.

And I think having that word, that phrase—it’s been... just seeing it on t-shirts. My mom wears it. She’s got it on one of her cups. She has all this merchandise that she brings around. I think it just shows that she's proud of who I am and who I have been through, like I said before, what has been the most difficult time in my life.

And I hope that people can see that shirt and just understand that maybe they can fight through something that they're going through that seems impossible. And one thing that seemed impossible about my situation was just the time of it. But time always ticks away, and time will always—you’ll always go through to the next year, the next two years, next three years. It’ll always happen.

And so you have to work on yourself in that time. And being able to come on the other end of that, come outside of that turmoil and issue a better person—I think that’s the biggest thing that I can kind of give back to people—is to understand that, yeah, I’m unbroken because of it. And so I feel that much more confident in myself.

Brian Harbin: Yeah, and it adds so much more meaning to what you're doing and the messaging—and something everybody can relate to. Because people might see your successes and be like, "Oh, I can never relate to that." But they also, once they learn—and you've been so open about your challenges and the things that you've been through—it's inspiring in so many ways. And being able to sum it up in one word… So appreciate that.

And in many of your speeches, you talk about not being afraid of learning from your mistakes. Especially to young kids—that's a big part of your messaging. Why do you think that's an important message, especially for young people to hear?

Garrett Scantling: Because I think especially for me, when I was younger, the hardest thing to do was fail at things. You're learning so much. And honestly, you're always learning—especially in elementary school, middle school, high school—there's something every single day that you're learning.

And if you're not okay with failing and you're not okay with taking a step in the right direction and it might not be the step that you want, you're going to get down on yourself. And I feel like that is just a way to go backwards.

And I'll be honest with you, when I was younger, I went backwards a lot. It's not like I was perfect. I had to go through what I went through to understand that failure is a part of life. I feel like that's the biggest thing I can give back to the next generation—just understanding that. Especially nowadays with the social media and the access to so many different videos and so many different things—just understanding the core of who you want to be as a person has to come from your failures, and it has to come from who you are in the face of that.

And I always just believe that adversity is just another piece to the puzzle. Every step of the way—whether it was high school, college—I ran into something. It did not matter how good I was doing, how well I perceived myself to be doing, there was always something that next day that was like, "Crap. There's something else I gotta work on. Because I'm not as good at this. Like, I'm obviously failing here. I'm failing here." But the more you stack those failures and overcome those failures, the better you become as a person.

Brian Harbin: And there's almost that weight lifted off. It's like freedom—not stressing about the failures that you carry forward with you. Once you kind of look at those failures from a different perspective. And so when things happen, it's like, "Well, been here before. I can do it again."

Garrett Scantling: And that's the biggest part—is things are always going to happen to you. And so just understanding that you can get to that point mentally where you know, "I'm fine." Like, yeah, this sucks. But I'm going to get through it. And I'm going to come out on the other side even better. That is a weapon in itself to be able to use in life. So yeah, it's huge.

Brian Harbin: So one of the things that I gave you kind of as an assignment for this was like, alright, to pick out two pictures that best represent who you used to be and then two pictures of who you are now. So we'll put these up during the video as well. What were two of the pictures that you picked that represent kind of who you used to be?

Garrett Scantling: Yeah, there was a picture of me with my hands out like this. It was me shirt off, as you mentioned—probably got me suspended from Instagram. No, I’m kidding. But I was 25 at the time, and I was a financial advisor. I was on the beach just enjoying a day off. And there was also a picture of me the first couple of weeks I got to Georgia as a coach in 2018.

And I feel like when I look at those, I see a guy trying to understand who he is, going through a lot of different transitions. Body-wise, you can see I'm a lot bigger. I always have my six-pack or eight-pack, whatever you want to call it, but you can see I'm thicker in one of them—they’ll show it on the video.

But someone who's going through a transition of that, but also the mental side of just trying to see what's next for me. Am I going to be a coach? Am I still going to be a financial advisor? Am I going to stick this thing out? And it’s just—the world felt very heavy for me at that time. And I felt like there was still a lot left I had to prove—not only to other people, but to myself.

And so those first two pictures—I smile when I look at them just because of how far I’ve come from that. Especially the one of me leaning on the hurdles—I think that kind of… because it's so close to track, and it’s like I knew I wanted to get back into the track world. I just didn't know the capacity of it.

And at that point, I knew I just wanted to be a coach. I had not thought about being an athlete yet. But I think a couple weeks after that, I was like, “I still got it. Let me go for it.” So that's when things started to change for me.

Brian Harbin: And then, what about for the two pictures that represent who you are now?

Garrett Scantling: Yeah. So, one of them is me on the beach again, in sunglasses and my Nike shorts. I'm a lot more fit. You can see it in the picture. Like, I am… you can almost see I'm a lot happier. I'm smiling ear to ear, which I know I do that a lot, but just the feeling that I get when I look at that picture—I'm just like, that's a guy who is in his element. He's doing what he wants to do. And he understands who he is.

The other picture is of me holding a clipboard and all of my Episcopal gear with a hat on. And I had long, curly hair, so nothing like this. But you can just see the maturity that I've kind of grabbed over the years of just me being a coach, me being a mentor. You know, I know what I was saying in that moment was, “Everyone, grab your javelins. Line up. Everyone needs to get on it. We're about to start competing.”

And so, you know, it just kind of shows me the complete difference in people from those two pictures in the beginning and the two pictures in the end. And for me—obviously I'm the only one that sees it—but I see everything that I went through through those two time periods. And everything that's sharpened me as a human being I can see in those two pictures in the future.

So hopefully that there's two more pictures in the next five years that I can kind of revisit and say, “This is how much more I've learned from even this point.” And so that's one thing that I've learned over the past few years is that I always want to be learning, and I always want to be evolving—me and myself as a person, and evolving my game as a track athlete, as a human being, as a coach—whatever it is, I want to always be evolving.

Brian Harbin: I can almost see it now. Because that picture of you standing there with a clipboard—because you talked about a big thing that you learned in coaching was patience. Right? Being patient. But it's almost like, you know, in that picture you're telling that younger version of Garrett that’s standing over the hurdles, “Listen. Be patient.” I know you've got a crossroads coming up. And I feel that when you're young, you feel like the weight of every decision carries the weight of the world. Whether it's going to college, whether it's where you're going to live, who you're going to marry—it’s like the weight of the world weighs on it.

But as you get older and get more perspective, you're going to have a million of those decisions every single week—not major decisions, obviously—but being able to learn how to process them, be patient, like you said, surround yourself with a support network, and know exactly what you want to get. And those decisions do become easier and begin to present themselves.

Brian Harbin: And so the last question I wanted to ask you would be—can you give us kind of a snapshot of what the next month, three months, six months kind of look like in terms of your schedule and training? And for people that go to gscant.com and follow you on Instagram, what they can expect to see?

Garrett Scantling: Honestly, the biggest thing that you can expect to see is a person happy. A person happy with what they've been through, how they've gotten through it. I've been training my butt off the past year and a half because I knew I wanted to make a comeback.

And so my first competition is June 27th and 28th at Bolles High School here in Jacksonville. It's in front of my whole family, all my friends. Because once again, I feel like those are the people that are going to make you the most nervous.

And so if I can do that and come out on the other side of that successful, there's nothing that I can't face—especially in track and field. I'm leaving in the next five days to go to Champaign, Illinois, for a month. I'm heading into a training camp up there. It's where the head coach of Georgia—when he recruited me there—he came here to Jacksonville to help coach me as a professional.

And now he's the head coach at the University of Illinois, Petros Kyprianou. He has an incredible training group there, and so I want to join them and kind of see where I'm at as an athlete and see if I have what it takes coming back. Because confidence in me is not lacking. And I feel incredible. I feel like I am strong. I feel like I'm PR-ing in the weight room, I'm PR-ing in the high jump, I'm PR-ing in the shot put. I'm getting personal bests in so many different things in practice. But just being around the same type of athletes—I haven't had that in a while.

And so I kind of want to see what my competitive edge is like. And so after that training camp, I'll come back here, do that decathlon to qualify for USAs, which are at the end of July. And I compete July 31st and the 1st in Eugene, Oregon. So I'll do a decathlon there. And if I come top three at the US Trials, I will go to Tokyo—which is another full-circle moment. My family will get to go. My friends—whoever wants to go—will get to be there this time. Because last time for the Olympics, it was COVID, and we didn't have a crowd or anything like that. But that will be September 10th through the 17th.

So I know it's not an Olympic year—I still have three more years until that. But there are certain things that I want to do before that to see if what I'm doing is the correct thing to do. I'm about to turn 32 in four days, so obviously time is running out. I'm kind of not in the point where I have all the time in the world.

So if I can stay healthy, I believe that the sky is the limit. I feel like I can be just as good, if not a lot better, than I was when I stopped in 2022. And I feel like I wouldn't be doing that if I didn't feel that way. So I'm excited to see what comes out of it, for sure.

Brian Harbin: Well, we are all supporting you and just, you know, on this journey. It’s just been so fun to watch and see your progression. And you know the impact that you've made on so many young people, especially in sports and families. And I know in Jacksonville you're just somebody that is definitely held in high regard by so many people.

So we really appreciate you carving out the time to be here today.

Garrett Scantling: Of course.

Brian Harbin: That's a wrap for today's episode of the Grit.org podcast.

Thanks for tuning in, and be sure to check out gscant.com and follow him on Instagram! Thanks!