Ryan Lochte visits South Boston Boys & Girls Club

SOUTH BOSTON (WHDH) -- Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte was in the Bay State Friday and stopped by the Boys & Girls Club in South Boston.

Lochte shared how his hard work paid off -- earning him 11 Olympic medals and setting four world records.

Lochte brought all five of his gold medals along with some good stories.

He told the kids that he was not a great swimmer when he was their age, but hard work and dedication really paid off.

Ryan Lochte got up close and personal with 50 lucky kids. He told them many doubted his own Olympic dreams.

“When I was growing up, I wasn’t the fastest kid. But I had a dream, and there’s a lot of people that were around me and I told them this and they kind of just laughed at me,” Lochte said.

Lochte visited the Boys & Girls Club of Southie as ambassador of Gillette’s Great Start program.

Kids were ecstatic to meet the Olympian.

“It’s incredible,” one boy said.

One girl asked Lochte what it was like being at the Olympics. He responded, “Being at the Olympics is the most incredible thing. I am going for another Olympics in four years.”

And he's already back in full training after taking two months off.

“I just got back in about three weeks ago,” Lochte said.

Lochte revealed that his introduction to swimming was actually an accident. At the age of 3, wearing a snow suit, he tripped and fell into a pool and started laughing.

He allowed the kids to pose with his medals.

“I walked away with the medal in my hand because I was really, really nervous because I am a really big fan,” said Shannon McGonagle, 16-year-old swimmer.

“You guys can accomplish anything as long as you put that hard work into it. And most importantly, you guys got to have fun,” Lochte said.

Lochte spent about two hours at the Boys & Girls Club.