Olympic Champ Michael Phelps Bares Chest on Cover of ‘Details’

Michael Phelps has already won 16 Olympic medals in Athens and Beijing. Now he’s headed to the London games to make his final splash.

The Baltimore native — known for his relaxed, easy-going personal style — takes his shirt off for the cover of Details and reveals secrets about his training hours, losing weight and what he learned from his bong incident.

On Not Taking a Day Off For Six Years:

“I used to have a thing — coach Bob [Bowman] and I couldn’t talk to each other before 8 a.m. because I was in a terrible mood. I don’t like getting up that early. Getting into the cold pool just isn’t fun. It sucks. But during those six years it was a sacrifice that I made to try to become my best.”

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On That Notorious Bong Photo: 

“It was a learning experience. I’m the kind of person who has to go through the learning experiences myself. Somebody could tell me, ‘If you eat this much you’ll be fat,’ and I’d be like, ‘Yeah, okay, let me try it.’ Growing up, my mom taught us to make our own decisions, but also that you have to pay for the consequences of those decisions. I’m thankful for that. I’ll be the first to say I’ve made thousands of mistakes, but I’ve never made the same mistake twice.”

On Getting Fat (25 Pounds) After Winning Eight Medals in Beijing:

“A friend of mine and I were playing football on the beach in Miami, and somebody got a picture of us and put it all over the place. And he’s like, ‘Bro, you gotta start working out, man. You are fat.'”

On His Mega-Calorie Food Intake:

“People make a big deal out of what I eat, but it’s not that crazy. I had a three-egg omelet and three pieces of French toast and coffee this morning. For recovery, I think it’s a big deal to eat within a half hour after you exercise. Otherwise I just try to put carbs into my system before I swim and then load up on the protein after. I don’t count calories. Whether it’s Sour Patch Kids or Reese’s or a bag of chips, if I feel like eating it, I’m going to eat it.”

Good luck at the Games, Mr. Phelps.

For more Phelps scoop, go to Details.com