Swim star Kyle Chalmers reveals surprise new side hustle as 2024 Olympics approach

Olympic gold medallist Kyle Chalmers has won glory in the pool and now he’s turning his talents to a surprise new side hustle as the 2024 Olympics approach.

The Port Lincoln missile and social media star has teamed up with shoe company Athletikan to release his own signature sneaker line, the first-ever Australian swimmer to design his own sneakers.

The shoes, which sport a special KC logo for “King Kyle”, are bright neon yellow and green, redolent of the Australian swim colours.

The sneaker collaboration places Mr Chalmers in the tradition of sporting superstars like Michael Jordan and Cristiano Ronaldo, who made shoes “cool” and products that carry cultural value.

The partnership started after Mr Chalmers began following Athletikan on Instagram, the company said on Wednesday.

“We wanted to do something epic in an Olympic year with an Australian athlete,” co-founder Joe Tamburrino said.

“We identified Kyle as a perfect fit to collaborate with.”

“He is a world-class athlete, a sneaker head and it’s awesome to be an Australian brand collaborating with a superstar Australian athlete.”

Mr Chalmers, who catapulted to fame as an 18-year-old snaring a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, said he was honoured to develop the shoe.

“It’s got my name on it, got the ‘KC’ on the back, ‘King Kyle’ and I love the bright colours,” he said.

“Bright shoes have always been my thing so being able to have my own bright signature shoe is very special.

“If I have had a good race, whether at State Champs or Olympic Games I have always treated myself to a new pair of shoes and I always will make sure I have a fresh, nice, bright pair of shoes that no one else on the pool deck will have, so for me I have always been a shoe guy.

“I’m looking forward to wearing them proudly.”

The limited edition release starts on February 21.

Mr Chalmers will compete at the Paris Olympics in July and plans to keep swimming after that at the world championships.

“I’ll probably do a lot more of the World Cup circuit and do some money-making swimming because obviously there’s not a huge amount of money in swimming,” he said on the In Your Lane podcast last year.

Shoulder injuries hampered Chalmers’ career after his breakthrough Rio win, but he recovered enough to win silver in the 100m freestyle silver at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, pipped by just 0.6 seconds by American Caeleb Dressel.

In August, Chalmers said Paris would likely be his last Olympics, but he did not conclusively rule out a tilt at 2028.

During his time in the spotlight, Chalmers has been the focus of intense media attention.

In 2022, he was at the centre of a “love triangle” with fellow swimmer and Olympic legend Emma McKeon and swimmer and music sensation Cody Simpson.

The swim legend, with more than 140,000 followers on Instagram, also lives out a “tradie” life in Adelaide, labouring on building sites around the city.

“It’s something I’m loving and just putting myself out of comfort zone again. Just finding Kyle the person again and reconnecting myself,” he told In Your Lane.

“I really, really love being in my high-vis because when I’m walking around in my normal clothes, people know who I am and everywhere I go I get stopped or looked at like an animal in a zoo at times.

“But when I’ve got the high-vis on, it’s almost like a completely different person.

“I’ve got the bald head now, the tattoos and the high-vis, they think I’m just another tradie.”