“What I love about fencing is it’s just you and your opponent. It’s so intimate,” Chamley-Watson said. “It feels like nothing can stop you. That’s what drew me in.”

Chamley-Watson does modeling on the side. He’s become the global face of fencing, posing in magazines like GQ, People and Vogue. His focus is creating a legacy. He excelled at soccer and basketball in childhood, and he loved superheroes as a kid. He says he could eat Korean BBQ all day. He loves hip-hop and good house music.

Still, fencing trumps all.

“Modeling is cool but above all, I am an athlete,” he said. “I am a fencer.”