From Olympic gold to children's author, nothing is stopping Rory Gibbs on his journey to inspire.
Gibbs was part of the team that crossed the finish line at the Stade nautique de Vaires-sur-Marnes last summer in a time of 5:22.88 to be crowned men's eight Olympic champion.
It was a moment that encapsulated all of the hard work that goes into winning the greatest achievement at the pinnacle of sport.
And for Gibbs, it also brought a deep sense of contentment, knowing his time in the boat was officially over and a new chapter had begun.
"Coming into Paris, no matter how the result panned out, I had other projects that I knew I wanted to work on," said Gibbs, who officially announced his retirement in February 2025.
"So, winning gold and crossing that finish line with the team, I felt a deep sense of peace and pride.
"There was such a deep drive and motivation to push on to the next chapter."
That aptly mentioned 'chapter' refers to Gibbs' ambitions to create a new series of children's books surrounding key Olympic values.
‘The Dream Team’ series is a working project aimed at entertaining primary school children, whilst also teaching them the values that Gibbs believes sit at the heart of sport.
It's a challenge he has embraced wholeheartedly, despite his writing setbacks, pushing to create the series he never had as a child.
"A lot of my friends joke because I'm actually slightly dyslexic so they would never have thought that I would be writing a children's book or any book really," he said. "This is a real passion project for me.
"When I was young growing up, I always thought that raw talent, those physical skills of who could run the furthest or throw the furthest would make you successful in the future.
"But the reality is that once you get older, it's more about your soft skills like being a good team player, being good under pressure and being resilient."
Whether it's learning to be a successful as an athlete, a musician or an explorer, the rower is keen to build a world that helps teach children core skills in a fun and entertaining way. Enter the aliens and superheroes.
"I wanted to create a fantastical world where a bunch of school friends get given these superpowers which are tied to sport," he added.
"So they could be really strong, or really fast, great on water, but they're children so they still need to learn teamwork, respect and confidence.
"You might have these superpowers but you might be a villain if you don't have the kindness for example.
"It's about trying to teach children those central life skills in a fun way."
For most, the idea of writing an entire book series can seem daunting but Gibbs seems to relish the challenge.
Working alongside an editor to assist with any issues he confronts, the rower admitted that he's been enjoying the process of stepping outside of the boat and creating new worlds.
"In terms of the words, I found it quite natural and the key themes are quite simple so I could build the story around that," he said.
"By putting it on a fantasy land, I think the hardest thing for me was introducing the characters and describing them but it's been really fun."
Gibbs, who was a self-proclaimed 'Horrid Henry' fan growing up, cites his nephew as his main inspiration for the series after watching him start to interact with books and TV series.
With his target audience sitting between the ages of five and eight, Gibbs hopes to give back some of the knowledge he has collected on his way to becoming an Olympic gold medallist.
And with ambitions to gift the book to children's homes for free, a process he is still working on making available, Gibbs' step from boat to book has ultimately been one worth sharing.
"I'm just really keen to give back," he said. "I've been really fortunate with my upbringing, education and Olympic success and so I want to share those values I've learnt.
"I would love to be able to gift these books to children's homes and nurseries across the UK at one point and provide that service."
Sportsbeat 2025