Just keep swimming… and performing

It’s almost as if Mekhi McDonald was born in the water. “I have enjoyed swimming since i was approximately 4 years old, and I just never grew out of it, he said. “My preferred stroke would be freestyle because that’s the first stroke.”

He admitted that he is not very good at backstroke, but that is because he’s been mostly self-taught. “My aunt introduced me (to swimming). She just threw me into the six feet end” and he’s been spending time in the water ever since. The sport, and the challenges that COVID brought to it, have made him more confident and focused, which is understandable since he prefers to see it as an individual effort.

“Do something you love,” he said. “You’re not always going to get everything the first try. Don’t push your body too far from its limit, take it slow.”

While this is the advice he would share with others, he also follows it himself. He enjoys swimming so much that he has considered doing it in college and, later, as a back-up plan for a career. “I plan to go to a community college for drama/acting and maybe transfer to American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA), he said.

For the last few years, McDonald has also been skateboarding for fun.  He also likes playing video games, and he’s into fashion/clothes.

McDonald is an only child who sees his mother as his role model for success. “She’s always working hard and never giving up on me, no matter what career path I choose,” he said.