“I want to go to the Oscars,” said graduate student gymnast Sam Phillips with a laugh. “Be nominated for an Oscar and then host the Oscars after party.”
For a gymnast in their seventh year of collegiate gymnastics and working toward LA 2028, the Oscars might seem like the last thing on their mind. Not for Phillips. He manages to balance his career inside the gym with what he wants to do after he retires on the mat.
How did he get started? He was a hyper younger sibling, always on the sidelines flipping. His parents decided to put him in a safer environment to do that. Phillips said it all started in a “mommy and me” class, and from that moment on, he kept up with the sport.
“Once I started to do gymnastics, I felt safe and at home,” Phillips said. “I think that’s where the love started.”
Fast forward to 2025, Phillips is gearing up for his seventh and final season as a collegiate gymnast.
“I mean, especially in gymnastics, I don’t think anyone else is in their seventh year,” Phillips said. “It was a perfect storm between COVID and me not competing because of my ankle, my senior year and then what happened last year.”
Phillips was having a successful sixth season in what he thought would be his final year in gymnastics. After winning the Windy City Invitational and another all-around title the following week, Phillips was on track to keep soaring to new heights. Just as he was at his pinnacle, he suffered a torn Achilles, ending his season. He thought it would be the end of his journey as a college athlete.
Head coach Daniel Ribeiro had other plans for Phillips. Not even three hours after Phillips tore his Achilles, Ribeiro reassured him that he would fight to get him a seventh year in gymnastics. Ribeiro did just that.
Four days later, as Phillips was in a hospital bed awaiting surgery, Ribeiro called Phillips to deliver the great news.
“I get a call and I reach for my phone because it’s from Dan,” Phillips said. “He’s like… ‘You just worry about you. Don’t you worry about it, it’s there. We’ll talk later, but this is perfect. So now you can dream about it. Go under during surgery, think about it, dream about it in surgery.’”
With two options in front of him, Phillips was at a crossroads. He could pursue one more year of gymnastics and a master’s degree, or graduate and move away to grow his brand and career. He said he relied on his family, friends and even his sports psychologist on his life-altering choice.
Ultimately, his brother, who is his “ride or die,” offered Phillips the key piece of advice for his future.
“He was like ‘Dude, it’s both doors open,’” Phillips said. “‘You get your master’s paid for, and if you want to continue up to this year, you can, and you have an extra year to build your brand. It’s whatever you want to do. This has been your goal for so long. I don’t want to see you cut out before you fulfilled everything that you want to do.’”
As for his teammates, they were hyped and ecstatic to hear about Phillips’ return. Phillips said he tried to keep the topic distant since his team was in season while he was deciding, but still tried to pick their brains about it.
“I think that’s what really meant a lot to me,” Phillips said. “They prioritize my well-being, and they’re like, ‘Obviously we want you to be back, but if you don’t need this, and you don’t want it, if you’re not going to be healthy, don’t do it.’ That’s when I knew that it was genuine.”
Phillips shared that despite the peculiarity of his situation, it was all destiny for him to be here at Illinois one more year.
“It’s like it’s meant to be,” Phillips said. “I think Illinois has such raw and deep culture, and so taking it all in in one year … it can be a lot. I’m still experiencing stuff that I didn’t last year. You can’t go to New York for a day; you need more time to do that. Illinois, you need more time for one year.”
For Phillips’ seventh year, he is prioritizing staying healthy and focusing his energy on his best events. Despite being an all-around competitor for the majority of his career, Phillips cut down to only the still rings, high bar and parallel bar to help his body get a break.
“It’s a lot going through the stressors and the pressures of competition and collegiate competition for seven years, being captain, being involved,” Phillips said. “It’s a lot of mental energy involved with it. I definitely have coped in coming to the conclusion that I’m not the same person I was, but that’s okay.”
Before Phillips’ final salute, he still has one more major life goal to accomplish: the Olympics.
“I have two more years,” Phillips said. “Two more years to give it all I got. Whatever happens, happens, and then I’ll wash my hands clean a bit, and move on.”
Phillips isn’t the only one who can see him on Team USA.
“It’s becoming more of a reality that ‘Hey, I have a chance, I have potential,’” Phillips noted. “One of my assistant coaches the other day asked me, ‘What do you want to medal in the Olympics?’ The more they talk about it, the more it becomes a reality.”
If the Olympics weren’t special enough, LA 2028 is near and dear to Phillips.
“It’s in LA, (my) hometown,” Phillips said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing that people get to seriously consider an Olympics in their hometown.”
Outside of his time in the gym, Phillips ensures he is a voice for inclusion and activism. He does this as a part of Athlete Ally, whose mission is to create a welcoming and safe space in sports for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Phillips has Athlete Ally to thank for some of the experiences he’s had outside of the gym. He’s been to yearly summits speaking on panels, a paid fellowship and even the US Open.
“She (Andrea Snead) heard me speak on a panel about an NIL and tying in your activism to your brand,” Phillips said. “They do a pride day at the U.S. Open and they have a whole brunch celebration that’s called Out and Open the panel, and she was like, ‘I want him to speak.’”
Snead got in touch with Athlete Ally, which contacted Phillips to explain how they planned on paying him to speak at the Out and Open panel. Phillips said that he was totally on board and was excited for this opportunity.
A week before the U.S. Open panel, Phillips said they got in contact with him, and said they also wanted him to do the coin flip.
“The umpire was teaching me how to flip a coin on the side of the court,” Phillips said about what he calls a core memory in an Instagram post. “I guess I was doing it wrong my whole life.”
With everything Phillips has going on, there is one thing he makes sure to practice and live by.
“I practice radical optionism,” Phillips explained. “It’s anything you do, everything, happens for a reason … I love it.”
