Meet Maurice Scott | Athlete

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maurice Scott and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maurice, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor behind my success is the ability to believe and trust in my abilities. Going after goals is never an easy road. You have to know that there will be bumps in the road and you will have to go through some trials and tribulations. For me, seeing myself accomplishing those goals in the future motivates me to put in the work now.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I will talk about my rowing career. Throughout history, rowing has been a sport not accessible to the inner city due to its history rooted in exclusivity and elitism. Philadelphia City Rowing, my high school rowing team, in 2010 helped change that and gave me the opportunity to take part in the sport and compete. We did not have state-of-the-art facilities or a history of success. We started everything from scratch but that for me was motivation. Despite the disparities, I wanted to show the rowing community that we, as inner-city athletes could still compete at the highest level. I had something to prove. After my first-year rowing competitively, I was recruited to the U.S. Naval Academy lightweight team(Top 10 team in the country). That door closed out of my control and I faced some rough times but my love for the sport and for fellow inner-city athletes I found my way back into the sport and went overseas to the University of New South Wales(Sydney, Australia) to compete on their rowing team as the first African American to ever represent their rowing team. Since then my life has turned completely around and I’ve competed in major races including the Australian University Games, U.S. Beach Sprint Trials, and Head of The Charles. I have also secured sponsorships and official outfitters throughout my career. I am using all of my accomplishments to help share my story as an inner-city athlete with the hopes to motivate others to take part in this sport and one day surpassing everything that I have done.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Yes, I want to give a shout-out to all the inner-city youth across the country. Many negative lights are shined on the inner city, yet many kids are still fighting through and becoming successful despite their environments. A big motivating factor in my life story is helping pave the way and give an outlet to fellow inner-city youth like me. I can’t and will not let them down. I would like to thank my high school rowing program, Philadelphia City Rowing, which introduced me to rowing and changed my life forever. They have given Philadelphia Public School student-athletes the opportunity to take part in a sport that once was rarely available to the inner city due to many reasons including financial disparity and racism.

Instagram: @thereeselife

Image Credits
US Rowing