CROSSVILLE, Tenn. — John Roethlisberger and John Macready were best friends before becoming Olympic teammates. The two U.S. Olympic gymnasts were on the 1996 team when the games were hosted in Atlanta, and they've been in each other's lives ever since.
"Everybody needs that person in their life," said Roethlisberger. "That's gonna laugh with you, they're gonna cry with you. You gotta have that person in your life."
After his Olympic run, Macready found a new passion. In 2001, he took over a small gymnastics camp called Knoxville Gymnastics in Tennessee. The camp's first four years went from 50 campers a summer to 800, and in 2005, Macready called Roethlisberger, asking to partner up.
"I talked to John and was like, I need your help; let's take this to the next level," said Macready.
Since then, the two have taken over and moved the camp to Crossville, TN. They renamed the camp Flip Fest, and for nearly 20 years, state-of-the-art equipment has drawn in nearly 3,000 campers for ten weeks out of the summer. 12-year-old gymnast Simon Contakos started coming to Flip Fest when he was six and said the camp allows him to perfect his skills and take them to the next level.
"It's usually where I get some of my bigger skills, and then I bring them back to my home gym," said Contakos. "It's helpful because they have equipment that we don't."
However, the equipment is just a small part of what the camp has to offer. The friendships campers make keep the gymnasts coming back year after year, and whether you're seven or 17, everyone has the same outlook on camp.
Greta McMurphy started attending Flip Fest at just three years old. Nowadays, campers have to be at least seven, but McMurphy had an in with her mom, who worked as the camp nurse. Over ten years later, she dreams of competing at the collegiate level as an LSU Tiger and believes attending Flip Fest every summer will help her get closer to that goal.
"We all have similar goals and motivation to get somewhere," said McMurphy. "300 hardworking kids are in the same place, and it's just so amazing."
Flip Fest is the only gymnastics camp in the country run by two Olympians. Every week, Roethlisberger and Macready bring in Olympians to teach classes and share their journey of competing at the highest level.
"We've got Olympic champions out here who competed in our day and are now coaching our kids," said Roethlisberger.
For many gymnasts, the camp is a second gym, and attending Flip Fest every summer has become a routine.
"This is my home away from home. I think about it year-round; it's what I look forward to all school year," said McMurphy.
It couldn't have come more full circle for Roethlisberger and Macready; they said their friendship is the most special thing about their Olympics experience, and they share their knowledge of the sport with future Olympians around the country.
"We didn't win an Olympic medal, but even had we, those things come and go," said Roethlisberger.
"To not only be with your best friend and have a business, but to also have the Olympic experience, it's an experience I never could have imagined we put together so perfectly," said Macready.