His unusual motivational messages are scribbled in marker on a poster hanging in his room: Carlin Isles is too small. Too weird. Not good enough. Won't amount to anything.
Simple reminders the rugby and athletics standout has jotted down of all the negative things said about him. Fuel to go faster, he explained.
As a kid growing up in foster care who was constantly getting into fights, running away from home and hardly ever had enough food on his plate, Isles promised himself it wouldn't always be like this. He and his twin sister were eventually adopted, and his freakishly fast speed led him down a different path.
The 26-year-old Isles is a good bet to earn a spot on the USA team when rugby sevens makes its Olympic debut at the Rio Games. Maybe even in track as well, should he qualify in the 100 metres at the USA Olympic trials in July.
Doubt he can accomplish it? That's exactly why he created his poster.
"I've been through a lot and that just makes me hungry," said Isles, who will compete in the opening round of the 60 metres on Friday (Saturday AEDT) at the US indoor championships in Portland, Oregon.
"I'm hungry to be somebody. I'm hungry for success. I'm scared to be ordinary."
His tale is far from ordinary.
The last image he has of his birth mother was through the back of a police car when he and his sister were taken away when they were young. In foster care, he never celebrated a birthday. He couldn't read or write very well, either. Meals were so scarce that out of necessity he would eat anything, including dog food.
"It was survival," said Isles, who grew up in Massillon, Ohio. "I just prayed to get out of that life. I wanted a better life, where I wouldn't be just another statistic. Because if I continued like that, I'd probably be dead or in jail."
After attending college, Isles faced a quandary - what to do with that quickness? The doors weren't exactly open for football or track athletics.
"I didn't want to work a 9-to-5 job, because I knew I had a gift," Isles said.
He was looking on the internet for a track workout when he stumbled upon footage of rugby. Intrigued, he did some digging and placed some calls to Team USA for guidance. They set him up with a club team in Aspen, Colorado.
Turns out, he was a natural.
His speed was so extraordinary that he was dubbed "the fastest man in rugby." There's a highlight reel of his explosive moves that's been viewed more than 6.7 million times on YouTube.
That blazing speed led a top rugby team from Scotland - the Glasgow Warriors - to sign him. It wasn't just rugby teams drawing interest, either. The Detroit Lions added him to their practice squad before he elected to focus on rugby.
"That's where my purpose was," explained Isles, who's sponsored by a host of well-known companies including Red Bull.
This weekend, as his US rugby teammates play in Vancouver, British Columbia, he's making a detour to Oregon to dabble in sprinting. He only recently dusted off his spikes to see if he still could fly down the track in a race.
He could. With very little training, too.
Now, he's thinking big - Olympic trials and trying to earn a spot for the Rio Games in a second sport.
Watch out, Usain Bolt. No, really.
"Yeah, I can beat Bolt," cracked Isles. "That would be a tough one, but I'm not going to say no. Because who puts limits on themselves?"
Certainly not Isles.
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