The world according to Ryan Lochte, circa 2008 [VIDEO]

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Ryan Lochte's participation in the 2008 Olympics was somewhat overshadowed by teammate Michael Phelps quest for eight gold medals.

Four years, several endorsement deals and five gold medals later, everyone knows about the American swimmer's passion for grills, his self referential sunglasses, his pool-peeing habits and his less-than-stellar mathematical prowess.

But even back in 2008, this NBC interview managed to capture the glorious essence of Lochte wisdom.

Lochte on his grill: "It's kinda like a retainer. Just a really expensive shiny retainer."

Lochte on rocks: "If everyone else wanted to go, I don't know, play tag on the playground, I'd probably go throw rocks at something."

Lochte on art: "I'll start out with, like, a cloud at the top. Instead of, like you know how rain goes down, I'll have rain going up."

For bonus Lochte, here's Buzzfeed's genius super-cut of his best interview moments: