ISLES Carlin

General
OLYMPIC SPRINTING DREAM
After failing to qualify in sprint events for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, he decided to concentrate on rugby sevens and did not attend the US sprint trials for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. He decided to return to the sport in 2019 with a view to competing in both rugby sevens and sprint events at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "I told myself in 2012 that I was going to do it [rugby and sprinting] in 2016, but during Olympic track and field trials, I had a selection camp for rugby, so I could only concentrate on that. But for 2020 I'm going to try for both sprints and rugby sevens." (olympicchannel.com, 31 May 2019; thenational.ae, 08 Mar 2016)

NFL
In December 2013 he joined the practice squad for NFL team the Detroit Lions after impressing selectors during a trial with the American football club. He did not make an appearance for the team and left in February 2014 to join Scottish rugby union [15-a-side] team Glasgow Warriors. "I finished the season with them [Detroit Lions] and I was supposed to go back the next season [2014] and they were waiting for a response. I thought long and hard about everything the NFL was offering but realised my heart wasn't in it. Most people would have picked the NFL, but I knew it was a test of character and I would have done it for the wrong reasons. I had to do what was right, which was pick rugby." (scotsman.com, 18 Feb 2014; olympicchannel.com, 31 May 2019)

EARLY DAYS
Growing up in Ohio, United States of America, he and his twin sister Tambra spent time in homeless shelters and foster care before being adopted by Charles and Starlett Isles. "I got taken away from my mother when I was young, and I saw her get locked up in a police car and that was the last time I saw her and I only met my biological father once. Both my sister and I used to sleep in a car and in homeless shelters to the point where I even ate dog food. I couldn't read, I couldn't write so I had to dealt with a lot of issues, especially emotionally. I used my hardship to train and workout as I didn't go to high school dances or proms. I was inspired by actor Sylvester Stallone and the Rocky movie franchise. He came from nothing like me." (olympicchannel.com, 31 May 2019; bleacherreport.com, 05 Aug 2016)