East Brunswick native turns down Wall Street job to pursue Olympic dreams

A Middlesex County native will be representing New Jersey in the 2021 summer Olympics this month in the discus event.
Sam Mattis says that when he punched his ticket to Tokyo at the Olympic trials last month, it was the culmination of hard work and hard decisions.
“I think I learned a lot about myself and kind of struggling through and getting through adversity and having actually accomplished this definitely makes it all worth it. But I think it would have been worth it regardless,” he says.
Mattis graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016. Following that, the East Brunswick native decided to turn down a job on Wall Street to pursue his Olympic dream.
“Definitely was sitting there the first couple years before I made really any money at all from the sport thinking that I could have made more my first year working for a bank than I had in three years combined,” Mattis says.
The former NCAA champion says that while his parents can’t attend the games in Tokyo, it was special that they were able to attend the trials, especially because his dad was his first discus coach.
“It was really great to see him there considering he started me out on this journey. And some friends from my high school track team and college track team were there, so it was really cool to see them too,” Mattis says.
He says that while his journey has plenty of ups and down, he wants the next generation of New Jersey athletes to know that their dreams are worth fighting for.
“Go for it and chase your dreams. Don't worry about how different they are from the regular path that everyone else is following. You only get one life, so try to make the most of it,” Mattis says.
Mattis is one of more than two dozen New Jerseyans heading to Tokyo. The Olympic games begin July 23.