Usain Bolt is arguably the greatest athlete of all time. The Olympic champion can flex eight gold medals and two record-holding spots for the 100m and 200m races, but what’s the secret to his success?

According to a BBC interview, in which Bolt appears in a hologram playing virtually with reporter Steffan Powell, he cites his success on the field to the world of gaming.

“For me, those are the things that excite me about video games. Just learning and being the best at it. I feel like it kinda helped my hunger, I would say. To always want to win. But I feel like it, in a way, kind of helped out with the track and field, because now, when you get on the track, you have that same mentality as when you’re playing video games. You just want to win,” Usain Bolt told BBC.

Usain Bolt Could Have Been A Top Esports Gamer

Surprisingly, gaming was a significant part of Usain Bolt’s upbringing citing Mario Kart and Mortal Kombat as the front runners. Perhaps if the current advancements in technology had existed earlier, he might have become a top esports gamer.

“I was so much into video games when I was younger because sometimes I would skip training to go to the video games store to play video games,” said Bolt, according to BBC News. 

He continued: “My coach would call my dad and tell him, ‘Listen, he didn’t come to training today,’ and then my dad would be like, ‘Why didn’t you go to training?’ and I had no answer. You know what I mean? So that was just one thing, I know if we had what we have now I would definitely be a gamer, for sure.” 

Bolt Encourages Athletes To Play Video Games

Usain Bolt encourages other athletes to tap into gaming to provide a temporary escape from reality.

“It takes your mind off everything, because you’re so focused on trying to win and trying to do good in a game that you don’t worry about anything else,” said Bolt.

According to the outlet, Bolt has been in partnership with Virgin Media, which is why he appeared in a hologram technology called Portl during the interview.

For more on the athlete and gaming, check it out below.