Meet Daryl Homer, a young black fencer going for Olympic gold

Daryl Homer isn’t what you would call your typical successful young black athlete. He doesn’t dominate a sport with a ball or play anything that has to do with a basket...

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Fencing is his life right now, but Homer does say he plans on finishing school and graduating in 2013. Following the Olympics, Homer will be entering his senior year at St. Johns University in Queens, NY. He took this year off to train for the Olympics. “I sometimes ask myself at what point does fencing take over my career,” Homer said.

“I’m in a good position because others are older into their 30s and I have the luxury of only being 21, but I want to combine advertising [my major] and fencing to help the inner city. It’s something that’s not available now.”

Homer wants to give back and help his many mentors who stood by him in the past. The idols that Homer looks up to include advertising media mogul Steve Stout, rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z, and The Onion’s Baratunde Thurston.

“The way they all are able to use advertising and the media to get their work out there is what I look up to,” Homer said. “The cross-marketing I see, especially how Jay-Z effectively puts it all together, is great.”

Homer attributes a lot of his success to his mother and positive role models. Without them, he says he wouldn’t have had the guidance or motivation to want to be the best.

“My mom has always found ways for us to get up out of the Bronx,” Homer said. “She wanted my sister and I [sic] to achieve. And being that I’ve been around Olympic athletes at such a young age, I’ve been fortunate.”

Homer was born in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and now lives in the Manhattan, New York. He has one sister who is the captain of her fencing team.

His advice for other youth interested in fencing is simple: “Starting early can help,” Homer said. “Fencing takes time and lots of hard work, just like anything in life. It takes sacrifice. Things are a part of a journey and there are many things to learn while you are taking that journey.”

Follow Daryl Homer on his social media:

on Instagram @DarylHomerUSA

on Facebook at Facebook/DarylHomerUSA 

on Twitter @DarylHomerUSA

Follow Marquise Francis on Twitter @mKfly

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