Olympic swimmer Cullen Jones almost drowned as a kid. Now, he's a swim lesson advocate.

Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones always loved the water, the type of kid who played in the tub until he was pruney — but he wasn't always a swimming pro. In fact, a near-drowning experience as a child is what shaped him into the swimmer and swim lesson advocate he is today.

At 5 years old, he got stuck underwater after going down a ride at a water park with his parents. 

"TV and theater, they always dramatize when someone drowns or nearly drowns — 'help, help, help!' — And what we learned is that that's not usually the case. It's usually silent, especially when it comes to young people. They go underwater, and then, unfortunately, you never hear from them again. And the same thing almost happened to me," he told CBS News. "I hadn't had swim lessons (and) didn't know what to do."