Charles Austin fell for Texas State for the same reasons that many people do—the picturesque campus, the river, and bright sunny days. Austin was a budding high jumper from the tiny southeast Texas community of Van Vleck when he and a classmate visited San Marcos in spring 1986 at the invitation of track coach Rocky Light.
“He picked us up from the Austin airport in his little maroon and gold Volkswagen Jetta,” Austin recalls. “We’re coming down Aquarena Springs, and then I see Old Main sitting up high, and I’m like, ‘I’m coming to school here.’”
The move to San Marcos was a big jump for Austin, the youngest of 10 children raised by a single mother. Though it wasn’t always smooth sailing, Austin made the most of his time as a Bobcat. He set school and conference records, won the NCAA Outdoor Championship for high jump, and graduated with a degree in business management.
“He picked us up from the Austin airport in his little maroon and gold Volkswagen Jetta. We’re coming down Aquarena Springs, and then I see Old Main sitting up high, and I’m like, ‘I’m coming to school here.’”
Charles Austin (left) celebrates with SWT Track and Field teammates following a race.
Austin went on to a 15-year professional high-jump career, reaching the pinnacle of the sport with his gold medal jump at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. His Olympic and American records—7 feet, 10 inches and 7 feet, 10.5 inches—have yet to be topped.
Austin still lives in San Marcos, where he runs So High Sports & Fitness, a gym he opened in 2008, and Total Body Board, a fitness equipment platform he invented. TXST remains a big part of his life—two of his three sons are Bobcats, and his wife, Nathalie Austin, is a clinical assistant professor in TXST’s medical laboratory science program.
Charles Austin talks TXST and motivation to be your best.
Head track coach John Frazier says Austin’s impact on Bobcat athletics lives on: “He shows athletes that you can compete at the highest level here at TXST and be successful.”
HOW DID YOU START HIGH JUMPING?
It was my senior year at Van Vleck High School. I was a basketball player, and I had some friends who kept bugging me to join the track team. The coach said, “If you can jump six feet, you can be on the team.” We went down to the high jump mat and put the bar at six feet. I’m in my school clothes, jeans and basketball shoes, and I took three or four steps—right over. They were like, “Are you kidding me? You’re on the team.”
Charles Austin, standing in his gym at So High Sports & Fitness. Behind him is the crossbar set at the height he jumped over to win the gold medal in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU’VE OVERCOME?
I would say changing my mindset and how I looked at life. After my sophomore year, I was getting really ticked off because my scholarship was pretty low compared to some others. I wasn’t handling my business. I would skip class and practice and go play basketball. Then Coach Light called me in and told me, “Hey, this is what I offered you. If you don’t like it, you can go back to Van Vleck. It’s up to you.” It was a wake-up call, because there was nothing back in Van Vleck. I realized I was hurting myself. It forced me to hold myself accountable, and not to expect that I deserved anything. I went to summer school, got my grades back up. And that was the first time I really committed myself to training. It put me in this mindset: “If I want something, I bust my ass and I get it.” That next year, I got second at the NCAA Championships, and I knew I could even go harder.
I THOUGHT YOU WOULD SAY YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE WAS TEARING YOUR PATELLA TENDON IN 1990.
No, that was easy. I kept jumping on it and won the world championship in ’91, but I could hardly walk after that. I talked to four different doctors, and they all said, “Your career’s over.” I had this mental pity party, but I found Dr. Jesse DeLee in San Antonio who said he’d try surgery. After the surgery [on July 7, 1993], I worked hard on the rehab, using resistance bands, and that October I started training again. I was back in the mix, but I was going 90%. There was fear. After the summer of ’95, I was like, enough of this. I got into the mindset of, “I’m going to get out here and train the way I want to, and one of two things is going to happen: I’m going to tear my knee up to the point that I can’t jump anymore, or I’m going to win the Olympics.”
ARE YOU SURPRISED YOUR RECORDS STILL STAND?
Not at all. It’s more fascinating, because over the years you’ve seen all these records fall left and right—the 100-meter, two-mile, whatever. My American record has been there since ’91 and the Olympic record since ’96. That’s what excites me about it—how long it’s been.
HOW DID YOU TRANSITION FROM COMPETING TO BEING A PERSONAL TRAINER?
My first client was NBA great John Starks in 2001. He called and said, “I feel I still have a little bit left, but I need somebody to train me.” High jumpers and basketball, they’re very similar. It was toward the end of my career, and I was trying to figure out what I was going to do next. I knew I couldn’t be jumping over a stick for the rest of my life.
SOUNDS LIKE IT WORKED OUT?
I coached and trained myself, so I just applied to him what I did for myself. And it turned out great. He did really well that year. Then I worked with David Robinson in his last year with the Spurs when they won the NBA championship. I was getting great results, and not only with athletes, but also with everyday individuals who wanted to lose weight, get in better shape, or recover from injury. More than anything, I’m helping people do stuff they had no idea was possible.
In addition to training clients at So High Fitness & Sports in San Marcos, Charles Austin developed the Total Body Board, a piece of equipment that uses resistance bands for a variety of exercises.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO STAY IN SAN MARCOS?
I could have lived anywhere—Houston, Dallas, even Europe. I had a lot of people after me to come here or there, but no. If it’s not broke, why try to fix it? I had everything I needed. The weather here is great for training, there were no distractions, and it was close to my mom in Van Vleck. I have absolutely no regrets with my decision to come to Texas State and stay here in San Marcos.
HOW HAS TXST CHANGED SINCE THE ’80S?
Man, when I came here in ’86, it was a shock. Even though Van Vleck was a small community, there was diversity, a little of everything. And when I came here, it was like the twilight zone. I didn’t see many people who looked like me here, and all the people who looked like me, they were mostly in sports. Over the years it got better, and this university has continued to grow. From back in ’86 to now, it’s a huge change. Just the growth of the university period, how they were able to turn things around, and the rankings for the university as a whole. It makes me proud to see that happen and to be a part of that journey.
WHY WAS TXST A GOOD PLACE FOR YOU?
Looking back on it, I know damn well it was a great place for me because even with the tough times, I grew. I had to mature, and that was the main thing. It put me in a position where I had to hold myself accountable. That was the foundation that I needed.
Big League Bobcats
Paul Goldschmidt, ’22: Seven-time MLB All Star and first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals. He left TXST in 2009 and completed his degree after starting his pro career.
Anicka Newell, ’16: Pole vaulter who represented Canada in the Summer Olympics in 2016, 2021, and 2024.
Jeff Novak, ’15: NFL offensive lineman who played for the NY Giants, Miami, and Jacksonville. He turned pro in 1990 and completed his degree in 2015.
Jeff Foster, ’09: Center for the NBA’s Indiana Pacers for 13 years.
Kristen Zaleski, ’04: Pitcher for five seasons in the National Pro Fastpitch League and now an assistant softball coach at University of Texas.
Lance Hoyt, ’02, aka “The Murderhawk” Lance Archer: Pro wrestler who’s competed in WWE, Japan Pro Wrestling, and All Elite Wrestling.
Brigitte Foster-Hylton, ’99: 100-meter hurdler represented Jamaica in the Summer Games in 2000, ’04, ’08, and ’12. She won the World Championship in the event in ’09.
