From the New York Times, "That Flashing Smile," by Eric Wilson, on August 2012 -- THUS far, the only real fashion moment to come out of the London Olympics belongs to Ryan Lochte and his custom-made American flag dental grill (or grillz, if you prefer). After winning a gold medal, the swimmer flashed a mouthful of stars-and-stripes-shaped diamonds that had been created for him by the rapper Paul Wall and Johnny Dang, a Houston jeweler to the hip-hop stars who goes by the handle of TV Johnny. It reportedly cost $25,000.
Mr. Lochte, who has worn grills at previous meets to show off his personality, as he has said, was actually asked not to wear this one on the podium. But there were plenty of opportunities for him to be photographed in it afterward, setting off a minor debate, not so much over a white swimmer’s appropriation of a style that became fashionable among rappers more than decade ago, but more about whether he could pull it off.
While the patriotic grill, all in all, seemed rather harmless, it nevertheless does not lend itself to many obvious endorsement opportunities for Mr. Lochte, as jewelers seemed to be fairly divided over the look. An online search for “grill” at Tiffany & Company, Kay Jewelers and Zales came back with zero results.
“I was really a bit upset when I saw it,” said Robert Tateossian, a designer who has been watching the Games closely. “It is so nonharmonious with his image and with the sport that he represents. Swimming is such an elegant sport. It is all about softness, like the softness of the water.”
On the pro-grill side was the designer Philip Crangi, who said that Mr. Lochte could somehow pull it off. But he also admitted to being generally bedazzled by the swimmer.
“I am kind of into the grill,” Mr. Crangi said. “It’s like a tiara for men.”
He is not alone. Tony Khan, the operations manager for Johnny Dang, said the company, which has two stores in Houston, has received hundreds of inquiries about the grill. It was completely Mr. Lochte’s design, he said, and quite complicated to produce with believable stars and stripes on high-quality diamonds.
“We weren’t sure we would be able to pull it off,” Mr. Khan said. “We only have a little bit of space in our mouths.” (source: The New York Times)
