Olympic gymnast and Massachusetts native Frederick Richard said he aims to change men's gymnastics by debuting a new uniform he says is more modern.

Richard, who grew up in Stoughton, said he always wore looser clothing when training. He criticized the men's uniform of a leotard under stirrup pants, calling it uncomfortable and dated.

Criticizes men's gymnastics uniforms

"Right now, guys are wearing leotards, which means it is a one piece under the pommel pants, riding up your crotch, it's tight. And it just never felt comfortable and I've just always wondered like, 'Why do I have to wear this?' And now I realize we don't we have to, we can make a change to it," Richard said in an interview Friday with WBZ-TV.

At the U.S. Championships earlier this month, Richard debuted shorts with compression leggings underneath. As a result, he received a points deduction but he said he'd proud of what he's doing.

"Number one, it just makes me proud to know that I am doing things other people aren't doing, I'm trying new things I'm passionate about, going after things I believe in, being myself, having fun with it. So all of that just kind of makes it really fun and I feel like my younger self would be proud," Richard said.

Says gymnastics needs to think of audience

Richard said he feels the men's gymnastics uniforms need to be modernized while also being comfortable for gymnasts.

"From a design element, I still think the look of the old uniforms just doesn't fit this day and age. I never felt comfortable in it, I never felt cool in it when I was growing up in school...I never liked the style of it," Richard said.

As for his Olympic teammates, including Worcester native Stephen Nedoroscik, he said they "definitely" support his mission. He called on men's gymnastics to make changes, as they have an audience they need to sustain, as even a year after the Olympics, the U.S. Championships didn't draw a big crowd.

"I think a lot of people still have respect for me for being bold enough to try new things, try to make changes. Our sport needs a lot of people trying a lot of new things in different areas," he said. "I feel like all of this is necessary to change the product to a product that does fill the crowds. It does make people watch on TV be interested."