WEBVTT - I’m Here So I’m Gonna Win with Mikaela Shiffrin 0:00:01.240 --> 0:00:04.200 Hello, Hello Catherine. 0:00:04.519 --> 0:00:08.000 Hi Chelsea, Hi, Hi, you. 0:00:07.920 --> 0:00:10.719 Are fresh off your Vegas residency. 0:00:11.160 --> 0:00:11.760 Oh my god. 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:15.360 It was so ridiculous. We kicked it off. We kicked 0:00:15.360 --> 0:00:18.759 off my Vegas residency. It was fucking epic. I had 0:00:18.800 --> 0:00:21.960 the thunder from down Under guys carry me out on stage. 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:23.880 They were like, should we do this? I'm like, I 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:26.880 don't see why not. And then I had Natasha Lazeiro 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:28.080 open for me. 0:00:28.440 --> 0:00:29.360 Oh fantastic. 0:00:29.560 --> 0:00:32.640 I hadn't gotten to perform with her in like twenty years, 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:34.360 so that was fucking so much fun. 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:36.040 I had a bunch of friends come. 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:39.320 Of course, we all went gambling after, and even though 0:00:39.360 --> 0:00:41.440 I left with less money than I started with, I 0:00:41.520 --> 0:00:44.280 was supporting my whole table with their gambling because once 0:00:44.280 --> 0:00:46.560 everyone ran out of money, I started handing out chips, 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:47.200 you know how I. 0:00:47.159 --> 0:00:47.600 Like to do that. 0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:49.920 Of course, So I consider it to be a huge 0:00:49.960 --> 0:00:53.519 win anyway, because I still left with money and I 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:56.800 didn't blow it all, and I'm just so excited about 0:00:56.800 --> 0:01:00.120 this residency. We flew in at like four o'clock. I 0:01:00.160 --> 0:01:02.600 went down to the bar, made some surprise drinks for 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:05.080 some customers because they have a Chelsea drink there now 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:08.200 in my honor excellent Chelsea at the cons of my 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:11.360 hotel and then yeah, I can't. I'm just it was 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:14.759 really fun and it's it was huge. I was like, whoa, 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:17.360 this is a big deal. So yeah, my next dates 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:21.600 are November second and November thirtieth, and then all throughout 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:25.760 the year. So check my schedule. Mofos and this week 0:01:25.800 --> 0:01:29.839 and I'm coming to Foxwood's in Connecticut and Portland, Maine. 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:32.080 I'm going to be in performing in Oh my gosh, 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:33.720 do you have somebody Importland, Maine. 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:38.760 We went to a gorgeous restaurant called Eventide, and we 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:42.319 started chatting with the bartender and her name was also 0:01:42.400 --> 0:01:44.360 Catherine with a seat and you know, she says, what 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:46.039 do you do? And we started talking about podcasts and 0:01:46.040 --> 0:01:47.960 all those of the podcast on she goes, oh, Chelsea 0:01:48.000 --> 0:01:48.800 Hndler's been in here. 0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:50.320 So I was like, great, that's perfect. 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:52.120 So you've got to go back to Eventide and say 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:53.280 hi to Catherine if you're there. 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:54.320 Is that in Portland? 0:01:54.800 --> 0:01:56.000 Yes, in Portland, Maine. 0:01:56.200 --> 0:01:58.280 Is there a like a bar in the middle of 0:01:58.320 --> 0:01:59.000 the restaurant. 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:01.800 Yeah, it's like a big bar in the middle of 0:02:01.840 --> 0:02:04.280 the restaurant, part oyster bar, part bar bar. 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:07.720 Yes, I know exactly what you're talking about. Yes, yeah, 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:08.840 that's cute. That's cute. 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:11.440 I'm on an oyster kick lately, so I'm really going 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:13.840 after it. Doug did not make it to Vegas. He 0:02:13.880 --> 0:02:16.880 came to my show on Friday night, and he's such 0:02:16.880 --> 0:02:17.560 a dream boat. 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:20.119 I mean he is so affectionate with men too. 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:22.720 Now, oh good, Yeah, he. 0:02:22.760 --> 0:02:25.200 Is really just he's getting better and better and better. 0:02:25.280 --> 0:02:28.680 It's like I want to do like an ambastardorship for chows. 0:02:29.320 --> 0:02:30.120 Got a rebrand? 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:32.000 Yeah, I want to rebrand chows. 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:33.440 They really are sweet dogs. 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:35.280 I think they get a bad rap because they were 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:38.120 like bread for fighting, but like they're really really mushy. 0:02:38.480 --> 0:02:42.960 Yeah. I mean they're originally from China, so whatever that means. 0:02:42.560 --> 0:02:45.280 Just like pugs, we both have Chinese dogs. 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:46.840 Yeah, I mean who knew? 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:48.000 Who knew? 0:02:48.360 --> 0:02:50.440 Well, this week we have an awesome gas. 0:02:50.560 --> 0:02:52.799 I'm just so happy to have this person on my podcast. 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:55.440 For those of you who do not follow skiing, she 0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:59.280 is the winningest skier of all time, and yes that 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:02.600 is the word they use. She has broken every record 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:07.240 in skiing. She is the ultimate champion and I just 0:03:07.320 --> 0:03:09.000 am in such awe of her and her name is 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:11.760 Mikhayla Schiffrin and I get the pleasure of speaking with 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:22.600 her today. Please welcome Mikayla Schiffrin. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeay, yay. 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:26.360 I'm so excited to introduce our very special guest today 0:03:26.360 --> 0:03:29.200 because it's very hard to pin this woman down. She's very, 0:03:29.720 --> 0:03:33.400 very fucking busy. Okay, she is. She's not gonna like 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:35.400 this intro. She's gonna get shy, but I don't care. 0:03:35.720 --> 0:03:36.360 She is the. 0:03:36.280 --> 0:03:40.560 Winningest alpine ski racer of all time. Or you could 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:43.440 also refer to her as the greatest alpine ski racer 0:03:43.720 --> 0:03:46.880 of all time. Or you could refer to her as 0:03:46.920 --> 0:03:51.560 a two time Olympic champion and a seven time World 0:03:51.640 --> 0:03:56.920 champion and a five time overalled World Cup champion. This 0:03:57.040 --> 0:04:01.960 woman is fucking phenomenal. And her name is Mikayla Shiffrid. Welcome, Mikaela. 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:03.200 I'm dying. 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:04.240 I know, thank you. 0:04:04.960 --> 0:04:07.600 I know you're shy and that you're low key, and 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.200 that this is embarrassing for you, and that was my intention. 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:16.320 I expected nothing less, No, thank you. That was amazing. 0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:17.400 Oh my god, how are you. 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:19.880 Oh I'm so happy to see your face. This is Catherine, 0:04:19.920 --> 0:04:22.640 my producer. Hi, welcome to Dear Chelsea. 0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:24.560 Thank you. I'm so happy to be here. 0:04:24.600 --> 0:04:26.000 I know, I'm so happy I get to see you 0:04:26.040 --> 0:04:27.040 face to face. Finally. 0:04:27.040 --> 0:04:30.120 We've DMed before and you've talked a little bit, you know, 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:32.520 little short messages, but we've never really gotten a chance 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:34.760 to talk. So I know you're so busy and that 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:37.359 you just came back from Paris and you got to 0:04:37.440 --> 0:04:41.160 be a spectator. So yes, first tell me what that 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:43.960 was like, because it must have been so nice to 0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:47.520 watch people perform and be at their at their best 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:49.839 without actually having to do much on your own. 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:52.359 You're totally right, it was. I was kind of like, 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:57.320 m this spectating thing is pretty nice. It was amazing. 0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:00.000 I mean, those athletes, they're insane, and even the athlete 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:03.359 who don't win, the athletes who are maybe expected to 0:05:03.360 --> 0:05:05.960 win and don't win, but you're like, you're just I 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:08.200 don't know. Somehow, taking a step back and watching it 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:11.279 from that perspective opened my eyes a little bit to 0:05:11.360 --> 0:05:14.640 Like when we're there and I'm racing and I'm feeling 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:16.400 the pressure and I feel like it's the be all 0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:18.599 end all, like this is the end of the world, 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:21.960 and I'm looking back at it, I'm like, holy shit, no, 0:05:22.160 --> 0:05:24.400 Like everybody here is really good and this is like 0:05:24.440 --> 0:05:26.680 a really good show. I don't know if it takes 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:29.440 pressure off or it puts pressure on or it changes 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:30.960 that at all, but it just gives me like a 0:05:30.960 --> 0:05:32.080 little bit of perspective. 0:05:32.520 --> 0:05:34.920 It was super inspirational, so it was good time. 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:37.479 Well, it was also very poignant as a woman. 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:41.400 The whole conversation around mental health and what happened with 0:05:41.440 --> 0:05:44.520 Simone Biles just really kind of kicked this Olympics off 0:05:44.920 --> 0:05:48.719 in a way that made everybody aware of the power 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:51.559 of being an athlete and the power of actually taking 0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:55.400 care of yourself right, and the power of standing up 0:05:55.440 --> 0:05:58.280 for yourself in a sport, which was just true of 0:05:58.560 --> 0:06:02.000 most sports where people don't aren't allowed the room to 0:06:02.000 --> 0:06:05.479 stand up for themselves, or they have male coaches that 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:08.680 are in a complete dysfunctional power dynamic where you're just 0:06:08.720 --> 0:06:11.720 being worked worked, worked, worked worked, And I just thought 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:15.000 it was so empowering to have someone come back and 0:06:15.520 --> 0:06:17.760 kick ass in the way that she did. And then 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:20.640 all the other female athletes who got gold medals, and 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:23.560 all of the black female athletes that got gold medals, ye, 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:26.559 and the black excellence that we saw, you know, during 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:29.640 these Olympics, it was on full display. So I know 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:32.760 you talk a lot, You've spoken a lot about your 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:36.760 own mental health and your own journey its struggles, however 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:38.839 you want to frame it. So what was it like 0:06:38.920 --> 0:06:41.560 for you as an athlete having experienced all of those 0:06:41.600 --> 0:06:45.279 things seeing it demonstrated and spoken about in this very 0:06:45.279 --> 0:06:46.039 public way. 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:50.640 I think that the whole experience made me feel really grateful, 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:53.760 like really appreciative. Like I was actually thinking about this 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:55.840 last night, not to be weird, but in the shower, 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:58.400 like where I do most of my thinking thinking about someone. 0:06:58.680 --> 0:07:04.000 So I was like, shit. She tweeted something about, like 0:07:04.040 --> 0:07:06.719 stop asking us what we're gonna do right after we 0:07:06.760 --> 0:07:09.960 win an Olympic medal, like I'm gonna go babysit my medal, 0:07:10.080 --> 0:07:11.840 that kind of thing, and I was laughing at it. 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:15.200 So I was like, that is true, and good for 0:07:15.280 --> 0:07:18.880 her for actually calling that out, because I always wait, 0:07:19.040 --> 0:07:21.000 I walk away from those conversations like why am I 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:24.520 so frustrated that this person is interested in what I 0:07:24.520 --> 0:07:26.240 want to do with my life and what I'm doing 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:28.800 after this. But the fact is you're like I didn't 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:32.000 have like a really really thought out plan for the 0:07:32.040 --> 0:07:34.440 next three month. Like we were like, we're just trying 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:37.040 to get here so far, so like we're kind of 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:39.240 making it up as we go. But the other side 0:07:39.240 --> 0:07:41.680 of it is nobody really knows how to say thank 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:45.400 you face to face. Like honestly, all we really want 0:07:45.400 --> 0:07:48.120 to say to her is thank you. 0:07:47.840 --> 0:07:51.240 Right, yeah, on behalf of female athletes, you know, yeah, 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:54.200 I hear what you're saying, and I know that you've 0:07:54.240 --> 0:07:57.760 had a lot of similar experiences although it's a completely 0:07:57.760 --> 0:07:59.880 different sport. It's so interesting to look at all the 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:03.360 different sports, right because there's like in Mikaela's sport, there's 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:06.200 different disciplines. She trains for different disciplines, which is kind 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:08.440 of unheard of. You have to have like completely separate 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:11.120 training programs. She's not just doing one thing, she's doing 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:14.440 multiple things. And for a lot of these athletes, like gymnasts, 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:16.840 they are also doing multiple things. They're doing floor routines, 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:19.040 they're doing the uneven bars, they're doing the horse and 0:08:19.080 --> 0:08:21.920 all of those things. But for you, Mikaela, I know 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:24.360 you've been through tough times. I know your dad passed away. 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:27.680 You've spoken about that publicly, very beautifully and you started 0:08:27.720 --> 0:08:31.040 a foundation in his name. You went through a difficult 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:35.640 season understandably so after your dad passed away, and the 0:08:35.679 --> 0:08:39.559 next year you came back and basically broke every record 0:08:39.640 --> 0:08:43.000 that was possible. So for men and women, I mean, 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:46.040 she has more or wins than men and women. So 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:48.680 so tell us a little bit about that now that 0:08:48.760 --> 0:08:51.720 you have some perspective and what you learned and where 0:08:51.760 --> 0:08:54.800 your greatest source of strength came from, because I know 0:08:54.960 --> 0:08:57.560 you must have felt so so low at times and 0:08:57.880 --> 0:09:00.520 not wanting to even compete and then you know, not 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:03.480 competing well or at your best, and how you turn 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:05.920 that around because it's all so similar. 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:09.480 Yeah, I think our greatest source of strength is time. 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:14.480 It's just being able to give yourself the grace of 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:18.040 taking time. And we don't really we're not trained to 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:20.600 do that as athletes. We're trained to be faster and 0:09:20.640 --> 0:09:23.080 to go faster and to do things better and quicker 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:26.960 and stronger, and it's all like strength is taken very literally. 0:09:27.040 --> 0:09:30.240 It's like how much weight can you squat and whatever, 0:09:30.800 --> 0:09:33.840 how fast you can get down the mountain. And for me, 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:37.640 that first season after my dad passed was like this 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:41.160 grace period season in my own mind, it was like, 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:44.600 I just want to actually figure out. That whole season 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:47.800 for me was helping me decide if I still wanted 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:50.719 to be a ski racer. And I just didn't want 0:09:50.760 --> 0:09:54.920 to quit before I gave myself a real chance to try. 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:58.560 But there were so many points during that season where 0:09:58.559 --> 0:10:00.880 I just wanted to stop. I mean, I think it 0:10:00.960 --> 0:10:03.040 was about a week and a half before going to 0:10:03.080 --> 0:10:06.240 the Olympics. I remember having this race I just had 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:09.480 COVID twenty twenty two, was two years after my dad 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:12.160 had passed away. But you're still like, Okay. 0:10:11.920 --> 0:10:15.160 I want to be doing this. But even then, I was. 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:18.120 At a ski race in Austria and I was fifth 0:10:18.160 --> 0:10:21.160 after the first run, not that far off. I had 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:23.120 a chance to pull back time in the second run 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:28.040 and potentially win, and I was having like a full 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:32.000 on breakdown with my mom in the car. 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:32.960 In the parking lot. 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:36.240 We didn't go to like the athlete hospitality that's what 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:38.040 they call, but it's really a tent and a parking 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:39.680 lot at the bottom of a ski race. 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:41.360 It's just like where we go between runs. 0:10:42.160 --> 0:10:44.640 But we had gotten off in our separate space and 0:10:44.720 --> 0:10:47.480 I was bawling. I was like, I want to go home, 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:50.160 and she's like, you're not. You didn't ski that bad, 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:52.360 like you have a good chance at this race. I'm like, no, 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:55.040 it's not about that. I'm so tired. I just spent 0:10:55.920 --> 0:10:59.000 almost two weeks in quarantine. The Olympics are coming up, 0:10:59.000 --> 0:11:03.040 and into two weeks I had COVID as close to 0:11:03.080 --> 0:11:05.240 the games as you could possibly have it without it 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:08.600 keeping you from being able to participate, which means you're 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:11.360 stuck inside basically in a hotel room for ten days 0:11:11.520 --> 0:11:13.840 right before you go to the Olympic Games. I was like, 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:18.000 I'm just tired. I'm tired from not doing anything. I'm 0:11:18.040 --> 0:11:20.320 tired from not being able to train, like training and 0:11:20.400 --> 0:11:24.120 skiing gives me life. And I'm just so frustrated and 0:11:24.160 --> 0:11:27.440 I don't care about this race this like this race 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:29.240 has nothing to do with it or whether I win 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:32.040 or not. Like that's really I couldn't care less, but 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:34.520 I want to I just want to be home. The 0:11:34.600 --> 0:11:36.600 thing that would make me feel good right now is 0:11:36.840 --> 0:11:42.880 by booking a plane ticket home. And she was like, Okay, okay, 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:46.600 let's just get through the second run and then we'll 0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:49.800 get back to our lodging and we'll book the ticket 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:52.320 and I was like, Okay, I can do that, and 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:54.800 then I ended up pulling back. It was like I 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:56.680 had given up and then ended pulling back the race, 0:11:56.760 --> 0:11:59.200 winning the race. It was this whole historic thing because 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:01.920 this first time that the women had raced and schladming, 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:03.800 which is normally a men's venu, and it was this 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:07.400 whole exciting ordeal and I was just like totally withdrawn 0:12:07.440 --> 0:12:09.520 from the whole thing. And it was the first time 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:12.880 that I actually drank the champagne bottle that they gave up, 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:16.360 and it's like a big it's a big bottle. I 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:19.560 was like, give that fucking thing. It was just like 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:21.760 I don't know exactly where I'm going with that. 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:24.080 No, I hear your story, But what do you think 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:26.520 of that? Do you look at that as like a lesson? 0:12:26.640 --> 0:12:29.160 Do you think because I mean, it's so true in 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:31.680 the moments where we're ready to give up and I'm 0:12:31.720 --> 0:12:34.520 pleasing I'm not grouping myself in with you as an athlete, 0:12:34.800 --> 0:12:37.880 but in the life moments that we're all ready to 0:12:37.960 --> 0:12:40.920 give up, that's when miracles do happen. 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:41.800 You know. 0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:45.119 It's where like all of your training, all of your discipline, 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:48.400 all of your expertise kind of comes in sometimes when 0:12:48.400 --> 0:12:52.760 you're not available to do it yourself, everything else works 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:53.520 for you, like. 0:12:53.480 --> 0:12:57.560 The instinct that you've trained actually takes over. Because I 0:12:57.600 --> 0:12:59.960 just didn't have a capacity to think or to really 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:02.920 care at that point, right, So then I was just 0:13:02.960 --> 0:13:06.280 like purely skiing and it was one of the best 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:09.560 runs I've ever taken. It was like raw, I almost 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:13.480 want to say, unemotional. It was just skiing and it 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:16.640 was a pretty pivotal moment for me. But then all 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.240 I needed was just to get through this moment. I 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:21.120 just needed to put one foot in front of the other. 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:24.680 I just needed time and it's going to take longer 0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:27.040 than that, and it, you know, I didn't like I 0:13:27.080 --> 0:13:30.120 struggled through the Olympics, and I struggled on and off 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:33.560 that season. I also had amazing results. I won some 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:36.880 races and it wasn't a bad season altogether. It was 0:13:36.960 --> 0:13:41.240 just like it was just a mentally and emotionally challenging season, 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:45.520 and every season presents something that's challenging. So since then, 0:13:45.600 --> 0:13:48.960 I've just been like time and breathe through it, and like, 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:53.680 when I'm feeling really shitty, just give myself the grace 0:13:53.720 --> 0:13:54.400 of time. 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:57.280 And then season twenty twenty three, which was last year 0:13:57.760 --> 0:14:01.520 when you went buck wild one race after another. 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:02.640 I can't even tell you. 0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:04.640 It was just And I have friends in the ski 0:14:04.880 --> 0:14:07.240 that run the US ski and snowboard teams, so they 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:10.000 are always updating me on Michael information if I'm not 0:14:10.040 --> 0:14:12.480 in the country or something, because I just I just 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:16.120 fucking love watching you excel. I mean, it just brings 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:18.679 me such joy. And I can only imagine how your 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:21.040 own fucking mother feels. I mean, she must be bouncing 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:24.760 off the walls. But how did that feel when you came? 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:26.840 Like I mean, and I know it's not effortless, of 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:29.240 course it's not. It's years and years of training and 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:32.320 it's and it's talent. It's innate talent that you are 0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:34.000 honing all of the time. 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:36.920 So how did it feel? Well, how does it feel. 0:14:36.720 --> 0:14:38.880 When you're on a run like that and you keep winning, 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:40.600 you keep coming in first. 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:41.840 Does it feel lucky? 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:44.400 Like do you feel like, Okay, finally I'm in charge 0:14:44.440 --> 0:14:46.160 of this or does it feel fragile? 0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:47.880 That is so interesting. 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:50.480 It feels kind of a mix of everything, Like it's 0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:53.280 on the one side, it's knowing that that run could 0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:56.000 end at any moment, because it really depends on how 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:58.360 the other athletes are skiing and if they figure it out, 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:01.400 if they change their sk boots and that boot just 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:03.040 gives them a little extra power, and all of a 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:06.120 sudden they figure out their timing and they just and 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:09.560 they're just become faster. Like those are things that were 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:14.040 sort of that's what we're battling every race, and this 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:19.360 season I just had the edge on everyone more often 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:21.560 than not. And then there was a whole record that 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:25.080 was the that was the record season, and I was 0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:27.760 in this mindset where I was like, I don't care 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:29.680 about the record. I don't care about it, and I'm 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:32.000 and people are gonna ask and I'm used to them asking, 0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:34.800 so that doesn't even bother me anymore. And I did 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:37.320 a pretty good job. My whole team, we all did 0:15:37.360 --> 0:15:40.040 a really good job to kind of put that whole 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:42.760 thing aside, so we really just focused on the skiing. 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:46.000 And it's like sometimes the season with the seasons with 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:50.640 the most opportunity, where most people would start to get greedy, 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:53.920 I tend to like settle in and just be like, well, 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:56.720 one race at a time, one training day at a time, 0:15:57.280 --> 0:15:59.840 Like I'm not taking this for granted. I'm this might 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:02.480 I might not win tomorrow, so I'm like gonna do 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:04.480 the best that I can today and then we'll focus 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:06.840 on tomorrow when it happens. And I just am really 0:16:06.880 --> 0:16:08.960 really present in the moment. And that was how that 0:16:09.040 --> 0:16:12.480 season was. It was just like not fragile, but just 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:15.520 like very grateful. I guess the headline for the season 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:18.160 was gratitude. Those are my best seasons ever, is when 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:19.960 I'm just kind of feeling grateful. 0:16:20.440 --> 0:16:22.960 Yeah, And I think that applies to a lot of 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:25.040 different things too, you know. I think when you do 0:16:25.160 --> 0:16:28.320 have the gratitude for what your experience, the abundance does come. 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:30.600 Because she didn't just break the record, she just kept 0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:34.080 breaking it and breaking it over and over again. And 0:16:34.120 --> 0:16:37.960 then this past season she got hurt. You tore your mcl. 0:16:37.600 --> 0:16:41.240 Right MCL then, and I explained my ankle, which sounds 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:42.880 like so stupid, but that thing. 0:16:42.800 --> 0:16:44.600 That is what hurt the most. 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:45.640 So ny and ankle. 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:48.040 I just can't take any of your injuries seriously because 0:16:48.280 --> 0:16:50.160 they don't seem to keep you down for very long. 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:53.680 So I'm sorry for my lack of my lack of combassion. 0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:56.120 Nobody knew nobody knew about the ankle because I didn't. 0:16:56.160 --> 0:16:58.320 I was like, oh, I hurt my knee, but the 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:01.680 ankle kind of we it later. It doesn't matter. Now. 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:04.800 Your fiance was in a brutal ski accident. And this 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:07.760 ski accident was like it was real. It was really 0:17:07.800 --> 0:17:10.399 difficult to even hear about. I can't even imagine what 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:14.400 you guys went through. His name is Alexander, and they've 0:17:14.400 --> 0:17:17.440 been dating for I think three years, right, mckaiah, right, yep. 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:20.760 So he's in a terrible ski accident, which happened first. 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:23.720 His happened first. Mine was a couple of weeks later. 0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:26.040 And his correct me if I'm wrong, hit a major artery, 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:28.320 and if he hadn't been on a ski mountain with 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:31.800 professional help so close by, it could have been really disastrous. 0:17:32.400 --> 0:17:37.000 His was life threatening. He missed the artery, thankfully, because 0:17:37.040 --> 0:17:39.960 he would have died, but he cut his cat He 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:43.800 basically cut his leg almost clean off, and he severed 0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:47.560 a nerve like the most important motor function and sensory 0:17:47.600 --> 0:17:51.080 nerve for your entire lower leg. So he completely lost 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:53.920 feeling in his foot and motor control, and the motor 0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:57.520 control is now coming back, thankfully. But the feeling is 0:17:57.920 --> 0:18:00.720 likely never going to really come back. And his shoulder. 0:18:00.920 --> 0:18:03.960 So the leg is actually now in pretty good shape, 0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:07.480 but the shoulder, the doctor basically said that his surgeon 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:09.560 basically said, I've been doing this. 0:18:09.480 --> 0:18:10.280 For like twenty years. 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:13.919 I've never seen an accident a shoulder, Like I just 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:17.480 presented on the worst rotator cuff injuries I've ever seen 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:20.480 two weeks ago, and I wish I was doing that 0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:22.880 presentation now because this is the worst I've ever seen, 0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:24.520 and we're like. 0:18:24.560 --> 0:18:26.120 Oh good, what does that mean? 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:29.280 But he he was doing really really well, he was 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:33.440 improving really well, and then this like fluke freak thing 0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:36.560 happened a couple weeks ago and he got an infection 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:39.160 in the shoulder and or they found it a couple 0:18:39.200 --> 0:18:41.639 weeks ago. It was like festering underneath for a while. 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:46.000 So that's like a fairly big setback. But overall he 0:18:46.160 --> 0:18:51.560 is so positive and now he's like, Okay, well this 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:54.400 absolutely sucks, but I'm gonna just these are the cars 0:18:54.440 --> 0:18:56.320 I'm dealt now, so let's take that. And that like 0:18:56.359 --> 0:18:59.720 he signed up to do some studies like an online 0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:02.639 core for the next eight weeks and he can't do 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:05.399