THE ICE MAN COMETH

CENTRAL PA OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATER JOHNNY WEIR

It’s February 9 and three-time U.S. Figure Skating Champion Johnny Weir is resting comfortably in seat 1B on a flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Denver, Colorado. From Denver, Weir will fly to Vancouver, where he will compete in his second Olympic Games.

This flight is one of the few moments of the last several weeks that the 25-year-old Lancaster County native has had to rest. It will be one of the few moments in the weeks to follow. Weir’s training regiment, which he calls “mind-bogglingly hardcore,” leaves little time for leisure. But for Weir, who, at the age of 12, began ice skating on the cornfield behind his Quarryville home, the chance to redeem his disappointing fifth-place finish at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy, makes it all worthwhile.

The 2006 games were successful, however, in catapulting the flashy, flamboyant, eccentric and outspoken skater into worldwide consciousness. As the crowned prince of figure skating, Weir has experienced the good, including his own Sundance Channel reality show, Be Good Johnny Weir, and the bad, such as pre-Olympic criticism over the real fox fur on one of his many self-made costumes.
Somewhere over Missouri, Weir takes a few minutes out of his valuable R&R to reflect with Fly (via e-mail) on his career, his Central PA fans and life as the most engaging personality in figure skating.

Fly Magazine: This is your second Olympic games – tell me how it               feels to be a part of an event like this, particularly walking into the opening ceremony.
Johnny Weir: The opening ceremony is amazing. You walk in with                         your nation’s flag with all your countrymen and they announce the United States of America and a giant crowd roars. The feeling of accomplishment to compete in an Olympic Games is overwhelming. I’m living a dream I set for myself when I was 12 and still skating on frozen cornfields.

FM: How physically demanding is the road to the Olympics?
JW: I have performed and trained with almost any injury or illness under the sun. When you want to be an Olympian, there is no room for “I can’t.” I competed a whole season with my tibia cracking in half. And they say figure skating isn’t a tough sport.

FM: I’ve read that you are a big fan of Russian culture. Do you look forward to seeing the Russians – or any other country’s athletes – at the Olympics?
JW: I have so many friends from Russia and many of them will be competing. I am excited to see my Russians. At the 2006 Olympics in Torino, I traded my USA jacket with a cross-country skier from Kazakhstan, so I’m hoping for more trades and exchanges in Vancouver.

FM: Do you still get nervous out on the ice?
JW: In any realm of performance, I think if you don’t get nervous it means you don’t care. I always get nervous. It helps keep your adrenaline running. But there are those moments when you think, “Why do I do this to myself?”

FM: How do you focus and calm your nerves before skating?
JW: I talk with my coach, Galina Zmievskaya, and keep myself grounded. I try not to let any event get too big for me. I keep everything in perspective, and that helps with my nerves.

FM: Tell me a little bit about the relationship between a skater and his or her coach.
JW: A coach can be many things in a skater’s life – mother, lover, friend, sister, psychiatrist, shoulder to cry on. It all depends what you need. A good coach can be all of these things. My relationship with Galina Zmievskaya is very strong because the base is work and professionalism. I work to impress her every day and she takes care of my professional career as an athlete. When I changed from my longtime coach, Priscilla Hill, it was to change from a very mothering situation that I was in to a very professional and hard-working situation that I’m in with Galina. While being a taskmaster and perfectionist, Galina is also a loving friend and ally and I know she will always help me if she can. My reputation and Galina’s reputation is on both of our shoulders, so we both work to keep each other on the A-list.

FM: What does winning an Olympic medal mean to you?
JW: Figure skating medals aren’t won by a stopwatch or number of goals scored. We’re judged by strangers. I can’t control winning a medal. What I can control is competing to the best of my ability and leaving a piece of my soul on the ice. That’s what’s important to me – leaving my soul and opening my heart for my fans. An Olympic medal would be icing on top of my cake, but in no way does a medal define me. I define myself.

FM: How would you explain Johnny Weir to people who are not familiar with you?
JW: Oh goodness … a micromanaging, opinionated perfectionist with a pension for Balenciaga bags and cell phones, who happens to be an Olympic-level figure skater representing the USA and the world of individuals and eccentrics.

FM: There seems to be a lot of speculation from people concerning your sexuality. Is your sexuality something that you feel is important for people to know about you, to understand you?
JW: Absolutely not. I think people should be judged on who they are, not what they are. Sexuality is such a small part of what makes a person an individual addition to society. If my sexuality is important to you, chances are I’m sleeping with you.
FM: You’re a very outspoken and opinionated person and don’t seem to care much about the media or public opinion. Where does that strength and confidence come from?’

JW: I get my strength from my family and the people I surround myself with. I have a very small circle of confidants and we push each other to make a difference by showing the world the true you. My parents always told me growing up that there is nothing I can’t be and nothing I shouldn’t do or try. When you grow up in an environment where freedom of expression and freedom of self is applauded, you have little time for people who don’t live in that world with you. I live for me, my family and my fans.

FM: You’ve been called “the most engaging personality in figure skating.” Why do you think so many people connect with you?
JW: I think people can connect with me because I make myself available to them and I am open and honest with them. There is no wall. I don’t fake anything for anyone – and I will never start – so people know I’m genuine if I say something.

FM: Even though you left Lancaster County at a young age, you have a very supportive fan base here.
JW: There is no place like home. I make it back to Lancaster County a few times a year and I never want to leave. I have been all over the world and the one place that is always and forever number one in my soul is Lancaster County. I can belong everywhere, but nowhere is home. I get very nostalgic sometimes and dream about building a house somewhere near my roots in Quarryville. That time will come.

FM: Have you been pleased with the positive response your show Be Good Johnny Weir has received?
JW: The show is doing so well. I was very nervous to show the world my life and have everyone judging my every move, but at the same time I am so happy to show a side of figure skating that not many people get the chance to see. I am also happy to show who Johnny Weir is.

FM: Were there any concerns that the show could be a distraction from your training?