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Welcome to the Dom Harvey podcast sponsored by Generate. Great conversations with fascinating people.
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On this episode, Kiwi ski legend Alice Robinson. She skis downhill at 140 km an hour.
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>> Like in the offseason I've been having to think about skiing a lot more than I
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usually do because normally I can come back to New Zealand and just check out. This year I found a lot more um interest
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just because of the Olympics coming Is it something you think about every day when you're training or like or do you
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have >> do you have any like post-it notes on the bathroom mirror or >> just have like my screen saver? It's
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just a picture of Cortina. >> We talk about fear. We talk about pressure and why her mindset heading
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into the 2026 Winter Olympics is very different to anything that's come before.
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>> Oh, good. You're here. Come on. This is the center of performance. Whenever
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there's a top performance in New Zealand, it all comes from here. That's
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Lisa Carrington. She's been doing that for days. That's the boys who got the
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hole in one in Tour. >> He did it again. Hey Finn, how's the performance going?
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>> Top tier. >> Nice. This is our generate room. In here, you'll find our top performers
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helping Kiwis maximize their Kiwi Saver investments. Get in here, Finn. >> Maximize. Generate.
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>> Putting performance first. >> Alice Robinson, welcome to my podcast.
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>> Thanks so much for having me. >> It's We We literally just met like 2
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minutes ago in the car park. >> We did. That was a quick meeting and now we're into it.
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>> Now we're into it. And uh this is going to be good. Now one your specialty is um
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what's it called? DS >> GS. >> GS what's >> so it's giant slum.
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>> So it's like the technical like on the technical side of like ski racing events
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it's called um like if you think of a basic turn if you imagine skiing that's
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kind of what giant slum is. Yeah. >> That's a terrible start by me getting that mixed I've watched um so
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much of you in the past week as well. So your your event's like 2 minutes 2 minutes of
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>> um chaos. So it's like also giant song's two runs and then it's your combined
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time. So it's like a minute a run basically. And then when I do super G and downhill then it gets a bit it's one
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run and it's more like between a minute and a half to 2 minutes. Yeah. >> And you're going at just a a terrifying
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pace like a like a 100k an hour on the snow. >> Um yeah. So GS is a little bit slower
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because the turns are a bit closer together but super G and downhill you can get up to I think the fastest I've
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gone is like 140 138 which is pretty quick. Yeah. >> Oh my god. Well, since you like doing
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everything at pace, which is actually the opposite of what this podcast is. It's a long form conversation.
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>> Make sure I'm not talking too fast. >> I thought I thought we could start with
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like a quick fire section. So, we'll just go through these really quickly. >> Sounds good.
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>> Okay. Favorite chiliff snack wash down with a red ball, of course. >> Oh. Um, gummy bears.
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>> Who takes you first after a big race? >> Um, probably mom. Mom and dad. Yeah.
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Do they travel with you much? >> Um, they normally come for about like a month in the middle of the season, but
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they're not around all the time. But, um, they love it. Yeah. When they can.
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>> They They couldn't be with you full-time, e, because you're out of the
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country like half the year. >> Yeah. Yeah. At least half the year, maybe a little bit more.
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>> Most underrated part of being a pro skier. >> Ooh. Underrated. >> Free stuff. What do you get?
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>> Yeah, I think probably, yeah, the free stuff. I mean, getting to go to so many
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cool, amazing ski resorts. Um, traveling. Yeah. I mean, it's I love most of it to
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be fair. >> First thing you do when you get home to Queenstown? >> Oh, um, hang out with my dogs. Um,
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honestly, just like go and stand outside and be in the scenery because it's so
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beautiful. It's like you don't appreciate it when you're there for too
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long and then you come back and you're like, "Yeah, this is pretty nice."
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>> Hidden talent off the slopes. >> Ooh, >> I saw a video on your Instagram. Looks
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like you're like twerking on a kitchen top and then jumping down. >> Um I was quite a good horse rider, so
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I'm going to go with that. Yeah. >> Oh yeah, I saw another video. You look
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like you're on a beach or in the desert in Morocco or something riding a horse
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going really fast as well. >> Yeah. No, I love that. Yeah. >> Uh favorite ski resort outside of New
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Zealand. >> Oh, Cortina in Italy in the Doommites. Yeah, it's amazing.
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>> We're going to get into Cortina. That's where you That's where you're off to
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sooner for the Winter Olympics next February. Um, >> who's harder to beat? Uh, Michaela
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Shiffren or your own self-doubt? >> Probably Michaela Shiffren to be fair.
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>> Um, what's your pre-race pump up song? >> Oh, um, I do I love like Thunder Struck AC/DC.
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That's a good one. Or Serious by Alan Pass's project. Yeah. I don't know that one. I I know Ellen
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Parson's project. That's an old >> It's like the Chicago Bulls like intro
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song when they're in their prime. >> Who got you into that? That's That's an
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old song, right? >> Probably. Yeah. Parents, I think, >> right? >> Uh best and worst things about living
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out of a suitcase. >> Oh. Um worst is for sure like finding laundry machines. Um it's a bit of a
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nightmare like trying to run into random foreign speaking hotels asking them to do some laundry for you. Um, the best is
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probably you have to be like you you can't hoard stuff. You have to be like very cutthroat with what you're carrying
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around. So, it's kind of easy to have everything you need with you. >> Yeah, you must become a you must be a
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pro packer by now. You must be so good at it. >> Um, yeah, you'd think so. I'm still like
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>> still learning >> still struggling a little bit. I'm like, I really should be better at this.
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>> Yeah. To put this in perspective, uh, we're recording this at my Pod Lab
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studio and in about 4 days from now, you're flying out of the country and you're not going to be home for like
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another nine months. Yeah. Yeah. So, it's going to be quite a serious packing
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operation on Sunday. Yeah. >> Yeah. And last one in our quickfire. What's heavier, the skis or the
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pressure? >> Oh, God. Um, the skis. >> Yeah. >> No, >> no,
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>> this was me trying to trick myself. >> The pressure is not that big, but
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>> Yeah. Yeah. Because I want to Yeah. I I want to talk about that. Let's get
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straight into it. So, yeah. the 2026 Olympics. Um they start in actually on Wangi Day uh the 6th of February in
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Cortina, Italy next year. >> Just to like set the scene about how much pressure you're under, I I I put
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into chat GPT um how you were going to go at the Winter Olympics next year. And this is what AI said.
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>> Oh god. >> Uh I lean towards Alice Robinson being a serious contender for a medal in GS at
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the 2026 Winter Olympics. likely in the top five with a good shot at the podium if everything aligns.
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>> Yeah, >> [ __ ] that. >> That's a lot of pressure. >> GPT is really putting on the pressure
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these days. Um, no, it is a lot. Yeah. No, I think for sure it's um always something special when it comes to the
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Olympics, especially being from New Zealand because um in our sport that's kind of the time that everyone starts
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paying attention. Even though we're like competing with the same competitors on
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the same format pretty much um every year, every weekend, there's still for sure being the Olympics is a special
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event of course. >> A pinnacle event. >> Yeah, it's a pinnacle event and it's
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>> yeah the same race or same competition and same format that we do all the time,
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but just having that title on it, it makes it Yeah. raises the stakes, which is exciting. Um
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>> I'm really trying hard this year not to put too much pressure on myself because
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I feel like I've done that in the past and it hasn't really benefited me that
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much. And I think I had a really good relaxed mentality like going into something like the World Championships
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last year that did me really well. So, um I'm trying not to I guess over dramatize or not dramatize but over
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magnetize the the size of the event. Um I just want to treat it like another race because it's kind of what we do
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every week. So, I'm trying to kind of do the same processes that I do and then
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hopefully the results will just take care of themselves. M do like do you ever lose sleep over the Olympics or
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thinking about it? >> No. No, I don't. Um I haven't. No, honestly, I think for sure this year
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like in the offseason I've been having to think about skiing a lot more than I
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usually do because normally I can come back to New Zealand and just check out um completely of the sport because it's
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not, you know, a big sport here that was getting talked about all the time and this year I found a lot more um interest
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just because of the Olympics coming up. So for sure it's been, you know, in the
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back of my mind a lot more this year than, um, you know, another year thinking about other events, but um, I
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wouldn't say I'm losing sleep over it. I mean, it's exciting. I like see it as an
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opportunity and not as like a threat. I'm trying to kind of put it in that perspective.
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>> Yeah. How often do you think about it? Is it something you think about every
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day when you're training or like or do you have >> do you have any like post-it notes on
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the bathroom mirror or >> just have like my screen saver? It's just a picture of Cortina.
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>> Well, yeah. Yeah, some some some high performing performing athletes I've had
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on the podcast too. Everyone's got like a different sort of thing. >> Um I wouldn't I mean now that you say
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like you're thinking about it every day I feel like when I'm training it would
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be hard for I guess especially New Zealand I feel like every day someone will come up to me at training and bring
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up something to do with the Olympics or if it's people being like oh I'd like to
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come watch or like I'm going to be you know cina's coming up. So I feel like it
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has had a lot of air time. Um, and I guess when I'm training every day, obviously I'm thinking about skiing and
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not just about Cortina, but you know, I've got my first World Cup event in like three weeks. So that's kind of more
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what's in I'm trying to look at like the more short term, but of course being the
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Olympics and logistics and things like that, it's getting um yeah, a lot more
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thought than any other comp any other race gets throughout the year. >> Cuz what what you do requires I'm
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imagining here. I've got no actual idea. I've never been off the beginner slate
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myself actually. No, that's a lie. I I last went skiing. >> I'll take you next time.
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>> Absolutely not. I'm not going anywhere near the snow with you. >> Um my my ex-girlfriend took me to the
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snow a bunch of years ago and she was like, "Oh, you do you ski?" And I'm
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like, "Yeah, I used to ski I used to be a real gun. I used to ski all the time
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and went to the top of the chair lift, got off, and then we're at the top of
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this um this the top of this um decline." And I just I dropped my nuts. So I ended up taking my skis off,
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>> sliding sliding down a little bit on my bum. >> Yeah. Yeah. And then um it was
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>> like the classic safety move like feet first. Yeah. >> It was terrible. And I just had no shame
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about it. I'm just aware of my limitations. >> That's fair. >> So where I was going with this is like
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for for that minute or two minutes when you when you're doing it, whether it's
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in training or an event, I'm guessing you're not thinking about anything.
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>> But it's every other little moment on the mountain when someone comes up to
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you and says, "Good luck. We're rooting for you. All the best." Like it just
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must just compound to that pressure. >> Yeah. I think for sure. Um absolutely. I
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think especially for me I mean for me I've been doing this for like even though I'm like still 23 I've been doing
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this for a long time like I've been racing on the World Cup since I was 16. So I think personally I've kind of gone
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through and also being having success really young like 17 that definitely like affected me a lot having like a lot
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of pressure and it affected me for like quite a few years like feeling like that
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pressure external pressure really affected me a lot and I think that's something in the last couple years I've
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really tried to work on and grow. Um, so now like when people make comments or say they're watching or anything, it
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doesn't really I don't really think about it that much. Like I try not to
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feel extra um people like people's external pressures onto myself. I just I think for me I put the most pressure on
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myself. >> Um so for Yeah. So for like other people putting like saying they're rooting for
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me, I just kind of see it as >> I'm just kind of like a side story of what they're thinking. So I know I'm the
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one who's like fully invested in this. So I'm the one who cares the most. And
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um yeah, I try not to I try just to focus on myself and not think about the the extra pressure, but for sure
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something about the Olympics and um especially for being from New Zealand, this is like the event that everyone
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pays attention to. So it's definitely more a little bit more angsty than you
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know compared to the regular World Cup weekend. But for other athletes like from other countries, they feel this
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like every weekend and I guess it would be the same as you know a mainstream sport in New Zealand. So, I feel like I
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get let off the hook a little bit there. So, I'm going to I'm going to try and um
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not let the Olympics add any extra pressure than I would feel like every week because at the end of
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the day, it's the same event but just a different title to it. >> It's a good space to be playing in. Have
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you got a sports psych? >> Yes. Yeah. I started working with a sports psych about two years ago and I
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think that's helped me a lot. I mean, I don't I'm not like the athlete that
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needs to talk to a sports psych every week or every day. I kind of just have like, you know, monthly check-ins or
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something like that just to go over a few things and as long as everything's
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going smoothly, then um then I don't feel the need to do it too much. But I think more so my sports site
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communicates with my coaches who then kind of communicate with me. So they kind of like are like secretly doing the
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work that maybe I'm not as aware that I'm using a psychologist as maybe I am.
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So they're tricking you. >> Yeah, they're tricking me. >> Um yeah. Oh, that's cool. Oh, that's
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really cool cuz even though Yeah, you mentioned before you're 23. Um, you turned 24 in December, so I'm not sure
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when this podcast is going to come out, but you'll be like still 23 or 24. >> Yeah.
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>> Um, but but even though um you're still very young, you've you've been through
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you've experienced wild success, but also wild failure already. So, I suppose
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you've been through >> like the full cycle of what it is to be a high performing athlete.
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>> Yeah. Yeah. No, I mean for me, I feel like, yeah, I'm 23, but I feel like I've
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been through a lot of different phases of an athletes life. I guess some athletes, they don't reach, you know,
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they reach their peak a bit later, but then they just stay there. Or some I guess I was like a bit of a prodigy,
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like especially in ski racing, like doing well at 17 or winning a World Cup. It's very um rare just because it's a
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sport that's it's a traditional sport. Like it's not like a sport young people
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usually excel at. like the top skier last year was top three girls last year all over 30. Um, so it's not like a
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traditionally dominated by young people. So doing well young is quite rare. So I
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kind of went through that. And also being from New Zealand and then having this really early success and I was
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almost like oh my god this is so easy. Like I'm like I'm just a kid like school
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kid from New Zealand like beating all these Europeans at their sport. Like what is this? I was kind of like oh my
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god like here I am sort of thing. Um, and then that same time was around like the co times when everything kind of
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shut down and then I was kind of like, oh wait, like I'm an 18year-old on the
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other side of the world, like trying to be the best in the world at something and have like no idea what I'm doing
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kind of over here by myself and struggled for quite a few years trying to figure out how I even was good in the
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first place cuz I guess I just had like natural ability, but I didn't have any
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maturity or consciousness of how I actually got to that point or didn't have like any structures in place that
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um, you know, routines that made me feel like I knew what I was doing. So, I definitely had some really low lows. Um,
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especially like the last Olympics was really tough for me being in China and um definitely went not the way that I
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wanted or expected. Um, and there were definitely some factors in that that played into that not going well, but it
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was a really tough learning curve. So, >> kind of having that Yeah. really early
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success and people saying to me and then you compare yourself to other people have had that success and people
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normally like other people have had success at 17 have gone on to be like the greatest in the sport ever. So
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people kind of saying to me like oh my god you could be like you know the next greatest j skier of all time like no one
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else has done this at this age and that was me kind of then putting that pressure on myself like okay at this age
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I need to do this at that age I need to do that I need to do that by that age. um it's a lot of pressure and then when
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it started not going that way it kind of stressed me out more because I was like
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okay well now I need to play catch up because I'm not there now but I need to
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be there like at this point um so that stressed me out comparing myself to others and then I think over time I kind
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of started to realize that being from New Zealand especially and like every athlete and person's lives and journeys
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are so different so um kind of accepting that and being like okay this is where I
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am this is what I'm going through um my story is going to be different to their
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story doesn't make it like better or worse. But um I think accepting that has
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helped me a lot and kind of coming back to now getting back to the top of the sport. For sure.
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>> Yeah. >> Thanks for that explanation. That's really that's really cool.
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>> Yeah. I'm just thinking like if it was if it was me like when things are going
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bad that's probably when you just like overthink everything and you try extra
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hard and you want to overtrain or >> Yeah. Which is not great. >> Um yeah, thanks for all that mental
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stuff. That's really cool. Uh now some of the physical stuff. So when you're
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when you're in the start gate at the top of a GES course, what's what's going
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through your mind? >> Oh um that now I feel like I'm thinking more than I used to. Like
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I mean you've got to like memorize the course. So I'm doing like visualization
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and then kind of have a few technical focuses that I'm thinking about. Um and
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then there's also a part of you that's kind of like just trying to get fired up
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to go. Like when I was younger, for example, I didn't think about like anything. I just would try and get as
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fired up as possible. But now I think >> like earplugs and listening to thunder.
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>> I mean now I don't even listen to music really before my races cuz I try and be
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like happy enough in my own thoughts without needing music. U but like when I was younger I just listen to music and
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like not really think about anything and just try and like be like I'm just going
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to send this so hard. I'm going to send it. I'm going to send it. And that's all
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I thought about and kind of laughed it off. Whereas now I feel like okay, you don't need to ski at 120%. You need to
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ski your best and like execute what you like the technical goals or like the places on the course cuz every course we
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ski is different, right? So we have one inspection and then you get to go and there's parts of the course that are
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more difficult. Um >> an inspection is that like a practice run? >> Yeah. So well it's like a you don't get
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to run the course, but you slide down and like check out the course. So you don't get any practice runs.
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>> What do you mean slide down? So, so you go down at like like snail speed. So,
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like you stop, look at it, like slide back in, have a look. You can't ski it
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>> to be honest. Like, >> so like if you think about a beginner sliding down, it's kind of like
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>> Well, the slopes the slopes that you're going down there, they're so steep. I
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don't know if I'd even be comfortable doing that. >> Kind of like so intimidating.
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>> Yeah. I mean, you're like with your coach looking at it. So, it's kind of
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like the collaboration time like, okay, we're going to >> What are you looking for exactly?
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Because I've watched so many of your races and it's just like a a downhill
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gates that you go around and >> Yeah. So, for example, like every like course set's different. So, obviously
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all the slopes are different. So, like one week will be on a flat course like in Austria for example, and you're
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looking at the course setting and it has to be like within a certain meter regulation, but they might do like two
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big turns and then you go around like a blind roller like okay, the gate's over
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there. Cuz you can't see it when you're skiing. So, if you went and did it like
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straight away, you wouldn't know where to go because it could be like around a
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blind turn or um that turn could swing a lot more or something like that or just
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like tricky things like the corset can be like challenging or easy. So, you just check it out and then yeah, but you
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still don't know how fast you're going to be going or anything, but you just
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that's why. So, you have we call it inspection. So, it's like checking out
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the course before you go and then um yeah, so you get one inspection and then there's one run. do the first run,
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second run inspection, second run. So yeah, in GS inspection isn't important,
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but in a run like a in like super G, my second discipline, it's really important
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because you don't get any training runs and you're going like 130 km/h and you
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get one look at the course going really slow and you have to kind of guess how fast you're going to be going. So you
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could be looking at a jump um going over like you're going to fly 30 meters here,
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you're going to be going 130 and you got to know where you have to land to be
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able to like make the next gate sort of thing without missing something. So it's
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um not that easy in that sense. It's quite important the inspection. But yeah, um when you think about someone
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like a beginner sliding down, it's kind of at that speed. >> That whole thing sounds um that's one
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thing I love about the podcast by the way, like getting to learn. I was saying like no one probably knows anything
00:19:49
about skiing. So it's kind of confusing but >> No, no. I think for like for anyone that
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doesn't know anything about skiing like me, it's um it explains there's a lot
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more nuances to the sport than just going downhill really [ __ ] fast. >> Yeah. I mean there's so many like
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variables in this sport and yeah courses are changing. Like I guess it's one of
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the challenges of even though it's an individual sport and you're not like you
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know you're not playing tennis where you're versing someone else or playing
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like soccer or rugby where you're playing another team. You're by yourself
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obviously because it's just timed. But kind of the variable factor isn't the
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other team, it's like the slopes that you're on or the conditions or the
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course that that's what's changing all the time. So or the weather. So like one
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day could be sunny and you're on a flat slope. >> The next day could be a snow blizzard
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and you're on like a really steep glacia. So that's kind of where the varants play in.
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>> And that's kind of the part that you've got to adapt to like every week is the
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different conditions, different terrain, things like that. Yeah. >> How do you control the fear or or is
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there no fear? Um, see, when I was younger, I would say I was pretty fearless. Um, I didn't think about like
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I've never been like scared of like hurting myself, for example. Um, which some athletes are. Some athletes have
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like zero fear at all. Like they're not scared of hurting themselves. I think
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for me, >> healthy. >> Well, I think those athletes, they can be so fast, but they do end up hurting
00:21:07
themselves quite a lot. And then, you know, it's different, but then they're
00:21:09
also very fearless when they're coming back from injury. They're not like,
00:21:12
"Okay, I've hurt myself. I'm scared to hurt myself again." and they just all
00:21:15
go. And then there's some athletes who are very scared and it's like to a
00:21:18
detriment that like they don't push enough because they're scared. So I think for me I think I'm trying to find
00:21:25
a decent balance between not having fear but also to the fear to the point that it's detrimental but also you've got to
00:21:32
be smart to have like longevity in the sport that you know if it's a downhill
00:21:36
course and it's you're going 140 clicks maybe and you're going into like a
00:21:41
straight section maybe not like pinning that gate or taking cuz you can basically you can take risks doing this
00:21:48
like on one turn. you know, some athletes might go really straight and cut a line to make up time, but then the
00:21:54
risk of you crashing gets a lot higher. So, I think it's about balancing the
00:22:00
fear, but also the risk takingaking to the reward. Um, and I think some people have kind of better than others. And
00:22:06
some people maybe are, you know, have no fear and they're so fast, but then they
00:22:10
hurt themselves a lot. So, it's a bit of a balancing act. And I think when I was
00:22:14
younger, I was more on the I don't have any fear side. And I think now um especially in giant slalom I didn't have
00:22:21
fear of hurting myself. I had more fear of you know crashing or not finishing the course and then just being a DNF
00:22:27
rather than like hurting myself. But I think also getting a little bit older and seeing a lot of my like um
00:22:34
colleagues or peers in sport have like serious injuries has made me not be scared of injury but just kind of
00:22:41
be a bit more aware of the risks. >> Mindful mindful. Yeah. of like, okay, if
00:22:46
you're going full ballistic and you're not thinking, especially as I've moved
00:22:49
more into the speed disciplines, which is super G and downhill, you have to be aware of the risks because what normally
00:22:57
like one person every weekend is blowing their knee or breaking their leg or something. So, you don't want to be like
00:23:02
a unaware of what you're doing. You need to be mindful, I think, to have longevity in the sport, like I said.
00:23:07
>> Yeah. You got to be smart about it. >> Yeah. >> Risk versus reward.
00:23:10
>> Yeah. Exactly. Um, so what happens when you when you fall over when you crash at
00:23:14
like 120, 130, 140 ks an hour? >> Well, I mean, does it hurt or is the snow soft?
00:23:19
>> No, it's not. It's like ice. So, it's like this. It's like um Well, for me, I
00:23:23
mean, touchwood, I haven't had any like big injuries. Um, which is very, I guess, lucky for our sport at this
00:23:31
stage, but I mean, I have had a couple crashes. Um, so basically, if I crash in GS, like the chances of you hurting
00:23:37
yourself might be like 5 10%. If you crash and downhill, the chances of you like seriously hurting yourself is like
00:23:42
50%. Just because your skis are a lot longer, you're going a lot faster, and
00:23:47
the forces are a lot higher. So, I've had one big crash in downhill. Um, and I
00:23:53
remember I was terrified cuz I was in a training run, and I went into the nets um on this like zigzag section. I was
00:24:00
going probably like 120 and I just completely This was like a bad inspection. So, I had no idea where I
00:24:05
was going cuz it was in this forest. It was so dark and it just was this hill that turned like four times and I didn't
00:24:11
remember where I was. I got lost like on the course cuz in downhill if you don't
00:24:14
know where you're going, you're just screwed cuz you're like skiing blind
00:24:17
going 130 and you have no idea. I got lost where I was. So I went straight over this roller completely misjudged
00:24:23
where I was went into the nets and then I just looked down and I just saw like blood everywhere and I was like, "Oh my
00:24:30
god, oh my god." And I was felt my body and I was just in shock. I was like,
00:24:33
"Okay." Like first thing you think about is like knees. Are knees okay? And I was
00:24:37
like, "Okay, I think my legs are fine, but there's blood everywhere." And I was
00:24:41
like, "Oh my god." And I could see it here. I was like, "Oh my god, I've cut
00:24:43
my head open." Like on my ski cuz my goggles were cracked. So I was like, "Oh
00:24:46
my god, I've like cut my face on my ski. There's bleeding everywhere." My nose
00:24:50
was then started bleeding. I had no idea what was bleeding. So I just ski down to
00:24:54
I got up. Everyone was like, "Oh my god, there's blood dripping everywhere." And
00:24:57
I was skiing down and I was like, "Oh my god, what have I done?" Anyway, so I get
00:25:02
to the bottom and then I look at myself and I've just completely grazed my lips,
00:25:06
my nose, like everything was fine, but it was just like blood gushing, like swollen. And I was then started kind of
00:25:13
crying and laughing cuz I was looking at myself at my phone. And it was like it looked like I'd had really bad lip
00:25:19
filler. Like my lips had just blown up. I posted a photo of it on Instagram and then like 5 minutes later it was in the
00:25:24
media everywhere like cuz I joked about having bad Botox. It was like ski. It was like this media. It was like ski
00:25:31
like ski racer Robinson looks completely like transformed after quote unquote bad
00:25:35
Botox like on the run and I was just looking this photo was going like everywhere cuz I looked like like it
00:25:42
just looked ridiculous. So that was like my kind of one experience and it was like I still raced the next day.
00:25:48
>> Um but it was yeah that was my one experience crashing in downhill so it
00:25:52
wasn't really that traumatic. It was just kind of entertaining. But I've had
00:25:56
friends that um you know I've shattered their legs and been flown off to in helicopters um to intensive care. I've
00:26:03
had um you know friends do their knees like another ski racer he like nearly chopped his leg off. So I mean that's a
00:26:10
good story but the risks are very high um if you crash if you know someone hurt their head um really badly and was in a
00:26:18
coma for like a month. So the risks are very high like in what we do. It's not
00:26:21
like a, oh, I might just, you know, pull my leg muscle. It's like, no, this is
00:26:26
like very serious stuff. So, you definitely like need to be aware of what you're doing. Um, and not be too loose.
00:26:33
>> That's so funny. I I get the sense that you're kind of relieved. You most people
00:26:36
be like, "Not the face, not the face." But you're like, "Not the body, NOT THE
00:26:39
BODY, NOT THE FACE." >> I'M LIKE, "THIS is fine." Like, just
00:26:42
please like hips down, please. No. Seriously. Well, I can I can just uh picture you would like one of the one of
00:26:49
the brides on Married at First Sign Australia or something. >> Exactly. >> I found a quote from you online. Um this
00:26:54
is when you were 17 years old. So this is like seven years ago >> talking about sacrifices.
00:27:00
>> Um and it it stuck out to me because I thought it this this this is a lot for a
00:27:04
17-year-old when you should, I don't know, be in your last year of school. >> Uh it's a lot of work to be competitive
00:27:09
in alpine skiing. You've got to be overseas for 6 months a year. You've got
00:27:14
to be up at 5:00 a.m. most mornings. You have to do it in all weather conditions.
00:27:17
It's not just sunny days. You've got to go up when it's raining, when it's
00:27:20
snowing, when it's windy, when it's freezing. >> Mhm. >> What's What's kept you in the sport so
00:27:26
long? Like, you're still quite young, but to be doing it for as long as what
00:27:29
you have. >> I can understand why Nico has retired at a young age when everyone else thought
00:27:33
it was a bit unusual. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. I think I guess for me, I've
00:27:39
always just I've loved the kind of grind. Um, I've always loved that feeling of like getting up early and
00:27:45
like having a job to do and doing it. And I think for sure like there's sacrifices and I still, you know, when I
00:27:52
was younger, I think it was more sacrifices when you're a kid because you know you're missing out on your normal
00:27:57
like school and uni and um, you know, going to school with your mates every day, like that kind of thing. I was
00:28:03
actually really lucky that I was able to stay at high school, my like local high
00:28:07
school my whole way through till I finished. Um, so I felt like I still had a nice kind of childhood high school
00:28:14
experience without being completely isolated cuz I said that to my parents when I was starting cuz a lot of ski
00:28:20
racing children um sorry they um they go to like skimmies in the US if you're
00:28:27
from like Australia and New Zealand. I know families that have fully lifted and shifted and moved their whole lives to
00:28:32
the US to have their kids to go to these ski ski academy schools. And I said to my parents like, "Oh, I'm not doing
00:28:37
that. Like, I want to stay in Queenstown." Um, and be at my local school. So, I'm really glad that they
00:28:42
supported me in doing that in my local high school was really supportive. But, I don't know. I think for me, it's never
00:28:49
felt like a for sure it's a sacrifice. You know, missing I've haven't had like
00:28:53
a Christmas or a summer at home for like 10 years. Um, I've always been away. So,
00:28:58
in that sense, it's a sacrifice. But, I mean, for me, like I love competing and
00:29:01
I love skiing and it's like, you know, the biggest passion for me. is something
00:29:05
that I've always been drawn to since I was like 8 years old when I started. It's always been this huge pillar in my
00:29:10
life. So for me, it doesn't feel like like the sacrifice of what I'm doing
00:29:15
just feels very minuscule to the joy that I get out of it. So I think that's
00:29:21
why I still enjoy doing it. And I think that's why >> and I think also when you know things
00:29:26
are going well and you feel like you're having fun with what you're doing,
00:29:29
you've got a good crew around you. Um you're working hard but you're seeing
00:29:33
the results. pay off for that hard work, then it's it feels like it's all worth
00:29:37
it. I think the problems start to come up if you're kind of sacrificing everything. You're doing everything you
00:29:41
can, but you're miserable, your results are lacking, then it's like what's the
00:29:44
point in doing this? But I think for me, like >> with the results that I've had the last
00:29:48
couple years and the sacrifices that I'm making and also seeing how much work
00:29:53
like my whole team is putting in, um I don't know, it just makes I love the feeling of I feel like we're on a
00:29:58
mission, you We're like little Kiwi team that are on the other side of the world
00:30:01
like darting around Europe um and North America trying to come up like compete against the the rest of the world. I
00:30:07
think we all kind of have the same philosophy in that that we all really like the the kind of hustle and the
00:30:12
mission around it. >> Who who is on this team that you talk about? Um yeah, so for example,
00:30:17
Christmas this year you're going to be out of the country again. Who will you
00:30:20
spend Christmas Day with? >> Um yes, so I basically I have like a pretty much full Kiwi team. So I have
00:30:26
two coaches. um Tim Cafe and Niels Coberger who they came on with me again full-time like two years ago and then
00:30:33
but they've both kind of been in my like in the scene with me like they're both
00:30:37
Kiwis so they've been around pretty much since I started ski racing. Tim was my
00:30:41
coach when I was younger and then stopped when I was like 17 for a few years and then I brought them back and
00:30:46
then my best friend um we used to ski race together and we used to kind of if it wasn't for her I probably wouldn't
00:30:51
have been as good in ski racing cuz we used to push each other a lot like we would train together race together and
00:30:57
then she did her knee twice before she turned 18 um her ACL so she was like okay I'm going to stop ski racing and go
00:31:03
to physio school and I said oh it's fine cuz we always wanted to race the World
00:31:06
Cup together I was fine you can be my physio and then the last last year said, "No." Yeah. 2023, I said to her, like
00:31:13
end of 2023, I said she'd already finished physio school and been working. Um, and I said, "Oh, why don't you come
00:31:19
with me for like 10 weeks and just come on the road?" And she was like, "Okay."
00:31:23
And then we started doing that. And then last year she came pretty much full-time
00:31:26
and this year she's coming full-time again. So, it's pretty cool. I get to
00:31:29
have my best friend as my physio on tour. >> Um, so it's pretty fun. >> That throwaway line actually came true.
00:31:36
>> Yeah. Throw throwaway line came true. We're like, "Okay, it's fine." like we
00:31:39
were little 16year-olds like oh you go to physio school I'll keep scarcing then
00:31:43
we'll be a team later on and it actually came true which is really cool so yeah
00:31:47
my like childhood best friend's on my team is my physio and then I also have a
00:31:52
serviceman which is like a technician so they look after all my equipment cuz that's like another part of skiing that
00:31:57
maybe people don't know but I travel with about 50 pairs of skis >> do you spend so much time at the excess
00:32:03
baggage counter >> no this is a good thing I don't have to deal with it
00:32:05
>> the serviceman does that >> yeah yeah so that's like another big
00:32:09
part of the sport. So, he's from Austria. He's hired by my ski company, Solomon. And his job is pretty much just
00:32:14
tuning my skis every day and looking after the skis. And he goes back and forth from like the factory like
00:32:22
bringing in and out of skis cuz they design special skis for us. Then we go out and test them. They go back for like
00:32:27
more modifications then come back out. So, that's quite a big the um equipment's a huge part. So
00:32:33
>> I think that's where um the incident I was telling you about at [ __ ] a papa
00:32:36
where I had to slide down. I think that's the problem. I just hired skis. >> Yeah, exactly. That's your issue.
00:32:43
>> Anything doesn't go well, you've got to blame the equipment. >> I needed a serviceman. Is that it? Is
00:32:48
that the whole team? >> Yes. So there's five of us. But then we do So we'll do Christmas day. I have a
00:32:52
race on the 27th of December, which is pretty brutal. So we're normally training on Christmas Day. Um, but we
00:32:58
have a friend who um owns a hotel and so us and the US team, we all go there together and have Christmas, which is
00:33:06
quite fun because we're all training. >> So we have a bit of a crew. Um, we call
00:33:10
like the orphans, like the North Americans and us because we're all the ones that are on the road. So we like
00:33:14
gang up for Christmas, which is quite nice. Yeah. So even you explaining that team like to
00:33:20
to me that feels like an added pressure like there's all these people that are
00:33:24
putting their own lives and families on hold. >> Um yeah so in order for them to achieve
00:33:30
a goal I suppose but ultimately it's your goal. You know what I mean? >> Yeah. Yeah. I know for sure. I think
00:33:34
that's something I struggled with a lot >> um in the past is that feeling of so
00:33:38
much pressure. You know it's not like you're a a team where everyone's you
00:33:42
know the pressure spread out. It's like all on you. But I guess for me, I've had
00:33:46
these discussions with them. Like they're all doing it because they want to do it. Like
00:33:49
>> yeah, >> they said that to me. They're like, "We're not here for you. Like we like
00:33:53
doing this. I mean, they're here for me obviously and they love it." But they're
00:33:56
like, "We love this is what we want to do. This is like our dream of like, you
00:34:01
know, being on the road and competing and doing this. Like they've wanted to
00:34:03
do it for so long." And that was a part of also when I changed my team a couple
00:34:08
years ago. I wanted people like coaches around who were like really appreciated that position of being with like a top
00:34:14
athlete and being at the top because I think a lot of coaches get cuz you know coaches get recycled between athletes
00:34:20
and a lot of them are kind of been there for so long they they're not very appreciative of the position they're in.
00:34:25
They kind of like I'm a top coach like you're lucky to have me sort of thing.
00:34:29
And I kind of wanted more people who were like this is amazing like we're out
00:34:32
here doing this. This is so cool. not someone who's going to take it for granted and be like, "You're lucky to
00:34:36
have me as your coach." Sort of thing. Cuz there's a lot of that um in sports,
00:34:40
I feel like. >> No, there's a lot of there's a lot of coaches that are like, "Oh, you're lucky
00:34:44
I'm here. You're lucky to have me." And I was like, "No, I want people like, "Oh
00:34:46
my god, I'm so lucky to be a part of this team." So, we have a really good um
00:34:51
philosophy. And also, it's probably good. No one is like I mean, my two coaches, they're both they're not
00:34:57
married or they don't have kids. So, they're more than happy to be on the
00:35:00
road for 7 months and be chasing the winter around. So for them it's kind of
00:35:04
their dream life as well. Yeah. >> And is there ever any managing like personalities or any personality clashes
00:35:11
like when you when you're in a tight knit I'm suppose suppose it's like a
00:35:15
band traveling or something with personality dynamics and things. >> Yeah. I mean there's never like any
00:35:21
blowups. Um for sure everyone has their moments >> but I think I don't know. I think we
00:35:28
kind of cover quite a few different personalities that no one's ever kind of
00:35:31
competing or like I don't know like everyone kind of understand like everyone knows each other very well as
00:35:37
well that like it's more of like a family vibe than a than like a team that it's like if you're I know brother
00:35:44
siblings are annoying you or your uncle's annoying you just get over it cuz you know you have to. I think that's
00:35:48
kind of the same vibe on our team is like if someone's you just you kind of laugh it off but it's never like a big
00:35:55
issue and if there was I think we all know each other well enough and are comfortable enough that we can bring it
00:35:59
up and it's not like a like no one takes anything personally if there's an issue
00:36:04
like everyone's very open. Um so it's been going really well and hopefully
00:36:07
hopefully it stays that way. >> Yeah. Yeah. I think that's the key addressing issues immediately rather
00:36:12
than letting them sit >> like open. I mean, and also we're all having dinner together every night.
00:36:16
>> Like we're all staying, you know, because we're moving between like hotels
00:36:19
all the time. >> So, we have to kind of like, you know, we have to have a dinner topic. So, if
00:36:23
something's irritating one of us, it just, you know, kind of brings up the dinner topic for the night and then it's
00:36:27
dealt with and then we move on. So, >> um so good. >> That um quote I read out before about
00:36:33
sacrifices when you were 17, seven years ago. Since then, there's been uh two
00:36:37
Olympic cycles, soon to be a third. Have the sacrifices got got greater or is the
00:36:43
is the structure, routine and discipline pretty much the same? >> Yeah, I mean I guess so when I was seven
00:36:49
yeah I guess it's to be honest it feels like as I'm getting older I'm becoming this is more
00:36:56
my life that the sacrifices don't feel I don't know it just feels like you know
00:37:01
I've been doing this for a long time and I'm spending more time overseas now that
00:37:04
you know being overseas for me doesn't really feel like a sacrifice um because
00:37:08
I've spent so much time over there. So I think the routine and also just maturing
00:37:13
and kind of like understanding that world a lot more has made it a lot easier in some ways. Um I think in other
00:37:20
ways for sure also you know PE I think the hardest time being an athlete is when your friends are all having like
00:37:26
heaps of fun at uni whereas now you know everyone's finished uni they're like
00:37:30
working and they're like oh I hate working and I'm like oh well I'm like
00:37:32
out here skiing all the time so like now I'm kind of seeing the benefits of you
00:37:36
know not having fun at uni pay off. um in a way, but I think I I don't at least for like for
00:37:44
me I don't I really love like working hard and having like a routine and like
00:37:49
working towards a goal that it doesn't feel like a sacrifice, you know, not um
00:37:54
you know, missing out on some stuff for that. Um and I think >> your life your life's pretty good.
00:38:00
>> Yeah. I mean I en like I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't enjoying it. And
00:38:03
of course being an athlete, there's like a lot of really hard things about being
00:38:07
an athlete, you know, with performance pressures and I mean also, you know, yeah, being from New Zealand on like the
00:38:12
other side of the world, but I feel like on purpose, I've put some structures in
00:38:16
place to make it a lot more enjoyable for myself. And I feel like that's what's been happening. And also when
00:38:21
things are going well, it's it's fun. I think >> the hardest times been when things
00:38:25
aren't going well and then you kind of like really feel the the hard dark parts
00:38:29
about being an athlete um when things aren't going the way you want to which
00:38:32
I've also experienced. So >> I've kind of feel the knowing how bad it
00:38:36
can be makes me appreciate the the good times even more. Um and also like this year I was saying to my coaches because
00:38:45
I got was got a lot of podiums. I got second and I was disappointed with second and I was like wow like
00:38:51
perspective is crazy. Like two years ago or 3 years ago like during this winter Olympic season if she told me like being
00:38:57
second I would have like given anything to have been second. And now being here I am like getting second being like
00:39:03
slightly disappointed about not winning. I'm like okay no like we're good. It's
00:39:08
crazy how your perspective can like shift from what like feels good and not. So yeah.
00:39:13
>> Um >> Yeah. I suppose you always want something more. >> Yeah. Exactly.
00:39:16
>> Until you hit number one and then there there is something else. Then it's like
00:39:19
when's my next number one? >> Well, then it's like I think the pressure of how am I supposed to keep
00:39:22
this up? Yeah. And like who's chasing me? >> Yeah. Yeah. The goal is always changing.
00:39:29
>> What about um just one more question about sacrifice? So you're immediately
00:39:33
family like your siblings, your mom and dad. Yeah. What sacrifices have they made? in order to um get you to this
00:39:39
dominant position in a sport that's that's almost non-existent in New Zealand.
00:39:43
>> Um yeah, I mean my parents have I mean always been so supportive. I mean they were both
00:39:50
like good athletes themselves but >> were they brought in? >> Well they secret but they're Australian
00:39:56
so >> Oh I know that I was going to get to that. Yeah. >> Born in Australia moved to New Zealand
00:40:01
at four. >> Yeah. So, um, they kind of played your typical like country sports. Like dad
00:40:06
played rugby, mom played like field hockey. So, they both were like big sports people. Like we were a sports
00:40:11
family. That's like what we connected over as like a family was athletic stuff. Um, so they always were super
00:40:18
encouraging of us doing sports. Um, and my and but they weren't like tiger parents by any means. like they were
00:40:25
very like relaxed but like they were also like my dad was also like you know very passionate about sports and always
00:40:31
you know encouraged me to to push myself and always wanted me to um you know to do what I was doing properly and like
00:40:37
work really hard and take it seriously and like you know said to me like you know if you want to be supported and you
00:40:43
know doing this scarier thing like you better be out like running every morning and like being fit like you know kind of
00:40:48
thing. So they were always super supportive and not in like an unhealthy like psychoparent way, but in like a
00:40:54
very like we want you to like like encourage us to work really hard and to have good work ethic.
00:41:00
>> Well, it's an expensive sport, so that was like >> they want to make sure you're not going
00:41:04
to get bored after 5 minutes. >> It's like make sure you like we want you
00:41:07
to do this properly if you're going to do it. Otherwise, like we're not doing
00:41:09
this kind of thing. >> You've got a one-year lift pass. You're getting out there every day.
00:41:14
>> No. And I was really lucky that my parents like supported me when I was a
00:41:17
kid. But I was also very lucky that I was good at a young age that I then got like the sponsors and the support to
00:41:23
keep going because it's yeah it's not an easy sport to do. Um but they also, you
00:41:27
know, my mom was always the one like getting up and my mom was, you know, such a amazing like would always no
00:41:34
matter how hard something was, she would like make it happen for us. Like if it was, you know, having to drive us six
00:41:39
hours to go to the slope, she was more than happy to do it. If it was like coming traveling with me, she was like
00:41:43
just yeah, always wanted the best. And I think my my siblings, they also ski raced, but then weren't as into it and
00:41:51
did more other sports. Um, but I think they definitely felt probably the like especially my younger brother, like he's
00:41:57
such a little legend, but he was definitely a bit like neglected, I think, with like how much attention I
00:42:02
got from like the family. Um, but then again, I think they've like they love it
00:42:07
now because they can come and support and like be at the races and everything like that. So I think they definitely
00:42:14
felt it in the sense that like I was getting like a lot of had to have like quite a lot of attention from the
00:42:18
parents like doing this sport. It takes like um a lot of I guess focus and like commitment from everyone. But then again
00:42:27
I feel like like our family we did it in quite a a good way that no one had to sacrifice
00:42:33
too much in terms of >> you know me and my brother went to the same high school and we did this like he
00:42:39
got to do everything like normal. my like didn't upheave my whole family and
00:42:43
move across the world like other people have done or like across the country. >> Yeah. Next time if your brother ever
00:42:48
complains, just tell him that um Taylor Swift's whole family moved to Tennessee
00:42:51
for her music career. So he can just shut the [ __ ] up. >> No, I mean I think we were quite lucky.
00:42:58
Um there was just I think a like almost like the perfect storm for me >> to cuz I just think Yeah, it was like a
00:43:05
perfect storm that I got to go to my local school. we were living in Queenstown that nothing felt too like
00:43:11
dramatic like it wasn't one of those stories that like you know the family had to lift and shift and you know so
00:43:17
many of these like top athletes the whole family had to sacrifice everything and move and
00:43:21
>> do all this I feel like we were quite lucky that like already living in
00:43:25
Queenstown we had a good infrastructure that >> um it didn't feel like everyone's lives
00:43:30
had to change for me to do good in sport and that was something that I really didn't want because that put so much
00:43:35
pressure on me >> like I said to my parents I that I don't want um I'm like I could only for a
00:43:41
couple years I really struggled even having my parents at the races because it felt like so much pressure having my
00:43:46
family there that I didn't want I always was said to my parents like I just want
00:43:49
everyone to have their own life and like whether I'm ski racing or not it doesn't
00:43:54
affect anyone kind of thing. So I was always very conscious of that that I didn't want my ski racing to be the kind
00:44:01
of personality of the whole family. I wanted everyone to have their own >> um their own things. And then it's only
00:44:07
recently that I've kind of again been able to be comfortable with like having
00:44:10
the whole family come and support at the races. >> But it makes me happier seeing when
00:44:14
everyone's like got their own things going on and my ski racing is just like
00:44:18
a side quest. It's not the focus of the whole family. >> Yeah. >> Yeah.
00:44:23
>> Do do you have any memories of Sydney? >> Um yes. >> Yeah. You only four when you moved to
00:44:29
NZ. >> Yeah. Yeah. So I was really young. I have like I mean I like grew up on like
00:44:35
we lived in um like Rose Bay, Bondi. So it's pretty much like exact opposite of
00:44:40
like what a typical like ski racer. I was like in another life I would have been like a surfer or like a beach
00:44:46
volleyball player. Um but no I remember like very but I mean I was so young I remember us living there. I remember
00:44:51
going down to the beach and little snippets of my life there. Um but I mean obviously I spent the majority of my
00:44:57
childhood in Queenstown. So >> why did the family move? Um, my parents actually they came on holiday, like a
00:45:04
ski holiday, but they weren't big skiers like at all. Like my parents, like my
00:45:08
mom had never skied till she was like out of school, like 20 on a ski holiday in Queenstown, and my dad grew up in
00:45:13
Brisbane, like far away from the snow. So, neither of them were big skiers, but they came to Queenstown on like a like a
00:45:18
lot of Australians do on like a ski holiday. Just loved it and were a bit sick of like Sydney and the hustle and
00:45:24
bustle and kind of wanted the kids to grow up somewhere a bit more relaxed. and my mom was just a little bit over
00:45:30
like Sydney scene. Um, and they were like, "Okay, let's like go to Queenstown
00:45:33
for a year just to change scenery and then just never left." Yeah. >> Do you remember the first time you
00:45:37
touched Snoke? >> No, I don't. I mean, I was three, so it was on a holiday actually from
00:45:42
Queenstown. No, from Sydney to Queenstown apparently. I don't remember it. And then I remember my mom said that
00:45:49
when we moved there it was cheaper for her to put me in ski the ski crash than it was to get a babysitter. So she
00:45:56
wanted to get better at skiing. So she'd go up and put me in like the skie land.
00:46:00
And I was like the only kid in there. And she said she could go skiing all day. And it was cheaper than getting a
00:46:04
babysitter at that time. So she just put me in ski land like all the time. And then there was no other kids in there.
00:46:09
So I just would be doing like little laps by myself. I was like mom was secretly like plotting to like have a
00:46:14
ski racing child like putting me in ski land for all those years. >> That that's amazing. Is it actually
00:46:20
called ski land? That's such a cool name. Do you remember ski land? >> I remember ski I do. I actually do
00:46:24
remember it. It was great. It's like this little section of the ski school up
00:46:29
peak where it's for like under fives or something that you like put them in when
00:46:32
the parents want to go skiing and they >> And are the little kids skiing or
00:46:35
>> Yeah. So there's like a little there's like a pretty much like a daycare sort
00:46:38
of thing and then there's like a little ski slope >> like are you on toboggins or
00:46:43
>> No, you're skiing skis. Yeah, there's like a tiny little magic carpet and um
00:46:48
yeah, you go out and your parents Yeah. You go out there and you normally I had like a private instructor like a private
00:46:54
instructor. Mom said there was like no other kids in there. She's like this is
00:46:56
great. This is like private ski lessons babysitter like for like allin-one and I
00:47:01
get to go skiing all day. So she said that was what I was doing most weekends when I was like four was just in the ski
00:47:07
land. Yeah. So she was like secretly without herself knowing like planning my future as a ski racer.
00:47:14
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. I don't think you you can underestimate just the significance of
00:47:18
that. >> Seriously. And I heard you described um as an aggressive slashcompetitive kid.
00:47:24
>> Yes. >> Uh is there any obvious like parent where that comes from?
00:47:29
>> Um or is that >> Well, I don't I think >> Were you aggressive? Do you remember?
00:47:33
>> No, I'm not aggressive. I think I was just very competitive. Like it was like
00:47:38
always like I just had to win everything. It didn't matter if it was like a sprinting race in the backyard at
00:47:42
like a birthday party like I had to win. or if it was like the um I don't know
00:47:48
the soccer game or the net game or cross country. Um I don't know. I was just
00:47:53
Yeah, I was definitely always sports was like my thing, I guess. Like some kids love music, some kids love, I don't
00:48:00
know. Um drama. I think I just always loved sports was just any like anything athletic. I just always loved it. Like I
00:48:06
loved athletics. So it was like my favorite day of the year at school. I loved um I don't know. I just always
00:48:12
loved it. And I think both my parents were probably quite competitive as well in
00:48:17
like in their own way. Um both being like playing sports and things. So >> yeah, I think any kind of anything I
00:48:24
could do at school like I did every sport like I did Yeah. athletics. I did you know touch rugby. I did the soccer,
00:48:29
netball, I used to horse ride quite a bit as well. So I think I just did everything I could.
00:48:34
>> Yeah. And before before being old enough to sort of you regulate your emotions,
00:48:38
were you um were you a horrible loser? >> Um I think I was. Yeah, I think I don't think I was very good at
00:48:46
losing. Um, and I'm definitely cuz now I actually I'm completely fine with
00:48:50
losing. Like >> I mean you don't want it's never >> you never you never want to lose but for
00:48:54
me like if I do my if I've skied really well and I feel like I've done everything I could and I lose. I'm like
00:48:59
more than happy >> to lose because I feel like I've done everything I could. I now I feel
00:49:03
frustrated if I feel like I did didn't do enough and I could have done more.
00:49:07
That's when I feel the frustration. I don't feel the frustration from the loss
00:49:10
itself. But yeah, I think as a kid I was um yeah, maybe not the best loser. Um was there a moment when you realized
00:49:20
that you had a gift? >> Um I don't know if there was a specific moment. I think as a kid it was even
00:49:28
from when I was like probably like as early as I can remember, it was always my dream to be um like the best in the
00:49:35
world at a sport. I don't think I knew what sport it was. But like I remember
00:49:40
watching like Olympics as like a sevenyear-old and being like I'm going to do that. Like maybe more summer
00:49:46
Olympics. I think I probably was watching the sprinting being like oh I'm going to be a sprinter. Like you know
00:49:49
how everyone loves watching the like 100 meter sprint as a kid. I was like I'm
00:49:53
going to win the sprint 100 meter sprint. Um, but I always loved sport and I think um I'd played so many but I just
00:49:59
loved ski racing because I think it combined so many things about my personality like the the competit
00:50:06
competition but also the fearlessness like adrenaline. You don't really get that from a lot of other sports that
00:50:11
like rush I suppose. Um, and I don't know it just always felt like a bigger deal to me than any other sport. And I
00:50:20
don't know if I ever felt like I had a gift, but um I think probably when I won this like
00:50:26
international kids race when I was like 12 and then I also won the US nationals um when I was like 13. I was like okay
00:50:36
um and know people were saying to me I'm quite good. I was like okay maybe this
00:50:40
is something that I could do. And I remember every time like you know you like make a wish for something I'd
00:50:45
always be like I want to be like the best ski racer ever. That was like what I used to wish,
00:50:49
>> you know. And I suppose Oh, that's cute. Do you do you look back and think, "Oh,
00:50:53
I should have wished for something even bigger than that." >> Yeah, I know. I know. It's pretty funny.
00:50:57
But >> um Yeah. And it must be quite quite nice and validating at that age. You people
00:51:01
telling you that you you've got something special. >> Yeah. I think I mean it's pretty funny
00:51:06
now to like look back at it because it's like now seems a bit ridiculous to me
00:51:09
that people would like >> tell a 12-year-old like, "Oh, you've got
00:51:13
something special." Like that seems a bit like bit funny to me. But Um, at the
00:51:18
time, yeah, I think it was cool, but I maybe it did give me like the motivation to like keep pushing. Um, and I was
00:51:24
never someone who was easily intimidated, I guess, um, by like hard competitors or like older people. I
00:51:32
think especially when I went into the open age group, that kind of became a bit more of a drive cuz a lot of times
00:51:36
when people are successful in the younger like kids age group, they get to the open age group and just freak out
00:51:41
cuz they're now racing like 25 year olds, 30 year olds. Um, but I think for me, um, I kind of loved running that
00:51:47
like underdog mentality into like the open age group that I was like, "Oh, yeah, now this is awesome. I've got
00:51:52
like, you know, a measure because you get start getting world ranked when you get into the open age group." Um, and
00:51:58
getting these things called fist points, which is like your ranking points. >> And for me, it became like a challenge.
00:52:03
Okay, like this is where it starts to go. And I think I kind of stepped up from that. Um, which was cool. But I
00:52:10
don't think I ever thought I had a gift, but I also I just loved the kind of
00:52:13
challenge of ski racing and I just loved it as a sport. >> Was there a moment when you realized it
00:52:17
could be your career? >> I think probably when I won that like international kids race in Canada, it
00:52:24
was kind of like a telling like, "Oh, if you >> At what age?" Like 12.
00:52:27
>> Yeah, it was like 13. It was like a telling like, "Oh, if you win this, this
00:52:31
is like the stepping stone to becoming like a professional cuz it's kind of like, oh, you're the best in your age
00:52:36
group in the world sort of thing or like in that in North America." So I think
00:52:40
probably then it was like and I don't think any Kiwis had won it before. So it
00:52:44
was kind of like a okay this could be something. >> It sort of seems like a farfetched dream
00:52:49
at that point though being intermediate age thing. >> Well that's what I'm looking at it now.
00:52:52
I'm like if someone would for me like seeing a 12 like I don't could never
00:52:56
tell. I mean unless it's like freakish but I mean for me it seems a bit odd to
00:53:00
say to a 12-year-old like this is going to be your career. Like for me now being
00:53:03
like 23 and being in the sport I'm like why would you tell a 12-year-old that?
00:53:07
Like that's so weird. I don't know. I think but I don't know. Yeah, maybe at
00:53:11
the time it didn't seem that I don't think at the time it felt farfetched to
00:53:14
me at all. Like I think um I always had kind of big dreams and aspirations. So it didn't feel like anything unreachable
00:53:22
at all. Whereas now I think like oh my god imagine telling a 12-year-old that. Like it seems bizarre like go be a
00:53:27
12-year-old. I'm like it seems weird. >> Yeah. It's like it's crazy though. From
00:53:31
where you were sitting right now that's like half your life ago. >> Yeah. Actually, I was thinking about
00:53:35
this the other this the other day and it was freaking me out because I won my first World Cup 2019 in Sultan which was
00:53:44
6 years ago and I think about okay I was 17 then >> and then I think about 6 years before
00:53:50
that I was 11 >> and I'm like that's just been the same amount of time but it feels like that
00:53:55
chunk from like 11 to 17 is such a bigger time of your life than 17 to 23 but it's been the same amount of time
00:54:00
which like freaks me out that like yeah it's kind of Scary. >> When When did you first um first get
00:54:07
some money from it? Either through a sponsorship or prize money. How old were you then?
00:54:11
>> I think Yeah. 16 or 17. Yeah. >> Yeah. And that's where I was like,
00:54:15
"Okay, cool." Like >> was that Can you remember how much? >> Oh,
00:54:19
>> was it like a big ceremonial happy girl check? >> Um I think the first time was my
00:54:29
second Yeah, my first year. No, second year fist. So I was 17. my first World Cup podium. I think I got about like
00:54:35
€30,000. So, I was like, "Oh my god, this is so cool. >> I can do this for a job."
00:54:40
>> Yeah. I was like, "Oh my god." Like, as a 17-year-old, >> it's like, "Oh my god, like here we go.
00:54:45
This is happening." Yeah. >> Oh my god, that's much better than working at the Frankton Fort Square.
00:54:53
>> Oh, that's incredible. >> Yeah. So, I think that was like >> [ __ ]
00:54:57
Wow. Did you were your parents like, "Oh, make sure you invest it." >> Yeah. I don't think I mean I don't think
00:55:03
I even like thought I don't think I even thought about it to be honest. I think I
00:55:06
was like at that at that point I was still in high school and my parents were like managing all that for me. So I
00:55:11
wasn't really like it wasn't like the financial stuff has never really been a
00:55:14
driver for me. Um I mean it's obviously you need it to keep doing it and do the
00:55:19
sport but I mean for me it wasn't really about the the paycheck. It was kind of
00:55:22
just like a consequence of the like I've been more fussed about the result. Getting second at the World Cup was
00:55:27
insane. like and then the other stuff that happened after that was just kind of a byproduct but it wasn't like the
00:55:32
the driver at all but it was pretty cool. >> I suppose if you get the results
00:55:36
everything else will take care of >> Yeah. Well, that's kind of I think for
00:55:38
me that's always been my mentality is like the results first and then like it's not like anyone I think goes into a
00:55:43
race being like I need to win this for the prize money. You know, it's like okay, no, I need to ski fast and win the
00:55:49
race and then you know what else happens happens. But yeah. >> Yeah. Um okay, so let's talk about um
00:55:55
some of your career. Hopefully we'll run through sort of in a chronological sort
00:55:58
of way. So um the big breakthrough was at 16 when you won the silver at the 2019 Junior World Championships.
00:56:04
>> So yeah almost so I won the junior worlds when I was 17 which then gave me
00:56:11
an invite to the World Cup finals in March. So that was like my second year in the open age group. So I just turned
00:56:17
17. Um and then so 17 I turned 17 in December and then in February I won the World Junior Champs. Um and then in
00:56:26
March I got the invite to the World Cup finals because I was World Junior Champion and that's when I got second um
00:56:32
my first podium which isn't like cuz normally like the World Junior kind of gets invited as like a token thing to
00:56:38
the World Cup finals. It's not like they're expected to do that well unless
00:56:41
they've already unless cuz you can be like a junior until you're >> 21 I think. So obviously there's been
00:56:48
juniors who have been on like in the top five before, but if you weren't in the
00:56:53
cuz only the top 25, sorry, a little bit confusing, only the top 25 get invited to the finals, it's um so if you're not
00:56:59
in the top 25 and you get invited as world junior champion, you're kind of just there as like a token extra. And
00:57:05
then I went there and I was like starting last like worst ranked by far. And I ended up getting second and that
00:57:10
was kind of my big breakthrough. M >> and then the next race was the World Cup
00:57:14
opener and that's when I won in Sultan in October. So it was like a very quick
00:57:19
progression from like I think it was only my like 10th World Cup start which is like not many at all for getting a
00:57:26
win. It's like very um short amount of races. >> Yeah. Describe that moment. Is that
00:57:31
life-changing? Would you call it life-changing? >> Oh yeah, definitely. I remember when I
00:57:35
won my first race in Sultan. Um it was it was huge cuz I beat Michaela Shiffron who was at the time had just um like the
00:57:45
year before and had like the best season ever. She's now like you know the greatest ski like ski racer of all time
00:57:50
statistically and I was like a 17year-old from New Zealand who beat Michaela Shiffron. It was like a massive
00:57:55
story. I think I got like 30,000 followers on Instagram like in like a few hours. It was like cuz in Europe I
00:58:01
mean it's a huge sport for them. So for them having a new like a Kiwi come in at
00:58:06
17 and beat Michaela was like it was massive. It was really cool and I didn't
00:58:10
really realize it at the time, you know, cuz I was just so young and I was like,
00:58:13
"Oh, you know, this is like ski racing thing, but now I'm going to fly home and
00:58:16
like go to my high school graduation." Like it was like kind of nothing but it
00:58:21
was a big deal. So that was definitely life-changing. um in terms of you know the I guess for cuz you know I say like
00:58:30
when I was 12 that oh I'm going to do this is my job but I don't think it ever
00:58:32
felt real until I got like my first podium at a World Cup because that's when you're actually okay here like I'm
00:58:38
doing this now >> and then getting a win was kind of like oh okay like maybe I'm actually going to
00:58:43
be like not just okay at this but like really good at this sort of thing and then yeah and to have it like happen
00:58:49
that like that quickly I think was amazing but like also like a little bit of a blessing and a curse to like get
00:58:55
that success so quickly without really understanding what I was doing. >> Yeah, I can understand why you that's a
00:59:01
blessing, but why is it a curse? >> Well, I think just because um I think when you have success really young,
00:59:08
especially, you know, people, some people have success when they're really young. You know, they've grown up with
00:59:12
this their whole life. Their parents, their coaches, this has been like, you know, their kind of religion their whole
00:59:16
life. I think for me it just felt like this kind of side quest that all of a sudden I was winning and I was like,
00:59:22
"Okay, well like what do I do now?" Like I've already >> like done it, you know, and I be well
00:59:27
that's why I was like I was like, "Well, >> what do I do?" And I just think I kind
00:59:31
of got a bit lost with, >> you know, the processes that you have to learn being a professional athlete. Like
00:59:37
what is my routines in the morning? Like how do I >> how do I train? Um what am I working on?
00:59:42
What are the things that work for me when I'm feel pressure? I feel stressed
00:59:46
because I won so early, but I also had like no pressure because I was 17 and like so carefree and like freespirited
00:59:52
that, you know, I was always like, like I said, my mentality has changed a lot. Like what when I was in the start as a
00:59:59
17-year-old, I just would go full gas, like no thoughts and everything. I I don't remember any of those race runs.
01:00:04
It was just like full kind of black and white, like don't remember anything. And
01:00:08
now as I've gotten older, I've had to through failure. And you know, that kind
01:00:14
of mentality doesn't work all the time, just going like full ballistic without
01:00:18
having any processes in place. And that's when I kind of started to struggle. Things weren't going well. I
01:00:22
was like, "Oh, I'm stressed because things aren't going well. Like I don't
01:00:25
have any tools to deal with this. And I feel extra pressure cuz I've already won
01:00:29
a World Cup. So if I'm not winning anymore that I'm failing even though I'm
01:00:32
just 17 and I'm trying to figure it out." So it was like a lot of kind of
01:00:36
extra pressure with like you know having 10 world cup races under my belt for example now I have like 105 starts
01:00:43
>> which is normally people would have probably about like before getting a win
01:00:46
would have like you know over at least like 30 to 50 starts. So you've kind of
01:00:51
been doing this for long enough that you understand the way the sport works and the highs and lows. Um and I didn't have
01:00:57
any of that. You know I've done 10 World Cup races >> and I just thought okay I won. um I need
01:01:02
to do this every week now. And I was also getting thrown, you know, so many other things like, "Oh, now you should
01:01:07
start doing this discipline." And I was like, looking back now, I'm like, if I
01:01:10
could do it again, I would have put like zero. I would have like sat myself down
01:01:15
and said like, "Okay, this is awesome what you've done, but this is not like
01:01:19
don't expect this to happen every week. Like every, like I said in ski racing,
01:01:22
every week's different. Every course is different. Snow conditions change. Like
01:01:26
when I was young, I was really good on like certain like when it was hard conditions like icy and every week, one
01:01:33
week could be icy, one week it could be um soft cuz it's warm. It could have
01:01:37
rained like the snow can be completely different. The course set can be different. It could be really a flat
01:01:42
course. It could be steep. Um there's so many variables at play. And just because
01:01:46
you won this one race doesn't mean you're going to win every week. And I
01:01:50
think I had in my head that >> I've won this now. So if I don't win
01:01:54
every race now, I'm like a failure and I'm doing something wrong. And I think
01:01:58
that's how I felt. So when I wasn't hitting like the expectations like like
01:02:03
and then it compared me like and then it just kind of got worse and worse because
01:02:06
I wasn't doing it and then I was like why am I not doing this? Why am I not doing well? And it just kind of got
01:02:11
worse and worse >> and I struggled. So, I think when you get old, like if you have success when
01:02:16
you, you know, you've been kind of poking in top 10 for two years and then you start getting a couple top fives and
01:02:21
then you get a podium and you kind of round the podium for like a year and then you get a win and you're like 24
01:02:27
like most people when they or you know mid20s and you get your first win. You've had like already five years of
01:02:32
experience to understand the way the sport works. And I think I had none of that. So for me, I was just kind of this
01:02:38
kid who thought they should be winning everything with like zero understanding of what it actually took like week in
01:02:42
week out to be doing that. >> Well, I suppose um and fairness to you like you know 5 years earlier you'd had
01:02:48
people telling you that you were that good and >> so I suppose in a way it was just this
01:02:53
um this destiny that you felt was rightfully yours. >> Yeah. I mean maybe in a way I think I
01:02:58
always felt like oh this is um you know I'm going to be the best at this but
01:03:04
it's easy to say that and then to actually do it in practice and this isn't like a you know weekend sport this
01:03:09
is like a massive >> industry in Europe you know for me coming from New Zealand I don't think I
01:03:14
also understood like the scale of this >> um the sport and like the following and
01:03:19
the >> and the money involved and the ski companies involved and the brands
01:03:23
involved and the media involved it and the opportunities and the um all of that and also just you know kind of learning
01:03:32
about life being a 17-year-old on the other side of the world by yourself. There's a lot of other things you have
01:03:37
to figure out like, oh, like how do I approach things? Like, okay, I'm overseas by myself in foreign countries.
01:03:44
Like, I don't know anyone. I don't speak the language. Like, just feeling a
01:03:48
little bit lost in general as well. Also, I'm in the middle of a pandemic, which was kind of the following year.
01:03:53
Like, there was a lot of factors at play um that made things hard for sure. >> Yeah.
01:03:58
>> Yeah. >> Oh, yeah. We'll get to the pandemic um years in a second, but um yeah, at that
01:04:03
time when you when you you podium um you were called things like a phenom and a wonderkin.
01:04:09
>> Um >> I always thought it was wonder kid. >> Wonder kid. It's like a German like
01:04:14
wonder kid. >> What's wonder? >> It means wonder child in German.
01:04:18
>> I always thought it was wonder. >> Yeah. Wonder kid. >> Um what did that do for you? Like um
01:04:25
>> Yeah. Did it did it did it build your confidence or did it just create unwanted pressure? I think to a point
01:04:30
like when I because when I first got into open age group um I did quite like I dropped my world ranking quite fast.
01:04:38
Um and I think having those that kind of oh you're good like that gave me a lot
01:04:43
of motivation to keep pushing to really get good good. I think when I won my first race
01:04:50
um it put pressure um for sure and like I said it was like um like being called a wonder kid it's like okay like in a
01:04:58
way it adds like confidence as well and I won like another race that same season. Um, and then I think for me when
01:05:05
it was all going well, it was yeah, all good. And then when things started to go
01:05:09
wrong or like not go the way that I wanted or like you know for me getting like stuck in these like ruts of I've
01:05:16
dnfed one race which is like it did not finish. Um, so it was just like no result and then I would go through these
01:05:21
like spells of trying so hard that I would like crash out and then you just have like no results for like 3 weeks
01:05:28
and it's basically just like you weren't there because you don't get any points
01:05:31
which then affects your world rankings. So >> those are the times then you kind of
01:05:35
start seeing media be like wonderkin like what's happened sort of thing and then it's like that's when it gets
01:05:40
stressful and um >> I felt the pressure and I also was comparing myself to someone like
01:05:46
Michaela because Michaela we won our first races at quite a similar age and she's now like the greatest skier of all
01:05:52
time statistically. Um she's won like 100 World Cup races so how many years?
01:05:57
>> Yeah. So on paper I mean she is the best. Um and we won yeah our first races
01:06:04
at similar times. So there was a bit of pressure too like oh you should be the next Michaela. And looking back at it
01:06:10
now and I also like people like you know Lindsay >> Vaughn who's the second festival you
01:06:15
know she won her first race when she was I think 20 so like 3 years older than me.
01:06:20
>> So people like to me oh you're going to be like >> you know the next Michaela even cuz you
01:06:25
won the race at the same time your first race. And I think I kind of put pressure
01:06:28
on myself like oh then now I have to do like everything Kayla's done at the same
01:06:33
times like she won Olympic gold then at 18 and like won you know has gone on to win all these races and then it kind of
01:06:39
took me like a year or two to realize okay obviously you know we won off her race at the same time but we have like
01:06:45
completely different stories. I mean she's an American. >> She's like is on you know probably a
01:06:51
part of the biggest organiz one of the biggest organizations in skiing. I'm like just a random New Zealander like
01:06:56
figuring this out by myself, you know, like um >> yeah, you're an outlier. I suppose it's
01:07:02
like Ste Steven Adams in in the NBA. It's like >> it's just completely different story. So
01:07:06
then when I stopped comparing myself to to other people and expecting, hey, you should be winning this, you should be
01:07:11
winning that. I was like, and then I kind of I think that was just cuz I was young. I didn't know. And then you look
01:07:15
at every ski racer like all top ski racers have had such different, you know, peaks, pits, falls. Everyone has
01:07:21
such different stories that there's not like a timeline that you hit. And I've
01:07:25
spoken to other athletes about this as well, like who have peaked, who have started, you know, like some other
01:07:30
athletes have who have become amazing skiers, like didn't win a first race till they were like 22, 23
01:07:37
>> or even older. And they've gone on to like have their most success at an older
01:07:41
age. Um, and they all said that as soon as I let go of that feeling of I've got
01:07:46
to have done this by this point, by this point, then they all feel a lot better.
01:07:49
So, I think as soon as I let that go, it's when I kind of felt like free again
01:07:52
to write my own sort of story, I guess, and not be feeling pressured to fit into
01:07:57
like these categories of having achieved this at this age or achieved that at that age. So,
01:08:02
>> yeah. >> So, 2018, you made your first Olympics, your debut in Pon Chang. Um,
01:08:09
>> yeah. youngest New Zealand Olympian ever. >> Yeah, I got Nico by like two weeks, I
01:08:13
think. >> He got the medal, though. So, >> yeah. Yeah. Nico, Zoe, and yourself all
01:08:18
about the same age, but you >> Yeah, we're all 2001, so I just got them
01:08:21
cuz I'm December, but they're but they got the medal. So, >> um Yeah. What are your recollections of
01:08:28
that? You you just got the call up like the shoulder tap to go like a couple of weeks before.
01:08:31
>> Mhm. Yeah. Yeah. So, Pyong Chang, that was my first year racing open age group.
01:08:36
So, fist. Um, and I'd done really well that first year. I think I was like ranked first my age in the world. So, I
01:08:45
got the call up to go and it was I mean it was so cool because >> how much notice? Like two weeks. Three
01:08:49
weeks. >> Two weeks. Yeah, two weeks. Like confirmed I think two weeks. I think I
01:08:53
had when I started doing well that year I thought okay Olympics is a possibility.
01:08:58
>> Um, but I mean I just got to go and they like obviously I wasn't a medal
01:09:02
contender but they just wanted to give me that exposure to get there and check it out. So, I mean, for me it was so
01:09:07
cool cuz it was kind of like a no pressure sort of situation. You know, I was just 16 my first year racing open
01:09:14
age group. So, I was probably ranked like 35th, I think, in the world or like 40th. Um, and they just said, "We want
01:09:21
you to go and get the opportunity to experience like the Olympics and, you know, learn about the differences
01:09:27
between the Olympics and another event." So, >> I got to go and I felt like I actually
01:09:30
got to experience like a bit more of the Olympics without the pressure, which was
01:09:34
cool. So, it was overall like I didn't I mean nothing great results wise, but it
01:09:38
was a really positive experience and it was cool to like be with the rest of the
01:09:43
team because normally when I'm at events like I'm the only one there so it was
01:09:46
cool to be a part of like cuz normally I'm just racing for myself you know on
01:09:50
the World Cup circuit it was cool like racing for something a bit bigger like being on like the New Zealand team and
01:09:55
having other athletes was quite cool. So that was generally like a really cool experience.
01:09:59
>> Yeah. Who whose call is it to send you? Is it the like the New Zealand Olympic
01:10:02
Committee or >> Yeah. So I I don't even know how it works. I think how it works is you get
01:10:07
nominated to the New Zealand Olympic Committee by Snow Sports and then it's kind of a collaborative thing and I
01:10:13
think Yeah. Yeah. I think that's how it works. So you get nominated and then
01:10:16
NZOC makes the decision. >> Yeah. >> So that's um investing in future you
01:10:21
right. They're like this is going to be around for another couple of Olympic
01:10:24
cycles. Um let's get her debut one out of her system so she knows what it's all
01:10:28
about. That was really smart. Well, I think there's a few like clauses in Olympic because there's obviously
01:10:32
criteria that um they're quite aware of wanting to give younger athletes who
01:10:38
have potential an opportunity as well. So, I mean, it was pretty cool for me >> getting to get the shot at the nod at 16
01:10:44
like, okay, like I went from racing like kids >> um events and then 6 months later I was
01:10:49
at the Olympics. I was like, "Oh, okay. Here we go." Like, this is this is the
01:10:53
real deal now. >> How how was it um going to the Olympics so young? Who went who went with you as
01:10:58
your chaperon? Um, >> mom and dad. >> No, we didn't have I don't think we had
01:11:01
a shepherone. I think I was just I mean me and Zoe, we were all like in a um apartment and there were like older like
01:11:08
we had like a girls there was only like four girls going so we had like a we had
01:11:11
like a girls apartment. It was like me, Zoe, like Brit Halls and Janina and then
01:11:16
a couple of the physios. So we were all there together and then my coach came as
01:11:19
well. Um and then my parents came bit but a support crew. So um >> yeah, it was really cool.
01:11:26
>> Yeah, it must be Yeah. Yeah, I don't know if you've thought much about this,
01:11:29
but like from your parents' perspective, you know, here they are just a couple of
01:11:32
Aussies moved to New Zealand at four, they're 16, their their daughters at the
01:11:37
the Winter Olympics. >> It's wild. >> Yeah. I mean, it kind of is.
01:11:41
>> It is. It's crazy. >> Yeah. I mean, for them, they're probably
01:11:43
like not expecting their life to go down that path like after moving to New Zealand. Like I know for them I Yeah.
01:11:50
Yeah, I mean >> if if you stayed in Australia, like you could have been at schoolies that
01:11:54
weekend. >> Probably like that's if I was in a if I was in Australia, I feel like I just
01:11:57
ended up would have ended up playing like field hockey or something like my mom. So, it's probably just like a
01:12:02
slightly more exotic um >> sports that they were planning than than they were planning. But, I mean, yeah,
01:12:10
they love it though. Like, they're such big ski fans. It's pretty funny for like
01:12:14
not being big skiers. Like, they're so like they just love it. They love like
01:12:17
coming to Europe and being part of it. like they just yeah they think it's great. So
01:12:21
>> they must have learned so much about the sport. Like are they able to sort of
01:12:24
critique your races? >> I mean I think to be honest they've never really um they've kind of stayed
01:12:30
out of it. >> I think my like dad was smart that he kind of listened to the right people
01:12:38
about things and never like tried to make any decisions himself cuz he knew that he didn't know anything about it.
01:12:44
So like I think in that way they were good at like not trying to like step in places that they didn't understand
01:12:50
either and now they've just kind of really I mean they've never like tried
01:12:54
to give me like adi or like you know technical advice about skiing or like >> it's always the only like I go to them
01:13:00
for like a lot but it's more like you know emotional stuff nothing to do with
01:13:03
the sport itself because they both like >> it's like and they don't try to like
01:13:08
understand it because they know that >> I've got a lot more understanding than
01:13:11
they do so they just support and things that they know about But they've never
01:13:14
tried to like overstep and >> try to be ski experts cuz they're not. >> So February 18, 2020, you become the
01:13:22
joint world number one ranked skier in women's giant Salem. >> Mhm. Yeah. Yeah. So that so that was on
01:13:30
like a fist rankings list. Um >> I think that year I was actually like fifth in the standings, but I'd had two
01:13:36
wins, so it made me like the joint um number one on the fist list. But yes, that was when I was 18.
01:13:44
>> Yeah, I'd won two races. It was and I'd won the last race before CO struck. So,
01:13:50
I'd won that race and then the last three GS races got cancelled um due to co and then yeah, it was like
01:13:57
>> what's what's that moment like? Is it just like >> I mean honestly I felt pretty
01:14:02
invincible. Um the last race that I won before CO hit, I remember I just like the amount of like what I remember
01:14:09
watching that run back and I just had this like insane race. Like I just looked like you know people were saying
01:14:14
to me like oh no one's like going to be able to beat her in GS like ever. Like
01:14:18
it was pretty cool at the time. I mean I was just like an 18year-old and um you know the things just lined up so well
01:14:27
that I just yeah I was in a pretty great place. Um, I mean, I'm not sure what
01:14:32
would have happened that season if like hadn't everything been shut down due to
01:14:35
co like I could have won the last three races and won the Globe for that year. I
01:14:39
don't know. Or I could have never have won again that season. Um, but definitely having like I mean this is a
01:14:47
pretty like obviously co threw like a spanner in the works for me as it did for like everyone in the world. So, um,
01:14:54
yeah, after that race, we all went into co lockdown mode and then just went home
01:15:00
to New Zealand and kind of sat at home for like seven month or 6 months and didn't ski. Um, and then that next year
01:15:07
was Yeah. went back overseas and was kind of trying to do it um in a new world really and I found it quite
01:15:14
challenging the next the next year. >> Yeah. >> A new world. How do you mean just like
01:15:19
postco? po like during co so it was like 2020 um Europe we were in Italy we were
01:15:25
having to everything was closed so >> we were like you know in New Zealand no
01:15:30
one could do anything and then in I had to go over to Europe by myself while New
01:15:34
Zealand was shut as an 18-year-old and like try try and live in this like Italy stricken co getting tests every three
01:15:42
days like living in like complete isolation like everyone just turned into such recluses because no one could like
01:15:47
interact either because we were getting tested every three days So, no one wanted to get co and I was so young, no
01:15:52
family around. Like, >> it was really, it was yeah, super tough. Um, looking back on it now, I'm like,
01:15:58
"Oh my god, I don't know how I did that." >> Um, but I mean like first world
01:16:03
problems, I guess. Like, people are in bigger bigger problems. But >> I fully get that. There's there's I mean
01:16:10
there's there's homesickness and then there's like co homesickness. Like
01:16:13
homesickness has and you can be in Europe. Um, you can FaceTime your family, but you could do that during co,
01:16:18
but you can also know that if things get really bad, you can just jump on a plane
01:16:21
and be home in 24 hours. In co, you were you're like stranded somewhere. >> Yeah. It was like
01:16:25
>> there's no no sign on the horizon of how how or when you'd get back home.
01:16:29
>> No, nothing. And I remember it was when you couldn't get like a quarantine spot
01:16:33
either and I couldn't get a visa either. So, I was like overstaying in Europe and
01:16:37
I was like, well, if I get pulled up at the border, I'm just going to say like,
01:16:39
oh, look, like I couldn't go anywhere. Like, I couldn't get that. Like, sorry.
01:16:44
ended up not having any problems, so it was fine. But, um, I think as an 18-year-old, that was quite stressful
01:16:49
cuz at that point, I was still very attached to home. I think obviously now if that had happened, I would be
01:16:55
completely fine and have the tools and like know the right people to deal with it. But as an 18-year-old, like New
01:17:00
Zealand was still very much my whole world, you know, like my, you know, center of the world was New Zealand
01:17:05
still. So, being in Europe, I just felt so isolated. >> Um, and yeah, I found it really hard. I
01:17:12
think that year was really challenging. Um, but I I like at the end of that season I did like win
01:17:18
a race again. Um, so I didn't do well that whole year pretty much. And then the last two races I somehow managed to
01:17:25
get my groove back and I got a podium and then I won the finals race of the year and I was like, "Okay, yeah, that
01:17:31
was tough." But I'm out the other side now. And then that next year it just got
01:17:36
harder again, I think. Um, >> what year are we at now? >> So, sorry. So this was 2020 2021.
01:17:42
>> I finished the year with like another World Cup win. So I was 19 and then I
01:17:46
think I became like the first teenager to win like more than one GS since like um or to win over two GSs since like the
01:17:56
since like the 80s or something. So back again like everything was on track and then that next year it just got so much
01:18:03
harder again. >> Yeah. >> I think that was the Olympics year was the next year like 2021 2022 Beijing.
01:18:09
>> Let's talk about that. the 2022. Um, yeah, there there was a staff story
01:18:13
headline that I saw and it's calling you a winter winter Olympic medal hopeful,
01:18:17
which sounds like a lot of pressure. And then, um, at those Olympics, uh, you finished in 22nd place.
01:18:23
>> He was at like rock bottom, would you say? >> Mhm. Yes. Um, I remember this year I
01:18:29
came into it feeling like so well prepared. Things were going really well. Um, I'd started racing more like Super G
01:18:36
and downhill. And in December, I think I finished fourth in a super G, which was
01:18:42
like a massive breakthrough. Like, so now I was like, "Oh my god, I could get
01:18:45
a medal in like two events." >> And then the next day I tested positive
01:18:49
for CO and I missed two weeks of racing and it was like a really bad time to miss races. It was like I missed like
01:18:58
five like it was bad timing that I missed a huge like five races which in ski racing is really stressful because
01:19:05
um I guess it would be the same like missing a race in Formula 1. You just lose out on the points and then you go
01:19:09
back like your ranking drops. So it was really stressful cuz I was like okay I've just missed three races. I've
01:19:15
really got to like make up for it now um in the next ones. And I was skiing so well, but I'd like just come off CO and
01:19:23
I had like zero energy and I like crashed the next two races because I just lost all my energy like 3/4 of the
01:19:29
way down. I think I had like a little bit like lacking some energy probably from having co and I was like okay. But
01:19:36
then my super G was going like pretty well this year. Well, like tracking but nothing like special. Um but the GS was
01:19:43
just a disaster. like I'd missed four races cuz of co like missed three races
01:19:47
because of co I'd crashed in two. So, my season GS was basically completely finished cuz I was like, I've just,
01:19:53
yeah, I'm not going to have any of these points. And that puts more pressure. So,
01:19:57
okay, now I really need to do well in this race cuz I've missed that and I've
01:19:59
crashed there. And then going to Beijing, I remember I was like pretty exhausted
01:20:07
just from the whole like just the season that had been like just the co and then
01:20:11
crashing and I was just feeling like oh my god, I'm so like trying to play catchup so badly. Um, anyway, get to
01:20:18
Beijing. um had like I think yeah it was just so I remember just being so wigged out flying into
01:20:26
Beijing airport which is supposed to be like the busiest airport in the world and there's no one there like we're the
01:20:31
only plane on the >> in the um airport. I was like this just feels so eerie
01:20:38
and we're all like lining up for our COVID tests and I was just like oh like
01:20:42
this is weird but anyway bit of a novelty so it's fine. Get to the Olympic village. I'm the only Kiwi at our
01:20:48
village, so it's quite like isolating as well. There's like nowhere to socialize.
01:20:52
You're like eating in these little like cubes, getting tested every morning.
01:20:56
Like it's just Yeah, it's just bizarre, but you know, it's what it is. Um
01:21:01
anyway, I go to like do the training. Like I'm there. It's not like a normal
01:21:05
Olympic. Like it was completely different vibe to Korea, but I mean it's fine. And then training actually was
01:21:12
going so well. Um, you know, I'd had like such a bad season obviously with the crashes and the but I was like I
01:21:18
know still I know that I can still win this even this season that I've had like
01:21:22
I've still got it in me to like do well in this race and training was going really well. I was like one of the
01:21:28
fastest in training. um felt so good and then got to the race and they'd like
01:21:36
sprayed this the slope um with water and the surface like came out like it was barely bizarre cuz it's all mad snow in
01:21:43
China. There's no natural snow and they sprayed it and I remember just going out
01:21:47
of the start and having like just complete loss of like control over my skis. Like the surface in my skis just
01:21:55
like like didn't work. Like nothing was working. My skis were sliding all over
01:22:00
the place like fishing. It was just like >> just had Yeah. zero. It felt like I
01:22:04
couldn't ski. I was like I don't know what's going on. Like it was just I
01:22:08
don't know if it was like a mixture of the conditions and or just me like being
01:22:13
I mean I you know was really nervous but it just felt like I couldn't ski. And I
01:22:17
think it was a bit of a mixture of the obviously being nervous and the conditions being so different there to
01:22:22
anything else. And a lot of people kind of struggled like like Michaela fell on like the third gate. another top girl
01:22:28
fell in like the fifth gate. Like it was just really odd conditions. And I remember like if it had been any other
01:22:35
race, I probably I would have stopped. I probably would have came out, but I just
01:22:38
tried. So I was like, "No, like I need to finish this." And it was just brutal.
01:22:42
It was like complete battle. Like every turn felt like >> alien like just so weird. I'd like
01:22:48
remember I got to the finish and I was just in like complete shock. And I remember being in the tent after the
01:22:54
first run just like completely balling my eyes out like I can't believe this
01:22:58
has happened. Like because it's over so quickly. It's like 1 minute it's done.
01:23:03
And I actually remember Michaela cuz she also crashed. Um Shiffron came up to me
01:23:07
and like sat me down and gave me like a pep talk cuz she felt so sorry for me cuz I was so upset. Um anyway, battled
01:23:14
and did the second run. was definitely probably my worst GS result in like 5 years timewise like from the leader. Um
01:23:22
and it was just like oh my god like that couldn't have got and I like got to
01:23:27
the end of the day and I was talking to my physio I was like I don't think that
01:23:29
day could have been any worse like the only thing worse would have been if id crashed and hurt myself like that's the
01:23:36
only thing that would have been worse than this like it probably anyway. So, it was really tough. It was just like
01:23:42
>> um really upsetting and yeah, I remember I but I remember I had also the Super G
01:23:48
event to do and I was okay, I'm going to like really like regroup now, get myself
01:23:53
ready for Superg. I like took every bit of energy and like motivation and like fuel and passion that I had to get
01:23:59
remotivated for the Super G. And I remember I was saying to the coaches, I was like, I'm going to either I'm like
01:24:05
getting on the podium or I'm going to the fence in this race. And I remember I
01:24:08
got so fired up. Um, and yeah, there was this big bank turn and every girl was like skidding it a little bit to speed
01:24:18
control. And I remember watching on TV cuz I had like bib 16. I was like, "Oh
01:24:20
no, I'm not skidding that. Like I'm going full um I'm going to like clean
01:24:25
arc that, which is like when you don't scrub any speed." And I go down the
01:24:30
course. I'm actually doing really well. At the second intermediate, I was like
01:24:33
third on the splits. And I was like, "Oh, I'm arcing this. Like I'm not
01:24:36
sliding." and I just it's a bank just slightly mistimed it and just crashed so
01:24:41
hard into the nets um lost my ski like tumbled got up ski to the finish and I was actually completely fine but I was
01:24:50
like okay I think I'm actually broken >> after this I was like this is brutal and
01:24:55
I'm luckily I can laugh about it now but at the time it was pretty pretty tough I
01:25:00
was like >> how long was it before you could laugh about it >> oh >> probably
01:25:06
the next season, >> right? >> Yeah. Like it took me like because after
01:25:10
that I was like so checked out for the rest of the season as well. I'd like >> was so um exhausted like mentally,
01:25:17
physically. Um I like had to go back to Europe and finish the season cuz we still had like five weeks, six weeks
01:25:24
left of the tour cuz obviously it's like every weekend to keep my ranking. Couldn't finish another GS for the
01:25:29
season. So last three GS's I crashed. I just like the thought of getting to I
01:25:33
just was completely like mentally broken like finished the season and then that's when I was like oh my
01:25:40
god and I was just so checked out and that was definitely the hardest season I've done on tour. It was yeah that was
01:25:46
like a shock like okay this is not fun like I'm not enjoying this at all. >> And those those those Beijing um
01:25:52
Olympics obviously your parents can't be there because of strict um travel restrictions. Um yeah how's that initial
01:25:58
phone call? Yeah, I think I just rang my mom and I was just in tears and she was
01:26:03
just like, "Oh, I can't I can't remember what she said, but I think they were
01:26:06
just trying to like console me really." And just >> suddenly you're like a child.
01:26:09
>> Yeah. Well, that's what I'm like like I'm ringing my mom as like a 20-year-old
01:26:13
who's just like inconsolable like a baby having like a tantrum, you know, like
01:26:17
and it seems so silly at the time cuz at the end of the day, you know, this is a
01:26:21
sport, you know, it's not life and death. But I guess when your whole world revolves around something and it's
01:26:27
something that I've tried to kind of put perspective in is like, you know, this
01:26:30
is sport and it's what I do. But >> I mean, trying not to let something
01:26:36
>> affect you so deeply cuz it really like affected me so deeply. Like nothing's
01:26:40
affected me that much. I've never let um a result get me get to me that much
01:26:45
again since then. Um which is something I think I learned from that. Well, there's it's it's not nice, but there is
01:26:51
that saying that um your failure is a stepping stone to success and you learn more from your fails than your wins. And
01:26:56
it's all true, but it still sucks at the time, right? >> It does. Yeah.
01:26:59
>> Why Why didn't you give up then? >> I mean, I never thought like, oh, I'm
01:27:04
going to like giving up sounds cheesy. Giving up was never an option. >> No, but it never crossed my mind to like
01:27:11
that I was going to give up. Um >> not even not even for a slither of a second.
01:27:15
>> No, no, no. Like it didn't. I think I just knew that I needed >> a break or like a change.
01:27:21
>> Yeah. >> What did that um that period or that Olympic cycle teach you about who you
01:27:26
are beyond skiing? >> Um it was Yeah. Thinking I mean I haven't thought about it for a while
01:27:31
now, but thinking back to Sorry about the darkest season of your life. >> Yeah. Reliving trauma though. Um, I
01:27:39
think that season, like I think after that season, I was like, "Wow, okay, maybe this isn't like my everything."
01:27:48
Like maybe I'm not cut out for this, like the way I thought. >> And I was like, "Okay, maybe I need like
01:27:53
something else outside of my life than just skiing." Um, I was like, "Maybe I'm
01:27:58
not." Like, and like for someone who had success so early, it came so naturally.
01:28:02
I was like, "God, the thought of like ever being on a podium like just seems
01:28:07
like impossible right now. Like I can't even imagine how I'm ever going to be
01:28:11
like winning a World Cup race again." I was like, "That just seems like so far
01:28:16
from where I am right now." And I remember watching like um a race that I came that I dnfed in and seeing the the
01:28:25
last three girls come down like in the second run and just being like well I just can't believe like I was ever that
01:28:31
in that position like watching that. I'm like I just can't imagine ever being in
01:28:34
that position again. Like I just feel like I'm not even a part of the sport right now. Um, so it kind of taught me
01:28:40
like okay um I think maybe like I mean it kind of shook me a bit that um this it was the
01:28:49
first time I think I ever thought like oh maybe I'm not cut out for this the
01:28:53
way that I thought I was. So maybe I did think about like not giving up but I was
01:28:55
like questioning my ability and like how good I was for probably the first time.
01:29:00
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. And when when results um don't come, how do you protect your self-worth
01:29:05
from being tied to just the performance? >> Um I think it's a lot about the people
01:29:11
you surround yourself with. Um >> I think sometimes if you around the wrong people, you feel pressure and like
01:29:18
your sense of worth is strictly comes from results. And that's why I >> especially with who I have around me
01:29:23
now, I know like they know me so well and they know me more as like a person than an athlete. and I know that they're
01:29:29
going to treat me the same whether I've won a race or whether I've come eighth
01:29:31
or whether I've crashed. So, I think it's really important that you keep your
01:29:35
people close like your family, your trusted friends. I think, you know, there's a lot of like transactional
01:29:41
relationships in sports. Um, and I think it's really important to hold on to
01:29:44
those relationships that are non-transactional and have yeah, good people around you. Um,
01:29:50
>> and friends that you know you've known before you were an athlete or before you
01:29:53
were like a world-class athlete that you can go and have fun with and you're not
01:29:56
to them. You're not like some athlete. you're just you, you know. So, >> I think it's really important to have
01:30:01
the right people around you. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. People that can remind you
01:30:06
even without words that skiing is what you do, but it's not who you are. >> Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.
01:30:10
>> Um and have I got this right? Um this year 2025, you had your first win in
01:30:13
almost four years. >> Yes. >> Oh my god. Yeah. >> I know. >> Oh, what was that like? Oh, that must
01:30:20
have Was it a joyous or relief? It was like if I could think of like a picture perfect day like that was probably it. I
01:30:29
mean I'd like I mean to be to be fair like um from the 2023 24 season till so
01:30:36
the last two seasons have been going really well. I think every race that I finished since the middle of 2024
01:30:44
seasons like January 204 I've been on the podium in GS. >> So in the year before I'd had like I'd
01:30:49
lost a race by 100th. I'd been second by 100th. So, I knew I like it was like I
01:30:54
was ready for it. It wasn't like a shock or anything. I was like really ready for
01:30:56
that win, but to finally get it, it was just yeah, it was yeah, like a big weight lifted off my shoulders in a way.
01:31:04
Um, >> and it was like a perfect day. I had my family there. Um, my like all my team,
01:31:10
like heaps of friends. Um, it was in like one of my favorite places on tour. It was in Cromparts, which is close to
01:31:16
Cortina in the Doommites as well. It was on a really difficult slope. Um, and yeah, I think the second run because
01:31:25
I'd been I think second, third, third in the last three races and I felt like,
01:31:31
like I said before, I I'm never upset if I lose. It's just if I feel like I can
01:31:35
do more and I didn't do it that I get upset now. And I wasn't upset, but I was
01:31:39
like, "Okay, I feel like in those races I've left something out there, like I've
01:31:42
got another gear that I can go to." Um, and the second run I was finally brave
01:31:47
enough like after kind of all this kind of troubled troubling time I feel like to really let go and like trust myself
01:31:53
again that I can go for this like 100%. And that's what I did in the second run.
01:31:57
I came down and I was wanting cuz basically in the second run you have like an advantage that you watch on TV
01:32:02
and it goes like green or red on different areas on the splits. Um, so I came down and immediately when you cross
01:32:09
the finish, you can see like red light, green light whether you're like still in
01:32:12
the lead or not. And I came down and I saw like this big green light like N6 or something which for us is quite a
01:32:19
significant advantage. And also said okay on the second run I was the fastest. So cuz I count back from if you
01:32:26
won the first run you go 30th in the second run. It's like a kind of a show like a showdown in the second run and I
01:32:31
was fifth after the first run. So, I came down with this big advantage and had to sit nervously in this like leader
01:32:37
chair for the last four to come down to see if they'd beat me. And you're just
01:32:40
kind of watching each one come down like like each split it's like, okay, red,
01:32:46
red, red. Okay, they're red behind me. So, watching them come down and um managing to hold on for like the last
01:32:52
four, no one could um everyone lost their advantage. So, I won. I was like and I was in complete shock cuz the last
01:32:59
girl to come down, she missed a gate. She came out. I wasn't expecting it, so
01:33:03
I ended up winning. And there's like a video of me on TV. I'm just like >> I'm like in shock because I was like,
01:33:09
"Oh my god, finally." And then in my like post race interview, um I just
01:33:13
start like balling my eyes out. I'm like, "Well, I'm not bored, but I'm
01:33:17
crying. I'm like really emotional because and I think I said it in the interview that um you know, it's been so
01:33:23
long and like you know, all the stuff that I've gone through like to finally
01:33:26
get here. It was just felt like this weight's been lifted off my shoulders and like having all the family there. It
01:33:31
was just Yeah, it was amazing. >> Did you sleep well that night? >> Yeah, I did. I was like, "What a day."
01:33:38
It was like >> It was just Yeah, it was awesome. Yeah. >> Wow. So, it puts you in a good position,
01:33:46
>> I suppose, mentally for the 2026 Olympics. >> Mhm. Yeah. >> Yeah.
01:33:50
>> What are your expectations there? You just going there to you going to relax,
01:33:54
have fun, and see what happens? Um I mean for sure I think it's impossible not to go with expectations and you know
01:34:02
wanting to do well. Um like of course I've that's something now you know I've
01:34:05
won world cups I've have world championship medals like my thing that I'm missing now is like an Olympics um
01:34:11
medal or you know ideally a gold medal but I mean >> for me it's not you know there's so many
01:34:18
things that have to fall into place to get those especially in our sport you know like there's
01:34:23
>> it's not black and white it's not a track it's um it's not like a sprinter's
01:34:28
track you know there's >> so many yeah there's so many variables like weather snow conditions. There's so
01:34:34
much all I really want need to do. I just want to do everything I can to be in the best position and then do what I
01:34:39
can on the day, but I'm not going to like tie my self worth to whether I get
01:34:42
like an Olympic medal or not. So, I'm trying not to put that kind of insane amount of pressure about 2 minutes of my
01:34:49
life to define everything. So, >> who needs that? Yeah. I mean, it doesn't
01:34:53
it'll be disappointing because I know how much work you've put into it. Well,
01:34:56
of course. Yeah. >> Yeah. Um, yeah. Through that those slumpy years, how Yeah. How was your
01:35:01
mental health? >> Um, not great post Olympics and the next season. So, like that season and the
01:35:09
next season um wasn't great. Like I that's when I really fell out of like
01:35:15
when I was saying before how I'm like really happy what I'm doing now and I
01:35:17
don't feel like I'm sacrificing much cuz I love it. Um that was when I felt like
01:35:22
like why am I doing this to myself? I was just yeah so miserable. Um, I still loved skiing of course, but just
01:35:30
the lack of results and the um I guess I don't think I also this after that next
01:35:38
season like the 22 23 season I changed my whole team as well cuz it just nothing felt like it was working for me.
01:35:44
Like I was so kind of just felt like in a rut. Um was just I couldn't find the
01:35:49
joy in any of it anymore. Like the racing or the traveling, everything just felt like such a chore. not a chore but
01:35:56
you know like a a slog not enjoyable I wasn't finding the fun things in anything anymore. Um I think also you
01:36:04
know postco when everyone was so recluse they kind of fell back into themselves a
01:36:09
bit. So I think coming out of that as well um and then since and so I just was yeah wasn't very happy just felt um
01:36:16
unmotivated. I know my like yeah spark for the sport had fully gone. I didn't
01:36:21
feel the fire anymore that I did when I was younger. And that's when um yeah, that's when I
01:36:27
decided to change up my whole team. And um honestly, since then, things have just been going so much better. And um
01:36:33
now I like absolutely love what I'm doing. I'm like so happy every day. I
01:36:37
feel the happiest when I'm up the mountain training. It's where I get like
01:36:40
the most joy out of anything. Um, and so yeah, I think probably, yeah, it's just, yeah, it's been kind of
01:36:47
nuts to me to see the changes um, over the years, like through everything and figuring out what makes me happy and
01:36:53
what, yeah, what doesn't. So, yeah. >> Are you proud of yourself? >> Um, yeah. No, of course I'm proud. Um,
01:37:00
it's, yeah, it's been like such a journey and such a cool >> um, life that I've got to live, so I
01:37:06
feel really grateful for everything and um, yeah, I'm proud. How how many more
01:37:11
years are you going to keep doing it? Do you just take it season by season or >> um
01:37:17
>> yeah, kind of season by season, but I think at least um this Olympics and
01:37:23
maybe one more and then we'll see. But as long as I've still got like the
01:37:25
motivation and the passion for it, then I want to keep going for sure. >> And as long as you love it.
01:37:30
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> If skiing was taken away from you
01:37:33
tomorrow, who would Ellis be? >> Oh god, I know. I get asked this question a lot like what are you going
01:37:39
to do post skiing and um everything and god I'm actually not sure. I'm like yeah
01:37:47
I don't know it's kind of a hard one cuz when you put so like your whole
01:37:52
existence revolves around something it's hard to imagine what you're going to be
01:37:55
without it. But um >> I think I'd always be kind of somewhere involved with like the mountains and
01:38:00
skiing in some way shape or form. >> Yeah. Like coaching potentially? >> No, I don't think I don't think coach
01:38:07
I think like I don't want to be carrying gates around and bean and things. >> Yeah. Also, I I I wonder if coaching is
01:38:13
hard if you're really good as a competitor yourself trying to explain to someone.
01:38:16
>> Well, I think for me, what I've noticed like the best coaches are people who
01:38:21
were good but not great. Um because they want to see what they didn't do and
01:38:27
they've got more motivation to prove >> what they couldn't do. M >> and I think when you're so so successful
01:38:34
um you lack a bit of empathy in understanding why people can't do what you were able to do. So I think for me
01:38:41
what I've seen is the best coaches have been not like top top level athletes
01:38:46
because they've kind of already been there done that like they've the top
01:38:48
best coaches I think they've got the motivation to still like prove something
01:38:52
and like >> have an understanding of people um not getting things as well. Yeah.
01:38:57
>> Yeah. I've had I had um Grant Fox on the podcast recently. You probably don't
01:39:00
know him, but he Ryan Fox's dad. >> Oh, yeah. >> And he was a great all black like in the
01:39:04
1980s. And he dabbled in coaching, but apparently he was terrible at it. Terrible. Because I suppose it just came
01:39:10
it seemed obvious to him. >> I think that's what like a part of it for sure. I think when you've like got
01:39:15
something when you understand something so clearly, it's hard to understand.
01:39:18
Yeah. >> What kind of legacy do you hope to leave for New Zealand sport and for yourself?
01:39:23
H I mean I guess New Zealand sport is so um amazing already in like what people have done like it's like such a country.
01:39:32
I mean being overseas and looking at like now it's amazing how much people like bat above their weight being from
01:39:37
here like this little island country on the other side of the world. But I think
01:39:41
for me um I hope I just leave a legacy of um I don't know someone who didn't see you know being from New
01:39:49
Zealand as like a disadvantage but kind of found a like motivation and push through the kind of being the underdog I
01:39:57
suppose in this world um like other people are doing in other sports and um found some you know strength in being
01:40:05
from New Zealand and being really proud of there was and hopefully I've got some
01:40:09
good results behind me that can encourage people not in just in sports but in you know not in like just snow
01:40:14
sports but in sports in general to I think especially for girls I think sports is such an amazing
01:40:20
>> um pathway and amazing thing to be involved in so I just yeah hopefully
01:40:24
continue with that. >> Are you are you tougher and more resilient than what you thought you were
01:40:29
like reflecting on the last few years in particular? Um yeah, I think I feel like I've always
01:40:36
felt like I've been like I'm tough and resilient. Um but I think yeah, probably looking back
01:40:42
over the last few years and thinking about everything that's happened and all
01:40:45
the things um all the stages and all the ups and downs. I think I've probably
01:40:50
surprised myself a bit with how I've been able to manage it. Um cuz at the time it just feels like you have to and
01:40:57
you just keep working through it. But looking back now, I'm like, "Yeah, okay.
01:41:00
That was quite a lot to deal with." >> It's true that a you look in the rear
01:41:03
view with everything that's gone on and you're like, "How did how the [ __ ] did I
01:41:06
survive that?" And you just do. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. It's cool. And I think it makes
01:41:09
you stronger on the other end. >> Yeah, I think so. Yeah. >> Um, yes. Is there a question you've never
01:41:15
been asked that you wish someone would? >> You do a lot of media, a lot of
01:41:20
interviews. Well, I was saying this is weird because normally I I always complain about this because I always say
01:41:24
like the media they all ask like exactly the same qu like the most boring questions.
01:41:30
>> What is it? What do you know? >> If there's a bingo card, what do you
01:41:33
know they're going to ask? Well, like me and my friend like we always joke this
01:41:35
is my other friend who's like very um another ski racer who's like very particular in the image that he want or
01:41:41
like what he wants to say in the media and he just says that he just thinks all the ski racing media is like very like
01:41:48
unimaginative and it's true in a way but I think it also might be a bit of a
01:41:51
language barrier but it's always the same questions you know like how do you
01:41:54
feel >> how are the conditions today um did you push you know what equip how's equipment feeling, you know, it's
01:42:04
all very boring and I kind of wish people would probe a bit, I don't know, into different kind of
01:42:09
questions. I don't know, especially in well, for me being from New Zealand, it's all like this. I get asked this
01:42:14
question every interview I do like a standard 10-minute interview. You're always in winter. Like, you're from the
01:42:21
Southern Hemisphere. Like, how do you do winter to winter? I'm like, I just do
01:42:26
like I don't know. Like, it's the like, you know, it's like Alice in Winterland
01:42:31
gets like a really good That's a good one. >> Has that been a headline?
01:42:35
>> Yes, >> I haven't seen that one. >> Ski land or I don't know or ski is quite
01:42:39
a good one. Um, >> but I just Yeah, I find sometimes >> like how did you get into skiing? How
01:42:46
did you like I find that questions can get very repetitive. So, I'm trying to
01:42:50
think like if there's anything I wish people would ask. But um I don't know if I can pick something
01:42:56
like off my head, but I just think I wish sometimes people get a bit more creative with the questions that they
01:43:02
ask. >> Yeah. >> Then how do you do winter to winter like every every media interview?
01:43:06
>> Well, it's not really winter to winter. E I know you're on snow every day, but
01:43:09
if you get a blue sky day on the mountain, it's bloody beautiful up there. >> Yeah. I mean that's what people always
01:43:14
ask me like how do you do >> the um double winters? But I'm like, "Okay, well, I think and these people
01:43:20
who don't like ski every day." I'm like, "Well, I think your guy your version of
01:43:23
winter is very different to my version of winter." Like, if you're doing winter
01:43:28
in a city, it's quite different to being in in the Alps and like being on top of
01:43:32
the mountains every morning. It's not like I'm sitting in my office and it's
01:43:35
dark when I come in and dark when I leave, you know? It's like >> quite an amazing
01:43:40
>> amazing thing. And I now I actually like a bit of like I when I go on summer
01:43:44
holidays, I struggle a bit. I'm like I'm like I don't like being in the sun. I
01:43:49
don't like getting bitten by mosquitoes. I was like I don't like sweating. I was
01:43:52
like I'm not built for this. I'm like way more built for the >> When was the last time you swam or had
01:43:57
dogs on? >> Oh um Oh, I did go to Morocco and Mayora in the spring. So >> So yeah. Then
01:44:05
>> and looking back and say how old are you now? 23 say 23 years from now. Um
01:44:12
what do you want to say uh this journey was all about? Um, honestly, I want to look back and
01:44:18
just think, okay, like I got to live like a extra ordinary life, I suppose, with the people I got
01:44:27
to meet, um, the experiences I got to have, the different sort of worlds that I've been exposed to. Um, I think that's
01:44:35
something that I've started to appreciate a lot more the last couple years. You know, also kind of being in
01:44:40
this little bubble growing up in New Zealand. Um, I think being exposed to the rest of the world and like to like,
01:44:47
you know, people from all different walks of life has been really interesting. That's something I think
01:44:52
I've started to appreciate a lot more um, with the amount of travel that I get
01:44:56
to do and um, getting to see so many different cultures and so many different kinds of people. I think I've found that
01:45:02
so fulfilling and I think that's something that this sport um has given me is like looks in other
01:45:10
worlds and um also getting able to live my dream of like always wanting to be a top athlete. And so if I look back on it
01:45:18
and I feel like okay I achieved some amazing things, I got to meet some amazing people. I got to experience some
01:45:22
crazy some crazy things. um I'll be really happy >> just as long as I like um I mean it's
01:45:29
not even about like looking back and being like oh I achieved this I achieved that I wanted to look back and be like
01:45:33
god that was like a time and like I met so many people I worked so hard I had a great time you know and I mean things
01:45:40
are always more fun when you're achieving so obviously like having good time is like then plays into getting
01:45:45
some really great results but >> um I've been trying to focus a lot more
01:45:49
on like the journey which sounds like so cheesy but um it's true like not just
01:45:53
you know being like it's bad if I'm winning, it's bad if I'm losing, but
01:45:56
just being like, "Okay, like I'm in this new place this week. This is so cool."
01:46:00
I'm like, "Yeah, really nice." >> It is That's a great place to end it, by
01:46:05
the way. It It's um It is true. It is cheesy, but it's very true. Happiness
01:46:09
Happiness has to be here and now. If it's something you're chasing, you're
01:46:11
never going to you're never going to find it. >> Yeah, exactly. No. >> Hey, this has been great.
01:46:16
>> Thanks for having me. >> This has been really cool. Alice in Winterland.
01:46:20
Sorry, you're going to say it with a European accent. Yeah. And then it's
01:46:24
like, yeah. >> Um Alice Robinson, hey, um best of luck for the future. Um the the Winter
01:46:31
Olympics in Quina, Italy, whatever happens, I just hope you have the best time. >> Yeah. Thank you.
01:46:36
>> I hope out of your three Olympics, this is this one is the most fun. >> Third time.
01:46:40
>> Third time's charm. >> Yeah. No. Well, I hope it's fun. However
01:46:43
that looks, hopefully hopefully with a medal, but maybe it's not even to do with the medal.
01:46:47
>> Yeah. No, I hope so, too. I think it's just going to be it's a new it's a place
01:46:50
I know really well. I spent a lot of time there and somewhere I'm really familiar with. So, just got to try and
01:46:54
enjoy >> and yeah, it'll be cool. Thanks so much for having me.