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Oh, good. You're here. Come on. This is the center of performance. Whenever there's a top performance in New
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Zealand, it all comes from here. That's Lisa Carrington. She's been doing that
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for days. That's the boys who got the hole in one in to 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. putting performance
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first. >> Nico Portius, welcome to my podcast. >> Thank you for having me.
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>> This is an honor. This has been years in the I went back through our DMs. It's
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been years in the making. We've been going backwards and forwards for a couple of years on this.
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>> Yeah. Yeah, it's been Well, I guess yeah, a long time. >> Um, but yeah, found the time and and uh
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sort of figured that in previous time I didn't really think that I had much to
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talk about. like I was in the middle of my career and yeah I don't know was sort
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of still still making the memories and the experiences and and now um you know with recent decisions I I feel like it
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it was right to come on and talk. >> Yeah. >> You haven't done a lot e um I found I
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think maybe two or three long form podcasts that you've done previously and that that's maybe the extent of it.
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>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and as we're talking about a second ago, it's very,
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um, I haven't done a lot and I kind of shy away from them. Um, in a way, part
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of it was that I didn't really think I had much to talk about other than competition and that sort of thing. And
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another thing was that I actually didn't really like I don't really trust opening
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up fully to like the long format of talking. I find that when you're in it like through competition and um you're
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doing media around comps, it's very you get very good at answering the same question over and over again or the same
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types of questions. And so I think you know part of it is is um being scared to branch out and actually talk in depth
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about these things rather than just one sentence answers and and that sort of thing. So yeah, I thought I' I'd trust
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you. So >> Oh, thank you. That's a huge compliment. Yeah. Sort of getting out of your
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comfort zone in a way. >> Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. which seems um baffling to me because I've
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watched so many videos of you in the last week knowing that you're coming in
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today and um yeah, I couldn't think of many more many things more terrifying
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than what you've done over the last 10 years. >> Oh, I don't know. It's all it's ah it's
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all >> dropping into one of those half pipes. [ __ ] me. >> Yeah. Yeah. It's it's pretty scary. It's
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pretty scary. But, you know, in saying that, it's like I haven't done many
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podcasts, so I'm scared to do this. You know what I mean? And and I've been
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skiing half pipes since I was >> like eight, you know what I mean? So, so it's like it's equivalent and and yeah,
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definitely look at it that way. >> Yeah. Well, I I appreciate that. That's
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really kind. I think have we only met the one one time before? >> Um, yeah, I think it might have been
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once. >> I think you came onto our radio show on the edge. How old were you at the time?
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>> 16. 16. >> Yeah, it would it would have been after I was with Zoe. Was it Zoe and I?
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>> No, I think it was Josie Wales. >> Oh, okay. True. Okay. So, it was
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>> You were You were a kid maybe. >> Yeah, maybe I was younger. Maybe I would
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have been like 14 cuz I remember around the Winter Games back in It would have been Yeah. 2015 we would have done uh
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Winter Games NZ media tour and it was sort of like Josie and myself on this media tour around Oakland and that was
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sort of the first time that I'd seen like media or been you know on the radio
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shows and that sort of thing and so I think that was the first and only time we've met. So
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>> yeah long time e >> you were a kid then now you're a man but you're still you're still very very
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young and there's so much to do. So, um, Nico Portius, two Olympic medals, two
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exgame gold medals, five world championships, um, and five World Cup medals. Also, yeah, New Zealand order of
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merit for services to snow sports and Hellburg Sportsman of the year in 2022. >> Yeah.
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>> Yeah. And that's that's sort of just scraping scraping the surface really of
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the achievements. >> Yeah. I mean that's like it's not very often that you hear it read out and so
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um yeah that's kind of brings a few memories flooding back and yeah a sense of pride to be honest.
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>> Yeah. So you messaged me um out of the blue on Instagram maybe a month ago
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saying hey I'm coming to talk you want to do a podcast. I was like >> [ __ ] yeah I do. And it was in this
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message that you you told me you were retiring. You hadn't announced it yet.
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So what does retirement mean exactly? >> Yeah I mean it's not it's not normal
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retirement. And I think retirement is um is the right word, but it's also not how
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I'm looking at it personally. I think um yeah, I I just thought that um yeah, I
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thought I'd message you and and come on and talk about it. I thought it was a
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cool story to tell because last year and um in August of last year, I made the decision to step back from um
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competitive skiing. And so um that's sort of why I wasn't really calling it
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retiring was because by no means am I like stopping skiing at a high level. I'm still working hard to be the best
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skier that I can be. But I just um I'd just been in the competitive environment
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since I was like 10 years old and and following the World Cup circuit since I was 14. Since I was like old enough to
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drop into a World Cup, I was following that circuit around the world which was incredible. And um it was yeah, such an
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amazing period of my life. But I just thought that, you know, yeah, I guess I just kind of lost that little
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competitive edge in a way and decided that it was time to step back and and move on to to new things in my life.
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>> Yes, that highlights rule that I mentioned a second ago. Um, all that success comes comes at a huge cost.
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>> So, what's the price been that you've had to pay? Yeah, I think it does come
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with a with a big cost, but it also comes with a lot of reward and and um but I think the the cost for me was that
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>> um one one my body my body's a little bit sore. Um and and only being 23 is kind
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of like you know having sore knees when you wake up in the morning that's pretty
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hard. Um yeah, and then I think that the the hardest thing was missing out on that um
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normal adolescence growing up like I was, you know, and and and it's sort of hard to
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talk about because I was like had these amazing opportunities that any other person that was in that age would be
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like, "Oh my goodness." And so was I. I was like, "Oh my goodness, I'm traveling
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the world and I'm able to do what I love and that's skiing." But at the same
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time, when things got tough, I was always thinking, "Oh man, it would be fun to to go to school and hang out with
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my friends every day that were my age and or oh, it would be fun to go to this party on the weekend and and chase girls
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with my mates, you know what I mean? Like or you know, it' be fun to go for a
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skate then or go surfing with them." And so that side of things I did miss out on
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and and um >> yeah, but at the same time it was like I was I was doing um so I had so many amazing opportunities
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and was around so many incredible people that I looking back on it I still wouldn't change it. Like I still
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wouldn't change missing out on that part of it. Um yeah. >> Yeah. It's a FOMO thing. It makes sense.
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Like um Yeah. >> Yeah. It makes perfect sense. I'm not surprised by that answer. I I actually
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had written down here in brackets. School balls. >> Yeah. Just as one example.
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>> Exactly. I never been to a prom or a school ball. >> Um there's a there's a Yeah. There's
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like a number of things that I >> just never never went to. >> Yeah.
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>> Yeah. And all this stuff is a sort of a right of a right I don't know a right of
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passage. >> Yeah. It is in a way. Yeah. Yeah. And I and um yeah didn't get to experience
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that. >> Yeah. >> How much thought went into the retirement? >> Um a lot. A lot. and
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it was sort of ticking away in the background um for a while, but maybe I was too scared to actually recognize
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that that was how I was feeling. Uh and so like I said, I made the decision in August last year. Um and yeah, I sat I
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didn't want to announce it. There was people around me asking me to when I was
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going to do the announcement and when I was going to talk to the media and that sort of thing. And I just said, "Look,
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I'm just going to hold off because making that decision being so young, it's not it's not really something that
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I want to go I want to say, oh, I'm retired." And then two years later, I
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come back, you know, going, "Oh, psych, I'm not retired." Like, I'm back. you
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know, and so and and so I think yeah, by by actually taking time to sit on it >> um and sort of make sure that I was
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comfortable with the decision and that it was the right decision was >> yeah was um really key for me.
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>> Yeah, I've got a bunch of names here. Michael Jordan, Mike Tyson, Tom Brady,
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Floyd Mayweather, Michael Schumarker, Martina Angus. Um you wouldn't be the first person that retires and then goes
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psych. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> But definitely absolutely unequivocally
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no return. >> No. No. Um um and and I think that's like yeah, I'm not going to return and
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and that's um that's you know why I took that time to before I announced it and
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before I talked about it publicly and uh was that make make sure that it's really
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what I wanted to and >> look the past year has been has been really tough. Like it's been
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>> how so? Well, just just like I'm 23 and I and I was at the top of my game and I
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personally I decided it wasn't a I decided to to you know to end it end the competitive side of things and that was
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like I don't know there was times where it's like oh my goodness is this the
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right decision and there was times and and yeah yeah there was there's been really hard times throughout the past
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year where I felt lost and I haven't really felt like I had a full direction
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and I feel as if I'm coming to the end of that now and I And I have a really um
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starting to formulate a really solid plan in my head of where I want to go and what I want to do. And and I guess
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that was sort of um the joy of it was that being being so young, it's sort of
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like starting your life all over again because competitive skiing is >> all that you've known. And whereas all
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your friends are graduating university, they're moving into jobs and it's like,
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>> well, I'm just sort of winding it back and now I'm just starting that journey,
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you know? And so yeah. Yeah, it's been a it's been a interesting year, but but something that
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I made the decision because I wanted a challenge and I wanted to switch it up and that's exactly what has happened.
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>> And you you got you got so much time as well. >> So much time. >> I I've had um I had Anna Moberry on the
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podcast. She's an entrepreneur. Her and her brother set up this toy company called Zuru.
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>> She sold out of that. She's a billionaire. Now she set up a new job
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recruitment app company. And I asked her about that and she said Zuru was a mountain, but there's more mountains
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that she wants to climb. >> Yeah. >> I feel like um Yeah. You're not an
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entrepreneur, but it's the same sort of thing. Yeah, I think it is. And and um I
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mean it's not the same, but I'm not starting a multi-billion dollar business, but um yeah, no, I I like
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challenging myself and I like achieving um achieving goals that I, you know, were maybe um
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>> you know, like a big reach. Um and and that's something I really really um
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>> chase, I guess. Yeah. Is that challenge. >> Your brother Miguel, a couple of years
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older than you, he retired about the same age. Did that play a part in it? like did you have conversations with him
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about retirement? >> Definitely talk to him about it. Um I mean he in my eyes I I don't think he's
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ever been happier in the place that he's in right now. >> Um and he's just absolutely thrived in
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in this life outside of skiing. Um he still loves skiing and he doesn't resent
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it. Um >> but yeah, just talking to him, I mean, he's like he's my biggest role model.
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like he's the biggest >> um my my family in general are the are the ones that
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>> you know give me the most advice and and um it's the it's the advice that I take
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the most seriously. Uh and so I and there was a talk there was a lot of talking with Miguel throughout that
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process and of making that decision and um look he just sort of he just he just backed me and it was just like look
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you've had an amazing competitive career and go and ski and film and enjoy it and
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then you know I know being your brother I know that you will work hard in whatever you do and and um
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>> yeah you'll you'll back yourself which is cool. So >> yeah, one thing I found from doing this
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podcast is um there's there's generally not something like a onetrick pony. Like
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if you're successful at something, uh you're going to be successful at something else you you apply yourself
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to. >> Yeah. And I think I think that might be because of I mean you're the same with
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radio and podcast. It's obviously >> transferable skills. >> Yeah. It's similar, but it's also
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different, you know, and >> and I think that's and and it's something that I think you from building
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something up or from from achieving something, you learn to overcome challenge and to and to work hard or um
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and you know and how you face those obstacles that come at you every day. And so I think that sort of um allows
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you to take those skills into other areas and and work on them. And so >> yeah, and I think a lot of it comes down
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to like work ethic as well. >> Yeah. You just going to apply yourself to whatever you do. What are you going
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to miss the most and the least? >> Um, you know what? What I'm actually
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going to miss the most, and it's something that is not, you know, isn't really talked about that much when
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athletes retire and um and athletes that have had success is that especially in our sport and and something that I
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missed the most in the past year is the external gratification. And I know that that sounds really like odd and like um
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I guess I don't know. Yeah, just really odd. And but it's when you do well, you
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have a score telling you that you've done well. You have people at the bottom
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telling you that you've done well. You post your run on social media. Social
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media tells you you've done well. and your coach is telling well sometimes you know depending on the day but and
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and you know you're you have all this external you've done well you're great
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you're amazing and then you stand on top of the podium at the end of the day and
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hold up a check and it's like >> yeah this is awesome you know and and
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that's something that I'm so glad I ditched like and so glad that that's not
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uh a thing that I have anymore because it's forced me whether I like it you know I like it sometimes and I
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absolutely hate it other times but it's forced me to um to start to just really
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enjoy what I do and and regardless of the outcome, regardless of the external >> um side of it. And yeah, that's been
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that's been a a learning process. I >> I think mo most people would think um
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that's what you want, that external gratification, but it's like um you you're in a you're in an unusual
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position where you've reached it and you've experienced it and you know that
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it's not bringing you the joy anymore that it should do. >> Yeah. Yeah. And I think it's I don't
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know that external gratification is such a weird thing >> because it's um you know it's really
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nice in the moment and it's amazing but at the same time it's like >> it's so uh I guess superficial in a way
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like it's it's >> an unhealthy addiction. >> It is it is an unhealthy addiction and I
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think a lot of athletes actually have that addiction and are scared to let go of it, you know, and
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>> understandable. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Um Yeah. Has the sport been good to you
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financially? >> Yeah, it has. Yep. Yeah. And I've had um and I still have some amazing partners
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and sponsors that support me throughout the whole thing. >> Um and and yeah, they've been incredible
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uh in supporting me. So >> yeah. >> So yeah, the next um Olympics where
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you're the reigning champion is uh 2026 next year. Yeah. >> So you you decided last August to
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retire. >> Did Yeah. Was was that looming over you a little bit, >> the Olympics or the thoughts?
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>> Yeah. No, actually, yeah, it was. I haven't really thought about this in in
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a long time. Sorry, Dom. Um, yeah, it was looming over me and it was sort of like
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yeah, the buildup to 2022 was was so gnarly. Like it was um it was ruthless. I was putting so much pressure on myself
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but also telling myself that I didn't have any pressure on me. And you know seeing being 16 and winning bronze in in
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Korea and then four years later going into um China as world number one and you know sort of expected to win gold and a
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favorite. It was it was a pressure cooker. Like it was hectic. And those two weeks sort of in the buildup to
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Olympics or no, sorry, longer than that. That the two months in the buildup to the Olympics were just
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>> oh my goodness. I don't I don't want to live through that ever again. Like never
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again. That was >> hectic. So yes, 2026 was weighing on my mind, but it was also not not a a major
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factor into why I made the call. Yeah, >> that's that's interesting. We're going
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to get into both the Olympic camp campaigns later on, but um I might as well bring this up now that just an
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observation from I I don't know when the last time you've watched your runs from
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those two Olympics or if you ever have at all. Um but >> um when you won the bronze in 20 20 2018
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>> 2018 >> Yeah. You were ecstatic. You were over the moon. 2022 you won gold.
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>> It was like a five out of 10. >> Yeah. >> Was it just relief?
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>> No. No. And that's the thing is that um Yeah. I think um 2018 was crazy cuz it was so like I was
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just skiing on fire. Like I'd never skied that good in my life and it happened to be in an Olympic final and I
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like didn't expect to get that score. I'd never really had that good a score
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in a World Cup and it was you know it was just everything was just so crazy that day. Whereas 2022 was sort of like
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it was a bit of a battle. like I came into it knowing that there was some pressure on my shoulders and there was
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um some yeah I guess some some pressure and um woke up and it and it wasn't super good weather and um you know the
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conditions maybe weren't perfect and and so the reason why I didn't give a
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reaction on that winning run was that I still had two runs to go so I didn't
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know you know there was still everyone still had two runs left and so I didn't
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know that that was going to be the winning run. If id known, I would have been like, "Oh my goodness." You know,
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like, "Thank goodness that's over." You know, like, "Wow, that's amazing." But I
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I was still so focused and so locked in cuz I still had two/ird of a competition
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to go and I was like, "Oh, here we go." Like now, you know, I've done this run
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that's really hard and I'm like scared and standing at the top and and I've
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done it, but now I have to go and >> do more because in case someone else comes down and bids that, you know? So,
00:18:02
it's like >> Oh, that's interesting. Yeah. I wondered if if it was because um in the first one
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when you won the bronze like you were a long shot or an underdog and in the second one there was the the level of
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expectation that you were going to perform well so it was more a feeling of relief.
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>> Yeah. Yeah. >> But no it was just that you had two more runs. >> It was just that I was still locked in.
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>> Yeah. But at the end I can tell you what there was there was a big relief.
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>> Yeah. Yeah. Good. >> Um the Yeah. This question might be a bit weird. I'm probably projecting here.
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This is just like putting myself in your position. Is is like does part of you worry that
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there's going to be I mean you've you've done so so much at such a young age.
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>> Are you worried that nothing else in life is going to bring you the same sort
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of level of enjoyment or fun or >> excitement? Look, I think I think um like we're talking about the external
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gratification thing before and and I think that that contributes to that thing of excitement and um that peak
00:19:00
moment of joy. >> Um >> and I kind of yeah I kind of know that that there'll be nothing like that again
00:19:07
in my life. I think I don't know maybe maybe the things that would come close
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to that would be the birth of a child or like marriage or you know those big moments in life
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>> for you personally. I think those will definitely definitely come close but or
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if not be way better. >> Um >> but that's kind of the point of it is
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that I wanted to I wanted to not have that because >> that's totally not normal. like that's
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it feels amazing and it's awesome but that's not normal at all and and that's
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not going to be forever. that's gonna stop at a certain point in time, especially at our sport where your body
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only has a, you know, a certain length of time and >> Yeah. >> Yeah. So, um yeah, I don't know.
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>> [ __ ] Your wise wise be on you, I suppose. Um just doing this for such a
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long time has forced you to grow up, eh? >> Yeah, it has. >> Um I mean, I've like
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>> winding it back. Yeah. you know, further to what we talked about at the start
00:20:04
about um missing that sort of like um adolescence growing up. It I was surrounded by people that were more
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often than not double my age. you know, my my group of friends that I would socialize with on a on a daily basis
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skiing up on the mountain was, you know, they were anywhere from 17 all the way through to 26, 27 and I was like 12, you
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know, so so I was like kind of forced to grow up in a way because although I was
00:20:33
always the young, you know, grommet of the group and and the young one and the baby, but yeah, I was sort of forced to
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to grow up and um had really good role models around me throughout that time. >> Yeah. Yeah, I mean I'm sure everyone was
00:20:43
really really nice to you and you know treated treated you like the age you were. But you you must have still been
00:20:47
exposed to some um ruthless conversations that no there was some ruthless chat. Yeah. And there was some
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I mean yeah um I've always really had to watch my mouth like my foul mouth and um
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I think there there's actually a really really funny uh when I got sponsored by
00:21:07
Red Bull the first time I got received the helmet turned around and didn't realize that the news cameras were there
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and I said oh f off like and I this little 13-year-old kid with braces and just holding up this Red Bull helmet
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just got sponsored like and here I was swearing you know. And so I think yeah, that like those that sort of stuff I was
00:21:28
definitely exposed to from a young age. >> Oh, that's so cool though. That's just
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like raw excitement. Eh, um, did your your mom or dad tell you off of that? >> Ah, nah. It was just it was like, you
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know, that's not my fault. I didn't know the news was going to be there. It was
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just my pure reaction. But there was some funny things like I remember going up the mountain some days and having to
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go wake up the people that we were taking up. I'd be 13 or I'll be 12 or 13
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sitting in the back of the car, maybe even younger, and we'd have to go to someone's house, wake up that person
00:21:58
because they were drunk from the night before, and then drive them up the hill or we'd go and pick someone up from a
00:22:05
hotel in town cuz he didn't make it home and slept on the couch and would go up
00:22:09
skiing. Like, these are things that I was just exposed from exposed to as a young kid. And and they weren't like
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they weren't in a in a bad way. They were just like and you know these people
00:22:18
were amazing people but >> yeah it was just funny being exposed to that I think as a 12 and 13y old. Yeah.
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>> Well if you hang out with adults you're going to see adult things. >> Yeah. Exactly. Exactly.
00:22:28
>> Um okay let's go all the way back. So you're born in Hamilton in 2001.
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>> Yep. >> Yeah. What are your earliest memories? >> Oh my earliest memories. That's a crazy
00:22:36
question. Um, so I was born in Hamilton, uh, 2001 and then sort of 6 weeks after I was born,
00:22:45
we moved down to Christ Church. And I think some of my earliest memories would be from around Christ Church. Um,
00:22:53
yeah, probably. Yeah, just whether it was playing outside. I think that like my earliest
00:23:00
memories would just be playing with my brother Miguel. M >> um like yeah I think my one of my one of
00:23:06
my early memories was yeah probably probably just playing with Miguel like being outside on the
00:23:12
skateboards or on the trampoline or you know him throwing me around on the trampoline or Yeah. I don't know stand
00:23:18
here Nico and let me throw this at you you know like Yeah. Yeah. Just classic older younger brother stuff.
00:23:23
>> What's the age gap like two years or something? >> Two and a half years.
00:23:25
>> Two and a half years. >> Yeah. It's quite funny like um it's
00:23:29
often a predictor of success if you've got like an older sibling because the
00:23:32
competition level that you've got is um so much higher. You're playing playing
00:23:35
with older kids all through your childhood. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> Setting the bar for you.
00:23:39
>> Yeah. Exactly. And um I was very lucky to have that and and very lucky to have
00:23:43
such a cool brother. >> Um and he just led the way. He he was the one that got me into freestyle
00:23:48
skiing and um yeah, sort of just just uh fell into it and and followed him um cuz
00:23:55
he was such a role model and such a leader for me. And um yeah, we we were lucky that the place we lived in Christ
00:24:01
Church, we actually had neighbors that had two boys that were the same age. So it's just Miguel and I and then it was
00:24:07
um yeah, two brothers next door. And um we would just we would just cause mischief on the street. Like they would
00:24:15
jump the fence and come hang out with us and we would jump the fence, go hang out
00:24:17
with them. And it was just Yeah, it was just epic. And so just being around that
00:24:20
like having the older brothers and following them and um Yeah. And also just having friends to play with from a
00:24:27
young age was really cool. >> Yeah. Quite a tight family unit. Hey, the Portious family. It's just the the
00:24:32
two brothers, >> mom and dad. Your parents still together? >> Yep. Yep. And um from what I can gather,
00:24:37
I'm not sure what your dad did for a job, but he spent time in the UK working
00:24:40
for Peugeot and >> Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Wow. You have done deep research, haven't you? Um
00:24:44
Yeah. So, so uh yeah, mom and dad are still together. They're um Yeah. Like they're just mom and dad. They're
00:24:50
awesome. And um yeah, so we lived in the UK for I think it was it was like 6 weeks. Oh, sorry, 6 months we did in the
00:24:59
UK. Um and dad was working at the Peugeot factory in health and safety. So he's um a doctor and studied as a doctor
00:25:06
and um then you know he left Peugeot Peugeot and we decided that we wanted to um I think our visas still had extra
00:25:16
time or something and and we decided that we wanted to stay on and um in France go to France for the winter and
00:25:21
cuz mom and dad and Miguel at the time were keen skiers and um I was four and hadn't skied yet but we went to France
00:25:28
in this little French village in the Alps uh called Borg Sta Mary and mom and dad rented um basement, one-bedroom
00:25:34
apartment off of um a family. >> Sorry, excuse me. Um and yeah, they rented that apartment and and all four
00:25:41
of us all four of us slept in that little shoe box apartment. Um and we did um six week skiing.
00:25:48
>> Do you remember that at all or >> Yeah, I do. I do actually. Yeah, I do.
00:25:50
And and I went back there well a year ago now. Um uh yeah, a year ago and and um saw where it all started. And I
00:25:59
remember I remember being um you know waking up and and opening the door and there being snow outside and um or you
00:26:08
know I wasn't allowed to go skiing because I wasn't very good at stopping.
00:26:11
And so I got dad dad told mom dad told mom that we can't have Nico coming with
00:26:16
us. He's just out of control. And so he made me stay at home and practice my
00:26:20
pizzas. So I stayed home with mom and practice my pizzas and I got a gold star on my skis every time I nailed it. and
00:26:26
and then um I specifically remember making chocolate cake after that and um yeah and then being able to go skiing
00:26:32
the next day with dad and and mom and family. So >> Oh yeah, I heard a story about that. So
00:26:36
yeah um this called snowplow whatever but you you Yeah, your mom called it chocolate cake.
00:26:42
>> Yeah. Yeah, that's right. You That's weird that you Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. She
00:26:47
called it chocolate cake. That's right. >> Get out. I'll finish off the story.
00:26:50
>> Yeah. Yeah. She did call it That's funny. Yeah. Um she called it chocolate
00:26:55
cake and and that was what made sense to me >> as a child. Yeah. Yeah. And so um yeah
00:27:00
and then and then we you know we did that 6 weeks and then um moved back to to Christ Church. Um
00:27:06
>> when were you in Perth? You're in Perth for a while >> and then I was in Perth. Yeah. So
00:27:09
>> Christ back to Christ. >> Back to Christ Church and and we lived in Christ Church and um until I was
00:27:14
nine. >> Uh and then when I was nine, dad uh got a job uh over in the mines working in
00:27:20
Western Australia. And so that uh meant that we were to relocate to Perth and um
00:27:25
dad would commute and do FIFO work out of um yeah, northern Western Australia. And um we would live in Perth around
00:27:32
that time skiing was really starting to ramp up and so we would live in Perth for
00:27:36
like I don't know I want to say 12 weeks of the year uh maybe one school term or
00:27:41
sorry two school terms. Um and then we'd go and do the New Zealand winter in
00:27:45
Wanuka. um in this tin there was a yeah in this uh tiny little hotel and and um it was mom, Miguel and myself and we
00:27:57
were on bunk beds and mom was on a double bed and um we'd see dad every 6 weeks he'd come over and um so we did
00:28:04
that and then we go over to Northern Hemisphere for um 6 weeks as well at that time and um and the same dad would
00:28:12
come over for a week and >> yeah so so the family was was pretty um disjointed throughout that time and and
00:28:18
it was you know they made a decision and um mom and dad to support Miguel and I in skiing and that was something that um
00:28:25
had just started and and something that really really wanted to chase and so that involved yeah dad working and us
00:28:31
seeing him every five or six weeks throughout that period. So that >> um you know mom and dad didn't want to
00:28:36
send us away as two young kids and they wanted mom to be there cuz we were in school and stuff like that and so um
00:28:42
yeah. Oh, so that was why they bas they basically did that cuz he had two kids that were really really good at skiing
00:28:47
and they wanted you to pursue your dreams. >> Yeah, exactly. And and they said, well,
00:28:51
you know, let's give them let's give them the opportunity on which I'm
00:28:53
incredibly thankful that they did. And >> when they they worked their ass off like
00:28:58
>> mom was teaching us and um you know, looking after a 10 and 12y old that were
00:29:02
going skiing all day and then coming home and having to do school work and then she'd cook us dinner and meanwhile
00:29:06
dad was you know, an Aussie working and wouldn't see his family for you know. So
00:29:10
it was it was Yeah. the amount of sacrifices that they that those two mom and dad made uh in order for Miguel and
00:29:16
I to ski was incredible and >> um that's something that I'm so so grateful for and thankful for.
00:29:23
>> Yeah. And it seems like it there's more chance it's not going to work out than
00:29:27
it working out like it has. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, it is. And and you never know. I mean, putting a
00:29:31
10-year-old and 12-year-old through international skiing, you don't know that it's going to work out. You know
00:29:35
what I mean? Like, >> no. There's more chance of it not. >> Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. And there is. And
00:29:38
there is. And there is. and and that's you know they they supported us through
00:29:42
anything as long as we gave it our all and we tried our best and >> um we didn't waste an opportunity that
00:29:48
they were giving us and then yeah they would support us the whole way through and so
00:29:52
>> so they never had to push you push you guys. Oh, there was definitely times
00:29:55
where they were like, "Oh, come on." Like, "You should, you know, like go
00:29:58
skiing today or go to do school work there or but it was never it was never there was never any forcing or any um
00:30:06
Yeah. negative. Yeah. It was never negative. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Um yeah, there's parallels there with
00:30:12
Taylor Swift like her family moved moved to never heard that her family moved all
00:30:18
the way to Nashville just to pursue her dream. And again, it's the same sort of
00:30:21
thing. It's like massive sacrifice from the whole family >> for this shot at a dream. And there's
00:30:26
there's for every Taylor Swift or Nico, there's >> hundreds of thousands of others that you
00:30:31
know don't reach that level. >> It's incredible a the sacrifice that
00:30:35
parents make in order to give their kids an opportunity is and it's something
00:30:38
that I really want to give my kids is that opportunity and um yeah. Yeah. And it's yeah very very lucky and thankful.
00:30:45
>> With you guys, you and your brother, how much of it was um natural talent versus
00:30:48
hard work? Um, I think there was a lot of for me there was there was natural talent. Um, and for Miguel there maybe
00:31:03
wasn't as much natural talent. There was still we were still very much both naturally talented. Um, and I think this
00:31:10
is, you know, and I always had people around me that were working their ass off. Miguel was like my dad was a hard
00:31:16
worker. Miguel was a hard worker. My mom's a hard worker. And so naturally, even though maybe I had that little bit
00:31:22
of extra talent and I would pick up things faster, I was just always surrounded by hard
00:31:29
workers. And so I that was just normal for me was to work hard. And um yeah, so we worked hard together and and um as a
00:31:36
unit and and uh that was a really really cool environment to be in. >> Yeah.
00:31:40
>> Yeah. Natural talent is only going to get you so far over. If you got someone
00:31:43
that's got natural talent and they put in the work, >> they're going to be unstoppable most of
00:31:47
the time. Yeah. Yeah. Um and that's Yeah, that's something. >> Yeah. I don't know. That was pretty
00:31:53
cool. >> So, the um decision to turn pro when when was that? Like 10 or 11?
00:31:57
>> Yeah. Um the the decision to chase the professional skiing was around 10. Uh
00:32:04
and then I would say that I turned professional when I was probably 14. >> Right.
00:32:11
>> Yeah. >> Um and there was no real decision. It was it was just more like things are
00:32:16
getting better and better and better and I'm um you know Miguel and I are achieving results and uh we're moving
00:32:22
forward and so I guess you know from mom and dad's perspective you're not really
00:32:26
going to pull a kid out if he's working hard and he's driven in what he's doing
00:32:29
and he's keeping on moving up and and getting better and what he and what he
00:32:33
does not you know you're not really going to pull the the um carpet from underneath that person
00:32:39
most of the time. So >> yeah. >> Yeah. But a lot of parents, they'll be
00:32:45
like, "Okay, well, as responsible parents, we need you to finish school. You know, when you get to 15, 16,
00:32:52
whatever, then you can make your own decision." I I can't imagine the discussions they had letting you guys
00:32:56
home. >> There was actually um ah the there was one of the headmasters, the headmaster
00:33:03
at our school in Australia. He then moved on to become he's actually or he was I don't know if he still is but he
00:33:09
was the headmaster at Christ College down in um in Christ Church and and I forget his name but he gave mom he had
00:33:17
his daughter was um uh pursuing pursuing an athlete. I can't remember what but he
00:33:25
knew that Miguel and I were away skiing obviously from our um attendance record at school.
00:33:31
>> Got the goggle marks on your face. >> Yeah. Yeah. when we came back looking
00:33:33
like pandas in Australia. So, so he knew that we, you know, that something was up
00:33:38
and and he knew that we were chasing our dreams and and and I think he said to mom, he said, "Don't worry about school.
00:33:44
Just focus on maths and English, focus on sport because it's one shot and it's one opportunity. And if you don't
00:33:52
take advantage of that then you know like you can always come back to school and you not I'm you know like I'm not
00:33:58
I'm not saying that school you know like focus on the basics maths English get
00:34:02
really good at that do what you have to do but just give skiing and give sport like the biggest shot that you can and I
00:34:08
think that was >> I don't know mom even brings it up to this day it's like that was yeah that
00:34:13
was so um I think she really took that advice on board and um yeah made it happen. M
00:34:20
>> do you remember like your last proper day of school or anything? Oh >> um
00:34:25
>> what was it like the third third form or year? >> I think my last day of school was
00:34:29
probably when I was like 14. I think it was year nine. That would have been Yeah. 14, year nine, I think. So
00:34:35
>> yeah, but I don't I don't really remember it as being the last day of
00:34:37
school. I just >> didn't go back to Well, you know, I just stayed home school.
00:34:41
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> What was homeschooling like? >> Hard.
00:34:44
>> Yeah. In what way? >> Yeah. I found it really hard. Um cuz you go skiing all day and and then you'd
00:34:50
come home and you'd have to do school and you know focusing on trying to focus on school when you've
00:34:56
put all your energy and and everything you do into skiing that day is Yeah. It's it's an uphill battle. But
00:35:03
I was so lucky to have mom there. Like she's such a good teacher and >> Oh, was she doing the teaching?
00:35:07
>> She was teaching Miguel. Yeah. And so she would actually she would actually
00:35:11
study >> throughout the later years when Miguel was in year 13 and stuff like that. She
00:35:16
would study ahead of time and refresh herself on, you know, the maths and science and English on the curriculum so
00:35:22
that she could teach us like it was incredible. Yeah. >> And Yeah. And so it was it was really
00:35:28
hard but she got us through it which was cool. >> I can I can tell how grateful you are.
00:35:33
Um >> Yeah. [ __ ] I'm just thinking like I remember meeting you when you were 13,
00:35:38
14, whatever it was and you came to the radio studio >> and then yeah the still young man
00:35:42
sitting in front of me now. Um you're impeccably well maned. And you always have been.
00:35:46
>> Thank you. >> Never been an [ __ ] >> I hope not. I think that's like
00:35:50
>> well raised. Your parents must be incredibly proud. >> Yeah. Oh, I mean I don't know. They're
00:35:55
incredible people and they're they're like my family is the biggest role
00:35:58
models of my life and Yeah, that's really really cool. So, thank you. >> And when did you team up with um Tommy
00:36:04
Patt? >> Yeah, Tommy coach, right? >> Yeah, he was. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh the
00:36:09
last year of my career he he wasn't coaching me. Um but he coached me from the age of
00:36:15
I think it was h we actually had our first day coaching when I was six. So he mom and dad we we were we would go down
00:36:23
to Wanuka for um a week of training prior to the junior nationals of free skiing in New Zealand down at Kadrona.
00:36:30
And um for that week we would get we got freestyle lessons from someone and mom chose this guy on the website and was
00:36:40
like right can you do a lesson with my two boys and and that guy that that she chose was Tommy. And so from that day it
00:36:49
became more and more frequent and you know he was with us more and more and then it got to the point where he was
00:36:54
traveling with us and and then it got to the point that he was taking us on trips
00:36:58
without mom there and then all of a sudden I'm standing next to him giving him a hug before I drop into my Olympic
00:37:03
final and it's like you know like >> what is life? >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it and it was
00:37:08
crazy. It's like he's he's family. He's part of the family. Um, and you know, I
00:37:13
would literally call him an uncle. And >> yeah, he's uh it was pretty incredible
00:37:17
to have a 15-year bond with someone like that. And and especially to grow up with
00:37:21
someone like him around me was >> was um Yeah, very cool and pretty special to be honest.
00:37:26
>> What a ride. What a ride. Um yeah, you said you you split up a year ago. Was
00:37:29
that just when you decided to retire? >> So yeah, we split up um when was it? It was the year after the
00:37:37
2022 Olympics. Um as yeah, you may or may not have noticed, but China has made a huge push in action sports
00:37:45
>> and um the Chinese national team actually scouted him. >> Um and yeah, made him an offer that he
00:37:52
couldn't refuse and and look, we just supported him through that. He was he was he was so nervous to tell us, you
00:37:57
know, that you know, this 15- year relationship had come to an end. But at the same time, it was like
00:38:02
>> like you got to go and you know, you got to go and chase your dreams and you got
00:38:05
to go and do this. It's like if I if I didn't accept that, well then, you know,
00:38:10
who am I? Cuz you've given up so much of your time and life to come and focus on
00:38:13
me helping me achieve my dream that like how could I say no to that? And so he left and um then yeah I I went off and
00:38:23
and filmed for a year and didn't compete and then came back and actually had um
00:38:27
Byron Wells as a coach for the last year of my career of competitive career which
00:38:31
was pretty special having someone that had sort of paved well had paved the way within um New Zealand for halfpipe
00:38:37
skiing coaching me and so um yeah that was really cool. So yeah, huge thank you to both of them cuz they gave up so
00:38:44
much. >> Yeah, what a what a relationship. So losing losing Tommy's got nothing to do
00:38:48
with you? >> No, >> no, >> no. >> Let's relieve him from that guilt.
00:38:52
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, no. I mean, he was even he was Yeah. Sorry,
00:38:56
Tommy. I don't Yeah. He was uh he was actually nervous that Yeah. When when he
00:39:00
did uh tell me that he was stepping away, he was he was like, "Well, don't
00:39:04
you know, don't go stopping or don't go do this." And >> and you know, even back then, he
00:39:09
probably had a slight inkling that he knew that that was what I was going to do. You know what I mean? Like
00:39:13
eventually. And so >> that's why he said it. And um No, but it had nothing to do with it. Absolutely
00:39:18
nothing. >> Yeah. >> [ __ ] What a ride together. >> Yeah. Crazy ride.
00:39:22
>> Incredible. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't um Yeah. Yeah, I don't think, you know, there's there's
00:39:27
been, you know, not every athlete has that relationship with a coach and um and I
00:39:32
think what was really special about that was yeah, all the highs and lows and the
00:39:36
wins and the losses and um yeah, just everything we went to together, but like spending that time cuz he was learning,
00:39:45
I was learning like he didn't have experience. He had never stood at the top of X Games or Olympics, you know
00:39:50
what I mean? And neither had I. So we were fully in this ride together. Um which I think was something that both of
00:39:58
us will never forget. >> That's special. Yeah. It's a bond that can never be
00:40:00
>> Yeah. Exactly. It is. Yeah. It really is. >> Um and Dave Collins, your sports
00:40:06
psychologist. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Legend. >> He's another another big um cog in the
00:40:10
world. Part of the Portas team. >> When when did you first um engage with the sports psych?
00:40:15
>> When I was uh the first time I engaged with the sports psych, this is actually
00:40:19
interesting. I was 10. Um, like that's crazy that I had sports psychologist at
00:40:24
10, but I'm a piece of work. No, from a young age I've been a piece of work. No, but um I was I was 10 and I
00:40:33
was up skiing at Kadona and um I was really really overcoming this I was struggling to overcome this mental block
00:40:39
of doing a a right um an unnatural 720. Um so back flip 360 pretty much. Um, and
00:40:46
I was having this mental block and um, and I it got so so big that I went down to the car, was in tears, was
00:40:56
it was just about to call it quits and was just like like sitting there going, "Do I really want to go ski or do I just
00:41:02
want to go to high school and be normal?" And throughout that time and and the weeks after, I wasn't really
00:41:07
sure and I was, you know, like really scared of this trick. and and then I got put in touch with Dave Collins and he
00:41:14
talked to me about, you know, the basic fundamentals of of being an athlete and and being a skier. And um I was told
00:41:23
that having a sport psychologist doesn't mean or psychologist doesn't mean
00:41:26
they're just going to wave a magic wand in one session and everything's going to
00:41:30
be back to normal. It's a journey that you have to be you have to buy into and
00:41:33
you have to be willing to engage in and and um yeah, I mean that's another relationship that I have outside of my
00:41:40
family um is you know I still work with him to this day. Like >> what he he must have been um he must
00:41:46
have had a really good communication style to be able to you know communicate with a 10-year-old.
00:41:50
>> I know he's just a legend. Like he's an absolute um >> Yeah, he's an incredible person. He was
00:41:57
Yeah, I I really don't want to mess this up, but he was uh I think it was Royal
00:42:01
Marines >> and did a did a very high number of missions with the Royal Marines in the
00:42:05
UK and um is a very very um respected sport psychologist. >> Uh and I think it I was just
00:42:16
like insanely lucky to be able to work with someone like that and and that was through the help of High Performance
00:42:20
Sport and Snow Sports New Zealand. So them allowing me to have access to someone someone like that was yeah at
00:42:26
the age of 10 is like that's incredible. Like that is so so cool. >> How did that relationship look? Like how
00:42:32
often did you see him? Was it just like a case by case? You just jump on a Zoom when needed or
00:42:36
>> It started it started off pretty mellow like being a 10-year-old you don't
00:42:40
really have many issues in your life other than you can't do a you can't do a
00:42:44
back flip 360. You know what I mean? Like you know like Yeah. you're not you
00:42:47
don't uh you don't call them up going, "Oh, I'm I'm lying in bed wide awake and
00:42:52
I can't sleep cuz I'm nervous or I feel pressure or something like that." And so
00:42:56
yeah, it it it started off pretty chill and then at a certain point in time there was definitely like a fortnightly
00:43:01
catchup that was happening or he would come on intensive blocks and I'd see him
00:43:05
every day for a week and we'd work on stuff or >> um yeah and then towards the back end
00:43:11
tail it off a little bit when things were going well and I was winning a lot. Then it sort of started to tailor off a
00:43:17
little bit and it would be once every couple of months just to check in how things are going and
00:43:20
>> yeah then he's really been a big part of this last sort of year and um throughout
00:43:25
the last sort of two years he's he's been um yeah really incredible. >> So he'll still be a part of your life
00:43:31
now or >> Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. I'm still I'm still uh still working with him and
00:43:35
still um yeah, still talk to him every now and again and just check in cuz you know it's sort of been one of the it's
00:43:42
sort of been one of the more challenging times of my life to be honest in the past year and to have someone like him
00:43:46
that has seen me grow throughout the whole process and has been there for everything and sort of seen the inner
00:43:51
workings of my head um then yeah he's he's one of the best people uh being in
00:43:57
the position that I have been in to give me good advice. Why has it been so challenging? Just
00:44:01
like letting go of part of your identity or >> Yeah, I think so. And I think it's I
00:44:05
think stepping into unknown has really made it challenging. Um and um you know, like I said earlier, it was my decision
00:44:11
to step into the unknown and being comfortable with that and and understanding, you know, the things that
00:44:16
are going to go away and the things that are going to stay and the things that are going to get better and the things
00:44:19
are going to get worse, you know, and and understanding the it actually in in depth what it means to step away and to
00:44:25
make that decision. And so, um, yeah, he was really, really helpful. >> Do you find some of the, um, some of the
00:44:31
some of the lessons and some of the tools and stuff you've got from him, you
00:44:34
know, they are applicable in day-to-day life? >> Oh, yeah. Yeah, they and and a lot of
00:44:39
the time and to be honest, that's a kind of a tricky question to ask answer because
00:44:44
>> I feel like I'm so um like it's so ingrained in me that I wouldn't actually know I wouldn't be
00:44:51
able to tell you the parts that he has, >> you know, and the skills that he has
00:44:55
given me sort of thing. Yeah. I don't know. I think one of the biggest things
00:44:58
that he did tell me um was and and something that I find comfort in is that don't don't be worried about being
00:45:06
worried, you know, like you can be worried about something and that's totally normal and it's okay, but don't
00:45:11
worry about feeling like that. Like don't be stressed about being stressed, >> you know, and and just understand and
00:45:16
and trust that you're stressed or you're worried and that you can't do anything
00:45:20
about that. And >> all of the time it's for a reason. Um whether that's you have something crazy
00:45:26
going on in your life or upcoming or you maybe haven't had enough sleep in the
00:45:30
past four nights, you know, these things sort of lead to, you know, and it's and
00:45:33
it's don't make that situation worse. And that's something that he >> like Yeah. That's one of his biggest
00:45:38
things that I've taken away. >> Yeah. One thing I've um learned about
00:45:42
you while researching for this in the past week is um just crippling anxiety, right?
00:45:47
>> Yeah. Yeah. >> Like terrible nerves. >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. Gnarly.
00:45:50
>> They Yeah. Yeah. Have they subsided or do they just as you keep trying to raise
00:45:55
the bar? Does it just remain because you're constantly pushing? >> They come and go. They come and go. Um
00:46:00
they definitely have I've um yeah, I've I've uh developed skills that
00:46:08
help me deal with them. But in sometimes I'll have it'll just come on and I'll be
00:46:12
like, "Oh my goodness, like I'm nervous. Like why why am I nervous right now?"
00:46:15
you know, and and then I just will, you know, revert back to breath or I'll start thinking about certain things or
00:46:22
Yeah. I don't know. I just use that that technique to to help overcome that.
00:46:26
>> Um >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Well, thanks for sharing that. >> Oh, it's all good.
00:46:30
>> Okay. Um you're I've done like almost 250 podcast episodes. This is the first
00:46:35
Winter Olympian I've ever had on. >> So, um >> Yeah. What are they like? I've had so
00:46:40
many summer Olympians on. Yeah, but yeah, the winter Olympics, the the village, like are there perks? Is there
00:46:46
free McDonald's? Is there a massive food court? >> Yeah, that stuff's good fun.
00:46:49
>> Is everyone going around shagging each other like? >> Um, kind of to be honest. It's like I
00:46:56
don't know. Yeah. Well, I mean, China was a different story cuz it was co and
00:47:00
it's China so it's a little bit like >> I know a little bit crazy to begin with.
00:47:04
Um, and then Korea when I was 16 was was crazy. That was sick. Like it was so so
00:47:11
cool. and such a cool experience. And they just I mean the same as the summer I think and they just build apartment
00:47:17
blocks and we were living in an apartment and um just Miguel and I were sharing a room
00:47:22
which is like sharing a room with your brother at the Olympics is pretty special like not everyone gets to do
00:47:27
that and so having him there was really cool and um yeah and then you know the the New Zealand team at the time was
00:47:35
really young and and that was really really um special but there was McDonald's and there was there was a
00:47:41
dentist surgery and like you get full dental work and haircuts and you know phones and just all sorts of stuff. And
00:47:50
um then Red Bull had a nightclub. Red Bull had like a pop-up nightclub that they had going there for a while. And so
00:47:56
when you got a medal, you would Yeah. You would go and um celebrate at the Red Bull nightclub and you'd walk in and you
00:48:03
know there's videos. Yeah. There was just good times. Like we'd walk in and
00:48:06
there'd be a bottle of Grey Goose and surrounded by Red Bull and Red Bull vodkas and like you just have all your
00:48:12
best friends around you at the Olympics and it's like I mean that was you know
00:48:16
maybe maybe not what a 16-year-old should be doing but it's sort of like it's sort of like
00:48:22
>> you know come on that's a once in a lifetime thing you know and that was
00:48:25
really Yeah. >> Amazing. Oh were you on the Grey Goose at 16 after the Olympics?
00:48:30
>> No no no of course not. Okay. Um yeah, this this might seem like an odd
00:48:36
question. I don't even know if this is a discussion you you've had, but so you're
00:48:39
both um your brother and yourself ridiculously successful. Like as you said, you know, sharing an apartment
00:48:43
together at the Olympics. Um but you you've your level of success has has been like a step higher than than him, I
00:48:51
suppose, in terms of um >> the visible awards, you know, the H the Hellburg award, sportsman of the year,
00:48:56
the medals. >> Has it been hard on him? M >> I I know he's super proud
00:49:05
>> and I I don't actually know because he even if it was hard he would never he
00:49:10
he's that type of person that he would never express that to me and he would
00:49:14
never >> he would never let me know that and the only emotion that he would show towards
00:49:19
me would be >> being proud. Yeah. and being having that pride. Um, and I think yeah, I was like I mean you
00:49:30
know that's that's some character to do that you know when some there would be
00:49:33
some times where >> you know he would crash and >> well like at the first Olympics he he
00:49:40
was like skiing the best he ever had in the buildup to it and then he crashed both his runs in qualifying and didn't
00:49:46
make finals and that was like you know like he'd made finals at every event that season. And it was sort of like wo
00:49:51
and then his younger brother that had only just come onto the scene landed a run in qualifying and made
00:49:57
finals and then went on to win bronze. It's like >> that for anybody can't you know like
00:50:01
that can't not be hard you know and >> I don't know but I know that he is an
00:50:07
incredible and incredible person has an incredibly strong character that he would never show that to me. he would
00:50:12
only just be proud of me and supportive of that in that situation. And and and and same goes the other way is that I
00:50:19
was always proud of him. And and in fact, one of the one of my favorite favorite two moments of my career was
00:50:26
the first one being when he won XGame silver. Um I think that was the year before 2018
00:50:35
Olympic 2017 he won X Games silver and that was like oh my goodness like we've
00:50:41
achieve it felt like we have achieved this goal you know like Miguel and that's my brother he's he's standing on
00:50:47
the XG games podium like this is crazy we've been together doing this from such
00:50:51
a young age and it's like we have achieved this together and then yeah I remember just standing looking at him on
00:50:57
the podium and just like being you know total disbelief that this was happening in front of me. And and the second
00:51:03
moment was not the the winning at the 2022 Olympics. It wasn't standing on the
00:51:10
podium. It was >> the first person that I got to see at the bottom of that event when I'd found
00:51:16
out everything was happening and you know the result and stuff like that was my brother.
00:51:21
>> The first person I got to say something to >> and hear something from was Miguel. And
00:51:26
that was us hugging each other and him going, "Fuck yeah." like congrats. You
00:51:32
know what I mean? And it's like goosebumps. >> Yeah. Like that. Like that's more
00:51:36
important than anything else, you know? Like >> Yeah. I don't know. And and and
00:51:41
>> yeah, [ __ ] Miguel is such an incredible person and I'm so lucky to have him as a
00:51:46
brother. >> Yeah. So those those Olympics um 2018 Pon Chang, you were aged 16 years and 91
00:51:52
days. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> Um, when you won the bronze medal, what
00:51:55
was what was the name of your winning move or moves? >> And what was it exactly? They have weird
00:52:02
names. Eh, >> yeah, my the winning maneuvers I would say at 2018 was what did I do then? I
00:52:10
think I did Yeah, I would say that it was like um I did a double c 1440 at the top. That was
00:52:18
like what's that? Two flips and four full spins. Yeah, two flips, four full spins, and then straight into the
00:52:25
next hit. Did a 900. And it was just a lot of spinning. It was just a And that's the thing is that the judges said
00:52:32
to me after is that they were like, you know, cuz we always go and talk to the judges after an event cuz, you know, how
00:52:37
else do you know what to improve on and how to get better and stuff like that. And um they said, you had gold medal
00:52:44
technicality, but everything else was lacking. M >> and so that's what I went and worked on
00:52:50
for the next like four years. Well, yeah, four years. Yeah. I I kept working the same rate um with the same, you
00:52:57
know, pace on the technicality, but really put an emphasis on the other sides of skiing and the judging and um
00:53:02
yeah, that paid off. >> And I think it was this Olympics. I saw an interview with your mom. Um she she
00:53:09
talked about how your nerves were so intense like she that stayed up till 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning just like
00:53:13
>> So so were your parents in the apartment with you in the Olympic village or just
00:53:16
you and your bro? >> Yeah, just just Miguel and I and then they're not actually allowed into the
00:53:20
village. >> Um and so there was a time at 2018 where it got so intense that and I got so um I
00:53:28
guess petrified of what I was where I was and what I was doing that mom and dad um were hanging out in Seoul at the
00:53:36
time. uh they had an apartment and was sort of just there in case anything went wrong in the buildup and sort of just
00:53:42
checking out Korea because you know they had this opportunity to come over and um
00:53:46
yeah so I hopped on a bullet train and went down and saw them and just completely got out of the Olympic
00:53:50
environment and that was um that was like the biggest thing that was so good. I just went down with them and just ate
00:53:57
food and went and walked around Seoul and just completely forgot about Olympics and
00:54:02
>> just acted like a normal kid. >> Yeah. Yeah. just acted like a kid on
00:54:04
holiday with his parents and that was like >> you were >> Yeah, for those Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like
00:54:11
it's you know it's crazy. >> Um and I just Yeah. I don't know. So the
00:54:16
the fact that they they were like so aware of the situation and they I don't
00:54:22
know whether I think I think it was actually DC uh Dave Collins that that gave him that advice was to just be
00:54:28
there and sort of get an apartment out of it and >> maybe you know give them space to come
00:54:33
and check out down and away from the Olympic village and stuff like that and and yeah I think like I'm so lucky that
00:54:38
I had people around me that were that aware and and that um wise and to give me that opportunity to do
00:54:45
Can you remember that? Can you remember staying up all night talking to your mom?
00:54:48
>> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that wasn't just one time. That was a lot. And And really?
00:54:51
Oh, yeah. Yeah. That was a lot. And And um >> what like are you like expressing your
00:54:57
nerves about the competition or you just talking about anything but >> Yeah. It would it would be I mean, I
00:55:04
would probably start off by talking about the competition, but it but in saying that, it wasn't actually just
00:55:08
competitions that would give me this. It would be trying a new trick the next day. It would be trying a new trick in
00:55:12
two days time. it would be the fact that I'm at a training camp in order to learn
00:55:15
a new trick and that trick was stressing me out. So, it was like it was I'm such
00:55:20
a worrier and such a stressful like stress, you know, when I get stressed, I get stressed and and um yeah, I would I
00:55:27
think the conversations that I had with mom would start off with talking about the trick and and that and then she
00:55:33
would be very good at distracting and moving on to something else. And um yeah, listening to I'd listen to
00:55:39
podcasts, listen to country life a lot. Like I'd spend >> country life um you know the radio New
00:55:44
Zealand country life that they do about the farming the farming show. >> I'd listen to that like
00:55:48
>> that's so random. >> I know. I' because it would distract me.
00:55:51
It would be and it would be so nice cuz I'd be on the road and and it would be
00:55:55
like you know sounds of home like you know you'd hear they do interviews on the farm and you'd hear the birds and
00:56:00
you know like it was just relaxing you like I know that's so weird but it was
00:56:05
just so soothing. Yeah. And so I would do that where I'd talk to mom and I'd
00:56:09
listen to podcast and eventually I'd get to sleep and sometimes I wouldn't.
00:56:12
>> Yeah. There was one time where I didn't get to sleep and I just stayed awake all
00:56:15
night >> and that was actually the night before Olympic qualifying in 2018. I I was up
00:56:21
uh all night because I couldn't sleep cuz I was so nervous. And I spoke to DC
00:56:26
and Dave Collins in the morning and he said, "Look, you know what you got to
00:56:30
do. You've practiced it. You've done it. As soon as you get a little bit of
00:56:34
adrenaline in your body, you're not going to know that you haven't slept."
00:56:37
>> Like, you're going to Yeah, you're not going to be maybe as sharp as you could
00:56:41
be, but you've done all this before. You know what's happening. Just just back
00:56:46
yourself and and trust yourself. And that's something that I've always like
00:56:50
always utilized since then is knowing that when you do get adrenaline in you, if you trust that adrenaline and you
00:56:56
trust your preparation, well then you know that you can do it. >> Yeah. And muscle memory from the
00:57:00
thousands of hours of work went into it. I had Louis Lewis Cleber, the swimmer on
00:57:04
the podcast, he said a similar sort of thing >> like sleepless nights before competition
00:57:07
and then his um his mental skills coach maybe just his coach said to him like you know one bad night's sleep's not
00:57:13
going to undo it's not going to do [ __ ] all. >> No. Exactly. And maybe, you know, maybe
00:57:17
if you're like an archer or something and you get the shakes because, you know, you're tired or something like
00:57:21
that. But even then, with the nerves and like with nerves and and um excitement and adrenaline, you're going to be
00:57:27
awake. So, >> with that in mind though, with you describing how um debilitating it's
00:57:32
been, it's it's um a miracle that you've been in the sport for so long.
00:57:37
>> Yeah. >> Like, it really is. It's a lot to go through. >> Yeah. No, it is a lot to go through. And
00:57:42
I think it's that those moments of those high moments and those moments of success um and those you know moments of
00:57:50
being proud of yourself for achieving something sort of outweigh those >> um those harder moments.
00:57:55
>> Yeah. Was that life-changing? And if so, how? >> The the bronze medal in 2018.
00:58:02
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. I mean like personally no. Like I like I mean I don't think it changed who I was
00:58:08
personally. maybe people around me would have a different story, but >> I still I don't think so. And and so in
00:58:15
that way, no, it didn't change my life at all. But in other ways, like, you know, if that hadn't happened, I
00:58:20
probably wouldn't be sitting here talking with you. >> Um >> on terms of like doors that open.
00:58:24
>> Yeah. Doors that open and opportunities and and um situations that you find
00:58:28
yourself in because of these things. And um >> yeah, I don't know. It's uh it has
00:58:33
definitely changed my life, but also at the same time, it hasn't like Yeah. The 24 or 48 hours after that, what did
00:58:41
that look like? The >> another couple of nights of no sleep. >> Oh yeah, the the So the 48 hours after
00:58:48
2018 were crazy cuz that was the first time in 26 years or 26 years or something that New Zealand had won um a
00:58:56
medal at the Winter Olympics. >> Who was it? Was it Analise Cober? >> Yep. Yeah. In Slalam in 1980 or I don't
00:59:04
know 2018us 26 92 maybe. I don't know. Yeah. Sorry for bad math, but um yeah,
00:59:09
so so Zoe um Saski Senate won bronze and big air and um also being 16 and then a
00:59:15
week later I won bronze and half five and those were the first two medals in in a long time and so it was a big deal
00:59:21
in New Zealand and um we flew home from Korea 24 hours or 48 hours later and we just went into a 5day media
00:59:32
>> like circus. It was it was just every 5 minutes we were on another interview. We
00:59:37
had another phone. Then we were driving to this studio. Then we're doing this
00:59:40
and then we were you know we were doing a a meet and greet at High Performance Sport. Then we're going to government
00:59:46
house and then we're going on the plane down to Wanuker and having a welcoming
00:59:50
and hucker at Queenstown airport and then onto a parade in Wanuka. It was it was just like it was crazy and that was
00:59:58
that was like such a a whirlwind and um yeah so that was the 24 hours after 2018
01:00:04
and then the 24 hours after 2022 were a little bit different because it was co and and I knew that those first the
01:00:12
first Olympics really took it out of me and that really really wore me down >> that period and um yeah it was it was
01:00:19
really really tough that time and uh 2022 I was like, "Fuck this. Whatever happens,
01:00:26
I'm just going to >> like I'm just going to go and enjoy it and you know, like, yeah, I'm I'm just
01:00:32
going to hang out with my friends and >> um my brother and yeah, that's what I
01:00:37
did." And so it was a bit more chill. >> Still a lot of media, but >> yeah, ju just thinking about those games
01:00:44
um you all the media and stuff that came afterwards. You've sort of grown up in
01:00:48
the public eye. There's been no missteps though. Are you comparing you to like
01:00:52
Justin Bieber like uh you know a lot of people that have like like fame or you profile at a young age they they
01:01:00
usually some push back at some point. >> Um >> yeah I've been very lucky to not have
01:01:05
any scrutiny like that. Um >> I don't know. I guess >> you just haven't done anything.
01:01:11
>> Yeah. I just I was just warranted that scrutiny. I was just I think I was just
01:01:15
forced to be aware of it from so young. Um, you know, the last thing that I'd
01:01:18
want to do would to be to mess up and put a bad name on my parents or my family and
01:01:28
>> especially because they work so hard >> for me, you know, they as mom and dad
01:01:31
work so hard and sacrificed so much to get to me me to where I wanted to be that if I were to go and do something
01:01:38
that were, you know, if I were to make a mistake and you know, you know, stuff up
01:01:45
and and it be in the media or yeah, make a mistake and then that would that would
01:01:49
um tarnish their name and and that's not something that I ever wanted to do, but
01:01:52
at Yeah. Yeah. >> Oh, good on you. >> Yeah. >> I mean, it'd be easy to like have an
01:01:58
inflated ego or go through a [ __ ] phase or something. Feels like you you avoided that completely.
01:02:04
>> Yeah. Um I think I did. I hope I did. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. So far, touchwood.
01:02:09
>> Yeah. Yeah. Touchwood. Um, so the uh 2022 Olympics at Beijing, um, that's
01:02:14
where you won gold. What changed between 2018 and 2022? Four years older, four years more experience. What else?
01:02:23
>> Um, four years more pressure, >> I think. Way more pressure. Yeah. Way
01:02:28
more target on your back. Yeah. Yeah. I had a target on my back in the two years
01:02:31
in the buildup, you know, from 20, what was that? 2020 through to 2021. Um, there was some good results in
01:02:39
there. I think 2021 I um became world champion um and won X Games that year as well. And um yeah, so I I sort of just I
01:02:50
guess I just continued to um to grow and to get better and and I think um luckily
01:02:56
I didn't have any major injury at that time and so I think that was just it was
01:02:59
all this perfect storm that just like led up over four years. There was obviously hardships in between and there
01:03:05
were really hard times and but for the most part it was just a perfect storm that led up to the perfect series
01:03:13
of events. Uh and that being on the day of the Olympics I performed when it counted.
01:03:18
>> Um and I think yeah I just I just kept my head down and kept working hard and
01:03:22
chasing ambitions that >> you know were were Yeah. big ambitions. I think just having big ambitions and
01:03:28
and just working for them. >> Yeah. in terms of I think most New Zealanders like it's quite a niche
01:03:35
sport. So we'll see you on TV if you're doing well like every four years or
01:03:38
whatever it happens to be. So we'll see you on [ __ ] I don't know Seven Sharp,
01:03:42
Campbell Live, Breakfast, ZB, whatever it happens to be. >> Um what don't we see like what what is
01:03:49
the um what is the work that goes into getting to that? >> Uh it's the sacrifice like we talked
01:03:53
about. That was obviously a major sacrifice period in my life and um so that's one thing. the the physical side
01:04:01
of it. You have to be physically conditioned to be at that level. Um the mental side of things was was my biggest
01:04:08
challenge personally was the mental side of things and and learning how to deal with pressure and overcome nerves and um
01:04:14
you know deal with your own problems going on especially throughout that time when you're what do you know you're 17
01:04:19
through >> 20 like that's like god there's a lot of stuff going on in your head. Your
01:04:25
testosterone is peaking. You're like, you know, you don't know really what's
01:04:29
going on. You don't Yeah. You know, you don't know how to control those emotions
01:04:32
at all. You like I think what is your frontal lobe's not even working at that
01:04:36
time. >> I'm 52. I think my frontal lobe is still sort of molding into place.
01:04:41
>> Yeah. Coming coming into play, but no, like at that time, you're just like
01:04:46
you're so all over the show like chemically as a person and and and um a young adult. And so I think that
01:04:55
combined with everything else going on like yeah it was it was difficult. It was difficult but I like you know as
01:05:02
we've talked about I had an amazing support network around me that helped me
01:05:06
you know manage that at least to the point that I could go out and ski how I wanted to ski. And
01:05:10
>> yeah there was some big learnings throughout that time and and some things
01:05:13
that definitely led me to um being able to formulate a way of thinking and performing that worked for 2022. And
01:05:20
that was like I figured out that I I couldn't set results result based goals.
01:05:26
So I couldn't be like, "Oh, I want to go and win this event or I'm going to go
01:05:31
and win the Globe this year." It's like that didn't work for me cuz I like I
01:05:36
don't know. You can't set you can't set a goal of something at the end of the
01:05:39
day that you can't control. Like I couldn't control the final outcome cuz
01:05:42
it's judged by other people. And like I don't know, anything can happen. They're
01:05:46
human. They're not robots. our sports judged by humans and humans make mistakes and humans,
01:05:51
>> you know, don't aren't consistent. Um, they try to be, but they're not. And I
01:05:57
put a lot of pressure on myself to achieve those goals that were actually not in my control. So, I had one year
01:06:03
where I had couple podiums the year before. I think I got my first X Games medal. Uh, and sorry, this was 2019, so
01:06:10
it was after the Olympic year, and I set out to go and win the Globe, which was the world title. like it was the top of
01:06:17
the standing. Um I guess it would be yeah you you're like the highest ranking
01:06:21
from all the events and I set out to go and win that and I had like the worst year like I was like consistently like
01:06:30
10th 11th 12th um just I went from you know being on podiums to then like cooking it. And so I realized that that
01:06:39
was because I am not very good at being results focused and outcome focused. I was more around the process and and
01:06:47
being driven by, you know, how can I go through the process in order to achieve uh the goal, you know, you know, and
01:06:54
sort of like substituting them out. >> Um does that make sense? >> Yeah, makes perfect sense.
01:07:00
>> Um and in terms of the training and stuff dayto-day, >> like to get to that point, you know, to
01:07:05
get to the point where you're doing um a backto-back 1620, so we'll get into that
01:07:09
soon. >> Um yeah, what does training look like? So, I suppose it very easy for people to
01:07:14
go, "Oh, yeah, he just skis all day and then goes to the Olympics every four
01:07:17
years." But no, it's that's the reality of it. >> Yeah, it's not like that. Um, and I
01:07:22
think our focus was >> when we started getting more into the high end of things, I think it was like
01:07:30
very umh I guess what it what's the saying? It's like rather than doing lots of [ __ ] you
01:07:37
do a little bit of great of of perfect. So it's like consistently doing little
01:07:41
amounts of really good and then in the moments that you can do high repetition without having an uh negative impact on
01:07:49
your body or your mental or your you know like that side of things then you do do a lot and so dayto-day for me
01:07:55
would sort of be like I just go skiing. Oh, well, I say that I'd just go Yeah,
01:08:00
that's just Yeah, you just go skiing, but No, I would I' I'd wake up and I'd
01:08:06
go up the mountain and um I would either go and work on I'd go up there with a
01:08:12
goal every single day. Um and I'd make that goal with my coach Tommy in the car
01:08:17
on the way up and we would then talk about a plan on how we were going to achieve that goal that day. And whether
01:08:23
that was, okay, go and do you need to go and do four of this trick, then you need
01:08:28
to go and do three of this trick. Or it might only just be you need to do four of this trick today, or you need to do
01:08:33
two of this trick today. And it's like you just that's your whole day. And once
01:08:38
you achieve that, done. You know, you you just go and you can maybe go and free ski for a little bit if you wanted
01:08:44
to because at the end of the day, I do love skiing and I just love what I do. And
01:08:48
>> um so I would just go and ski without a coach. >> Mh. but not drain the energy so that I
01:08:53
could come up and do it another three again the next day. And so that just kept going and going and progressing.
01:08:59
And then you know we had um the facilities started to get better and better with like the investment from
01:09:05
high performance sport and snow sports and they supplied us with an airbag setup that we had up Kadona and and that
01:09:12
was a huge part of my training throughout that period. An airbag is like a 20 m by 20 m vinyl cushion that
01:09:18
is blown up by like industrial fans and you land on it and it cushions your your
01:09:22
impact and minimizes risks and injury and stuff. And so I would go out. So it's like working you take off on normal
01:09:28
snow and you can do the full trick wearing, you know, your helmet, your goggles, your gloves, your skis,
01:09:33
everything normal. But the thing is you're landing on a big cushion so it minimizes risk. And so I would go up and
01:09:40
drill in a certain number of tricks every day. And so that being one of those moments that you can go and do the
01:09:47
higher volume and the higher um amounts because the risk is less. >> So it was about managing that risk and
01:09:54
and so we go up and I'd do you know 10 to the left and 10 to the right you know
01:09:59
this was throughout the 16 process which I'm sure we'll get to in a second. Mhm.
01:10:02
>> Um, I just go and get repetition on those and then, yeah, I don't know. And
01:10:06
then maybe in the afternoon I'd work on some technique and I'd go and maybe just
01:10:10
work on my edge control on my skis and then go home. Uh, and then maybe three days a week or two or three days a week
01:10:17
I'd go trampolining in the evenings. And so that would be another opportunity
01:10:20
where I'd get those high repetition um depending on what I was doing the next
01:10:25
day. >> Trampolining to practice the somersault tricks that you're going to do.
01:10:29
>> Yeah. I'd go down with my coach Tommy and we'd go to the trampoline and
01:10:32
>> not just going to jump world. >> No. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, no, no. I mean
01:10:35
that would be fun, but No. Yeah. I'd go to a specialized trampoline, another
01:10:39
facility that um again high performance sport and snow sports supplied and um that was a quintessential part of my
01:10:44
training. And so like I would go and yeah I would go and do repetition on that and then yeah I would go to the gym
01:10:51
and I mean like listing this out it sounds like I was doing huge days but I had a really really good um as I've
01:10:59
mentioned I had a really good team around me that would help me uh really manage the load that I was taking on.
01:11:05
And so, yeah, I was doing all these things, but you know, I would go to the gym this day and I wouldn't ski as hard
01:11:11
on that day or then >> I would go to the trampoline instead of going to the gym or I would, you know,
01:11:16
and and we would just juggle around and shuffle the schedule. And in a sport like mine that's very weather dependent,
01:11:22
you know, you can't go skiing when it's 100k winds and wide out up the mountain.
01:11:25
And so then on top of all of that, you have to fit it into the weather schedule. And so if there were five good
01:11:31
weather days in a row, well, you just go ski. Five weather days. You wouldn't you
01:11:36
wouldn't go and trampoline. You wouldn't go to the gym. You just that would be
01:11:39
your focus would be skiing because the weather's good and you might as well take advantage of that. And so yeah,
01:11:44
that was sort of a long-winded way of explaining, but that's sort of how day-to-day training looked like.
01:11:49
>> No, it's it's good to know um how much work goes into these things. Yeah. So
01:11:52
this gold medal performance in 2022 in Beijing, it was um yeah, back to back 1620s. So what what does that mean?
01:11:59
>> Yeah. So the backto-back refers to in halfight we have a left and right wall.
01:12:04
Wall being like you know Yeah. Um halfight looks like a U and you have two sides to a U. Left and right. And on the
01:12:12
left and right side you either spin left or you either spin right. And um a 1620
01:12:19
is two flips and four and a half full spins. And so I did one to the left and then I think it would be like maybe what
01:12:29
two and a half seconds, three seconds later I did one to the right. And so that's the backto-back part. It's it's
01:12:35
one hit after the other. Um Yeah. And that was pretty much like what gave me a lot of my success was those two tricks.
01:12:45
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. It's worth highlighting like tricks aside, um that half pipe looks so
01:12:50
[ __ ] intimidating. >> Yeah, it is. It's like for for most people like me, it's it's a monster.
01:12:55
Like most normal people, 99% of the population wouldn't wouldn't drop in or
01:12:59
wouldn't be able to drop in. >> Yeah. And and um it is terrifying. Like
01:13:05
>> is it for you? >> Yeah. Yeah. Like Well, okay, maybe not for me, but brag,
01:13:10
>> but no, but there'll be there'll be moments where I haven't skied it in a
01:13:14
long time and I'll drop in and I'd be like, "Oh my goodness, this is scary."
01:13:16
And I'd have to start small and work my way up and work my way up and get my
01:13:18
confidence back. But it is terrifying. Like in general there's it's it's
01:13:23
bulletproof ice. Like it is just icy. There's one event at X Games in Aspen that's done at night. The final done at
01:13:30
night and there's actually times where you can see the lights reflecting in the
01:13:34
wall on the halfpipe. So it's that icy that it's like forming a mirror and it's
01:13:38
it is like you know if you fall on that it it's it's sore. >> Um it's really sore and sometimes it can
01:13:45
lead to some pretty funny stuff happening but >> what like it doesn't sound very funny.
01:13:50
Oh, you just tend to [ __ ] yourself quite a lot when you land on your ass cuz it's
01:13:54
so hard. >> Like literally [ __ ] yourself. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> No way.
01:13:58
>> Yeah. Like when you land on your >> when you land on your ass hard enough,
01:14:02
it forces your your flatulence to release. Um and so there was definitely a few moments where there's
01:14:11
some uh some muddy undies happening. >> Yeah. So So yeah, it's terrifying. Yeah.
01:14:18
And Yeah. Do you want me to go into depth on that or no? >> That's amazing.
01:14:24
>> Yeah. No, it's pretty funny. >> Wow. I um Wow. And what about injuries
01:14:29
and stuff? >> Yeah, I was pretty lucky in injuries and touchwood that I didn't have heaps of
01:14:34
bad bad ones. um had the occasional um [ __ ] myself moment, but um and then yeah, I mean I had I had like some
01:14:45
some some minor ones like bruises and slight tweaks of knees and stuff like that and and I um and then I only had
01:14:54
luckily only had one major >> um knee surgery and rupture of my ACL and that was yeah that was pretty much
01:15:00
the the only um only injuries I really had. Uh, and I think that was just because we managed rest so well and
01:15:06
managed load and uh, and not being, you know, not, you know, go go go. It was go
01:15:12
then rest then go then rest and rest was super key. >> Yeah. >> So, going into those Olympics, um, how
01:15:19
do you know you're ready to do something like the 1620? Like, did it get to the
01:15:22
point where you were just nailing it in practice? >> Yeah. >> Yeah, it did. Yeah. So, I actually I
01:15:29
invented that trick in 2019. So it was the year after the Olympics um and I was like okay I could either go to triple
01:15:36
corks and our sport I could I could take try and take the sport in um the direction of triple corks which is three
01:15:42
flips or I could take the sport in the direction of 1620s and I chose the 16s. I just thought that it was not the time
01:15:50
to go to triple corks yet and that I would take it down the avenue of 16s. And so I started working on that in uh
01:15:56
March of 2019 and then April 2019 did the first one to the left. So we have a natural and unnatural way of spinning
01:16:03
and skiing and my natural way was left. And so I did that one first and then um since when I landed the first one to the
01:16:12
left since that moment um for the next year and a half I started working on the one
01:16:19
to the right and then you know so by the time that I was doing the the right one
01:16:24
on snow I'd perfected the left one or not perfected but my success rate was high on the left one.
01:16:29
>> How high? >> Like 80% >> 80%. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. depending on the
01:16:34
conditions and depending on the halfpipe, but I would, you know, do them in as many different conditions as I as
01:16:40
I could and as many half pipes as I could and um it would be at about 80 and or 90% success. Uh and then, you know,
01:16:48
through working on the airbag um that big vinyl cushion, I worked on my right one uh and the right 1620 I did Yeah. a
01:16:55
year and a half. So, what would have been 2020 uh November of 2021. And and it was actually funny about that because
01:17:03
that year was co and no one could come to New Zealand. So there was no international people coming to New
01:17:09
Zealand to train and so I pretty much had like a private facility in New Zealand that you know I wasn't posting
01:17:15
about it on social media that I was working on this trick or everyone knew I had the left one but they didn't know I
01:17:20
was working on the right one in the background. And so then when the northern hemisphere
01:17:25
season started and and it came time to rock up to X Games of 2021, the week prior I did, we're at a
01:17:32
training camp and um everyone, you know, the whole X Games competitive field was
01:17:36
there and I did a right did a right 16 and everyone was like, "What?" Like
01:17:43
everyone was so taken back. They were like, "Oh my goodness." Like we thought
01:17:45
that he was just going to keep it at left, but he's actually gone and done the right and by that Yeah. And then I
01:17:51
don't know and then I just ran with it and and um did them back to back and um
01:17:56
yeah was was a while before anyone else was doing them. >> Yeah, >> that's fascinating. The whole the whole
01:18:04
doing it both sides thing. Is that a is that a prerequisite? You have to be able
01:18:07
to do it both sides. You do. Okay. >> No, it is. Well, it's not it's you don't
01:18:10
have to, but >> you need um variety. >> Variety is one of our um criteria in our
01:18:16
sport for you know what you're judged on. Mhm. >> Um without spinning forwards left,
01:18:21
forwards right, switch left, switch right, >> you know, like sorry, backwards, left,
01:18:27
backwards, right, then um you don't have that variety and and um so it's you do
01:18:32
have to spin all directions. >> Can't imagine the work that goes I mean
01:18:36
well well I can because you just told me how much but like I'm something basic I
01:18:39
can do is like ride a skateboard and have my right foot planted on the skateboard and kick with my left board.
01:18:44
>> I don't know if I could do it the other way around. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. a simple task like
01:18:47
that. >> Yeah, it's a it's a simple it's a Yeah, it's like I mean it's like you do it so
01:18:52
much it's drilled into you from like spinning both ways is drilled into you from when you're young, you know, and so
01:18:59
>> it does sort of feel somewhat natural, but it definitely takes longer for that
01:19:02
unnatural side to to come. >> Um but yeah, it's it's like being able
01:19:06
to write with both hands or >> um >> Yeah, most people can't do that.
01:19:10
>> Yeah. Yeah. No, and and I guess yeah, it's just if you just do little bits
01:19:14
here and there and you just tick away at it, then you will eventually be able to
01:19:17
do it. And it's, >> you know, it's like if you were to write with your left hand and then write with
01:19:22
your right hand from the age of like nine, >> you know, you're probably going to be
01:19:28
able to write equally. You know what I And it's kind of like although it seems
01:19:32
like this crazy thing sitting here thinking about it now, it's like well actually if you just chip away at it
01:19:37
over a period of like 8 years, you're probably going to be able to do it, you
01:19:41
know? And so >> so how how do you know you're ready to do um the 1620 thing at Olympic level?
01:19:47
>> Yeah. So there's filming and video review is a huge part of skiing and and training and and I
01:19:55
think it is in all sport. Um it's kind of like Yeah. Yeah. I don't know how
01:19:59
they did it back in the day when, you know, like they didn't, you know, when
01:20:01
they wouldn't have cameras or anything like you'd have to have, we have to have
01:20:04
trust in our coach, but back then you would have to have an an insane level of trust
01:20:09
>> and um you know, so video review was huge and and it helped me see what I was
01:20:16
doing and we could film it and then talk about it and adjust and you just do that
01:20:20
over and over and over and over again and and so utilizing things like the airbag or like the trampoline to be able
01:20:26
to get high repetition so you knew exactly how it felt exactly where you were um was key and and filming those
01:20:33
and understanding how it worked and okay maybe slightly moving your hip there or
01:20:37
setting this 2 of a second earlier or later how it would affect the spin or going to the grab and like there's all
01:20:45
these different things that that come together in order for it to work perfectly and and so yeah I guess it's
01:20:52
just utilizing those facilities that we had to um drill in repetition without um
01:20:58
having insane risk. >> So by the time you get to the Olympics, you're not even thinking about any of
01:21:02
that stuff. You're just doing it. >> You are you are thinking about the the
01:21:05
thing that you're thinking about the most is the pop. So when we say pop, so
01:21:09
a half bite, you take off from the wall and you land in the wall. Um and if you don't get your pop right, it's your pop
01:21:15
is how much you jump away from the wall. >> So if you don't get that right or you're
01:21:18
too early or too late, >> well then you're going to end up on the deck, which is the flat part. And so
01:21:24
that was like big no no. like you're you get seriously injured if you end up on
01:21:29
the deck. And so the the trick itself is so dialed, but the thing that's not is
01:21:34
the pop. And that's because every halfpipe is different and it changes every single day. It's cut by a human
01:21:39
with a machine. It's a human operating machine. You know, it's not like a robot
01:21:43
or a laser cutting it. And so there is variation in the course. And and I think that's the biggest thing that you're
01:21:50
adjusting to on a day-to-day basis is that variation. So, the Olympics looks like you're
01:21:57
listening to music. >> Yeah. >> Um, were you listening to music or were
01:22:00
you listening to Country Calendar? The >> I was listening to music. Yeah. >> Yeah. What were you What are you
01:22:06
listening to? >> Oh, what was I listening to? Um, I was at the Olympics in 2020.
01:22:15
The Olympics in 2018. I was listening to Who Shot You by Biggie Smalls >> and the Olympics in
01:22:24
2022, I was listening to a punk rock um track called Rage by I think it's Blissar. It's B band of
01:22:39
Surfers. Um yeah, I don't know. Yeah, very specific. So, yeah, it's just like
01:22:43
But yeah, I utilize music heaps. It really just helps me. >> So, you listening to this while you're
01:22:48
doing your competition run? >> Yeah. >> Right. >> Yeah. Full noise, two headphones in.
01:22:52
Yeah. >> So you can hear the um the announcer saying uh yeah from New Zealand Nico or
01:22:59
>> a little bit. Not really. >> Yeah. Yeah. I try and I mean like I don't even hear my music like sometimes
01:23:05
at the end of events which is pretty bad. And sometimes I actually see the um negative side of it now is that I'd
01:23:11
actually get noise warnings on my phone cuz I was listening to music too loud which is like you know that's just
01:23:16
stupid. Like but yeah I don't know. It's just what I was doing. I just slowly
01:23:20
turned it up all day and to the point that it was on full volume and um but in saying that when you actually drop into
01:23:27
something that you're nervous about or an event run or or yeah, something like
01:23:31
that, you you just completely go in the zone and you're completely in that flow
01:23:35
state. And when you're in that flow state, you don't hear music. You don't
01:23:38
hear anything. you don't you're just so in tune with what's going on around you
01:23:42
and you're so hyperfocused on everything that if it's not important like you're not
01:23:49
you know you're not thinking about it it's not it's not being your brain isn't
01:23:54
>> um I guess I don't know >> yeah registering it >> what were your nerves like those
01:23:59
Olympics >> 2022 >> the nerves pre-event oh ruthless >> really worse than when you were 16 and
01:24:07
and to be honest I haven't actually I haven't talked about this at all. Um but
01:24:11
something that really messed with me um and it's and it's kind of like I don't
01:24:16
know Zoe and I were always paired as like Zoe and Nico winter Olympic medals that sort of thing. And
01:24:23
>> and in a way like we're we're really good mates but that Olympics was like a
01:24:28
week prior she won gold. And it was sort of like okay when she got her ex games medal I got my ex games medal. When she
01:24:34
got her Olympic medal I got my Olympic medal. And it was like when we both won X game, when she won X games, I won X
01:24:39
games. And it was like everything had happened at the same time for us in terms of results in our careers. And a
01:24:44
week before the Olympics, she won gold at the Olympics, you know. And so that was like, oh no. Like now there's this
01:24:50
pressure on us. Like it's Zoe and Nico and Zoe's gone and achieved something
01:24:54
amazing. And like I'm so incredibly proud of her and and stoked for her and and that's unbelievable what she's
01:25:01
achieved. But at the same time, I'm like, "Oh no." Oh, like part of me is
01:25:05
like now I have to go and do this. >> Your move. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. It's like,
01:25:09
okay, Zoe and is Nico going to come join or not? You know, like um so yeah, that
01:25:14
that that pressure really really freaked me out. Um and it would keep me up and I
01:25:20
at the end of it I just shut off everything and um kind of just let it happen and
01:25:26
>> yeah, I Yeah, I don't really know how I got through that. It was such a
01:25:30
whirlwind of time. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. So you had that dream run. This is
01:25:34
your first run in the final. Yeah. >> Um you I talked about this before how
01:25:37
you didn't look at it as excited then as what you did two years earlier and you
01:25:39
explained cuz you had two more runs to do. >> Um but you got like 93 or whatever out
01:25:44
of 100. >> Yeah. >> So >> I mean surely you thought you had it in
01:25:51
the bag at that point. Uh there was a slight inkling that I was going to do good and there was I was sort of like,
01:25:58
okay, I'm there's a very high chance that I'm going to be on the podium here. It's
01:26:04
just what position on the podium is that going to be? And um I mean when you're
01:26:08
in when you're standing in a Stargate for an event like that and you >> you just you're just all or nothing like
01:26:17
>> it's the same with X Games in the Olympics. It's like I'm here in this
01:26:20
moment. I've got an opportunity in front of me. I'm going to do everything that I
01:26:24
can to take advantage of this opportunity. And if that means that it's pretty unhealthy, but if that means I'm
01:26:29
in the hospital at the end of the day, that's okay because I gave them my all.
01:26:33
And if that means that I >> maybe I try as hard as I can. I don't end up in the hospital, but I don't
01:26:39
achieve the result I wanted to. >> That's okay because I gave it my best
01:26:43
and I tried my best. And if I do try my best and I do achieve that goal or that podium, then then it's a win-win. But
01:26:52
like before any of that comes, it's you have to give it your best. You know what I mean? And it's like
01:26:59
sometimes there is time to be strategic strategic. But there's times like the
01:27:05
Olympics where kind of strategy just goes out the window, you know? >> Yeah. You're just like, well, everyone
01:27:10
else is just trying their hardest and so and risking it for everything. So, I'm
01:27:14
going to do the same. And yeah. >> Yeah. And you were up against um David Weise who had won the previous two golds
01:27:20
and was up for a three Pete. Yeah. >> He end up with silver. >> Uh yes. Silver. Silver. Yep.
01:27:27
>> Yeah. And that was Yeah. >> Yeah. >> I mean, that was pretty funny. I was
01:27:30
standing on the Olympic podium with like >> he was I think he's like 31 and Alex was
01:27:35
Alex Ferrer was 29 at the time. And so >> yeah, that they had a lot of lot more
01:27:41
experience than I had. And >> um yeah, that was it was I mean yeah, growing up watching those two and so
01:27:46
yeah, it was pretty cool. >> And standing on that podium with um the gold medal, New Zealand anthems playing.
01:27:52
Yeah. What are you feeling then? Is it just like a sense? Is it elation or relief or
01:27:55
>> it's it's relief? It's relation. It's pride like you're wearing, you know,
01:28:00
you're wearing silver fern and Olympic rings on your chest and representing your country. And and I think that it's
01:28:06
not it's it's a different sort of like um it's a different sort of celebration
01:28:12
in that moment. And I and I think um what how it diff how it's different from
01:28:17
maybe other um situations similar is that because it's every four years those
01:28:24
moments of hard work those um I guess more the bad times that you've well maybe not bad but the the tough times
01:28:32
that you've had in the past four years really come to mind and and you think
01:28:36
you know how proud you are to overcome those and to overcome those challenges and and to be standing there knowing
01:28:42
that you have achieved something and and that you gave it your absolute everything and that you have yeah you've
01:28:48
you've like like I don't know it worked all that hard work paid off all that
01:28:53
sacrifice from everyone around you not just yourself has paid off and it's like yeah it's incredible
01:29:01
everything clicks into place >> yeah and it's not like a put your hands
01:29:04
up and jump up and down celebrating kicking and screaming it's like for me it was just like stand there and just
01:29:09
like >> whoa like and be totally overcome with that like I guess pride. Yeah. Yeah.
01:29:16
Yeah. And being proud of yourself and >> Yeah. It's incredible. >> Given the level of anxiety you
01:29:22
experienced leading up to these things afterwards, do you sleep well or you just out partying?
01:29:27
>> No, you definitely sleep pretty well for the weeks following. >> Finally, a good night's sleep.
01:29:32
>> Yeah. Honestly, it was like that. There'd been some there'd been like a
01:29:35
couple months there of interrupted sleep and so like to go after the Olympics that you just lay on the pillow at night
01:29:41
and you're like, "Oh, I don't know. I don't think I'll ever sleep that good
01:29:45
again." You know, you know what I mean? You're just you're content. And I think
01:29:48
that's the best feeling better than any other feeling is being content because
01:29:53
it's not very often that we're content with what we're doing. And and I think
01:29:56
that's an opportunity where you can just fully be content and and allow yourself
01:29:59
to >> to >> Yeah. just be happy with that. >> Yeah. and so proud of yourself.
01:30:05
>> How long does that contentment and that sense of pride and well-being last for?
01:30:12
>> I don't think it ever goes away. >> Like it it um it it's something that
01:30:16
will always stay within you and will always be um a part of you. It's just >> you Yeah, it's maybe it is who you are
01:30:26
for two days and then it's not who you are. you know, it's something that
01:30:30
you've done and it's something that you've achieved and something you can
01:30:33
always be proud of and you always have that feeling, >> but it's not who you are. You know, it's
01:30:38
not it doesn't make you the person, you know, it doesn't it doesn't make me Nico
01:30:42
like, >> you know, it's just something that I've achieved and I'm proud of that and
01:30:45
that's that. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> If the bronze at 16 opened some doors,
01:30:50
I'm guessing the the gold at 20 um Yeah. doors were flying open. >> Yeah, there was Yeah, there was
01:30:56
definitely some cool opportunities. Um the one in particular that stands out was uh actually a Red Bull opportunity
01:31:03
that um they put on a gold they put on a gold medal celebration for their athletes that had competed at the
01:31:10
Olympics and um this was one of many doors that opened and and and one of the experiences I was very lucky to to have
01:31:17
after the Olympics. But they they flew me out to um the Monaco Grand Prix uh which was pretty special and um flew
01:31:25
into Austria, flew Yeah. all the way from New Zealand and um in business class and then private jet from Austria
01:31:33
down to Monaco and or to to yeah was it would it be nice and then Niss into maybe not Nice but somewhere in goodness
01:31:43
um yeah close to Monaco then helicopter into Monaco then boat into the harbor and onto the Red Bull barge and watch
01:31:51
the race and then do it all again at 5:00 when the race finishes and you're back in Austria that night. It's like,
01:31:56
>> "Oh my god." >> Yeah. And then, yeah, it was it was Yeah, that was one of those experiences
01:32:01
that was just that's something I'll never forget. And it was incredible like
01:32:05
>> standing um we had our own >> like VIP booth at the top of the Red
01:32:10
Bull energy station in the middle of Monaco overlooking like the one of the what's the uh chicane
01:32:18
>> and it was just like whoa crazy. Yeah. >> Did you get to meet Max or Christian? We
01:32:24
didn't No, we didn't get to meet the drivers. Um, we were going to, but um
01:32:28
because of a few delays or rain delays or something that we couldn't um >> but yeah, I don't know. It was it was uh
01:32:34
>> it was pretty special. What >> an experience, but they seem like a good
01:32:36
company. Red Bull. >> Yeah, they're amazing. >> Do they How does that relationship work?
01:32:40
You don't have don't have to answer this in details, but you like are you on a
01:32:43
salary or >> Yeah. Um they do they they pay me a salary um >> and they just support me uh in my
01:32:52
ambition. I guess. And um >> they're a company that if you go to them with ideas and if you're driven and
01:33:00
motivated to make things happen, then they will do their best as long as it's
01:33:03
feasible to them. You know, they will do their best to make that happen. And that's pretty unique. Like you can you
01:33:11
can sometimes it's crazy because you can go to them with any idea that you want
01:33:15
and and if it's a good idea and um they think it's a good idea and it's worth
01:33:20
doing well then in a year's time you could find yourself doing that idea. It's like, wo, you know, like and and
01:33:26
having the platform to like, you know, I don't want to I I don't want to turn
01:33:30
this into an ad, but it's something that I truly believe in. Like, they're
01:33:32
they're an incredible sponsor that um you know, give you from rehab facilities
01:33:39
to um support and projects to just any like it's Yeah, it's unbelievable to
01:33:44
have something like them behind me. >> Yeah. I don't want to turn into an ad
01:33:47
either, but >> Yeah. Yeah. >> No. Um well I mean you didn't turn into
01:33:54
an ad. I I bought it up. I I had um do you know Brook McDonald? Yeah. He's a a
01:33:59
Red Bull athlete mountain biker. >> I had him on the podcast recently. He talked about an injury that he had
01:34:04
overseas and Red Bull with you first to cough up with some medical expenses and support and
01:34:09
>> helped him get back on the bike again. Um yeah, you you're still aligned with
01:34:13
them even though you're not competing. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean that just
01:34:15
shows their character as a brand is that >> someone can take a completely unexpected
01:34:21
turn in their career and they still stay with them. They could they could they when I had told them they that I wasn't
01:34:27
going to be competing anymore. They could have just left. >> And you know that was something that in
01:34:31
making that decision I had to be open to that happening. >> But like they didn't you know they they
01:34:37
stayed supporting me and they stayed you know opening doors in other ways. you know, maybe it wasn't in the competition
01:34:43
realm or going to performance camps or something like this. It's more, you know, having a platform to be able to
01:34:49
create video projects that, you know, I can push through their channels and helping me um learn about that side of
01:34:55
things. And so, yeah, it is like um they just help Yeah, they just help me and and they stuck and they stuck with me
01:35:02
throughout everything. So, >> Oh, that's wonderful. They deserve the flowers.
01:35:05
>> Yeah, they really do. They really do. And they're incredible. And they're more
01:35:07
than just like a they're more than just a can or energy drink. like they're
01:35:11
actually like a brand that does things for sport and yeah, it means a lot to um us as athletes which is pretty cool.
01:35:18
>> Those two medals that we've talked about at great length, where are they now?
01:35:21
>> Uh just in my undies draw. Yeah, they're just sitting at home. >> Skitted undies.
01:35:26
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, no. Don't keep the brown ones. They go in the bin.
01:35:31
Uh yeah, that would be >> Are they really? Why Why are they in a drawer? >> Uh why aren't they framed? You've had a
01:35:37
long time. >> My Olympic certificate is framed. Um, but my medals aren't. I don't I don't
01:35:43
know. >> Oh, cuz they're amazing and they're incredible, but I don't need to show
01:35:47
them, you know, like the friends that come around to my house, they're they're
01:35:51
friends not because I'm an Olympic gold medalist, like or I'm an Olympic
01:35:55
medalist. Like, they're just friends with me because I'm >> me and it's like I don't need to
01:35:59
>> like Yeah, I don't need to flaunt that. Like if someone asks, they want to see
01:36:04
it, then I'm I'm more than happy to get it out and show it. But I'm not going to
01:36:07
be someone that brings it out and shows it without someone asking or without, you know, like cuz at the end of the
01:36:12
day, like, >> yeah, that means the world to me. Um, and I don't want to let that define who
01:36:18
I am. I want it to be a part of who I am and and like, you know, something that I'm proud of. Um, but I'm not Yeah. I'm
01:36:25
not going to let it be who I am. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. the um the friend side of things.
01:36:32
Yeah. Have you found it interesting like in terms of like knowing who to trust and who who likes you for for for Nico
01:36:38
the person and who likes you for the you the badass athlete? >> Um yeah, I think there's there's
01:36:45
everyone has that in everyday life, right? Like I'm sure you've experienced
01:36:48
that as well. Um, but I'm I'm so lucky that like I've got the most real group
01:36:54
of friends and >> we're like so tightknit and we're just so passionate about what we do. And a
01:37:00
lot of the time that's skiing and um but then I think what makes it special is
01:37:04
that we all ski and that we all bond over skiing, but it's not what we talk about 24/7. It's not,
01:37:10
>> you know, it's not they don't they're not defined by skiing. They're not like,
01:37:15
yeah, they're skiers, but it's not all they are. And I think that's what I
01:37:18
really enjoy and and like keeps it refreshing. >> Um >> Yeah. Which is cool.
01:37:25
>> Yeah. >> Um the New Zealand order New Zealand New Year's honors list in 2023. So you've
01:37:30
got a New Zealand order of merit. >> Yeah. >> Um >> Yeah. Did you know much about royal
01:37:35
titles? What was your >> No, I I I No, I didn't. I just knew sir and Dame.
01:37:40
>> Yeah. >> And that was it. Yeah. >> So you get an email or a letter?
01:37:44
>> Yeah. I got a I got a letter and it had the crown on it and I was like, you
01:37:48
know, rocked up and I saw it and I was like, "Oh my goodness, like what's
01:37:50
this?" And it was you've you've uh been rewarded the um after the Olympics it
01:37:54
was, you know, you've been rewarded the New Zealand Order of Merit. And that was
01:37:58
I was like, "Oh my goodness." You know, like that's that's pretty crazy. Like,
01:38:01
you know, that's one of those major doors that opens like Yeah. And and I was like, "Oh, holy, you know, holy
01:38:08
shit." Like this is crazy. Um, and so yeah, that's I mean it's not like I'm
01:38:13
not going to go and put on my driver's license M N Z M O M, you know, like it's
01:38:20
not going to be >> Oh, it's your email sign off though, isn't it? >> No.
01:38:27
>> Oh goodness. Um, but yeah, it's like I like I'm not going to let it define me
01:38:32
and it's and but at the same time it's something that's amazing and I'm
01:38:35
incredibly thankful and proud of it, you know, that someone I don't know who
01:38:38
nominated me, but um I think from my understanding it has to be a personal nomination and so yeah, I guess a huge
01:38:46
thank you to that person for nominating me and and um what an incredible honor and opportunity. I guess it's Yeah,
01:38:52
crazy. >> Yeah, it is crazy. And then um Oh, so after those Olympics 2022. Oh, and the
01:38:57
um the Hellburg award as well. >> Yeah, >> this is something that never happens.
01:39:00
Like a skier winning sportsman of the year. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That was
01:39:04
>> Did you go to the ceremony or >> I wasn't there? Um I think it was
01:39:07
actually around the time of X Games. >> Um or maybe I was overseas at at the Red
01:39:14
Bull Training Center rehabbing my ACL. Um but it was accepted um on behalf of me via my mom and my mom was there and
01:39:23
um yeah I mean she's just as worthy of giving the speech as I am. You know she's been there through
01:39:29
>> everything and um has seen it has seen it all unfold and helped it unfold in a
01:39:34
huge way. And so um yeah that's that that's also something that's pretty
01:39:39
special like have that in the closet as well and sometimes you look at it and you pick it up and oh it's pretty heavy
01:39:45
and >> wait in the closet. Yeah. Come on. >> But you you get to keep the um keep an
01:39:50
award or a version of >> Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of like Yeah. It looks like an Oscar. Like it's like
01:39:55
>> it's a statue of Yeah. Yeah. It's amazing. And um >> I don't know that that's like Yeah. That
01:40:02
that's incredible that award and something >> Yeah. I don't know. It was just like I
01:40:07
mean you don't really expect it and it's it's um there's obviously an an amazing um
01:40:14
group of athletes and people within New Zealand that achieving lots of things on
01:40:18
a year-to-year basis and so to be chosen to to have won that and to be the sports
01:40:24
person of the year was incredible like or sportsman of the year. Yeah. >> But yeah to do it in New Zealand where
01:40:29
it is like essentially like a niche sport. Super niche sport. I think it was the a couple of years before you when
01:40:34
Israelis won it. >> Yeah. Yeah. I think it was the year before that I did and he did that
01:40:39
incredible speech and um talking about tall poppy syndrome and and um yeah that was Yeah. Yeah. It was like, "Yeah,
01:40:47
we're in a niche sport." Like, >> you know, in in a in a country that has
01:40:52
so many amazing athletes and rugby players and race car drivers and, you know, fighters and like it just the the
01:40:59
the level of talent within sport in New Zealand is incredible. And um yeah, I mean to win that is pretty cool.
01:41:07
>> What Why is it in the closet? >> Well, what are you after? >> I don't know. I don't know. Well, I'm
01:41:12
like I'm 23, you know, like Yeah. Okay. when I'm older, they probably will come
01:41:16
out >> and they probably will will >> be there, but also at the same time then
01:41:20
they're they're amazing things like for me, you know, and and and for me and
01:41:28
my family and um I think yeah, at some point in time they will like whether I have them on display at some sort of a
01:41:36
public space or you know cuz at the same time we we are a government funded sport
01:41:41
and I was government funded throughout that whole process and having them on display in the public eye would be
01:41:45
really really cool and >> it's something that I'd love to do. But >> for me personally, I don't need to wake
01:41:51
up and walk into the kitchen or walk, you know, out of my bedroom and see these things like Yeah. I don't know.
01:41:57
Sometimes when I Yeah. It's not like I I need to see that every day. >> Yeah. Cuz that's something that has
01:42:03
happened. It's not something that >> drives me to do what I do every day.
01:42:07
It's just something that I understand that I put in the work and achieve those
01:42:10
things. And now that they're there, I can continue to put in the work and move into the
01:42:15
next thing, you know. Yeah. And then they'll always be there. They're not
01:42:18
going away. And that's what's special. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Well, they they're yours for life. No
01:42:22
one can take them away. >> Yeah. Yeah. And sorry, just to add to that, I just realized they're in the gun
01:42:27
safe now. >> Well, well, because now that I'm retired, you see, I'm probably, you
01:42:33
know, I'm not going to get another one. You know what I mean? And so there's
01:42:36
there's zero chance of getting another one. So I'm like, "Oh goodness, if the
01:42:40
house sets on fire, I don't want them going anywhere." You know what I mean?
01:42:43
So yeah. Yeah. >> But the medals the medals are >> No, no, everything's in I just remember
01:42:49
everything's in the gun safety. >> So what's in there? So the the Hellburg
01:42:51
award, the two Olympic medals. >> Yeah. I don't know if I can le guns. I
01:42:56
don't really know what the talk is about guns, but they're in the gun. Yeah. Two
01:42:59
Olympic medals, the Hellberg and >> um >> Yeah. Well, as long as there's room for
01:43:05
the guns, it' be terrible if you're like, "No, all the awards are in the gun
01:43:08
safe and the guns are in the wardrobe of the underd drawer." >> Yeah. Yeah. Goodness, that would be
01:43:12
wrong way around. >> You mentioned um Izzy's speech before about tall poppy. Yeah. What's What's
01:43:18
your experience or thoughts on tall poppy? >> Look, I don't like to be honest to be
01:43:24
honest, I don't really know much about it and and it's not something that I've
01:43:29
um ever come across. >> Yeah. And so I don't Yeah, I've been I've been I mean I've seen it and I hear
01:43:36
it and and sometimes you know that moments like that really made me more aware of it and made me more aware of
01:43:45
you know you're in the pub watching the rugby and someone you know even myself
01:43:48
like sometimes you've had a couple beers and you go a that's stupid you know like
01:43:52
why did he do that or you hear someone else say that and it's like moments like
01:43:55
that actually make you >> it changes the way that we think and it and it goes okay this is something that
01:44:01
is there and is something that is happening and if I can be aware enough to understand it when I am being someone
01:44:07
that is doing it because as Kiwis it is in our blood and it is like so ingrained
01:44:12
in our culture to poppy syndrome and and um >> you know but if you can be aware and you
01:44:17
can change that the time after >> then >> I think that's a step forward and I
01:44:22
think that's um >> yeah that's really going in the right direction. Yeah
01:44:27
>> 100% good insights. Um, yes. So, after those Olympics where you won the gold in
01:44:31
2022, you um you hurt your knee by piggy backing a mate down the down a mountain.
01:44:36
>> Yeah. Yeah, I did. >> Were you clowning or was it a like a >> Oh, we were just skiing down at the end
01:44:40
of the day and and um one of the one of the guys was um off the side he was living off the side of the run and and
01:44:47
he went to get changed and then we had a little bit of the run to go down and I put him on my back and um had a p like a
01:44:54
patch of ice and I was doing chocolate cake. I was doing the wedge, the basics of basics.
01:44:59
>> Oh, you were skiing down the mountain back cuz he got changed at his house and
01:45:03
then they were coming to meet us, you know, cuz we were going to go and have a beer after skiing at an appe and and um
01:45:09
I Yeah, I hit a patch of ice with him on my back, an 80 kilo guy, and my bottom Yeah, my bottom ski um slipped out and
01:45:18
and I fell over backwards. And that's, you know, if you know about ACL's,
01:45:22
that's classic movement that blows them. And um it's very common in skiing and um
01:45:28
yeah snapped my tore my ACL and um luckily it wasn't under impact or anything. It was just a perfect movement
01:45:34
that just caused my um ACL ligament to snap. Nothing else. No miniscus, no nothing. Um and so it was sort of the
01:45:42
perfect scenario to do it. I guess you know better of the bad uh cases um to do it in. and and it was already semi-tor
01:45:49
torn at that point and so to do it was um sort of a relief. Uh there was question whether I was actually going to
01:45:56
make it to the Olympics with my knee and so um doing it 2 weeks after was a bit of a relief and then you know I went
01:46:03
into a pretty um whirlwind of 9 months rehabbing an ACL. It was um pretty incredible to go from the highest of
01:46:11
high that you've ever felt and then you know 2 weeks a month later you're in
01:46:15
like oh my goodness I can't even walk or I'm going into surgery tomorrow. It's
01:46:19
like >> did that sort of forced pause? Is that where the seed was planted about
01:46:23
retiring? Like it gave you like a an insight into how life could look >> without skiing.
01:46:28
>> Yeah. >> Yeah, it did. Um it was and it was something that um I was yeah I sort of
01:46:35
had the mentality going throughout uh you know rehab of that injury was like I I was so thankful and so grateful
01:46:43
>> um for that injury to be honest because it forced me to slow down and it forced
01:46:47
me to reassess things and and sort of look at things differently. It wasn't just full go
01:46:53
from podium to podium event to event or loss and then podium and then you know it wasn't just this like repetitive
01:46:58
cycle. but was a force stop to something and and that really changed my perspective on things and so
01:47:05
>> I think throughout that period it did open up my eyes into different areas of
01:47:09
life and different areas of skiing when I came back to the sport but um when I came back I I almost did was like ah
01:47:17
maybe I don't want to go back to competition maybe I just want to call it here and this is another another um time
01:47:22
where my brother again has been an incredible role model and some incredible advice that he gave me was
01:47:29
you can't you can't do that like you can't have a major injury be the last
01:47:34
thing or be the reason why you leave a sport like go back go and do it and and yeah and then and then I did and
01:47:43
>> yeah um got back onto the X Games podium and then and then I was like okay I've
01:47:48
got back to a certain point where I'm happy and I'm proud of you know I came
01:47:51
back from injury I went through that I got back to the level and and in some ways was better than I was
01:47:57
previously Then it came on that I was like, "Right, okay. This is actually clear that this
01:48:03
is not something that really sparks me anymore, the competitive side of things."
01:48:07
>> Well, there's no I mean, there's nothing for you to prove anyway. Like there's
01:48:09
nothing. It's entirely you. And it's kind of cool getting to do it on your
01:48:12
own on your own terms. A lot of people don't. >> Yeah. Yeah. No, I know. And that's
01:48:16
something that was um was pretty cool is that um I had the opportunity to do it on my own terms. It wasn't because of
01:48:22
injury. it wasn't because of any other factor other than the fact that that was
01:48:26
my decision and it's what I wanted to do >> and um I think that's like I think all I
01:48:33
mean I don't really know but I think a lot of the times it's I think it's
01:48:36
pretty gnarly and sad to watch some athletes carry on for so long >> where it's sort of like like
01:48:43
>> yeah I don't know it's not really my place to speak it's not really my place
01:48:46
to speak >> I I I get it though it's hard like if you've been really good at something and
01:48:49
you're sort of defined about it it can become if you let it part of your identity
01:48:53
Yeah. And I think um [ __ ] something that I've learned in the past year is that
01:48:57
it's like >> it's way more a part of your identity than you think it is. Yeah.
01:49:02
>> And like I couldn't imagine going through the periods of feeling as I have in this
01:49:08
past year when I'm like 30 or 32 and be you know like >> trying to start a family in the next
01:49:17
couple years or like trying to figure out what I'm going to do for a job as the rest of my life cuz at some point
01:49:22
you know you're not always going to earn money to ski >> and that's something that you have to
01:49:25
accept and it's something that you have to understand and >> I can't imagine going through that at
01:49:30
that you know Even 10 years on from now, it's like, whoa, crazy. >> Yeah.
01:49:35
>> Um I had had this photo. Um [ __ ] it's a good relationship with your brother,
01:49:40
right? >> Yeah. Wow. >> Photo after you win your gold medal. Um for anyone that's um listening to this,
01:49:45
not watching it. Um still on the the slopes. I'm guessing it's immediately
01:49:49
afterwards. >> Yeah, that was straight after. >> Yes. So that's before the medal
01:49:52
ceremony. >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> Uh yes, it is. >> It's you on your brother's shoulders.
01:49:57
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And you were holding You're on his shoulders.
01:49:59
>> I'm on his shoulders. Yeah. Kiwi flag on my back and >> couple of Kiwis doing it.
01:50:04
>> Couple brothers. Yeah. I've actually got this photo framed at home. Um and it's
01:50:08
in the gun safe. >> No, this one's out. This one's out on display, you know, cuz it's Yeah. Yeah.
01:50:13
It' be funny if it was. But no, this this is a um Yeah. This is one of my favorite photos uh that I've ever been
01:50:20
Yeah. ever. Like, [ __ ] that's cool. you know, like >> I asked that question before about, you
01:50:26
know, how he feels if he if there's a part of him that's jealous of your
01:50:28
success, but that's just >> Oh, you look at you look at his emotion on his face and it's like
01:50:33
>> he is just so proud and is so stoked and like he's got his little brother on top
01:50:40
of him >> like you know like Yeah, that's incredible. >> Saying a picture says a thousand words
01:50:47
or whatever the saying is. >> Yeah. And and I think that does say a thousand words and if you understand a
01:50:52
little bit of the story then >> yeah but for me it just >> I don't know it says more than a
01:50:57
thousand says a whole book you know a whole lifetime. Yeah. >> Is there ever going to be a book?
01:51:04
>> Um maybe >> I don't know maybe >> I'm not going to shut off the idea and
01:51:11
I'm not going to say yes. Um yeah >> I don't know. How's your how's your
01:51:19
mental health been in general? Like we talking about the anxiety anxiety earlier. Look, um
01:51:26
I wouldn't say that I've had mental health issues, >> but I have gone through some highs and I
01:51:32
have gone through some lows and I've gone through some um big big lows. And that and that's like I
01:51:41
come out of those lows and and and um I have people around me that help me come out of those lows but there normally
01:51:49
when I go through those it's because of something that has happened or >> circumstantial.
01:51:55
>> Yeah. Yeah. It's maybe because I have like it could be minor things like lack
01:51:59
of sleep or like you know or it could be nothing and I just feel terrible for two
01:52:04
weeks >> like Yeah. I I I'd say that my my mental health has been good. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm and I'm
01:52:13
lucky to say that. But there has been hard times and there has been some really really difficult feelings. Um
01:52:20
and just like I don't know that there's some you know for an example the lows
01:52:24
are uh a feeling of no direction a feeling of um you know anxiety is is a huge thing
01:52:33
and you know and and I think nowadays something that really really really messes me with me is social media like
01:52:40
it's like >> social media is such a big part of our job and it's such a you know as you know
01:52:46
it's such a huge part of of athletes and what we do. And I think yeah, social media, you're
01:52:57
constantly being compared to someone else. >> Yeah. >> And that's not nice. You know, it's nice
01:53:02
when you're when you're doing well and it's doing well, but when you get a bad
01:53:06
comment or you don't get a bad or you get, you know, maybe it's not many likes
01:53:10
as you wanted or it's just it's just content constant like um comparison
01:53:18
>> and and uh Yeah. So, I think that that really sometimes makes me feel horrible.
01:53:23
>> Yeah. >> Um >> Yeah. >> You you talked um before about the um
01:53:29
Oh, hello. about the external uh validation and I suppose on a far far far smaller scale this is what like kids
01:53:36
around New Zealand everyone around New Zealand's dealing with with social media.
01:53:39
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it's and it's something that I've actually you know
01:53:41
like there was a period throughout this past year where I knew that I transitioned into um the media side of
01:53:47
things but I hadn't announced it to anyone else. And when I made that step, I put a lot of pressure on myself to
01:53:52
perform in the same ways that I was in the competitive side of skiing on social media and in the media side of things.
01:53:57
And and and it like it really confuses me because social media is so out of your control.
01:54:04
You can't measure how you feel or your success on something that you can't
01:54:07
control. >> Like, you know, you just have to be proud of what you've done and and like I still,
01:54:13
you know, like I'm not I'm not good at that. M I haven't mastered it by any
01:54:16
means, but >> at least I'm aware of it and I know that it's there and and yeah, um sometimes
01:54:21
that does bring up mental challenges. I would say that I've had mental challenges and but not mental health
01:54:28
problems. Yeah. >> Well, it seems like you got a good network around you and also a good um a
01:54:32
good sense of self-awareness to know >> uh if um >> yeah, if your mental health's not where
01:54:37
it should be if there's a reason for it >> like lack of sleep or lack of exercise
01:54:43
>> or even Yeah. too much alcohol or yeah, there's like all these things that you
01:54:46
just have to be honest with yourself. And I'm really lucky that I do have people around me that are honest with me
01:54:50
in those ways and they would tell me >> straight up if I'm you know it could be
01:54:55
like you know you stayed up late three nights in a row >> or you like I don't know you're so
01:55:01
focused on that like you're so focused on social media or you're so like yeah I
01:55:05
don't know I've got I've got a really really good circle of people around me
01:55:08
that will um yeah help me get through those challenges. Yeah. Who is who's in
01:55:14
your circle? Who's in your >> My family, my Yeah. My brother, my mom, my dad.
01:55:18
>> Yeah. Uh, and I also have some some really really great friends that we
01:55:22
openly talk about this sort of stuff and and that we can have this conversation together and and whether that's, you
01:55:28
know, out on a walk uh in the hills together or whether it's up skiing on a chairlift or um yeah, we
01:55:36
don't have any of those um I guess what would you say like the the stigma that
01:55:41
everything's okay. Like I have a really really good group of friends that I'm
01:55:45
extremely grateful for that they They understand that everything is not okay all the time and they're not all
01:55:52
okay all the time. And some will open up more than others and some I'll open up
01:55:56
to more than I will to others. But I feel as if um I have a strong network of people around me that I can talk to
01:56:03
about that stuff and and I'm very very lucky to have that cuz I know a lot of
01:56:08
people don't. >> So you're good at that vulnerability piece having those. Yeah.
01:56:11
>> Yeah. And and I don't hard for a lot of people. >> Yeah. It is super hard for a lot of
01:56:14
people and and I see it in people around me. It's like being I mean being vulnerable is is hard like it's super
01:56:22
hard like you know it's it's like it's um yeah I don't know but I think if you
01:56:28
can be selective on who you're vulnerable to and if you trust those people and then you know and um you've
01:56:34
known those people for a long time then >> yeah being vulnerable I think is like
01:56:39
the sickest thing like it's so cool. >> Yeah. >> Oh it is. Do you know um Bnee Brown? Are
01:56:43
you familiar with that name? >> I don't. Uh um I wouldn't expect you to,
01:56:47
but she's um she's an author. She's done a podcast, but um and she's like the
01:56:50
queen of vulnerability. >> Yeah. Okay. >> And she says, "Vulner the quote someone
01:56:53
like vulnerability is the birthplace of like creativity, deeper relationships, and
01:56:58
>> just everything good. Nothing bad ever comes from it." But it's [ __ ] it's hard.
01:57:02
>> Yeah, it is hard. It is really hard. And and um >> it is. Yeah, it's just challenging. Like
01:57:07
it's really challenging. It's like >> um to to speak your mind is one thing. And
01:57:13
especially in nowadays, like you feel like you're going to get scrutinized by
01:57:16
anything that you say and and like whether that's by your friends on social media, you know, it's like it's it's
01:57:21
there. And and I think it's just about having those people around you that you
01:57:26
trust and and that you do feel comfortable to say how you're feeling whether that's how like regardless of
01:57:33
how you think you should be feeling like I guess what how can I say this like you
01:57:38
know like say for example if if you get a something like an amazing thing happens in your life and but you're
01:57:44
actually not feeling that good it's like >> well like be vulnerable about that you
01:57:48
know and and have people that you can be vulnerable about that like >> and I Yes. Go against those
01:57:53
expectations, the society expectations to, >> you know, if you're in a good, something
01:57:57
good happens to you and you're expected to be okay in a way, but you're kind of
01:58:00
not, you know, like if you're not, then you're not and that's okay. >> Yeah. So,
01:58:05
>> yeah. >> [ __ ] you're impressive. >> I don't know,
01:58:08
>> mate. Oh, you're you're such a good Do you think you're a role model? Do you
01:58:12
see yourself as a role model? >> No. >> No, I don't. Um, I understand that times
01:58:17
I am a role model, but I don't see myself as a role model. Um, >> well, you you shouldn't be, but I think
01:58:23
you are a good one. >> Oh, thank you. Thank you, Dom. And like, yeah. >> Yeah. I don't know. I I don't see myself
01:58:30
as a role model, but I understand that I do have people looking up to me and and
01:58:34
if I can somehow have a positive impact >> on their like life and their values,
01:58:40
then that's awesome. >> Yeah. But at the same time, like I [ __ ] up, you know, like human.
01:58:46
>> Yeah. And um and sometimes I'm not a good role model like and and that's
01:58:50
okay. >> Yeah. And and like you know I have to tell myself that sometimes. Yeah. Yeah.
01:58:56
>> Do you when you [ __ ] up do you beat yourself up about it? >> Um no.
01:59:00
>> Hard on yourself? >> No. No. Yeah. I am but I'm also not. >> No I am. Sorry. I am I'm really hard on
01:59:07
myself. >> Um and it takes me time to get over it. >> But yeah I don't know. This is probably
01:59:14
not a question for me. This is probably for question for people around me. You know what I mean? Like cuz I can say all
01:59:19
I want but reality so how I feel and the reality of how others look at me is going to be completely different. You
01:59:25
know like >> Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. >> Yeah. >> Um I've had Sir Steve Hansen on the
01:59:32
podcast um and he said something to me which stuck with me. I found it really interesting and made me think a lot. He
01:59:37
said with most people their biggest strength is also their biggest weakness. >> Yeah.
01:59:41
>> Yeah. I think that's I think that's pretty bang on. >> What's yours?
01:59:46
>> Yeah, I knew this was coming. Um, look, biggest strength. >> For example, me after Steve said it, I
01:59:55
thought I it got me thinking about it. There's numerous things, but one of them
01:59:57
for me is definitely like a people pleaser. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> I like pleasing people, but also it's
02:00:02
that's probably my most toxic trait as well. >> Yeah. Um, my biggest strength here. How about I
02:00:12
look at it? Maybe if I try and look at it as a weakness, then I'll be able to
02:00:14
What's my biggest weakness? >> Um, ah, yeah, this is actually how it's it's
02:00:21
overthinking >> and worrying. That's my biggest weakness is overthinking things and worrying
02:00:26
about what people think. But I think that's also my biggest strength is thinking a lot about things and um
02:00:35
>> yeah just making sure that that um there's no like spontane there's no no um
02:00:43
everything has thought behind it and has deep deep thought but then also that bites me in the ass. And so I think I
02:00:49
think that's my uh >> that's my strength and weakness. >> Yeah that's yeah it's pretty true.
02:00:54
>> Thanks for that [ __ ] You've got an anxious mind don't you? Yeah, I really
02:00:57
do. Yeah, I do. I do. I'm a big worrier and yeah, I'm a big uh Yeah, I'm
02:01:02
constantly constantly think about um you know what other people think and and yeah, that's something that I like, man,
02:01:10
I just wish it would go away sometimes, you know. >> Are you a nail biter or anything or no?
02:01:13
>> No, no, I'm not a nail bitter. I may look like it right now, but that's just
02:01:16
from rock climbing. >> Oh, no. They're good nails. They're good nails.
02:01:19
>> Um when was when was the last time you cried? Oh. Um, last time I cried,
02:01:29
>> probably a couple weeks ago. Week 10 days ago, two weeks ago. >> Yeah. Are you an emotional guy or one?
02:01:33
>> Um, not particularly. >> I wear my heart on my sleeve. Um, I wouldn't say that I'm an emotional
02:01:38
person and that I can just cry on the spot at anything, >> but I wear my heart on my sleeve and and
02:01:42
I'm definitely um my emotions uh they're not hard to see like Yeah, you can sort of see them
02:01:52
>> pretty easily. Um, but yeah, I would say that yeah, I would say I'm emotional person for sure. Yeah,
02:01:59
>> it's a great quality. Don't don't lose it. through through my 20ies, I I could
02:02:04
probably tell you the amount of times I cried on like a a hand and it would have
02:02:07
only been like funerals, like grandparents funerals or something and I sort of wore that as a badge of honor.
02:02:11
But um I'm leaning into it now. Like it's a it's a wonderful emotion.
02:02:15
>> Yeah, it is. It is. I mean, it's like it's >> um >> you're not living a full life if you're
02:02:20
not crying on a regular. >> I think tears are tears are a uh >> they're a boiling point whether that's
02:02:27
happy or whether it's sad. Mh. >> Um, and I think it's just a natural
02:02:31
thing, you know, and and >> sometimes you want to fight it and sometimes you don't want to fight it and
02:02:36
it's totally fine to not fight it and it's totally fine to fight it, you know.
02:02:40
It's like >> 100%. >> Yeah. Yeah. It's like this balance. It's
02:02:42
like again it comes back to the like don't like the biggest thing that I was
02:02:46
always taught is don't worry about being worried. It's like >> don't don't cry about crying. You know
02:02:52
what I mean? It's like totally okay to cry, >> you know? And and but >> like Yeah. You know. Yeah. just don't
02:02:58
stress out of it. Like it is such a good thing and it's such a natural thing and
02:03:02
it happens because for a reason. Um whether that's good or bad. >> Yeah. I was listening to a podcast the
02:03:08
other week with um Jimmy Carr the comedian. >> Oh yeah. Yeah. Um >> has laugh something I'll say.
02:03:14
>> Um he had an interesting quote which which got me thinking. I know mental
02:03:18
health isn't as simple as this but he said depression is basically thinking about something that's happened.
02:03:22
>> Anxiety is thinking about something that is in the future. So the best place to
02:03:26
be is in the present. Are you quite I mean when you when you're doing what you've done as a sport your entire life
02:03:30
like you have to be in the moment. >> Um but are you good are you good like in
02:03:34
just dayto-day living and being in the moment being in the present? >> Um I would say yes and no.
02:03:42
>> I would also say yeah. I don't know. It depends on the situation. Sometimes no.
02:03:46
Sometimes I'm terrible. Sometimes I'm always looking forward to the future or
02:03:50
thinking about the future and that gives me a lot of anxiety. Um, and sometimes I'm just really neutral. Um,
02:03:59
I would say more so often than not, I'm thinking in the future. >> And I think that's part of me that's
02:04:04
been drilled into me from a young age is what's next? What's next? What's next?
02:04:07
And, you know, mindset. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And something that I've kind of grown up with. And
02:04:12
>> um, yeah. Yeah. I would say that >> Oh, yeah. >> It's It's hard. Like, it's really hard.
02:04:19
Like Yeah. I think for most people, you have to constantly remind yourself to try and be in the moment.
02:04:24
>> Yeah. Yeah, you do. You really do. And it's so like, you know, you open your
02:04:28
phone and you're scrolling up and down and it's like, you know what I mean?
02:04:32
It's like, how can you be in the moment when you're looking at something that,
02:04:35
you know, like ah, it's frustrating, you know? It's so frustrating. Um, and I
02:04:41
think that's why I really and and I think a lot of people take to sport and I know that you're a runner. I don't
02:04:47
know, you still running. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. And and I think like maybe
02:04:50
running's not not quite as much, but you get in the flow and you get in the moment and all of a sudden you're forced
02:04:55
to be in the present. And that's what's so sick about sport is that it gives you
02:04:59
an escape from that. Say if you're someone that's not very good at being in
02:05:02
the present and and you might find that as a work on or a challenge, well then >> sport is awesome because it gives you an
02:05:09
outlet to be able to go and think about one thing for that long, you know, and for however long you do it. And um I
02:05:18
think that's something that's really helped me to stay present is to either
02:05:20
go and play sport or do sport. >> Yeah. >> Um yeah, trail running is definitely one
02:05:26
of those things. If I'm going for a long run on the roads, then my mind wanders.
02:05:28
But >> if you're doing if you're running the root burn track or something, you need
02:05:32
to look at every step. >> Yeah. And then you're completely in the flow.
02:05:36
>> Yeah. You're having to you're having to really have that connection between your
02:05:39
body and your mind and it's like forcing you to occ it's like occupying your mind
02:05:42
in a way. It's like something that I do when I'm competing is I'll as I've as
02:05:47
I've got older I've learned how to deal with that staying in the moment. And one
02:05:50
of those things is that I'll just put headphones in and pace back and forward
02:05:53
in my ski boots and and reciting the lyrics to these songs. So, it's something that is not um making me
02:05:59
think. It's something that's happening without like much thinking, but it's
02:06:02
just a a task that distracts my mind and and forces me to stay present in what's
02:06:07
happening at that moment. >> And I think that's like that's something
02:06:10
that I use when I go to sleep as well. or like I don't know if you're um like
02:06:15
um what is it called? Um Headspace user or something, you know what I mean? But like I use all these things when I'm
02:06:20
going to sleep, right? And and one of the things that they do is they make you count back from 10,000. And the first
02:06:25
time you hear it, you're like, "What the [ __ ] Why am I going to count back from
02:06:28
10,000 right now?" Like I'm trying to go to sleep. And it's because it's that
02:06:31
like that little task. >> Same with sport. Same with counting. Same with doing this. It forces you to
02:06:36
stay in the present without like, you know, it doesn't consume your brain, but
02:06:40
it just stops you from overthinking and thinking too much and keeps you present.
02:06:44
And >> yeah, so it's having those little things and um but yeah, I would say that I'm
02:06:48
not very good at being present and that I've learned to >> Yeah. Well, when you when you can
02:06:52
recognize you're not good at something, that's when you can start working on it
02:06:56
>> and be mindful about it and pull yourself in when you realize you're not
02:06:59
doing it. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And and I think uh Yeah. [ __ ] It's hard. It is hard.
02:07:04
What about future goals? Where where do you see yourself at 305? >> To be honest, I've been toying
02:07:12
at the idea of studying architecture. >> Um, so >> that's the thing like you you are still
02:07:19
so young. Whatever you want to do, you can. >> But it's also that's the gnarly thing is
02:07:24
that like now I'm like sitting here in this position with, you know, had this
02:07:28
competitive career and now moved into something else, but I'm not really sure
02:07:32
what that else is. And so like I kind of in recent time have just felt like a big
02:07:38
weight off my shoulders cuz it feels like I have come to a decision of a path that I want to go and and like look I've
02:07:44
got a lot of work to do to to become an architect like >> that is so far down the track but at
02:07:49
least it gives me a long-term goal and something to work towards or something to go through dayto-day life with a
02:07:54
goal. And whether that's studying a certain paper, it may not be anything to
02:07:59
do with architecture, but I know that it's going to get me towards the end goal. And it's like,
02:08:03
>> yeah, now that I have that there feels like really, really good. >> Yeah. But shortterm wise, I just like I
02:08:10
just want to ski hard out and I just want to ski with my friends and film stuff and yeah, enjoy it.
02:08:15
>> Just ski for joy. >> Yeah, just ski for joy. >> Oh, that's wonderful.
02:08:18
>> Yeah, that's wonderful. >> Um, any regrets? Nah, not that I can think of to be
02:08:26
honest. Um, not yet. Yeah, at least. Um, >> yeah, I don't know. >> Life so far, mate.
02:08:32
>> Yeah. Well, yeah, it has, Dom, to be honest. It has and it's been incredible
02:08:36
and it's been something that I'm forever grateful for and um, >> yeah, I don't think I regret anything
02:08:42
because at the end of the day, it's like it's made me who I am now. And, um,
02:08:47
yeah, there's been times where I didn't like it and but I don't regret it.
02:08:51
>> Yeah. I've got a photo of um a little boy here with a >> photo. What's this?
02:08:57
>> It's a a little boy with um a yellow um yellow goggles on. Um I don't know,
02:09:03
maybe 5 years old. Yeah. >> Holy [ __ ] What? Um >> so I don't know what I can say. I got
02:09:11
man boobs from a young age. >> That's a hell of a ring. >> Yeah. Look at the motor on me as well.
02:09:17
>> What would um Yeah. What would you say to him? stay present on the calves.
02:09:24
>> He's in the present day. Like he's not worrying about a thing. You know what I
02:09:28
mean? Like he's so in the moment >> like Yeah. And I think that like >> I don't know. I don't like Yeah.
02:09:36
Sometimes I struggle to get all deep and sentimental and stuff, but it's like
02:09:39
that's like the childhood thing, right? Is that you don't have like that person
02:09:42
there doesn't have any worries on their mind at all. like apart from oh my sand
02:09:46
castle's getting washed away by the tide or you know like it's so simple
02:09:51
>> and so parents telling you to have an afternoon nap where you don't want to
02:09:53
miss out on what's going on. >> Yeah yeah yeah and so it's like >> yeah I don't know keep doing what you're
02:10:00
doing. >> Um are there three words that your family and friends would use to describe
02:10:04
you? What would they say? What would you like them to say? Oh, um um what would I like them to say? I
02:10:16
don't really know what they would say >> and I can't answer that. >> Um
02:10:22
>> I like asking that question though because if you put some thought into it,
02:10:24
you can sort of almost reverse engineer your life and live in a way where >> Goodness, it's a big question though,
02:10:29
isn't it? >> Yeah. >> Um Well, I think like I think the first the first one that I
02:10:43
would probably say would be um like just caring >> like just a nice person, you know, like
02:10:52
um that and that that encompasses a lot of things like you know being welcoming,
02:10:58
being supportive, being you know just like caring and like >> um I guess not self-centered. Um
02:11:08
yeah just just thinking about others and being respectful of them. Yeah I think so so like the caring side of things I
02:11:14
would then I would say respectful and then I would say driven >> caring respectful and driven. And I
02:11:26
think it's not just those three words, you know, they encompass a whole whole
02:11:31
big pool of some things. But >> um >> Yeah. >> Interesting. Interesting. We've been
02:11:37
sitting here for just over two hours. >> Yeah. Goodness. >> It's kind of the first time we've met. I
02:11:41
would have said um >> Yeah. What would you say >> for you? Kind, thoughtful, um and yeah,
02:11:48
driven or a variation of driven. >> I was thinking that throughout this chat. Yeah,
02:11:53
>> that's definitely um Yeah, that's definitely what you're putting out in
02:11:56
the world. >> That's nice. Thanks, Tom. Yeah, I appreciate that. >> Nico Pius, are you proud of yourself?
02:12:01
>> Yes, I'm proud of myself. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Have you always been?
02:12:07
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. I mean, obviously there's times where you doubt it, but Yeah. And yeah,
02:12:11
I have always been proud of myself. And you know, there's been moments where
02:12:14
I've like you [ __ ] up and you're not going to be proud of yourself or like
02:12:18
you make mistakes and you're not going to be proud of yourself. But I would say
02:12:20
sitting here today right now, I'm proud of who I am and Yeah. Yeah. That's it.
02:12:26
>> Yeah. I'm proud of you, too. >> Oh, thanks, Tom. >> You're a great New Zealander.
02:12:30
>> I sent you a message saying, "Is there anything in particular that you wanted
02:12:32
to take off?" And you were like, "No, I'm just keen to see where it goes."
02:12:35
>> Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um because it's not, you know, like it's not very often that
02:12:38
you get to just sit down and have a two almost two and a half hour chat with someone. You know what I mean? Like
02:12:43
especially someone that's so like experienced in the world of interviewing and asking questions and being so
02:12:48
in-depth. It's like sort of like, you know, it feels like you're at a um like
02:12:53
sitting down with a mate, you know, and catching up for a long time and something that you just, you know, it's
02:12:57
it's >> Yeah, it's it's nice. Yeah. I sort of just wanted to trust the process a
02:13:01
little bit and just see like >> where is this going to go? Where is this going to go and what's going to happen
02:13:06
and what's going to come out and >> goodness. >> Yeah. Are you happy with how it's gone?
02:13:11
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> I'm very happy. I think this is a great chat. It'sful.
02:13:14
>> Yeah. It's been really cool. It's been really cool and so thank you for um
02:13:18
having me on and yeah, it's been really really really nice, >> mate. I appreciate it and I uh genuinely
02:13:22
um cannot wait to see what you do next. >> Maybe it's not even something we'll
02:13:26
>> Oh, yeah. >> hear hear about in the public domain, you know, maybe uh
02:13:30
>> maybe I'll stumbled across your name on an architecture website one day or maybe
02:13:33
not and I'll be like, "Oh, [ __ ] That's >> Nico." Yeah. Yeah. And uh I guess that's
02:13:37
something that I had to be willing when I made the decision to leave competing. It's something I had to willing to
02:13:42
accept. And yeah, I think if I just stay driven in what I'm doing and then yeah,
02:13:48
who knows? Hopefully that will bring me joy. >> Yeah. Oh, you're a great New Zealander,
02:13:52
mate. And this has been wonderful. Thanks so much. >> Appreciate it. Cheers.
02:13:54
>> Cheers.