March 18, 2025 • 44 mins
In this episode of The PowHERful podcast AJ sits down with Olympic Great British free skier Zoe Atkin. The Stanford junior is at the top of the ski world as the 2024/2025 Crystal Globe winner but in this episode gets vulnerable about her relationship with fear and how sometimes it paralyzes her at the top but of the pipe. But through her studies, her experience, and her own drive to be the best in her process - she shares how she overcomes it and how it’s a trick we all can apply to whatever scares us.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, friends, and welcome to the Powerful Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm your host, Ajam McCord.
Speaker 3 (00:04):
In this podcast, we introduced you to powerful women who
were changing the game in and outside of their field
of play. These are women's stories, women who happen to
be doing things that many of us can only dream of,
but the lessons and inspiration they share is universal.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Welcome back to the Powerful Podcast. I'm your host, aj
McCord and I'm not gonna lie to y'all. When I
sat down to do an interview with the number one
ranked free skier in women's superpipe, I did not.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Also expect that we're going to be talking about the
psychology of.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Fear and how that was going to really go so
far beyond the twenty two foot walls of the super
pipe that Zoe Atkin absolutely thrives in. The Great British
Free Skier is trying to make it to her second
Olympics and she has had a twenty twenty five season
to remember. Cannot wait for you guys to hear this episode.
(00:58):
Let me know what you think.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Welcome back, Powerful Podsquad.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
I am so excited to be joined by a Crystal
Globe winner.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
No big deal.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
That means She is the top ranked free skier in
the women's super pipe in the world.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Her name is Zoe Akin.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
She is also a junior at Stanford University, trying to
make it to her second Olympics for Team Great Britain
and right now catching up with me in the middle
of a training camp.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Zoe, thank you so much for being here.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm very excited.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
This is so much fun.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
So I want to first talk about the Crystal Globe
because for those who don't know, can you explain how
massive of a deal this award is in your sport.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
It's definitely a pretty big deal. I was very excited
when it happened. So basically, we have about five World
Cup events a year, and then at the end of
the year they kind of tally up all your results
and then whoever has the best results over like all
those events, Yeah, they add them together and then they
(01:59):
make rankings for the rest of the year from those events.
So yeah, it's kind of about, you know, being consistent
and doing well, but you kind of have to, you know,
maintain that level throughout the whole season, which kind of
can be a little bit tough because the first World
Cup of the season was in August and then the
last one was just last week in February. So it's
(02:20):
kind of a long season to be kind of at
that high level and to be performing, you know, at
the events. So yeah, I ended up with a Cup
with the first place medal and a couple of second places,
and then I ended up ranked first in the world
at the end of the season, which is so crazy
to me and I'm so excited about it.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Oh my gosh, I can imagine.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
I mean August to February that is such like that's
a solid season and it's crazy to think, Like when
you think about a sport like basketball or football, or
even like within Olympic sports like surfing, the season itself,
the length of the season is similar, but the number
of events only five. There's so much pressure on every
single event. How do you make You're twenty two years old,
(03:05):
You're going for your second Olympics. So we're gonna get
to the fact that you made to your first Olympics
in just a minute. But how do you how are
you managing the pressure and the time off in between events,
Like how are you staying ready this whole time?
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Totally? I mean honestly, it's it's quite tough, especially, I
feel like, especially because we have such a big break
in the spring and summer and we do have training camps,
so we are you know, still on our skis, but
there is definitely a big break that you just spend
not on snow at all because you know, it's like
summer and there's only so like a few places that
you can go in the summer. So I mean when
(03:40):
I went to the first competition in New Zealand, I
think I ended up like fifth or six or something.
It was I did not ski very well. It wasn't
my best. I was kind of in a little bit
of a mental funk that spring and summer just with
you know, I had a lot on my play Like
school was just I was taking this really hard class.
I was like literally coding and my room like all
(04:01):
day every day during the summer, and then I just
flew to New Zealand and competed in this World Cup
with like I think we had like a one or
two week training camp the week before, so it was
very hectic, and I didn't sche my best and I
kind of you know, did that event. I was like,
well that was terrible. I you know, like completely put
the Crystal Globe out of my head because I was like,
(04:21):
I mean that results just not good enough. So whatever,
just put it out. I'll forget about it, focus on
doing better, train a little bit harder, and focus on
the next World Cup. And yeah, I just was able
to kind of build on that and try and you know,
it's it's definitely tough, but I feel like being able
(04:43):
to be like, this event is super super important, this
is the most important event, and then once it's over,
it's like it's over and then you focus on the
next one. And I feel like that kind of you
don't want to be ruminating on, you know, your failures
all the time. You can, you know, take what you
can from the event, like learn what you can and
then take that into the next event. So I feel
like that's something I was definitely working on the season.
And to be able to, you know, win my first
(05:06):
World Cup since I was sixteen and I'm twenty two now,
so it's been a really long time and to be
able to like get up to that level meant so
much to me. And yeah, to be able to bring
that consistency back up to the level I wanted to
be at going into this next year with the Olympics
and everything and so much to me.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah, so let's talk about the fact that at sixteen
you won your very first World Cup and then six
years later you have to wait six years until you
top the podium again in a World Cup. You had
some X Games medals in there, there were a couple
of other like podium topping moments, but in terms of
World Cups, which, like you mentioned, really big when we
look at Olympic qualifying and obviously less than a year
(05:49):
away from Italy. So what did it feel like in
early February you land your run and Aspen and you realize,
oh my gosh, I just put down a ninety, which
is like borderline untouchable in your first right, that was
your first run, and so tell me, like, what did
what zone did you get into at the top of
that super pipe?
Speaker 4 (06:09):
Honestly, I so we had X Games the week before
and I was like so ready. I had done all
the preparation. I was so ready for that event, and
I don't know what happened on com day. I think
I was just like so like so much pressure on myself,
Like I was so stressed. I just felt like I
didn't ski to the level I wanted to do, and
with the new X Games format, they like changed it
(06:31):
this year, so it was kind of like a little
bit of curveball. Definitely wasn't my best skiing. And so
the World Cup was the week after in the same pipe,
and I was like so mad. I was like, this
is I got fourth, which is always like, I mean
fourth is great, like it's I'm obviously happy that I'm in,
like you know, the top four, but it's always so tough,
like right that first position right off the podium, like
(06:52):
you don't get to you know, stay on the mix.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Maggie is it the chocolate what is what does Maggie
call it? Maggie voice? And she got I think she
calls it like the chocolate metal or something like that.
It's like the yeah, yeah, like you don't close, yeah,
but you're so.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
Close totally, Like it's so it's like a great position,
but you do not want like at least if you're
in fifth, you're like okay, like it's fine, but fourth,
like you're right there and you didn't get it. I
was so mad, and I was like I'm channeling all
of this energy into like landing my run at the
World Cup doesn't matter the result. But I'm going to
land my run and I'm going to land it the
(07:26):
best I can. So I had just you know, really
like high intensity trainings and I was super ready for
this event. And my first run, I was like, let's
get this done, like I'm gonna show these people what's up.
And yeah, to be I was honestly just so hyped
to land my run after you know, not landing it
the way I wanted it to the week before, so
(07:48):
so hyped, and then yeah, to be able to win,
like it's I mean, it's it's tough because I had,
you know, I've had a couple of good seasons with
you know, podium results and stuff like that, which is
great and I'm very excited about that. But it's so
tough to be on that top spot. Like there's so
many factors. I mean, there's so many other good girls
(08:11):
skiing and with great runs, and it's definitely there's definitely
a difference between being top three and being number one.
Like it's definitely that like one extra little bit that's
you know, tough to crack. So yeah, it's definitely something
I've been thinking about for the past couple of years,
I've been getting a lot of seconds, all of thirds,
you know, and so yeah, to be able to get
(08:32):
on top of that step was a huge confidence boost
for me landing my run under the pressure after X
skins and everything. Definitely, yeah, it was. It was a
very meaningful moment for me, I.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Bet, because I mean going through your career just in general, right,
Like I said, sixteen, your first World Cup, you make
it to the Olympics, so you're competing there, should have
been competing with your sister, but she had to pull
out of it. But your sister was baring all of
this sort of weight and pressure of the nation because
she was the first female to ever medle on skis
for Great Britain.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
So it's like your family has had a lot of
attention and then you at sixteen burst onto the scene.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
You don't have the Olympics that you want.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
I imagine there's a lot of self doubt that's coming
in of like, yeah, I'm one of the best, but
like can I be the best? What are you going
through mentally throughout the last few years and how do
you sort of get through it to top that podium
and to say you know what the results sounded like.
You said almost like the results don't matter. I'm just
(09:37):
landing this thing the best way that I possibly can.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Totally. I mean you touched on so many things right there, like, oh,
that's so true. I Yeah. So I saw my sister
win a medal in twenty eighteen. I was there in
Korea when she got that bronze and slop style, and
I kind of like illuminated the possibilities of like what
I could do in the sport. So I definitely was
(10:01):
like okay, like I could get there, Like I could
train and work hard and do it. And so I
had a couple podium results. I had that World Cup win.
I think I medled that World Championships and another World
Cup or something, and then I went into my first
Olympics and I put so much pressure on myself. I
was like, this is the Olympics, like I'm going to
(10:21):
do so well, and I was only ever really thinking
about the results. And I feel like that really shows
in my skiing, and I feel like going into the
whole season, I don't even remember, like at this point,
I don't even think I landed a single run that
I was very proud of that season, just because I
was so focused on the results and I couldn't like
(10:43):
let that go and you know, focus on what I
needed to improve on, what I needed to work on,
and just the skiing itself. So there's a lot of that,
And then there's a lot of disappointment after the Olympics,
just because it didn't go the way I wanted it to,
especially after all those expectations, and after that. I had
a little bit of a low, a low point coming
(11:05):
after the Olympics, and that's when I went. I started
at Stanford my freshman year at Stanford that fall after
the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Perfect.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Stanford is known for being a really easy school, something
that you just freeze into really.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Good never really good academics.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
So if we're feeling bad about ourselves, Stanford is a
really good place.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
Yes, just go to Stanford. You'll feel No. It was
definitely it was definitely tough, and because I had just
taken a gap year, so it's been a while since
I've been to school. But it was honestly so refreshing
to kind of have a different challenge that wasn't so
mental and fear focused. And I feel like that's such
a big thing with you know, action sports is like
(11:46):
is the whole thing is kind of overcoming fear and
being able to like, you know, fake the confidence in
order to you know, try things and do things and
make them better and get up after your fall. But
at Stanford, it was so much more just like learning
to be in a new environment and like making friends,
being social, like being able to like raise my hand
(12:07):
in class, you know, and obviously like the academic side
of things too. And I feel like it was so
nice to be able to just forget that I was
a skier and to just be me again and kind
of be like I exist outside of my results, and
I exist outside of whatever place I got at the Olympics.
And I feel like that was really big for me,
especially just like being so young at my first Olympics
(12:29):
and just when you're young in general, I feel like you're,
you know, grappling with all these you know, what your
identity is and all that kind of stuff. So just
like a very emotional time, I guess, and I felt
like that. Yeah, So that experience at Stanford was just
really helpful for me, like as a person, for my
growth and everything. And I was kind of like not
(12:51):
sure if I wanted to go back to skiing, but
I was like, I'll just do this season and see
outgos and if I don't want to ski by the
end of the season, then I'll just quit and do
school full time. And that's fine. And I feel like,
and that was my first X Games gold medal, and
I had a great season that year. I podium to
all the events I went into, which was huge for
me coming after you know, a season of not a
(13:12):
single podium. I think I got like ninth at the
Olympics or something, which I was, you know, upset about,
like but and I just feel like taking that pressure
off really allowed me to you know, focus on the
skiing and remember why I did it in the first place,
which is like that passion that you know fun. And
also going to Stanford and I was taking a lot
(13:36):
of like psychology classes and stuff kind of in that realm,
so I was able to learn a lot more about
the brain and the thought process and you know, how
fear is kind of like created in the brain and
how it's like processed in the body. And I feel
like kind of thinking about it mechanically helped me a lot.
You know, when you're standing at the top being like
(13:57):
I'm so scared, like I like my body paralyzed. I'm
like I can't move, and then being like this is
just a biological process, like of course I'm scared. It's
like my brain, there's, you know, all this stuff going
on in my body. But like I can still do this,
Like I can be scared and do it either way.
And I feel like learning all that kind of stuff
(14:18):
was also very helpful for me going back to skiing.
That was a really long winded answer, but.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
No, that was great. No, that was great.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
I want to hear more about the fear and how
learning about that biological process, because I think you're right,
like as somebody who I absolutely love watching action sports,
I love watching you guys do what you do. And
I will never throw myself thirty four feet above the
snow and a twenty two foot ice wall in order.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
To like flip and feel something in the air.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
And it like the fear in me is my biological
response is like, actually, no, you can't, you can't do that.
That is like a reasonable fear. But I think so
often you proge this confidence and so we almost put
these you know, like Olympic extreme athletes on a pedestal
of like, well, look they're doing it, and they're actually
they're actually not scared, and it's almost what I've experienced
(15:12):
is almost a form of separation where it's like, well, yeah,
that's good for you, but not for me, Like you
could do that, but I couldn't do that, And what
you're saying is like, no, actually, this is something that
happens to all of us, and we can all handle
whatever the fear is. We can all handle it because
it's in biological response, is what you've learned.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
Totally. I definitely feel like there's this kind of idea
that all these people that are doing these crazy things
are like even the people in my sport, that there
were like crazy adrenaline junkies, or that we're just we
just aren't afraid, and that we're just so good at
our sports though it's like it's nothing to us, but
it is scary, and it's scary every time, even when
(15:51):
I do things that I know I can do, not
to mention the things I'm trying and you know, haven't
ever tried before, and I'm just like, you know, trying
to learn it by throwing it. But yeah, it's definitely
like it's it's natural to feel the fear because you know,
what we do is ultimately dangerous, Like there is risk involved,
(16:14):
and there's kind of risk in anything. Like if you
think about, you know, whatever it is that makes you scared,
whether it be I don't know, going up to someone
that you don't know and like speaking to them, or
raising your hand in class like I said before, or
you know, whatever it may be. It's like there's a
biological reason for that. It's whether it's you're you know,
you're throwing yourself over an ice tube, or it's like
you know, fear of like social rejection or whatever it is.
(16:37):
You know, more like complex rather than like the biological
like fear, you know what I mean, there's always like
the reason for that. But it's like that feeling doesn't
have to stop us from doing it. That feeling is
just a feeling at the end of the day. And
that's something I talk with a lot with my sports
psy like, and I took this class at Sanford called
(16:58):
How Beliefs Create Reality, And there's so much of it
of like it's it's how you approach that. It's like,
am I taking this as a warning signal? Like is
this you know, whatever you're feeling is like, oh, my
palms get sweaty or my heart's racing. Am I like
this means I can't do this, Like I'm too scared
to do this. I can't. Like you're taking these signals
(17:18):
as a negative, or you could be like my sweaty palms,
my racing heart, like I'm nervous because I really care
about this. You know, I'm nervous because I'm kind of
rising to the challenge. My body's getting activated. This adrenaline
is going to give me the edge that I need
to be able to do this trick in the halfpipe,
or this kind of racing heart's gonna like give me,
(17:39):
you know, the energy and the courage to like go
up to someone new at like the coffee shop or
something like that. Yeah, And I feel like so much
of it is like how we frame these things. And
you know, anyone can kind of take your beliefs and
mindsets and you can kind of shift into whatever works
for you and whatever is positive. Or you if you
(18:01):
find yourself backing out of things because you know you're nervous,
it's like are you taking that nervousness, like do you
need to be viewing that nervousness as such a negative thing,
like a lot of the times, you know, fear is good,
Like we need the fear, and it just means we
care about something, you know, any other feeling, like when
you feel happiness, you like that feeling, but you know,
(18:22):
if you feel fear, that's a bad feeling. Like they're
all just feelings and we kind of associate them with
different things. But we can change those associations, and we
have that power to you know, control our minds in
that way. And I feel like that's something that I've
learned through my sport, but also through like classes and
speaking with sports like and stuff like that that I
feel like has been really helpful for me personally to
(18:43):
be able to you know, kind of like take that
control back, Like I can't help if my heart races,
Like of course my heart's going to race when I'm
you know, doing flips in the air, but I can
kind of take back the control of being like yeah,
but I'm not going to let it control what I
choose to do next.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
I guess yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
I can't remember where I heard it, but someone I
definitely didn't come up with this, which is why I'm
certain I heard it somewhere, but someone was recently talking
about how fear can be viewed as a focuser because
of all the emotions, right, there's like obviously too many
to name, but let's take a few of them, like happy, sad,
(19:22):
those two plus fear, right, Like, if you're feeling happy,
you don't necessarily need to be like focused, if you're
feeling sad, you don't necessarily need to be focused.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
But fear, if you, it's almost like a focusing emotion.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
It's like, hey, there's this one thing happening right now
that really needs your attention because whether you're doing something
that is scary from a physical perspective of hey, you
really need to focus because you are hurtling your body
thirty feet up in the air, and.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
You need to focus because otherwise you could get hurt.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Or you know, hey, you're going up to somebody in
a coffee shop and this is scary, So focus in
on this. Don't get distracted by the sounds and who's
the boris was calling somebody else's name? And for me,
that are really important because you know so in competitive gymnastics, right,
like I understand the fear. I understand the fear of
hurtling yourself up into the air and really trusting that
you're gonna land on your feet. And at sixteen, I
(20:13):
didn't have that capacity to manage my fear, and at
the end of it, it almost ruined the sport for
me because I'd gotten hurt, I was scared to get back.
I was physically unable to do some of the things
that I'd done in the past, and I ended up saying,
you know what.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
I'm good. This was the end of the road for me,
and I'm okay with that.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
But the reality is, partially because I was terrified, I
was too afraid to turn fear into something other than fear.
And so I feel like what you're describing is it
goes hand in hand with like fear can be just
a focusing emotion of like this is important, so pay attention,
don't get distracted because you've worked really hard for this,
you care a lot about this, so just focus on
(20:54):
this and stay here with us.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
Totally. Yeah, and I definitely empathize with the fear kind
of takeing the love or you know, the passion away
from the sport, Like it can be so overwhelming, like
I've had so many times where I've been standing at
the top of the pipe and I'll just be standing
there and I won't move, and like two hours will
pass and then after I'll just like go home and
i won't even try it because I've just like builds
(21:17):
it up in my head. And definitely like it is,
especially for young girls, I feel like it's it's it's
such an overwhelming emotion, but it's also like what you said,
it is you know, that kind of focusing agent, and
biologically evolutionarily, it's you know, there's a point of fear.
It's like you know, there's a lion. Okay, now I
(21:38):
got to lock in. I gotta run as fast as
I can to escape this lion. You know. It's it's
it biologically gives you the edge that you need. Like
I'm not sure all the stats on this, but I
think it let you vaso constrict so like kind of
more you become like better at like coordination and stuff
like that and any kind of like I don't I'm
(21:59):
not sure all the like you know, the scientist, but
it definitely does like biologically, you know, put you in
a place that's better for you know, like flow state
or better focus, better performance and I think, THINKI about
it that way can be really powerful.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Yeah, And I think now that we've talked through all
this fear, it makes it even I don't know, more
impressive and more exciting for me to have watched you
this season and knowing that you wanted to try to
incorporate a lot of new tricks this year right into
your halfpipe run. And that's something that you know for
those who you who don't know half pypes, zo you
(22:37):
can talk to this a lot more.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
But I know, like you put years. It's like again,
I keep.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Comparents gymnastics, but it's similar to gymastics, and that you
put years into being better at the same exact skills
right doing them to almost perfection.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
That's like the goal. And incorporating a new trick into
a routine or into a run is a lot. It's
really scary.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Because all of a sudden, you're not just like doing
the same old thing and trying to better. Now you're
trying out in a competition for the first time, and
you decided to do this the year before an Olympic year.
How did you incorporate these new tricks into your runs?
And in the meantime have the best year of your
skiing career.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
Thank you. Definitely, it's yeah, like what you've said, very
similar to gymnastics, like you kind of, I think we
call them tricks and you guys call them skills. Like you,
you know, learn a thing and then you do it
over and over and over again, and then when you're
putting a new one in, you still have to do
all your other tricks, so there's still you know, kind
of you have to rely on that muscle memory so
(23:36):
you can do all those other things while also focusing
on this new thing that you want to put in.
So yeah, it's definitely it's it's definitely tough. There's always
kind of you know, there's never there's always something to
be working on. I feel like that's kind of my mindset. Like,
for example, if it's not the best day ever, I
won't work on my hardest trick. I'd work on something
(23:56):
simpler and maybe try and make it smoother, trying to
get the grapnd a little bit better, make the landing
a little bit lighter. So I always think that there's
something to work on, and we're all we're simultaneously working
on all these different things all at once, so there's
like a little bit of that. And also, you know,
no matter how many times I do a trick. I
(24:18):
think I mentioned this earlier, but I am still so
scared to do it every single time. So it's it's
like being able to kind of reconfront that fear every
day until it is just kind of like background noise
to me. Like it's like even my simplest trick, Like
the first time I'll do it in a day, I'll
be like, oh my gosh, I'm so nervous, but it's like, hey,
(24:38):
I did this yesterday, I did this day before, I
did this day before that. You know, I got this.
But yeah, I think, especially like with a sport, like
halfway seeing, it's definitely progressing so much, and I feel
like that's really awesome to see all the girls, you know,
throwing down and learning new tricks all the time. But
it's also very like it's kind of like methodle methodological.
(25:01):
I don't know how to say that word.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Methodlodical, yeahd in.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
Progression yeah, methodical, Sorry, Okay, that's okay. It's very methodical,
and it's kind of progression like someone will learn something
and then a bunch of other people will learn it
as well, so there isn't kind of new tricks going
down all the time. It's definitely like you kind of
learn something and then you work on it and you
perfect it and then you put it in the comp.
So it's kind of like a really big process that
(25:27):
takes a really long time and a lot of work
and then only kind of comes to fruition at the
end and then you get all the credit for it.
But like you know, in the build up, it's definitely
like baby step, baby step, baby step. So to be
able to put I just recently learned a switch nine.
I put that in the last comp, the last World
Cup of the year a couple of weeks ago. To
(25:49):
be able to put that in my comp front is
just such a culmination of like all these days that
I've put into that, and not only that, but all
my other tricks in the run that I was able
to do all in that one run. So it's definitely
like it's cool because it's a little bit of like
the behind the scenes, the behind the scenes work that
a lot of people don't see, and it's like, oh,
(26:09):
like you just tried this new trick and it just
went well and you just landed it, like so crazy,
but it's like, no, there's so much behind it, which is, yeah,
you didn't.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Just you didn't see me land this into the pit
a million times or like onto the blob for you guys,
a million times before I went out and tried.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
So switch nine.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
So break that down for those of us who you know,
that's it's a lot of spinning, Zoe, and it's coming
in backwards.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
It isn't mistaken.
Speaker 4 (26:33):
It is a lot of spinning. So in okay, So
we have basically, so there's two ways of spinning. You
can spin left and you get been right, and then
you can also spin switch left and switch right. So
usually you'll have kind of a natural way of spinning.
Like for example, I prefer to spin left. That's just
the way that I would rather spin if I had,
you know, a choice, But it's the best. You want
(26:58):
to be spinning as many ways as possible. Basically, So
my switch right nine hundred is basically two and a
half rotations to my switch unnatural side of spinning. So
it's my uncomfortable way backwards two and a half rotations.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Oh my gosh, that's ridiculous. And it's like it's so
cool because like you're saying. And so this is the
other thing that I think is really fascinating about skiing
in particular and half pipe I think in particular. Correct
me if I'm wrong, But is there not like a
little bit of strategy with the clips that you post
on social so that like sometimes as you're learning a
(27:36):
new trick, like some athletes will be like really upfront
about like, oh, look at me, I'm trying this, I'm
trying this, I'm learning this, and some athletes are like, yeah,
you're not going to see anything until I land this
in the comp because you don't want to tip anybody off, because,
like you said, it's a pretty small community. So you
land a switch nine and all of a sudden, people
are going, oh, wait a minute, a switch nine.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
I should be training a switch you know.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
It's like this, like it feels like a little bit
of like everybody's watching each other, so what is your
when it comes to new tricks.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
That's definitely really true. There is kind of like a
flaw to that strategy, and that we usually are kind
of all training together, so we usually will see if
something goes down, But there is definitely the element of
being like, Okay, let's say I learned something in the
spring and I post about it and so everyone knows
about it, and then it's like, okay, but people still
have the fall camps and like all the time in
(28:23):
the winter, you know, to learn something and maybe put
something in comp that you know they got inspired to
do because of the post. So I'm definitely a little
bit more of a secretive person. I don't really post
things until comp comes around, and that's I think it's
a little more exciting too, for like the viewers. It's like,
oh wait, if he hasn't been doing that or that's
a new thing, and I think that's, you know, fun,
(28:44):
and I think it makes it fun, you know, for
the competition. I feel like it's like a big reveal,
even though like probably no one cares, Like even though everybody, but.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
No, do not even begin to tell yourself that because
everybody cares. When somebody does a new trick, it's like
everybody notices it.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
It's on social media within ten seconds of you landing it.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Like it's one of the great surprises that come with sports.
And I think part of the reason we love sports
is because nobody knows what's going to happen, right and
like in half pipe in particular, there's really two things
that can happen that are really jarring. You can like
land it absolutely perfectly, or you can fall and then
(29:24):
sort to add in this element of like ooh, or
she could surprise us with something that we haven't seen
done in a half pipe by a female before, or
that we haven't seen her do before.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
I think, no, I love it, keep it secret. I
like it. I think that's a lot of fun.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
Totally. It is really fun. I'm definitely like quite competitive
deep down, so it's fun to see everything go down
in a competition setting. It's fun.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Oh, it's a blast. Okay.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
I want to talk about your sister Izzy because we
mentioned the history that she made which is worthy of
being repeated in case you missed it, which is that
in the twenty eighteen Games in slopestyle, correct, Zoe. Yeah,
So the twenty eighteen Games, she became Great Britain's first
ever medalist or female medalist medalist period.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
In slope style. Yes, there's a little bit of a
controversy because a racer had won an Olympic medal, but
there was like there was like a failed drug test
or something. So the medal was stress. She was like
a whole controversy. So we just say for slop style
medal or.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Free skiing medal, she was the first. Okay, so we're
gonna start this over.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Her sister Izzie in twenty eighteen made history for Great
Britain when she became the first female to ever win a.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Free skiing medal in the Olympics.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
And you, my dear, got a chance to ski with
her growing up and learn from her how And maybe
this is selfish because I'm an older sister, so I
always like to, you know, make sure that the older
sisters get a little bit of the credit for the
work we put in in childhood. How did skiing with
her and seeing her achieve that history you touched on
a little bit, but like, how has that impacted the
(30:57):
way that you ski and what you believe is possible?
Speaker 4 (31:00):
It was? It was everything for me, honestly, Like everything
I've accomplished I feel like I can attribute to her.
I feel like, I mean, growing up, I was very competitive,
so and I'm four and a half years younger than
she is, so every time she would learn something, I
would always try and learn it at a younger age
than she did. Just so I was like one step ahead,
(31:22):
but I would never be you know, like better than her,
because four and a half years in skiing is like
quite a big gap. So and she got me into
freestyle skiing in the first place. She was like, you
have to freestyle ski if you go into racing your lame.
So there's just so much of that. And then seeing
her succeed when I was so young, it kind of, yeah,
(31:43):
opened the doors of possibility for me. And not only
that in like a result sense, but also my skiing
itself is so inspired by her. She was always very
smooth and stylely, and maybe she wasn't doing like the
biggest rotations or you know, like the you know, the
(32:04):
first trick of something, but she was always doing her
stuff very smooth, and she was very styly, and she
kind of brought that style to every event, and she was,
you know, like a crowd favorite to watch just because
she was so smooth and she kind of had that
effortless style about it. And that's something that I try
and emulate in my own skiing. I think there's a
(32:26):
lot of different ways. Like what I said before, I
think halfpipe skiing is progressing so much, but I think
there's a lot of different ways to look at progression.
You know, you can think about it as doing the
biggest amount of spins, the biggest rotations, or you can
think about it as you know, going like the highest
out of the pipe, or you can think about it
as you know, bringing in more switch skiing. And there's
(32:49):
a lot of different ways to progress. But I think
for me, something that I really want to embody in
my skiing is kind of that style and smoothness and
kind of when people watch to go, oh that was nice,
Like I enjoyed watching that. That wasn't you know, like oh,
like she might be like, oh that's so scary, or
you know you watch people when you're like that was insane,
(33:10):
but oh my god, I was so nervous for them. Yeah,
watching my sister kind of be that effortless skier really
inspired me in my skiing. And honestly, you know, when
I do tricks, I'm like, how would she look doing this?
What grab would she do in this? And honestly, it
takes it takes a lot of practice to look effortless,
(33:31):
which is why I think it's cool. You know, like
anyone can throw I mean not anyone. There it's hard
to do a really big trick, but it's hard to
do it's even harder to do a really big trick
and make it look good.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
Well, I think it's like the kind of yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
I think that most people the best tricks are the
ones that are pulled off so effortlessly, effortless, effortlessly that
the people watching are like, huh, could I do that?
Is that like a possible thing for a normal because
it's like I mean you, I mean even your X
Games run. I know you weren't very happy with it,
but I remember watching you and going, whoa, she's making
(34:07):
this look way too easy for like how high she's
going in the air, for how many spins, for the
type of grabs, And so I totally agree with you.
I think the effortless part of it is like really
alluring for a viewer to be like, oh my gosh,
it's just like such a such a it's like a
symphony with the snow where you're just like in sync
with the pipe and it's it's beautiful to watch unfold.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
Totally thank you. I actually it's cool that you brought
that up. I feel like we kind of our sport
has kind of seen as you know, a lot more
athletic and maybe mental, but I think there's a lot
of you know, creativity and artistry that goes into a
half pipe run. I think it's cool to kind of
like lean into that and yeah, be able to like
appreciate I guess, like the artistry that goes into it.
(34:49):
It's kind of like a dance, but you know, dance
is also very athletic, but it's also kind of an
art at the same time, which is cool.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
So you're getting ready trying to qualify for Italy here
to make it to your second Olympics. What is the
thing that you're the most proud of yourself for so
far in this Olympic cycle That Zoe four years ago,
who was or three years ago, was so unhappy with
how she made her Olympic debut that you would tell her, now, hey,
(35:18):
look at what I've.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Done since what is the thing you're most proud of?
Speaker 4 (35:22):
I mean, obviously there is kind of a little bit
of like, I mean, i'm world number one now, like, yes,
there's more part of that and we.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
Should be proud of that.
Speaker 4 (35:31):
All of that, thank you, and you know, all the
results and stuff. But I think to be honest, like
with how unhappy I was after the Olympics, I feel
like just telling her how much I love skiing right
now and how much passion I have for it, and
how much inspiration and motivation I found for like training
(35:52):
just on the daily basis and being able to like
really go into competitions and be like, obviously I want
this metal and obviously I really care about this, but
I enjoy being here and I'm enjoying the emotional roller
coaster that it is, and I'm enjoying putting in the
work that it takes to compete at this level. And
I feel like that is a really big breakthrough for me,
just being able to like live my life and you know,
(36:17):
enjoy the day to day because at the end of
the day, like you know, World Cup goals are great,
and it feels so good in the moment, but it's
like the day to day that you have to be
happy with and you have to find that kind of
inspiration from and to be able to kind of be
in this place now that I think I'm more inspired
by skiing than I think i've ever been, and I'm
(36:39):
more passionate for it than i think i've ever been.
In my whole life. And I think that is something
that I'm really proud of, especially coming after you know,
such a like a dark time in my life, I
would say, after the Olympics, and it's definitely not all
you know, happy all the time, and it's not easy
all the time. And I definitely still go through you know,
(37:00):
harder patches and times where I'm not motivated, in times
where I'm just like, I'm so scared, I don't want
to do this anymore. And there is those ups and downs,
but I feel like kind of living through those ups
and downs is you know what makes it really fun
for me and really like experiencing that and like feeling
those emotions and being able to like, yeah, just like
ride that wave. And I think that's something that I'm
(37:22):
really proud of the past couple of years.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
And what's so cool about that is that that is
something that you will carry with you no matter what
you do, you know, whether it's skiing in a super
pipe or going back to Stanford or whatever. And I
think that's the process. Orienting is something that yeah, I
feel like it's so common and it's such a it's
so cool for again, my time in competitive sports was
(37:49):
twenty years ago, fifteen, twenty years ago. At this point,
it's something that so many more athletes are talking about
openly now than they were when I was looking up
to athletes, and it's just such a cool, cool evolution
of sports. And so I'm really grateful that you're sharing
that because I think it makes a difference to the
next generation of skiers and extreme sport athletes who are
(38:10):
going I just want to I just want to do
what I love and to like not lose that joy
is so critical. You can you can skip so much
heartache if you just don't lose the joy even in.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
The hard times and the passion.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
So I love that well, Zoe, I could talk to
you all day about skiing and I want to learn.
So there's just so many more things. Yeah, I just
think you're the best. I think you're I think you're incredible.
I think it's so fun to watch you and so
I cannot wait to continue to reach you on and
hopefully in Italy next year bringing home another medal for Britain.
But we have to transition now for the podcast purpose,
(38:45):
this is a segment called something to Sip On. It
is brought to you by the sports Bra, which is
the first women's sports bar in the entire world. It's
in Portland, Oregon, and so Zoe, the week of your episode,
they're going to have a cocktail or mocktail of your choosing.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
Called the Zoe. So Oh, I want to know what
are we sipping on that week?
Speaker 4 (39:03):
My goodness, I'm so honored. Definitely my favorite drink is
a mohito. So if we can do something like that,
love a classic, delicious, love a good.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
Mohedo, so good, perfect a mojito. I know for a
fact the Sports Bra can do a great mohedo. Next up,
we have our Powered Up segment.
Speaker 1 (39:20):
So this is rapid fire questions where it's just like
fun things, get to know.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
You a little bit better. Sorry, Podsquad, I say this
every week.
Speaker 1 (39:27):
I'm so bad at this, Zoe because I always want
to know the storry behind the answer.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
So I'm going to try to stay focused.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
Okay, maybe tap into a little bit of sweaty palms
energy and get going.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
You ready, I'm ready? Okay, coffee or tea?
Speaker 4 (39:41):
Ooh, tea, I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
Favored ice cream flavor that's fair BlackBerry ooh, I like that.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
Tillamook has a great BlackBerry In case I know that.
Speaker 4 (39:55):
One, I'm familiar.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
You don't. Yeah. What is your go to two meal
after skiing?
Speaker 4 (40:01):
Ooh, I love a good burrito bowl.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
Oh my gosh, so good. Are you a night owl
or an early bird?
Speaker 4 (40:07):
Oh? Night owl for sure. I hate mornings.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
Yeah that's fair.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
I mean if I didn't have coffee in the mornings,
I also would hate mornings.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
But I love my morning cup of coffee. What is
your favorite place that your sport has taken you?
Speaker 4 (40:21):
Ooh? Probably? Oh that's tough. Either the Alps or New Zealand.
Very beautiful.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Oh we're in New Zealand, were you?
Speaker 4 (40:32):
We were just outside of Queenstown. It's this little town
called Wantica on the South Island's love Wantica.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
I went there a few years ago, but in their
summer and I did a bunch of backpacking.
Speaker 2 (40:43):
I love that town.
Speaker 1 (40:45):
If if you get a chance to go to New Zealand, listeners,
I twelve out of ten recommend Wanica. It is so cute,
such a fun mountain town. Okay, if you were not
an Olympic free skier, what sport would you want to be?
Speaker 2 (40:57):
An Olympian?
Speaker 1 (40:57):
In?
Speaker 4 (40:58):
Can?
Speaker 2 (40:58):
Be summer or winter.
Speaker 4 (40:59):
Oh, I think I would do tennis. I used to
play tennis, and I have this fantasy that if I
didn't quit, I'd be like a Grand Slam champion. So
I'm gonna say tennis.
Speaker 2 (41:09):
I well, you know, maybe this is a second career.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
Maybe we're like done free skiing and we decided to
pick up the tennis racket again.
Speaker 2 (41:15):
I super easy.
Speaker 1 (41:16):
Yeah yeah, no, it looks same, same, It's like very similar.
Speaker 4 (41:20):
Yeah, just a quick Wimbledon.
Speaker 1 (41:21):
Yeah, just put pencil it in, you know, your calendar,
see if you can squeeze it in.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
What is your favorite dessert?
Speaker 4 (41:28):
Oh, my goodness, I love dessert. I have dessert after
every single meal. I'm okay, you were my type of girls.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
As possible.
Speaker 4 (41:40):
I honestly, I don't know. I really like crembrule is
really good. I love like anything chocolatey, so like you know,
like cake or a brownie, like like bakery kind of stuff.
Also just like like if we're talking, like you know,
like gas station kind of snacky, like I love an oreo.
Speaker 2 (41:59):
Oh good to know.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Okay, that's a We really covered everything from grimbolay to oreo.
Speaker 2 (42:05):
So I know you're a dessert I just.
Speaker 4 (42:07):
Love any dessert, literally, any dessert, all of it.
Speaker 2 (42:10):
That's fantastic. What is your dream vacation spot?
Speaker 4 (42:14):
Ooh, so this is not very fast.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
I'm gonna this is what happened that every time it's
I need to I need to stop calling it rapid fire.
Speaker 2 (42:22):
I need to just call it like general get to
know you questions Q and A.
Speaker 4 (42:28):
I really would like to go to South America. I've
never I've only been once to Chile, and I would
love to kind of explore that more because I'm usually
in Europe or Australia, New Zealand, you know, those kind
of places. I think South America could be really cool.
Speaker 2 (42:41):
I agree with you.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
I feel like that is the It's like the Patagonia
region just like keeps entering my you these days, and
I'm like, huh, maybe this is a sign that that's
my next vacation.
Speaker 2 (42:51):
What is the best piece of advice you've ever gotten?
Speaker 4 (42:54):
Focus on progress, not perfection.
Speaker 1 (42:57):
Oh for those of us who I had a support
that believed perfectionism was possible, that's that's a That's a doozy, okay, Zoe.
And then the last question I have for you is
what does powerful mean?
Speaker 4 (43:11):
To you. Oh my goodness, so many things. I mean,
overcoming fear, building confidence, getting a little better every day,
being the best version of yourself. Yeah. I think anything
that builds your confidence makes you better person, makes you happier.
I think it's all great. I agree.
Speaker 1 (43:32):
Awesome, well, Zoe, thank you so much for coming on
the Powerful podcast.
Speaker 2 (43:36):
This has been a joy.
Speaker 1 (43:37):
I did not expect when we had the Crystal Globe
winner to also get a really good psychology sort of
session with talking about fear, but I'm so grateful for it.
That was like exactly what I didn't know that we needed.
So thank you for doing that.
Speaker 4 (43:53):
Thank you so much for having me and letting me
rant about my psychology theories.
Speaker 1 (43:58):
There's no ranting. I'm signing up for Professor Zoe's classes.
That's what I'm doing after this podcast, after this podcast.
Speaker 2 (44:04):
So thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (44:05):
Zoe. We are rooting for you. Cannot wait to see
you hopefully in Italy next year. And pod Squad, we'll
see you next week.
Speaker 2 (44:11):
Have a good one.
Speaker 1 (44:12):
This is a reminder to check us out every Tuesday
everywhere you get your podcasts, and if you really enjoy
this and don't want to miss an episode, be sure
to hit that subscribe Itton
Hello, friends, and welcome to the Powerful Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm your host, Ajam McCord.
Speaker 3 (00:04):
In this podcast, we introduced you to powerful women who
were changing the game in and outside of their field
of play. These are women's stories, women who happen to
be doing things that many of us can only dream of,
but the lessons and inspiration they share is universal.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Welcome back to the Powerful Podcast. I'm your host, aj
McCord and I'm not gonna lie to y'all. When I
sat down to do an interview with the number one
ranked free skier in women's superpipe, I did not.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Also expect that we're going to be talking about the
psychology of.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Fear and how that was going to really go so
far beyond the twenty two foot walls of the super
pipe that Zoe Atkin absolutely thrives in. The Great British
Free Skier is trying to make it to her second
Olympics and she has had a twenty twenty five season
to remember. Cannot wait for you guys to hear this episode.
(00:58):
Let me know what you think.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Welcome back, Powerful Podsquad.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
I am so excited to be joined by a Crystal
Globe winner.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
No big deal.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
That means She is the top ranked free skier in
the women's super pipe in the world.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Her name is Zoe Akin.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
She is also a junior at Stanford University, trying to
make it to her second Olympics for Team Great Britain
and right now catching up with me in the middle
of a training camp.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Zoe, thank you so much for being here.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm very excited.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
This is so much fun.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
So I want to first talk about the Crystal Globe
because for those who don't know, can you explain how
massive of a deal this award is in your sport.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
It's definitely a pretty big deal. I was very excited
when it happened. So basically, we have about five World
Cup events a year, and then at the end of
the year they kind of tally up all your results
and then whoever has the best results over like all
those events, Yeah, they add them together and then they
(01:59):
make rankings for the rest of the year from those events.
So yeah, it's kind of about, you know, being consistent
and doing well, but you kind of have to, you know,
maintain that level throughout the whole season, which kind of
can be a little bit tough because the first World
Cup of the season was in August and then the
last one was just last week in February. So it's
(02:20):
kind of a long season to be kind of at
that high level and to be performing, you know, at
the events. So yeah, I ended up with a Cup
with the first place medal and a couple of second places,
and then I ended up ranked first in the world
at the end of the season, which is so crazy
to me and I'm so excited about it.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Oh my gosh, I can imagine.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
I mean August to February that is such like that's
a solid season and it's crazy to think, Like when
you think about a sport like basketball or football, or
even like within Olympic sports like surfing, the season itself,
the length of the season is similar, but the number
of events only five. There's so much pressure on every
single event. How do you make You're twenty two years old,
(03:05):
You're going for your second Olympics. So we're gonna get
to the fact that you made to your first Olympics
in just a minute. But how do you how are
you managing the pressure and the time off in between events,
Like how are you staying ready this whole time?
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Totally? I mean honestly, it's it's quite tough, especially, I
feel like, especially because we have such a big break
in the spring and summer and we do have training camps,
so we are you know, still on our skis, but
there is definitely a big break that you just spend
not on snow at all because you know, it's like
summer and there's only so like a few places that
you can go in the summer. So I mean when
(03:40):
I went to the first competition in New Zealand, I
think I ended up like fifth or six or something.
It was I did not ski very well. It wasn't
my best. I was kind of in a little bit
of a mental funk that spring and summer just with
you know, I had a lot on my play Like
school was just I was taking this really hard class.
I was like literally coding and my room like all
(04:01):
day every day during the summer, and then I just
flew to New Zealand and competed in this World Cup
with like I think we had like a one or
two week training camp the week before, so it was
very hectic, and I didn't sche my best and I
kind of you know, did that event. I was like,
well that was terrible. I you know, like completely put
the Crystal Globe out of my head because I was like,
(04:21):
I mean that results just not good enough. So whatever,
just put it out. I'll forget about it, focus on
doing better, train a little bit harder, and focus on
the next World Cup. And yeah, I just was able
to kind of build on that and try and you know,
it's it's definitely tough, but I feel like being able
(04:43):
to be like, this event is super super important, this
is the most important event, and then once it's over,
it's like it's over and then you focus on the
next one. And I feel like that kind of you
don't want to be ruminating on, you know, your failures
all the time. You can, you know, take what you
can from the event, like learn what you can and
then take that into the next event. So I feel
like that's something I was definitely working on the season.
And to be able to, you know, win my first
(05:06):
World Cup since I was sixteen and I'm twenty two now,
so it's been a really long time and to be
able to like get up to that level meant so
much to me. And yeah, to be able to bring
that consistency back up to the level I wanted to
be at going into this next year with the Olympics
and everything and so much to me.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah, so let's talk about the fact that at sixteen
you won your very first World Cup and then six
years later you have to wait six years until you
top the podium again in a World Cup. You had
some X Games medals in there, there were a couple
of other like podium topping moments, but in terms of
World Cups, which, like you mentioned, really big when we
look at Olympic qualifying and obviously less than a year
(05:49):
away from Italy. So what did it feel like in
early February you land your run and Aspen and you realize,
oh my gosh, I just put down a ninety, which
is like borderline untouchable in your first right, that was
your first run, and so tell me, like, what did
what zone did you get into at the top of
that super pipe?
Speaker 4 (06:09):
Honestly, I so we had X Games the week before
and I was like so ready. I had done all
the preparation. I was so ready for that event, and
I don't know what happened on com day. I think
I was just like so like so much pressure on myself,
Like I was so stressed. I just felt like I
didn't ski to the level I wanted to do, and
with the new X Games format, they like changed it
(06:31):
this year, so it was kind of like a little
bit of curveball. Definitely wasn't my best skiing. And so
the World Cup was the week after in the same pipe,
and I was like so mad. I was like, this
is I got fourth, which is always like, I mean
fourth is great, like it's I'm obviously happy that I'm in,
like you know, the top four, but it's always so tough,
like right that first position right off the podium, like
(06:52):
you don't get to you know, stay on the mix.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Maggie is it the chocolate what is what does Maggie
call it? Maggie voice? And she got I think she
calls it like the chocolate metal or something like that.
It's like the yeah, yeah, like you don't close, yeah,
but you're so.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
Close totally, Like it's so it's like a great position,
but you do not want like at least if you're
in fifth, you're like okay, like it's fine, but fourth,
like you're right there and you didn't get it. I
was so mad, and I was like I'm channeling all
of this energy into like landing my run at the
World Cup doesn't matter the result. But I'm going to
land my run and I'm going to land it the
(07:26):
best I can. So I had just you know, really
like high intensity trainings and I was super ready for
this event. And my first run, I was like, let's
get this done, like I'm gonna show these people what's up.
And yeah, to be I was honestly just so hyped
to land my run after you know, not landing it
the way I wanted it to the week before, so
(07:48):
so hyped, and then yeah, to be able to win,
like it's I mean, it's it's tough because I had,
you know, I've had a couple of good seasons with
you know, podium results and stuff like that, which is
great and I'm very excited about that. But it's so
tough to be on that top spot. Like there's so
many factors. I mean, there's so many other good girls
(08:11):
skiing and with great runs, and it's definitely there's definitely
a difference between being top three and being number one.
Like it's definitely that like one extra little bit that's
you know, tough to crack. So yeah, it's definitely something
I've been thinking about for the past couple of years,
I've been getting a lot of seconds, all of thirds,
you know, and so yeah, to be able to get
(08:32):
on top of that step was a huge confidence boost
for me landing my run under the pressure after X
skins and everything. Definitely, yeah, it was. It was a
very meaningful moment for me, I.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Bet, because I mean going through your career just in general, right,
Like I said, sixteen, your first World Cup, you make
it to the Olympics, so you're competing there, should have
been competing with your sister, but she had to pull
out of it. But your sister was baring all of
this sort of weight and pressure of the nation because
she was the first female to ever medle on skis
for Great Britain.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
So it's like your family has had a lot of
attention and then you at sixteen burst onto the scene.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
You don't have the Olympics that you want.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
I imagine there's a lot of self doubt that's coming
in of like, yeah, I'm one of the best, but
like can I be the best? What are you going
through mentally throughout the last few years and how do
you sort of get through it to top that podium
and to say you know what the results sounded like.
You said almost like the results don't matter. I'm just
(09:37):
landing this thing the best way that I possibly can.
Speaker 4 (09:40):
Totally. I mean you touched on so many things right there, like, oh,
that's so true. I Yeah. So I saw my sister
win a medal in twenty eighteen. I was there in
Korea when she got that bronze and slop style, and
I kind of like illuminated the possibilities of like what
I could do in the sport. So I definitely was
(10:01):
like okay, like I could get there, Like I could
train and work hard and do it. And so I
had a couple podium results. I had that World Cup win.
I think I medled that World Championships and another World
Cup or something, and then I went into my first
Olympics and I put so much pressure on myself. I
was like, this is the Olympics, like I'm going to
(10:21):
do so well, and I was only ever really thinking
about the results. And I feel like that really shows
in my skiing, and I feel like going into the
whole season, I don't even remember, like at this point,
I don't even think I landed a single run that
I was very proud of that season, just because I
was so focused on the results and I couldn't like
(10:43):
let that go and you know, focus on what I
needed to improve on, what I needed to work on,
and just the skiing itself. So there's a lot of that,
And then there's a lot of disappointment after the Olympics,
just because it didn't go the way I wanted it to,
especially after all those expectations, and after that. I had
a little bit of a low, a low point coming
(11:05):
after the Olympics, and that's when I went. I started
at Stanford my freshman year at Stanford that fall after
the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Perfect.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Stanford is known for being a really easy school, something
that you just freeze into really.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Good never really good academics.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
So if we're feeling bad about ourselves, Stanford is a
really good place.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
Yes, just go to Stanford. You'll feel No. It was
definitely it was definitely tough, and because I had just
taken a gap year, so it's been a while since
I've been to school. But it was honestly so refreshing
to kind of have a different challenge that wasn't so
mental and fear focused. And I feel like that's such
a big thing with you know, action sports is like
(11:46):
is the whole thing is kind of overcoming fear and
being able to like, you know, fake the confidence in
order to you know, try things and do things and
make them better and get up after your fall. But
at Stanford, it was so much more just like learning
to be in a new environment and like making friends,
being social, like being able to like raise my hand
(12:07):
in class, you know, and obviously like the academic side
of things too. And I feel like it was so
nice to be able to just forget that I was
a skier and to just be me again and kind
of be like I exist outside of my results, and
I exist outside of whatever place I got at the Olympics.
And I feel like that was really big for me,
especially just like being so young at my first Olympics
(12:29):
and just when you're young in general, I feel like you're,
you know, grappling with all these you know, what your
identity is and all that kind of stuff. So just
like a very emotional time, I guess, and I felt
like that. Yeah, So that experience at Stanford was just
really helpful for me, like as a person, for my
growth and everything. And I was kind of like not
(12:51):
sure if I wanted to go back to skiing, but
I was like, I'll just do this season and see
outgos and if I don't want to ski by the
end of the season, then I'll just quit and do
school full time. And that's fine. And I feel like,
and that was my first X Games gold medal, and
I had a great season that year. I podium to
all the events I went into, which was huge for
me coming after you know, a season of not a
(13:12):
single podium. I think I got like ninth at the
Olympics or something, which I was, you know, upset about,
like but and I just feel like taking that pressure
off really allowed me to you know, focus on the
skiing and remember why I did it in the first place,
which is like that passion that you know fun. And
also going to Stanford and I was taking a lot
(13:36):
of like psychology classes and stuff kind of in that realm,
so I was able to learn a lot more about
the brain and the thought process and you know, how
fear is kind of like created in the brain and
how it's like processed in the body. And I feel
like kind of thinking about it mechanically helped me a lot.
You know, when you're standing at the top being like
(13:57):
I'm so scared, like I like my body paralyzed. I'm
like I can't move, and then being like this is
just a biological process, like of course I'm scared. It's
like my brain, there's, you know, all this stuff going
on in my body. But like I can still do this,
Like I can be scared and do it either way.
And I feel like learning all that kind of stuff
(14:18):
was also very helpful for me going back to skiing.
That was a really long winded answer, but.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
No, that was great. No, that was great.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
I want to hear more about the fear and how
learning about that biological process, because I think you're right,
like as somebody who I absolutely love watching action sports,
I love watching you guys do what you do. And
I will never throw myself thirty four feet above the
snow and a twenty two foot ice wall in order.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
To like flip and feel something in the air.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
And it like the fear in me is my biological
response is like, actually, no, you can't, you can't do that.
That is like a reasonable fear. But I think so
often you proge this confidence and so we almost put
these you know, like Olympic extreme athletes on a pedestal
of like, well, look they're doing it, and they're actually
they're actually not scared, and it's almost what I've experienced
(15:12):
is almost a form of separation where it's like, well, yeah,
that's good for you, but not for me, Like you
could do that, but I couldn't do that, And what
you're saying is like, no, actually, this is something that
happens to all of us, and we can all handle
whatever the fear is. We can all handle it because
it's in biological response, is what you've learned.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
Totally. I definitely feel like there's this kind of idea
that all these people that are doing these crazy things
are like even the people in my sport, that there
were like crazy adrenaline junkies, or that we're just we
just aren't afraid, and that we're just so good at
our sports though it's like it's nothing to us, but
it is scary, and it's scary every time, even when
(15:51):
I do things that I know I can do, not
to mention the things I'm trying and you know, haven't
ever tried before, and I'm just like, you know, trying
to learn it by throwing it. But yeah, it's definitely
like it's it's natural to feel the fear because you know,
what we do is ultimately dangerous, Like there is risk involved,
(16:14):
and there's kind of risk in anything. Like if you
think about, you know, whatever it is that makes you scared,
whether it be I don't know, going up to someone
that you don't know and like speaking to them, or
raising your hand in class like I said before, or
you know, whatever it may be. It's like there's a
biological reason for that. It's whether it's you're you know,
you're throwing yourself over an ice tube, or it's like
you know, fear of like social rejection or whatever it is.
(16:37):
You know, more like complex rather than like the biological
like fear, you know what I mean, there's always like
the reason for that. But it's like that feeling doesn't
have to stop us from doing it. That feeling is
just a feeling at the end of the day. And
that's something I talk with a lot with my sports
psy like, and I took this class at Sanford called
(16:58):
How Beliefs Create Reality, And there's so much of it
of like it's it's how you approach that. It's like,
am I taking this as a warning signal? Like is
this you know, whatever you're feeling is like, oh, my
palms get sweaty or my heart's racing. Am I like
this means I can't do this, Like I'm too scared
to do this. I can't. Like you're taking these signals
(17:18):
as a negative, or you could be like my sweaty palms,
my racing heart, like I'm nervous because I really care
about this. You know, I'm nervous because I'm kind of
rising to the challenge. My body's getting activated. This adrenaline
is going to give me the edge that I need
to be able to do this trick in the halfpipe,
or this kind of racing heart's gonna like give me,
(17:39):
you know, the energy and the courage to like go
up to someone new at like the coffee shop or
something like that. Yeah, And I feel like so much
of it is like how we frame these things. And
you know, anyone can kind of take your beliefs and
mindsets and you can kind of shift into whatever works
for you and whatever is positive. Or you if you
(18:01):
find yourself backing out of things because you know you're nervous,
it's like are you taking that nervousness, like do you
need to be viewing that nervousness as such a negative thing,
like a lot of the times, you know, fear is good,
Like we need the fear, and it just means we
care about something, you know, any other feeling, like when
you feel happiness, you like that feeling, but you know,
(18:22):
if you feel fear, that's a bad feeling. Like they're
all just feelings and we kind of associate them with
different things. But we can change those associations, and we
have that power to you know, control our minds in
that way. And I feel like that's something that I've
learned through my sport, but also through like classes and
speaking with sports like and stuff like that that I
feel like has been really helpful for me personally to
(18:43):
be able to you know, kind of like take that
control back, Like I can't help if my heart races,
Like of course my heart's going to race when I'm
you know, doing flips in the air, but I can
kind of take back the control of being like yeah,
but I'm not going to let it control what I
choose to do next.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
I guess yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
I can't remember where I heard it, but someone I
definitely didn't come up with this, which is why I'm
certain I heard it somewhere, but someone was recently talking
about how fear can be viewed as a focuser because
of all the emotions, right, there's like obviously too many
to name, but let's take a few of them, like happy, sad,
(19:22):
those two plus fear, right, Like, if you're feeling happy,
you don't necessarily need to be like focused, if you're
feeling sad, you don't necessarily need to be focused.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
But fear, if you, it's almost like a focusing emotion.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
It's like, hey, there's this one thing happening right now
that really needs your attention because whether you're doing something
that is scary from a physical perspective of hey, you
really need to focus because you are hurtling your body
thirty feet up in the air, and.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
You need to focus because otherwise you could get hurt.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Or you know, hey, you're going up to somebody in
a coffee shop and this is scary, So focus in
on this. Don't get distracted by the sounds and who's
the boris was calling somebody else's name? And for me,
that are really important because you know so in competitive gymnastics, right,
like I understand the fear. I understand the fear of
hurtling yourself up into the air and really trusting that
you're gonna land on your feet. And at sixteen, I
(20:13):
didn't have that capacity to manage my fear, and at
the end of it, it almost ruined the sport for
me because I'd gotten hurt, I was scared to get back.
I was physically unable to do some of the things
that I'd done in the past, and I ended up saying,
you know what.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
I'm good. This was the end of the road for me,
and I'm okay with that.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
But the reality is, partially because I was terrified, I
was too afraid to turn fear into something other than fear.
And so I feel like what you're describing is it
goes hand in hand with like fear can be just
a focusing emotion of like this is important, so pay attention,
don't get distracted because you've worked really hard for this,
you care a lot about this, so just focus on
(20:54):
this and stay here with us.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
Totally. Yeah, and I definitely empathize with the fear kind
of takeing the love or you know, the passion away
from the sport, Like it can be so overwhelming, like
I've had so many times where I've been standing at
the top of the pipe and I'll just be standing
there and I won't move, and like two hours will
pass and then after I'll just like go home and
i won't even try it because I've just like builds
(21:17):
it up in my head. And definitely like it is,
especially for young girls, I feel like it's it's it's
such an overwhelming emotion, but it's also like what you said,
it is you know, that kind of focusing agent, and
biologically evolutionarily, it's you know, there's a point of fear.
It's like you know, there's a lion. Okay, now I
(21:38):
got to lock in. I gotta run as fast as
I can to escape this lion. You know. It's it's
it biologically gives you the edge that you need. Like
I'm not sure all the stats on this, but I
think it let you vaso constrict so like kind of
more you become like better at like coordination and stuff
like that and any kind of like I don't I'm
(21:59):
not sure all the like you know, the scientist, but
it definitely does like biologically, you know, put you in
a place that's better for you know, like flow state
or better focus, better performance and I think, THINKI about
it that way can be really powerful.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Yeah, And I think now that we've talked through all
this fear, it makes it even I don't know, more
impressive and more exciting for me to have watched you
this season and knowing that you wanted to try to
incorporate a lot of new tricks this year right into
your halfpipe run. And that's something that you know for
those who you who don't know half pypes, zo you
(22:37):
can talk to this a lot more.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
But I know, like you put years. It's like again,
I keep.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Comparents gymnastics, but it's similar to gymastics, and that you
put years into being better at the same exact skills
right doing them to almost perfection.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
That's like the goal. And incorporating a new trick into
a routine or into a run is a lot. It's
really scary.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Because all of a sudden, you're not just like doing
the same old thing and trying to better. Now you're
trying out in a competition for the first time, and
you decided to do this the year before an Olympic year.
How did you incorporate these new tricks into your runs?
And in the meantime have the best year of your
skiing career.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
Thank you. Definitely, it's yeah, like what you've said, very
similar to gymnastics, like you kind of, I think we
call them tricks and you guys call them skills. Like you,
you know, learn a thing and then you do it
over and over and over again, and then when you're
putting a new one in, you still have to do
all your other tricks, so there's still you know, kind
of you have to rely on that muscle memory so
(23:36):
you can do all those other things while also focusing
on this new thing that you want to put in.
So yeah, it's definitely it's it's definitely tough. There's always
kind of you know, there's never there's always something to
be working on. I feel like that's kind of my mindset. Like,
for example, if it's not the best day ever, I
won't work on my hardest trick. I'd work on something
(23:56):
simpler and maybe try and make it smoother, trying to
get the grapnd a little bit better, make the landing
a little bit lighter. So I always think that there's
something to work on, and we're all we're simultaneously working
on all these different things all at once, so there's
like a little bit of that. And also, you know,
no matter how many times I do a trick. I
(24:18):
think I mentioned this earlier, but I am still so
scared to do it every single time. So it's it's
like being able to kind of reconfront that fear every
day until it is just kind of like background noise
to me. Like it's like even my simplest trick, Like
the first time I'll do it in a day, I'll
be like, oh my gosh, I'm so nervous, but it's like, hey,
(24:38):
I did this yesterday, I did this day before, I
did this day before that. You know, I got this.
But yeah, I think, especially like with a sport, like
halfway seeing, it's definitely progressing so much, and I feel
like that's really awesome to see all the girls, you know,
throwing down and learning new tricks all the time. But
it's also very like it's kind of like methodle methodological.
(25:01):
I don't know how to say that word.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Methodlodical, yeahd in.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
Progression yeah, methodical, Sorry, Okay, that's okay. It's very methodical,
and it's kind of progression like someone will learn something
and then a bunch of other people will learn it
as well, so there isn't kind of new tricks going
down all the time. It's definitely like you kind of
learn something and then you work on it and you
perfect it and then you put it in the comp.
So it's kind of like a really big process that
(25:27):
takes a really long time and a lot of work
and then only kind of comes to fruition at the
end and then you get all the credit for it.
But like you know, in the build up, it's definitely
like baby step, baby step, baby step. So to be
able to put I just recently learned a switch nine.
I put that in the last comp, the last World
Cup of the year a couple of weeks ago. To
(25:49):
be able to put that in my comp front is
just such a culmination of like all these days that
I've put into that, and not only that, but all
my other tricks in the run that I was able
to do all in that one run. So it's definitely
like it's cool because it's a little bit of like
the behind the scenes, the behind the scenes work that
a lot of people don't see, and it's like, oh,
(26:09):
like you just tried this new trick and it just
went well and you just landed it, like so crazy,
but it's like, no, there's so much behind it, which is, yeah,
you didn't.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Just you didn't see me land this into the pit
a million times or like onto the blob for you guys,
a million times before I went out and tried.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
So switch nine.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
So break that down for those of us who you know,
that's it's a lot of spinning, Zoe, and it's coming
in backwards.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
It isn't mistaken.
Speaker 4 (26:33):
It is a lot of spinning. So in okay, So
we have basically, so there's two ways of spinning. You
can spin left and you get been right, and then
you can also spin switch left and switch right. So
usually you'll have kind of a natural way of spinning.
Like for example, I prefer to spin left. That's just
the way that I would rather spin if I had,
you know, a choice, But it's the best. You want
(26:58):
to be spinning as many ways as possible. Basically, So
my switch right nine hundred is basically two and a
half rotations to my switch unnatural side of spinning. So
it's my uncomfortable way backwards two and a half rotations.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Oh my gosh, that's ridiculous. And it's like it's so
cool because like you're saying. And so this is the
other thing that I think is really fascinating about skiing
in particular and half pipe I think in particular. Correct
me if I'm wrong, But is there not like a
little bit of strategy with the clips that you post
on social so that like sometimes as you're learning a
(27:36):
new trick, like some athletes will be like really upfront
about like, oh, look at me, I'm trying this, I'm
trying this, I'm learning this, and some athletes are like, yeah,
you're not going to see anything until I land this
in the comp because you don't want to tip anybody off, because,
like you said, it's a pretty small community. So you
land a switch nine and all of a sudden, people
are going, oh, wait a minute, a switch nine.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
I should be training a switch you know.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
It's like this, like it feels like a little bit
of like everybody's watching each other, so what is your
when it comes to new tricks.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
That's definitely really true. There is kind of like a
flaw to that strategy, and that we usually are kind
of all training together, so we usually will see if
something goes down, But there is definitely the element of
being like, Okay, let's say I learned something in the
spring and I post about it and so everyone knows
about it, and then it's like, okay, but people still
have the fall camps and like all the time in
(28:23):
the winter, you know, to learn something and maybe put
something in comp that you know they got inspired to
do because of the post. So I'm definitely a little
bit more of a secretive person. I don't really post
things until comp comes around, and that's I think it's
a little more exciting too, for like the viewers. It's like,
oh wait, if he hasn't been doing that or that's
a new thing, and I think that's, you know, fun,
(28:44):
and I think it makes it fun, you know, for
the competition. I feel like it's like a big reveal,
even though like probably no one cares, Like even though everybody, but.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
No, do not even begin to tell yourself that because
everybody cares. When somebody does a new trick, it's like
everybody notices it.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
It's on social media within ten seconds of you landing it.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
Like it's one of the great surprises that come with sports.
And I think part of the reason we love sports
is because nobody knows what's going to happen, right and
like in half pipe in particular, there's really two things
that can happen that are really jarring. You can like
land it absolutely perfectly, or you can fall and then
(29:24):
sort to add in this element of like ooh, or
she could surprise us with something that we haven't seen
done in a half pipe by a female before, or
that we haven't seen her do before.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
I think, no, I love it, keep it secret. I
like it. I think that's a lot of fun.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
Totally. It is really fun. I'm definitely like quite competitive
deep down, so it's fun to see everything go down
in a competition setting. It's fun.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Oh, it's a blast. Okay.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
I want to talk about your sister Izzy because we
mentioned the history that she made which is worthy of
being repeated in case you missed it, which is that
in the twenty eighteen Games in slopestyle, correct, Zoe. Yeah,
So the twenty eighteen Games, she became Great Britain's first
ever medalist or female medalist medalist period.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
In slope style. Yes, there's a little bit of a
controversy because a racer had won an Olympic medal, but
there was like there was like a failed drug test
or something. So the medal was stress. She was like
a whole controversy. So we just say for slop style
medal or.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Free skiing medal, she was the first. Okay, so we're
gonna start this over.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
Her sister Izzie in twenty eighteen made history for Great
Britain when she became the first female to ever win a.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Free skiing medal in the Olympics.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
And you, my dear, got a chance to ski with
her growing up and learn from her how And maybe
this is selfish because I'm an older sister, so I
always like to, you know, make sure that the older
sisters get a little bit of the credit for the
work we put in in childhood. How did skiing with
her and seeing her achieve that history you touched on
a little bit, but like, how has that impacted the
(30:57):
way that you ski and what you believe is possible?
Speaker 4 (31:00):
It was? It was everything for me, honestly, Like everything
I've accomplished I feel like I can attribute to her.
I feel like, I mean, growing up, I was very competitive,
so and I'm four and a half years younger than
she is, so every time she would learn something, I
would always try and learn it at a younger age
than she did. Just so I was like one step ahead,
(31:22):
but I would never be you know, like better than her,
because four and a half years in skiing is like
quite a big gap. So and she got me into
freestyle skiing in the first place. She was like, you
have to freestyle ski if you go into racing your lame.
So there's just so much of that. And then seeing
her succeed when I was so young, it kind of, yeah,
(31:43):
opened the doors of possibility for me. And not only
that in like a result sense, but also my skiing
itself is so inspired by her. She was always very
smooth and stylely, and maybe she wasn't doing like the
biggest rotations or you know, like the you know, the
(32:04):
first trick of something, but she was always doing her
stuff very smooth, and she was very styly, and she
kind of brought that style to every event, and she was,
you know, like a crowd favorite to watch just because
she was so smooth and she kind of had that
effortless style about it. And that's something that I try
and emulate in my own skiing. I think there's a
(32:26):
lot of different ways. Like what I said before, I
think halfpipe skiing is progressing so much, but I think
there's a lot of different ways to look at progression.
You know, you can think about it as doing the
biggest amount of spins, the biggest rotations, or you can
think about it as you know, going like the highest
out of the pipe, or you can think about it
as you know, bringing in more switch skiing. And there's
(32:49):
a lot of different ways to progress. But I think
for me, something that I really want to embody in
my skiing is kind of that style and smoothness and
kind of when people watch to go, oh that was nice,
Like I enjoyed watching that. That wasn't you know, like oh,
like she might be like, oh that's so scary, or
you know you watch people when you're like that was insane,
(33:10):
but oh my god, I was so nervous for them. Yeah,
watching my sister kind of be that effortless skier really
inspired me in my skiing. And honestly, you know, when
I do tricks, I'm like, how would she look doing this?
What grab would she do in this? And honestly, it
takes it takes a lot of practice to look effortless,
(33:31):
which is why I think it's cool. You know, like
anyone can throw I mean not anyone. There it's hard
to do a really big trick, but it's hard to
do it's even harder to do a really big trick
and make it look good.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
Well, I think it's like the kind of yeah.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
I think that most people the best tricks are the
ones that are pulled off so effortlessly, effortless, effortlessly that
the people watching are like, huh, could I do that?
Is that like a possible thing for a normal because
it's like I mean you, I mean even your X
Games run. I know you weren't very happy with it,
but I remember watching you and going, whoa, she's making
(34:07):
this look way too easy for like how high she's
going in the air, for how many spins, for the
type of grabs, And so I totally agree with you.
I think the effortless part of it is like really
alluring for a viewer to be like, oh my gosh,
it's just like such a such a it's like a
symphony with the snow where you're just like in sync
with the pipe and it's it's beautiful to watch unfold.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
Totally thank you. I actually it's cool that you brought
that up. I feel like we kind of our sport
has kind of seen as you know, a lot more
athletic and maybe mental, but I think there's a lot
of you know, creativity and artistry that goes into a
half pipe run. I think it's cool to kind of
like lean into that and yeah, be able to like
appreciate I guess, like the artistry that goes into it.
(34:49):
It's kind of like a dance, but you know, dance
is also very athletic, but it's also kind of an
art at the same time, which is cool.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
So you're getting ready trying to qualify for Italy here
to make it to your second Olympics. What is the
thing that you're the most proud of yourself for so
far in this Olympic cycle That Zoe four years ago,
who was or three years ago, was so unhappy with
how she made her Olympic debut that you would tell her, now, hey,
(35:18):
look at what I've.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Done since what is the thing you're most proud of?
Speaker 4 (35:22):
I mean, obviously there is kind of a little bit
of like, I mean, i'm world number one now, like, yes,
there's more part of that and we.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
Should be proud of that.
Speaker 4 (35:31):
All of that, thank you, and you know, all the
results and stuff. But I think to be honest, like
with how unhappy I was after the Olympics, I feel
like just telling her how much I love skiing right
now and how much passion I have for it, and
how much inspiration and motivation I found for like training
(35:52):
just on the daily basis and being able to like
really go into competitions and be like, obviously I want
this metal and obviously I really care about this, but
I enjoy being here and I'm enjoying the emotional roller
coaster that it is, and I'm enjoying putting in the
work that it takes to compete at this level. And
I feel like that is a really big breakthrough for me,
just being able to like live my life and you know,
(36:17):
enjoy the day to day because at the end of
the day, like you know, World Cup goals are great,
and it feels so good in the moment, but it's
like the day to day that you have to be
happy with and you have to find that kind of
inspiration from and to be able to kind of be
in this place now that I think I'm more inspired
by skiing than I think i've ever been, and I'm
(36:39):
more passionate for it than i think i've ever been.
In my whole life. And I think that is something
that I'm really proud of, especially coming after you know,
such a like a dark time in my life, I
would say, after the Olympics, and it's definitely not all
you know, happy all the time, and it's not easy
all the time. And I definitely still go through you know,
(37:00):
harder patches and times where I'm not motivated, in times
where I'm just like, I'm so scared, I don't want
to do this anymore. And there is those ups and downs,
but I feel like kind of living through those ups
and downs is you know what makes it really fun
for me and really like experiencing that and like feeling
those emotions and being able to like, yeah, just like
ride that wave. And I think that's something that I'm
(37:22):
really proud of the past couple of years.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
And what's so cool about that is that that is
something that you will carry with you no matter what
you do, you know, whether it's skiing in a super
pipe or going back to Stanford or whatever. And I
think that's the process. Orienting is something that yeah, I
feel like it's so common and it's such a it's
so cool for again, my time in competitive sports was
(37:49):
twenty years ago, fifteen, twenty years ago. At this point,
it's something that so many more athletes are talking about
openly now than they were when I was looking up
to athletes, and it's just such a cool, cool evolution
of sports. And so I'm really grateful that you're sharing
that because I think it makes a difference to the
next generation of skiers and extreme sport athletes who are
(38:10):
going I just want to I just want to do
what I love and to like not lose that joy
is so critical. You can you can skip so much
heartache if you just don't lose the joy even in.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
The hard times and the passion.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
So I love that well, Zoe, I could talk to
you all day about skiing and I want to learn.
So there's just so many more things. Yeah, I just
think you're the best. I think you're I think you're incredible.
I think it's so fun to watch you and so
I cannot wait to continue to reach you on and
hopefully in Italy next year bringing home another medal for Britain.
But we have to transition now for the podcast purpose,
(38:45):
this is a segment called something to Sip On. It
is brought to you by the sports Bra, which is
the first women's sports bar in the entire world. It's
in Portland, Oregon, and so Zoe, the week of your episode,
they're going to have a cocktail or mocktail of your choosing.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
Called the Zoe. So Oh, I want to know what
are we sipping on that week?
Speaker 4 (39:03):
My goodness, I'm so honored. Definitely my favorite drink is
a mohito. So if we can do something like that,
love a classic, delicious, love a good.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
Mohedo, so good, perfect a mojito. I know for a
fact the Sports Bra can do a great mohedo. Next up,
we have our Powered Up segment.
Speaker 1 (39:20):
So this is rapid fire questions where it's just like
fun things, get to know.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
You a little bit better. Sorry, Podsquad, I say this
every week.
Speaker 1 (39:27):
I'm so bad at this, Zoe because I always want
to know the storry behind the answer.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
So I'm going to try to stay focused.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
Okay, maybe tap into a little bit of sweaty palms
energy and get going.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
You ready, I'm ready? Okay, coffee or tea?
Speaker 4 (39:41):
Ooh, tea, I'm ready.
Speaker 1 (39:44):
Favored ice cream flavor that's fair BlackBerry ooh, I like that.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
Tillamook has a great BlackBerry In case I know that.
Speaker 4 (39:55):
One, I'm familiar.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
You don't. Yeah. What is your go to two meal
after skiing?
Speaker 4 (40:01):
Ooh, I love a good burrito bowl.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
Oh my gosh, so good. Are you a night owl
or an early bird?
Speaker 4 (40:07):
Oh? Night owl for sure. I hate mornings.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
Yeah that's fair.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
I mean if I didn't have coffee in the mornings,
I also would hate mornings.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
But I love my morning cup of coffee. What is
your favorite place that your sport has taken you?
Speaker 4 (40:21):
Ooh? Probably? Oh that's tough. Either the Alps or New Zealand.
Very beautiful.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Oh we're in New Zealand, were you?
Speaker 4 (40:32):
We were just outside of Queenstown. It's this little town
called Wantica on the South Island's love Wantica.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
I went there a few years ago, but in their
summer and I did a bunch of backpacking.
Speaker 2 (40:43):
I love that town.
Speaker 1 (40:45):
If if you get a chance to go to New Zealand, listeners,
I twelve out of ten recommend Wanica. It is so cute,
such a fun mountain town. Okay, if you were not
an Olympic free skier, what sport would you want to be?
Speaker 2 (40:57):
An Olympian?
Speaker 1 (40:57):
In?
Speaker 4 (40:58):
Can?
Speaker 2 (40:58):
Be summer or winter.
Speaker 4 (40:59):
Oh, I think I would do tennis. I used to
play tennis, and I have this fantasy that if I
didn't quit, I'd be like a Grand Slam champion. So
I'm gonna say tennis.
Speaker 2 (41:09):
I well, you know, maybe this is a second career.
Speaker 1 (41:11):
Maybe we're like done free skiing and we decided to
pick up the tennis racket again.
Speaker 2 (41:15):
I super easy.
Speaker 1 (41:16):
Yeah yeah, no, it looks same, same, It's like very similar.
Speaker 4 (41:20):
Yeah, just a quick Wimbledon.
Speaker 1 (41:21):
Yeah, just put pencil it in, you know, your calendar,
see if you can squeeze it in.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
What is your favorite dessert?
Speaker 4 (41:28):
Oh, my goodness, I love dessert. I have dessert after
every single meal. I'm okay, you were my type of girls.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
As possible.
Speaker 4 (41:40):
I honestly, I don't know. I really like crembrule is
really good. I love like anything chocolatey, so like you know,
like cake or a brownie, like like bakery kind of stuff.
Also just like like if we're talking, like you know,
like gas station kind of snacky, like I love an oreo.
Speaker 2 (41:59):
Oh good to know.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Okay, that's a We really covered everything from grimbolay to oreo.
Speaker 2 (42:05):
So I know you're a dessert I just.
Speaker 4 (42:07):
Love any dessert, literally, any dessert, all of it.
Speaker 2 (42:10):
That's fantastic. What is your dream vacation spot?
Speaker 4 (42:14):
Ooh, so this is not very fast.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
I'm gonna this is what happened that every time it's
I need to I need to stop calling it rapid fire.
Speaker 2 (42:22):
I need to just call it like general get to
know you questions Q and A.
Speaker 4 (42:28):
I really would like to go to South America. I've
never I've only been once to Chile, and I would
love to kind of explore that more because I'm usually
in Europe or Australia, New Zealand, you know, those kind
of places. I think South America could be really cool.
Speaker 2 (42:41):
I agree with you.
Speaker 1 (42:41):
I feel like that is the It's like the Patagonia
region just like keeps entering my you these days, and
I'm like, huh, maybe this is a sign that that's
my next vacation.
Speaker 2 (42:51):
What is the best piece of advice you've ever gotten?
Speaker 4 (42:54):
Focus on progress, not perfection.
Speaker 1 (42:57):
Oh for those of us who I had a support
that believed perfectionism was possible, that's that's a That's a doozy, okay, Zoe.
And then the last question I have for you is
what does powerful mean?
Speaker 4 (43:11):
To you. Oh my goodness, so many things. I mean,
overcoming fear, building confidence, getting a little better every day,
being the best version of yourself. Yeah. I think anything
that builds your confidence makes you better person, makes you happier.
I think it's all great. I agree.
Speaker 1 (43:32):
Awesome, well, Zoe, thank you so much for coming on
the Powerful podcast.
Speaker 2 (43:36):
This has been a joy.
Speaker 1 (43:37):
I did not expect when we had the Crystal Globe
winner to also get a really good psychology sort of
session with talking about fear, but I'm so grateful for it.
That was like exactly what I didn't know that we needed.
So thank you for doing that.
Speaker 4 (43:53):
Thank you so much for having me and letting me
rant about my psychology theories.
Speaker 1 (43:58):
There's no ranting. I'm signing up for Professor Zoe's classes.
That's what I'm doing after this podcast, after this podcast.
Speaker 2 (44:04):
So thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (44:05):
Zoe. We are rooting for you. Cannot wait to see
you hopefully in Italy next year. And pod Squad, we'll
see you next week.
Speaker 2 (44:11):
Have a good one.
Speaker 1 (44:12):
This is a reminder to check us out every Tuesday
everywhere you get your podcasts, and if you really enjoy
this and don't want to miss an episode, be sure
to hit that subscribe Itton
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