October 28, 2025 • 40 mins
What does it take to aim your life at 89 mph and keep your head still while the world blurs? We sit with Andy Whittier, a Team USA skeleton hopeful on the cusp of Cortina 2026 and pull back the curtain on a sport that pairs sprint speed with steel nerves and brutal precision. From a small Idaho town and Division I football to a niche winter discipline, he explains why size and weight caps push some athletes toward skeleton, how a 70-pound sled changes sprint mechanics, and why no two 50-second runs on the same track ever feel the same.
The journey isn’t glamorous. He left a secure marketing career, lived on sponsors and side gigs before a stipend finally kicked in, and accepted that holidays would happen without him. Training is a study in extremes: two to three runs a day, 4–6 G’s testing neck strength, and hours of film, sanding runners, mobility, and “mind runs” to map every curve. We trace the selection process from Park City to Europe—how circuits are assigned, how points stack from November to late January, and why only two men and two women will ultimately earn their Olympic start numbers.
What stands out is the mindset. He talks about crashing early and getting back on the sled 15 minutes later, about reducing life to the work in front of him, and about the electric weight of the anthem after a win. The culture is both cutthroat and generous—teammates push each other hard and celebrate each other’s breakthroughs—because the flag deserves the best-prepared athlete on race day. If you’ve ever wondered how visualization, relentless discipline, and community support can carry someone from a local track to the world stage, this conversation delivers an unfiltered look at the process and the price.
Subscribe, share with a friend who loves winter sports, and leave a review with your favorite moment. Then set a reminder to watch the Utah Olympic Park selection races on YouTube and tell us: would you go headfirst even once?
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US Skeleton Team
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:26):
Andy, what do you do?
How are you?
No bad days is what I tellpeople, Nick, honor to be here.
SPEAKER_01 (00:33):
No bad days.
See, like before this, and I'mgonna say this.
Before this, I had a crazy dayat work.
You know, I work at a highschool, local high school, and
then you know, to get my time injust to myself before I have
this interview, I did a workoutat CrossFit, and let me tell
you, my back is still spasming.
So I'm I beg to differ on that,but I I hear you.
(00:55):
I hear where you're where you'recoming from.
There's not a bad day.
No, I I hear you.
Just some things here and theretweak, right?
SPEAKER_00 (01:04):
I always tell people like you can have a bad moment,
but don't let that one momentruin your entire day.
So that's a bad moment then.
SPEAKER_01 (01:10):
I had a couple then.
There you go.
All right.
Well, Andy, it's a pleasure tohave you on, man.
You're the first.
I've had a lot of great athleteson here, and but I've never had
an Olympian hopeful, man.
It's huge.
SPEAKER_00 (01:24):
Yeah, it's an honor to be here.
It's pretty cool being in thisposition, heading into my first
potential Olympic Games, goinginto Cortina, Italy for 2026 for
the Olympic sport of skeleton.
And I know we're gonna dive intothat soon, but honor to be here.
SPEAKER_01 (01:39):
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, you know, you're thehopeful of skeleton athlete, you
know, skeleton, skeleton.
Now, the difference, and I'mjust gonna say you don't have to
say it.
I know you say it all the time.
The difference, skeleton is headfirst, face down position, which
is wild, which is crazy.
It's not like luge, kind of, butluge is feet first, face-up
(02:00):
position.
Correct.
Okay.
All right.
With athlete standpoint, you gofrom football, I would think
bobsled, because a lot offootball players, ex-football
players, do the bobsled, right?
They do the team.
Yeah, yeah, you're 100% correcton that.
SPEAKER_00 (02:17):
And then probably wondering why I chose skeleton.
SPEAKER_01 (02:20):
Well, well, considering it's head first, you
just leaped in head first andsaid, you know, I'm gonna do
skeleton.
Let's go all out skeleton.
SPEAKER_00 (02:28):
Yeah, actually, completely opposite.
I when I tr submitted my numbersfor the USA Bobsled Skeleton
tryouts, I looked, I knew whatbobsled was, right?
I've seen cool runnings likemost everybody, and I was like,
Yeah, that's right up my alley.
I looked up what skeleton was,and I was like, that's crazy.
Why would anyone want to dothat?
And so when I showed up for therookie camp five years ago, got
(02:52):
the same thing I've been told mywhole life: you're not big
enough, too small, don't weighenough.
I'm like, all right.
And so they're like, you'regonna be a skeleton athlete.
And I was like, all right, I'mhere.
Let's see what we can do.
And then for those of you thathave watched the previous
Olympics and will tune intothese ones in Cortina, Italy,
you're gonna see what our popsled team looks like.
(03:13):
You're gonna see six, two, twohundred and twenty, two hundred
and twenty-five pound justbehemoths pushing a four to six
hundred pound sled.
Not what I am, right?
And so skeleton is much moreadvantageous to the way I'm
built.
Now, do you travel with thatteam?
We we don't travel together, butwe will be in the same locations
together, yes.
So, like we'll be training andracing together, more or less.
SPEAKER_01 (03:37):
Yeah, yeah, those athletes are uh quite unique,
man.
They're their their thighs arepretty much the size of our
torso, man.
It's kind of kind ofinteresting, and it's massive.
So when it when it comes down toit, how how tall are you?
Me, I'm 5'7, 183.
(03:58):
And those guys are 6'3, almostwhat 220?
SPEAKER_00 (04:03):
Yeah, we have that 220 because we in our sport, we
have a weight cap betweenourselves and the sled.
So Bobsled's got a weight cap,we have a weight cap.
And for those guys, it's harderbecause they have to mix and
match between two and four dudesplus the weight of a sled,
whereas for us, it's just myselfand my sled.
So those guys are kind offloating with each other.
(04:24):
What are you weighing this week?
What am I weighing?
And so on.
SPEAKER_01 (04:28):
But those guys are massive, man.
Those are like a specimen, man.
Not saying you aren't, I mean,but you guys, dude, you guys are
on a regiment from heck, man.
Diet, training, which we'll getthere.
But like you said, you'rehopeful for this year for 2026,
February, Winter Olympics inMilan, Cortina, Italy.
(04:50):
February 6th through the 22nd,northeast Italy.
You ever been there aroundthere?
SPEAKER_00 (04:55):
I haven't.
The only part of Europe I'vebeen to is Lillehammer, Norway.
So I'm actually super excited totouch most of the tracks over in
Europe this in about a week,week or two from now.
SPEAKER_01 (05:06):
Are you gonna be there this whole time until or
you get a break, you go back tothe states and everything else?
SPEAKER_00 (05:11):
No, we'll be there.
So right now we're in ParkState, Utah, taking care of some
selection races, which willdetermine which circuit we all
get displaced on, and then we'llgo overseas to Europe.
We'll race all season, andthat'll be a bunch of different
tracks all over Europe.
And then after January 21st,depending on points when the
team's named, those are gonna bethe people that continue on into
(05:34):
Italy.
SPEAKER_01 (05:36):
Okay, so when you say season, your season hasn't
started, it starts pretty muchnext day or next week, correct?
SPEAKER_00 (05:43):
I would say it started actually today.
Today was official training dayone of our selection races.
So we'll train today, tomorrow,and Thursday.
And then we'll race Friday andSaturday morning, and then after
that, teams will be announcedand away we go.
SPEAKER_01 (06:01):
That quick.
That quick.
So how many people are youcompeting against, if you if you
don't mind me asking, or can youtell?
SPEAKER_00 (06:06):
Yeah, right now we have it'll be well, it should be
right around 13 because we have13 spots available across all
circuits.
So yeah, well, so our World Cupspots, we have three of those,
our European Cup spots, we havefour, and then our North
American Cup, we have six.
And that's just on the men'sside, and then on women that
qualified one more sled, so theyhave 14.
(06:28):
But yeah, so basically against12 other guys.
SPEAKER_01 (06:32):
Okay, all right.
Are you are you excited, scared,all the above?
SPEAKER_00 (06:37):
It's all the above, but it it's what you want to do.
Like if you're in this field andyou're competing at this level,
you want to know you're goingagainst the best, and if your
teammates are the best outthere, I'm honored to be on the
same track with them.
One, so they can push me to bebetter, and I can push them to
be better too.
SPEAKER_01 (06:54):
All right.
One question What blows yourmind the most in this sport,
man?
When you step foot, when you goon a practice run, right?
What what blows your mind?
I mean, you know, like I'm I'man athlete, right?
Not at your caliber, right?
And my own caliber.
I'm a coach, so I see things andhear things and know some
(07:16):
things.
What blows your mind when youstep foot on, let's say, right
before the shoot?
SPEAKER_00 (07:23):
The thing that I think kind of gets me is it's
not even at the start line.
I think it's at the finish line,right?
Because right now we're in ParkCity, and all of us who are
training here have been slidingon this track for years, right?
This is one of our home tracks.
We know it really well, like theback of our hand, right?
We could go down this track,eyes closed, blindfolded, and be
completely fine.
But what's crazy is every run isso different than the last.
(07:48):
And it's only 48 to 50 secondsof a run, but every run is that
different than the last one.
You do you get starstruck?
No, I I mean I don't think so.
I we we just had Flavor Flavcome up here and be an official
(08:08):
hype man and sponsor of theBobson Skeleton team, and it was
pretty cool to just be like,I've seen you on TV as a kid,
I'm seeing you here in person asan adult.
You are exactly who I thoughtyou were.
You are a genuine person whocares about the things that you
go and do.
So I don't think I haven'treached that level of
starstruckness yet.
SPEAKER_01 (08:26):
Okay, hit him and Chuck D, man.
You can't match that that rap,that that RB style, man.
That yeah, you can't match it.
unknown (08:35):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:36):
All right, before we go anywhere else, you grew up
playing football in a small townin Idaho, right?
I mean, right next door to whereI live, humble beginnings and
always hungry.
What made you just say, hey, I'mgonna go, I'm gonna try to be on
the Olympic team?
Because that's that's huge.
(08:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (08:58):
Yeah, that's and I gave up a huge portion of what
my life could have been topursue this this goal.
So once I finished playingDivision I football for Idaho
State University, I had my proday.
I had a couple tryouts with theCFL, nothing had panned out for
me.
And I'm like, all right, stillhad that desire to be an
athlete, just didn't know whatwas next in my life.
(09:20):
I had already started my, I'mgonna say your normal career,
right?
I had begun working for LookoutCredit Union in our marketing
division.
I'd begun coaching high schoolfootball.
I I had the cushed, easy lifefor I had the next 20 years of
my life set aside, like nice andeasy.
And then doom scrolling throughsocial media one day, I came
(09:40):
across, like I said, that onlinetrial for Bob Sled and Skeleton.
And I'm like, I'm stilltraining, I still feel fast, I'm
still strong.
I'm a late bloomer, anyways, formy athletics.
Like, what do I have to lose?
And like I said, I looked up BobSled, I looked up skeleton, I'm
like, I ain't got anything tolose.
The trial's in Park City, Utah,two hours from my house.
(10:00):
I'm gonna go see what I can do.
And I showed up, they told meyou can't do Bob Sled.
I was like, okay.
They put me on a skeleton sled,and here we are five years
later.
Made a big decision to give upthat safety net of a future to
pursue the what if and what canI become for the USA.
SPEAKER_01 (10:20):
With you being so positive, you know, you preach,
you speak positivity.
Did you ever doubt yourself?
Because I mean, you know,normally you'll see like, hey,
join the army, hey, be anofficer, you know, and United
States military, you know, butthen you here you are join
Olympics, be on the Olympicteam.
SPEAKER_00 (10:40):
Don't get yeah, don't get me wrong.
It is like in the beginning,because you're not good at this
sport right away, right?
That's a very humbling momentfor me at least, right?
You're you dominate your highschool, you dominate college,
and then you kind of you'relike, Oh, you're at the top of
your game, and then you enterthis brand new world, and you're
like, Whoa, I suck.
And you have to like kind oftake a second to reflect and be
(11:01):
like, I need to get back intothe learning phase again.
And don't get me wrong, therewas a lot of there was a lot of
walls that taught me how tolearn this sport really quick at
first.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
So, like within my first twoweeks, and I'm actually very
thankful this happened the moreI look back on it now.
I actually crashed, came off mysled at the bottom of this
track, just blew apart, camecame off, and I was kind of
(11:24):
scared.
I was like, what do people docrashing this sport?
Like, what happens?
And then I crashed, I survived,and I'm like, ah, all right,
that's cool.
I go back up to the top of thetrack in the next 15 minutes and
I take my next run.
And I'm like, all right, I I cando this.
Like, I can go to the extreme ofcrashing and then get right back
(11:45):
on the sled and go back to thetop and take another run.
SPEAKER_01 (11:47):
Now, is there a technique that you are taught if
you're if you go down?
SPEAKER_00 (11:53):
Yeah, don't stay on one spot of the ice.
Like, don't just like put yourelbows down or anything like
that.
You kind of want to move aroundbecause you can get what's
called ice burn, which we onlywear like thin underarmor suits,
like underarm material, andthat'll just yeah, yeah, just
like that.
SPEAKER_01 (12:10):
As I'm showing in my my arm, guys, from ice burn.
SPEAKER_00 (12:14):
Yes, yeah, it's like turf burn, but just way worse
and down to the bone reallyquick.
SPEAKER_01 (12:19):
Even with the gear that you're that you have on,
it'll go through.
SPEAKER_00 (12:23):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Like the gear that we wear ismore for aerodynamics, it's not
for protection.
What?
Yeah, like the only things we'rewearing for protection.
We got a helmet, mouthpiece,some baseball gloves.
You can wear pads for trading,but obviously, once racing
comes, that's not veryaerodynamic.
So you want to take those offand be as slipstream as
(12:44):
possible.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (12:52):
Because it's not like hockey, it's not like you
know, a year-round sport thatyou can have, you know, hockey,
baseball, football, you know,running track or cross-country.
Yeah, I mean, how does one pickthat up?
I mean, you basically you weretold because your your size,
right?
But yeah, how does one pick thatup unless you you know live Lake
(13:15):
Placid or Tahoe or Park City?
How?
How does one pick that up?
SPEAKER_00 (13:22):
Yeah, kind of like what you said there.
I was basically volunteer aboutwhat my career is gonna be.
And and as far as like pickingit up and training, a lot of our
athletes come from power andsprinting backgrounds, so you
have that that part kind of I'mgonna say mastered, but then you
have to transition it into a wayfor our sport being comfortable
bent over running, right?
(13:42):
Because our sled is on theground, so you have to learn how
to run full speed, bent overonly using one arm, and then
while the other arm is pushing a70-pound sled, right?
So there's that aspect of itthat takes us all I'm gonna say
all summer, two summers toreally kind of get in the groove
of that aspect.
And then the sliding part thatjust takes repetitions, and then
(14:06):
to kind of go on a subtangent ofthat.
The runs, like I said, only lastbetween 48, depending on the
track, 48 seconds to one minute,right?
That's it.
We're pulling between 83 and 89miles an hour, between four and
six G's, right?
That's a lot of pressure on yourneck in a short amount of time.
So what ends up happening is youtake those runs, usually only
(14:28):
get about two or three a day.
So three minutes of training aday, and then your neck is shot,
right?
You can't keep it up in those Gforces and those speeds.
SPEAKER_02 (14:36):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (14:36):
So you have to be locked in for those three, those
three minutes, let's say.
But then this is where the realtraining, the extra training
comes in.
When you're at home, right, andit's before bed, you got 10
minutes before bed, you lay onyour sled.
We call these mind runs, right?
We talk about this in othersports.
Hey, visualize yourself makingthese plays.
That's what we're doing.
Stand on our sled, eitherwatching a POV of the track, or
(15:00):
it's all in our head, just curveone, curve two, right?
Just and flowing with it, andthat's where the extra reps that
you can get, those are what makethe big difference.
SPEAKER_01 (15:14):
All right, put things in perspective right now,
okay?
What was your 40 in college?
My 40 on throw day was a 434.
What is your 40 now?
SPEAKER_00 (15:24):
I don't know.
SPEAKER_01 (15:26):
They don't they don't do 40s or what no?
SPEAKER_00 (15:28):
How do they know we do 30 meter flies or 30 meter
sprints now?
Okay, so which is a three, Ithink my best one was like a 382
somewhere in there.
I'd go get a cheap, butsomething like that.
Not bad, not bad.
SPEAKER_01 (15:44):
So you okay, but with the man, but with man, uh
just with the 70-pound sled,too.
That's not easy, man.
And crouch down and make whenwhen I see your practice run or
see them, you know, perform,it's just like, man, back, my
back just wants a spasm for youguys, man.
SPEAKER_00 (16:00):
And that's part of like that's a huge part of our
training.
Like last summer when I moved toLake Placid to train, and then
this summer as well.
The amount of yoga and extrastretching we do has helped me
tremendously.
So I'm in the same boat as you.
My back's like, what are youdoing in this C shape trying to
sprint?
And I'm like, all right, thismakes sense.
SPEAKER_01 (16:19):
Okay, the invite.
You got the invite, right?
How hopeful were you to make orbe invited for you know, make
the team train in the trainingfacility?
SPEAKER_00 (16:34):
To be honest, when I sent in like all my numbers and
stuff, I was like, it it goesback to one of my very first
thoughts about like howOlympians were made or how
Olympic hopefuls were made.
I always assumed that yourmother, your father, or both of
them were previous Olympians,and then they got together
bread, and like that was my onlyidea like a thorough bread.
(16:55):
Yeah, like that was my only ideaof how we produced Olympic
athletes into the world.
So seeing a tryout and be like,oh, this is a way for me to work
in progress to become a USAOlympian, like, yeah, sign me up
and and become an Olympichopeful for the USA.
I I want to be a part of that,yeah.
(17:17):
Okay, so man.
SPEAKER_01 (17:19):
So you thought that too, huh?
And then you are I kind ofthought it was a scam at first.
SPEAKER_00 (17:25):
When I first came across it on Facebook, I was
like, there's no way this isreal.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (17:30):
Did you celebrate when you when you got the invite
to uh train at the facility fulltime?
SPEAKER_00 (17:36):
Uh yeah, so kind of celebrate.
By that I mean I went back homeuh after being gone for a month
and a half working remote inLake Placid for some racing and
for running and stuff.
That credit union I mentionedearlier, look out credit union,
bless those guys, love them aton.
I I got the invite from ourcoaches and our staff, like,
(17:57):
hey, we'd like to offer yousummer housing and training out
here in Lake Placid.
We need an answer by tomorrow.
I was like, okay, wow, yeah,yeah.
This world moves so quick.
And like I had already asked myboss for an extension to stay
another week of slotting, andhe's like, Yeah, that's fine.
I'm getting on the radar.
I was like, awesome.
And then this end of March.
(18:17):
I'm coming back the first weekof April.
They want me to report there May1st back to New York.
And so I'm like, you know what?
This information probably isn'ta phone call to my boss.
So I committed yes, before Ieven let my employer know
anything.
I got back home.
Yeah, the Olympics do.
Yeah, and I love those guys somuch.
(18:38):
So, like, I let those guys know,I got back home, had to sit down
with my boss, and this is why Ilove Lookout Credit Union so
much.
Like, they were so supportivefrom the very, very beginning of
my career, all the way into whatI'm doing now.
He's like, I'm not gonna hateyou for doing this.
You have to go chase this dream.
We're behind you 100% of theway.
I'm like, man, it it takes somespecial people in an
(19:00):
organization to be like, yeah,we're not gonna fire you right
on the spot.
We're gonna help you workthrough this summer, through
some big events, and then whenthe time is right, we'll part
ways.
And so, like, thankful for thoseguys and and helping out with
that big decision.
SPEAKER_01 (19:17):
What's your monthly allowance?
Do they give you a monthlyallowance or is it all by
sponsors, or do you have sidegigs here and there?
What how does that go?
SPEAKER_00 (19:25):
More so on the second one.
You have to move up in rankbefore you get a monthly
stipend.
So I just barely got moved up inrank last year after winning the
North American Cup.
So very thankful for that.
But everything before that isyou are, like you said, working
side gigs, working summer jobs.
If you have a remote job thatworks with the season, you can
do that.
Amazing.
(19:46):
Yeah, sponsors take care of me.
It's little known fact.
Olympic hopefuls and mostOlympians are self-funded
athletes for the USA.
SPEAKER_01 (19:57):
It's crazy.
It's crazy, it's sad, it's sadbecause you you know, you hear,
you know, especially SummerOlympics, you know, they only
get paid if they win.
It's like, or place, and it'snot much.
If you don't get first, you'reyou're pretty much last.
SPEAKER_00 (20:13):
Yeah, 100% rigging, Bobby.
SPEAKER_01 (20:16):
Right?
Exactly.
You caught on, you caught on.
All right, so we talked aboutthe pay and everything else.
Tell me a day in life.
Let's go today.
How what time did you wake up?
All the way up till the timefive o'clock right now.
SPEAKER_00 (20:30):
Yeah, so walk you through my day today.
So today wake up 6 a.m.
shower, breakfast, pack the car,we're out of the house by 6:35.
Drive to the track, unloadeverything, set our sleds up,
get ready, start warming upright about 7 a.m.
(20:50):
Right, warm up for an hour, andthen from 8 a.m.
until 11 a.m., we're sliding.
We'll take we're sliding withBobsled right now, so the
sessions are a little longer,but we're taking anywhere
between two and four runs a dayright now.
Just get re-acclimated into thesport.
SPEAKER_02 (21:06):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (21:06):
And then from 11 to let's say 11:30 or 12, 11 to
11:45.
We are debriefing with ourcoaches, going over film for the
different curves that they werefocused on and we were focused
on for the day at the track.
From there, came back home,quick little lunch, hopped on a
(21:26):
podcast at 12, took a quick nap,hopped on a podcast at three.
Man, you've been busy.
Yeah, ate a little, ate a littlefood.
Uh, just got done sanding myrunners on my seleb and now
hopped on this podcast with you.
I'm gonna eat dinner, I'm gonnaroll out, I'm gonna hot tub, I'm
gonna go to bed by about 8 45, 9p.m.
(21:47):
and do it all over againtomorrow.
SPEAKER_01 (21:49):
Well, I appreciate your time, man.
Geez, I I couldn't talk thatmuch, man.
But you are a speaker, you youdo get paid gigs of speaking,
right?
Yes.
How is that?
Did you always think you weregonna be a speaker?
I mean, not everybody has theguts to be up front of thousands
(22:10):
of people and be like, you know,I'm a full-time public speaker.
SPEAKER_00 (22:14):
Yeah, I I never really knew it could be a career
until I got a little more intomy career life in the credit
union.
Like I'd always been on the newsteam and stuff in high school
and doing fun videos and whatnotin college, and then being
obvious of the marketing teamfor Lookout Credit Union, so
always being in front of thecamera, always talking to
people, kind of letting themknow this is what we're doing,
(22:34):
this is who we are, and thengoing to events that we would
sponsor and they'd have keynotespeakers and stuff come in.
And I'm like, oh, this is thisis a real career, this is
something you can make a livingout of.
And I'm like, now I've got astory to go with it and the
mindset behind it.
And I now I believe what I canshare can help other people as
(22:55):
far as positivity and optimism,really changing the trajectory
of people's lives.
SPEAKER_01 (22:59):
Yeah, so it looks like it sounds like he had some
adversity while growing up,right?
I mean, not a lot of people dopublic speaking if they don't
have that background, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (23:09):
Yeah, yeah, 100%.
And I don't know, I just I justlike it.
Maybe I like the sound of my ownvoice, which I know I don't
because I serve tables allthrough high school, uh high
school and college.
So I served for eight years andthen like I get done serving,
and I'd like I don't hear myselffor the next 12 hours.
SPEAKER_01 (23:26):
Do you listen to the podcast after you're done with
it?
I do, yeah.
You do.
What's the worst thing you youcatch up on?
You're like, dang, I shouldn'thave said that, or man, what
what was I thinking?
SPEAKER_00 (23:37):
Uh sometimes like more it's I could went into
depth here, or I didn't need togo into much detail on this
little thing because I'm like,I'm in such a niche world that I
probably explain stuff so muchthat these guys are like talking
to a brick wall right now.
SPEAKER_01 (23:50):
No, because a lot of people don't know about the
sport, you know.
I'm thankful that your PR teamgot a hold of me, and I was
like, you know what?
I'm tired of you know, these uhadvertisements to have people
on.
I'm just gonna go to the sourcethemselves.
And so here I am, you know.
I'm like, hey, hey, hey, can youyou want to be on the podcast?
I got your PR team, and thenhere you are, you know, and
that's how it works.
SPEAKER_00 (24:10):
I appreciate it.
And that's one of the coolthings about this is like I
said, we're so niche, and mostpeople don't know who we are.
That's just sharing our storyand sharing the sport is one of
the best things to do for justus.
SPEAKER_01 (24:24):
Yeah, I'm surprised they don't like give you a gag
order or or you know, they don'tkeep you silent, you know,
because it is a kind of a hush,you know, sport period.
Being on the Olympics, you know,Olympics is right down the
corner, your qualifiers, youknow, and everything else, and
you don't hear a lot of peoplepromoting it right now, ever.
SPEAKER_00 (24:46):
Yeah, I think there were like I know the team USA
social media accounts, they'restarting to post a lot more, get
a lot more stuff out there.
We've had some people comethrough that, like I can't talk
about who's been here and stuffthat are gonna start promoting
us as well.
I know I said flavor flavorbecause we just went live with
all of that, but yeah, there isthere will be they call it a
blackout period once the gamesdo start, and then that's like
(25:11):
NBC or however that works, theyhave rights to all that stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (25:15):
I had to ask because man, I'm like, dude, I'm
surprised this guy wants to talkto me on the podcast.
But then here you are shootingout three podcasts a day, pretty
much.
SPEAKER_00 (25:25):
It's really cool because it's like not just
myself, my other teammates areon podcasts, they're getting
interviewed by their localstation.
So it's like little by littlewe're getting the sport, the
exposure it deserves.
Because I always tell people,like, one, I'm gonna recommend
you you tune in live this Fridayand Saturday morning to watch
our selection races at UtahOlympic Park on YouTube.
And then if you ever have thechance, whether it's Lake Plaza,
(25:47):
New York or Park City, Utah, orWhistler, Canada, those are our
closest ones here in NorthAmerica.
If you can go there and you cando it, take a bobsled ride, take
a skeleton ride.
They we let tourists do this soyou can have just a little
glimpse into the world thatwe're in.
SPEAKER_01 (26:06):
During that, that little glimpse, how fast are
they going, man?
SPEAKER_00 (26:09):
So they won't send you from the top, but they'll
send you like halfway up, right?
And you're still gonna reach 70,75 miles an hour.
Nah, I'm good, man.
You're gonna do it one time,you'd be like, I'm hooked.
SPEAKER_01 (26:24):
Yeah.
And that's what it took, right?
That's what it took for you.
Head first.
SPEAKER_00 (26:29):
Yeah, probably more the second run.
The first run when they pushedpushed me down the ice, a lot of
thoughts went through my head oflike, what life decisions have I
made to put myself right here,right now?
I was like, I don't know.
I'm here, I better make the mostof it.
SPEAKER_01 (26:43):
Okay.
So you're a big football fan.
SPEAKER_00 (26:47):
Yes, more so college than NFL, but yes.
SPEAKER_01 (26:50):
All right, bangles or vandals?
Bengals.
All the way?
Bengals already.
All the way.
Who has the best stadium?
SPEAKER_00 (26:58):
We do.
We're the first, we were thefirst indoor stadium built in
the United States in 1977.
Okay, all right, all right, andyou're sticking to it.
Hey, man, I already said it.
Words are on camera.
Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha.
SPEAKER_01 (27:13):
So we are here right now.
You're about to leave, right?
Thankful that you, you know, youyou filled me in or put me in
the schedule.
Qualifiers are win.
SPEAKER_00 (27:26):
Yeah, so that's the fun part about our sport.
So a lot of other winterathletics kind of had their
qualifying stuff late lastseason, and a lot of those
athletes know that they're gonnabe the ones going to represent
us in the games in February.
For us, we will get so, like Isaid, we have our selection
races this Friday and Saturday.
That will set us up for who'sgonna race on our World Cup
(27:47):
Circuit, our European CupCircuit, and our North American
Cup Circuit.
From there, we start racing atthe end of November.
And from November until January21st, every race is worth X
amount of points, like whereveryou place.
So now we're all competing forpoints in our respective
circuit.
January 21st, when all theracing is over, the points will
(28:10):
be tallied, and then the top twomale and top two female
athletes, that's who's gonna gorepresent us in the games in
cortisons.
Top two?
Top two.
Yep.
Yeah.
So and this is yeah, so we'vegot 13 sleds between the men and
14 on the women's.
SPEAKER_01 (28:30):
So you've got 28, 27 people competing for four spots.
Is the atmosphere friendly orvery competitive?
SPEAKER_00 (28:42):
Both.
That that's the cool part aboutwhat I love that's going on is
we're all here to make eachother better and make sure
whoever is representing us isthe best of us, right?
So during during racing, yeah,obviously, I hope I win.
But if I get beat by myteammate, I'm gonna be just as
happy for them as I would expectthem to be for me in that
(29:03):
situation.
SPEAKER_01 (29:04):
Always wondered, man.
Always wondered becauseOlympics, I mean, Olympians are
the best of the best, and you'rejust like, you're curious.
SPEAKER_00 (29:11):
Yeah, it's cutthroat.
Don't get me wrong.
It is cutthroat to the T, butit's but it's like I'm here, I'm
here for everybody's success.
I don't think we can be a greatUSA team if it's so
individualized.
SPEAKER_01 (29:25):
Gotcha.
Okay.
You travel after this.
Are you ready?
SPEAKER_00 (29:32):
Yeah, I'm stoked.
I'm ready.
Do my job, take care of businessthis week, and hopefully next
Tuesday or Wednesday, whateverday it is, the fourth, I'm
flying off to Italy.
That's fine.
SPEAKER_01 (29:44):
Man, it's beautiful over there.
I was stationed in Germany andspent a lot of time in the Alps.
So yeah, it's it's it's nice andbeautiful.
It's different.
It's different because you know,you from Pacific Northwest,
those mountains.
I would consider those mountainsprobably Montana.
Mountains, you know, theruggedness, okay.
Sawtooth.
So, yeah, that that that thesawtooth.
(30:04):
So, I would I would say it'smore like that, but it's just in
your face.
I mean, the the cities are allaround.
Yeah, you're you're gonna enjoyit, man.
It's great.
All right.
When you travel, what's yourgo-to, man?
Are it like I've noticed a lotof people who like that
adrenaline, they they like tocalm down with some Katy Perry
(30:25):
or some soft tunes.
What what's your go-to, man?
SPEAKER_00 (30:30):
Uh I'm pretty old school when it comes to this.
I rock MM, late 90s and early2000s hip hop, but like MMG MM
is the majority of it, and thenwe mix in a little bit of that
90s and 2000s hip-hop.
SPEAKER_01 (30:44):
See, see, you're aging me.
You say you go old school.
I mean, man.
SPEAKER_00 (30:49):
I mean, I was a I was a kid when I was coming out,
so like growing up with it, thiswas babysitting me, and we're
listening to MM the whole time.
I'm like, all right, I feelthis.
And I was an adult, like I canfeel the lyrics and I understand
what they mean, and it just hitsyou different.
SPEAKER_01 (31:04):
Okay.
When when you when you travel,are you able to bring anybody?
Do you have a plus one?
Are you able to get somebodythere to the Olympics if and
when?
SPEAKER_00 (31:17):
So we did get a link early summer about like if you
do plan to go, here's kind of afamily family and friends link
for discounted tickets and stuffwhere we won't know any of that.
I'm not gonna share any of thatinformation with my friends or
anything like that because Idon't want to get hopes up and
then be like, hey guys, I'm notgoing.
So yeah, no, but it's whenyou're traveling, it's it's just
(31:38):
you do you and your teammates,usually you're splitting rental
cars, splitting Airbnbs, hotels,places to stay.
SPEAKER_01 (31:45):
And you guys plan on being there for Christmas, New
Year's, it's just gonna be youand your buds.
SPEAKER_00 (31:52):
Exactly, right?
And that's one of the thingswith the sport that a lot of
people maybe not realize, andI'm sure other sports are like
this too.
When your season starts andyou're committed to it, there's
not flying back across theworld, right?
Like, it's not just like I'mgonna drive over to a state
away.
Like, that's a 12-hour flight,another six-hour drive to get
home and everything.
Yeah, like I've had to have aconversation with a lot of
(32:13):
friends and family family.
Like, guys, I'm gonna missbirthdays, I'm gonna miss
weddings, I'm gonna miss yourkids being born.
I love you guys, but I gotta godo this.
I told my family last Christmas,I was like, this will most
likely be the last Christmas Iam home for for probably eight
more years.
SPEAKER_01 (32:33):
That's tough.
But that commitment, you gottahave it.
I try to tell the kids, youknow, that I coach, I'm like,
you gotta, you gotta have thecommitment, you know.
A lot of people just want tocome and go, do this, do that,
you know, go to Hoko during, youknow, districts and regionals
and state, and it's just like,oh man, you guys don't
(32:53):
understand.
SPEAKER_00 (32:54):
I know, and that's like feeling the same way
coaching high school footballbefore this.
I was always like, you wish youcould instill your what you've
been through into that nextgeneration.
So it's like I because you don'twant them to miss out on how
great because you can see howgreat some kids are gonna be,
and you're like, Man, if youjust found it, you don't know
the world that would open up toyou.
SPEAKER_01 (33:15):
Exactly, but they gotta learn on their own.
You can only tell them and showthem so much, but you know, it's
a live and learn experience, andthat's what I just try to say
like live and learn and move on.
Exactly, exactly.
So with the hectic schedulecoming up, what keeps you going?
What keeps you just going fulltilt until it's time to you know
(33:40):
find the end results, you know?
SPEAKER_00 (33:44):
Yeah, honestly, it I think it day by day, right?
Like I'm only worried aboutwhat's going on today.
I'm not worried about what'shappening tomorrow.
And then I know if I do that,right, little steps at a time
are gonna get me to that biggergoal that I've already set
inside of my mind that I havefor 2029, that I have for 2030
and 2034.
But if I start looking so farinto the future, I'm gonna
(34:06):
forget what I need to do eachday to get me there.
So I really hone in on today'sthe only thing that matters.
Can't take can't do anythingtomorrow because that's the
future.
I can only take care of thepresent situation.
Now let's make sure I set myselfup to have a great future and
not a questionable future,right?
I don't want to get to thefuture and be like, did I do
everything possible to put me inthe position I want to be?
(34:29):
Or am I gonna be like, well,what if I would have done this
or this or this?
But it's like, no, I did thethings I needed to do to put me
exactly where I want to be.
Okay, why do you do what you do,man?
One, I do it for the friends andfamily that are backing me and
the community back home.
Like I couldn't do it withoutthose guys.
(34:50):
And then the greater picture ofall is just wearing the stars
and stripes, getting torepresent the USA on a national
scale is unfathomable,unfathomable, honestly.
And then when you're on top of apodium with a metal around your
neck and you hear the nationalanthem playing, it might be one
of the most electrifying andheartfelt moments I've ever felt
(35:12):
in my entire life.
And since feeling it last year,that is one of the feelings I am
chasing now, just trying tobring it to the Olympic stage.
SPEAKER_01 (35:23):
Gotcha.
Gotcha.
Do you get teary eyed whenyou're up there, man?
SPEAKER_00 (35:26):
Absolutely.
Like a little teary eyed,singing the national anthem.
It's it's amazing.
And then, like, when you get todo it for your friends too, it
it just hits deep at the sametime, too.
It's like I it's such anincredible emotion that I I
truly can't explain it unlessyou're there, even as a
spectator and a fan, and you getto join in in the national
(35:47):
anthem and sing it.
It's like you didn't win, we allwon.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
unknown (35:53):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (35:54):
All right.
Where can people find you, man?
SPEAKER_00 (35:57):
Best two places to find me.
One, my website, simple,andywittier.com.
And then two, I keep everythingupdated on social media.
So Instagram, which is the samething, Andy underscore woodyer
underscore.
Keep it simple.
SPEAKER_01 (36:11):
Yeah, and you can find that website on your
Instagram as well.
So pretty much Instagram.
unknown (36:15):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (36:16):
Yeah, Instagram's gonna be the best.
I've got my link tree, whichwill take you to Facebook,
LinkedIn, the website,everything like that.
unknown (36:22):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (36:23):
Got a couple of uh off-the-wall questions just to
get to know you.
Do you have cheat days?
SPEAKER_00 (36:29):
Uh my one cheat day, my teammates think I'm so weird
for this.
So we go through four-weektrading blocks over the summer,
and I eat zero sweets the entiretime.
SPEAKER_02 (36:40):
What?
How do you do that?
SPEAKER_00 (36:42):
And our and our chefs in Lake Placid are
amazing.
Like, there's there's always alittle dessert option at lunch
and dinner, and I don't have anyof it.
But I wait until that lastFriday of our block period, and
then I'll go get myself like anextra large chocolatey chocolate
chocolate milkshake.
And I'm like, man, I earn this.
But like in my mind, I gottaearn that treat.
(37:02):
I can't just have it every day.
SPEAKER_01 (37:04):
Yeah.
So that's your cheat.
That's my one cheat, yeah, is amilkshake every four weeks.
How many off days do you getduring that block?
SPEAKER_00 (37:14):
Just the weekend, Saturday, Sunday.
That's it.
Yeah, we train five days a week.
SPEAKER_01 (37:18):
Well, what do you do during the off days, man?
What do you do for fun?
SPEAKER_00 (37:23):
Oh man.
In Lake Placid.
So I was I'm thankful enoughthat I have a I got a truck
through one of my sponsors.
And so I drove my truck and mymotorcycle out to Lake Placid.
So if I'm not recovering in thetraining center, I am on my
motorcycle ripping through theAdderon X in upstate New York.
Better be careful.
(37:43):
Absolutely.
Yeah, I'm surprised.
I'm sure it's coming soon.
They're gonna be like nomotorcycles in the contract.
SPEAKER_01 (37:49):
Yep, insurance too.
They're gonna be like insurance.
unknown (37:53):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (37:54):
All right.
What movie inspired you?
The most you know, you get amovie, you're like, it hits the
fills, it's it's it's preachingthe choir.
SPEAKER_00 (38:08):
Honestly, one of the biggest ones that kind of
changed me.
My very first like emotionalmovie, what it's called Dead
Poet Society from the 90s withRobbie Williams.
That one kind of sticks true tomy heart.
Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_01 (38:21):
Now, with all this time, do you have time for a
lady?
SPEAKER_00 (38:25):
No, no, and I make sure I'm very clear about that
with anyone that tries talkingto me.
I'm like, look, I'm overseas forfive to six months.
I train for the other five tosix months, I am married to the
game.
I I think you're amazing, butthis is what I'm committed to.
SPEAKER_01 (38:43):
Gotcha.
Well, how does uh mom and popsfeel?
SPEAKER_00 (38:46):
They support it, they they're a ton.
I they're actually coming towatch the selection races in the
next three days, so it's they'rethey're fully on board.
SPEAKER_01 (38:54):
Nice, nice, nice.
Anything you want to add?
Anything I forgot?
SPEAKER_00 (39:00):
No, I think you know that I think just keep chasing
your dream.
Doesn't matter how old you are.
That's the biggest thing.
SPEAKER_01 (39:06):
Okay, Andy, it's been a pleasure, man.
I'm thankful that you put me onthe schedule.
I'm I'm glad you said yes.
Surprised you said yes.
I mean, I've had a lot ofathletes on here, a lot of
running, a lot of adrenaline,you know, rush junkies.
I'm not saying you are, butyou're kind of there.
I mean, headfirst, going howmany miles?
(39:29):
83 to 89.
There's something going onthere.
I won't say it put it out therelike that, but dude, it it's
it's crazy.
Just the sport that you're ingoing headfirst and what you're
gonna do, how you're gonna doit, and what you have to do to
be Olympian, hopeful.
(39:50):
So more power to you, man.
Andy, it's been a pleasure.
Want you back on.
I'm gonna be watching you forthe last time.
YouTube this weekend, correct?
SPEAKER_00 (40:02):
Yes, yes.
This weekend, Utah Olympic Parkon YouTube.
We start racing 8 a.m.
mountain time.
Andy, until next time.
Love it.
Thank you, Dave.
Andy, what do you do?
How are you?
No bad days is what I tellpeople, Nick, honor to be here.
SPEAKER_01 (00:33):
No bad days.
See, like before this, and I'mgonna say this.
Before this, I had a crazy dayat work.
You know, I work at a highschool, local high school, and
then you know, to get my time injust to myself before I have
this interview, I did a workoutat CrossFit, and let me tell
you, my back is still spasming.
So I'm I beg to differ on that,but I I hear you.
(00:55):
I hear where you're where you'recoming from.
There's not a bad day.
No, I I hear you.
Just some things here and theretweak, right?
SPEAKER_00 (01:04):
I always tell people like you can have a bad moment,
but don't let that one momentruin your entire day.
So that's a bad moment then.
SPEAKER_01 (01:10):
I had a couple then.
There you go.
All right.
Well, Andy, it's a pleasure tohave you on, man.
You're the first.
I've had a lot of great athleteson here, and but I've never had
an Olympian hopeful, man.
It's huge.
SPEAKER_00 (01:24):
Yeah, it's an honor to be here.
It's pretty cool being in thisposition, heading into my first
potential Olympic Games, goinginto Cortina, Italy for 2026 for
the Olympic sport of skeleton.
And I know we're gonna dive intothat soon, but honor to be here.
SPEAKER_01 (01:39):
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, you know, you're thehopeful of skeleton athlete, you
know, skeleton, skeleton.
Now, the difference, and I'mjust gonna say you don't have to
say it.
I know you say it all the time.
The difference, skeleton is headfirst, face down position, which
is wild, which is crazy.
It's not like luge, kind of, butluge is feet first, face-up
(02:00):
position.
Correct.
Okay.
All right.
With athlete standpoint, you gofrom football, I would think
bobsled, because a lot offootball players, ex-football
players, do the bobsled, right?
They do the team.
Yeah, yeah, you're 100% correcton that.
SPEAKER_00 (02:17):
And then probably wondering why I chose skeleton.
SPEAKER_01 (02:20):
Well, well, considering it's head first, you
just leaped in head first andsaid, you know, I'm gonna do
skeleton.
Let's go all out skeleton.
SPEAKER_00 (02:28):
Yeah, actually, completely opposite.
I when I tr submitted my numbersfor the USA Bobsled Skeleton
tryouts, I looked, I knew whatbobsled was, right?
I've seen cool runnings likemost everybody, and I was like,
Yeah, that's right up my alley.
I looked up what skeleton was,and I was like, that's crazy.
Why would anyone want to dothat?
And so when I showed up for therookie camp five years ago, got
(02:52):
the same thing I've been told mywhole life: you're not big
enough, too small, don't weighenough.
I'm like, all right.
And so they're like, you'regonna be a skeleton athlete.
And I was like, all right, I'mhere.
Let's see what we can do.
And then for those of you thathave watched the previous
Olympics and will tune intothese ones in Cortina, Italy,
you're gonna see what our popsled team looks like.
(03:13):
You're gonna see six, two, twohundred and twenty, two hundred
and twenty-five pound justbehemoths pushing a four to six
hundred pound sled.
Not what I am, right?
And so skeleton is much moreadvantageous to the way I'm
built.
Now, do you travel with thatteam?
We we don't travel together, butwe will be in the same locations
together, yes.
So, like we'll be training andracing together, more or less.
SPEAKER_01 (03:37):
Yeah, yeah, those athletes are uh quite unique,
man.
They're their their thighs arepretty much the size of our
torso, man.
It's kind of kind ofinteresting, and it's massive.
So when it when it comes down toit, how how tall are you?
Me, I'm 5'7, 183.
(03:58):
And those guys are 6'3, almostwhat 220?
SPEAKER_00 (04:03):
Yeah, we have that 220 because we in our sport, we
have a weight cap betweenourselves and the sled.
So Bobsled's got a weight cap,we have a weight cap.
And for those guys, it's harderbecause they have to mix and
match between two and four dudesplus the weight of a sled,
whereas for us, it's just myselfand my sled.
So those guys are kind offloating with each other.
(04:24):
What are you weighing this week?
What am I weighing?
And so on.
SPEAKER_01 (04:28):
But those guys are massive, man.
Those are like a specimen, man.
Not saying you aren't, I mean,but you guys, dude, you guys are
on a regiment from heck, man.
Diet, training, which we'll getthere.
But like you said, you'rehopeful for this year for 2026,
February, Winter Olympics inMilan, Cortina, Italy.
(04:50):
February 6th through the 22nd,northeast Italy.
You ever been there aroundthere?
SPEAKER_00 (04:55):
I haven't.
The only part of Europe I'vebeen to is Lillehammer, Norway.
So I'm actually super excited totouch most of the tracks over in
Europe this in about a week,week or two from now.
SPEAKER_01 (05:06):
Are you gonna be there this whole time until or
you get a break, you go back tothe states and everything else?
SPEAKER_00 (05:11):
No, we'll be there.
So right now we're in ParkState, Utah, taking care of some
selection races, which willdetermine which circuit we all
get displaced on, and then we'llgo overseas to Europe.
We'll race all season, andthat'll be a bunch of different
tracks all over Europe.
And then after January 21st,depending on points when the
team's named, those are gonna bethe people that continue on into
(05:34):
Italy.
SPEAKER_01 (05:36):
Okay, so when you say season, your season hasn't
started, it starts pretty muchnext day or next week, correct?
SPEAKER_00 (05:43):
I would say it started actually today.
Today was official training dayone of our selection races.
So we'll train today, tomorrow,and Thursday.
And then we'll race Friday andSaturday morning, and then after
that, teams will be announcedand away we go.
SPEAKER_01 (06:01):
That quick.
That quick.
So how many people are youcompeting against, if you if you
don't mind me asking, or can youtell?
SPEAKER_00 (06:06):
Yeah, right now we have it'll be well, it should be
right around 13 because we have13 spots available across all
circuits.
So yeah, well, so our World Cupspots, we have three of those,
our European Cup spots, we havefour, and then our North
American Cup, we have six.
And that's just on the men'sside, and then on women that
qualified one more sled, so theyhave 14.
(06:28):
But yeah, so basically against12 other guys.
SPEAKER_01 (06:32):
Okay, all right.
Are you are you excited, scared,all the above?
SPEAKER_00 (06:37):
It's all the above, but it it's what you want to do.
Like if you're in this field andyou're competing at this level,
you want to know you're goingagainst the best, and if your
teammates are the best outthere, I'm honored to be on the
same track with them.
One, so they can push me to bebetter, and I can push them to
be better too.
SPEAKER_01 (06:54):
All right.
One question What blows yourmind the most in this sport,
man?
When you step foot, when you goon a practice run, right?
What what blows your mind?
I mean, you know, like I'm I'man athlete, right?
Not at your caliber, right?
And my own caliber.
I'm a coach, so I see things andhear things and know some
(07:16):
things.
What blows your mind when youstep foot on, let's say, right
before the shoot?
SPEAKER_00 (07:23):
The thing that I think kind of gets me is it's
not even at the start line.
I think it's at the finish line,right?
Because right now we're in ParkCity, and all of us who are
training here have been slidingon this track for years, right?
This is one of our home tracks.
We know it really well, like theback of our hand, right?
We could go down this track,eyes closed, blindfolded, and be
completely fine.
But what's crazy is every run isso different than the last.
(07:48):
And it's only 48 to 50 secondsof a run, but every run is that
different than the last one.
You do you get starstruck?
No, I I mean I don't think so.
I we we just had Flavor Flavcome up here and be an official
(08:08):
hype man and sponsor of theBobson Skeleton team, and it was
pretty cool to just be like,I've seen you on TV as a kid,
I'm seeing you here in person asan adult.
You are exactly who I thoughtyou were.
You are a genuine person whocares about the things that you
go and do.
So I don't think I haven'treached that level of
starstruckness yet.
SPEAKER_01 (08:26):
Okay, hit him and Chuck D, man.
You can't match that that rap,that that RB style, man.
That yeah, you can't match it.
unknown (08:35):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:36):
All right, before we go anywhere else, you grew up
playing football in a small townin Idaho, right?
I mean, right next door to whereI live, humble beginnings and
always hungry.
What made you just say, hey, I'mgonna go, I'm gonna try to be on
the Olympic team?
Because that's that's huge.
(08:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (08:58):
Yeah, that's and I gave up a huge portion of what
my life could have been topursue this this goal.
So once I finished playingDivision I football for Idaho
State University, I had my proday.
I had a couple tryouts with theCFL, nothing had panned out for
me.
And I'm like, all right, stillhad that desire to be an
athlete, just didn't know whatwas next in my life.
(09:20):
I had already started my, I'mgonna say your normal career,
right?
I had begun working for LookoutCredit Union in our marketing
division.
I'd begun coaching high schoolfootball.
I I had the cushed, easy lifefor I had the next 20 years of
my life set aside, like nice andeasy.
And then doom scrolling throughsocial media one day, I came
(09:40):
across, like I said, that onlinetrial for Bob Sled and Skeleton.
And I'm like, I'm stilltraining, I still feel fast, I'm
still strong.
I'm a late bloomer, anyways, formy athletics.
Like, what do I have to lose?
And like I said, I looked up BobSled, I looked up skeleton, I'm
like, I ain't got anything tolose.
The trial's in Park City, Utah,two hours from my house.
(10:00):
I'm gonna go see what I can do.
And I showed up, they told meyou can't do Bob Sled.
I was like, okay.
They put me on a skeleton sled,and here we are five years
later.
Made a big decision to give upthat safety net of a future to
pursue the what if and what canI become for the USA.
SPEAKER_01 (10:20):
With you being so positive, you know, you preach,
you speak positivity.
Did you ever doubt yourself?
Because I mean, you know,normally you'll see like, hey,
join the army, hey, be anofficer, you know, and United
States military, you know, butthen you here you are join
Olympics, be on the Olympicteam.
SPEAKER_00 (10:40):
Don't get yeah, don't get me wrong.
It is like in the beginning,because you're not good at this
sport right away, right?
That's a very humbling momentfor me at least, right?
You're you dominate your highschool, you dominate college,
and then you kind of you'relike, Oh, you're at the top of
your game, and then you enterthis brand new world, and you're
like, Whoa, I suck.
And you have to like kind oftake a second to reflect and be
(11:01):
like, I need to get back intothe learning phase again.
And don't get me wrong, therewas a lot of there was a lot of
walls that taught me how tolearn this sport really quick at
first.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
So, like within my first twoweeks, and I'm actually very
thankful this happened the moreI look back on it now.
I actually crashed, came off mysled at the bottom of this
track, just blew apart, camecame off, and I was kind of
(11:24):
scared.
I was like, what do people docrashing this sport?
Like, what happens?
And then I crashed, I survived,and I'm like, ah, all right,
that's cool.
I go back up to the top of thetrack in the next 15 minutes and
I take my next run.
And I'm like, all right, I I cando this.
Like, I can go to the extreme ofcrashing and then get right back
(11:45):
on the sled and go back to thetop and take another run.
SPEAKER_01 (11:47):
Now, is there a technique that you are taught if
you're if you go down?
SPEAKER_00 (11:53):
Yeah, don't stay on one spot of the ice.
Like, don't just like put yourelbows down or anything like
that.
You kind of want to move aroundbecause you can get what's
called ice burn, which we onlywear like thin underarmor suits,
like underarm material, andthat'll just yeah, yeah, just
like that.
SPEAKER_01 (12:10):
As I'm showing in my my arm, guys, from ice burn.
SPEAKER_00 (12:14):
Yes, yeah, it's like turf burn, but just way worse
and down to the bone reallyquick.
SPEAKER_01 (12:19):
Even with the gear that you're that you have on,
it'll go through.
SPEAKER_00 (12:23):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Like the gear that we wear ismore for aerodynamics, it's not
for protection.
What?
Yeah, like the only things we'rewearing for protection.
We got a helmet, mouthpiece,some baseball gloves.
You can wear pads for trading,but obviously, once racing
comes, that's not veryaerodynamic.
So you want to take those offand be as slipstream as
(12:44):
possible.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (12:52):
Because it's not like hockey, it's not like you
know, a year-round sport thatyou can have, you know, hockey,
baseball, football, you know,running track or cross-country.
Yeah, I mean, how does one pickthat up?
I mean, you basically you weretold because your your size,
right?
But yeah, how does one pick thatup unless you you know live Lake
(13:15):
Placid or Tahoe or Park City?
How?
How does one pick that up?
SPEAKER_00 (13:22):
Yeah, kind of like what you said there.
I was basically volunteer aboutwhat my career is gonna be.
And and as far as like pickingit up and training, a lot of our
athletes come from power andsprinting backgrounds, so you
have that that part kind of I'mgonna say mastered, but then you
have to transition it into a wayfor our sport being comfortable
bent over running, right?
(13:42):
Because our sled is on theground, so you have to learn how
to run full speed, bent overonly using one arm, and then
while the other arm is pushing a70-pound sled, right?
So there's that aspect of itthat takes us all I'm gonna say
all summer, two summers toreally kind of get in the groove
of that aspect.
And then the sliding part thatjust takes repetitions, and then
(14:06):
to kind of go on a subtangent ofthat.
The runs, like I said, only lastbetween 48, depending on the
track, 48 seconds to one minute,right?
That's it.
We're pulling between 83 and 89miles an hour, between four and
six G's, right?
That's a lot of pressure on yourneck in a short amount of time.
So what ends up happening is youtake those runs, usually only
(14:28):
get about two or three a day.
So three minutes of training aday, and then your neck is shot,
right?
You can't keep it up in those Gforces and those speeds.
SPEAKER_02 (14:36):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (14:36):
So you have to be locked in for those three, those
three minutes, let's say.
But then this is where the realtraining, the extra training
comes in.
When you're at home, right, andit's before bed, you got 10
minutes before bed, you lay onyour sled.
We call these mind runs, right?
We talk about this in othersports.
Hey, visualize yourself makingthese plays.
That's what we're doing.
Stand on our sled, eitherwatching a POV of the track, or
(15:00):
it's all in our head, just curveone, curve two, right?
Just and flowing with it, andthat's where the extra reps that
you can get, those are what makethe big difference.
SPEAKER_01 (15:14):
All right, put things in perspective right now,
okay?
What was your 40 in college?
My 40 on throw day was a 434.
What is your 40 now?
SPEAKER_00 (15:24):
I don't know.
SPEAKER_01 (15:26):
They don't they don't do 40s or what no?
SPEAKER_00 (15:28):
How do they know we do 30 meter flies or 30 meter
sprints now?
Okay, so which is a three, Ithink my best one was like a 382
somewhere in there.
I'd go get a cheap, butsomething like that.
Not bad, not bad.
SPEAKER_01 (15:44):
So you okay, but with the man, but with man, uh
just with the 70-pound sled,too.
That's not easy, man.
And crouch down and make whenwhen I see your practice run or
see them, you know, perform,it's just like, man, back, my
back just wants a spasm for youguys, man.
SPEAKER_00 (16:00):
And that's part of like that's a huge part of our
training.
Like last summer when I moved toLake Placid to train, and then
this summer as well.
The amount of yoga and extrastretching we do has helped me
tremendously.
So I'm in the same boat as you.
My back's like, what are youdoing in this C shape trying to
sprint?
And I'm like, all right, thismakes sense.
SPEAKER_01 (16:19):
Okay, the invite.
You got the invite, right?
How hopeful were you to make orbe invited for you know, make
the team train in the trainingfacility?
SPEAKER_00 (16:34):
To be honest, when I sent in like all my numbers and
stuff, I was like, it it goesback to one of my very first
thoughts about like howOlympians were made or how
Olympic hopefuls were made.
I always assumed that yourmother, your father, or both of
them were previous Olympians,and then they got together
bread, and like that was my onlyidea like a thorough bread.
(16:55):
Yeah, like that was my only ideaof how we produced Olympic
athletes into the world.
So seeing a tryout and be like,oh, this is a way for me to work
in progress to become a USAOlympian, like, yeah, sign me up
and and become an Olympichopeful for the USA.
I I want to be a part of that,yeah.
(17:17):
Okay, so man.
SPEAKER_01 (17:19):
So you thought that too, huh?
And then you are I kind ofthought it was a scam at first.
SPEAKER_00 (17:25):
When I first came across it on Facebook, I was
like, there's no way this isreal.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (17:30):
Did you celebrate when you when you got the invite
to uh train at the facility fulltime?
SPEAKER_00 (17:36):
Uh yeah, so kind of celebrate.
By that I mean I went back homeuh after being gone for a month
and a half working remote inLake Placid for some racing and
for running and stuff.
That credit union I mentionedearlier, look out credit union,
bless those guys, love them aton.
I I got the invite from ourcoaches and our staff, like,
(17:57):
hey, we'd like to offer yousummer housing and training out
here in Lake Placid.
We need an answer by tomorrow.
I was like, okay, wow, yeah,yeah.
This world moves so quick.
And like I had already asked myboss for an extension to stay
another week of slotting, andhe's like, Yeah, that's fine.
I'm getting on the radar.
I was like, awesome.
And then this end of March.
(18:17):
I'm coming back the first weekof April.
They want me to report there May1st back to New York.
And so I'm like, you know what?
This information probably isn'ta phone call to my boss.
So I committed yes, before Ieven let my employer know
anything.
I got back home.
Yeah, the Olympics do.
Yeah, and I love those guys somuch.
(18:38):
So, like, I let those guys know,I got back home, had to sit down
with my boss, and this is why Ilove Lookout Credit Union so
much.
Like, they were so supportivefrom the very, very beginning of
my career, all the way into whatI'm doing now.
He's like, I'm not gonna hateyou for doing this.
You have to go chase this dream.
We're behind you 100% of theway.
I'm like, man, it it takes somespecial people in an
(19:00):
organization to be like, yeah,we're not gonna fire you right
on the spot.
We're gonna help you workthrough this summer, through
some big events, and then whenthe time is right, we'll part
ways.
And so, like, thankful for thoseguys and and helping out with
that big decision.
SPEAKER_01 (19:17):
What's your monthly allowance?
Do they give you a monthlyallowance or is it all by
sponsors, or do you have sidegigs here and there?
What how does that go?
SPEAKER_00 (19:25):
More so on the second one.
You have to move up in rankbefore you get a monthly
stipend.
So I just barely got moved up inrank last year after winning the
North American Cup.
So very thankful for that.
But everything before that isyou are, like you said, working
side gigs, working summer jobs.
If you have a remote job thatworks with the season, you can
do that.
Amazing.
(19:46):
Yeah, sponsors take care of me.
It's little known fact.
Olympic hopefuls and mostOlympians are self-funded
athletes for the USA.
SPEAKER_01 (19:57):
It's crazy.
It's crazy, it's sad, it's sadbecause you you know, you hear,
you know, especially SummerOlympics, you know, they only
get paid if they win.
It's like, or place, and it'snot much.
If you don't get first, you'reyou're pretty much last.
SPEAKER_00 (20:13):
Yeah, 100% rigging, Bobby.
SPEAKER_01 (20:16):
Right?
Exactly.
You caught on, you caught on.
All right, so we talked aboutthe pay and everything else.
Tell me a day in life.
Let's go today.
How what time did you wake up?
All the way up till the timefive o'clock right now.
SPEAKER_00 (20:30):
Yeah, so walk you through my day today.
So today wake up 6 a.m.
shower, breakfast, pack the car,we're out of the house by 6:35.
Drive to the track, unloadeverything, set our sleds up,
get ready, start warming upright about 7 a.m.
(20:50):
Right, warm up for an hour, andthen from 8 a.m.
until 11 a.m., we're sliding.
We'll take we're sliding withBobsled right now, so the
sessions are a little longer,but we're taking anywhere
between two and four runs a dayright now.
Just get re-acclimated into thesport.
SPEAKER_02 (21:06):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (21:06):
And then from 11 to let's say 11:30 or 12, 11 to
11:45.
We are debriefing with ourcoaches, going over film for the
different curves that they werefocused on and we were focused
on for the day at the track.
From there, came back home,quick little lunch, hopped on a
(21:26):
podcast at 12, took a quick nap,hopped on a podcast at three.
Man, you've been busy.
Yeah, ate a little, ate a littlefood.
Uh, just got done sanding myrunners on my seleb and now
hopped on this podcast with you.
I'm gonna eat dinner, I'm gonnaroll out, I'm gonna hot tub, I'm
gonna go to bed by about 8 45, 9p.m.
(21:47):
and do it all over againtomorrow.
SPEAKER_01 (21:49):
Well, I appreciate your time, man.
Geez, I I couldn't talk thatmuch, man.
But you are a speaker, you youdo get paid gigs of speaking,
right?
Yes.
How is that?
Did you always think you weregonna be a speaker?
I mean, not everybody has theguts to be up front of thousands
(22:10):
of people and be like, you know,I'm a full-time public speaker.
SPEAKER_00 (22:14):
Yeah, I I never really knew it could be a career
until I got a little more intomy career life in the credit
union.
Like I'd always been on the newsteam and stuff in high school
and doing fun videos and whatnotin college, and then being
obvious of the marketing teamfor Lookout Credit Union, so
always being in front of thecamera, always talking to
people, kind of letting themknow this is what we're doing,
(22:34):
this is who we are, and thengoing to events that we would
sponsor and they'd have keynotespeakers and stuff come in.
And I'm like, oh, this is thisis a real career, this is
something you can make a livingout of.
And I'm like, now I've got astory to go with it and the
mindset behind it.
And I now I believe what I canshare can help other people as
(22:55):
far as positivity and optimism,really changing the trajectory
of people's lives.
SPEAKER_01 (22:59):
Yeah, so it looks like it sounds like he had some
adversity while growing up,right?
I mean, not a lot of people dopublic speaking if they don't
have that background, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (23:09):
Yeah, yeah, 100%.
And I don't know, I just I justlike it.
Maybe I like the sound of my ownvoice, which I know I don't
because I serve tables allthrough high school, uh high
school and college.
So I served for eight years andthen like I get done serving,
and I'd like I don't hear myselffor the next 12 hours.
SPEAKER_01 (23:26):
Do you listen to the podcast after you're done with
it?
I do, yeah.
You do.
What's the worst thing you youcatch up on?
You're like, dang, I shouldn'thave said that, or man, what
what was I thinking?
SPEAKER_00 (23:37):
Uh sometimes like more it's I could went into
depth here, or I didn't need togo into much detail on this
little thing because I'm like,I'm in such a niche world that I
probably explain stuff so muchthat these guys are like talking
to a brick wall right now.
SPEAKER_01 (23:50):
No, because a lot of people don't know about the
sport, you know.
I'm thankful that your PR teamgot a hold of me, and I was
like, you know what?
I'm tired of you know, these uhadvertisements to have people
on.
I'm just gonna go to the sourcethemselves.
And so here I am, you know.
I'm like, hey, hey, hey, can youyou want to be on the podcast?
I got your PR team, and thenhere you are, you know, and
that's how it works.
SPEAKER_00 (24:10):
I appreciate it.
And that's one of the coolthings about this is like I
said, we're so niche, and mostpeople don't know who we are.
That's just sharing our storyand sharing the sport is one of
the best things to do for justus.
SPEAKER_01 (24:24):
Yeah, I'm surprised they don't like give you a gag
order or or you know, they don'tkeep you silent, you know,
because it is a kind of a hush,you know, sport period.
Being on the Olympics, you know,Olympics is right down the
corner, your qualifiers, youknow, and everything else, and
you don't hear a lot of peoplepromoting it right now, ever.
SPEAKER_00 (24:46):
Yeah, I think there were like I know the team USA
social media accounts, they'restarting to post a lot more, get
a lot more stuff out there.
We've had some people comethrough that, like I can't talk
about who's been here and stuffthat are gonna start promoting
us as well.
I know I said flavor flavorbecause we just went live with
all of that, but yeah, there isthere will be they call it a
blackout period once the gamesdo start, and then that's like
(25:11):
NBC or however that works, theyhave rights to all that stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (25:15):
I had to ask because man, I'm like, dude, I'm
surprised this guy wants to talkto me on the podcast.
But then here you are shootingout three podcasts a day, pretty
much.
SPEAKER_00 (25:25):
It's really cool because it's like not just
myself, my other teammates areon podcasts, they're getting
interviewed by their localstation.
So it's like little by littlewe're getting the sport, the
exposure it deserves.
Because I always tell people,like, one, I'm gonna recommend
you you tune in live this Fridayand Saturday morning to watch
our selection races at UtahOlympic Park on YouTube.
And then if you ever have thechance, whether it's Lake Plaza,
(25:47):
New York or Park City, Utah, orWhistler, Canada, those are our
closest ones here in NorthAmerica.
If you can go there and you cando it, take a bobsled ride, take
a skeleton ride.
They we let tourists do this soyou can have just a little
glimpse into the world thatwe're in.
SPEAKER_01 (26:06):
During that, that little glimpse, how fast are
they going, man?
SPEAKER_00 (26:09):
So they won't send you from the top, but they'll
send you like halfway up, right?
And you're still gonna reach 70,75 miles an hour.
Nah, I'm good, man.
You're gonna do it one time,you'd be like, I'm hooked.
SPEAKER_01 (26:24):
Yeah.
And that's what it took, right?
That's what it took for you.
Head first.
SPEAKER_00 (26:29):
Yeah, probably more the second run.
The first run when they pushedpushed me down the ice, a lot of
thoughts went through my head oflike, what life decisions have I
made to put myself right here,right now?
I was like, I don't know.
I'm here, I better make the mostof it.
SPEAKER_01 (26:43):
Okay.
So you're a big football fan.
SPEAKER_00 (26:47):
Yes, more so college than NFL, but yes.
SPEAKER_01 (26:50):
All right, bangles or vandals?
Bengals.
All the way?
Bengals already.
All the way.
Who has the best stadium?
SPEAKER_00 (26:58):
We do.
We're the first, we were thefirst indoor stadium built in
the United States in 1977.
Okay, all right, all right, andyou're sticking to it.
Hey, man, I already said it.
Words are on camera.
Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha.
SPEAKER_01 (27:13):
So we are here right now.
You're about to leave, right?
Thankful that you, you know, youyou filled me in or put me in
the schedule.
Qualifiers are win.
SPEAKER_00 (27:26):
Yeah, so that's the fun part about our sport.
So a lot of other winterathletics kind of had their
qualifying stuff late lastseason, and a lot of those
athletes know that they're gonnabe the ones going to represent
us in the games in February.
For us, we will get so, like Isaid, we have our selection
races this Friday and Saturday.
That will set us up for who'sgonna race on our World Cup
(27:47):
Circuit, our European CupCircuit, and our North American
Cup Circuit.
From there, we start racing atthe end of November.
And from November until January21st, every race is worth X
amount of points, like whereveryou place.
So now we're all competing forpoints in our respective
circuit.
January 21st, when all theracing is over, the points will
(28:10):
be tallied, and then the top twomale and top two female
athletes, that's who's gonna gorepresent us in the games in
cortisons.
Top two?
Top two.
Yep.
Yeah.
So and this is yeah, so we'vegot 13 sleds between the men and
14 on the women's.
SPEAKER_01 (28:30):
So you've got 28, 27 people competing for four spots.
Is the atmosphere friendly orvery competitive?
SPEAKER_00 (28:42):
Both.
That that's the cool part aboutwhat I love that's going on is
we're all here to make eachother better and make sure
whoever is representing us isthe best of us, right?
So during during racing, yeah,obviously, I hope I win.
But if I get beat by myteammate, I'm gonna be just as
happy for them as I would expectthem to be for me in that
(29:03):
situation.
SPEAKER_01 (29:04):
Always wondered, man.
Always wondered becauseOlympics, I mean, Olympians are
the best of the best, and you'rejust like, you're curious.
SPEAKER_00 (29:11):
Yeah, it's cutthroat.
Don't get me wrong.
It is cutthroat to the T, butit's but it's like I'm here, I'm
here for everybody's success.
I don't think we can be a greatUSA team if it's so
individualized.
SPEAKER_01 (29:25):
Gotcha.
Okay.
You travel after this.
Are you ready?
SPEAKER_00 (29:32):
Yeah, I'm stoked.
I'm ready.
Do my job, take care of businessthis week, and hopefully next
Tuesday or Wednesday, whateverday it is, the fourth, I'm
flying off to Italy.
That's fine.
SPEAKER_01 (29:44):
Man, it's beautiful over there.
I was stationed in Germany andspent a lot of time in the Alps.
So yeah, it's it's it's nice andbeautiful.
It's different.
It's different because you know,you from Pacific Northwest,
those mountains.
I would consider those mountainsprobably Montana.
Mountains, you know, theruggedness, okay.
Sawtooth.
So, yeah, that that that thesawtooth.
(30:04):
So, I would I would say it'smore like that, but it's just in
your face.
I mean, the the cities are allaround.
Yeah, you're you're gonna enjoyit, man.
It's great.
All right.
When you travel, what's yourgo-to, man?
Are it like I've noticed a lotof people who like that
adrenaline, they they like tocalm down with some Katy Perry
(30:25):
or some soft tunes.
What what's your go-to, man?
SPEAKER_00 (30:30):
Uh I'm pretty old school when it comes to this.
I rock MM, late 90s and early2000s hip hop, but like MMG MM
is the majority of it, and thenwe mix in a little bit of that
90s and 2000s hip-hop.
SPEAKER_01 (30:44):
See, see, you're aging me.
You say you go old school.
I mean, man.
SPEAKER_00 (30:49):
I mean, I was a I was a kid when I was coming out,
so like growing up with it, thiswas babysitting me, and we're
listening to MM the whole time.
I'm like, all right, I feelthis.
And I was an adult, like I canfeel the lyrics and I understand
what they mean, and it just hitsyou different.
SPEAKER_01 (31:04):
Okay.
When when you when you travel,are you able to bring anybody?
Do you have a plus one?
Are you able to get somebodythere to the Olympics if and
when?
SPEAKER_00 (31:17):
So we did get a link early summer about like if you
do plan to go, here's kind of afamily family and friends link
for discounted tickets and stuffwhere we won't know any of that.
I'm not gonna share any of thatinformation with my friends or
anything like that because Idon't want to get hopes up and
then be like, hey guys, I'm notgoing.
So yeah, no, but it's whenyou're traveling, it's it's just
(31:38):
you do you and your teammates,usually you're splitting rental
cars, splitting Airbnbs, hotels,places to stay.
SPEAKER_01 (31:45):
And you guys plan on being there for Christmas, New
Year's, it's just gonna be youand your buds.
SPEAKER_00 (31:52):
Exactly, right?
And that's one of the thingswith the sport that a lot of
people maybe not realize, andI'm sure other sports are like
this too.
When your season starts andyou're committed to it, there's
not flying back across theworld, right?
Like, it's not just like I'mgonna drive over to a state
away.
Like, that's a 12-hour flight,another six-hour drive to get
home and everything.
Yeah, like I've had to have aconversation with a lot of
(32:13):
friends and family family.
Like, guys, I'm gonna missbirthdays, I'm gonna miss
weddings, I'm gonna miss yourkids being born.
I love you guys, but I gotta godo this.
I told my family last Christmas,I was like, this will most
likely be the last Christmas Iam home for for probably eight
more years.
SPEAKER_01 (32:33):
That's tough.
But that commitment, you gottahave it.
I try to tell the kids, youknow, that I coach, I'm like,
you gotta, you gotta have thecommitment, you know.
A lot of people just want tocome and go, do this, do that,
you know, go to Hoko during, youknow, districts and regionals
and state, and it's just like,oh man, you guys don't
(32:53):
understand.
SPEAKER_00 (32:54):
I know, and that's like feeling the same way
coaching high school footballbefore this.
I was always like, you wish youcould instill your what you've
been through into that nextgeneration.
So it's like I because you don'twant them to miss out on how
great because you can see howgreat some kids are gonna be,
and you're like, Man, if youjust found it, you don't know
the world that would open up toyou.
SPEAKER_01 (33:15):
Exactly, but they gotta learn on their own.
You can only tell them and showthem so much, but you know, it's
a live and learn experience, andthat's what I just try to say
like live and learn and move on.
Exactly, exactly.
So with the hectic schedulecoming up, what keeps you going?
What keeps you just going fulltilt until it's time to you know
(33:40):
find the end results, you know?
SPEAKER_00 (33:44):
Yeah, honestly, it I think it day by day, right?
Like I'm only worried aboutwhat's going on today.
I'm not worried about what'shappening tomorrow.
And then I know if I do that,right, little steps at a time
are gonna get me to that biggergoal that I've already set
inside of my mind that I havefor 2029, that I have for 2030
and 2034.
But if I start looking so farinto the future, I'm gonna
(34:06):
forget what I need to do eachday to get me there.
So I really hone in on today'sthe only thing that matters.
Can't take can't do anythingtomorrow because that's the
future.
I can only take care of thepresent situation.
Now let's make sure I set myselfup to have a great future and
not a questionable future,right?
I don't want to get to thefuture and be like, did I do
everything possible to put me inthe position I want to be?
(34:29):
Or am I gonna be like, well,what if I would have done this
or this or this?
But it's like, no, I did thethings I needed to do to put me
exactly where I want to be.
Okay, why do you do what you do,man?
One, I do it for the friends andfamily that are backing me and
the community back home.
Like I couldn't do it withoutthose guys.
(34:50):
And then the greater picture ofall is just wearing the stars
and stripes, getting torepresent the USA on a national
scale is unfathomable,unfathomable, honestly.
And then when you're on top of apodium with a metal around your
neck and you hear the nationalanthem playing, it might be one
of the most electrifying andheartfelt moments I've ever felt
(35:12):
in my entire life.
And since feeling it last year,that is one of the feelings I am
chasing now, just trying tobring it to the Olympic stage.
SPEAKER_01 (35:23):
Gotcha.
Gotcha.
Do you get teary eyed whenyou're up there, man?
SPEAKER_00 (35:26):
Absolutely.
Like a little teary eyed,singing the national anthem.
It's it's amazing.
And then, like, when you get todo it for your friends too, it
it just hits deep at the sametime, too.
It's like I it's such anincredible emotion that I I
truly can't explain it unlessyou're there, even as a
spectator and a fan, and you getto join in in the national
(35:47):
anthem and sing it.
It's like you didn't win, we allwon.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
unknown (35:53):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (35:54):
All right.
Where can people find you, man?
SPEAKER_00 (35:57):
Best two places to find me.
One, my website, simple,andywittier.com.
And then two, I keep everythingupdated on social media.
So Instagram, which is the samething, Andy underscore woodyer
underscore.
Keep it simple.
SPEAKER_01 (36:11):
Yeah, and you can find that website on your
Instagram as well.
So pretty much Instagram.
unknown (36:15):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (36:16):
Yeah, Instagram's gonna be the best.
I've got my link tree, whichwill take you to Facebook,
LinkedIn, the website,everything like that.
unknown (36:22):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (36:23):
Got a couple of uh off-the-wall questions just to
get to know you.
Do you have cheat days?
SPEAKER_00 (36:29):
Uh my one cheat day, my teammates think I'm so weird
for this.
So we go through four-weektrading blocks over the summer,
and I eat zero sweets the entiretime.
SPEAKER_02 (36:40):
What?
How do you do that?
SPEAKER_00 (36:42):
And our and our chefs in Lake Placid are
amazing.
Like, there's there's always alittle dessert option at lunch
and dinner, and I don't have anyof it.
But I wait until that lastFriday of our block period, and
then I'll go get myself like anextra large chocolatey chocolate
chocolate milkshake.
And I'm like, man, I earn this.
But like in my mind, I gottaearn that treat.
(37:02):
I can't just have it every day.
SPEAKER_01 (37:04):
Yeah.
So that's your cheat.
That's my one cheat, yeah, is amilkshake every four weeks.
How many off days do you getduring that block?
SPEAKER_00 (37:14):
Just the weekend, Saturday, Sunday.
That's it.
Yeah, we train five days a week.
SPEAKER_01 (37:18):
Well, what do you do during the off days, man?
What do you do for fun?
SPEAKER_00 (37:23):
Oh man.
In Lake Placid.
So I was I'm thankful enoughthat I have a I got a truck
through one of my sponsors.
And so I drove my truck and mymotorcycle out to Lake Placid.
So if I'm not recovering in thetraining center, I am on my
motorcycle ripping through theAdderon X in upstate New York.
Better be careful.
(37:43):
Absolutely.
Yeah, I'm surprised.
I'm sure it's coming soon.
They're gonna be like nomotorcycles in the contract.
SPEAKER_01 (37:49):
Yep, insurance too.
They're gonna be like insurance.
unknown (37:53):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (37:54):
All right.
What movie inspired you?
The most you know, you get amovie, you're like, it hits the
fills, it's it's it's preachingthe choir.
SPEAKER_00 (38:08):
Honestly, one of the biggest ones that kind of
changed me.
My very first like emotionalmovie, what it's called Dead
Poet Society from the 90s withRobbie Williams.
That one kind of sticks true tomy heart.
Okay, all right.
SPEAKER_01 (38:21):
Now, with all this time, do you have time for a
lady?
SPEAKER_00 (38:25):
No, no, and I make sure I'm very clear about that
with anyone that tries talkingto me.
I'm like, look, I'm overseas forfive to six months.
I train for the other five tosix months, I am married to the
game.
I I think you're amazing, butthis is what I'm committed to.
SPEAKER_01 (38:43):
Gotcha.
Well, how does uh mom and popsfeel?
SPEAKER_00 (38:46):
They support it, they they're a ton.
I they're actually coming towatch the selection races in the
next three days, so it's they'rethey're fully on board.
SPEAKER_01 (38:54):
Nice, nice, nice.
Anything you want to add?
Anything I forgot?
SPEAKER_00 (39:00):
No, I think you know that I think just keep chasing
your dream.
Doesn't matter how old you are.
That's the biggest thing.
SPEAKER_01 (39:06):
Okay, Andy, it's been a pleasure, man.
I'm thankful that you put me onthe schedule.
I'm I'm glad you said yes.
Surprised you said yes.
I mean, I've had a lot ofathletes on here, a lot of
running, a lot of adrenaline,you know, rush junkies.
I'm not saying you are, butyou're kind of there.
I mean, headfirst, going howmany miles?
(39:29):
83 to 89.
There's something going onthere.
I won't say it put it out therelike that, but dude, it it's
it's crazy.
Just the sport that you're ingoing headfirst and what you're
gonna do, how you're gonna doit, and what you have to do to
be Olympian, hopeful.
(39:50):
So more power to you, man.
Andy, it's been a pleasure.
Want you back on.
I'm gonna be watching you forthe last time.
YouTube this weekend, correct?
SPEAKER_00 (40:02):
Yes, yes.
This weekend, Utah Olympic Parkon YouTube.
We start racing 8 a.m.
mountain time.
Andy, until next time.
Love it.
Thank you, Dave.
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