The Problem with Snowboarders with Olympian Scotty James

Scotty James joins Chelsea to talk about why his wife is the CEO of his life, his longtime rivalry and friendship with Shaun White, and argue about why snowboarders are just *cooler*.  Then: An expat in Greece needs to have a money conversation with her new man… but is it too soon? A skier wonders if she should transition to snowboarding.  And a wife-turned-Instagram Girlfriend has lost her love for the slopes.

 

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Need some advice from Chelsea? Email us at [e-mail]

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Executive Producer Catherine Law

Edited & Engineered by Brad Dickert

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Okay, guys, the High and Mighty Tour is about to begin.
Tour starts on February thirteenth, everybody, DC, I will see
you there to jump things off. February fourteenth, Atlantic City,
which I just added, Madison, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Detroit, Michigan, Cleveland, Columbus,
and Cincinnati, Ohio, Denver, Colorado, Portland, Maine, Providence, Rhode Island, Springfield, Massachusetts.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
April third, which is in Rohnert Park, California. That has
just been added.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Chicago, of course, Indianapolis, Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky, Albuquerque, Masa, Arizona,
Kansas City, Missouri, Saint Louis, Missouri, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Nashville, Tennessee, Charlotte,
North Carolina, Durham, North Carolina. May sixth, I'm doing Netflix
as a Joke festival. I will be in Los Angeles.

(00:48):
That is a new announcement. Saratoga, California, Monterey, California, Modesto, California,
and port Chester, New York, Boston, Massachusetts, Portland, Ore and Seattle, Washington.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
I will be touring.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
From February through June. Go to Chelseahandler dot com for
tickets if you want to come see me perform. I
will be on the High and Mighty Tour.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Hi Catherine, Hi Chelsea. How's it going well.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
I'm still recovering from Vegas. I had a real quick turnaround.
I did one of my shows this weekend for my residency.
I had a lot of people come, a lot of friends.
We went to dinner, then we went to my show.
Really fun, working on all my new material for my
new tour, and then we went and gambled. I won
thirty five hundred dollars. I mean, I'm unstoppable, basically. I've

(01:39):
also I'm betting on the super Bowl, so that's good.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Oh, she's a sports betting girly. Yeah, I'm bored. I'm
betting with sports. Yeah. Me and my new friend are
betting a lot.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
He's a gambler, so I've just decided to join his
gambling addiction.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
And I'm into it. As long as you keep winning,
it's great.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
But I had a six am flight out of Vegas,
so I got home at one point thirty and then
at four I was like, guys, I don't know that
I'm gonna make this flight. I said to my assistance,
I'm like you guys, so you know have a backup one,
but I don't like spending the day in Vegas, and
the next direct flight back to Vancouver was at four
forty five, so I went to bed at one thirty,
woke up at four point thirty to make my six

(02:15):
thirty flight, six fifteen flight out of Vegas to Vancouver.
I was drunk at the airport. I was a mess.
I got to Vancouver. I spent the entire time looking
at ridiculous videos of the people that trend where people
call their parents and say the police are coming following
them back to their house because they told them their
parents had fallen, so that when they get home to

(02:35):
their house, their parents have to be on the ground
acting like they felt down the stairs. I mean, I
was laughing so hard on the flight. I was so delirious.
I finally sobered up. I got to Vancouver. I get
off the plane and I forget I had a tote
bag because Carlos brings all my stuff from LA so
I don't have to travel with a lot. But I
forgot my tote bag, which had my computer, like all

(02:56):
my stuff.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
I left it in the overhead. Been just completely forgot.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
I hadn't even had bags yeah, walked all the way
to customs and this woman is like.

Speaker 2 (03:04):
Miss miss you left your bag in the overhead been
and she was another passenger. Oh my god, who ever
pays attention? And she didn't recognize me because she didn't
say miss handler. Yes, yeah she didn't. She was just like,
miss I brought this for you, you left me.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
And I'm like, oh my god, I'm like, who pays
attention to other people's luggage? Like I don't pay attention
to who's putting what in the overhead bit it was
real nice.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
I'm like, thank you so much. I mean it was Yeah,
that was stories of faith in humanity. I know, I know,
I know. I'm a lucky girl.

Speaker 3 (03:36):
Yeah, okay, I do have to ask you, what do
you think about all this Beckham drama?

Speaker 2 (03:39):
Are you keeping up on this a little bit about
Victoria Beckham and the kids?

Speaker 1 (03:45):
I mean, I don't really know anything about them, but
it tracks from what I do know, it does.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
It sounds plausible.

Speaker 3 (03:52):
I feel like there's probably bad behavior on both sides.
But I feel like the big red flag is that
the like son and daughter in law just had like
they renew their vows already, like they had a vow renewal.
I'm like, when you have to do that a year
or two in, Yeah, I think it's curtains. Yeah, it's
a bad sign. I think, yeah, you're probably right about that. Yeah,
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
I don't find that much interest in the and that
and that story. But I mean, yeah, it's kind of.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
I just like people airing their dirty laundry that I
find out.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
What about the Blake Lively and Taylor Swift messages and
all the what not? Even first of all, Taylor Swift
comes out looking awesome once again. Of course, Blake Lively
and Ryan Rednells like, oh my god, so embarrassing to
have all of those texts and voice memos released.

Speaker 2 (04:36):
It's so embarrassing.

Speaker 3 (04:38):
Can you imagine every random thing you texted your front
no way, no way.

Speaker 1 (04:42):
God is just like stop it. Those two must be
like under a curtain somewhere and like stop, make this
go away.

Speaker 3 (04:49):
They didn't get the Oprah advice of like imagine it
on the front page of the New York Times, like
whatever you're.

Speaker 1 (04:54):
Sending it a text or you think about that when
I text people anything, I'm like, does you imagine this
is going to be public at some point, because it
probably will well.

Speaker 2 (05:02):
Our guest today is going to the Olympics.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
I know, yes, you guys, the Olympics are happening. Today's
guest is a world champion and Olympic he's so funny too,
and an Olympic snowboarder, entrepreneur, philanthropists. He's won two Olympic medals,
ten X game medals, five World half Pipe Championship gold medals,
and he's headed to try and snag the gold this
month at the Olympics in Milan Courtina. His new documentary

(05:28):
is called pipe Dream. It's on Netflix now, so please
welcome Scottie James. Scottie James, Welcome to Dear Chelsea.

Speaker 4 (05:36):
Hi, Hi, thank you for having me.

Speaker 1 (05:38):
Thanks for taking the time to catch up during your
season with the Olympics about to happen.

Speaker 2 (05:44):
You're having an incredible season.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
I know you just won again in Switzerland, so congrats
on that.

Speaker 4 (05:50):
How are you feeling, I'm feeling good. Look, we needed
to catch up Chelsea before the Olympics. We know we're
approaching closely, so I just needed your inside before we
head over to Italy. But so far the season's been
been great. But now I'm feeling really good and yeah,
and naturally, obviously getting and went under the belt this
time of year is a good confidence boost. So yeah,

(06:12):
looking forward to the rest of the season.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
I want to know all of it.

Speaker 1 (06:15):
I want to know how what your process is, how
you maintain what you do before you race. I mean, listen,
your favorite to win gold at the Olympics this year,
so no pressure. You are a snowboarder, so I take
issue with that because we're going to have to discuss
that etiquette as well. The only two times I've been
hit on a ski mountain are by snowboarders, two snowboarders,

(06:36):
and one happened the other day too. But first of all, okay,
let's talk gold at the Olympics and Milan Courtina. So
tell me how you're feeling about it, How you look
at things like this, What do you do with the
pressure that is put upon you by being so good.

Speaker 4 (06:50):
At what you do? Yeah, I mean, naturally, coming into
this games, it's you know, you feel that pressure. I
think there's always the pressure you put on yourself, but
then you know, there's all this exterior pressure that people
put on you to want to they want you to
show up and deliver maybe the result that they expect,
and that's from the fans to your country that you're representing,

(07:10):
and I think most importantly more so myself. I think
I do go into every event with the intent to
want to do my best and put my best foot
forward to win, and that's the approach with the Games.
But yeah, I mean when you're out there wearing your
country colors and you're flat flying the flag and there's
obviously a lot more attention, you know, you feel that

(07:32):
pressure a bit more. But I mean it's my fifth
go around now, so from the pressure perspective, but also experience,
I feel a little bit more vintage, which is a
good thing I think in this case. So I'm no
to be honest, I'm really excited. I feel like I've
had a great preparation and the leadup's been awesome. So
I just have to focus on the important things like

(07:55):
fundamentals and making sure that I'm prepared from a practical
stamp point snowboarding and the rest will we'll do what
it will do.

Speaker 1 (08:04):
And what happens the day of what happens the day
of a big competition, Like are you superstitious?

Speaker 2 (08:09):
What is your regimen? What is your ritual.

Speaker 4 (08:12):
I don't have too many rituals. I necessarily do before
the event, but I always wear my red gloves in
the events, Like I guess that's a ritual. It's something
that I always have. I listened to a lot of
music actually when I'm training and competing as well, No
specific artists, just depends how I'm feeling on.

Speaker 2 (08:29):
The day, elevator music. Wait, what's with the red gloves?
Where did those come from? Is that to remind people
that you're a redhead?

Speaker 4 (08:35):
Exactly? Yeah, yeah, just because you know, I got so
much equipment on and you know, it's hard to see
the red hair sometimes. But now, in two thousand and seventeen,
I want to say, I won my first X Games
gold medal and I'd come from another event in Switzerland
and I saw these red gloves, which a brand at
the time had sent me in. Anyway, I put the

(08:56):
gloves on, and I felt like I was coming out
to fight a bit that week, a bit of strength
and adversity, and I won the event and it was
obviously a huge market event for us, and ever since
then it's been my thing. I always wear my red gloves,
so it's been a fun little narrative.

Speaker 2 (09:13):
Oh, I like that.

Speaker 1 (09:14):
There was just a gambling movie that I watched with
Colin Farrell where he wore gloves while he gambled, but
he lost all the time. And I'm like, how does
superstitions maintain when they don't work.

Speaker 2 (09:24):
A lot of the time, you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (09:25):
When people are like, I've got to do it this way,
I've got to do it, and it's like it's not
working for you, so stop doing that.

Speaker 4 (09:30):
He doesn't have the right gloves on your calling some
of the red.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
Onesah, how many pairs of red gloves do you have?

Speaker 4 (09:36):
By the way, many many? Well, we make our own gloves,
we sell them. But you know I also have I
mean through a season, I actually don't use that many.
Like one pair. They're pretty durable and good. But yeah,
in a season, I try and keep one pair because
when I wear one pair, it's a bit superstitious. Like

(09:56):
I'm like, I got to keep wearing them, particularly if
it's a good season.

Speaker 1 (10:00):
So yeah, And so I know you're friends with Sean Waite.
You guys are buddies, right, You competed a lot together
and now you've you've surpassed him. I mean you're the
greatest snowboarder of all time as we sit here today.
So how does that impact your relationship? Because I know
how insecure he is.

Speaker 4 (10:15):
I'm just kidding.

Speaker 2 (10:16):
I do know how insecure he is.

Speaker 4 (10:18):
So but we all are, We all are, That's very true. Well,
if you look hard enough, everyone's got one, that's right.
I think we have a good relationship. Actually, I think
naturally evolved over time because you know, I was a
little kid, put him on a pedestal and you know,
as a hero, and yeah, naturally, you know, with respect
the Shawn, he's one of the greats in my discipline.

(10:40):
So always looked up to him, and from when I
was a kid to watching to I guess to try
and emulate the kind of success he had in the career,
and then being able to do that in my own way,
and then us building a relationship on the mountain. Obviously competitors.
We both wore our heart on our sleeves at times.
There's ten to them, him retiring and now you know,

(11:02):
we text and we have a good relationship. So yeah,
it's been a fun journey, I guess, to say the least.
But yeah, I have a lot of respect for him.
I think he's been amazing on the hill.

Speaker 1 (11:12):
I want to know more about what you guys do
when you What do you do when you when when
you win?

Speaker 2 (11:16):
How do you celebrate?

Speaker 1 (11:17):
Because I was talking to Mikaela Schiffrin and she just
like found out about Champagne a year ago, and I'm like, sister,
what is the point of winning all of these and
being on all these podiums and winning all of these
races if you don't know how to celebrate. She's like,
it just never occurred to us. She's like, I didn't
even know. And then once I think she celebrated once,
she's like, oh wait, wait, wait, this is actually a
really good time.

Speaker 2 (11:38):
We should do this more often.

Speaker 4 (11:40):
Well, unlike Mikayla Shifferin and Chelsea, you be very proud
of me. I discovered the Champagne celebrations a little while ago.

Speaker 2 (11:48):
So you're Australian, so I do believe you. I do
believe you. The only people who drink more than Americans
are Australians, so I get it. Exactly where did you
grow up in Australia.

Speaker 4 (11:57):
I grew up in a little town about forty five.
I mean it's out of Melbourne. The city called Warrem Knighte.
So it's a tongue twister that you can try and
say it Warren Knight.

Speaker 2 (12:07):
Warren Date. Okay, I tried it and it worked. So
it's a huge six. Get a bottle of champagne.

Speaker 4 (12:13):
Hold on one second, You're allowed to enter our local pub.
It's like, you know, it's the right of passage if
you can say Warren Ntte. So yeah, no, little town
and my family still live there and I've got a
house not far from there.

Speaker 1 (12:25):
So yeah, and so how does one get into snowboarding?
I know a lot of skiing happens in Australia. People
come over here.

Speaker 2 (12:32):
I love.

Speaker 1 (12:33):
I'm in Whistler, Canada right now and where this mountain
is filled with ausie.

Speaker 2 (12:36):
So how did you start in? Like what age? You're
like three years old?

Speaker 4 (12:40):
Right? Yeah, I was really young when I started. I
don't even remember the first day, the first day I
went on the hill first time. I kind of remember snowboarding.
I would have been probably seven or eight years old,
maybe ten, but i'd started. Yeah, when I was three.
At least I was on skis I think for a
little bit, which is a bit controversial, but transferred over

(13:01):
to snowboarding. Yeah we I mean in Australia, we do
have mountains, we have snowy mountains.

Speaker 5 (13:07):
You know.

Speaker 4 (13:08):
My local resort in Australia's Threadbos. So we we just
don't have a long season, so we were always having
to travel overseas. I actually spent a lot of time
in Canada and BC. We just got a mountain called
Big White. I went to Whistler. Yeah, yeah, we loved
it over there. So my family weren't your typical Aussie
family playing tennis, to going to the beach or doing

(13:29):
you know those summer sports that most Australians do. We
were chasing the winter so it's fun.

Speaker 1 (13:36):
And so at what age did you go okay, this
is going to be I want to know how something
like this happens when you start so early, Like what
percentage of your parents' encouragement was it, what percentage passion
was it? Like what's the ratio of how things started
to get serious for.

Speaker 4 (13:51):
You in this sport. I would say I think others
made that decision for me, because you know, so young,
you don't really snowboarding. Such a young demograph we have.
You know, I'm now thirty one and I'm competing against
eighteen year olds, and even before that, if you're you know,
extraordinary talent, you're sixteen and you know you're competing with
the men. So it's you do have to start young

(14:13):
and get good young so you can start to repel
yourself into the career. So I really don't think I
realized that it was a professional career or something that
I would comprehend until I was about thirteen or twelve
or thirteen years old. But before that, you know, even
now speaking to my parents, they had to kind of

(14:34):
realize that dream for me. It is something that I
obviously wanted to do, but they had to create the
pathway for me from when I was, you know, seven
or eight years old. I obviously had no awareness of that.
I was just up on the mountain enjoying what I
was doing and having fun and I still do that,
but they were, you know, creating that avenue for me
if it's something that I really wanted to do down

(14:57):
the line. So that point would have been, I would
say twelve eleven or twelve years old was when I
was like, okay, I want to take that leap into
realizing this as a potential profession.

Speaker 1 (15:08):
Because you're one of you're the youngest of four kids. Yeah, yeah,
and so are you. Were you the only one in
your family that got that passionate about sport?

Speaker 4 (15:16):
Yeah, youngest in my family of four, the most spoilt one.
Apparently in the midst too.

Speaker 1 (15:21):
I'm the youngest of sex and it's the best position
to be in.

Speaker 2 (15:24):
The youngest is the best.

Speaker 4 (15:25):
I mean, Chelsea, look at us, we're the best. I mean,
it just is what it is, you know, but not
I think it was ten or eleven. I propelled myself
into it.

Speaker 3 (15:34):
I have a question about like, as your body is
changing when you're starting that young. I know, you're pretty
tall for a snowboarder, Like you're starting with one center
of gravity, and you know, growing into a very different
shaped human.

Speaker 2 (15:48):
What was that like and were there struggles with that?

Speaker 4 (15:51):
Absolutely? Yeah, I would. I would say I'm a very
differently shaped human up there on the mountain.

Speaker 1 (15:57):
Did you try to stunt your growth so it could
be a little bit more operational for you? I guess
it's not really having that much of an impact for you.
So if you were shorter, who knows if you'd be
able to accomplish all.

Speaker 2 (16:06):
Of these things.

Speaker 4 (16:08):
Yeah, I mean it might have helped, and maybe my
parents looked into that They're like, oh boy, how are
we going to stop this growth thing from happening? But no,
it's yeah. I mean a lot of my competitors are
five four five three six foot two, so it's a
it's a significant difference, And where that can be challenging is,
without getting into too much snowboarding lingo, the half pipe,

(16:31):
the walls twenty two foot high, and typically when you're
riding up the wall, you're hitting a lot of g force.
So when you have a lower center of gravity, you
naturally don't have as much force pulling you down into
the ground, and you can kind of just you're just
a little bit more in control. You have a bit
more awareness of your your surroundings. And for me, sometimes
I feel a little bit like Bamby, like my limbs

(16:51):
are flying every direction and I'm trying to pull them
back in. So I'm compact like the other guys, but
you know, naturally I also have some benefits whereas I'm
a bit heavier. So when it's snowing, we know we're
in an unpredictable profession where it snows, when there's a
lot of variables in those conditions, I'm a bit heavier,
so I can carry more speed. Amplitude is a big

(17:13):
criteria in our sport, so it can be also beneficial,
So I like to focus on the positives, I guess,
but it is a very big difference.

Speaker 2 (17:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (17:23):
Yeah, And you're married to your wife, says she's your
Your wife name is Chloe, she says, she's the CEO
of your life. She's an heiress to the Aston Martin fortune.
So you're basically a kept man by your wife. So
how does that feel as a professional athlete?

Speaker 4 (17:37):
Yep, she's the CEO of Scutty James, as she says,
and she keeps the trains on the tracks.

Speaker 2 (17:43):
Yeah, how did you lock that down? Scudy?

Speaker 4 (17:46):
Well, I mean, should we go down the whole the
whole story? She always says, I don't tell the story
in detail, but today I can make the exception of
doing that.

Speaker 2 (17:54):
Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (17:55):
We have a lot of female listeners, so they definitely
want the details.

Speaker 4 (17:58):
So yeah, gotcha. Okay, Well, I explained it in my
wedding speeches, me being Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City,
and I was in New York City walking down one
of the streets in New York and I was thinking,
you know, maybe tonight's the night my love story is
about to begin. And I was playing that that audio
in my head. Walked to a restaurant called Motel Morris

(18:20):
in New York City. It's on the corner of I
wan't say seventh and eighteenth, but I could be wrong.
We got to the restaurant, I met Chloe. I knew
her brother actually before I met Chloe connected us and
sure enough here we are married with a little little
guy as well, and I'm still friends with her brother.

Speaker 1 (18:38):
So so what was your move? What did you say
to her? When did you know that you liked her?
And then how did you follow up on it?

Speaker 4 (18:45):
M I mean, I think initially she was probably a
bit skeptical, had a very similar experience as yourself with snowboarders.
Her dad frankly didn't like the idea of a snowboarder.
Apparently when she was younger, she was also run over
by a snowboarder, so off to a bad start before

(19:06):
I even walked into the restaurant, so approval from dad
was like big no, no, snowboarder. Naturally, over time, the
accent played a bit of a role and you know,
we both shared a couple of bottles of wine and
that helps.

Speaker 1 (19:22):
Yes, yes, yes, okay, that does help. The accent also helps.
For some reason, Americans are just like, she's American, right, Canadian? Canadian?
Was same thing? Well actually not now, but usually it's
the same thing. But yes, yes, and we're suckers for accents.
It doesn't really matter which one any will do. We
just love an accent. So that gets you, That gets

(19:45):
you further for.

Speaker 4 (19:46):
Sure, hopefully in some cases. Yes, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (19:49):
And now you guys have a kid. You have a
one year old?

Speaker 4 (19:51):
Yeah, little Leo. He's one in a few months now.
I'm told myself, I'm not going to be the dad
that says like says it by the months. I'm like,
he's won in three months. I'm I'm not going to
be like a he's a twenty month No, I would
do it too confusing. Just he's one year and a bit.
That's where that's where he's at that moment.

Speaker 2 (20:10):
Yeah, exactly exactly. The people who talk in months.

Speaker 1 (20:13):
I once had somebody talk to me and said, Tommy
that her child was seventy two months.

Speaker 2 (20:18):
I was like, what, I was like, is that five?
What are you talking about do you mean five?

Speaker 1 (20:23):
I mean, I don't even know what seventy two months is,
but it's long and I don't have time for that.
Has your son hit the slopes yet? Have you put
him on a snowboard yet?

Speaker 4 (20:32):
Not yet? No? No. I went up on the hill
and I put him in the backpack and we went riding,
which was really fun. But I haven't got him on
the board yet. A lot of people ask me that question.
But we'll see when the time's right he can give
it a go.

Speaker 2 (20:46):
Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (20:46):
Okay, let's move on to snowboarding and why it's what
is the what is the problem? What when you are
not a professional athlete like yourself. I want to know,
and I don't want to shame snow borders. I'm dating
as somebody who's snowboards right now. I'm trying to transition
him to skiing, but I don't know that could be
a bigger commitment.

Speaker 2 (21:05):
But what is the issue.

Speaker 1 (21:08):
Between skiers and snowboarders and where does it come from?
And are there different two different sets of etiquette or
one set of etiquette?

Speaker 4 (21:15):
I mean, I think I think it's more so the
skiers have the problem with the snowboarders, not the other
way around. I mean, it's just it's the history.

Speaker 2 (21:24):
And but why is there such tension. Why why it's
like England and Ireland.

Speaker 1 (21:29):
Why you don't think snowboarders care about skiers. They don't
have a problem, They wouldn't want a snowboard only mountain.

Speaker 4 (21:37):
Yeah. I don't know what the gripe is between the two.
I don't have an agenda. I'm like, if you like
the mountains and you have as much fun as I do,
go ahead. But you know, maybe snowboarders in this case
where you're getting run over and you know, Chloe's been
run over in the past, is just not building a
great strong case for us. There's also mountains still in

(21:58):
the US where you're not allowed to snowboard. So yeah.
I actually, funnily enough, when I stayed at the hotel
at one of those mountains before, and it's quite a
strange experience, fighting with not going out on the hill
but staying in the hotels, felt like I was really
in the wrong territory.

Speaker 2 (22:16):
Where were you at Deer Valley? Are you talking about
Deer Valley?

Speaker 4 (22:18):
Yeah? I was there, Yeah, Yeah, I know.

Speaker 2 (22:21):
I love it there because there are no snowboarders. I mean,
I want us to get along. I do. I just
don't understand that. It's like it's like a different ilk.

Speaker 1 (22:28):
It's like they just come and it's so rough, and
then you hear them and you can't see them, and
and but it's not it's not the behavior of the
snowboard obviously, it's the behavior of the snowboarder. There's just
a more of all you.

Speaker 2 (22:42):
Guys think.

Speaker 4 (22:45):
No, then we don't think it. It's just that we
can talk about facts. I mean, it's it's important to
get back to the show. You know. We we're more comfortable.
We walk around like in shoes. You know, we could
wake up, roll out of our bed. It's like slippers
and I could wear those until I go to bed
at night. I just also think that skiers are a
little bit upset and they're just like they're just angry

(23:07):
that they can't do that.

Speaker 1 (23:08):
Here we go, here it comes. I don't think we
have a problem with skiers. And now he unleashes, unleashes
this vitriol. How old were you when you went to
your first Olympics?

Speaker 4 (23:19):
First Olympics, I was fifteen.

Speaker 2 (23:22):
Okay, so that's crazy, and how old were you when
you left home.

Speaker 4 (23:25):
I left home when I was sort of pursue it
when my parents decided, well and myself, it was all
of us and my family collectively decided I wanted to
pursue it professionally. I was twelve. I was really young,
so it was a massive commitment from my parents to
have the trust in my coach at the time and
his sister to look after me not only on the mountain,

(23:48):
but off the mountain as well. And through that time
from twelve, I was able to realize a professional career
in the sport. And then by fourteen I was offered
the opportunity to go on wrappers in Australia, which was
a unique special experience and you know, fortunately making it there.
I was fifteen at the time and taking full adventage

(24:09):
of all the free McDonald's in Vancouver.

Speaker 1 (24:12):
That's nice that you could take you McDonald's while you're
a teenager growing up and.

Speaker 4 (24:17):
The case anymore, No, no, you can't.

Speaker 2 (24:19):
As soon as you're an adult. You have to stop that.

Speaker 1 (24:22):
But what was it like leaving your family at twelve
years old? I mean that must have been emotional and
for all of you guys, for your siblings, for your parents,
for you.

Speaker 4 (24:32):
Yeah, it was hugely emotional. And recently we just made
a documentary and for the first time in a long time,
you know, it was kind of the first time that
I'd really heard everyone else's experience about that. I mean,
it's almost been twenty years since since that moment when
I left Melbourne and going away overseas on my own.

(24:54):
I remember being at the airport and it was just
the floodgates are open. Everyone was very emotional, myself included.
All the way through the flight from Melbourne to Sydney,
I was crying, and then all the way over to Europe.
And yeah, I think that my parents didn't even realize
how emotional I was until we watched the film recently.
And then I didn't realize out their side of the

(25:17):
story until we watched it recently as well. And my
mum said to me the other day, She's like, you know,
if we had have known how upset you were, we
never would have sent you. And I said to Mum,
I was like, yeah, but look what we've realized, Like
as much as much as it was so hard in
the moment, and you know, I do think that all
extraordinary things that you want to try and accomplish takes hardship,

(25:40):
and you know that was mine. But I was able
to travel with great people and I was in a
good and safe environment. It was a challenging time. But
it's nice to reflect on now.

Speaker 2 (25:51):
Yeah, I would imagine it just gives you so much. A.

Speaker 1 (25:54):
You grew up real quick, right, and B you just
become really independent and self sufficient at a young age,
even if you do have people helping you.

Speaker 4 (26:03):
Yeah, definitely. And I think you know even more so
is you know the stigma. It's snowboarding, it's smarking, it's drinking,
it's partying, it's you know, it's it's a wild same
still today as.

Speaker 1 (26:15):
I love all things I love and start snowboarding exactly,
you can do that while you ski.

Speaker 2 (26:21):
Also, by the way, just.

Speaker 4 (26:25):
So my parents isn't there naturally, I mean now I'm
a data would be thinking about that. The environment and
the and the world you got into. It's evolved a
lot since then, but yeah, a lot of factors for
them to think about, which I'm sure and I lost
sleep over.

Speaker 1 (26:38):
Yeah, and also I'm sure, and also it's such a
and you're the baby on top of it.

Speaker 2 (26:43):
But it's also such a solitary sport.

Speaker 5 (26:45):
You know.

Speaker 1 (26:46):
It's like, I mean, I guess all these kind of
mountain sports are very solitary unless you're doing you know,
like you know, you're working together. But like, how does
how does that impact your relationship with other athletes, and
how does it impact your relationship with your coaches like
you become is it like would you compare it to
maybe like a tennis player or do you feel more

(27:06):
like you're on more of a team.

Speaker 4 (27:08):
Yeah? Sure, so I think the unique thing about snowboarding
or our world, which is very cool, is everyone does
have a good relationship. So you're up there at the
top of the pipe, for example, you know, some might
wish each other luck, like it's a little bit more
call it happy go lucky in the sense of being
a little bit less cutthroat. I'm probably more so on

(27:29):
the other side where I'm up there, I have intention,
I'm not necessarily focused on making friends in that exact moment.
But yeah, I would say that there is a sense
of solitude that you have to be okay with being alone,
be okay with being extremely selfish about what your endeavors are.
You're you're not doing it for anyone. You have to

(27:51):
be so I guess obsessed with the craft to want
to do it for yourself. I've always found my team
is more so you know, my family, other people that
have helped me in my journey. Like that's the kind
of weight that I ride with. Is. I'm doing it
because it wouldn't be satisfying enough for me if I
was just up there with my own intent every week
to just do it for myself. I think my team

(28:12):
is I want to do well for them. But yeah,
you're right, there is. It's a little bit more like
a tennis player rather than a football team for sure.

Speaker 2 (28:21):
M Yeah, that's interesting.

Speaker 1 (28:23):
Well, I mean you get to travel all over to
the world to train in different places.

Speaker 2 (28:28):
What is there anywhere you prefer never to go back to?

Speaker 4 (28:32):
Uh? We did World Championships in Georgia a couple of
years ago.

Speaker 2 (28:39):
Georgia the country the country?

Speaker 4 (28:41):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the country in Georgia. I forget the
name of the mountain. We were very far from anywhere
more so it's actually the country was cool, but this
where we were, the weather conditions it was out there,
so probably there.

Speaker 1 (28:57):
I think Georgia is the country where I saw that
video that viral one year with like the gondola where
the gondola chairs were put on backwards and then they
started turning. They they've flipped it and reversed it, and
then people were just flying off of the gondola because
it was coming around like sixteen kilometers an hour.

Speaker 4 (29:15):
It was like flippingly sounds like sounds like something I
would have seen when I was there, So it probably was.

Speaker 2 (29:23):
Yeah, tell us about your documentary. I want to hear
about that.

Speaker 4 (29:27):
Yeah, it was. It's been really fun. I mean, as
the we made the documentary called pipe Dream and came
out on Netflix and December nineteen, so it's still early
days fun, which is yeah, it has been awesome, and yeah,
I think overall it's obviously incredibly rewarding to have been
able to go on such an amazing platform for myself,

(29:49):
but also just for snowbarding. Is really exciting just to
get more people, hopefully more viewers and eyes and everyone
engaged in and what we're doing here in the mountains.
And it was a pretty emotional like process getting it
all together and obviously hearing from my family and other
peers and hearing from other you know, snowboarding competitors present

(30:13):
in the past, and so it's quite cool to hear
a lot of people's perspective which I actually haven't heard before.
So yeah, it was a rewarding process, long process, but
really really cool. And I've never told my story like
that before, which was which was fun to do.

Speaker 2 (30:28):
Yeah, I can't wait to see it.

Speaker 1 (30:30):
That's that's that must be really interesting to see all
these people talk about you, because I think in life,
you know, we talk about this a lot on this podcast,
like you don't really have time necessarily to reflect on
things like especially when you're going, like you're an athlete,
like you're training all year long.

Speaker 2 (30:45):
Literally what you have like a month off a year
or something? Is that right? A month off?

Speaker 4 (30:50):
Yeah? Yeah, it's probably say three months because you go
Northern Hemisphere season which starts in October, goes through to
April week of May, then you have June off, then
you you know, then the Southern Hemisphere win to start,
so you're kind of obviously is always constantly chasing winter,
so you get a few months off a year.

Speaker 1 (31:12):
Okay, So if you had to describe before we move
on to the next part of that, I just want
to I want to know what you when you are
starting and you're competing, and you're listening to music to
get ready once it starts. What is in your head
if you fall behind by a fraction of a second
or you don't hit the same there's something that you
want to hit. What do you say to yourself in
that moment when something doesn't land like it's supposed to

(31:34):
land one hundred percent?

Speaker 4 (31:36):
Honestly, I reflect on in that exact moment, I'd just say,
fuck it, let's just go get it done, because you
can spend so much time thinking about, Oh, I should
have done this better, did I prepare well enough? What's
he going to do? You know, everyone's watching, everyone's expecting.
It's like, that's what I do. I just say effort,

(31:58):
And I think there is this really amazing piece in
being able to say that confidently, because that's like the
best part about what I do is when you can
drop in and just be so present in the moment
with every trick and enjoying the environment. That's what That's
what I try and focus on. It would be in

(32:19):
the case. I'm sure it's similar for you. If you're
going out for a big gig or doing stand up,
it's like, you've prepared so much, you have ten more seconds.
What else can you do other than just be like, like,
let's just get after it and see how we go
and if things happen, it happens, and you're going to
learn from it. And that's what I do. Embrace that

(32:40):
a lot. I think that, you know, you do spend
a lot of time preparing, and you can become way
too meticulous and overthinking and over over everything that you
end up actually giving yourself. You have no satisfaction because
you're like, well, what was all the work for if
I can't just embrace the moment?

Speaker 1 (32:56):
So I do focus on that, yeah, yeah, And do
you find that that's different now as you've gotten older,
that you're more in the present moment than you were
when you were competing as a younger person.

Speaker 4 (33:06):
Definitely, one hundred percent, I think naturally, you know, still young,
but going through you know time when you're younger, you
do spend and waste so much time thinking about things
that just do not matter at all, whether that's on
the mountain or off the mountain. You know, I did that,
went through that, whereas now I'm very much yeah, very present,

(33:27):
you know, I know what I want to accomplish. I
know who I am as a person. My two feet
are on the ground, and I do lean into that.

Speaker 1 (33:35):
Like if you had one weakness that you would that
you would like to work on, or that you were
working on, what would that be.

Speaker 4 (33:41):
It's a good question. I My weakness would probably.

Speaker 2 (33:45):
Be besides being a snowboarder.

Speaker 4 (33:49):
Besides being a snowboater, it would be, to be honest,
It's still it's funny like even after having found such
a groove in you know, maybe whatever you do find
success as in my case, being able to compete really
well and do well in advance, is still belief. Like you,
I still have moments where you know you prepare so

(34:11):
well and you're like, all I have to do is
show up and put my best foot forward and land
a really amazing run and it all you know, it'll
go my way where well enough and in tune enough
that we know when we have the tools to win.
If you don't, you know where you're kind of at.
And I still sometimes I battle with that belief of

(34:32):
can I actually realize now what I'm trying to accomplish
and have I taken the right steps to get there?
So I would say that that's something that I continue
to work on. But because as much as I still
I am working on, I also think it's kind of
my blessing because then I don't take advantage of any
day every opportunity is an opportunity. I try and squeeze

(34:55):
every opportunity that I can training, And maybe that's that
lack of belief that it makes me go overboard in
term with my preparation my training. So I don't know,
it's probably whether it's a weakness or maybe it could
might not be, but that would be right, Yeah.

Speaker 1 (35:10):
I mean circling back to this subject or the like
the topic of reflection, like I always think, you know,
if there's something big, high stakes in my life which
is obviously very different than yours, but like I always think, okay,
think about all the things that led to you being here, Like,
think about all of where you came from. So like
when I talk about reflection, like I know, as an athlete,
you're you know, you're moving so fast, you're training so much,

(35:31):
you have limited time off or limited off season, and
it's like you you really have to take note of
where you began and where you've come, how far you've
come you know, as a reminder for anyone really in
any situation, it's like, oh, I'm the one who got
myself all the way here, obviously with help of coaches
and support from your family, et cetera, but to and

(35:52):
your wife, but also.

Speaker 2 (35:53):
To really remember, like how you know how far you've come?

Speaker 4 (35:57):
Yeah, definitely. And I think that the one I always
sit on a lot is the courage. I think everyone
we all have passions, we all have something that we
want to realize in our lives. And I feel very
fortunate that I'm one of the ones that was had
the courage to actually continue and go for it, particularly

(36:18):
with you know, the setbacks that you have when you're young.
And I think that's across a lot of people always
ask me like, oh, who do you look up to?
Who do you know admire in your life? And to
be honest, I don't have one person. It's always people
that I look at and I hear their story and
I hear about their adversity and their courage who actually
pursue what they want to do in their life. And

(36:39):
that's hard. So I do focus on that too. Is
the courage. Takes a lot of courage to actually commit
to your passion in life. And I've done that, which
has been rewarding and fortunately worked out. But yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (36:54):
People always say that to me. Who do you look
up to?

Speaker 4 (36:56):
Like?

Speaker 2 (36:56):
Who is your favorite?

Speaker 1 (36:58):
I was like, well, Bill Cosby, but that didn't really
work out for me, So I have to stop mentioning it.

Speaker 2 (37:02):
That's not it's not a hero anymore.

Speaker 1 (37:04):
Anyway, We're gonna take a break and we're gonna be
right back with Scottie James. Okay, And we're back with
Scotty James.

Speaker 2 (37:15):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (37:16):
Scotty James is on his way to the Olympics. So
and this is not his first time at the Olympics.
This is your fifth time.

Speaker 2 (37:21):
At the Olympics.

Speaker 4 (37:22):
Fifth Yes, vintage.

Speaker 1 (37:24):
Yeah, vintage, fifth time, my gosh. Okay, So we now
we take questions from caller Scotty.

Speaker 2 (37:30):
Are you ready?

Speaker 1 (37:31):
I'm ready, You seem ready, You seem ready, yes, Catherine, what.

Speaker 2 (37:34):
Do we got?

Speaker 5 (37:35):
All? Right?

Speaker 3 (37:35):
Well, we're gonna start with a couple skiing snowboarding questions,
but then move on to some interpersonal, juicy stuff.

Speaker 1 (37:41):
So then we're gonna move on to some guynecology questions
just to keep you comfortable exactly right in your Wheelhouse.

Speaker 3 (37:47):
So we're gonna start with a brand news segment, which
is our one drink question. And this is just a
little quickie. So our listener says, Dear Chelsea, this is
not an incredibly deep question.

Speaker 2 (37:58):
It is about skiing.

Speaker 3 (38:00):
I grew up snowboarding and decided I wanted to switch
to skiing after college. For longevity purposes. I visualize a
fifty year old version of myself who is a badass
gear and spends a third of my year and tell
you're ride.

Speaker 2 (38:11):
Here are my questions.

Speaker 3 (38:12):
One what age did you start spending serious time skiing?

Speaker 2 (38:16):
Do you think thirty one is too late now?

Speaker 4 (38:18):
Two?

Speaker 3 (38:19):
How long did it take you to feel confident on blacks?
With age, my fearlessness has faded and I'm frustrated with
how much hesitation I have going down the mountain. How
many lessons did you have before you felt really capable
and confident to handle all terrain?

Speaker 2 (38:33):
Great questions. I love it. First of all, I didn't
start getting.

Speaker 1 (38:36):
Into skiing like seriously, seriously until I was like thirty nine.
I mean, I skied for in my thirties, but I
didn't start like taking like actual private instruction which are
pretty expensive.

Speaker 2 (38:47):
So if you can afford that, great, But.

Speaker 1 (38:49):
If not, your fearlessness gets replaced by competency. I would say,
you know, what you lose in fearlessness, you gain incompetency
and capability. So the more time you spend and on
the mountain, and the more runs you do in bad conditions,
in good conditions, in powder and groomers, all of it,
you become a better skier. And I like, I'm a

(39:10):
really good skier now. I could ski down pretty much anything.
My friends took me down something like two days ago
that I was like, if I had done that ten
years ago, I would never have taken I would never
have made it right. I would have been like, no way,
So that would have felt really good. But you know,
thirty one, Yeah, you're down. You could do whatever it takes,
like I think it takes a good one hundred days
on a mount but you want to get instruction from

(39:31):
someone who knows what they're doing so you don't create
really bad habits and then beat up your body, right Scotty.

Speaker 4 (39:38):
Whoever asked the question lost me it. I transferred to skiing.

Speaker 1 (39:42):
So my comment, first of all, and also to our
writer in you're doing the right thing by leaving snowboarding
and transferring to skiing. Scotty and I are from two
different schools of thought obviously, and I support you one
hundred percent.

Speaker 2 (39:57):
And that's it. Problem solved, all right? It cheers.

Speaker 4 (40:01):
Is that our one trick? Yes, Scotty and I can
confirm Chelsea is actually looking at potentially you told me
earlier you're looking at doing some instructing at a local resort.
So maybe, right, maybe you could take that on.

Speaker 2 (40:15):
I got to get my level ones first. I gotta
get my level three and four.

Speaker 4 (40:19):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (40:19):
Double blacks, Yeah, it takes a while to get down there.
But by the way, once you get good at skiing
and double black you don't even look at whether it's
black or blue or it doesn't matter. You're fine.

Speaker 4 (40:29):
It's true now that to second you, you're right. I
think the more consistency you have and the more often
you do it and your curiosity is the way you
will win. So go for it. But you should stand
on board.

Speaker 2 (40:42):
Yeah all right.

Speaker 3 (40:44):
Well, our first caller today is Jess, and she is
calling in from Vancouver. So she says, dear Chelsea, I've
fallen up. This is another skiing question, but it will
make sense to you, Scottie. So I've fallen out of
love with skiing. Growing up, some of my best memories
were spent on the slopes, and I chose a grad

(41:04):
school partly based on proximity to a hill. Post COVID,
I took a break from my studies and moved to Queenstown,
New Zealand to work on the ski field. I got
paid to ski every day and loved it. Wanting to improve,
I signed up for a ski instructor exam. I really
enjoyed developing my technique, and Chelsea, I too, ended up
sleeping with my ski instructor.

Speaker 2 (41:23):
We're now married.

Speaker 3 (41:25):
My husband is a highly skilled now sports professional and
skiing is central to his world. But within that world
I often don't feel welcome. When we're with his friends,
conversation revolves almost exclusively around ski technique and criticism of
the industry, and I largely feel excluded. Being surrounded by
constant evaluation has made me wonder what he thinks about

(41:45):
my skiing, what his peers think too. It's such a
visible sport, and I've seen the ego driven underside of it.
Over time, I've come to associate skiing with feeling inferior
when my husband and I do ski together, the days
have slowly morphed into being about filming him for YouTube
and marketing his way business. I've become the cliche. I've
become the cliche Instagram girlfriend. We moved to BC a

(42:06):
couple of years ago and have incredible skiing available to us.
We've had conversations about this, but I find myself sabotaging
ski days by offering just a film without being asked,
just to avoid skiing myself.

Speaker 2 (42:18):
Honestly, I'd rather be in the lodge with a margarita. Chelsea.

Speaker 3 (42:21):
How can I build my ski self esteem and fall
back in love with the mountains again?

Speaker 2 (42:25):
Thanks so much, Jess.

Speaker 1 (42:27):
Well, Jess, it feels like you got to find a
group of like women to ski with so that you
don't feel like that you got a new I mean,
it doesn't even have to be women. It just has
to be people that aren't that judgy or so psychotically
talking about skiing all the time.

Speaker 2 (42:40):
That's not fun either.

Speaker 1 (42:40):
Nobody wants to talk about technique all the time unless
you're Scotty and you're on your way to the Olympics
and that's all you have.

Speaker 2 (42:46):
To talk about.

Speaker 4 (42:47):
Even I don't do that, I promise.

Speaker 1 (42:50):
Yeah, actually go back and tell them Scotty James doesn't
even talk about it as much as you guys do,
and he's competing in the Olympics.

Speaker 5 (42:57):
Yeah. When I was in New Zealand, we had worked
in the industry a little bit and I found some
group of women that were a little bit less intense
about it, so it was really fun. But I haven't
quite found that yere in BC and Canada. But yeah,
I think that's a great idea.

Speaker 2 (43:11):
But you know what, you could find ski groups online.

Speaker 1 (43:14):
You know there's like I'm in a ski group on Saturdays,
like Club Link at Whistler Black Home where I ski.
You know, we have a guy that just cuts the
lines for us, you know when it's busy and like
takes us.

Speaker 2 (43:23):
It's fun. You can do that.

Speaker 1 (43:25):
You can join and then Cyprus and Grouse are in Vancouver.

Speaker 2 (43:29):
I mean that's so much fun night skiing. I love that.
But yeah, I would just change the channel. Like, first
of all, stop.

Speaker 1 (43:35):
Going and recording your boyfriend husband whatever he is, Like,
why what are.

Speaker 2 (43:39):
You as assistant? I mean that's not fun for anyone.
I mean, do you have children, No, not yet exactly but.

Speaker 1 (43:47):
That's why you shouldn't been filming anybody, because he's an
adult man. I mean, you know, Scotty, what do you
have to say to this anything?

Speaker 4 (43:56):
I would say. Firstly, you welcome over to our side
any day of the week. The snowboarding can get you
some snowboards, yeah we can. We can bring you in.
It'll be a warm welcome. Secondly, it's actually really interesting.
My ears pricked up when you said that you sometimes
don't feel like you fit in into conversation. It doesn't
matter your level. I have that same feeling in my world.

(44:19):
Sometimes there's maybe a certain type of person or a
certain type of you know, way that people perceive snowboarders
or skis in this case to be and if you
don't fit that mold, you don't really feel like you're
a part of what they're doing. And it's you know,
even for me, I always got a bit insecure about that.

(44:39):
But I think that the second that you realize, I
guess who you are and what you're doing and why
you're actually even out there. Like firstly, you're just wanting
to have fun, and that's what anyone should be up
there doing. If you're not pursuing it professionally, I think,
just find a bit of sanity and that you actually
enjoy it. And if people start to have a go
at you about not being on that level of knowledge,

(45:01):
like he gives a shit, it doesn't matter, like at all.

Speaker 5 (45:05):
It is quite a made up sport, I suppose to,
you know, unless you're in a gate and you're trying
to get from A to B really quickly, or you're
being judged on specific criteria.

Speaker 4 (45:15):
Is made up.

Speaker 5 (45:16):
So I do try to tell myself that, like, it
doesn't really matter what I look like. I'm still having
fun and that's the point. But but yeah, there's definitely
a little bit of ego and I think that comparison
that yeah.

Speaker 2 (45:26):
But that's men. I mean that's why, like don't sky
with a group of men, Like that's just not fun.
You know, you have solution.

Speaker 4 (45:32):
Yeah, it's like one exceptions.

Speaker 1 (45:35):
Yeah there are Scott, You're seem like a really nice guy,
but again, you know, still a snowboarder, a world champion,
but a snowboarder nonetheless, So you just got to get
you got to change the channel and decide who you're
skiing with and just be honest with your partner and
be like, listen, it's not fun. I don't feel like
I want to have fun on skis. I'm like losing
my love. Have you expressed that to him, by the way.

Speaker 6 (45:54):
Yeah, we've We've talked about it a bit.

Speaker 5 (45:56):
I think the worst season was last season, just I
didn't actually get as day to ski to myself, But
he knows how I feel. The issue is that he's
trying to make YouTube his business, and I'm kind of
tied into that as well, right, Like, he doesn't really
have anyone else to go out with him, so sometimes
sometimes I kind of get pulled into that. But I

(46:17):
guess trying to make that boundary or draw that line.

Speaker 2 (46:19):
A college student, find a college student to do that.

Speaker 6 (46:22):
Yeah, okay, that's a good idea.

Speaker 1 (46:23):
Great idea, And I wasn't going to say that, but
I was going to say, you can also do you know,
you do something for him and then he does, you know,
and then okay, in exchange for that, you get to
go skiing alone, or you go skiing with a group
of people, or you go skiing and he's not allowed
to talk about skiing for the entire day. You know,
like figure out what the compromise is while you're skiing.

Speaker 2 (46:42):
He's you're not allowed to talk about skiing. Wall we're skiing.

Speaker 4 (46:47):
It's one margarite, I mean, come on, yeah, oh good negotiation.

Speaker 1 (46:51):
What is your drink of choice on the mountain, Scotty,
When you can have a drink when you are celebrating,
what is it?

Speaker 4 (46:56):
Good question after like an event? Probably champagne.

Speaker 1 (47:01):
Actually yeah, I mean that's because they're spraying it all
over you so readily available.

Speaker 4 (47:06):
Yeah yeah, I like.

Speaker 1 (47:07):
A moscow mule on the mountain, or I like a
stiff margarita because I like to have a margarita juice
boost at around eleven. If I go out around nine,
I like to stop, have a little margarita at eleventh,
and then.

Speaker 2 (47:17):
Go back out and have a little more bravery.

Speaker 4 (47:19):
This is this is the Olympics of Skiing drinking knowledge
by Chelsea.

Speaker 2 (47:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (47:24):
Yeah, so there you go, Jess, and hopefully I'll run
into you one of these mountains.

Speaker 5 (47:29):
Yeah yeah, we're going to go into the interior in
a few weeks in February.

Speaker 2 (47:32):
So fun.

Speaker 1 (47:33):
But yeah, yeah, oh good, Okay, well yeah, but don't
lose your love, you know, if you love skiing, like
make sure you like you've got to like garden your passions,
you know what I mean, just like you have to
like garden your relationship. You have to like make sure
you do what you want to do and enjoy something
that you love that you like kind of got ruined
by somebody else.

Speaker 2 (47:50):
Like don't let that, don't let them take that away.

Speaker 1 (47:53):
You know, go and be like true to yourself and
get back out there.

Speaker 3 (47:58):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (47:58):
I think the idea of finding women to ski with
is a good one.

Speaker 1 (48:01):
Yeahs always if you're a woman. I like, you know,
skiing with women. I like women guides every I'm like,
if she could move her body like that, then I
can move my body like that. You know, it's easier
sometimes with a woman when you are a woman.

Speaker 6 (48:13):
Yeah, that's a good point. Okay, thanks to think about it.
Thank you guys.

Speaker 2 (48:17):
Okay, great, thanks for going. Take care.

Speaker 6 (48:19):
Thanks.

Speaker 2 (48:20):
Thanks.

Speaker 1 (48:20):
I would love to do and like a thing where
they had to with spectators had to compete drinking while
at the Olympics and then interviewing the athletes after who
could do that the best?

Speaker 2 (48:30):
And that would be me. I would now lose my shit.

Speaker 1 (48:33):
The more alcohol in my system, the more clarity I get.

Speaker 4 (48:37):
I mean, I think that's a fair pitch.

Speaker 2 (48:39):
I do too. Actually, I don't know why I'm not
doing that. I don't know.

Speaker 1 (48:42):
They must have hired somebody else, somebody more reliable. Okay, Catherine,
what else? What else do we got?

Speaker 5 (48:48):
Well?

Speaker 3 (48:49):
Our next caller is Rebecca. She says, you're Chelsea. I
am a forty two year old who moved to a
Greek island on my own just over a year ago.
After nannying and waiting tables my whole life, I decided
it was time to live my dream and stop waiting
for my person for my life to begin. So I
use my savings to do the Golden Visa and buy
property in Greece, while giving myself a few years to

(49:10):
really give my all to my business and gain clients.
I know it will take some time to support this
life financially. With a savvy budget, I can support myself
with savings for another year until my business picks up,
or I have to go back to the US and
find another nanny job. Recently, I got on a dating
app and found a really great guy who's also an expat.
Our relationship is quite new, but we're very compatible and

(49:32):
we're falling fast for each other. He's in a very
different financial situation. He recently retired. He's in his fifties,
with plenty of money, and is constantly taking lavish vacations
all over the world. At first, it sounds amazing, right,
But when I really think about it, I'm not in
a position to actually join him on these vacations. Even
though I can work from anywhere. Just paying for one
splurgey meal on a trip would cost the same as

(49:53):
my budget for two weeks here. So my question is
how and when do I approach this money conversation. I
just turned down trips with him. He's currently angling for
a getaway to the Maldives. We're only six weeks in,
so is it too soon to talk finances?

Speaker 2 (50:08):
Rebecca Well, I mean, hi, Rebecca, how are you?

Speaker 5 (50:12):
Hi?

Speaker 2 (50:13):
Hi?

Speaker 1 (50:13):
This is our special guest, Scottie James. He's heading to
the Olympics. He's the best snowboarder of all time. So
you came to the right place because he's got lots
of answers for you.

Speaker 2 (50:23):
Has it come up yet? Have you guys been on
a vacation?

Speaker 1 (50:26):
I mean, usually the person that wants to go on
the vacation that badly is happy to pay for it,
but have have you guys been on a vacation like
that together, like a nice vacation.

Speaker 7 (50:35):
Yet Yeah, we went to Vienna for New Year's He
paid for most of it, but I had to pay
for my plane ticket, which wasn't that much, but it's
still significant for me. So I just kind of have
to measure, like how many times can I do that.
We're going to Santorini in a couple weeks, and again
he's paying for the trip, but I'm paying for my
plane ticket, and so yeah, it's you know, I'm not

(50:58):
really sure how to I'm not great at time talking
about it yet, and I'm not sure because it's so new,
what the best way to do it is.

Speaker 1 (51:04):
Yeah, well I don't think for Yeah, I know it's
not a sexy conversation to talk about finances, especially when
they're like you're strapped for them, But I think you
should just have a very honest conversation and just let
him know, like what your situation is. Be like, I'm sorry,
I'm not as established like these vacations really, Like even
the plane ticket is a lot for me, that's like
my budget for however, I mean, plane tickets are fairly
if you're in Greece and you're going to Santorini.

Speaker 2 (51:26):
Obviously that's a little bit more affordable.

Speaker 6 (51:29):
Yeah, yeah, that's true. That's true.

Speaker 7 (51:31):
It's more that they that they add up and yeah,
and also just things like this summer, I don't like
to be here for August because it's too hot and
too crowded. So like, if I were single, I would
be looking for a house swap or looking to house
it like something free that I could do.

Speaker 6 (51:48):
Like, he keeps talking.

Speaker 7 (51:48):
About going to the Maldives, and he keeps like hinting,
like do you want to come or not? He has
actually directly said that, but he said, like, do you
like the Maldives?

Speaker 6 (51:56):
Do you think you'd ever want to come? So it's
like we're not quite there.

Speaker 7 (51:59):
Yet to like plan that, But then I need to
also be planning my my life just in case we
don't go.

Speaker 1 (52:06):
But I think you should enter this card, Listen, Scott,
he's married to an heiress, so he's in the same
boat basically as you are. Okay, but I think you
should just bring a lightness to this conversation and be like, Listen,
I am excited about all of this potential, and I
know we're very new but I just really.

Speaker 2 (52:26):
Want to be transparent.

Speaker 1 (52:27):
This should be like an in person conversation about where
you are financially, what your plan is. Like everything you
just mentioned in your letter is worthwhile knowledge. Like you
move to Greece, you have a year to set up
your business, you know, or before you have to go
back to the States, which you definitely don't want to
do right now. So you, like, you know, just be
very transparent without asking or expecting, you know what I mean,

(52:48):
just saying like I want to figure this out together,
and I don't expect you to pay for everything. I
want to contribute, So what's the best way I can
do that. Maybe there's a different way that you can
contribute that isn't fiduciary, you.

Speaker 2 (53:00):
Know, like, well maybe you can, you know, I don't know.

Speaker 1 (53:03):
Maybe you can be involved in the planning more, or
you could pick up the restaurants or do some more
of the legwork, you know, figure out a way to
contribute if he's cool with it. But I think you
should just you know, don't make it dire, just say hey,
I want to just start talking about this. I know
it's not a sexy conversation, but I want to be transparent,
and I don't want to like take advantage of this situation,
you know what I mean, just be very honest. I

(53:24):
think that gets the ball rolling in the right kind
of candor and transparency. Especially at the beginning of a relationship.
It's important to say those things.

Speaker 6 (53:33):
Yeah, okay, Yeah, that's really helpful.

Speaker 3 (53:36):
Yeah, and then also giving him the option of, like,
if it doesn't work for you know, you to spring
for the vacation, like I'm totally cool to do a
house swap, and like I'll see in a month.

Speaker 2 (53:44):
When you get back from the Mamaldi's.

Speaker 6 (53:47):
Yeah, yeah, threaten him.

Speaker 2 (53:51):
Who knows who I might meet that time? Yeah, who
knows well to meet while you go to the Maldives.
That always.

Speaker 4 (53:58):
Congrats on having the courage to move to try something different.
I think that I think that takes a lot of carage.
So respect for doing that.

Speaker 2 (54:08):
Oh thank you. Yeah, it does.

Speaker 1 (54:10):
It does to get up and move to someplace where
you don't know anyone and so far away, Like I
love that move and I think you'll you'll get rewarded.
I mean, there's Greece is always always a good place
to be.

Speaker 6 (54:22):
Yeah, yeah, I love it here so far.

Speaker 1 (54:24):
Okay, well, good good luck and yeah, let us know
how that conversation goes.

Speaker 2 (54:28):
We like follow up calls.

Speaker 6 (54:30):
Okay, awesome, Yeah, thank you so much, Thanks Rebecca. Okay, bye,
bye bye.

Speaker 1 (54:36):
We're gonna take a quick break and we're gonna be
right back to wrap up with Scotty James.

Speaker 2 (54:43):
And we're back with Scotty James.

Speaker 1 (54:46):
Scotty, do you spend a lot of time on the
mountain when you're not like, do you spend any time
on the mountain when you're not training?

Speaker 4 (54:51):
Yeah? I would say when my family's around, yes, Like
my dad loves snowboarding, so he's always keen to be
on the hill. He's the guy that's up at the
lift line first and waiting for the chairlift to open.
So I definitely when he's around, I'm up there just
for fun and to go cruise around. But to be honest,
during a competition week, I'm not on the hill too

(55:13):
much other than competing and training.

Speaker 2 (55:16):
What is your meal right before you compete?

Speaker 4 (55:19):
I love spaghetti bolonnes. Yeah, I just I mean probably
the night before, because if I had it right before
I compete might be a little on the heavy side.
I'm already heavy as I explained earlier. So throwing around
spaghetti bolonnies in my stomach doing flips is not a
great outcome, but yeah, probably that I would say.

Speaker 1 (55:41):
Yeah, it's nice to have to eat spaghetti bolonniers for
your profession, since you need to carbload and you need
to get your body stored up.

Speaker 2 (55:48):
It's nice to have that kind of responsibility.

Speaker 4 (55:50):
True, Yeah, this is true.

Speaker 2 (55:53):
And will your family Your family's going to be at
the Olympics.

Speaker 4 (55:55):
Yeah, yeah, so the fan will be there, which will
be really nice. They I would see. With the last
Olympics was in China, the country was still closed, so
it was pretty interesting experience. It was like just us
and robots. Didn't really feel like an Olympics and robots
and it was strange. So it wasn't like I didn't
really feel that the energy last time. So it'd be

(56:18):
nice to have. You know, Italy will be great. Yeah,
Italy is a country spaghetti bowl and AI's on hand
obviously whenever, but it'll be massed out of family. That'll
be good.

Speaker 1 (56:30):
Okay, Well, I cannot wait to see you win a
gold medal, so we will be watching. It was delightful
speaking with you. I hope I get to meet you
someday in person. Maybe i'll pop by the Olympics this year.
Who knows, anything's possible.

Speaker 4 (56:43):
If I get the job done, We'll promise you one thing.
We're going snowboarding together. Let me shake on it. Well okay, yeah,
I'm going to take a photo of it and be
like she's transitioned.

Speaker 1 (56:58):
Yes, transition more ways than one. Thank you, Scotti, thanks
for being here.

Speaker 4 (57:04):
Thank you guys so much for having me appreciate gay.

Speaker 2 (57:07):
Take care.

Speaker 1 (57:08):
Okay, guys, the High and Mighty Tour is about to begin.
I'm in DC February thirteenth. February fourteenth, Atlantic city which
I just added. Fifteenth is Norfolk, Virginia. February nineteenth, Madison, Wisconsin.
February twentieth is Milwaukee, Wisconsin. February twenty first, Detroit, Michigan.
February twenty second, Rama, Ontario. That's Canada for those of

(57:29):
you who don't speak Canadia. March thirteenth, Cleveland, Ohio. March fourteenth, Columbus, Ohio.
March fifteenth, Cincinnati, Ohio. And then March twentieth is Denver, Colorado.
March twenty seventh, Portland, Maine, March twenty eighth, Providence, Rhode Island.
March twenty ninth Springfield, Massachusetts. April tenth is Chicago. I'll

(57:51):
be at the Chicago Theater in April eleventh. Indianapolis, Indiana.
April twelfth Louisville, Kentucky. April sixteenth is Albuquerque, New Mexico.
April seventeenth is Mesa, Arizona. April twenty third is Kansas City, Missouri.
April twenty fourth is Saint Louis, Missouri. April twenty fifth
is Minneapolis, Minnesota. April thirtieth Nashville, Tennessee. May first is Charlotte,

(58:15):
North Carolina. May second is Durham, North Carolina. May sixth
I'm doing Netflix as a joke festival.

Speaker 2 (58:21):
I will be in Los Angeles. That is a new announcement.

Speaker 1 (58:24):
And May fifteenth Saratoga, California. May sixteenth Monterey, California. May
seventeenth Modesto, California.

Speaker 2 (58:33):
And then June fourth Portchester, New York.

Speaker 1 (58:36):
June fifth is Boston, mass And June twelfth is Portland, Oregon.
And then Seattle is June thirteenth, So suck on that, everybody.

Speaker 2 (58:46):
Go to Chelseahandler dot com for tickets.

Speaker 3 (58:49):
Do you want advice from Chelsea right into Dear Chelsea
podcast at gmail dot com. Find full video episodes of
Dear Chelsea on YouTube by searching at dear Chelsea pot
Dear Chelsea is edited and engineered by Brad Dickert executive
producer Katherine Law and be sure to check out our
merch at Chelseahanler dot com