My grandfather was very into horse racing, and I found some of his old journals and got into it from there. It has a lot of parallels to skiing. It’s a fun lifestyle, being around the racetrack.
At this point in my career, I have the privilege of choosing my partners. In the beginning, you more or less take what comes in the door – or what matches up with your brand.
People want athletes to cater to their image of what an athlete should be, but they also want them to fail so they can feel like their screwups are all right.
When I was little, I spent a lot of time by myself. When other kids were in school, I was skiing and thinking about things. I was alone on the mountain.
Some of them I probably would like. Some of my fans probably beat their wives or run over little kids and they just happen to watch me on TV and like the way I ski.
One of the really important things about the Olympics is, to enjoy yourself, you have to accept that it’s different and feed off the enthusiasm of everyone and the inspiration and hopefully that will elevate your performance.
