The Olympian Mindset Trick That Will Make You Unstoppable | Chloe Kim

I did not give up when I could have.

People were telling me that maybe it wasn't a good idea to do this.

I was not going to let up.

Like, I wanted to believe in myself and show myself that I could deal with this.

I don't know if you can ever truly eliminate self-doubt.

I think you can maybe quiet the noise a bit, but the minute something doesn't go your way, that self-doubt's going to come right back.

At just 17 years old, she became the youngest woman to win Olympic gold in snowboarding, establishing herself as one of the most dominant athletes in her sport.

We have the inspiring Chloe Kim in the house.

My dad later on told me that if I didn't make it by the time I was 13, we wouldn't be able to afford it anymore.

The most pressure I felt from them was actually as we got closer to my first Olympics.

I had to have a sit down with my parents.

It's like, guys, this doesn't feel good.

Really?

This feels really intense.

I am so grateful that I got to go through some really intense moments at such a young age because now I feel like I can get I can get through whatever and accomplish whatever I put

my mind to.

And what was the greatest lesson you learned from that experience?

I think grit, like true grit.

Before I had you on here today, we had another snowboarder on.

I don't know if you know Amy Purdy.

Love Amy.

And she was just singing your praises, saying how much she loves you.

I love her to death.

And I was like, Amy, if you could ask her one question, you know, about Chloe, what would it be?

And she goes, how does she perform under pressure and just look so free?

And that was one of the things she was asking about, like, how does she look so free at the highest stages in the world?

And I'm curious, how do you perform under pressure and make it look so effortless?

I just made a face when you said that because I feel like I feel the same way about her.

Really?

Yeah.

So I feel like the call is coming from within, Amy.

No, Amy's amazing.

She's such an inspiration.

She has such an incredible story and everything she's done for her sport.

It's been like so cool.

Yeah, and she's so cool.

Yeah, she's so gorgeous and smart.

So kind.

Yeah, it's kind of not fair.

Yeah, she's everything to me.

Um, I would say for me personally, I don't know, I don't think I think about it too much.

Pressure?

Yeah, I mean, obviously I do feel pressure, but I think I need a moment to just sit with myself and recognize that the pressure is actually, I feel like, outside voices, people with

expectations and people who want things for me, which is such a blessing in disguise sometimes.

But I see it as a blessing.

I really appreciate that people believe that I could accomplish all these things.

So I think I had to make that mental shift at a pretty young age.

Really?

And kind of recognize that, you know, there's a lot of voices out there, but at the end of the day, it's because, they believe I can do it.

So, I feel like I have cheerleaders instead of all these like scary expectations.

And I think I kind of, when I started to make that shift, things felt a lot easier and smoother for me.

Do you feel like when you compete, you're not thinking about the pressure then, or is it more about just wanting to have fun?

It's a little bit of both.

I love competing.

I'm a very competitive person even outside of my sport, you know, video games, any, like PE was my favorite day at school.

School growing up, and I just loved competing.

I loved playing games, like, all of it.

So it's very rewarding for me when I get to compete in something that I'm really good at.

And yeah, but I also do want to have fun.

I try to have fun.

Um, you know, transparently, I never, like, wanted to snowboard.

Really?

The sport of my choice.

What was this the choice you wanted?

Oh my gosh, well, I wanted to

A lot.

I wanted to be a jockey.

A jockey?

I love horses.

Okay.

And I loved just anything horse related.

And in my mind it was like horse racing.

This is when I was like 3.

Because you grew up in SoCal, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I don't know, I was just always obsessed with horses.

My favorite movie growing up was Spirit.

Okay.

I don't know if, you know, you could maybe hear girls be obsessed with it one day, but yeah, I really wanted to be a jockey.

I really loved figure skating.

But my dad was the one that, you know, kind of wanted me to get into a sport.

And so when I told him figure skating, he was like, well, what about speed skating or hockey?

And I was like, no, like, I'm not going to do that.

So we started snowboarding, right?

Snowboarding was what he, you know, thought.

But you grew up in— was it Torrance you grew up in?

Or like you grew up SoCal area?

Or— I grew up all over.

All over.

We moved a bunch.

Uh-huh.

So I've lived in Cypress, La Palma, Torrance, La Habra.

Okay.

And then I moved to L.A.

I lived in Newport for a year and then I moved to L.A.

But you started— was it more in Mammoth where you started really snowboarding then?

So you'd go up there and— Yeah, well, I actually learned in Mountain High and I always want to give credit to Mountain High.

I love it there.

Okay.

Good mems, good mems, bad mems, crazy mems.

All of it.

That's where it started.

That's where it started.

And then as I started getting better and getting, you know, more serious, we started going to Mammoth.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's cool.

I mean, your dad, you mentioned your dad and he, he, he really started to invest in you early on, right?

With snowboarding.

Didn't he leave his career to kind of like go all in with you?

Yeah.

So when you, when you have a parent who's that much of a cheerleader and supporting you, how did you not also feel the pressure then of like, oh, this needs to work out?

Like, I need to actually be good and succeed because he's invested his life in this as well.

Yeah, I think that is definitely something that I thought about a lot.

Really?

And my dad later on told me that if I didn't make it by the time I was 13, like, we wouldn't be able to afford it anymore because my parents invested everything into my sport, which

is such a risky decision, honestly, to make.

But I didn't know that.

And funny enough, at 13, I started doing really well and started to like you know, kill it in my sport.

But I think the most pressure I felt from them was actually as we got closer to my first Olympics, 'cause I think that was the dream.

Mm-hmm.

I finally did it.

I qualified for Sochi when I was 13.

Wow.

I don't know if you know this.

Okay.

Was too young to compete.

So you qualified, but you couldn't compete?

Yeah.

That sucks.

I qualified in second.

Oh my gosh.

So I wasn't able to go.

So I feel like there was so much anticipation that built from that moment.

Mm.

And once I, was getting closer.

Like, that 2016-17 season was the scariest season of my life.

Just the air every time I walked into the, like, spaces was just so tense and stressful.

I feel like everyone's getting really intense, hoping to qualify for the Games.

Now I'm in contention to qualify for the Games.

Like, my— I had to have a sit down with my parents.

It's like, guys, this doesn't feel good.

Really?

This feels really intense.

Like, I understand that you guys, you know, obviously want this for me, and I do too.

but I need a sense of normalcy 'cause everywhere else I go does not feel normal either.

So I just need home to feel like home.

Wow.

Yeah.

It's a lot of, I mean, you were 16 going on 17, I guess around that time.

Yeah.

So it's, it's almost like, oh, what if I make a mistake or don't qualify or I, I fall, then all this, this like expectation like crumbles, I guess.

Yeah.

And I wanna say too, into my first games, qualifying was hardcore.

Like there, I mean, there still are, you know, really good US snowboarding girls, but like back then

it was mostly, you know, US podium suites for the most part.

Like they were awesome.

And so qualifying was really intense 'cause it's almost like you had to bring your A-game.

Like if you qualified for the Olympics in the US, it was almost just felt like you were guaranteed a medal at that point 'cause they were so good.

Yes.

And so, so it wasn't guaranteed.

It wasn't like, oh, this is gonna be easy.

No, I knew I had a good shot 'cause I was podiuming consistently, but I've never experienced that type of pressure and like that type of expectation before.

And so I remember like going into all my runs for the qualifying events.

So a little more about the qualification process.

All right, tell me, tell me.

Okay.

So basically it's the season before the Olympics.

There are, I might be completely wrong, but there's somewhere, but I think it's 5 events, 4 or 5 events.

And basically it's the top 4 girls based on all those events.

So the way, the best way to guarantee a spot is to like win a couple of them.

Um, at least 4 go top 4, top 4 of USA.

Yeah.

Yes.

Top 4 go.

And based on your results in those events, they'll, I think they take like the top 3 results or something.

And then they average them out and then that's how they decide who goes.

So

that was, so you kind of have to be awesome for at least 3 events.

Right.

Over like a 6-month window or is that like a year or how long is that?

No, it's like a 2-month window.

Oh, oh man.

So if you mess up in 2 months, you're done.

Yeah.

So it's like you start the season and you're like, okay, like I might go to the Olympics and it's like, boom, it's over.

And then people are going to the Olympics.

It's so fast.

It's back to back.

I think the first qualification events in, December, like early December, and then the rest of them are low-key in January.

And then we go to— And you leave like a couple weeks later.

In February.

Yeah.

So it's really intense.

How did you feel going into this recent Olympics then?

Because you were injured.

Yeah.

Like how was your— I didn't feel good.

You didn't feel good 'cause you'd previously won 2 gold medals, but then you're going into this next Olympics a little injured, not feeling good, like you said.

How do you stay confident and also not let the fear of the pressure or what if I fail or what if my injury holds me back or the expectations of the world now?

How do you navigate that?

I mean, it was tough.

You know, I think that was definitely a really hard moment.

Probably one of the more difficult things I've had to navigate in my career.

I've had, I've been so blessed and fortunate to go into every single Games completely healthy.

And luckily I had actually qualified for the Games the season prior.

So you didn't have that stress.

I didn't need to qualify that season.

That's good.

Which was great.

That's great.

Yeah.

Awesome.

But you gotta be healthy.

Exactly.

And so, you know, the plan was, okay, I'm not gonna compete that much this season.

I'm going to just train for the Games and then go.

And that's what I did going into Beijing as well.

Mm-hmm.

But unfortunately the first training camp I had planned in the winter.

That's when it happened, like the second or third day.

So I had no reps going into this.

Wow.

Came straight back home, rehabbed as much as I could, because it wasn't necessarily a pain issue.

It was more that my shoulder kept coming out.

And if your shoulder comes out, there's like not much you can do.

Yes, you can pop it back in, but it will just keep coming out.

This is your left shoulder?

Your right?

Yeah, my left shoulder.

And so it was one of those things where I think I spent a week, maybe 10 days here in LA doing my rehab and then trying to get back on snow as soon as possible to get a little reps

in.

Um, it's also probably the fear of if I fall and hurt the shoulder, like the damage that that could have too, right?

Exactly.

And I don't want to get hurt before I go into the Games.

Totally.

But I had already come up with a plan in my mind that was maybe insane, but I was like, well, if it comes out, just put it back in.

Okay.

You know, let's just pop it back in, it's fine.

It wasn't painful?

Like, yeah, it hurts, but like, also put it back in.

You're an athlete.

I live in a world of pain.

Like, I am always in pain.

So this— let's just add this to the list of things that hurt.

Um, but no, I think I was like, all right, well, we'll just pop it back in.

I'll do everything I can.

We'll get a brace.

But the most annoying thing was just that I had to

relearn how to do all my tricks without this arm because you really need to like use the force of it, right?

Yeah.

And so how did you do that?

To like hyperextend it almost, and that's when it's the most vulnerable.

Like when I'm throwing my tricks, I need all my arms because you're really swinging in the air.

I'm literally doing the most, like flailing, like twisting, all of it.

Because people watching might think, oh, it's actually a lot of twisting of like the hips, which I guess it is, but you need the wind-up with the upper body as well, right?

Mm-hmm.

Interesting.

Yeah.

So it was really hard.

So the very limited days I had on snow, I just had to like try to relearn how to do all my tricks with one arm.

With one arm.

And it's so disappointing because it's almost annoying.

I almost wish that it was— this is kind of dark, but I had almost wished that it was a more serious injury, if that makes sense.

Mm-hmm.

Because then it was just clear that like I couldn't do it.

Or like I, you know, but this whole gray area was really rough for me to navigate.

Cause I'm like, I feel fine.

I, I feel like I can do this, but my shoulder

comes out in the middle of my run.

There's nothing you can do.

I, I have to stop.

So that's where it's really frustrating.

And that's also where it was frustrating because I felt like people wouldn't understand what that was like either.

Yeah.

And I, I mean, I don't know if, did you ever have the fear of like, okay, I'm going whatever, 50 feet in the air and if I fall on it, Yeah.

Then also the pain of that, you know, I might be done, I guess, if it's already vulnerable.

Yeah.

For me, I'd be afraid of that.

I mean, I was never one to worry about pain again.

Like, I have had chronic back pain since I was 15, so it's not a big deal.

It was just more inconvenient for me, I think is the best way to put it.

So how do you navigate that?

I guess how do you visualize before going out for a run at the Olympics when you're uncertain if you can actually complete the run?

I think it's hard, like mentally there's always this little voice in your head that's like, all right, well this could happen.

Really?

You know, prepare yourself for that.

I did the best that I could, you know, I knew that I was at a severe disadvantage cuz everyone else has trained, ridden all winter long and I'm coming in, I think the night of the final

was my 8th day on snow.

Wow.

Total.

So like in like 6 months or something.

Yeah.

Right.

So it's like I'm,

I could be, but I'm also dealing with this, which is part of the sport.

I'm just gonna do my best and whatever.

That's what I had to get to, just like, whatever.

So what is the, what is the mental rehearsal that you have then?

Either, you know, the morning of, an hour before, or right before to eliminate the self-doubt?

I think that's interesting and I'm curious to see what our listeners will think, but I don't know if you can ever truly eliminate self-doubt.

Mm-hmm.

I think you can talk yourself up to maybe quiet the noise a bit, but the minute something doesn't go your way, that self-doubt's going to come right back.

And so it is hard to truly get rid of it.

And I think that's just normal too.

It's like natural human brains and minds.

We're kind of always fearful of the unknown, and that's where I was at too.

So I'm not going to sit here and be like, well, I didn't doubt myself at all.

I felt so confident.

That's not the case.

But I think I kind of have to sit there and remind myself that I have to rely on body, on muscle memory.

Yes, muscle memory is going to be my best friend here, and I'm just going to hope for the best.

You know, maybe things won't go my way.

That's okay.

I feel really fortunate to be in a position in my career where I've accomplished everything under the sun and more, and so

I didn't feel like really strongly about you know, winning, if that makes sense.

Really?

So you weren't really concerned, like, if I get the gold or if I don't get any medals, you were going to be okay?

My goal was to get a medal.

Right.

And you did it.

I did it.

Let's go.

Let's go.

Thank you.

You did it.

I did it.

You know, and that was really challenging in itself because there's so much new talent.

I've been doing this for over 10 years professionally.

You know, I'm 26 now.

And you've won everything.

Pretty— I've won everything multiple times.

X Games, World Championship, Olympic gold, multiple times.

Multiple times.

And I think I'm really grateful to have had that experience.

I've done it all.

There literally isn't a single thing I want,

which you feel complete, which feels funny, you know?

And I kind of got to that place in my early 20s.

That's incredible.

So I feel like this last time, I— this past one, I just wanted to have fun.

Just wanted to like enjoy it, you know?

Obviously this didn't make it as enjoyable as it could have been, but I think I enjoyed every minute of it.

And there's not a thing I would change.

Really?

Yeah.

That's beautiful.

Yeah.

So you don't feel like, you know, you wanted— your goal was to get a medal.

Didn't matter if it was any medal.

Yeah.

And but you've won multiple golds.

Yeah.

So was there anything inside of you that was like, okay, you know, I got a silver, but it wasn't the gold?

Was there any part of you that felt like maybe, I don't know, that was let down in any way?

Yeah.

I mean, I think that

there's always going to be a sentiment of, like, disappointment.

Of course.

Like, this is, again, something that I've trained for, for 3 years going into it.

So I'm also not going to sit here and be like, oh well, I'm fine with that.

But I think it's important to be kind to yourself in these moments and give yourself that reminder that like, I also wasn't coming into this Games like I had the two other times.

You know, I can't— yeah, healthy and fully ready.

And right, and like going into the other Games, I had like 2, 3 months of training under my belt going into the Games.

And I— here I go into my third one with 8 days.

Period.

Crazy.

Like that.

It's not fair for me to— yes, I can dream and yes, I can hope, but if we're going to be realistic, it's going to be very difficult and I am going to need some sort of miracle here.

And you gave your best.

And so in your mind, you're like— Yes.

And also I want to say the first 2 days I had training, because now we have to count the days.

The first 2 days I had, I had to learn to not get scared of snowboarding again.

Yeah, yeah.

Not like falling.

Which is a lot.

And then day 3, it's like I'm throwing myself as hard as I can to do all my tricks that I hadn't done in so long.

And thinking of your routines and what you're going to do.

Yeah, right.

Like I haven't done my run, like I haven't learned my tricks back with— now I have to do it with one arm.

Like it's hectic.

There's like, yes, winning is awesome, but being able to show up on such short notice and just like do what I could is something that I've never done before.

And I think at the end of the day, though it wasn't the outcome that, you know, maybe I would've hoped for and everyone else would've hoped for, I still walked away with a very valuable

lesson that I don't think I could've learned.

And what was that?

Any other way?

And what was the greatest lesson you learned from that experience?

I think grit, like true grit.

I did not give up when I could have.

You know, people were telling me that maybe it wasn't a good idea to do this.

I was not gonna let up.

Like I, wanted to believe in myself and show myself that I could deal with this and I could just— that like I could make something out of this.

And like, I— going to the Olympics is such an honor and a privilege in itself.

And I, you know, still had the best result out of the US women's.

Um, I really think I accomplished so much more in a way because

Yeah, I don't know.

Like, I know if I were healthy and I was, you know, I had all the reps, you would have crushed it.

You would have— I would have done exactly what I wanted to do.

I had to do such a

chill version of what I was planning to do and prepping to do.

So yeah, that's where I'm at.

The grit.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, I think it's like being at peace knowing that like, okay, I could have won if I was healthier, if I had a full season to train.

I knew I could have done— you've already done it before.

But it's what I'm hearing you say is like learning how to stick through it with the uncertainty, with the pain, with having to learn my routine on 8 days.

Yeah.

And having fun and being positive and knowing that I may win or lose.

Yeah.

That's the real lesson.

That's what I'm hearing you say.

That's the real lesson.

Yes.

Thank you.

Beautiful.

That's beautiful.

Beautiful way to articulate.

Now I'm curious.

I'm a, I'm a big fan of just psychology and sports psychology, really how to prepare yourself mentally for competition so that you can enjoy the most of it as well.

Yeah.

Is there any sports psychology you've learned over the years or picked up, whether it be like inner game tricks on breathwork, meditation, mindset, visualization, or anything else that

has supported you in believing in yourself and being ready and prepared for competition?

Hmm.

Or have you just been a badass since the womb?

You know, you just came out and you're just like, I can do this, no problem.

Oh my gosh, I don't know.

I actually recently got diagnosed with ADHD.

Okay.

Like last week.

Okay, last week.

Yeah.

And everything made sense.

Tell me more.

Wow.

I definitely had like just this— I was very impulsive.

I—

and it was funny because when I was meeting with my psychiatrist, we were like walking through the list of symptoms and I was like, I have every single one of those symptoms, but it

was masked so well in my sport because I think in a way it helped me, you know.

Your ADHD helped you in sports?

Yes.

How so?

Well, because I couldn't focus, but I— but with snowboarding, that was like the thing I could really lock in on.

Because you got to be in the flow on the slopes.

You can't be distracted in the air.

Yeah, and I wasn't.

I was so focused whenever I was when I had my snowboard attached to my feet, like tunnel vision.

You're in the zone.

In the zone.

And I feel like,

you know, another symptom I had was just chronic exhaustion.

So I, after snowboarding, like I didn't wanna go hang out with friends.

Like I didn't wanna go out.

Like I just wanted to rest.

And so I feel like when I was on snow, all I did was snowboard and recover.

Snowboard, recover, snowboard, recover.

And I also feel like I

never really experienced fear.

Like, I wasn't really like scared of trying tricks.

And I have a very vivid just imagination.

So I feel like if I wanted to try a trick, I could visualize it before, you know, without even doing it.

Really?

If I watched videos of other people doing it, I could like gauge what they would be seeing.

And that was always fun because then I'd go try it and I would see what I thought I would see.

And you didn't have fear that what, you would fall or hurt yourself or not make it or?

No.

Really?

Yeah, which is kind of crazy.

Huh.

Yeah.

So that, I would say that's maybe my one superpower that I had in my sport was just

I was always ready to go hug myself.

Fearless.

But do you think the ADHD helped you become fearless or is it just part of it?

I think it kind of,

Huh, I don't know how to describe it, but it's almost like

because I— my mind was always so occupied and busy, I'm always thinking.

And, you know, snowboarding being my sport, it was always about snowboarding for the most part.

And so I feel like I've thought about everything snowboarding related, and then

I would just always think about how I could be better at that because that was the one thing I could focus on.

So if I had a bad day on, you know, in training, I'd come back home and really just like think about where it went wrong, what I need to try, different things that I could try.

Like I would just hyperanalyze, really focus on that.

Is this like watching videos of yourself doing this or watching other videos of other people and seeing how you could make this happen in your mind?

Or how was this?

Or like maybe like remember seeing what I was seeing when I was training and then trying to like alter that and correct that.

In your mind?

In my mind.

So not watching video and doing this, but a mental rehearsal.

Mental rehearsal, nonstop, obsessive, nonstop.

My mind is so loud.

So it did affect my sleep in a lot of ways.

Yeah.

Would you be thinking about this all in bed at night, just rehearsing tricks in your mind?

Yeah.

Whenever I had a moment.

Interesting.

Because I'm competitive.

I want to go out there the next day and get it right.

I also hate wasting time.

So I'm like, all right, I have 2 more weeks here.

Also, sport being weather dependent, right?

Right.

I'm like, okay, there's 2 sunny days.

I need to lock in and get this done on these sunny days.

So what can I do right now

to prepare for tomorrow?

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Do you feel like the constraints of not having snow year-round actually allowed you to be better than if you had the ability to practice, you know, every week, all year round?

I mean, you still can practice every week all year long.

But you were living here, I guess, before.

Yeah.

But you know, when I first started and started going pro, I would go to New Zealand.

I would go to Switzerland.

Switzerland.

Like, go on Mount Hood in Oregon.

I'm always on snow.

I'd maybe get a month off each year.

Got it.

But then I got to a point where it's exhausting.

It's catching up to me.

It's a lot, right?

Yeah.

I remember when I turned 20, I was like,

I don't think I can do this anymore.

Like, it hurts, hurts.

I also went to college for a year, so I feel like when I came back from that, I was like, wait, there's so many things I'm interested in, and it's sad that I don't get to experience

those things.

I want to give myself a little more time to become a whole person and not just snowboard.

Snowboard.

Yeah.

Um, not just the greatest snowboarder of all time, but someone else that also has a life.

Yeah, I would love to have a life.

Seemingly.

I don't know, just, you know, there are other things that I love and I'm very passionate about.

And I feel like I started to realize that when I was at school, actually, and started meeting people that had nothing to do with sports, action sports in general, but were just so smart

and passionate about other things in their lives and were working towards those things.

Yeah, I wanted that too.

And I feel like I'd already accomplished it in snowboarding, and I think naturally I developed some curiosity for the other sides of the world and the other sides of things that, you

know, maybe I could experience.

Yeah.

And so after that awakening, I'll call it, I was like, I don't think I can travel this much anymore.

I want to— because I also recognize that I am not going to snowboard forever.

And I think when I was at school, I had this scary realization of what am I going to do after, right?

You know, what am I going to do?

Who am I after sports?

Exactly.

And I feel like I wanted to nurture that when I was still, you know, a teenager, you know, 20, 19, 20.

So I started taking more time for myself.

I stopped going to New Zealand and all these places and I would start training, you know, like mid-fall as opposed to starting in midsummer.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Interesting.

And I also, I don't know, correct me if I'm wrong, but I also heard you never really worked out or you didn't like working out in the gym.

Yeah.

But we actually met in the gym.

I know.

You were working out.

I know.

When did that— through Roy.

So shout out to Roy.

But when did you start working out or, you know, enjoying it or liking that process?

I mean, I still don't like.

Yeah, it's still hard.

It's so hard.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know, I'd much rather be eating.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Sugar, candy all day.

Eating brunch, you know, with my girls instead of being at the gym.

For an hour, but I think so when we first met, when was that?

Probably a year and a half, 2 years ago, maybe something like that.

I think somewhere around there.

Yeah.

Okay.

Is that kind of when you started going?

That's when I started being more consistent.

Really?

Yeah.

Why did you decide to, from never working out or not working out that much except for on the slopes, which is a workout, but going to the gym and working on, I guess, given types of

working out.

Yeah.

Why did you decide to to take that on?

Well, that was kind of, my fitness journey is definitely a journey.

So let's talk about it.

So I think after the first Olympics, 2018, I,

some people were telling me that maybe I should look into a trainer 'cause I had partially torn my ACL when I was 15.

Oh wow.

And I don't know, I just wasn't that strong in that leg.

And so obviously, okay, let's work out and hit the gym.

Cool.

Met a trainer through Nike.

That's also how I met Vinny was through this trainer.

And I just wasn't really consistent.

I would do it for a bit and then I wouldn't, and then I'd do it.

Yeah.

But I'm like, oh, I'm so young and I want to have fun during the summers.

I didn't really learn time management well yet, schedules and structure.

So then COVID happened.

I went to school and then COVID happened into going into my spring semester.

And I put on a lot of weight when I was at college.

Really?

But whatever.

But then COVID hit and we doubled down.

Yeah, it was bad.

You doubled down on the weight gain?

Yeah.

Really?

Yeah.

Just like eating and eating, you know, chilling, not going outside.

Yeah, of course.

And then I,

I think that's also when I started to work with Roy.

Mm-hmm.

It was like during COVID like the 2021, 2022.

Yeah, new one, I think.

And then I went back to snowboarding and it hurt.

Like, oh my gosh.

Really?

Yes.

Because I gained 40 pounds.

Come on.

Yeah.

So I was— 40 pounds of muscle though, right?

You know you were.

I wish.

I really wish.

But yeah, so I was sitting at, you know, 40 pounds heavier than I was the last time I snowboarded.

And it hurt.

Just like the recovery?

I mean, being on the slopes or landing or all of it?

You know, and I think I was like, oh my gosh, I'm getting old because this hurts for the first time.

But when you think about it, you were like 20s.

I know, I know, should be fine.

But it'd be like, if I fall on my butt kind of hard, I'd be bedridden for a week.

Really?

Because, you know, we fall from pretty high, like 30, 40 feet in the air, I feel like.

Yeah, because the wall's 22 feet, so then you add how much you go from there and then you fall.

It's like a lot.

When I go snowboarding and I jump like 3 feet, I'm like scared to fall.

If I do a 180, I'm like, uh, I don't want to hit or hurt myself.

You're going so high.

So high and doing all these spins and falling a lot.

And it just really felt like I was getting beat up.

Then I somehow made it to Beijing, but I was still, you know, carrying extra weight on me.

And after that season, I was like, I can't do this anymore.

This is so painful.

It makes me never want to do this again.

It's not enjoyable.

It's not.

It's so hard.

And I don't like being in this much pain.

I'm used to pain, but this is excessive.

Yes.

Over something so small.

We fall on our butts all the time, and the fact that I couldn't handle it was just really hard for me.

Yeah.

And so that's when I just locked in.

After Beijing, I just locked in, and I was like, I'm going to be consistent.

I'm going to go every morning.

I'm really going to stick to this.

I'm going to start jogging.

Roy got me onto jogging, started doing Pilates, and I feel great.

Yeah, you look fit.

Thank you.

Yeah, we met in the gym.

I'd say there a few different times and I was like, she's fit.

Yeah, she's shaped strong.

Yes, I love it so much.

Wow.

And I think now I feel good, like after a workout.

So I enjoy how I feel afterwards.

But getting there and starting— it's getting there is rough.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You know, you know, when he has a start on the bike, that's rough.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Roll your feet on the thing first and then on the bike.

What How do you feel getting in the gym the last 4 years supported you physically for this time around at the Olympics then?

I think that if I hadn't put that much work in, I don't think I would've been able to come back in the way I did.

Really?

Yeah.

'Cause you know, people will still compete in their respective sports with injuries.

Mm-hmm.

Um, and sometimes you need like expedited rehab.

To get you there, you know, for something like the Olympics.

Yeah.

Like a really important game or whatever.

I think the reason why a lot of athletes are able to do that and have such a quick turnaround is because they put in the work before.

You know, our muscles do protect us from a lot of things.

You know, people, I have a partially torn ACL and so I got my legs really strong and now everything's supported because my legs are strong.

I have a thing with my shoulder, you know, my arms are strong, so like it can just support it a bit more than if I didn't.

Yeah.

Have all those, you know, know, just put all that time into it.

And I think that overall

I just feel healthier.

Like, I feel like I'm not in as much pain as I typically would be after a season, because even one trip to snow, you get pretty banged up.

Yeah.

You know, and so it's nice that when I come home, like, yes, I'm sore, but I can bounce back pretty quickly and find, you know, just peace and painlessness.

Sure.

Pretty quickly.

Yeah.

I mean, now that— when was the— was it a couple of months ago that the Olympics ended, right?

Yeah.

A couple of months ago.

Now you had a little bit of time to kind of reflect.

What is— what's the vision for the next few years for you?

And you've accomplished everything.

Like you said, you accomplished your goal this time around.

It, you know, is it trying to create new experiences in life?

Are you still trying to train?

Like, what's next for your sports career?

I think, you know, I like to give myself time.

I feel like I still haven't fully settled.

Yeah.

Because we get— we are so busy post-Olympics, interviews all over the place.

Yeah.

So I feel like I'm still in the midst of the chaos.

But you're still in the Olympics.

Yeah, I'm still there.

Yeah.

But I don't— so yeah, I don't know.

I don't know.

And I don't think I need to know anytime soon.

I feel like I have time to make decisions, and I feel like there's a lot of like big decisions that are going to need to be made.

And I also want to honor that I am a person outside of this too, and I want to continue to nurture that side of myself.

And so I'm again really blessed to be in a position where there's not something else I want really badly enough to where I'm gonna have tunnel vision and just lock in on that one thing.

I think now I'm in a position where I can kind of do what feels right for me.

Yeah, it makes sense.

Yeah.

I've been watching some of your content, just of you talking about your interests outside of sports and, you know, you talking about your relationship a lot more online and sharing

photos of you guys.

I'm curious, what's the biggest lesson that he's taught you through this journey as he's top in the world at what he does?

And shout out Cleveland Browns, but I'm from Ohio.

But is there any lesson that he's taught you through this journey from one elite athlete to another?

First of all, so inspirational.

It's been really fun to be by his side and support him and watch him do all of these amazing things.

Um, there's— he's the most deserving.

He works so hard, hard.

And I think that's definitely a big takeaway.

So consistent, like he's always working his butt off no matter what.

Sick— when he— sometimes he's like so sick.

I remember One time he was coughing all night, did not get much sleep, still shows up, goes to the gym, does his ridiculously hard 2-hour workout.

The only trade-off is he'll take a 6-hour nap after.

He's like, I'm out.

Yeah, but he's getting everything he needs to do first, and then he's sleeping, body work, everything.

Yeah.

Me, on the other hand, I'm like, absolutely not.

I am not doing this.

I need to be babied.

I need someone to take care of me.

If I'm coughing, I'm sleeping.

Yeah, exactly.

Um, that's interesting.

So that's something I really admire about him.

So he's very disciplined no matter what.

So disciplined.

So stubbornly disciplined.

Wow.

There are moments where I'm like, maybe don't push yourself so hard.

Like, you slept for 2 hours.

Like, this can't be good for you.

He's like, no, I gotta go.

He wants to be great.

And I— now I'm like, do your thing, you know?

Wow.

Lesson learned.

So that mindset— but it seems like he has a lot of fun too with you.

I mean, at least like what's the looks like?

Yeah, that's good.

Yeah, I mean, it's fun because we have so many things in common, so it's really easy.

And I feel like us both being athletes, we get each

to.

There are a lot of times I'm like, yeah, yeah, you're good.

Yeah, yeah, you're good.

So when was the first time you won a big competition?

What year was that?

How old were you?

I think I've won multiple big competitions for the first time.

Like, the first big competition I won, um, it was like for the youth division.

I was 9.

9?

Yeah.

Okay, okay, cool.

It was my first international competition.

Wow.

And yeah, I was like 15 and under.

Was that age?

And you won at 9?

Yeah.

You beat 15-year-olds?

That's crazy.

Wow.

I know.

So that was what, is that 15 years ago?

15, 16 years ago?

Like your first big competition that you won?

Yeah.

Right.

International level.

Years ago.

If you could go back and speak to, you know, 9-year-old Chloe with all the wisdom and lessons you've learned.

Yeah.

Knowing everything you're gonna accomplish over the last 15, 16 years.

Yeah.

What wisdom or advice would you share with her if she was sitting right across from you?

I feel like this is a very common question, and I love the idea about, like, you know, I love the idea.

At the same time though, I don't think I would say anything.

Okay.

And I think that's also a very common response.

Sure.

Yeah, yeah.

Because not that it's a bad question or anything, I think it's more so just I became who I am because of everything I experienced in the way that I did.

Yeah.

And I don't think

I would change anything about my journey to get here.

I think everything that I endured, whether it be amazing or incredibly difficult, was all meant to be.

And I think that's how I learned to navigate such difficult moments in my life.

I think sport is one of the greatest lessons.

Yes, it is.

And, you know, I, I am so grateful that I got to grow in a sport and go through some really intense moments at such a young age, because now I feel like I can get through whatever and

accomplish whatever I put my mind to.

Yeah, that's beautiful.

What's the biggest lesson your dad taught you from all those years of

supporting and coaching and encouraging and investing in time to support you in accomplishing your dreams and goals as well?

Hmm,

my dad's taught me a lot, and I think very common in Asian families, but dads typically tend to be a bit more emotionally distant, and that's where we butt heads the most.

Really?

Yeah, because I would just be having a bad day, whatever, and he would just be so frustrating to me.

And like, my dad's such a talker, he loves talking.

Like, if you run into him on the street and say we know each other, like, he will talk to you for hours.

So much to say.

Um, but I think my dad is—

he taught me— it's a good question.

He's taught me so much.

There's— is there anything that really stands out in that way?

I think he just taught me

how to be—

like, to— he taught me what support— like, the true definition of love and just support as a parent.

Just blindly trusting that this is gonna work, that we're gonna do everything we can on our end to make this happen.

And like, he's going to love and support me unconditionally, you know, even though some days he's spending all this money to send me off to training and I had a terrible time training.

Always just like believe that it's gonna work out some way, shape, or form, and that he's going to support me until the very end.

Until we go completely broke, which is when I was— which is when I was going to be 13.

And then you started making some money and started working out.

Yeah.

Now we're moving.

Now, like, now we can, like, buy tickets for planes.

Well, that's great.

Yeah.

Now I'm a, you know, I'm a new dad.

I have twin girls, 5 and a half months old.

Is there any advice you have for me, you know, for being the best father I can be?

To young girls who have their own dreams and hopes and goals?

Any advice you'd give to me or any other fathers out there who have daughters?

My advice to you as someone with no kids— someone who had a— sounds like a father that was really encouraging, and I'm sure it wasn't perfect all the time, and it was like maybe it

was hard or whatever.

But from what you experienced with your father, any advice of what to do, what not to do, or encouragement for fathers out there?

I would say just to be as present as possible.

Honestly, I think experience is the greatest teacher, and I can't sit here and be like, well, support them.

Like, that could mean different to your daughters.

That could mean something entirely different to you.

But I think you have to be open to learning and growing and evolving with them and just being present, you know, and just being there.

Do you feel like your dad was pretty present most of the time, or was he just driven on you accomplishing and getting better mostly?

I think he was.

My, my dad also definitely has ADHD.

He's all over the place too.

He's like all over the place, but he always showed up.

Yeah.