SKATING INTO SHOW BUSINESS
It is likely that nobody had more fun than Adam Rippon during the two weeks at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. His performances on the ice, and even more so those backstage when addressing the international media, introduced the world to a star that was just beginning his ascension to global fame.
In the wake of it all, many new doors have opened for the 30-year-old American over the past two years — both on and off the ice.
Much of what Rippon is doing now plays on an obvious, sometimes self-deprecating sense of humor that is a delight to be around. So much so that, despite all his on-ice achievements, Rippon sometimes has to remind people that he is much more than just a “funny boy” (as his Instagram profile notes).
There was, after all, plenty of substance to a career that he can be proud of. It was also the catalyst that has led to many of the new opportunities and experiences he now enjoys.
“Every so often, I will post something on social media about skating and people will reply that they had no idea I could skate — which is in equal parts hilarious and infuriating. But I honestly find it very funny,” said Rippon, whose career highlights include the 2016 U.S. title, a Four Continents crown in 2010, and a pair of World Junior titles in 2008 and 2009. “Skating used to be what I ate, slept and breathed … it was everything that I did. I always loved skating because it was an outlet for me.
“I was never a World or an Olympic champion, but it was always a place where I felt like I sort of belonged. Skating can be that for everyone. It takes the Yuzuru Hanyus and the Nathan Chens to make us believe we can do more, and that the sky is the limit. But for the 99.9 percent of the rest of us, we need to find that internal joy for why we do this. For everyone, really, it’s about finding that internal joy and when I do things in skating, I always try to share that.”
Rippon’s celebrity status has allowed him to widen that scope of sharing. It is on full display in “Break The Ice,” a YouTube series filmed at a rink in California that features Rippon in conversation with guests as they glide around the frozen surface. While one episode in Season 2 of the series featured 2014 Olympic ice dance champion Meryl Davis, the majority of guests are recreational skaters at best, some of whom are shown clinging tightly to Rippon to avoid tumbling to the ice.
“It was a fun concept, a
