We had a party with the rest of the skaters in our trailer and then the next day we were off to see Jimmy Carter. And then we had the World Championships the next weekend, so not a lot of chance to catch up.
I have a very close friendship with the skaters.
While I circled around and around in my brown rental skates, I studied a group of skaters spinning in the center. I was fascinated! When my mom picked me up, I began a campaign for skating lessons.
The only reason skaters hang around this guy is because he's Lil Wayne, but they don't like him. I've talked to skaters; nobody likes Wayne as a skateboarder.
We were one of the first to say, 'Let's make a really nice shirt for skaters and let's make it really well.' We don't dumb down for somebody young; we are always trying to do something new.
Young people - and skaters - are very, very open-minded.
I like to watch surfers and skaters that are really fast and really powerful and everything flows.
I am an American man, and in America, we still think of figure skaters as little girls in pretty, sparkly dresses - I worked very hard to change the perception and image of figure skating, and I think I've done a great job on my end, but in figure skating, taste needs to evolve.
Statistically, I'd say there are about as many gay figure skaters as there are gay football players. The majority are straight. There are just those few exceptions, and those are the ones who have gotten picked on and followed over the years.
I love teaching the younger skaters.
