Max Gao: Now that youâve tried a little bit of producing for The Thank You Canada Tour, can you tell me a little bit about what that experience was like for you?
Patrick Chan: It was different. I mean, it can be stressful because you look at the tour as kind of Mount Everest and youâre just like, âOh, my God. How am I gonnaâââ?â (laughs). Thereâs just so many steps to get there and luckily, I wasnât leading the march. It was more Tessa [Virtue] and Scott [Moir] that were leading it and the producers. I was just more kind of like the commentating [at the Grand Prix Final]âââjust soaking it in and just understanding how it works and how to kind of do business with Tessa and Scott.
Also just getting involved on a deeper level in the skating world, the show world. It was very interesting, but I really find it fascinating and Iâm still developing my own skills in terms of artistically and creatively. Iâm still exploring that and I actually feel like that part of my being is growing as the months go by after my competitive career âcause I have the liberty to really think outside the box and not feel like Iâm so focused on the next competition, the next jump that I have to land, the next technical thing that I have to acquire.
M: Well, no, thank you! Things have definitely changed since then, and now we have a lot of Asian Americans who are actually trying to break through in sports right now, but we havenât really had many who have done so yet. I think youâre one of the few Asian Canadians who has been able to do so, so what do you think can be done to encourage little boys and girls, particularly those of Asian descent, to get into a sport like figure skating, or even just sports in general? Itâs very difficult for people like us sometimes because truthfully, we are built differently and we arenât always built to succeed in sports.
P: For sure, for sure. We look differently, too. I mean, I think I always believed that you should look inwards as opposed to outwards, to care less about what people think and the norm and what people think things are supposed to look like or how an athlete is supposed to look or act.
I was a pretty awkward kid. When I was younger, I look back at pictures of myself when I was competing at 18, 19, and Iâm just like, âOooh, he needs a better haircut!â (laughs). I donât know⌠I was an awkward kid, too, and thatâs normal. But you know what? My friends and the people I grew up with, like Eric [Radford], Jeff, Andrew [Poje], Scott and Tessa, [they really helped me]âŚ
Scott was a huge part of just the community and helping me be who I am and be my own personality and not be so shy to be from an immigrant family. They really helped me feel included because when youâre in sport, I think sport transcends race and gender.
I think [for those who feel different], just look inwardly and if youâre determined and if you have the dedication and the desire to do it and to actually push yourself to do it, thatâs all youâll need. The rest will work out (smiles). How you look, how you are stylized and how you physically look⌠that doesnât really matter as long as you get it done.
Look at Nathan Chen in the U.S⌠I think heâs a great representative of Chinese-American and Chinese-North-American athletes because heâs an extremely talented athleteâââexplosive, very slender and heâs just, like, a cool guy, man! (smiles). Heâs going to Yale and is a smart kid, really well-versed with a good personality so yeah, I donât know.
Donât feel discouraged by [thoughts like]: âOh, I donât look like a normal figure skater or whatever.â I think weâre entering a time when it doesnât matter; itâs more so about what kind of results you can produce.
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