Dubreuil, Lauzon serve as inspiration

Moir hadn't considered coaching as a career, but he was so sold on the philosophy instilled by Dubreuil and Lauzon at the Ice Academy of Montreal (I.AM), he became the head of their satellite program in London, Ont.

"My time in Montreal changed . . . well, it changed my life. I know Tess feels the same way," Moir said. "I fell back in love with the sport again."

Of the 23 dance teams at the Beijing Olympics, Dubreuil and Lauzon, who captured back-to-back world silver medals before retiring in 2007, coached 10 of them at I.AM, including gold medallists Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France.

Dubreuil, Lauzon and former French skater Romain Haguenauer co-founded the academy in 2014. They had one team in the Sochi Olympics that year. They had four teams four years later in Pyeongchang, including Virtue and Moir.

In Beijing, country allegiances seemed to melt away between the 10 Montreal-based teams. Instead there were plenty of hugs and high-fives.

"We take care of the human being more than anything else," Lauzon said in Beijing. "I think that's what draws people in."

'His love for skating has not faded'

Haley Sales and Nikolas Wamsteeker, who are at this week's national team camp, are one of Moir's dance teams.

The two, who've twice been fourth at the Canadian championships, described Moir as a positive, high-energy coach who spends most of his time on the ice rather than behind the boards.

"His love for skating has not faded," Wamsteeker said.

They've noticed a shift in their skating since moving to London a year ago.

"The really unique thing about having a coach so fresh off the circuit was interesting, and more in tune with the modern kind of ice dance," said Sales. "I would say we've learned a lot more of the artistic side of skating, which we felt like we really needed."

"I'm starting to realize more and more of [Moir's influence] in my skating, watching the videos from years past it wasn't there," added Wamsteeker. "And it's hard to put my finger on it, but it's a fluidity, it's performance."

They're one of nine dance couples based in London. There are another 17 in the Montreal program.

While there's been criticism about coaching skaters who compete for countries other than Canada, Moir said the program works for the Canadians as well.

"We see the strength in the numbers . . . we believe that it makes our Canadian kids better, stronger," Moir said. "There are some people that it doesn't work for, which is fine. But usually it is life changing, and in this day and age, we need sport done in the right way more than ever. That's the whole commitment we made to each other. And hopefully, we can continue to uphold it."

'It's the little victories that I find extremely rewarding'

The 34-year-old Moir recently married longtime girlfriend Jaclyn Mascarin after COVID-19 twice threw a wrench into wedding plans. They have an 18-month-old daughter.

Moir's mom Alma and his aunt Carol, who were Virtue and Moir's first coaches, run the nearby Ilderton Skating Club, and can provide a developmental feeder system for dancers.

"So they're bringing up little teams, and they're also involved in the I.AM Ontario campus. So it's a nice little crossover that helps us," Moir said.

Moir, who often reaches out to Virtue if he has a skating question he can't figure out, said there's a big sense of satisfaction in the success of his athletes. But it comes in the moments away from competition.

"It's the little victories, and they mostly happen in training when you have a day and everything's clicking, and you're like, 'Oh, my God, I am actually having an impact!' I do have those moments," he said. "Sometimes it's the actual skills that they're getting, such as doing a perfect rocker turn that we've been working on forever.

"Most of the time, it's how the kids behave, and their skills that they'll take on to do whatever they do in the rest of their life — little things like being vulnerable, giving everything they have and even showing up on time and writing an email that they're supposed to.

"It's the little victories that I find extremely rewarding."

The transition into the new role seems like a natural fit. Since stepping away from the sport alongside Virtue in 2019, Moir said he still found himself dropping by at the local ice rink to help coach young athletes.

Moir said the partnership with I.AM came from a desire to give back to the local community and being able to offer them an elite service without having to leave Canada.

"I want to get back in the arena with these athletes and discover new ways to be extremely excellent. And I think that's what this journey is all about. The plan is to teach, but also to learn."  

"I want to get back on the international stage. I want to bring in Olympic champions to southwestern Ontario and I want it to be done the right way," Moir said, adding that he wants to ensure his athletes accomplish fulfilment both on and off the ice.

"The way that Patrice, Marie-France and Romain saw [Tessa and I] as human beings, they respected that and pushed us to be our best not only on the ice, but off the ice. It had a long lasting effect on my life, so I want to be able to do that."

Moir's new position has already caught the attention of high-profile athletes. On Monday, it was confirmed that U.S. ice dancers and two-time World Junior medallists Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko will be training under Moir's supervision at I. AM.

Virtue and Moir announced they were stepping away from the sport in 2019 after 22 years and numerous Olympic and world titles. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images/File)

This new chapter in Moir's career comes after spending 22 years with a professional partner. Moir and Virtue were paired up in 1997 at ages nine and seven, respectively. Moir said he won't be taking on this task alone, adding that he'll be working alongside a team of other coaches, including his mother Alma and his aunt Carol.

As for a future collaboration with Virtue, Moir said the possibility is always on the table.

"I don't want to get people too excited, but she had talked about what it would be like to come back inside the rink and I want to make sure that that's always available to Tessa Virtue."

"Watching Tessa and Marie-France create our last couple of programs together with Sam Chouinard, I was really in the front row of genius happening. So anytime that I can get her back in the arena, I'm going to do that."

Virtue is in the midst of obtaining an Executive MBA at Queens University. The 31-year-old from London, Ont., has also partnered up with brands, including Nivea, Adidas, The Brick and Kashi all while continuing to empower young women.

"We look back at these crazy, young kids, but we always were on the same page and I think now our relationship is at a really beautiful point where we're starting to figure out where each other wants to go and we're really just cheering each other on," Moir said.

Virtue with Canadian athlete agent Russell Reimer. 

Secrets to developing post-athletic success

Reimer's company represents several of the most successful Canadian Olympians — names like Virtue, McMorris, Montgomery, hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser and sprinter Aaron Brown.

Before founding Manifesto, Reimer was a producer with NBC at the Sydney and Salt Lake City Olympics. There he noticed all athletes faced the same challenges of cyclical interest, partners that weren't committed and marketing rights that fell into increasingly narrow windows.

It's the same issues most athletes face today.

He also noticed the untapped business of bridging an athlete's story and marketing opportunities. And since all Olympians are there to win medals, it's what an athlete stands for that separates them from the crowd and makes them attractive to sponsors.

"I think from an Olympic perspective you get to tap into a more emotional connection than you maybe could with other sports," says Matt McGlyyn, vice president of brand marketing at Royal Bank of Canada [RBC], a Canadian national team sponsor since 1947.

"Performance always goes up and down, but we always stay focused on athletes that have a strong and organic connection to our brand."

Building a sellable brand is a big ask from athletes, considering they're already working to be among the best in the world at their sport.

But so is every other athlete.

"Zero times an Olympic gold medal is zero," Reimer says. "You should have no expectation of a commercial outcome if you aren't willing to do the work and storytelling…before the Games."

Of course, there are outliers. Think Penny Oleksiak or Andre De Grasse; two relatively unknown Canadians who turned Olympic performances into immediate success after the 2016 Rio Olympics. Both are Canadian red carpet staples with brand partnerships relevant to their sports — Vichy Canada for Oleksiak and Puma for De Grasse.

But coming into a Games with a defined mission statement, or being shrewd enough to capitalize on the attention is how a pitcher of beer multiplies a skeleton gold medal into a hosting gig on national TV.

"All you have to do is ask yourself a tough question about why [you're doing this], what your deepest motivation was," Reimer says. "And if you say something compelling in the moment you have Canada's attention, the United States' attention. You have created yourself a commercial and career opportunity."

McMorris set the tone, Virtue doing it best

Take McMorris for example.

"He's had a camera with him since he was eight years old," Reimer says of the Canadian snowboarder. "And we were able to tell really great stories about Mark and we took the time to construct a real critical path of content going into the 2014 Games."

McMorris was also a trailblazer in social media. He was named most socially engaged Olympian at Sochi 2014 by the Sport Business Journal and Hookit, a sport sponsorship analytics platform.

It didn't hurt that McMorris has won enough X Games medals to be compared with American legend Shaun White. But when the comparison happened, McMorris' story and content were primed and ready for when people Googled his name.

But right now, Reimer says the Canadian athlete doing it best is Virtue, now a figure skating legend.

"When you see the transition she's made, it's really a massive leap — a leap that hasn't taken place in Canada from success on ice or snow to commercial success," he says.

Since competing in her final Olympic Games in 2018, Virtue's personal brand has aligned with endless high-profile companies: Nivea, Adidas, and MAC Cosmetics to name a few. She's appeared on shows like Mr. D and MasterChef Canada. Rock The Rink, a skating exhibition, starts its Canadian tour this fall with Virtue at the centre of the show.

All this happened post-Pyeongchang, her third and final Olympic cycle, and arguably, her most successful.

"I was clear about my mission," Virtue said. "And my goal was not to be a well-known figure in Pyeongchang, my goal was to be the best ice dancer in the world."

That meant turning down sponsorship and media opportunities to focus on training. But Virtue found an effective way to stay visible and tell her story: Instagram.

Virtue wasn't even on the app in Sochi 2014: her first post was the following summer. But through videos of practices and choreography sessions, alongside thoughtfully curated posts reflecting her personal and professional mission statements, Virtue built a following that grew by more than 200 per cent in Pyeongchang.

Virtue wants all her business relationships and ventures to reflect her bottom line, which is inspiring young girls and women while fostering a supportive network where  people can strive to be the best versions of themselves.

"There's no easy way to the top of anything, but it's a lot of hard work and I feel maybe I have the confidence in that recipe, or the confidence in myself," Virtue says. "So maybe it's an investment in myself and getting back to authenticity, just trusting in my story and who I am to the core."

And that all comes down to what Reimer says is the bottom line.

"She's the model for how you build enduring appeal… What matters is the story."