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Johnny WeirWeir's Breakout YearDecember 18, 2004 Weir has not yet landed a quad jump in competition, but the new judging system has been his strongest ally, rewarding the twenty-year old virtuoso for his elegant program interpretation and choreography. Whether or not he can combine it all for a shot at a World podium is unclear. Weir is biding his time, but time is running out. The next World Championships, on Plushenko's Moscow home-turf, take place in March. "Will Johnny have a quad?" remains the unanswered question. Kathleen: You've gotten some grief lately over comments you've made regarding competitors, and also just your general outspoken manner. How do you feel when you read or hear negative things about you or your skating? Johnny: "I think people enjoy taking things out of context to make it scandalous, but I admit I also say things that don't always rub people the right way. Yes, coach Tatiana Tarasova may have said the only person I should look to compete against is Plushenko, but she's also said, "He's not the only person that can beat you." Fans should try and understand that at a competition, when you finally get off the ice, you're exhausted and drained. You have to go do the drug test, then the press conference, and finally you're in a little room speaking to the media for a few minutes and everything you utter does not always come out exactly right or proper. But I'm also not ashamed of anything I say, it's just the way it is. I've never been proper, (laughs), why should I start now?" Kathleen: Then who beyond Evgeni Plushenko - if anyone - do you consider your toughest competition? Johnny: "I look at Brian Joubert and Emanuel Sandhu as the ones I have to beat. I'll start with Sandhu because I love his skating, and I admire him as probably the finest skater out there. He's another guy who goes in his own direction, and doesn't care what people think. He's been kind of ostracized at times by the Canadian press because he doesn't have a consistent track record, but I don't care. I like his skating so much I'll watch his tapes, and you can see that he's trying to take skating to a new level. A lot of people don't get to see the warm-ups and the practices, and even the off-ice stretching before the actual programs. Sandhu is phenomenal, not only a great dancer, but also a great technician. Off the ice he can do a triple axel, and he can bring his leg up completely over his head, unbelievable talent and flexibility. He's a true artist that happens to be athletic, and that appeals to me because I'm trying to do the same thing. He can land two different quads, I've seen him do it. His only weakness is sometimes when he goes to compete. I don't know him very well, don't speak to him much because I'm sort of (laughs) nasty at the competitions and those are the only times I see him, but he's eccentric and I respect that." "Brian Joubert I see as one of the best competitors. It was such an eye-opener to skate with him this summer in Simsbury and witness the intensity he trains at, and how hard he works every single day. I heard people were ragging on him after the Trophee Eric Bompard press conference, when he complained he felt the quad jump was not getting enough credit, but they don't really know the situation. For just having recently gotten into the spotlight, he has accomplished a lot. He's still new, just like I'm still new. Yet, he has something I don't have - the quad jump. He's a phenomenal jumper, but to be as talented as he is, and still be such a nice guy, so down to earth, is what really makes me support him and appreciate him. He's grown a lot on the artistic side, I can see that from his work with Alexei and Tatiana, and he has tons of potential to still grow. The exciting part of Brian's skating is, if he wants it, he really has everything necessary to make it to the top, just like Sandhu, just like Plushenko." Kathleen: Do you socialize much with your competitors? Johnny: "Brian and Emanuel are good examples, because both are good guys, but I like to keep to myself and not get too close to those I compete against. Not to sound like a snob, and I don't mean to create friction, but it's probably better to keep them as rivals and training partners. More would be crossing the line, and that wouldn't necessarily be good for my competitive spirit." Kathleen: Regarding your new long program, you've said that in your mind the music and the character's story is that of missing someone. Can you elaborate? Johnny: "So often I'm away from the people I love, whether it's a relationship, a friend, family, or whatever. It seems that I'm always away, either traveling or training, and I can't get to them. I feel like I'm always missing someone and it's hard to say, but there is someone very special who is my best friend and when I'm gone it's difficult for me personally, but easy to play that role on the ice because it's a real emotion." Kathleen: You have said that the singer Christina Aguilera has been one of the most inspirational people in your life. I wonder when you're older if you might look back and cringe at that reference? She does have a great voice, but she seems an unusual choice. What makes her an inspiration? Johnny: "I never really got into the pop movement when it was popular, and I didn't particularly like her when she was first on the scene, just like I look back at my own early performances and I don't like them - I didn't look very happy. Then Christina came out with the new album, Stripped, and it was the way she wanted to do it - her way - you could tell her attitude was she couldn't have cared less if one person, or ten million people, bought it. She was not going to apologize for who she was: a strong, driven woman doing things her own way, and with no excuses, no explanations."
Kathleen: Another female artist that played a role in your life, and in fact pushed your interest towards figure skating, was Oksana Baiul, after you watched her win the 1994 Olympics. Johnny: "Even back then I was able to see what a wonderful artist Oksana was and how she paid attention down to even the slightest detail of her finger movements. And of course her story was so motivational. I didn't "come from nothing," but I lived out in the middle of nowhere and we didn't know anything about famous people or great skaters, and I latched onto that and it was a big part of why I was so interested in her. I had the opportunity to meet her at Champions On ice in Long Island and she was really nice. She said kind things to me about my skating, and it was an honor to meet her as I'd looked up to her for so long. Probably no one has been ripped on as much as poor Oksana. She's a great person and still has a strength about her I admire." Kathleen: I've heard coach Tatiana Tarasova, who works with you in addition to your primary longtime coach Priscilla Hill, has employed some rather unorthodox treatments for your injuries. Can you tell us about one of them? Johnny: "I had tendonitis over the summer. The area just above my ankle on my right leg was really causing me pain. She told me to rub honey over the affected area, wrap white cabbage around it, and leave it like that while I slept. Surprisingly, it worked! Of course, if Tatiana believes in something, I'll believe in it (laughs). It could have been a placebo effect, but it worked - I really felt a difference." Kathleen: As the Russians say, "lift the veil for us." What is it really like to work with the great Tarasova? Johnny: "She is the most amazing woman. Everyday she is out doing her job, which is the job of making people better. She had to give up her dream of being a pairs figure skating champion after she injured her shoulder, and to this day she still cannot lift her arm all the way up. Tatiana gives to skaters the passion she had, and could not capitalize on. She finds some bit in you to make the magic with. I remember the first time I skated for her, I was quite frustrated. Andrei Griazev was on the ice, as was Sasha Cohen, and they were doing great. Then there was me, having this really off day. She called me over to the boards and said, "Johnny, look at your spins! Nobody in the world can spin like you." I disagreed, and she said, "No! You are the best, and don't ever forget that!" And even though on that particular day, when I definitely was not the best, she could look me in the eye and make me believe in myself." Earlier this year at Worlds in Dortmund, I was having some problems during practice and she was yelling across the ice, "Look inside yourself - go into your soul and take your life in your hands. You need to just do it!" And when I would complete a move, she'd be clapping and jumping and so excited. The fact that she's had so many champions, and that she's at all excited about you produces a boost of confidence that is unbelievable. You start to believe it, and you start to think, "I am good, I can make it." As supportive and as strict as Tatiana is, she loves her skaters like they are her kids. She gives her life for figure skating, and she loves each of us unconditionally. Place first, or last, and she looks only at how the performance was for you. At Cup of Russia, even though I came in second, she hugged me as if I was the best. Kathleen: "Yes, but you held your own against Plushenko, skating in his home country. Certainly that gave her extra cachet, for the Russian people to see what she did for this "American skater?" Johnny: "True." Kathleen: Among all her students, past and present, does she have a favorite, one who is most beloved? Johnny: "Alexei (Yagudin). He has her soft spot, she loves him truly as a son, as if she gave birth to him. You can tell she is so proud of everything he does, how much passion she has for him and his life. She may look as if she's this hard coach, but he has a special place in her heart. They went through a lot together, he had some down times, and she was always there, by his side." Kathleen: You must occasionally read the Internet. Do the sometimes harsh comments hurt you? Johnny: "No, I'm not reading chat sites. I hear what gets said, and it's awful that people are so critical without really knowing what is going on. People believe they're too much in the skater's head, and it aggravates me. If fans are going to go negative, then I'd really love to see them do it better, and I'd like to say, "Hey you go out there - on skates, in the skin-tight outfits, in front of the audience and the judges - and you do it, you show us all how it's supposed to be done. So much of the Internet is crass and tacky. I train hard, that's my job. If people think they have to write bad things, well, then that's what I get for being in the spotlight. Figure skating can be very love/hate. I have the attitude, because I've been brought up this way, that if someone is critical, you call them on it and simply say, "let's see you do it better." Even at the small rinks and competitions, everyone is out to kill everyone else. It's a highly competitive sport, and fans are getting even more competitive. It's cut-throat, and paying too much attention to what is said is delving into waters I don't really care to dive into. It doesn't affect me, and even if my popularity grows, I won't let it affect me. I'm very comfortable with who I am, and my life outside of skating." Kathleen: One - and some might say legitimate - critique of your performances is that you lack a strong audience connection. Whether or not someone likes Plushenko's programs, they cannot deny his live-audience appeal, right down to the direct eye contact he makes. Johnny: "I don't have audience connection? Then I want to see them have the audience connection, and wave their arms, make their jumps. I skate for myself, my coaches, and my mom - but most of all for me. It might be hard to understand that, considering thousands are watching, but that's who I am. I've always loved skating, and I love to find the strength within myself to go out and compete. I think if it comes across as different than Plushenko; for example, that I'm "in my own world," well, he's more show-biz, and that doesn't interest me. I can't fake it by posing and dancing. I want to tell a story through my body lines and movement. That's my style, and I'm sticking to it." Kathleen: Considering you have not yet landed a quad in competition, you still won two Grand Prix gold medals this season, and took second-place at the third Grand Prix event. Would you say the new Code of Points judging system has been good to you? Johnny: "Code of points has been excellent to me. I won NHK in Japan and Trophee Eric Bompard in France against men who did not one - but two quads - and I came out on top. It's definitely worked to my advantage, and I like it a lot right now! (laughs) At US Nationals we'll be back with the 6.0 system, but there will be no change in my strategy." Kathleen: And now it's time for the million dollar question, the will-he-or-won't-he we've all been waiting to see: when will Johnny Weir present a quad jump in competition? Johnny: "I can land the quad toe, and I've also landed the quad salchow this season. Right now I have an injury to my right foot, which is why I'm not in China at the Grand Prix Final, and that is altering my ability to jump. Seeing that it is so close to Nationals, and to Four Continents, which I would also like to do, I don't know how much I'm going to be working on quads short-term. But I know I'll definitely need it at Worlds. It's a hard jump to mentally put in the program, but I've come so far in one year with mental toughness, and being able to compete and perform on demand, that even when I don't do my best, it's hard - but I can still hold up. The quad is an obstacle, and I know I can do it (laughs), because I have lots of videotape of me doing it! I'm not going to leave it out for my career, but I'm also going to do it when I'm ready, on my own terms, and in my own time, not because the federations, fans, or coaches want it." Kathleen: What are your goals for the remainder of the season. The Grand Prix is behind you, and the major events - Nationals and Worlds - lie ahead.
Kathleen: Unlike many other top skaters, winning an Olympic gold medal does not seem to be your obsession. That's refreshing. Of course I'm kidding here, but sometimes I think if Plushenko doesn't get one the next time around, he's going to shoot himself. Johnny: "I think Mishin will get to him first! (big laughter) I did get to know Evgeni on tour this year, with Champions On Ice, and he didn't seem like this "big titled champion," he was "just Zhenya." I think that's why I'm fairly comfortable competing against him. He liked to hook everyone up with music from his iPod speakers. We had fun, he's cool, a nice guy. I remember one really early morning on the tour bus, after a long night of parties. He and I both sat down with hoods, hats, and big sunglasses on. We looked at each other and he just said, "Well, here we go again!" |
He became the top American man ever in the Grand Prix series this season with two victories and a second-place finish. Reigning US National Champion Johnny Weir beat European Champion Brian Joubert on French ice, and held his own against three-time World Champion Evgeni Plushenko, taking silver in St. Petersburg at the Cup or Russia. In Japan he beat top teammates Tim Goebel and Michael Weiss, and put international judges and audiences on notice that a new artistic force to be reckoned with has arrived.
"I think because her first album was so over-manufactured by her record label company that with age, wisdom, and maturity she finally decided she can do whatever she wants. She succeeded because she has this amazing talent, a voice that can beat any other except maybe Whitney Houston when she was healthy, and possibly Mariah Carey. She inspired me to take on a "this is my way, and if you don't like it that's your choice, but I'm going to do it my way" attitude. I'm not trying to live a life that's a model of hers, but there are many admirable things she's accomplished, but essentially - she's successful because of her talent. I hope I'll be looked at the same way - that people cannot shut me out because my talent will speak for itself."
Johnny: "I don't like to set goals, as far as medals are concerned. It would be nice to be in the top three at Worlds, and I'm looking forward to skating in Russia again. I absolutely loved it and want to deliver strong numbers for the audience and the judges, and to cap off the season with a big finale.