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Max Aaron

A sorta new, sorta old Max video that deserves its own post:

Just discovered that Nick Gismondi (who was a Universal Sports reporter) uploaded a hi-res version of this video to YT in Oct 2015.

It's a "Countdown to Sochi" video of Nick with Max that was produced in 2013 -- at least some of which was shown on the Jumbotron at 2013 Skate America. Not sure whether it also aired on Universal Sports around that time, but the only earlier YT version (AFAIK) was shot off the Jumbotron at Skate America, so the quality was poor.

Anyway, the video has a variety of good stuff, incl. Max giving demos of his rigorous off-ice training regimen; Max in teaching/coaching mode with Nick; and adult Max in hockey skates showing some hockey skills.
[A lot of the video is along the lines of Nick trying his hand at what Max does off and on ice. But the video showcases Max well.]

Countdown To Sochi - Train Like A Champion: Max Aaron (Figure Skating)
Nick Gismondi
Published on Oct 21, 2015
Nick Gismondi takes to the ice with Team USA's Max Aaron to try his hand at Figure Skating! The two also spend some time in the gym and Nick realizes its not easy to train like a champion!
https://youtu.be/oZK4JMqVlRQ (6:44)​
 
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Thanks for the news and video as always golden411icecoverage! Great to see how Max is doing!
 
From 2011, a video of Dr. Aaron (father of Molly/Max/Maddie) answering the question, "What's so great about figure skating?"

https://youtu.be/3Jx6FcyfaNo (Feb 1, 2011; 50 secs)​

My ears could not catch some of his words.
Starting at 0:32, he says, "I think everything that they do in life has been touched by their skating ..."
But then I can't hear the rest of that thought .... :(
Until at 0:41, he continues, "Once again, people say to me ..."

Can anyone hear what he said in between?

(At the top of the video, Dr. Aaron introduces his wife, who says Hello, but the short vid does not include more from her. BTW, now that Max and Maddie are older, I think their mom no longer lives with them -- at least not full time?)

Sending Happy Hanukkah wishes back to Max and also to his family.
 
It looks like that is part of a series that Ryan Jahnke did with the Broadmoor SC. I see a number of young skaters were also interviewed. I wish there were more short, candid clips like that - but I understand that it take time to film, edit, and post - even when the clips are simple.

There's also the issue of getting people to do the interviews, especially if they are private/introverted.
 
musicfan80 said:
It looks like that is part of a series that Ryan Jahnke did with the Broadmoor SC. I see a number of young skaters were also interviewed. ...
Click to expand...

Yes, in accordance with the focus of this thread, I intentionally posted only the isolated video of Dr. Aaron's complete comments.

A partial clip of what Dr. Aaron said is in the long edited package with multiple voices that is on Ryan Jahnke's channel ... along with many other individual videos.
 
golden411icecoverage said:
From 2011, a video of Dr. Aaron (father of Molly/Max/Maddie) answering the question, "What's so great about figure skating?"

https://youtu.be/3Jx6FcyfaNo (Feb 1, 2011; 50 secs)​

My ears could not catch some of his words.
Starting at 0:32, he says, "I think everything that they do in life has been touched by their skating ..."
But then I can't hear the rest of that thought .... :(
Until at 0:41, he continues, "Once again, people say to me ..."

Can anyone hear what he said in between?

(At the top of the video, Dr. Aaron introduces his wife, who says Hello, but the short vid does not include more from her. BTW, now that Max and Maddie are older, I think their mom no longer lives with them -- at least not full time?)

Sending Happy Hanukkah wishes back to Max and also to his family.
Click to expand...

"Everything they do in life has been touched by their skating and what their instructors have taught them in skating. Once again...."

It took a few listens, and max volume on my monitor, to make it out.
 
NanaPat said:
"Everything they do in life has been touched by their skating and what their instructors have taught them in skating. Once again...."

It took a few listens, and max volume on my monitor, to make it out.
Click to expand...

Thx very much for shedding light, NanaPat :bow:. Really appreciate that you went to the trouble of repeatedly listening to figure out what I could not hear.

BTW, by coincidence, I was looking at a year-old article about Max and Maddie (b/c of the U.S. men thread), and it said:
These days, their mother visits occasionally to check on them, but it's mostly the two siblings together ...
http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2014/12/04/103062284/aarons-combine-holidays-to-maximize-family-time (Dec 2014)​

Congratulations to Max for placing second in the Challenger series. As others have noted elsewhere on GS, Jason placed first; Mikhail Kolyada third; and Adam fourth.

Last, but not least(?), yesterday six new photos of Max's practice at TEB were tweeted. Scroll down at the link below to see the entire series:
 
In the December issue of Skating magazine:

~ Recaps of Max's win at Skate America:
http://content.yudu.com/web/y5b2/0A1uvwc/Dec2015SKATING/html/index.html?page=14 (pp. 12-13 of the magazine includes full-page Black Swan photo)​
~ Group photo of gold medalists at Skate America gala:

~ Lynn Rutherford article with quotes from Phillip Mills and Max about their work together:

~ Short article with Max quotes re his character portrayal in his Nessun Dorma SP:

~ Aaron family recipe for Jewish apple cake (and foodie photo), as part of a holiday traditions article:

(The page numbers in the magazine and in the URLs are out of synch.)

~ Link to the full magazine:

ETA:

Max is mentioned also in the brief discussion of Skate America social media stats:

- Among the top ten mentioned Twitter handles were Jason, Gracie, Max.

- "The height of the social media buzz came late Saturday night when Aaron excited the hometown crowd with his title."

- More than 500,000 views for the brand-new "Uncut" series with skaters' reactions as they came off the ice.
The most popular: a special version that featured Max's reaction in the K and C to his victory.​
 
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golden411icecoverage said:
Countdown To Sochi - Train Like A Champion: Max Aaron (Figure Skating)
Nick Gismondi
Published on Oct 21, 2015
Nick Gismondi takes to the ice with Team USA's Max Aaron to try his hand at Figure Skating! The two also spend some time in the gym and Nick realizes its not easy to train like a champion!
https://youtu.be/oZK4JMqVlRQ (6:44)​
Click to expand...

I adore this video! (Even if my hands itch to grab the scissors and snip back those curls falling over his face!). I think the footwork they show (when he's showing off) is actually the footwork from his Historia de un Amor SP for the 2013-2014 season.

Love seeing Nick come to the realisation that figure skating is about making it look easy...but it's so, so hard! And also, I, um, kind of enjoy watching Max work out. :o:

golden411icecoverage said:
From 2011, a video of Dr. Aaron (father of Molly/Max/Maddie) answering the question, "What's so great about figure skating?"

https://youtu.be/3Jx6FcyfaNo (Feb 1, 2011; 50 secs)​
Click to expand...

Playing this through the Chromecast to my TV made the sound quite a lot clearer.

Dr Aaron: "Hello, I'm Dr Aaron and this is my wife Mindy."

Mrs Aaron: "Hello."

Dr Aaron: "We have three skaters here at the Broadmoor. Our kids started skating years ago, and it's given them a lot of character, it's kept them focused, in everything they do in life, even outside of the rink. So if you ask me is it worth it? The bottom line is yes, absolutely. My wife lives here with the kids, my kids were all public schooled, and I think that everything they do in life has been touched by their skating and what their instructors have taught them in skating. Once again, people say to me 'is it worth the cost?' and my answer would be yes, absolutely yes."

Proud Dr Aaron totally makes my day. Also, he is movie-star good looking. Not hard to see where Max got it from! Though I think in height he takes more from his mother! :yes:

musicfan80 said:
It looks like that is part of a series that Ryan Jahnke did with the Broadmoor SC. I see a number of young skaters were also interviewed. I wish there were more short, candid clips like that - but I understand that it take time to film, edit, and post - even when the clips are simple.

There's also the issue of getting people to do the interviews, especially if they are private/introverted.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure that one of his clips was actually of Joshua, who was of course practically a baby at the time.

golden411icecoverage said:
In the December issue of Skating magazine:

~ Recaps of Max's win at Skate America:
http://content.yudu.com/web/y5b2/0A1uvwc/Dec2015SKATING/html/index.html?page=14 (pp. 12-13 of the magazine includes full-page Black Swan photo)​
~ Group photo of gold medalists at Skate America gala:

~ Lynn Rutherford article with quotes from Phillip Mills and Max about their work together:

~ Short article with Max quotes re his character portrayal in his Nessun Dorma SP:

~ Aaron family recipe for Jewish apple cake (and foodie photo), as part of a holiday traditions article:

(The page numbers in the magazine and in the URLs are out of synch.)

~ Link to the full magazine:

ETA:

Max is mentioned also in the brief discussion of Skate America social media stats:

- Among the top ten mentioned Twitter handles were Jason, Gracie, Max.

- "The height of the social media buzz came late Saturday night when Aaron excited the hometown crowd with his title."

- More than 500,000 views for the brand-new "Uncut" series with skaters' reactions as they came off the ice.
The most popular: a special version that featured Max's reaction in the K and C to his victory.​
Click to expand...

Thankyou, golden! I love how honest Max is in the article, that he admits he didn't want to do all the edge classes at first, that he's enjoying the character in Nessun Dorma.

And I am a bit :cry: that Phillip's quotes definitely, beyond doubt, kill the beautiful ChSq that we all loved so much in the first version. But I am reassured by the fact that he still wants to "tinker" with the program and that it could yet become even better. Hopefully, even without that long pause! If I am fortunate enough to meet Mr Mills in person, I will tell him how much I loved it, but I will also thank him very much.

But these were my two favourite Phillip quotes from the article:

"Max started out by saying, 'I'm not very artistic'," Mills recalled. "I said, 'stop saying that. I've seen you do some run-throughs when you are very artistic.' We had to tap into that consistently, in every run-through."
Click to expand...

"The program is kind of an anonymous love-letter to a girl who [Max] thinks is unattainable, but I think she is," Mills said. "I kind of equate that to Max becoming an artist - he might have thought that was unattainable, but it is."
Click to expand...

Proud of our SnuggleBat this season! And I know it will get better. (Though now beset by funny/sad mental image of the Swan Prince seeing the Princess and thinking he cannot win her, with his faithful counselor by his side urging him to try anyway.)
 
karne said:
... Playing this through the Chromecast to my TV made the sound quite a lot clearer.

Dr Aaron: "Hello, I'm Dr Aaron and this is my wife Mindy."

Mrs Aaron: "Hello."

Dr Aaron: "We have three skaters here at the Broadmoor. Our kids started skating years ago, and it's given them a lot of character, it's kept them focused, in everything they do in life, even outside of the rink. So if you ask me is it worth it? The bottom line is yes, absolutely. My wife lives here with the kids, my kids were all public schooled, and I think that everything they do in life has been touched by their skating and what their instructors have taught them in skating. Once again, people say to me 'is it worth the cost?' and my answer would be yes, absolutely yes."

Proud Dr Aaron totally makes my day. Also, he is movie-star good looking. Not hard to see where Max got it from! Though I think in height he takes more from his mother! :yes:



Pretty sure that one of his clips was actually of Joshua, who was of course practically a baby at the time....


If I am fortunate enough to meet Mr Mills in person, I will tell him how much I loved it, but I will also thank him very much. ...
Click to expand...

karne, thx :bow: for transcribing the whole video of Dr. and Mrs. Aaron.

Great to see and hear Dr. Aaron saying how much he believes in his kids and in the value of skating to them.
Mrs. Aaron reminded me a lot of Max. In addition to the similarity in height, something about her smile and the twinkle in her eyes looked just right for SnuggleMom.
No wonder Max and Maddie often speak of how much their parents mean to them.

(Ryan Jahnke's channel did have a separate video of Josh. Also one of Lukas.
As a fan of Josh, I will say that four years make quite a difference. Agree that the self-possessed adult of today had not yet emerged.)

If/when ;) Max makes the World team, I dearly hope -- for Max's sake and for yours -- that Phillip Mills will join him and Tom Z in Boston.
 
golden411icecoverage said:
(Ryan Jahnke's channel did have a separate video of Josh. Also one of Lukas.
As a fan of Josh, I will say that four years make quite a difference. Agree that the self-possessed adult of today had not yet emerged.)

If/when ;) Max makes the World team, I dearly hope -- for Max's sake and for yours -- that Phillip Mills will join him and Tom Z in Boston.
Click to expand...

About Josh, A LOT of change - both physically and emotionally - usually happens to someone between the ages of 16 to 20. In fact, a lot of dramatic changes can happen between 18 to 20. I think a lot of guys change more than girls. I remember seeing guys a year or two after high school and thinking "What happened? He's totally different guy now?" :laugh:

Back to talking about Max - I think many times the choreographer sits with the skater and coach in the Kiss 'n Cry. There's usually room for two people to sit with the skater, correct? The only exception is when the skater has more than one coach.
 
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musicfan80 said:
About Josh, A LOT of change - both physically and emotionally - usually happens to someone between the ages of 16 to 20. In fact, a lot of dramatic changes can happen between 18 to 20. I think a lot of guys change more than girls. I remember seeing guys a year or two after high school and thinking "What happened? He's totally different guy now?" :laugh:

Back to talking about Max - I think many times the choreographer sits with the skater and coach in the Kiss 'n Cry. There's usually room for two people to sit with the skater, correct? The only exception is when the skater has more than one coach.
Click to expand...

Agree on all counts :agree:.

As for Boston, I was and am taking one thing at a time. First, Max needs to skate at Nats ... and then if he is selected for Worlds, Team Max can decide whether Phillip will travel to Boston to join Max and TZ.
I never saw any photos of Phillip at Skate America ... so my guess is that he was not in Milwaukee at all.
My understanding is that a skater is responsible for paying out of pocket for all travel expenses of both coach and choreographer (not to mention the fees for their time and professional services), so at this point it is just my wishful-thinking/best-case-scenario daydreaming that Phillip would be in Boston. Could be totally unrealistic.

As for Josh, I hope it was obvious that my comments were supportive. I noted that I was a fan of his, because I too meant that it is perfectly normal for teens to change a lot within a few years.
 
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I think that if Max makes it to Worlds, there could be no doubt that Phillip Mills will be there with him. I just can't imagine that he wouldn't be. It would fit with everything we know about SnuggleBat's thinking and character that, if he did make it to Worlds, he would be grateful for Phillip's work and make sure that Phillip is with him for that moment.

Phillip was also in Tallinn, so I wouldn't think it out of the question that he would attend competitions for SnuggleBat.

(But at any rate, it may not be in Boston that I would see either - as I will spend a week in a certain mountain city working on my own skating two weeks before Boston itself.)
 
karne said:
I think that if Max makes it to Worlds, there could be no doubt that Phillip Mills will be there with him. I just can't imagine that he wouldn't be. It would fit with everything we know about SnuggleBat's thinking and character that, if he did make it to Worlds, he would be grateful for Phillip's work and make sure that Phillip is with him for that moment.

Phillip was also in Tallinn, so I wouldn't think it out of the question that he would attend competitions for SnuggleBat.

(But at any rate, it may not be in Boston that I would see either - as I will spend a week in a certain mountain city working on my own skating two weeks before Boston itself.)
Click to expand...

Yes, it was great that Phillip was with Max in Tallinn. And I hope that Phillip will be in Boston.

But as we both know, TZ did not travel to Tallinn ... was at U.S. sectionals instead.
So we have yet to see both Phillip and TZ at the same comp with Max. Thus my avoidance of making an assumption either way re Boston. YMMV.

(If Phillip is not in Boston, I won't interpret it as any lack of appreciation from Max for Phillip. And I know you won't either.)

But ... you have buried the lede. Very exciting that you will be training in the U.S. for a week :). Somewhere mighty familiar to Max and Phillip, I take it.
 
karne said:
I think that if Max makes it to Worlds, there could be no doubt that Phillip Mills will be there with him. I just can't imagine that he wouldn't be. It would fit with everything we know about SnuggleBat's thinking and character that, if he did make it to Worlds, he would be grateful for Phillip's work and make sure that Phillip is with him for that moment.

Phillip was also in Tallinn, so I wouldn't think it out of the question that he would attend competitions for SnuggleBat.
Click to expand...

golden411icecoverage said:
Yes, it was great that Phillip was with Max in Tallinn. And I hope that Phillip will be in Boston.

But as we both know, TZ did not travel to Tallinn ... was at U.S. sectionals instead.
So we have yet to see both Phillip and TZ at the same comp with Max. Thus my avoidance of making an assumption either way re Boston. YMMV.

(If Phillip is not in Boston, I won't interpret it as any lack of appreciation from Max for Phillip. And I know you won't either.)
Click to expand...

To be fair, both Phillip Mills and Tom Z have A TON of students...it must be excruciating to decide which competitions and students to attend - plus the day to day sessions. I don't know how they prioritize it all.
 
musicfan80 said:
To be fair, both Phillip Mills and Tom Z have A TON of students...it must be excruciating to decide which competitions and students to attend - plus the day to day sessions. I don't know how they prioritize it all.
Click to expand...

"To be fair ..."?? I don't think anyone has said anything unfair here.

I don't think anyone has expressed any criticism of Max, of Tom Z, or of Phillip as to who attends which competitions.

I believe we're all on the same page ... just mentioning different aspects of the coaching/choreo team arrangements.
 
golden411icecoverage said:
"To be fair ..."?? I don't think anyone has said anything unfair here.

I don't think anyone has expressed any criticism of Max, of Tom Z, or of Phillip as to who attends which competitions.

I believe we're all on the same page ... just mentioning different aspects of the coaching/choreo team arrangements.
Click to expand...

My apologies for the confusion - what I meant was that this would be a reasonable explanation why you wouldn't see Phillip or Tom in a Kiss & Cry with Max at an event. I didn't mean that anyone hear wouldn't automatically think negatively if they weren't there.
 
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