Despite his elevated profile, Brown insisted he’s not a wholly different person.
“What is really cool, as much as so much has changed, everything hasn’t,” he said. “The rink that I train at, the same. The people I’m around don’t treat me any different.”
He didn’t buy a new car, and he isn’t even moving out of the townhouse he shares with junior pairs figure skater Britney Simpson and ice dancer Karina Manta.
“It’s been so much fun,” Brown said of living with them in a house owned by Simpson’s parents. “They surprised me at the gate, when I got home (from the Olympics) with signs and balloons.”
And although his family lives in a suburb of Chicago, Brown still respects their authority and counts on them to help him manage his affairs. For instance, while in Los Angeles to appear on Hall’s show, he was invited to the premier of Divergent.
“I said, ‘Mom, can I stay out a couple more days?’ ” Brown recalled.
Moments later, though, Brown noted that he makes plenty of his own decisions, particularly when he’s in Colorado.
“I’m the same the person,” he insisted.
Which is why he’s going to have a low-key day off.
On Saturday, he’ll stick around the townhouse, watch a movie and hang out with his roommates. At some point, he figures he’ll call some of his best friends from high school, who he hasn’t had a chance to talk to lately.
“Just relax,” he said, “and make use of the day.”
He’s certainly earned it.
