Nathan Chen

[oatmella]

@oatmella
thank you for the article about Kobe's popularity in China,
but that is hardly Yuzuru's case at all..

yes that is true.

I think for Nathan to become more popular in China - it would be more important for him to have appearances/shows there ... messages/commercials to Chinese fans. I don't think it is necessary for him to become fluent in Chinese ?

I wonder if Nathan would eventually do things like advertisements/commercials in Japan ?

 

[oatmella]

Well China loves NBA so yea lol. There’s many former NBA players that weren’t even big in the NBA but play for China and gained massive popularity there. This reminds me of this one video where it asked random from Barcelona I think of all these big athletes in NBA and they literally didn’t know any big name outside of Michael Jordan but they knew every soccer player [emoji23]

Tbh though, I think it’s pretty clear Nathan isn’t really into the fame thing. Like even with his figure skating fame I don’t think he’s too comfortable with it (but getting better) but it’s atleast manageable and not crazy which is what he can handle. Being some super duper famous celebrity would probably his worst nightmare so I don’t wish that kind of fame on him because he clearly doesn’t want it. It takes effort for him to even do the little marketing of himself that he does now outside of obligations. I think marketing wise, he’ll never much outside of what’s in his contract and he’ll go long periods of silence from communicating with fans. That’s just who he is.

I guess this would be a nightmare for him:

"I thought I was famous until I got [to China] with Kobe."
LeBron James before the Beijing Olympics in 2008

 

[hhh]

My two cents on nerd – Nathan by cultural default, is a typical modern day nerd who’s a studious intellectual with style and interesting hobbies, which is a piece that wasn’t associated to the nerds of previous generations. It’s not an ethnicity thing as a Chinese nerd, he’s just a modern day American nerd, I would say one industry that has heavily led this nerd revolution is the tech world, and I have a few nerdy friends in NorCal who wear it with pride

@ oatmella – yes, he did talked about other competitions which I’ve included. Everyone has their fangirling way haha, I didn’t feel a “celeb” aura around him so my fangirl way was to just hang and chat with him since it was very chill, however, we did hear some screams etc here and there.

@ bonita – Thank you Yesterday was a bit defeating, but I’m moving forward.

I don’t feel Nathan is the type that does fan service by posing a certain way with anyone regardless how the social media reacts, he’s got a good head on his shoulder and does what’s true to himself, so people can define it however it feels suits their preference, to me, he is he’s own person.

Going to miss the weekly SOI update after this weekend

 

[shine]

Yeah, I don't think Nathan really cares about becoming famous anywhere, neither do I. If he does becomes famous, I hope it's because of his skating

 

[oatmella]

Do athletes like Kobe do stuff like this with the main goal of even greater fame? Or someone like Steph Curry? just curious.

While Nathan is low key - I don't think he doesn't care at all about some of the things associated with his 'fame' - such as Nike endorsement, VIP tickets to NBA games (and getting to meet the players), and opportunities many can only dream of.

Athletic achievement and fame are tied together in this - but honestly he enjoys some of the perks too.

 

[yyyskate]

@hhh it is soooo impressive that you are so chill when facing Nathan, I think I probably will be nervous as a cat,
speaking of cat, Nathan fellowed 2 kitten insta accounts. I thought he is a puppy person.

 

[yyyskate]

Do athletes like Kobe do stuff like this with the main goal of even greater fame? Or someone like Steph Curry? just curious.

While Nathan is low key - I don't think he doesn't care at all about some of the things associated with his 'fame' - such as Nike endorsement, VIP tickets to NBA games (and getting to meet the players), and opportunities many can only dream of.

Athletic achievement and fame are tied together in this - but honestly he enjoys some of the perks too.

i kinda sense that too.

 

[shine]

Ofc he enjoys all the perks (who wouldn't? ) but I don't see him ever really going out of his way to make sure he becomes more/stays famous either through social media or getting himself in prime time shows like DWTS etc other than what he's contractually obligated to do for his sponsors. Nor do I think he would rely on being famous to make a living in the future. After skating I think he'll be perfectly fine moving on to live a normal life like any regular person. I don't think he craves attention and fame like many people do.

 

[oatmella]

@hhh it is soooo impressive that you are so chill when facing Nathan, I think I probably will be nervous as a cat,
speaking of cat, Nathan fellowed 2 kitten insta accounts. I thought he is a puppy person.

I saw that. Maybe those are his Japanese fans' cats? And I think his sister is involved in cat rescue.

I would be nervous too.

Funny I've met the most famous athlete in China (or used to be) before and it actually didn't seem to be a huge deal (and he seems quite down to earth considering his extreme level of fame)- but meeting Nathan seems quite elusive - haha

I certainly don't think Nathan craves fame - but he wouldn't be getting these amazing opportunities if he was totally anonymous.

 

[heyheyhey]

Do athletes like Kobe do stuff like this with the main goal of even greater fame? Or someone like Steph Curry? just curious.

While Nathan is low key - I don't think he doesn't care at all about some of the things associated with his 'fame' - such as Nike endorsement, VIP tickets to NBA games (and getting to meet the players), and opportunities many can only dream of.

Athletic achievement and fame are tied together in this - but honestly he enjoys some of the perks too.

Absolutely. NBA players in particular are very star driven and will promote themselves better than any other athletes. Their brand and building awareness for their businesses is super important to them and so is exposure. If it was only about playing the sport, they’d be more like Tom Brady who you rarely hear about outside of football season. There’s nothing wrong with it, some athletes are really smart/savvy business people but they def try to seek more fame because it gives their brand more value/equity.

Ofc he likes the perks, I mean that he’s not wanting like big level fame where everyone knows his name and he can’t walk anywhere without people bothering him. He does sponsorships to pay for his skating and make a living but he’s not actively seeking out fame. He not on social media all the time, he doesn’t do a whole lot of tv or interviews, he’s not doing late night shows etc. He had opportunities after the Olympics and he just went home and trained instead, it’s obviously not something he cares much about.

Also those perks aren’t exactly coming for free. Those sponsors get something out of it too and he has to put in the work for them so it’s not like it’s just handed to him, he should enjoy it bc he’s worked for it.

 

[yyyskate]

Yeah, I don't think Nathan really cares about becoming famous anywhere, neither do I. If he does becomes famous, I hope it's because of his skating

I hope so too, I hope Nathan will be remembered as a skater, he can live a normal life after his figure skating career as he wishes, but I hope Nathan will be remembered as that skater by the public.:luv17:

 

[oatmella]

Tom Brady wrote a BOOK detailing his whole crazy regime. How do we rarely hear about him? He ate a STRAWBERRY and chugged a beer on late night TV in the off-season:
https://youtu.be/XDxU4bGYE-k?t=57

I'm really not sure Nathan had that many opportunities to do late night talk shows/Ellen-type stuff after the Olympics. Just being honest here.

And Nathan will always be known for his skating. The level of interest and craziness surrounding him won't last forever.

 

[yyyskate]

alysa liu just said she does not care about fame on her story.

I also agree with many of you here that Alysa has many similarity to Nathan.

 

[frida80]

Yes, the comparison is between two skaters with similar background, one can speak their language and talk on TV about the Chinese heritage vs one cannot speak the language and never has the chance to talk about Chinese heritage.

But this is the case to normal viewer/audiences who don't know that much about figure skating, and in an environment not very media coverage about FS except during Olympics given that figure skating is not that popular sports in China. Even Oatmella's mom like Vincent because he can speaks Chinese. Don't know if that is the case now. And there are other issues.

For die hard figure skating fans, ultimately, your achievements and your appeals are what is going to attract fans

Haha, Lu Chen is also Chen family. Other Nathans fans were telling me that she commented on Nathan's win in this year's worlds, and specifically mentioned another champion in the "Chen" family

Lu Chen commented about Nathan?! Awesome!

 

[frida80]

SOI ends this week. So no more night updates and videos. Well, we'll find something to talk about. Next show starts in June. Until then, our little Nate can take a well deserved vacation!

 

[heyheyhey]

Tom Brady wrote a BOOK detailing his whole crazy regime. How do we rarely hear about him?

I'm really not sure Nathan had that many opportunities to do late night talk shows/Ellen-type stuff after the Olympics. Just being honest here.

And Nathan will always be known for his skating[emoji7]. The level of interest and craziness surrounding him won't last forever.

He wrote a book last year but do we seriously hear about him that often outside of football season? Is he talked about year round like Lebron, Steph etc? Is he constantly doing interviews and on social media all the time? He’s def not out there all that much in comparison to NBA players. Or Aaron Rodgers?

I’m pretty sure he did, he was one of the top 10 talked about athletes of the Olympics. His agent could have had him on plenty of shows if he wanted (Ellen especially is not hard to get on at all, she has randoms from the internet on her show all the time let alone an Olympian)

 

[yyyskate]

Lu Chen commented about Nathan?! Awesome!

Lu Chen is sometimes the invited commentator in Chinese figure skating broadcast
Also the Chen fam, Patrick, Nathan, Karen is very well known among Chinese figure skating community (not just among fans), although the big sister is Tiffany Chin not Lu Chen, but Lulu probably considered herself as one member of the Chen fam.

- - - Updated - - -

SOI ends this week. So no more night updates and videos. Well, we'll find something to talk about. Next show starts in June. Until then, our little Nate can take a well deserved vacation!

out little Nate:::

 

[hhh]

Kobe became more involved with his int’l fan base in his later years, when Nike started the Kobe brand tour in Asia and elsewhere on an annual basis, and now he has basketball camps in different countries, too. He’s not part of the “social media” generation (like some of us), and even now, he picks his posts. The European footballers are probably the best self-promoters of all I’ve seen so far. With Nathan, I don’t anyone is saying he doesn’t care but his personality and of course he will mature and mind will change, he’s not a big self-promoter overall. As much as I think he deserves it, FS won’t be a major Nike invested sport considering how poorly ISU has been running its business. Be that as it may, Nathan has the advantage as a superstar in an era where cultural diversity is celebrated, Asian Americans are part of the mainstream pop culture and Olympics, medal or not, sent him on a path of stardom that is rare as only a sophomore in his pro career.

@yyyskate trust me, my friend and I were quite nervous but I think the skaters before Nathan were so friendly and fun to chat with by the time I got to him, and the vibe of the chat, made it all quite nice. I had no expectation set on Nathan so I came away with just pure joy and appreciation.

 

[oatmella]

ok I don't really know as I don't closely follow Tom. But I do hear of him in the off season - for example, he attends the Met Gala (very high profile event) every year.

http://time.com/5269249/tom-brady-2018-met-gala/

Aaron Rodgers dates famous women - Olivia Munn, Danica Patrick. There are plenty of paparazzi photos of him - hardly super low-key.

As for Ellen - I have the impression that she invites those on the show that she likes (Adam, Tessa&Scott), child prodigy types, random internet people she likes.

perhaps this is a stretch - but Nathan could be a Lionel Messi type - record achievement, once in a generation talent and yes, fame - but still stay humble and quite normal. Messi is quite an introvert

 

[yyyskate]

@hhh your M&G experience seems is very different from that famous Japanese fan.