Shoma Uno

[rabidline]

Never really getting away from tiny cute mascots...



He is of course doing some promotion on Ice Brave 2 TBS is one of the organizers for the Tokyo shows:

 

[Figskater23]

Shoma is, of course, not a pro gamer (yet), so he was beaten up pretty handily by Wakiwo who mains Zangief in SF6

I thought he wasn't planning on going pro in gaming since he said it is extremely difficult. But Shoma does like a challenge from what we've seen so he could do it if he set his mind to it.

 

[Figskater23]

I want that Ice Brave sweater SO BAD.....

Well why don't you get it? His Ice Brave merchandise from the last show went to international fans.

 

[Figskater23]

Shoma on another TBS show, this time it's... "Kamizawa Challenge" ? I think? He seems to be playing the crane game in an arcade:



Of course, Shoma has great experience with a crane game with Itsuki before....

So cool! The machines look like a lot of fun.

 

[Figskater23]

Shoma at TBS Sports Fes today

Now there is a guy who is living the dream.

 

[Arriba627]

Awww he looks great and that smile. Missing him so much on the competitive scene!

I didn't know they could hold Shombardia without him!!!! And where was our blond friend? She's probably still in mourning because he's not there.

 

[demarinis5]

I think you might be right Arriba. Blonde lady was missing

 

[rabidline]

Beautiful

 

[rabidline]

Shoma.......... well we know he still frequents the rink at least

There is a trend on Twitter where the user posted a post of "oh no I can't fit this photo as my header" and Shoma of course used his cantilever photo where his outstretched hand doesn't fit:



And the header............. of course.

 

[rabidline]

I have to say, after seeing other Japanese tweets on this header trend (it's a trick to get people to see the user's profile)... Shoma's tweet is like, one of the few that's legitimately funny among many lukewarm jokes

Sometimes I see his Twitter numbers and go "is he really this funny" but yeah. He really is comparatively to others. Also I really thought he's over his viral phase but damn, he really is a clickbait account admin at heart...

_________________________________________

This was part of a long interview with Number (that I love so much), but Stephane Lambiel on Shoma and Marin (aka content specifically made for my interests):



And on Shoma's last competition:

 

[Arriba627]

Thank you to Itsuki for sharing a dog video with us. I always love seeing the beautiful Uno home. I'm sad for Colon because I think they're probably approaching the day when her puppies will go to new homes. I remember how sad An-chan was.

 

[yuumagical]

Thank you to Itsuki for sharing a dog video with us. I always love seeing the beautiful Uno home. I'm sad for Colon because I think they're probably approaching the day when her puppies will go to new homes. I remember how sad An-chan was.

I saw this video today too, it really brightened up my day just see the pups watching Mama Uno.

(The Japanese subtitles were also pretty easy for me to understand)

 

[rabidline]

Shoma's latest Tweet brought back memories of his 2 Olympic games, especially the Beijing one where he was surviving through the food and snacks he brought (they were instructed not to go to cafeterias until their events are over due to fear of COVID infection):

"I competed in the Olympics twice, and I made good use of my first experience. For the second Olympics, I packed my suitcase full of snacks."​

This convo with Mura after the individual event ended where Shoma was like, "yeah I ate all the food I brought"

 

[rabidline]

Shoma for Quadruple Axel cover and interview.... whew.



Probably will order this together with the more recent magazines covering Ice Brave, hehe.

______________________________________

Shoma for Entapress, this is taken on the same day as the previous Kansai-based media day for Ice Brave 2 (note the similar outfits):

Stage INTERVIEW​

Shoma Uno's Ice Show "Ice Brave 2": "Nothing moves forward unless I take action"

Having won medals in two consecutive Olympics and back-to-back World Championships, Shoma Uno has achieved great feats and is now thriving as a professional figure skater. His self-produced ice show, Ice Brave 2, will kick off a nationwide tour starting with performances in Kyoto on November 1 and 2.

With deeper and freer on-ice expression, Ice Brave, rich in musicality and live energy, is already entering a new chapter. At a press conference held in Osaka, Uno spoke about his passion for the show, how his mindset has changed since retiring in 2024, and even touched on social media, which he describes as a “comfortable world to live in.”
(Interview, text, and photos by Aki Onodera)

---

A 90-minute nonstop ice show that stunned the audience​

Appearing at the interview venue, Uno immediately set a relaxed tone by saying:

“I’m not good at formal settings. I get shy when people listen too seriously, so I’d be happy if you kept it casual.”​

Ice Brave, which launched in June 2025 and was entirely directed, choreographed, cast, and produced by Uno himself, is a 90-minute nonstop ice show that reimagines many of his most iconic competition programs in new and captivating ways, made possible by his evolution as a performer.

“People often associate figure skating with being elegant and quiet, but I wanted to emphasize power, fun, and energy—that’s why I chose the title Ice Brave.​

For this second installment, I kept the title but added ‘2’ to signal that the core concept hasn’t changed, but we’ve leveled up. I want to show something even more evolved and a little different from the first one.”​

---

A cast chosen by personality​

Joining Uno in the show are eight skaters in total, including returning cast members Marin Honda, Rika Hongo, Yoji Nakano, Tsunehito Karakawa, and Kazuki Kushida, as well as new members Kohei Yoshino and Yuki Sato.

“I chose everyone based completely on personality (laughs).​

Since this was my first time producing a show, I didn’t really know what I was doing, so I went with people who were low-maintenance.​

—That’s half a joke, but each of them is so full of individuality, and I think it turned out to be a wonderful show.”​

​

Backstage, the cast got along well. Known for his love of video games, Uno revealed:

“I forced the guys to play Monster Hunter with me,”​

he said with a smile.​

​

“Of course, we give our best performances on the ice, but off the ice, we laugh and have fun together. I think that positive vibe is visible during the show too.”​

While gaming is a form of relaxation for him, he added with a laugh:

“Actually, the most interesting games don’t help you relax! A game that doesn’t cause any stress isn’t a good game. There’s a fine line.”​

​

---

“Nothing moves forward unless I take action”​

Reflecting on his competitive career, Uno took on a more serious tone:

“I was able to compete at the top because I gave everything I had to practice and competitions.​

Of course, everyone puts in the effort, but when it comes to mindset—strength and intensity—I don’t think I was behind anyone.”​

Now as a professional skater and producer of Ice Brave, his outlook has shifted:

“In competition, I wasn’t producing myself. I just focused on what I needed to do and faced myself every day.​

I entered competitions as a matter of course, had good results, had bad results...​

But I never created something new from scratch.​

​

Now, being in a position to offer an event, to promote it in various places, and to communicate with people—it’s taught me that things don’t move forward unless I take action.​

It was something I used to struggle with, but that’s exactly why it’s become a positive experience and built my confidence.”​

He also shared that he hadn’t seen many stage performances outside of skating until recently. Now, he often goes to the theater and applies what he learns:

“I watch from the perspective of someone who doesn’t have any background knowledge—what moves me? I use that lens to craft my shows.​

I want to make shows that even people unfamiliar with skating can enjoy. That’s what I’ll keep aiming for.”​

---

“Don’t get drunk on your own effort”​

Ice Brave features complex music that most people would think “Who could possibly skate to this?”—but Uno has turned those into signature programs through expressive power and technical skill. The second show will feature a diverse mix of classical, baroque, rock, EDM, jazz, tango, and more. He approaches it with a fresh mindset, including how he manages his physical endurance:

“At first, I thought ‘If I just push myself hard enough, it’ll work out.’​

But exhausting yourself doesn’t always lead to a better performance.​

You can’t let yourself get drunk on your own effort.​

​

To satisfy the audience even more, I want to carefully consider how to structure the program—not just push blindly.”​

---

“Social media feels like a world I can live comfortably in”​

When asked by a reporter about his growing fanbase on SNS and YouTube, Uno said:

“When I was competing for Team Japan, I had to be careful—if I said something too edgy, it could cause problems for others.​

Now, I’ve realized that if I don’t take the initiative, nothing happens.​

I’m free to use social media now, and it feels great.​

I think this is the kind of world where I can live comfortably.”​

He expressed genuine joy at people discovering skating through his posts:

“I’m really happy about that.”​

---

“Applause that honors the whole journey”​

Uno also loves the direct reactions from audiences at his shows:

“The audience’s energy felt even greater than what we put into the show—that made me really happy.​

In competitions, loud applause could sometimes boost my motivation, but it also brought pressure, nerves, and anxiety about whether I could meet expectations.​

​

With this show, that applause and those cheers feel like they’re praising everything we’ve done up to that point—the rehearsals, the preparation.​

That’s when I truly understood what it means for support to become your strength.​

​

I want Ice Brave 2 to be another show that makes people say, ‘Wow, that was amazing!’”​

___________________________________________

One of the things I find interesting after Shoma's retirement is the freedom he got for his social media activities. He's so comfortable with his active accounts. It helped me forget that it really was not a long time ago that it's very stressful as his fan to be on social media and having to really curate the feed and/or timeline to avoid reading many different hurtful things written / said about him when he was competing. That's really one thing I don't miss.

 

[Arriba627]

Glad to see Sho still has such a prominent part in the ColanTotte video.

 

[rabidline]

Shoma was coached on SF6 by legendary player Daigo Umehara today, and he had some really good quotes during the stream

"Meaningless failure is not good."

"Success without understanding the meaning is also not good."

"A victory where you don’t understand why you won only makes things harder for yourself afterward."

"There’s no one who never fails; reproducibility is important!"





The quotes... Shoma what is this a TED Talk

 

[Figskater23]

Glad to see Sho still has such a prominent part in the ColanTotte video.

Now we need all the other guys to appear too.

 

[yuumagical]

Shoma was coached on SF6 by legendary player Daigo Umehara today, and he had some really good quotes during the stream

"Meaningless failure is not good."

"Success without understanding the meaning is also not good."

"A victory where you don’t understand why you won only makes things harder for yourself afterward."

"There’s no one who never fails; reproducibility is important!"





The quotes... Shoma what is this a TED Talk

I do believe there's some precedent in our little legend getting philosophical on us, lol.

 

[Arriba627]

His artwork is still amazing (?). Not quite sure what it is. He takes after his grandfather, the artist.

 

[Arriba627]

I love how Sho (and Stephane) continued to challenge himself with these complex programs. He never rested on his laurels. And his height never kept him from skating BIIIIIIGGGG!!!