Gorgeous!
I haven't been on the ice in years,
so I was like, "Do I even know how to lace my skates?"
I went to do it and I was like,
"Oh, yeah, it was like riding a bike."
I was like, "Yeah, I do this. I do this, yeah, okay, great."
It was very nostalgic.
And like felt homey.
It was really cool.
Nathan!
Hayley! Whoo! Welcome to my turf.
-Wow! -Oh yeah.
It's been a while here, folks.
-I'm gonna have to warm up. -All right.
Did you get a chance to skate very often
when you were younger, or it was like every now and then?
My mom would, like we would practice around these circles.
Okay, nice.
Follow the circles.
Crossovers are pretty solid.
When I first heard about all of this, I was like,
"I don't know how I feel about a musician skating with me.
I feel like this is not going to turn out well."
But of course, she's had experience on the ice.
I grew up in ice rinks.
My mom's Sarah Kawahara.
She's a two-time Emmy Award-winning
ice skating choreographer,
did the Opening and Closing Ceremonies
of the Olympics in Salt Lake City.
She was raised by a pretty
prominent figure skating judge and choreographer.
So it was nice to be able to have that immediate connection
being like, "Hey, like we both grew up in rinks, sort of."
Yeah, I can do a, I can do a turn.
Okay.
Okay, I see you.
That's good.
It was significantly better than I was expecting her to be.
So I literally was telling
my brother and my sister that I was doing this,
-Okay. -and they're like,
"You're the worst ice skater out of all of us."
And I was like, "How dare you!"
I was like, "I'm pretty decent," and they're like,
"Well, you skate more like a hockey skater," they're like...
-What does that even mean? -Because I'm more
of like a bulldozer.
So when I'm on the ice,
-I'm like... -I like it.
Skating's all up to your own personal interpretation.
Yeah, I think if I were a professional skater,
I would be like, they would call me The Bulldozer.
Please welcome four-year-old Nathan Chen.
Growing up, you'd wake up, go skating before school
then skate after school and like what made you
want to go down that path? It's a really challenging path.
Yes. I mean, I started skating when I was three years old
and I really like haven't taken any time away
from the sport since I was basically born, you know?
But it's something that I love, and it's something
that I'm truly passionate about.
At 10 years old,
the youngest skater at the US Championships.
I wanted to be an Olympian since I started skating,
but obviously I had no idea what that meant,
how to make that happen.
Not until really I was 16, in 2016,
was I like, "All right, this is like something
that I can actually potentially make happen,
given that I have, like the technical elements
to be competitive.
And two years later, I was able to make that team.
He's a star.
He's a contender for Olympic gold.
Quads are like a big deal obviously.
And you are, let's say, King of Quads.
Not to add more pressure on your life.
You're like, "Hayley said I was King of Quads."
Like please don't.
I mean, do you still have a fear component
when you're going into a quad?
Is that something you never really get used to?
Definitely when like learning the new quads,
it's really, there's a huge fear component.
It's less about like, the actual physicality of it
and more so just being like mentally, like blocking
thinking like, what happens
when it doesn't go right, you know?
You're kind of going as fast as you can down the ice,
trying to tap in the ice and going up, rotating four times,
and hoping for the best.
So definitely there is that big fear component.
But you know, that's like my favorite part of skating.
And you know, I really love the technique
and I love the jump.
When you're like in the quad,
are you thinking like, "Oh, I should have had
eggs for breakfast," or like,
"Oh, what am I going to have for dinner?"
I really don't think.
Like nothing goes through. Head empty.
Because sometimes I'm on stage and I start thinking,
like, "What am I going to have for dinner?"
-That's true. -And then I forget the lyric.
-Okay. -So I'll be like, singing,
and I'll be like, "Girls..." and then I'll be like,
"Oh yeah, we're on stage."
Like hello?
Does that, I mean, I'm assuming that must happen?
Yeah, for sure, like it definitely happens
when I'm doing my program like for the full four minutes.
Like, and it's also like the boards.
We won't have the glass a lot of the time.
So there's, like, literally, like, we're like this close
-to someone just sitting there. -Oh, I hate that.
People are just like staring at you.
-Just doing stuff. -Like picking their nose.
And you're like, "Sir, I'm trying to focus."
Exactly.
All right, we're going to start. Ready?
All right, Nathan, so how do we take
"Found My Friends" to the ice?
Start with this thing. One, two, one, two.
-I don't even know. -So how are you doing that?
I'm going just like toe, heel, toe, heel.
-Ooh, ooh, ooh! -Toe, heel.
Okay.
And then we, and then we went this.
Yeah.
How are you doing that?
-You're just doing... -Hop, yours. Hop, here.
And then we did this thing.
Oh yeah, okay.
Hop. This is all toe pick.
We're really going for it? Okay.
Can I wear a helmet?
The choreography on the ice did not go as smoothly
as I had hoped on my part.
Yeah, that was good. All right.
I was over here thinking, "I'm going to kill it."
It is a totally different experience on the blades.
It seems so easy and seems so like conventional
to step on the ice like, "Oh, you're just
walking on a different surface."
But as soon as you get on,
it's a completely different sensation.
Whether you've done it
a million times, or you've never done it at all.
It's just like it's always like, "Oh, wow,
this is what it's like, you know?"
And then this is gonna be tricky, you have to cross here.
Is that safe enough?
-Okay. -Safer.
When you're dancing on the floor,
it's very different than when you're on the ice,
because obviously when you're on the ice you're gliding.
Ooh, nope, can't do that.
We could also go step forward instead of turning.
Yes, let's do that. Let's just cut the turn.
-Let's cut the turn. -Cut the turn.
You realize how much credit you have
to give to an athlete who is able to skate on blades
on ice at a very fast pace and be able to move gracefully.
Because I just was like stomping,
trying to make each move happen.
In my mind I'm like, "This is gonna be so easy."
-Yeah? -No, it's not.
Skating next.
Representing the United States of America,
Nathan Chen!
Eighteen years old.
I'm sure you probably don't even like talking about it
but like, the pressure going into the Olympics.
Like, what is the mantra that you tell yourself
to be able to, like, perform at your best?
Sure. Last Olympics in 2018,
that was my first Games, and in my mind, I was
like, "I don't really care about anything else.
I'm literally just here to win."
And I think having that mentality
honestly put me in a worse spot.
He's going after the Lutz. And it hasn't worked.
I made almost every error
that I could have in my first program.
Uh-oh.
I mean, just the mental strength and the resilience
that you have to have to fall and get back up.
And I think that's what's so exciting,
about artists and athletes
is like, we rise, and we fall.
But it's about when we get back up
from that fall and how we
come back from that moment, which is like so inspiring.
Fortunate enough that I was still able
to compete in the second program.
Here he goes, just a teenager.
The real Nathan Chen just showed up at the Olympics.
Nathan Chen is still the Quad King.
He was planning five quads.
He did six.
That is so gutsy.
Under so much pressure!
He really should be named Nathan Quad.
Let's change that.
I think Nathan definitely embodies that Olympic spirit.
When he falls down he continues to rise.
You know, the Phoenix from the ashes.
Ultimately, all I can control
is how well I can prepare for the event.
And then when I'm there, just doing the best that I can.
So I definitely like, that's the way
that I sort of switch my mentality
over the past couple of seasons.
I feel like for me, I can relate,
being on stage and just reminding myself to be present.
So it's not about like the end goal.
It's like, "Hey, you're here. Everyone watching you
wants you to succeed." Except for your competitor.
But, you know, it's like when I'm on stage,
I'm like, just be present and enjoy this moment,
and I feel like those are like my best performances.
When I'm just like, I mean, just in life too.
Yeah, that's a big life bonus thing right?
-Yeah, it's like... -Just be there.
-This Salchow, right, -Salchow.
is when you jump off of the same foot?
Edge, yeah.
Oh, I don't know if that's what I was doing.
That's a Salchow.
Yeah, we're going to do a skating crash course now.
Yeah, there you go, Salchow. Single Salchow. Beautiful.
I didn't really get much air there.
That's okay.
At least you got everything, fundamentals are there.
Yeah, that's pretty much all I can do.
And then I can do this.
Lunge. Nice.
I can do this.
And then I stop like a hot...
-I do. -You're outdoing yourself.
Can you show me something that I obviously cannot do?
I would love.
Don't hurt yourself though, but you know...
Okay, sure.
Whoa, whoa. Oh my gosh!