The Iron Butterfly

I talk to former Team USA turned Team Israel figure skater Katarina Kulgeyko about her skating career. We chat about her experience growing up as a competitive skater in the Los Angeles area, high success and promise at a young age with National Podiums at the Intermediate, Novice, and Junior levels, how puberty affected her and her skating, switching from Team USA to Team Israel, her experience with Endometriosis which resulted her her decision to choose her health over skating dreams, retirement, and her motivation in the medical field today as she goes through nursing school now.

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I talk to Team USA ice dancer Joe Johnson about show skating: the transition from competitive skating to shows, skating in Cirque Du Soleil and everything you need to know about that show, and his experience being a pro in Dancing on Ice!

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On this episode I talk to 2012 US Pairs Silver Medalist Mary Beth Marley. We discuss her quick transition into pair skating from singles, her fast success and the stressful expectations with that — leading to her ultimate decision to step way from the sport. We touch on her eating disorder, and talk about the lessons learned from skating in managing stress and trusting life’s direction. She shares her experiences dealing with retirement: how going to school helped her feel a sense of structure in her day to day life again, and how coaching brought her back into the sport in a healthier way. We cover coaching, the stigma of going from singles to pairs, and her advice to girls who are interested in trying pairs!

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I talk to skater Timothy Zupanc about his skating story: How he got into skating at 9 years old, his process of passing tests, the difficulty of being a boy in skating and getting bullied in school, regaining his passion for skating in high school, collegiate skating, his advice to young boys in skating, and his favorite skaters to watch currently!

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I talk to 2006 World Champion Kimmie Meissner about triple axels: we discuss her own experiences landing it at Nationals in 2005 at the age of 15, competing at the 2006 Olympics and winning the World Championships at age 16 a month later. We talk about skating in the 6.0 system vs. the IJS system, the surge of triple axels in today's ladies skating, her thoughts on the wave of young skaters on top, what she'd change in the judging system, social media and negative comments online, what she's doing now, and her thoughts on US Ladies skating heading into this next season.

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I talk to 2019 US Pairs Champion Ashley Cain-Gribble about balancing a competitive singles and pairs career at the same time: her experiences competing two events in one competition (for multiple seasons!). She shares her story on why she pursued singles after medaling in both, took back up pairs in 2016, and where she's at now. She gives advice to parents on what to look for if their child pursues pair skating, and we discuss parent-coaching relationships: the importance of positivity and balance within that. We cover competing at Worlds this year after the craze of pandemic, and she also shares her experience with international pair camps!

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I talk to US Judge Carrie tremble about Judging. We talk judging politics, the criteria judges look for at competitions, discrepancy in the system, inconsistent calls, the need for transparency in the sport, and we also talk about mental health in skaters and judges. We talk about the difference between a Sports Psychologist and a regular Psychologist, and the importance to be informed of what licensing they have when you seek treatment.

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*Trigger Warning* Depression and Suicide awareness

I talk to 4-time Thai Champion Thita "Palmy" Lamsam about what it's like being a competitive international skater representing a small country. We also discuss mental health on this episode: Palmy shares her personal story of mental heath struggles with depression, anxiety, and eating disorder all while growing up in skating, going to college in the US at MSU after turning 18, and gaining help and perspective along the way. She shares her inspiration in Hannah Miller, who she looked up to at MSU, and Palmy's aspirations in Psychology moving forward.

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I talk to Michelle Hong (known as @coachmichellehong on various social media platforms) about her transition from competitive skating to retiring, collegiate skating, finding her career passion in coaching, how she used her business skills in the untapped social media market to launch her online coaching platform, her experiences with body image, and how she as a coach goes about that topic now with her students.

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I interview Aimie Epoch: Her informative instagram account is @nowbodywellness, and she’s a certified intuitive eating counselor and health & wellness coach!

We chat positive coaching environments, injury support from your team, how to help skaters with negative trains of thought, techniques to overcome fears with learning new jumps, and perfectionism.

We also talk Eating Disorders: What to look for in eating disorders, what other things impact skating, why you should listen to your hunger, amenorrhea, accepting a new body in puberty, benefits of intuitive eating + food satisfaction, eating disorders in men, what coaches/parents can do if they suspect an athlete is struggling with an eating disorder, approaching athletes on disordered eating, and self-compassion in athletes.

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