House of Maher – Figure Skating Champs Alex & Maia Shibutani: Olympics, Resolutions & Returning to the Ice

Air date: December 30, 2025
Host(s): Ilona Maher, Olivia Maher, Adrianna Maher
Guests: Maia and Alex Shibutani (Olympic ice dancers, “Shib Sibs”)

Main Theme / Purpose

This episode brings Olympic figure skating sibling duo Alex and Maia Shibutani (“Shib Sibs”) into the House of Maher living room to talk about their remarkable return to competitive ice dancing after a seven-year break, their thoughts on New Year’s resolutions, the athlete mindset, family dynamics, and more. The conversation is vibrant, open, and filled with anecdotes about the pressures, joys, and misperceptions of elite sports—plus the value of sibling support and how identity continues to evolve well into adulthood.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. New Year’s Traditions and Athlete Mindsets

• Hosts and guests share their ideal New Year's Eve:
  • Maia and Ilona are all about winding down early (“Going to bed early, especially this year.” [03:48] Maia); Olivia and Adrianna celebrate with Dutch-style cook-at-the-table dinners (gourmetten/hormeta).
  • Athletes often miss holiday celebrations due to training commitments.
  • Quote: “You don’t want to wake up groggy on day one. Get things on the right foot.” – Alex [04:07]
• Reflections on resolutions:
  • The group debates whether New Year's resolutions actually work.
  • Maia believes in the flexibility to make changes any day, not just January 1st.
  • Ilona shares that after her Tokyo 2020 goal was canceled by COVID, she's wary:
    Quote: "One time before the Tokyo Olympics, I wrote in my New Year’s goals ‘go to Tokyo Olympics.’ And then guess what happened – covid. So now I don’t write goals anymore." – Ilona [08:27]
  • Adrianna likes the idea of written resolutions as check-ins, with permission to keep moving unfinished ones forward.
  • Olivia keeps a whimsical "running list" of goals (eg. "learn to ride a horse") to avoid pressure.

2. Sharing Goals and Accountability

• Discussion on whether sharing resolutions publicly helps or harms.
  • Adriana describes feeling pressured after sharing a running goal on social media, but admits accountability pushed her to improve.
  • Alex summarizes: “With people knowing, I think people are most likely just supporting you and cheering you, as opposed to you internalizing it and feeling like there’s pressure.” [12:03]

3. Personal Growth, Intentionality & Aging as Athletes

• Maia is loving her 30s and wants to keep discovering who she is, actively tuning out external noise and trusting herself. [12:32]
• Alex’s goal is to be more intentional about his hobby-turned-side-career in photography—making room for fun in creative pursuits rather than just obligations. [13:37]

4. Shibutanis' Return to Ice Dancing

• What prompted their comeback:
  • Last competition: 2018 Olympics; Maia had kidney cancer in 2019, followed by COVID hiatus. Despite never officially retiring, they were away from elite competition for 7 years.
  • Alex encouraged Maia to skate again for fun, not pressure. Rediscovering the joy of movement was pivotal in their decision to re-engage competitively:
    Quote: “There was no pressure… we just felt our own potential and the love of the sport.” – Maia [20:54]
  • Maia articulated how skating again was healing after her health crisis and reconnection with her body.
• Perspectives on “retirement” and comebacks:
  • Maia isn’t bothered by people referring to their break as a “retirement” despite the nuance, but recognizes the public’s assumptions.
  • Alex shares their changed perspective — now competing for themselves rather than chasing judges’ approval:
    Quote: “The separation from competitive skating for seven years gave us an opportunity to experience life in a more dimensional way. Now, we’re doing it very much for ourselves.” [22:45]
• Facing nerves and pressure post-comeback:
  • Maia is more present now, cherishing competition moments:
    Quote: “I just really treasure the moment because… you put so much training and time into preparation. That’s the big change.” [23:32]

5. Process, Pressure & Athlete Identity

• The group discusses the privilege and pressure of high-level sport, nerves as a sign of passion, and reframing motivation to focus on love for the activity.
  • Ilona: "Nerves mean I care. Nerves mean I want to do my best out there." [25:21]
  • Alex on growth mindset: “Allowing curiosity to take the wheel, moving into things with a beginner’s mindset… That was really helpful.” [26:06]
• Importance of teammate/family support in emotional regulation and performance.
  • Alex: “We have won together, we’ve lost together, we’ve learned together. There’s a unique comfort in that dynamic.” [35:11]
• Vulnerability and confidence are discussed: being able to admit doubts with family, and finding the balance between outward confidence and inner vulnerability.

6. Sibling Dynamics & Misconceptions

• On competing and supporting each other:
  • Siblings are often compared or assumed identical; Maia & Alex value having their own identities and experiences.
  • Quote: “It’s really been taking time to build our own relationships, find our own friends, follow our natural curiosities… that have helped us better define who we are.” – Maia [43:15]
• On seeing sports psychologists:
  • They see the same sports psych, both together and individually.
    • Maia: “We work with the same one, and we’ll do team sessions, but then also individual sessions.” [44:17]

7. Figure Skating Explainers & Myths

• Alex and Maia explain the structure of ice dance competitions:
  • Rhythm dance (set theme), free dance (creative choice), how rules have evolved, and the creative constraints that shape routines.
  • Biggest misconceptions:
    • The trope that hockey players and figure skaters don’t get along—totally false.
    • Not all figure skaters do triple axels.
    • Confusion with skateboarding, speed skating, etc.
  • They aim to demystify and popularize ice dance:
    Quote: "I think that we’ve been working hard to try and put ice dance more on the map." – Alex [38:39]

8. Gender, Perception, and Role Model Pressure

• Maia discusses being judged differently as a woman:
  • “There’s more of a focus on the visual versus the performance... now it’s about how strong I feel versus how I look.” [40:47]
• Alex reflects on being overly praised as a young male skater due to lack of male peers—even though Maia was outperforming him.
  • “I was winning participation medals because I was the only boy in the competition, and Maia was winning actual medals.” [41:20]
• The meaning of “role model”:
  • The group agrees being a role model isn’t about perfection, but authenticity and dimensionality.

9. Life Beyond the Rink: Writing & Storytelling

• Alex and Maia have written children's mysteries (Kudo Kids) and a nonfiction book celebrating AAPI heroes.
  • The process drew from their teamwork in skating and commitment to representation.
  • Writing was both purposeful and healing; especially researching Asian American and Pacific Islander figures inspired Maia through tough times.
  • Alex: “The skating is for us, but the books are for others.” [52:13]
• Ilona is also working on a memoir, finding the process cathartic and a way to share under-discussed women’s experiences.

10. Books and Pop Culture

• Maia read 100+ books in 2020 (post-surgery), gravitating toward stoicism and philosophy; she offers to send book recs to the sisters.
• Lighthearted banter about childhood book series (Percy Jackson, Eragon, Redwall, Animorphs).
  • Fun recurring question: “If you were an animorph, what animal would you transform into?”—prompting playful answers like sea lion, medium-sized dog, and bird. [56:33–58:04]

11. Lightning Round & Closing

• Go-to coffee orders: Maia – iced black; Alex – hot black.
• Competitive urges: mostly “dumb stuff, like who could hit the elevator button first.” [45:52]
• Favorite LA restaurant: Major Domo (David Chang’s spot in Chinatown).
• Bad habits: Alex wants to be more on time and stop “picking my nose on camera.” [59:43]
• If Maia could skate to any song: A longer song, not limited by current technical rules. (“Maybe that 10-minute version of Taylor Swift’s All Too Well.”)
• Sibling/family relationships in sport are unique, invaluable, and not nearly as universal as they once thought—"sucks to suck" quips Olivia about people who couldn't work with their siblings. [36:05]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On goals and manifestation:
  “One time before the Tokyo Olympics, I wrote in my New Year’s goals ‘go to Tokyo Olympics.’ And then guess what happened—covid.” – Ilona [08:27]

• On what changes with age:
  “There’s a lot of external noise all the time, but I’m starting to do a better job of listening to myself.” – Maia [12:42]

• On coming back after adversity:
  “After my surgery… I felt so disconnected. But being active and performing again, more for myself—I fell in love with the feeling.” – Maia [21:44]

• On long-term athlete identity:
  “Allowing curiosity to take the wheel… moving into things with a beginner’s mindset.” – Alex [26:06]

• On family as teammates:
  “We have won together, we've lost together, we’ve learned together… there’s a unique comfort in that dynamic.” – Alex [35:11]

• On role modeling:
  “What people have attached to the term role model is perfection, never doing anything wrong. I’m wary with that word.” – Alona [40:19]

• On writing purpose:
  “The skating is for us, but the books are for others.” – Alex [52:13]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Meeting the Shibutanis, Holiday Training, Athlete Resolutions – 02:53 – 12:32
• New Year’s goal-setting, accountability, athlete pressure – 07:23 – 13:37
• Comeback after a 7-year hiatus, overcoming illness – 20:07 – 24:29
• Comparing athlete experience, nerves, gratitude, reframing purpose – 24:29 – 27:20
• Sibling support, family dynamics, individual identity – 34:00 – 36:45
• Dispelling figure skating myths, sport explanations – 36:52 – 39:12
• Gender/role model discussions in sport – 40:41 – 41:47
• Writing books, legacy, cultural representation, reading phase – 50:04 – 55:16
• Lightning round (favorites, habits, animals, etc.) – 45:20 – 59:43

Tone/Langauge

• Warm, supportive, and teasing among siblings; blend of self-awareness and humility from both hosts and the Shib Sibs.
• Honest, introspective discussion about vulnerability, growth, and letting go of perfection.
• Lots of laughter, running jokes (“Girls are magic!” [03:35]), and easy rapport.

Summary Takeaways

This episode goes far beyond a simple profile of Olympic ice dancers—it’s a candid group therapy session on identity, resilience, and the power of pursuing your passions on your own terms, even after setbacks. The conversation will resonate with anyone navigating life changes, sibling dynamics, or resetting ambitions in adulthood.

The Shib Sibs’ message: You can always come back to what you love, but you’ll return wiser if you’ve lived a little on the way. And, sometimes, the best goals aren’t the ones you write down—they’re the ones you follow with intention and joy.