Kylie & Mikaela Shiffrin on Looking Like Twins, “Back Abs,” & Figure Skating Greatness w/ Johnny Weir & Tara Lipinski | Ep. 56

Summary

Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce

Episode 56: Kylie & Mikaela Shiffrin on Looking Like Twins, “Back Abs,” & Figure Skating Greatness w/ Johnny Weir & Tara Lipinski

Release Date: February 22, 2026
Host: Kylie Kelce
Guests: Mikaela Shiffrin (slalom legend), Tara Lipinski & Johnny Weir (figure skating icons & broadcasters)
Location: Milan, during the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics

---

Episode Overview

Kylie Kelce dives back into the Winter Olympics for Part 2 of her Olympic Spectacular, live from Milan. She candidly shares her experiences as a superstitious sports fan and proud (and perpetually surprised) spectator, before welcoming an all-star Olympic guest panel. The episode features deep and entertaining conversations with skiing icon Mikaela Shiffrin (“the GOAT”), and beloved figure skating duo Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski. Major topics include the intensity and mental challenges of elite competition, reflections on viral moments (including Shiffrin’s “back abs” and on-air swearing), the importance of sports happiness, Olympic superstitions, and why figure skating should be in everyone’s regular rotation. The tone is spirited, irreverent, and deeply real—just as fans have come to expect from Kylie.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Olympic Highlights, Superstitions & Parenting (00:00–13:53)

• Kylie’s Olympic trip: Gushes about Milanese food, the thrill of experiencing the women's gold medal ice hockey overtime win, and celebrating daughter Benny’s third birthday.
• Superstition on full display: Fans spot Kylie turning her seat during the hockey final, continuing her “if I do this, we’ll win” energy from nearly every sporting event she attends.
  • Kylie: “Sometimes you have to knock on [wood], and sometimes you have to sit backwards in your seat. I don't make the rules. I just manifest them in my head and think that I'm helping.” (02:01)
• Unscripted Olympian encounters: Attending figure skating with Nathan Chen behind her, and speed skating with Apolo Ohno. Family “quizzes” Olympic legends at events.
• Parenting winter sport hypotheticals: Kylie and Jason debate which winter sport their daughters are most suited for, correlating personalities to sports (figure skating for Wyatt and Benny, snowboarding for Ellie).
  • Kylie: “Ellie would want to hit people. Ellie would be calm until she wasn’t. And then good luck, me.” (13:46)

2. Doom Scroll of the Week—Olympic Edition (13:53–14:41)

• Eileen Gu’s legendary response: After a reporter questions Gu about her medals, she strongly rebuffs the idea of “losing golds,” emphasizing the historic nature of her achievements.
  • Eileen Gu (clip, paraphrased): “I'm the most decorated female free skier in history. I think that's an answer in and of itself... I think the ‘two medals lost’ thing is a ridiculous perspective.” (08:13)
  • Kylie’s take: “Her saying ‘thank you’ at the end of it was the biggest fuck you... She meant go fuck yourself. And I love that so much.” (08:56)
• Snowboarder Hannah Norman’s ‘Top of the Jump’ reveal: The reality of elevator rides and vertigo at Big Air events. Audience and hosts grossed out by the “ruined magic” of Olympic sets.
• Birth order and risk: Listeners joke about which Kelce kid would take on the most dangerous Olympic events: “I define this sport as a second born activity.”

3. Extended Interview: Mikaela Shiffrin

On Gold, Growth, Mental Health & Going Viral (14:41–54:14)

• Mikaela’s gold medal run: Reflects on the unpredictability of the Olympic journey and the evolution of her mindset.
  • Mikaela: “Twelve years in the making after my first gold medal… You spend so much time doing all of this work and training for something, and then the moment it happens is 47 seconds, in the blink of an eye. It’s just really weird.” (23:36–24:19)
• On pressure and public scrutiny: Shares unfiltered thoughts about social and media pressure, especially when success is met with criticism.
  • Mikaela: “I started to get a grasp of maybe the darker side of the Olympics… People just sort of brushed the GS [giant slalom gold] under the rug. I was seeing all these comments like, ‘don’t come home, you’re not welcome in the US anymore.’” (21:10–22:10)
• Mental health advocacy: Honest dialogue about therapy, vulnerability, and the myth of “fearless athletes.”
  • Kylie: “Why is it so important to be open about your mental health?”
  • Mikaela: “There’s not really one way anything’s supposed to go… Talking with a psychologist has made my life so much better… It’s helped my communication in relationships… We got brains and we got hearts. I hope. Haven’t met one without one yet.” (28:50–31:10)
• Going viral for her “back abs”: The internet falls in love with Mikaela’s freakishly strong back muscles.
  • Mikaela: “Skiing is so quad and back dominant… My physical therapist was like, ‘I have to take a video.’ … It’s going to go viral.” (32:26–33:19)
• Learning to ski with Mikaela: Playful discussion about Kylie’s questionable skills and Mikaela’s mom (her original coach) being the real secret weapon for teaching nervous adults.
  • Mikaela: “My mom would probably be better at teaching you… She’ll have you feeling confident.” (34:40)
  • Kylie: “I fall a lot… I have a fat ass to fall on. We’re fine.” (35:14)
  • Kylie: “Maybe we just do a group. I think the more friends, the better… I’ve never skied alone in my life.” (35:57)
• On competing solo vs. team: The loneliness of the start gate contrasted with the crucial support of her team, and the draw of a team mentality even in individual sports.

4. Looking Like Twins: The Kylie & Mikaela Doppelganger Phenomenon (46:43–55:51)

• Viral tweet: Fans confuse Mikaela’s gold medal celebration for Kylie, sparking a running joke about their resemblance (“We’re siblings now, right?”).
  • Mikaela: “With a ponytail in particular… You’re just so much more proportionate than I am.” (47:29)
• Auntie/uncle life: Both revel in the joy of being the “cool aunt” and trading advice for new parents.
• Trading podcasts: Humorous proposal to swap shows, as both are now “unprofessional professionals” in the podcast game.
• Overthinking everything: Both bond over analyzing past conversations or quotes that go viral.

5. Figure Skating Royalty: Johnny Weir & Tara Lipinski (55:54–77:16)

On Philly Roots, “The Traitors,” and Olympic Magic

• Philly, accents, and proud roots: The trio riff on Philly and South Jersey dialect (“wooder,” “use guys,” “hoagie,” “Iggles”) with playful authenticity.
• The Traitors TV Show:
  • Tara & Johnny’s experience as cast members, reliving the challenges of social gameplay as Olympic veterans, and how isolation (as with Kylie’s mother-in-law Donna) shapes strategy.
  • • Tara: “So many people were afraid to go after Donna because of Swiftieland… She did a really good job for the position she was put in.” (60:04)
  • • Johnny: “I am friends with all of. Like, I cannot do this… It really messes with your mind.” (60:51)
• Their duo advantage: Hilarious stories of eye signals and “hiding” their real friendship to avoid early elimination.
  • Tara: “We had a plan… We really played it like that—nonchalant, very chill… But it was a huge advantage.” (63:26)
  • Johnny: “There’s just no way [we’d betray each other]… We would have protected each other till the end.” (65:00)
• Olympic storytelling: Both emphasize the privilege and responsibility of narrating skaters’ stories, connecting viewers to the athletes’ decades of sacrifice.
  • Johnny: “The greatest thing about the Olympics to me is everyone’s personal journey… Decades of work, a team behind you, and then they have this moment to shine. Whether it goes perfectly or not, I have goosebumps every time.” (68:13–69:03)
  • Tara: “It’s a huge responsibility… These niche sports don’t have games every weekend where they can say their piece… As their voices, it’s really important for us to know the facts and tell the stories.” (69:48)
• Figure skating evangelism: The challenge of keeping figure skating in the public eye during non-Olympic years, and practical tips for fans.
  • Tara: “There's a world championships in a month… and then next year they're on the Grand Prix circuit. We commentate every single weekend during our season… It’s just up against football.” (75:31)
  • Kylie: “Sometimes football season ends unexpectedly. Or sometimes there’s Thursday or Monday games and then you have your weekend free.” (76:57)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Kylie on sports stress:
  “I would love to go to something and just experience stress free, stress free fandom. But apparently that's not the life I was meant to live because this was difficult and also fucking thrilling.” (04:45)

• Mikaela on pressure and identity:
  “You need to be willing to risk that it's not going to work out in order to have a shot for it working out.” (44:42)

• On viral “back abs”:
  “When your mom tells you you look like you have an alien coming out of your back… She was not kidding.” – Mikaela (32:28)

• Tara on being the Olympic storyteller:
  “These niche sports...don't have the opportunities that a lot of the big sports have… so as their voices, as it were, it’s really important for us to know the facts, the stories, and deliver them in a way that we’re not talking over an entire performance.” (69:48)

• Johnny on Olympic joy:
  “Whether it goes perfectly or not, I have goosebumps every time. It’s the best thing about the Olympics. It’s so heartwarming.” (69:03)

---

Key Timestamps

• 00:00–06:12: Kylie’s Olympic adventures, food, and hockey final recap
• 08:13–08:51: Eileen Gu’s mic-drop response to a disrespectful reporter
• 14:41–54:14: Main interview—Mikaela Shiffrin deep dive: gold, mental health, “back abs,” and teaching Kylie to ski
• 46:43–55:51: Viral Twins segment—Kylie & Mikaela on being internet doppelgangers
• 55:54–66:23: Figure skating greatness—Johnny Weir & Tara Lipinski join for Philly talk, “The Traitors,” and behind-the-scenes skating
• 68:13–77:16: Broadcast responsibilities, Olympic storytelling, and figure skating’s year-round schedule

---

Tone & Style

Irreverent, authentic, and full of energy, the episode sees Kylie Kelce at her most unfiltered: proud sports mom, Olympic fangirl, and pop culture insider. The conversations are open, with a focus on mental health transparency, joy in sport, and the spectacular weirdness of international athletic competition—including all the superstitions, viral moments, and vulnerability that come with being Olympic “real ones.” Guests match this honesty, trading both serious wisdom and lighthearted banter.

---

For New Listeners

This episode is packed with candid athlete insight, behind-the-scenes Olympic stories, and sharp, often hilarious commentary about sports culture and fandom. Whether you follow winter sports year-round or only tune in during medal moments, Kylie and her guests provide a blend of big personalities and big heart—guaranteed to leave you entertained, informed, and maybe a little obsessed with “back abs.”

---

Transcript

[Kylie Kelce]

Not gonna lie. I lied to you. That's right. This I said was Milo and it's not. It's Milo, so put some respect on his name. Also, I would just like to point out he is our Paralympics mascot. This is his tail. Look at how cute he is. Look at him. Are you kidding? Let's get this podcast started. Benvenutia Quelivere. Almost. How'd I do? I don't know. I got a thumbs up. That, of course, means welcome. Real ones In Italian, we think. Yes, sure. I'm back for part two of our Winter Olympic Spectacular of Not Gonna Lie, a Wave original. And I'm here once again in studio in Milan with YouTube and NBC at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. I'm your host, Kylie Kelce. The best dish I've had since being in Milan is definitely parmigiana, which is not what the Americans think. Okay? It's this lovely thinly sliced eggplant with a little bit of tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Maybe some parmigiano in there. Who knows? It was freaking delicious. They could have put a shoe in there and I would have eaten it. That shit was phenomenal. And also Spaghetti Arabiata. Oh, I got a nod for that. Okay. I'd eat that every day of my life. My favorite experience from this trip so far has to be watching the women's ice hockey final when they won gold in overtime in person. That was bananas. God, it was so good. And our most feral child. That's right, Benny Boo Boo Bear. She's turning three years old tomorrow. Amazing. So happy birthday to Benny. And I wonder how three's gonna go. We'll all find out together. But for now, time to lock back in on the Olympics action. Coming up on today's Winter Olympics Spectacular Part 2, I'm going to talk about all our experiences at the Winter Olympics, including last night's insane win of the women's gold medal ice hockey game. Then, in Doom scroll the Week a reporter fucked around and skier Eileen Goo let him find out. And we love that. I can't wait to show that clip. After that, I'm going to be joined by not one, not two, but three Team USA greats, fresh off of her gold medal run in slalom icon Michaela Shifrin and figure skating royalty Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski. Yep, you guessed it. I'm not sure how I ended up in this chair, but we get to talk to all of them. Stick around. But before we get to all of that, let's start off with the real one. Comment. Of the week. Christopher Boyd 331 said. Kylie, we see you turning around at the US Women's Gold Medal game. Awesome. For those of you who don't know, maybe you're just tuning in for the Olympics content. I have a habit of being superstitious. I can't help myself. Part of the reason why I stole one of those lovely pieces of wood the other day was because sometimes you have to knock on it and sometimes you have to sit backwards in your seat at a stadium. I don't make the rules. I just manifest them in my head and think that I'm helping. I turned around. I believe it was during the second period.

[Michaela Shifrin]

And

[Kylie Kelce]

I want to be clear, this is partially a running joke and partially me answering my superstitious anxiety thoughts. Okay, so just. I know that the reason the U.S. women's hockey team succeeded was because they've trained their whole lives for this. But also, it did start going uphill in the second period. So I'm not saying that Jason also put his hat on. I just think that there was, like, a lot of things that changed, including them taking control of the momentum of the game and throwing the puck a little bit less and moving as a unit. You know, there were things that happened on the ice and there were things that happened off the ice, and we did what we could do. This was definitely one of the best sporting events I've ever been to. It was. I mean, here's the deal. I've said it about the Eagles so many times at this point that I would love to go into something and just experience stress free, stress free fandom. But apparently that's not the life I was meant to live because this was difficult and also fucking thrilling. It was incredible. And these women fought so hard. We have a clip here of our whole team freaking out after the game winning goal. Let's see it. You'll see me have to, like, unfold myself. Yep. That I don't know. We should slow mo me getting stuck on my own legs. I tried my best not to pee a little or cry a little. I tried my best. I can't tell you whether or not I was successful, but I tried my hardest and I loved every second of it. And this is what we came for. Congrats to Team usa. Big shout out to Cleveland Heights best athlete, gold medalist, Layla Edwards. Um, what a great way to start the day of people seeing not gonna Lie, Layla Edwards and finishing the day with a gold medal around her neck.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Okay.

[Kylie Kelce]

A few days ago we called this segment Places. Kylie has some Business being with the more insanely cool things I get to do here in Milan, like see our hockey team win a gold medal, the more I realize it's gotta go back to no business. Guys, who are we kidding? I don't know what I'm doing here, but we're doing cool shit, and that's what matters. In addition to men's and women's hockey, we also got to see two skating events. Both times, I got to ask questions to the most qualified experts. First was figure skating with Nathan Chen sitting directly behind us. Jason was asking questions. And genuinely, by the end of the short programs that we watched, Jason was calling what was and was not correct. And that's why it just goes to show you, he's good at everything. And kind of. It's a pain in my ass. I said it. He's sitting right over there. I said it basically to his face. He's good at everything. It makes me mad. And then we got to talk about speed skating with Apolo Ohno, which again, if you're gonna quiz people or try and learn about what you're watching, go to the greats. Okay, Nathan Chen, Apolo Ohno. What's happening? I'm saying these words out loud and I'm still not really believing them. All right, that's it for places Kylie has no business being. Next on Doom. Scroll of the Week, Winter Olympics edition, part two. First up, five time Olympic medal winning skier Eileen Goo was asked what I gently call, this is the nicest way I could say that. An absurd question at the podium. And I feel it's my duty as someone with a series called fuck around and find out to share her response. Queen M of the clip, please. Also, do you see these as two silvers gained or two goals lost?

[Michaela Shifrin]

I'm the most decorated female free skier in history. I think that's an answer in and of itself.

[Kylie Kelce]

How do I say this?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Winning a medal at the Olympics is

[Kylie Kelce]

a life changing experience for every athlete.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Doing it five times is exponentially harder because every medal is equally hard for me. But everybody else's expectations rise.

[Johnny Weir]

Right?

[Michaela Shifrin]

And so the two medals lost situation, to be quite frank with you, I think is kind of a ridiculous perspective to take. Um, I'm showcasing my best skiing. I'm doing things that quite literally have

[Kylie Kelce]

never been done before.

[Michaela Shifrin]

And so I think that is more than good enough. But thank you.

[Kylie Kelce]

Okay, let me just break this down real quick. First of all, I hope he feels how far into his mouth he put his foot. Second, I cannot emphasize enough that her laughter at the beginning of this was him finding out. And I love that she laughed in his face. He deserved that. He did. It was a bad choice by him and she let him feel it. Third, I think that her saying thank you at the end of it was the biggest fuck you that she could have said. She said thank you. She meant go fuck yourself. And I love that so much. I love that so much. And if we can't keep me, we're keeping me sane. Go fuck yourself. She said it, not me. I love this. Eileen, you nailed this. Congratulations, Eileen, on both handling this situation and your medals. Well done. You're welcome on the podcast anytime, by the way, if you want to help other people who might need to find out when they fuck around. So whenever you want. Next scroll is Team USA snowboarder Hannah Norman, who gave us an insider look at how you get to the top of the Olympics. Big air jump. And when I say you, I most definitely do not mean me. You'll see why. Queen Emma, the clip please. A lot of people wanted to know how we got to the top of the Big Open, so I'm here to answer it. I walked past it the other day and there's those two elevators that I just panned to and just go all the way up to the top. I think the structure is something like 150ft tall. I didn't even need to know that. Scaffolding, elevators. And then I don't have a video, but once you're at the top, it's sort of just like this big flat platform that we hang out until we drop. Until we drop. I'm sorry, what?

[Michaela Shifrin]

You.

[Kylie Kelce]

There is not an amount of money in this world. The idea of going up that high is one thing to do it in an elevator that you can see out of. Another thing to do it in an elevator that you can see out of. To go up that high with so little built of a structure, I'm out. And you know what? You know what never fails? That's right, the comment section. So you should get your ass in there because we got Ginger Scorpio saying, bro, why did I think you were just at the top of a big mountain? That's. Yes. I feel like we're seeing the backside of a Broadway set. You know what I mean? Just. I'm good. It ruins the magic, really. Crystal White said, honey bunches of nope. And Molly said, I define this sport as a second born activity. We love a little birth order joke around here. You know that? Queen Emma wants to know, do you think Ellie would be your most willing to try some of these more daring winter sports.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Sports,

[Kylie Kelce]

huh? Do you think? I think it might be Benny.

[Jason]

I think right now they all go through, like, their own phases of, like, being like, more adventurous.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yeah.

[Jason]

Like recently Wyatt's actually been like, she's jumping on the beanbag from the couch over. And I was like, yeah. I was kind of like, this is like an accident waiting to happen. But at the same time, like, yeah,

[Kylie Kelce]

let me see how it ends now.

[Jason]

I just. I want her to get out of her shell. So it's like, you know what? She hits her head on the cabinet. Whatever. We'll figure it out.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yeah. But I will say, I think that if you were going to give each of our kids, if you could see into the future, crystal ball this shit and they ended up being winter sport athletes.

[Jason]

Yeah.

[Kylie Kelce]

What sport do you think they would each do?

[Jason]

I feel like Wyatt would do figure skating.

[Kylie Kelce]

I thought the same thing.

[Jason]

Yeah. She likes to, like, dance. Benny likes to do that too. Benny is very, like, performative. Like whenever we do, like the little fashion shows with the dresses.

[Kylie Kelce]

Oh, yeah.

[Jason]

She, like, really works it.

[Kylie Kelce]

She does.

[Jason]

She can play to a crowd very well.

[Kylie Kelce]

She does.

[Jason]

So I guess. I think Benny would be figure skater.

[Kylie Kelce]

I think Wyatt would be figure skating.

[Jason]

It probably would both be figure skating.

[Kylie Kelce]

I think Ellie would be snowboarding of some kind.

[Jason]

I can see that for sure. She's a little bit like, marches to her own beat type.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah.

[Kylie Kelce]

And she's like a little more tomboyish.

[Jason]

I agree. Yep.

[Kylie Kelce]

Jury's still out on Finney.

[Jason]

What else? See Wyatt doing? Like, she's a very, like, cooperative person. So I could see her doing like a team sport, like a hockey or.

[Kylie Kelce]

I don't think she would want to hit people. Ellie might do hockey.

[Jason]

Good point.

[Kylie Kelce]

Ellie would want to hit people.

[Jason]

Good point.

[Kylie Kelce]

Ellie would be calm until she wasn't. And then good luck me.

[Jason]

Why is a bobsledder?

[Kylie Kelce]

Maybe that's it for doom. Scroll the week Winter Olympics edition. Hopefully we get to bring this segment back in exactly four years. Now, once again, it's time for the reason I'm here. The reason the real ones are tuning in our incredible guests, starting with Team USA's slalom skiing gold medal winner, Michaela Shifrin. Thanks again to our friends at YouTube and NBC. She's the three time Olympic gold medalist, fresh off of her record breaking slalom victory in Cortina. She has the most Olympic gold medals of any US Alpine skier in history. And some would say, some, including me, she's the greatest American Skier ever. She has a hit podcast called what's the Point? And fun fact, she's once offered to teach me how to ski. It's Michaela Shiffrin. Welcome to Not Gonna Lie. That did happen. Yeah. Thank you.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I'm so happy to be here.

[Kylie Kelce]

We, our team, got you a bowl of gummy bears just in case you felt the need.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Do you want to tell people about. About the. Yeah, the sour gummy bears. Is it okay if I actually have one? They're yours.

[Kylie Kelce]

They literally just put them in the bowl. Nobody else has touched them?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Nobody sneezed on them?

[Kylie Kelce]

No, my husband did. Oh, I'm a germaphobe. That would have been. I would have called it. And my husband. I actually told him he wasn't allowed to touch them.

[Jason]

I was eyeing them.

[Kylie Kelce]

Pretty.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Would you like one?

[Jason]

Yeah.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yeah.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Here, let's just share these.

[Tara Lipinski]

Oh, my gosh.

[Kylie Kelce]

What's happening?

[Jason]

What's the best color here?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Oh, you know, I don't know. I think orange is. I'll just give them to you.

[Kylie Kelce]

Grab one of each.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Grab one of each. Would you like one?

[Kylie Kelce]

Oh, I'm okay. Thank you.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah, the sour gummies, it's just. It's like a. I guess it's a hack for anxiety that.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yeah. Sour candy.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I'm eating sour gummies. I gotta put this down. Okay.

[Kylie Kelce]

No, I'll tell. I'll tell. I'll tell while you chew.

[Michaela Shifrin]

It's.

[Kylie Kelce]

Studies have shown that anxiety can be managed in, like, minor situations.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah.

[Kylie Kelce]

With sour candy.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yes.

[Kylie Kelce]

That it shocks like sour things.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Like, in theory, if you bite into a lemon, there's, like, these external factors that help. Like, sort of. It's like parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system stuff that gets a little scientific. But anyway, I've been eating sour gummies at the start, and I do not like sour things. Like, bad, bad, bad. But these are just enough. These are just enough.

[Kylie Kelce]

Just enough.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Tolerable.

[Kylie Kelce]

I love that. Now, I saw the clip where you accidentally. We'll call it accidentally said the F word on tv. Allegedly. I just want to be clear again. You can say whatever the fuck you want on here. I just need to clarify that so that we're. We have it all out. But I'm very proud of you for that because I do love that your reaction to dropping an F bomb was then to say, oh, shit. Because why not manage.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I was like, spiraling.

[Kylie Kelce]

No, no. Why not manage an expletive with another expletive?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah, well, you know the next one.

[Kylie Kelce]

I mean, take your pig.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I'm like mother. No, no, no, we can't do that. We can't go there. No.

[Kylie Kelce]

You said espresso martinis. Were you still feeling the espresso martinis or. No, we were just so.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I have never had one. Now I have. I had not.

[Kylie Kelce]

What a lovely place to have one.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah, it was. Everybody had been raving about the espresso martinis, where we were like having dinners and I'd never had one. And I haven't been drinking for the probably the last two years. Like not a sip.

[Kylie Kelce]

So this is explaining a lot.

[Michaela Shifrin]

So over the course of the evening after the slalom race, I probably had a total of just one.

[Kylie Kelce]

Sure.

[Michaela Shifrin]

But everybody on our team, we had this like celebration toast. And everybody on our team was there and like the, you know, donors and small sponsors and all these partners and like they were all handing me espresso martini. I was like double fisting espresso martinis. And I don't think. And then they were like, make sure to pace yourself cause this'll hit hard. I'm like, I haven't eaten all day. I haven't had a drink in like two years.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yes. I'm like, you're in the mountains.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I'm in the mountains. I had to make a speech. So I like down a glass of champagne, which is the worst ever. It tastes like wet dog. Like champagne is. Do you like champagne?

[Kylie Kelce]

That's so accurate.

[Michaela Shifrin]

It's grow. When you get got sprayed with champagne, then you're like, everything I have smells like. Like if you get. If you spray a winter hat with champagne, you will never get that smell out of your system and you will never like champagne again.

[Kylie Kelce]

That's so accurate. It's like slightly sour. Yeah.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Wet dog and like rancid. Rancid. And yeah. So. But that's what everybody wants to toast with. So we were toasting with champagne. I'm like, oh, I got to make a. I haven't thought about this. So I'm like, down the champagne. And I'm like, oh, we're in it now. And then somebody hands me an esp. Well, my mom actually handed me an espresso martini.

[Kylie Kelce]

That's Women supporting women.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Thanks, mom. Mom's fault.

[Kylie Kelce]

And then have a mouth. Does mom use expletives?

[Michaela Shifrin]

To be honest, I've actually been a really bad influence on her. She would not have. And I was like. The first thing that I actually thought when this happened, what went through my mind and the reason I said shit was like, my aunts are gonna come after me.

[Kylie Kelce]

Oh.

[Michaela Shifrin]

And I was like, oh, no. When my mom sees this, what's she gonna say? But honestly, we've gotten to the point I've read somewhere, like two weeks ago that swearing helps you live longer. It's like a release, you know? It's a marker of intelligence.

[Kylie Kelce]

You read that one, too?

[Michaela Shifrin]

I read that one. People. Seems like people said to me in the last 24 hours, people tagged me in the comments.

[Kylie Kelce]

Now, not many people realize this, but this conversation is actually years in the making.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah.

[Kylie Kelce]

But I'm gonna come back to that, because I don't want to bury the lead. You won. Won it. You won.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah. There's a lottery.

[Kylie Kelce]

You did. You actually said, I won. I fucking won. This right here is the lottery, and I won. Oh, and I got a medal, too. Yeah.

[Michaela Shifrin]

And that's there. That's where that is.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yes, it is.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Here it is.

[Kylie Kelce]

I would just like to say that when Michaela walked in, she put her backpack down and then flung the metal out and said, do you want this out here? Do you want it out here?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Each day I'm, like, testing it a little bit more to see if it breaks.

[Kylie Kelce]

I've seen a lot.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I've seen. You've seen a lot of disconnected metals from. Yeah, I know. It hasn't broken yet.

[Kylie Kelce]

We spoke to Breezy about it the other day.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah.

[Kylie Kelce]

And apparently Alyssa's didn't last long either.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Well, she jumps a lot.

[Kylie Kelce]

It's funny because Breezy said that that's when hers broke. Yeah. Everybody.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I was purposefully not jumping.

[Kylie Kelce]

Don't jump.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I didn't. Or if I jumped, held it.

[Kylie Kelce]

Okay.

[Michaela Shifrin]

But then I'm, like, a little bit sad because mine didn't break, but maybe

[Kylie Kelce]

you need to jump.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Maybe I need to jump. I guess we could probably do it real quick, just, like, make it happen.

[Kylie Kelce]

We'll do, like, a. A celebration jump at the end. We'll see. We'll see. We get it to go.

[Michaela Shifrin]

They engineered mine properly.

[Kylie Kelce]

Now, 48 hours ago, you won gold in slalom. Your first gold in eight years. First in slalom in 12 years. Is that right? That's right. Okay.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yes.

[Kylie Kelce]

How are you feeling?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Oh, it's been a whirlwind. You know, after. After my first gold after Sochi, I had no idea. I was just. I did not know what to anticipate. And I was 18 years old, and I was like, it's a ski race, guys. It's gonna be fine. I was also sick for the slalom. I had a cold, so I was, like, totally delirious. Just out of it. Like, give me the just give me the Advil and the Tylenol and I'll go do my race and it'll be fine. And then after that, it was just like 72 hours straight of. I don't even know. I get like kind of where I am a little bit right now, but I know what to expect. But it's different, you know, 12 years in the making after my first gold medal. And then South Korea was my next Olympics and I got two medals there. But it was also, I sort of started to get a grasp of maybe the darker side of the Olympics where even though I won a Golden Giant slalom, I didn't win a medal in the slalom. And that was like, it became this really bittersweet thing. And because the slalom was the last or the sort of the event I was supposed to win, it came after the GS. People just sort of like brushed the GS under the rug a little bit, which was really intriguing for me. I was like, you guys know, I just won a medal. But I was seeing all these comments like, don't come home, you're not welcome in the US US anymore. And this was the first time I was thinking I saw the dark side of it. Like, there's a reaction no matter what you do. And like, people don't only tune into the Olympics. You know, they tune into your sport every four years, but they'll literally only turn tune into the event that they think there's a metal contender in. So they have no idea what happened. In other. And I get it too, because I'm like, I have not been able to keep up with everything that's gone on here, but it was just interesting. So then I went to Beijing and I was like, oh my gosh, there's so much pressure. But there's also like, it's Covid and it's crazy. And we're doing testing every day and we're wearing masks and we're isolated from each other, eating dinner and it was just, it was such an out of body experience in Beijing. And then I saw like a very intense side of the Olympics that a very, you know, high expectation side of it. So now we're here and I'm like, are we sure? Is this real?

[Kylie Kelce]

Does it feel a little dreamlike?

[Michaela Shifrin]

A little dreamlike? Yeah. Okay, that was a long explanation.

[Kylie Kelce]

No, it's for real. For real. You did that again.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Aren't we sure?

[Kylie Kelce]

I'm certain you have it right there. I've seen it with my own two eyes. How does this newest gold rank amongst the three?

[Michaela Shifrin]

I don't think I can rank them, really. I think they're just so totally different. Like, such my Olympic experiences have been so wildly different. Now it's four, and I. I'm really aware right now of all of the work that's gone into. Not actually. Not the metal, but the work that's gone into showing up on race day and being able to, like, show up with the mentality and the skiing that I wanted to do and that it was like, there's just been so much in the making. And that started obviously, what you can be like, oh, it started 30 years ago, whatever. But also, even this summertime, the amount of conversations I had with my psychologist, talking about all the different feelings surrounding the Olympics and, like, desensitizing to the word and imagining the vibe, imagining the colors. And even, like, two summers ago, I was in Paris, and one of the reasons to go to Paris was to be able to see this, like, Olympic look and to sort of desensitize to it. And it's just been. It's been so much, you know, work with my team and, like, communication, and it's been a really great growth experience. But you. You spend so much time doing all of this work and training for something, and then it ha. Like, the moment it happens is, you know, 47 seconds or, like, in the blink of an eye. And it's just really weird.

[Kylie Kelce]

It's so cool to think about your team, all the work you're talking about that leads up to it, and the idea of obviously not ranking your medals, not picking this one, but the idea that you've done so much to prepare for this moment and you executed. So regardless of the medal, you did what you came to do. Yeah.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yes, exactly. I feel like we've been hearing that from a lot of athletes this Games, even Alyssa competing, and, you know, those who maybe didn't win a medal, when there was some expectation around that. It's like a lot of athletes are prioritizing being happy in life, and I've been getting that mess. And maybe that's just because, like, my algorithm is putting. Putting this out there to me, because that's what I'm looking for, too. But I have loved. I feel like there's a shift in a. In the sports environment to be like, first and foremost, you must be happy in life. Like, Breezy, you were talking to her. We were talking about this. She kept sending me these messages. It's gonna sound a little bit blunt, but there's, like, a lead up to it. But we don't have time for that. So she's like, if you don't. If you're not happy without a medal, you won't be happy with a medal. Because happiness comes from cats. And it's like, honestly perfect. Maybe not for your family, but fill

[Kylie Kelce]

in whatever you want into cats, right? Yeah. Yeah.

[Michaela Shifrin]

And it was like, you know, that's just this metaphor for like.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yeah.

[Michaela Shifrin]

There's just so much life outside of the sport, but we do so much of our life, you know, it's all geared towards the sport. And it's even like, I haven't been drinking for two years because I. Every time I have a glass of anything, I get sick. And I'm like, I can't afford to be sick literally ever. So we're just gonna not have any alcohol. Like, we're gonna drink electrolytes, man. Yeah, it's just this whole.

[Kylie Kelce]

This whole.

[Michaela Shifrin]

All the dedication for sure. And you've probably heard it a billion times, people are maybe sick of that, but it is this cliche concept. And. Yeah, I don't know, just. I'm really appreciative of this now, especially, like, this would not mean as much without Beijing, but it's also. I don't think it would have happened without Beijing. Like, what I went through in Beijing after my dad passing, what I went through with my mom there and then, you know, in the years following that is just. It was just such a catalyst for immense growth in my life. And I don't think I would have been in the position to actually show up and execute the skiing properly here without that.

[Kylie Kelce]

Without the whole journey. Yeah. Why is it so important to be open about your mental health? Because it's something that you've already touched on here today. But obviously the journey that you've taken and that you've continued to talk about, I think is really important not only for athletes, but also for just everyone to hear that. I think athletes are some of, in our society viewed as some of like, the strongest people, both physically and mentally. To be outspoken about discussing your mental health and well being is a way of saying, like, you acknowledge it and you allow other people to fall into that idea of it's okay to talk about it. And it's not perfect. And it's not supposed to be perfect.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah.

[Kylie Kelce]

Why is it so important for you to make sure that messaging is out there?

[Michaela Shifrin]

I feel like with athletes in particular, there's so. There has been, and this is kind of shifting, but there's not a way that it's supposed to be. Like, you show up as an athlete. And there will be points in your career where you feel really confident, and there's going to be points in your career where you go through a lot of struggle. And it's all part of it, right? But I feel like there's been such a, like, aura around sports. It's like you are supposed to be fearless. You're supposed to, like, dive into the unknown and challenges without questioning it at all. And I've just. Over the course of my career, I've pretty much always questioned everything. I'm really uncertain most of the time, and it's so uncomfortable. But then it's like when an athlete faces a moment where they're uncertain, then it's really uncomfortable and they don't know what to do with that. And then it's like you get these really high highs and these really low lows, and you think that you're supposed to be a certain way in order to achieve something great. And I feel like it's important to show to people and to, like, elaborate that there's not really one way anything's supposed to go. But for me personally, like, verbally processing, talking with a psychologist being that has made my life so immensely better, and it's helped my communication in relationships, I've become so much more clear, and I'm sort of confident in action. Maybe not in my, like, feeling within myself, but the way that I'm able to say no or say yes or set boundaries or just, like, know what my own limits are and to express that to other people and relationships within my family, relationships outside of my family, like, within my team. That has gotten so much better because of, like, expressing what's going on in my head and in my heart. So I feel that it's really important. And we talk about mental health, and there's just so many different layers of that. You know, not everybody, like, you don't have to have a clinical diagnosis to experience, like, what's going on in your head and your heart. That's just a real thing that people have. Because we've got brains and we got. And we're human, and we're human and we got hearts. I hope. I would hope. Haven't met one without one yet.

[Kylie Kelce]

Now. I always love to make sure that anyone that I speak to that's advocating for something that makes it easier for our girls, we have four girls to navigate life that I thank you in person. So I thank you for all of the things that you're talking about, because you're going to make me cry. Don't look at me like that.

[Michaela Shifrin]

If you do, don't cry. Don't cry.

[Kylie Kelce]

Don't do it. It'll be a chain reaction. Don't do it. I always like to make sure that people who are having those conversations, people who are being transparent and allowing people in, in that way who make it an easier world to navigate for our kids growing up, especially young women, that, that is such an important thing to talk about. That is like what you're doing, where you're like, oh, I hope that someone. But people are. And I want you to know that.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Thank you.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yes, absolutely. In addition to the mental strength, you've done so much physically to prepare, we'll take it in a lighter note. Now we've all seen the video of your back abs. What's happening?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah. So toug strong.

[Kylie Kelce]

This is like.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yes.

[Kylie Kelce]

You're joking.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I wish. No, my mom saw that. I was like, look at my back.

[Kylie Kelce]

You don't wish. That's fucking impressive.

[Michaela Shifrin]

When your mom tells you you look like you have an alien coming out of your back. It's not really.

[Kylie Kelce]

She's kidding.

[Michaela Shifrin]

She was not. She told me earlier she was kidding. Multiple people said the same thing and they did not discuss it with each other.

[Kylie Kelce]

If you have not seen this video, it's unbelievably impressive.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Oh, well, thank you. So skiing is a sport that's like very, very. It's very quad and back dominant. So that's part of it. Right. But also I was. We were going through this. My physical therapist has noticed this when we're like talking on the table and if I chuckle or laugh, my back muscles would do this and she'd be like. The way the lighting was in this room, she's like, oh, I have to take a video. And then I saw it. I was like, this is, is going to go viral.

[Kylie Kelce]

Do you have any other secret abs? Do you have like quad abs or like forearm abs? Like what's. Are you just like smuggling abs all over your body? Yes.

[Michaela Shifrin]

She's just strong.

[Kylie Kelce]

She can't help it. Leave her alone.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I now I can like.

[Kylie Kelce]

It's impressive.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I can like activate my quads really fast.

[Kylie Kelce]

Of course you can, cuz you're an Olympic gold medalist. It's fine.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I don't have, I don't have abs everywhere.

[Kylie Kelce]

Only on your back.

[Michaela Shifrin]

It's only on my back and I wish it was on my front, but you know, you gotta just pick one or the other.

[Tara Lipinski]

Oh my God.

[Kylie Kelce]

So I mentioned at the top, but this conversation has been years in the making because my Husband originally told the. Now are we calling it famous?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Okay.

[Kylie Kelce]

Famous story of my first time skiing on the other podcast back in 2023. Oh, my gosh.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah. No, I remember when this. And you guys are like, yeah, there's this skier girl. She could teach you.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yeah, yeah.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Like,

[Kylie Kelce]

okay, so. So very important that we get some clarity on this. The other podcast tweeted out the clip of the story, and. And you quoted it with, I might know someone who could teach Kylie.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yes.

[Kylie Kelce]

So let's start here.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Okay.

[Kylie Kelce]

To clarify, you did mean yourself, right? You weren't, like, offering me up to one of your coaches?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah, well, actually, my mom would probably be better at teaching you, so. My mom is, like, my first coach, but she's also still my coach. One of. One of my coaches. She's a better teacher. Like, she'll be. She'll have you at, like, we. My brother and I joke that she can teach you how to ski World cup ski racing in, like, a single run down the slope. Like, she'll have you feeling confident.

[Kylie Kelce]

I.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I would, like, probably take a little bit joy in watching you fall. Just, like, a little bit.

[Kylie Kelce]

Great news. I fall a lot.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Like, just. But not, like, not. I don't want you to get hurt, obviously.

[Kylie Kelce]

No, no, no, no, no. But I, like, I have a fat ass to fall and. We're fine. We're fine.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I don't know if I would get you very far. She would get you farther, but I would definitely.

[Kylie Kelce]

We could have fun doing it.

[Michaela Shifrin]

We'd have fun doing that.

[Kylie Kelce]

Okay. Maybe we'll bring mom just in case.

[Michaela Shifrin]

An espresso martini.

[Kylie Kelce]

And an espresso martini for the bottom.

[Michaela Shifrin]

For the.

[Kylie Kelce]

For the apprais.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yes.

[Kylie Kelce]

Does this offer still stand?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Kylie Kelce]

So we're gonna do this?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yes.

[Kylie Kelce]

Okay. And you're bringing Mom? I. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Yeah.

[Michaela Shifrin]

She'll make sure that you're actually.

[Kylie Kelce]

Where are we gonna go skiing? I will say I did ask Breezy if she could give me some pointers too, so maybe we just.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Maybe we do, like, maybe we just do a group. It's better in a group. I think people say, like, no friends on a powder day, but I just think the more friends, the better. I don't think I've ever skied alone in my life, so.

[Kylie Kelce]

Okay, let's bring a group on a powder day.

[Michaela Shifrin]

On a powder day. Oh, when there's lots of snow and it's fluffy.

[Kylie Kelce]

Great.

[Michaela Shifrin]

So, like, a powder day is skiing. So let's get breezy out there. Let's get. Let's get A bunch of us.

[Kylie Kelce]

Let's do it. I will pizza my whole way down.

[Michaela Shifrin]

No, you won't. I'm telling you, my mom will have you in french fries so fast.

[Kylie Kelce]

You should see me.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Not the french fries here, because those are like chunky, but like normal french fries. Like, good straight french fries. Nice, good long, straight french fries.

[Kylie Kelce]

I really think you should get eyes on this before we start getting I ideas.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I'm telling you, I. I've seen her do it. She will go up to strangers on the mountain who seem like they're struggling and falling every turn. And she will, like, take five minutes, give them pointers, and by the end of the run, they're carving. I'm. I kid you not.

[Kylie Kelce]

Carving is doing well.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Carving is when you are slow. Like sliding the skis is when you're like pushing your tails out and you're sort of slowing yourself down and you're creating friction with the snow. And carving is when you're basically like. If you think of railroad tracks, we say railroad tracks in the snow. Where you see your skis are like creating these nice, clean divots in the snow. That's carving, which is good. Okay, Carving is good.

[Kylie Kelce]

And we'll do a little serpentine down.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah. And you don't, like, you'll be able to control your speed.

[Kylie Kelce]

Great.

[Michaela Shifrin]

You'll know how to stop and you'll

[Kylie Kelce]

know how to do that. Yeah.

[Michaela Shifrin]

No, I feel good about this. You're gonna love it.

[Kylie Kelce]

Okay, we're going.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yes.

[Kylie Kelce]

I tried snowboarding and fell on my ass multiple times. But like I said, I was fine. And I. I just feel more confident with independent feet. I think that's so weird. Independent feet feels better.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Do you do any water sports?

[Kylie Kelce]

No. Oh, I get it. Okay. Because I said winter sport dumb. Turns out I'm water sport dumb too, so don't go there.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Okay.

[Kylie Kelce]

So all kinds.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I'm like, give rollerblade or skateboard or scooter. Have you scootered? You know, like as a 5 year old? What have you done?

[Kylie Kelce]

Field hockey. And I am definitely independent.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Field hockey is so. Okay. Let me tell you also, my mom played field hockey. Oh, you're gonna be so. You're gonna be such a skier.

[Kylie Kelce]

This is so perfect.

[Johnny Weir]

Sorry.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I'm hooking you up with my mom.

[Kylie Kelce]

I will be there.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I'll just be like, such a good cheerleader.

[Kylie Kelce]

I believe in you. You're doing so, so well. Oh, my gosh. I do sports that are on a field. Yeah.

[Michaela Shifrin]

So independent. Like team sports. Yes.

[Kylie Kelce]

On a field. That's really impressive, honestly, the idea that you go out there and you're independently, like, I'm gonna go down this mountain, I'm gonna fuck shit up on the way, and I'm gonna win. And you do it by, like, it's up to you. And I know you keep referencing your team, and I know, like, behind the scenes and all of that, but, like, the idea of the. It can.

[Michaela Shifrin]

The start can be a lonely place.

[Kylie Kelce]

Competing independently is like a whole nother beast, because when you play team sports and you get to go out there on a field together, and if one person makes a mistake, like, I always. I always coach up my goalies when they get down on themselves about letting something in, I'm like, it got through 10 people to get to you. Yeah. And that's sort of like the team mentality. Yes, yes. It's like that. It's like contagious. Play can be both bad or good. You hope it's good, but, like, that's what team sports are.

[Michaela Shifrin]

It's funny because I think the mentality is, like, usually in the course of my career, when I've. When I've performed or I've skied the best, it's when I actually take that same kind of team mentality, like, with my coaches and with the staff that I feel. And in the slalom race here, I felt them with me. I really, really did. Like, that was crazy. And when I felt alone, that's usually when things go a little bit. So it's funny how it works. Like, you do all this work together and. Yes, for. In ski racing, we're standing in the start alone, kind of. Actually, my physical therapist and ski technicians, they're right there, too. But you're facing forward.

[Kylie Kelce]

It's you in the mountain.

[Michaela Shifrin]

You're you. And. Yeah, you and the mountain. And in the slalom race, I had seen the girl before me. She had DNF'd and she was standing. It was like, in the first dnf. Did not finish.

[Kylie Kelce]

Thank you so much. I don't.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I'm so sorry. No, that. I don't know. That's really annoying. Like, I'm being really annoying.

[Kylie Kelce]

No, you're not at all. It's. I should know, at least.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Some of you shouldn't know.

[Kylie Kelce]

You should be able to get to. Do not finish.

[Michaela Shifrin]

No, no, no, no. There's no reason why you should know that.

[Kylie Kelce]

I should probably be able to get there, though. Context clues.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I. I can't figure out any acronyms that anybody says these days.

[Kylie Kelce]

I would.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I can't figure anything Out. So you should have done that.

[Kylie Kelce]

I should have let you go and then done. Context clues. Go ahead. Winter sport. Dumb.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Here we are. She did not. She did not finish, but she. So she went out of the course in somewhere in the first two gates, which is, like, on top of everything else, we're gonna. We're gonna ski this whole course, and we're looking at the whole mountain, and we gotta just kind of put all of that together and somehow get to the finish. Not somehow. I mean, I do this every day, but still, it's like sometimes it feels a little bit miraculous to make it to the end of the course. And she had gone out in the first gate. I was like, oh, on top of everything else, I, like, can't fuck up the first gate also.

[Kylie Kelce]

Sure.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Don't forget the start, you know, like, we gotta do the doing.

[Kylie Kelce]

Don't get ahead of yourself.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Don't forget the start as well. Yeah, it can feel kind of isolating, but I think the mentality is, like, when you. When you feel the work you've done with everybody surrounding you in that village that has actually helped you get there, and when I feel really open to that, then that's usually when my best. When my best skiing comes out.

[Kylie Kelce]

And when you are going, is there a point where you start to. Can you feel it? Like, I asked Breezy a similar question of, like, do you feel it? Like, is there a moment where you're like, oh, this just feels like the flow is good, or that you feel fully connected? Or, like, is there a point where you're like, oh, this is going well? Or is it just the whole way, you're just like, do it, do it, do it, do it?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Oh, gosh, that is actually such a good question. I think it's kind of both. It is like, you never know how it's going to turn out while you're skiing. But I do have. I have, like, particularly in slalom right now. I have a level of skiing. There's, like, sort of two categories, and one is, like, very fast skiing, on par with all the best in the world. Can win, might not. And then there's a level that I've felt this season in particular, and that's even evolved from other years where, like, if I have these couple key pieces, it's. I think it's the fastest slalom skiing that exists right now. Doing that is just really, really hard, and it requires so much. Like, in these two runs of the slalom here, I felt like there were probably four different points on the course where I was not Going to make the next gate. I wasn't going to be able to finish the course and I felt so on the limit, not really disastrous. But just if you talk about Beijing where I DNF'd multiple times and that's

[Kylie Kelce]

not something she did not finish.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Just the people.

[Kylie Kelce]

I know what I'm talking about.

[Michaela Shifrin]

So we, we. We created the. We gave the definition and now we're using it in context. Now this, the light.

[Kylie Kelce]

The listeners know. Because I know, but you might not know.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah, I was just. I don't know. I was. I. You know how close you are to sort of not finishing. And like there's. There's glory, there's a triumph, there's the most amazing success. And then right. 3cm to the other side is like disaster and critical headlines and all of the heartbreak and all of the other sides of it. And I guess that's maybe sport as a whole.

[Kylie Kelce]

It's.

[Michaela Shifrin]

There's some way to relate that to every single sport. But it is just like you need to be willing to risk that it's not going to work out in order to have a shot for it working out.

[Kylie Kelce]

That's so bad. Now, I'd love to do a segment with you that we do pretty much every episode. It's called Doom scroll of the week. It's basically. I like to scroll when I get in bed and my children are asleep.

[Michaela Shifrin]

For you. This was supposed to be in the beginning.

[Kylie Kelce]

Oh, you sitting go.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah.

[Kylie Kelce]

Because you're the goat. I want to take it out of the package so that we can see it. We'll get a. We'll get a tight shot of it at the end. But it's. I want to make sure that the. It's a goat. Because she's a goat. Makes sense. Okay. So doom scroll the week is. Because I love to doom scroll at night. It's. I enjoy it because when I put my kids to bed, that's how I turn my brain off. And so I feel like none of

[Michaela Shifrin]

your doom scrolling is actually doom scrolling, though.

[Kylie Kelce]

Well, it's just. I'll just all day those. It's totally. Yeah. You know, if you doom scroll hard enough, you can actually watch whole episodes of shows on Tick Tock.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I have done that.

[Kylie Kelce]

Okay. I feel like we might tick tock the same way. Oh, well, I. Do you go in the comments.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Not. So I don't actually have tick tock on my phone. Oh, but do you do it on Instagram? Okay, well, I will tell you.

[Kylie Kelce]

Tick tock.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Comments, comments.

[Kylie Kelce]

I'll tell you. They they give like, kind of like Reddit vibes where, like, Reddit is unmatched in the comments on threads. So just if you ever have, you know, all that free time you have,

[Michaela Shifrin]

go into the comments, please. As long as it's not about yourself.

[Kylie Kelce]

No, no, no, don't do that.

[Michaela Shifrin]

That would be ridiculous.

[Kylie Kelce]

We don't do that around.

[Michaela Shifrin]

But we love doing about others. Oh, yeah.

[Kylie Kelce]

Oh, yeah.

[Michaela Shifrin]

The best.

[Kylie Kelce]

Let me tell you. I love, love a comment section. Which brings us to our first Doom scroll. Yes, this is Doom Scroll. Michaela Shifrin edition. The first Doom scroll here is actually a tweet that went viral as of literally yesterday.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Oh, fun.

[Kylie Kelce]

Apparently people on the Internet think we look alike.

[Michaela Shifrin]

This is such a compliment.

[Kylie Kelce]

You are holding up the American flag and it says where she belongs. The Winter Olympics. It's a photo of you winning your gold medal. And the person said, I thought Kylie, Kelsey was having another adventure for a second. And I've never been more flattered.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Well, same. But should we ask Jason?

[Kylie Kelce]

Jason.

[Jason]

I mean, you got some great back abs.

[Kylie Kelce]

That was super difficult. Shit. This is actually. This is. Have you seen this?

[Michaela Shifrin]

That we.

[Kylie Kelce]

That people have said that I look like you? This is very exciting. This is the first time I've seen this exciting for me.

[Michaela Shifrin]

But so when you. I can like with a ponytail in particular. I think you're just so much more proportionate than I am.

[Kylie Kelce]

I think I might have a little more height on you. How tall are you?

[Michaela Shifrin]

You definitely have height. I'm five seven.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yeah, you're taller. I got four inches.

[Michaela Shifrin]

You have a much better skin tone. I also like the color of your eyes a lot better.

[Kylie Kelce]

I will say this smile. So I.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Better teeth. My character in your smile.

[Kylie Kelce]

I think that this is the most flattered I've ever been to be compared to someone and that I think.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Should we just compare our face?

[Kylie Kelce]

I think we should just start rolling with like. We're siblings.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yes.

[Kylie Kelce]

How many siblings do you have?

[Michaela Shifrin]

One. Oh, my God. I fucking forgot my. I forgot first you said it's a brother. Well, I have a brother. It's a. It is a brother.

[Kylie Kelce]

It's a boy. It's a boy.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I have a brother.

[Kylie Kelce]

Is he older or younger?

[Michaela Shifrin]

He's older. His name is Taylor and he is actually having his first baby in the next month.

[Kylie Kelce]

What is it?

[Michaela Shifrin]

It's a girl.

[Kylie Kelce]

I said it. What is it?

[Michaela Shifrin]

It is a girl.

[Kylie Kelce]

It is a. I'm biased, but that's great. I truly believe that aunts, uncles, and grandparents have it the absolute best.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah. Cause you can just give them back.

[Kylie Kelce]

That's it. That's the key. That's the key. Do you have smelly when they scream? I have a sister. One sister who's older.

[Michaela Shifrin]

She have.

[Kylie Kelce]

She has three kids. Okay. So, yeah, I get to live the ant life.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yeah. It's great.

[Michaela Shifrin]

But then you also have your own kids.

[Johnny Weir]

So you're like.

[Michaela Shifrin]

You take inspire.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yeah, it's great because I can be like, spoil, spoil, spoil. And then when my kids are like, why are you not. Why you give it to them but not to us?

[Michaela Shifrin]

I'm like, because. Because it's their job to give it to you. Like, because I can. We don't cross hairs there.

[Kylie Kelce]

That's it.

[Michaela Shifrin]

What's your favorite thing to spoil?

[Kylie Kelce]

I mean, they're still very young, so, like, a sweet treat's great. Sweet treat works well. Yeah, I just lean into, like, clothes. You can, you can. But, like, that's more. That's more of like a mom gift. Yeah, that's more a favor to mom.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah, that's fair. I'm worried I'm gonna be a little bit overbearing. And my sister Christy, she's gonna be like, so you need to back.

[Kylie Kelce]

Does she have sisters?

[Michaela Shifrin]

She has a brother. Oh, and they're just. Yeah.

[Kylie Kelce]

Then you can tag in.

[Michaela Shifrin]

They're the. Yeah, they're the best. It's amazing. I'm so excited.

[Kylie Kelce]

But that's so nice.

[Michaela Shifrin]

It's easy for me to be. Do they get nerve wracking? They live in Denver, so they're like two hours away. Okay. So pretty easy to get there.

[Kylie Kelce]

After we're done, I'll tell you about what I pack up for a postpartum mom so that you can consider it because I feel very strongly about this.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I would love some advice.

[Kylie Kelce]

Great.

[Michaela Shifrin]

We're going to talk about it in

[Kylie Kelce]

our postpartum episode in March. So you got to wait until then. So Michaela gets it first. Also, I would like to point out that you have your podcast. What's the point? So you. You're very much in the podcast game. So if we look this much, like, according to the Internet, slightly much, should we just swap spots?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Swap podcasts? Yeah, I can.

[Kylie Kelce]

I can.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I can you.

[Kylie Kelce]

What's the point?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Okay. I don't know if this is a fair trade. You.

[Kylie Kelce]

I feel like this is. I mean, I feel like I'm asking a lot.

[Michaela Shifrin]

No. Yes. You get. We've only done like six episodes so far.

[Kylie Kelce]

Perfect.

[Michaela Shifrin]

It is. Wait, seriously?

[Kylie Kelce]

Yeah, why not that. I'm just.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I'm like, such A. Oh. What would you call somebody who has no idea what they're doing?

[Kylie Kelce]

An unprofessional professional. Because that's me. This is perfect.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Oh, my God.

[Kylie Kelce]

I don't think I know, but this

[Michaela Shifrin]

is so cool to be here because now that I've started to try, it's been like, woof. How do you know how to. Hosting conversations is hard.

[Kylie Kelce]

It is.

[Michaela Shifrin]

And you do a really good job of that.

[Kylie Kelce]

That's so kind of you. Queen Emma writes me a pretty good rundown that you can see. I'm trying to be like, let me stay slightly on track.

[Michaela Shifrin]

But it's like, then you. You also.

[Kylie Kelce]

I just wanna, like, I just wanna talk to the people. Like, the people we have on. Yeah. I truly just wanna talk to, like. I just wanna pick their brains and I wanna learn from them and I wanna get to speak to them and know them better. And that really, that helps.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Are you good at having conversations just, like, outside of this? Like, just in life, are you social? Okay.

[Kylie Kelce]

Because I'm not giving me a thumbs up.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah. Okay.

[Kylie Kelce]

So I'm the type of person, like, in the moment, I would, like, when I start talking to people, I love it. I want to talk to them. I want to know about their things, I want to give them my undivided attention, I want to know their name and I want to be able to say hi to them later.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah. And.

[Kylie Kelce]

But then afterwards, I'm like, that was really.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah. Okay. Like the ambivert or omnivert or whatever it is. Whatever that is.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yes.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Where it's like, love it, but it takes energy.

[Kylie Kelce]

But also afterwards, I'm like, I need three days.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah. So would you, like, if you're in, like a hotel breakfast environment and there's people around, I mean, I guess kind of maybe what you've experienced here in Milan, but, like, there's people, you know.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yes.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Would you, like, choose to go strike up a conversation or are you, like, just turn your head a little bit the other way?

[Kylie Kelce]

A little of both. Okay. Okay. Would you turn your head?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Probably. Maybe not. Maybe not with you, but yeah, I might, like, crawl under the table. No, it's just like, having conversations and, like, are hard. It's hard.

[Kylie Kelce]

I will tell you, part of the this moment, after having a conversation is the million things. I'll be like, why the fuck did I say that?

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah, I know.

[Kylie Kelce]

Like, on a very regular basis, I will get out of a conversation and be like, what was I talking? I like, all the time, like, I will leave this and be like, who the Fuck. Says that.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Who was that?

[Kylie Kelce]

All the time. All the time. Wow. And I'll think about it for, like, it's one of those days. And it will pop up like three months from now. I'll be like, shit, I did say that. I can't help myself.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Do you have these. Like, this has been happening right now where there's all these random quotes and the quotes that people decide to use from you and any, like, any public statement you've ever made. It's crazy. I'm like, I don't remember. I don't think I said that.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yes.

[Michaela Shifrin]

And there's some that. Are you blacked out?

[Kylie Kelce]

And you're like, yeah, are you sure I said that? And then they roll the clip and

[Michaela Shifrin]

they use it and it's like the most powerful quot quote you've ever said. And it's used. It's the world for like 12 years. And it's this one. It's this one little quote that I said. I don't even know. I'm like, I don't think that was actually me, guys.

[Kylie Kelce]

Perfect. Thank you so, so much. This has been so much fun. And thank you. You have things to do, so you're also. But if you can squeeze it in. Maybe if I come to do skiing. What's the point?

[Michaela Shifrin]

And some skiing should we do? We should do like a skiing. What's the point? Episode.

[Kylie Kelce]

Oh, for sure. Like a chair.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Like a. Well, yeah. There's gonna be something amazing. But then we have to figure out what the point is.

[Kylie Kelce]

We will.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Okay.

[Kylie Kelce]

Because we also like to around and find out and so you around to find out what the point is. You get it? Yep. This seems like. It seems like we're sisters.

[Johnny Weir]

I think.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I think.

[Kylie Kelce]

Weird.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Weird. This is perfect, Mom.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yep.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Did you do more work than we thought you did perfect.

[Kylie Kelce]

This is great. Kindred spirits.

[Michaela Shifrin]

We.

[Kylie Kelce]

And you're gonna host ngl.

[Michaela Shifrin]

So I was wondering. I don't want to like, assume.

[Kylie Kelce]

No, no, it's. It's only fair.

[Michaela Shifrin]

I mean. Okay.

[Kylie Kelce]

I can't wait for this fafo. I can't wait for this fafo intro when Michaela's like, hi, I'm Kylie. Kelsey. We're gonna around on ski slope. This is perfect. We'll see how long we can keep this bit going because up to this point, the only other person that I've been told I look like is Bo Allen. And I'm going to leave that with you. You Google it later. Oh, no, it's not good. Sorry, Bo. It's not good. Let me but it's a great compliment for Beau. But he also.

[Michaela Shifrin]

So what does that mean?

[Kylie Kelce]

Well, he was. No, it means that I. That this is what I'm talking about. I feel very flattered.

[Michaela Shifrin]

So it is so flattering.

[Kylie Kelce]

Thank you so much. No.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Oh, my gosh.

[Kylie Kelce]

They're everybody's favorite figure skating broadcasting duo, best friends, former Olympians, current traitors, cast members, and perhaps most importantly of all, fellow Philly area real ones. It's Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir. Tara and Johnny, welcome to Not Gonna Lie. Oh, my goodness.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Thank you.

[Johnny Weir]

We are so excited to be here. And yes, all Philly.

[Kylie Kelce]

It feels very right. It feels very homey. It feels good. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit it. I didn't realize we all had the Philly connection until a few days ago. You mentioned it when we ran into each other at breakfast that you were

[Johnny Weir]

South Jersey, born in Philly, raised in South Jersey.

[Tara Lipinski]

Yep. And I'm from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Very rural. And I moved away for a long time and I. I live now about 30 minutes outside Philly, which is awesome because our area.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yes.

[Johnny Weir]

And all my family is still there.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yeah. And you get dragged back to visit

[Johnny Weir]

them, I'm assuming, for holidays and all the things.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yep.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yep. What is the best thing to say in the Philly accent? Ooh, water. Right. Yeah. I feel like it's the easiest way for people to get on board. Yeah. Wooder. Especially if you spell it W O O D E, R. Right.

[Johnny Weir]

It's easy trying to think what else is good.

[Tara Lipinski]

There's just that whole Delco accent thing where even though I've lived pretty much among it for the majority of my life, sometimes I have to squint at people to hear them better. Does that ever happen to you?

[Kylie Kelce]

Yes.

[Tara Lipinski]

I'm like, what are you talking? Where are.

[Kylie Kelce]

Feel as though I'm deep in a Philly conversation. The minute someone hits me with a use and they use it and they use it free flowing. Right. If I ever say use, it feels really choppy. But when people say it and there's a still a fluidity to their sentence, I'm like.

[Johnny Weir]

Like the used guys.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yes.

[Tara Lipinski]

And young people are using John too now.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yes. John is big. We have hoagie or home is a big one. It's those O's hit hard. John. Some people say the iggles.

[Tara Lipinski]

The eagles.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yes, the eagles.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yeah. I think that if you spell it phonetically that it helps other people pronounce it in our way. Hi.

[Tara Lipinski]

G, G, L, E, S. You get it.

[Johnny Weir]

It feels comforting, though, for me. When I hear a Philly accent or South Jersey accent, I'm like, ah, home. Home sweet home.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yes. Because the South Jersey accent is nearly just as hard. Yes, yes. I mean, some slight variations, but not much.

[Johnny Weir]

A little bit.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yeah.

[Tara Lipinski]

But for our purposes, we have non regional dictionary.

[Kylie Kelce]

Beautiful speech. Now something else we have in common. We both have a personal connection to Traders are a little closer to it. But you guys are on the show this season and crushing it, by the way.

[Tara Lipinski]

Thank you.

[Kylie Kelce]

And. And my mother in law, Donna was also in the cast. We were just discussing it before you guys came in. I still feel a little jaded and our listeners have listened to me say this probably one too many times at this point. But I think that her being the secret Traitor, she was already isolated because she wasn't involved in any other. Like she didn't have a connection to anybody there. And then when she got selected as secret Traitor, I feel like it almost isolated her more. And that's the easiest people to pick off at the beginning. Yes, yes.

[Johnny Weir]

And I think it's so hard to watch the show now. Right. And edit it. Yeah, we watch it. We don't see the episodes.

[Tara Lipinski]

We have to know what's coming.

[Johnny Weir]

Yeah, we watch with everyone else.

[Kylie Kelce]

That is so cool.

[Johnny Weir]

So when you're watching it, it's such a different experience than when you were actually there. But I loved, I mean, Donna and I, we had, you know, again, I am not a game player. A strategy. Like Johnny and I come from Olympic sports. So this was a completely different experience and such a wild ride. But I am pretty social. So I got in the castle and was like, this feels like summer camp. I can't wait to meet everyone. So Donna and I had a lot of talks about kids and she was giving me all sorts of advice. And so I have some fond memories of that.

[Tara Lipinski]

Yeah, I'm very socially awkward, so I'm not the best at making new friends.

[Kylie Kelce]

That's why you compliment each other.

[Johnny Weir]

Yes.

[Tara Lipinski]

Where I'm weak, she is strong. But Donna did such a hard job on that show. And I have to say that like so many people were afraid to go after Donna because of Swiftieland. And that was the conversation among everyone that was not Donna. I know. So when we all figured it out and we were all there and ready to vote for her, everyone was scared and that was the conversation. But she was such a trooper and I think she did a really good job for the position that she was. Was put in. But the trailers is. It's so hard. And watching it back Is surreal because we lived it. We were there. And you go all in because those are the people that you look forward to seeing every day. You think everyone's your friend because you're otherwise pretty isolated. Just to keep the game on camera.

[Johnny Weir]

That was clearly my biggest issue with the show is, like, I am friends with all of. Like, I cannot do this. It was such. It really messes with your mind. And then also, you don't see a lot of what's happening. The roundtables are hours. I think it's a couple hours we're in there. So it's then condensed down into a few minutes of. Of television. And it's so hard because then you. You miss out on. You really can see, too, where the table's going, of people kind of giving each other eyes and, like, nodding of who they're going for. And then obviously, that changes. Changes how everyone sort of reacts in that room. And it's just wild.

[Tara Lipinski]

Well, it's like the greatest pressure cooker, and I'm so glad we got to experience it. But everyone talks about the traitors having the advantage or the faithfuls having an advantage. The viewers have the advantage. They know everything. So we're just kind of. For me, I felt like I was just blindly wandering through the castle for the most part. So it's fascinating for us to actually watch it and see the little things that maybe we should have gotten or could have gotten. And you always go back and look at the things where you could have

[Kylie Kelce]

done better than hindsights. 2020.

[Tara Lipinski]

Yeah.

[Kylie Kelce]

Now, you guys talked about sort of your unspoken connection. Yes. Was that helpful?

[Johnny Weir]

Yes. We were talking all day long and really never spoke a word to each other. So we. We had that going on in the beginning. And then it was, like, two episodes

[Kylie Kelce]

ago that you guys revealed that you guys.

[Tara Lipinski]

We came out.

[Johnny Weir]

I love it.

[Kylie Kelce]

That is. I mean, the fact that you guys buried the lead on that was top tier. What was everyone's like, how did it feel to hold that back from everyone and then sort of, like, let everybody in?

[Johnny Weir]

Well, when we first went in and we didn't know if this plan was gonna work, we thought we had to, because, of course, alliances and duos, it doesn't really go over well in the Castle. So we. We knew we'd get voted out very quickly because they'd want to separate us if we came in as we normally do, walking hand in hand, like, down the hall hall. So our. Our first strategy was just to really go hard in that we didn't know each other. That well, of course, we're figure skaters, but skated at different times. So I feel like a lot of the conversations, when anyone would question us, we would be like. I would be like, oh, yeah. I mean, I won when I was 15. He didn't even start skating yet. So I. I know of him, obviously, but we live on different coasts. Yeah, I. I've worked with him. We worked together a few times. Yeah. Like, we come in for events, so we just really played it like that.

[Tara Lipinski]

Nonchalant, very chill. And I think it was. It was a huge advantage. But we sat across from each other at the round table, so we could do lots of, like, that eye stuff and, like, hand signals and things like that that we would get that nobody else would pick up on. But I don't think either of us are those people that just assume everyone knows who you are. I think, you know, it helps keep me sane anyway, to think that I'm still just a normal person that goes about my life and there's no one that's watching me on TV or anything, and that's why I live in the country. But we never just assumed that any of the other players would know who we were. And luckily, no one really got it.

[Johnny Weir]

Yeah. So in the beginning, we had to, because the roundtable switches. Like, everyone goes in, you're going for this person. Then it starts getting crazy. So we really, you know, we'd go in with a name of who we were going for, and then it would change and Johnny would be like.

[Tara Lipinski]

Like, just looking in the direction of the person that it changed to. And, like, that's where I'm going.

[Kylie Kelce]

Hey, you see what they put down? That's what I'm putting down. Yeah. Oh, I love it.

[Johnny Weir]

And then when we did decide to have our, you know, quote unquote reveal, we were. We thought we were really going out. So I feel like we thought, let's just.

[Tara Lipinski]

Let's just do it.

[Johnny Weir]

Do it.

[Tara Lipinski]

Yep.

[Kylie Kelce]

Nothing.

[Tara Lipinski]

Del and Louise.

[Kylie Kelce]

Yeah. Oh, gosh, that's so good. Did you guys ever question whether or not one of you was a traitor?

[Johnny Weir]

Never.

[Tara Lipinski]

We would know immediately.

[Johnny Weir]

Immediately.

[Kylie Kelce]

Do you think?

[Johnny Weir]

Oh, yes. And also, we had a plan, too. If one of us was a traitor, I think a lot of people. I'll see it every once in a while. They'll be like, oh, I would. I'd love to see if one of them was a traitor. And then they had to turn.

[Kylie Kelce]

I wouldn't have. I wouldn't have. That would have made me so upset.

[Johnny Weir]

There's just no way. I Mean, we would have protected each other till the end, and then whoever won won, and we just. We kind of would have won together.

[Kylie Kelce]

Right. Celebrate the other person who won.

[Johnny Weir]

If I was a traitor, I would do every. Everything in my power that Johnny's name wouldn't end up. And probably if it did, I'd probably give myself up. I'd be like, well, I'm.

[Tara Lipinski]

Yeah, same.

[Johnny Weir]

I'm done.

[Tara Lipinski]

Same. Had it been fun.

[Kylie Kelce]

We were talking about this in. In one of our car rides last night, and this is exact. I was like, I think you just, like, if you go in with your best friend, you have to just commit to. Oh, yeah. Almost like prioritizing their success. Yes. And then as long as they're successful, you're both successful.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Right, Right.

[Kylie Kelce]

I feel good about this, and I think.

[Tara Lipinski]

I think it shook a lot of people up.

[Kylie Kelce]

I think we're on the same page. Thank you, guys.

[Tara Lipinski]

It shook a lot of people up because I think, you know, I don't think I know that everyone went in there to play a game, and they were as an individual, and we were there to play our game. So we were playing a slightly different version of the Traitors than everyone else. And while that's not the smartest gameplay, we've done remarkably well.

[Johnny Weir]

Yeah, we. Honestly, and I mean, for me, at this point in my life, I'm not into competition.

[Kylie Kelce]

Competition.

[Johnny Weir]

You know, like, I'm, like, been there, done it. I just. Yeah, I needed to be with my best friend in the castle. And it wasn't a me thing. It was an us thing. And we were just going to go down together.

[Kylie Kelce]

It's so perfect. I can't. I can't wait to watch the end of the season bringing it back around to figure skating. I don't know if you guys saw this viral tweet. This is kind of the charm of Traders. It says, work will have you in friend groups like that. And it is a photo of Martha Stewart, Snoop, and Ilya all together.

[Johnny Weir]

We met. Well, I hadn't met Martha or Snoop before, so we were able to meet them at figure skating the other night, and it was very fun. Snoop just dances all the time, which, you know, brings up the mood. And Martha was so sweet.

[Tara Lipinski]

Just such a queen.

[Kylie Kelce]

They're such a lovely pair.

[Tara Lipinski]

Yeah, they are.

[Kylie Kelce]

It's delightful, it's unexpected, and I like it.

[Tara Lipinski]

Yeah, it's fun. And what I love about the Olympics overall, like, as a movement, I mean, obviously, we've lived our entire lives for the Olympics versus athletes, and now as broadcasters, is that it has that special quality that's so rare in modern times to bring the world together and to bring people together. And it's so unifying that I think it's so special because it's the only thing that really does that in the world.

[Kylie Kelce]

It. Honestly, I feel so privileged to get to come and be a spectator of the Olympics, because there really is nothing like it when you step into one of the stadiums, and even though countries are competing against each other, some people on the stands don't even have their country represented. Or you're sitting next to someone whose country is competing against the US and you're still sitting there sort of chit chatting, sort of shooting the shit or poking fun, but it is. You can cheer for the good storylines. You can cheer for, like, the people who are just absolutely crushing it. A great performance in figure skating. It doesn't matter the country. I was like, well, I think the

[Johnny Weir]

greatest thing about the Olympics to me is everyone's personal journey. When I am up there commentating, I feel like I see this mini movie unfolding and, you know, it's always starting with a little kid that is just like stepping on the ice or the mountain, whatever it is, of, I want to become an Olympian one day and just having this big dream as. As a little one. And then, you know, everyone around you, parents, family, coaches, you know, every single day sacrificing and working and training, and there's just something about decades of work like that, and a team behind you and your family, and then they have this moment to shine. And whether it goes perfectly or not, I have goosebumps every time. It's just. It's the best thing about the Olympics. It's so heartwarming.

[Kylie Kelce]

Well, the cool thing is that now you guys get to be a part of that storytelling, that you guys get to sort of not only help people understand what they're watching, but then also make sure that they understand the gravity of the situation for this particular competitor.

[Johnny Weir]

Well, yeah, and every competitor is different. You know, obviously, you're always thinking of a medal and Team USA and the podium, but for me, it's the moments and the performances where it isn't about that. And the skater just skated the best program of their life, and they're touching Olympic ice and kissing it and crying and, you know, joy. You know, just joy and tears. And for me, it's knowing what that particular skater went through to get to this moment, to even just step on Olympic ice.

[Tara Lipinski]

It's a huge responsibility for us that we take very seriously. In telling the stories of all of the athletes that we talk about, because these niche sports that are in the Olympics, they don't have a game every weekend where they can say their piece. They don't have the opportunities that a lot of the big sports around the world have. So this is their one opportunity for the world to see them and root for them. Them. So as their voices, as it were, it's really important for us to know the facts, to know the stories, and to be able to deliver them in a way that we're not talking over an entire performance. And it's. It's something that we cherish that. That position to be able to be a voice for people.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Well, it's also.

[Kylie Kelce]

It's. It's cool in telling those stories and like you said, those moments where people are competing, not necessarily going to place or medal or. I think Amber is a great example of that. Her execution last night was insane. And to know what happened in the short program.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Short program. Yes, Short.

[Johnny Weir]

You got it.

[Tara Lipinski]

Yeah.

[Kylie Kelce]

Right. Okay. But in short program, there were some. Some speed bumps.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yep.

[Kylie Kelce]

And last night was fall lethal. Yeah. And to score so high, obviously, with such a large deficit ahead of the free skate last night, but she still came out there and said, I'm not gonna lay down and pretend like, I'm just letting the buzzards pick me. Right. I'm gonna go out there, I'm gonna fight my ass off. And she did.

[Johnny Weir]

She did. She was so brilliant. I mean, she was one of two skaters in the entire event trying a triple axel. And it was the best triple axel I've ever seen. And just knowing that she had that disappointment in. And then to come back and block out all the noise. And not only for Team usa, but, I mean, like you said, she was at the top of the leaderboard for so long because of what she laid down, but also just her journey to get here. She is the definition of perseverance. So this story for me was she did it for herself. She was out there skating the Olympic program of a lifetime. And I. I had chills. I couldn't have been happier.

[Kylie Kelce]

For the fist bump at the end was, like, very. Like, the fist pump was so fulfilling. It felt like she, like, let us all into, like, that moment of, like. Yes.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yeah.

[Kylie Kelce]

It was so. Oh, God, it was so good. Jason and I were lucky enough to go to the women's short program figure skating the other night, and we watched. Then we got to watch Alyssa last night on tv. But still very exciting. Forgive me for this basic question, but what makes Alyssa so fucking good?

[Tara Lipinski]

I think the fact that she's put down all of the pressure that most athletes feel. And it's a rare talent that she has to be able to do that. And it's something that I don't even completely understand. She is so herself on the ice, and her performances are for her and to display her art to the world. And that's a really rare mindset for a figure skater, because our whole lives are judged, and everything we've ever done on the giant ice cube that we live on is judged. And there are strangers that are in charge of your entire future. They tell you if you're good enough or not. And it's a really hard place to be because you want to be yourself, but at the same time, you want to please judges so that you win the medals and have the glory and all of that stuff. And somehow she has just put it all down. And I absolutely love that about her performances, because it just makes you feel like you're part of her world and she's not going to curve for anyone.

[Johnny Weir]

Yeah, that's what I love. There's no filter. She is doing it the way she wants to do it. And watching her skate last night, you know, the joy and the smile, it was one of the best Olympic gold medal skates I've ever seen.

[Kylie Kelce]

I will say they're watching. We watched a decent amount of figure skating the other night at the short program. And again, as being a winter sport dumb person. Bear with me on this. But I really felt like after watching so many people who were so technically sound, it seemed, but almost like, crisp in a technical way, to watch Alyssa and the fluidity that she has and the way that she. It's almost like you can. Can feel that she's being artistic with her performance. It is such a pleasure to watch. Like, it really looks like she is enjoying herself while she's performing.

[Johnny Weir]

She's 100% enjoying herself, and that's really hard. When you get to an Olympic Games, you have four minutes to prove yourself, and it could change the trajectory of your life. So there's a lot of pressure there. So to be able to put that aside and remember why you love what you do and then show it to an audience that is a special talent, and that's what she delivers so well. And she is just so authentically herself. So I feel like that's why she had an advantage over everyone else there, to be able to go out there and skate like there wasn't pressure and have that freedom, because that's what an Olympic skate is.

[Kylie Kelce]

Now, you mentioned the four year gap between Olympics, and I think it's so important to acknowledge that because. Because it really is. Especially if you're winter sports, unlike me, you watch it and you're so invested while the Olympics are happening. How can we bridge that gap? How can we bridge that four year gap and scratch the itch of making sure that we can still tune in to figure skating, that we're still clued into what our athletes for the U.S. are doing and how they're faring in competition? Where do we get that?

[Johnny Weir]

Well, I mean, I think that's our whole goal when we're commentating, especially at an Olympic Games, is to attract new viewers, people that may have never watched figure skating before and introduce them to these incredible personalities that then they can, you know, become fans of and follow their careers. Because it doesn't end after the Olympics are over. You know, there's a world championships in a month, you know, that all of these skaters are going to. And then next year they're on the Grand Prix circuit. And Johnny and I actually commentate every single weekend during our season. It's just, it's just up against football and sports like that. Against football.

[Kylie Kelce]

Freaking football.

[Tara Lipinski]

Yep.

[Kylie Kelce]

But so we, so we can tune in to these events. Yes, and we should.

[Johnny Weir]

Yes, you should.

[Kylie Kelce]

Because now we're invested in these athletes and Tara and Johnny are going to tell us about them more and you're going to teach us about what they're doing.

[Tara Lipinski]

Absolutely.

[Kylie Kelce]

So we just need to tune into these broadcasts. You said in a month we have

[Johnny Weir]

world, we have the world championships in a month. And then in the end of September, beginning of October, starts our skating season all the way through my March. So every single year we, we commentate all those events on NBC, October to March.

[Tara Lipinski]

It's not every single weekend through the fall and winter. But you can follow us on social media, you can follow the skaters that you love the most from here. And we, we always keep everyone updated with what we're doing. But our season is the same every year. The Olympics is the, the, the special event that comes up every four years for us.

[Kylie Kelce]

That's such good intel. Thank you so much for that. I will be tuning in because you never know. Sometimes, sometimes football season ends unexpectedly. Right, Right. Oh, you might need something to do. Right? Or sometimes there's Thursday or Monday games and then you have your weekend free.

[Johnny Weir]

Yes. Tune in to figure skating.

[Kylie Kelce]

Wow.

[Johnny Weir]

Thank you.

[Kylie Kelce]

Of course.

[Tara Lipinski]

Do you only watch the Eagles?

[Kylie Kelce]

And the Chiefs?

[Tara Lipinski]

And the Chiefs forgot about that one.

[Kylie Kelce]

Oh, and Monday Night Football.

[Tara Lipinski]

Great. Yes. Monday Night Football. Yes.

[Michaela Shifrin]

Yes.

[Kylie Kelce]

Monday Night Football. And that's a wrap on our Not Gonna Lie Winter Olympics extravaganza. I hope you loved watching it as much as we all loved making it. And really, this entire experience. You'll be able to find even more clips from my longer conversations with Layla, Breezy, Michaela, Tara and Johnny on my YouTube channel on more Shit Monday. I'll be back this upcoming Thursday with a brand new episode. You're not gonna believe who agreed to do the show this week because I still can't believe it. Follow us on social media at NGL with Kylie for clips from throughout the week. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcast. Not Gonna Lie is a Wave original. Thanks again to our partners at YouTube and NBC and of course thanks to the real ones for tuning in.