U.S. Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon is one of the 2018 games’ breakout stars, loved for his unwavering integrity, unmatched wit and, of course, his athleticism and artistry on the ice. Needless to say, we could all learn a thing or two from Adam on how to live well.
Luckily for us, Adam is a fan of oversharing, and his interviews and social media accounts are ripe with rock solid advice for everything from his favorite self-care brands and fitness tips, to whose opinion really matters in life.
Age is only a number.
At 28, Adam Rippon is the oldest American rookie singles figure skater since 1936, but he sees his age as an asset. “I’m one of the oldest figure skaters competing now in the world on the Olympic level. I think in the past that would’ve discouraged me, but it kind of really motivates me because it’s different and I love to be different,” he told People .
And with age comes maturity. “I’ve learned to not take myself so damn seriously,” Adam wrote in a Reddit AMA during Olympics training last year. “I am mature and have so much experience. I’ve learned to go out in every competition and give everything 100 percent. Third time’s a charm ;)”
Never, ever give up.
As this year’s Olympics golden boy (and already a bronze medalist , he’ll compete again Friday and Saturday in the Men’s singles) it’s hard to believe that Adam Rippon’s road to glory may not have ever happened had he not been so resilient from day one (his Team USA profile reveals that Adam was born deaf before undergoing corrective surgery before his first birthday). This year’s PyeongChang games is Adam’s third try at Olympic glory — his bids to compete in 2010 and 2014 both ended in failure — and he had to withdraw from the U.S. Championships in January 2017 because of a broken foot.
It just goes to show that you can never give up on your dreams, even when your goals feel impossible. On air, figure-skater-turned-commentator Tara Lipinski repeated something Adam told her the night before : “I’ve been waiting for this very day for 18 years. Four years ago when I missed the team I was eating In & Out burgers, rooting on my teammates and crying at the same time.”
Love thyself.
Once you decide to stan Adam Rippon and spend your whole weekend reading every interview he’s ever given and scrolling so far back on Instagram that an accidental double-tap would bring about catastrophic embarrassment, one thing becomes clear: Nobody loves Adam Rippon more than Adam Rippon. And that’s the way it should be.
As the first openly gay American to qualify for the winter Olympics (in early January; snowboarder Gus Kenworthy qualified a few weeks later) in a sport that’s historically been riddled with homophobia , to say Adam is confident in the face of hardship is an understatement. He credits his own self-love — won over many years of doubting himself — with giving him the strength to not only compete on the ice but also to speak up unapologetically for what matters.
He told the Washington Post about winning his first U.S. national championship in January 2016, a few months after coming out: “It was just like, in all aspects of my life, I felt myself owning who I was. For such a long time in my life, I didn’t trust my own voice at all. I always tried to do what other people wanted. For the first time in my life, I had my own opinion.”
And love your BFFs, too.
Adam is always ready to prop up his teammates. When fellow Team USA skater Mirai Nagasu landed her historic triple axel , Adam might have been the loudest voice cheering in the crowd. “You know, especially tonight, my friend Mirai [Nagasu] and I… four years ago, we got In-N-Out, we went back to her house, we climbed up to the roof of her house, and we were eating In-N-Out because we were so upset that we weren’t at the Olympic Games,” Rippon told NBC on air . “Tonight, you know, the Olympics are truly magical, because we came out here tonight, and — we’re roommates here, staying at the Olympic Village — we gave each other a hug, and I said, ‘You know, Mirai, we’re here! We did it!'”
Have fun with life and wellness trends…
If he’s looking for something to do in the offseason, I think Adam could have a future as a lifestyle blogger. For one, he’s into healing crystals . And he once got stressed out trying to use a meditation app . Plus, he knows that learning your full zodiac chart (Adam is a Scorpio, with a moon in Aries and a Sagittarius rising) will unlock personal truth.
…but stick to the staples you love.
That perfect hair that stays in place as he spins and turns across the ice? It’s thanks to R+Co . “It’s amazing,” Adam said in his Reddit AMA .
Set your home up for quick, easy workouts.
Figure skaters are known for their stellar glutes (Adam’s butt is real , FYI), so no surprise that Adam credits squats as a go-to move . But he’s also a big fan of working out with small equipment at home. “I’m sort of crazy so I love working out throughout the day,” he said in his AMA . “I have like a medicine ball and an ab roller hiding behind my couch so I can work out at any moment if the feeling strikes me.”
Skate to your own tune.
When asked if there was ever a song he’s wanted to skate to but couldn’t in his Reddit AMA, Adam gave the most motivational answer possible: “I skate to whatever my heart feels! YOU SHOULD TOO.”
Buf if you’re looking for something to add to your playlist, try “Let Me Think About It” by Ida Corr and Fedde Le Grand — featured in one of Adam’s short programs this season. As he told Conde Nast’s LGBTQ outlet them. about the song, “I will never get sick of it. I’ll have them play it at my wedding. I’ll have them play it at my funeral. It’s just the best.”
You can’t please everyone.
Adam believes that trying to please everyone is a losing battle. As he told People : “I finally said to myself, ‘You know what, no matter what the results are, I’m just going to skate my best and that’s all I’m going to focus on’ … I’m going to stop trying to please everybody,’ because that’s what I felt like in years past, I was trying to please everybody,” Rippon explains. “And as soon as I said that,” he says, “I had a complete breakthrough.”
Or put better, in one of my favorite Rippon-isms from his Reddit AMA, “If they aren’t paying your bills, pay them bitches no mind.”
But there is one person whose opinion matters.
Mom. Kelly Rippon, who raised Adam and his five younger siblings as a single mother in Scranton, Pennsylvania, couldn’t be prouder of her son. “He is giving a voice to people that really need a voice,” she told Good Housekeeping . “People that feel less than all the time, are now able to say, wow, this young guy who’s going to the Olympics for the first time actually said we matter . And maybe they’re not figure skating fans, but now they know they matter . And I think that has incredible value.”
