12 Things to Know About Figure Skater Jason Brown
Known for his crazymazing flexibility and "trademark" ponytail, Jason Brown is a crowd-favorite on the ice. After an absolutely electrifying performance at the 2014 U.S. Championship (more on that below), the then 18-year-old Chicago-native earned a spot at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where he and Team USA won the bronze. A year later, in the 2015 U.S. Championships, Jason won the short program with the second highest score in history. Though Jason was unable to compete in 2016 due to an injury, he returned in 2017, receiving the bronze medal at the Championships - and he's ready to make more viral video Olympic figure skating magic happen at the 2018 PyeongChang Games also.
Read on for 12 fun facts about the Olympic skater, and also a particularly epic dance clip.
1. Jason can thank a birthday party for getting him started with skating. Then 3-year-old Jason's older sister, Jordan, was invited to an ice rink birthday party. Fearing that her daughter would feel left out because she couldn't skate, Jordan's and Jason's mom took her to ice skating class beforehand, and Jason tagged along. "I've been skating ever since," he told Golden Skate (and has been with the same coach, Kori Ade, since he was 5).
A post shared by Jason Brown (@jasonbskates) on Feb 25, 2016 at 2:06pm PST
2. "Jason was a terror when he was little," Ade told ESPN. "I mean a crazy monster with so much energy that he didn't know what to do with it and obviously skating gave him a great outlet." That energy is still palpable in his skates today.
3. And that energy is also palpable in his dance videos - Jason says "making music and dance videos" is one of his favorite hobbies. "Who doesn't like dancing?!" he told U.S. Figure Skating, "it's just a fun way to let go and enjoy yourself." (His favorite dance move of the moment is... "the cabbage patch.") In other words, he doesn't need to be on the ice to make smooth moves happen, like in this clip of him dancing to Ciara's "1,2 Step":
