An Interview with Maddie Bowman, Winter Olympics 2018 Halfpipe Skier
The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea are finally underway. That means all of our friends and family are glued to their televisions; decking themselves out in red, white, and blue (or whatever the colors of their chosen team); and asking "did you see that snowboard cross/luge/figure skating final?". Back in September, we caught up with Olympic hopefuls before their very busy fall of training and competitions leading to the Games. We ran each of them through our Teen Vogue Olympics questionnaire designed to help you get to know Team USA's top competitors as they hit the world stage in Pyeongchang. Read on to find out more about Team USA halfpipe skier Maddie Bowman.
Do you have any hidden talents?
Maddie Bowman: I think my only hidden talent is being able to fight with my brother without talking to him. We can fight in a room where everyone else is and they don't know we're fighting.
What's your favorite junk food?
MB: My Mom makes this really good ice cream sandwich birthday cake. It has frozen whipped cream on the outside, it's really good.
What are you majoring in at college?
MB: I'm a biology major at Westminster College in Salt Lake City.
What's your best subject in school?
MB: My best subject has always been Math, in school. Yeah.
How do you wake up in the morning, do you press snooze a bunch of times or are you right out of bed?
MB: I am a snoozer. I have really tried to cut down on my snoozes, I'm about up to four snoozes as of now. It's a problem.
Who do you look up to?
MB: I look up to a bunch of people in my life, I think everyone looks up to their mother for a strong woman. I look up to the girls that I ski with. I look up to a bunch of people just for their individual traits that I really admire. I look up to my brother for his humor and his wisdom that's beyond his years.
What's something that everyone gets wrong about your sport?
MB: I think something that everyone gets wrong about my sport would be either that ... some people in the ski industry would say we're just a bunch of jocks, when we're true skiers at heart. And some people out of the industry would just say we're reckless and we don't think about things when in fact that we do, we do think.
What do you bring with you whenever you travel?
MB: Recently whenever I travel I started bringing my little reusable bags that tuck into the little bag, yeah. It's been great, we grocery shop everywhere we go and now I don't have to use plastic bags anywhere.
What's the last thing you posted to Instagram?
MB: The last thing I posted to Instagram was telling everyone that I was going to be on Reddit for the ask me anything.
Did you get the duck-sized horse or horse-sized duck question?
MB: Yeah I think I said duck sized horse. Because ... no I said horse sized duck because that would be pretty cool and I would feel bad beating up on something so small.
What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?
MB: I had crickets the other day, that was weird. They just were really seasoned, so not bad. Just kind of like barbecue chips.
What are you most excited about when it comes to the Olympics?
MB: I think what I'm most excited about when it comes to the Olympics is just sharing that experience with my teammates. I mean, I got some really good friends on that team, so I think that will be the coolest part. That was the coolest part in Russia.
How young were you when you started?
MB: I started skiing when I was two. I started doing park when I was around 13 and I started competing at a higher level when I was around 15.
What first drew you to skiing, especially the half pipe?
MB: Yeah so I was a racer until I was about 12, 13 and then, like I said, I was one of the guys growing up and they all switched to park skiing to naturally I switched to park skiing. And there wasn't a question about it, it was where I belonged.
If you had to pick a summer Olympic sport what would it be?
MB: I would play soccer if I was in a summer Olympic sport. I mean, I played soccer growing up and I love the team aspect of it and I love ... I think those girls are strong and smart and awesome and I just love soccer as it is.
What's the hardest part about being an athlete?
MB: I think the hardest part about being an athlete is being an athlete. Is it. The hardest part is letting yourself have fun. People can get out of their jobs and they're not that person that anymore, I think a lot of the decisions I make every day come down to that I'm an athlete, and I think that that is slowly driving me crazy. So I've been really focusing on being like, "You know what, I'm going to do this because it's going to make me happy. I'm not going to base this decision on that fact that it's going to make me an Olympic gold medalist, no. I just want to be happy."
And what's the best thing about being an athlete?
MB: I think the best thing about being an athlete would one hundred percent be the traveling. I've been to so many amazing places and met great people and had awesome experiences and that I think is one of the huge things that keeps me going. I love it.
What's your favorite place you've traveled?
MB: My favorite place I've traveling is Chamonix, France. One hundred percent. The culture there is amazing, people from all around the world who just are passionate about scaring themselves and about being outdoors and it's amazing and you ski eight to four and then you go to the bar from four to eight and then you go home and sleep and do it all again the next day. I mean, it's truly awesome.
What's your favorite workout fuel?
MB: My favorite workout fuel is the thought of that Snickers after my workout. I can't really eat before I work out. I think it goes back to being in soccer and just you can't eat two hours before soccer or else you just throw up. The half pipe's fine — I love anything Mexican food before I ski halfpipe. [But] thinking of running, definitely no food.
What's something about your gear or what you wear while you ski that people might not realize?
MB: I don't think people realize how much we care about what we wear when we ski. I think it comes down a lot to self expression and who you want to be as a skier. Our sport is very much based on style and that doesn't exclude how you dress. So people dress very differently in skiing and I think that it's a fun way to express ourselves other than our skiing.
Do you have a favorite celebrity?
MB: Oh, my favorite celebrity. I think, even though she's not on social media ever, which I respect, I really like Blake Lively.
Do you have a celebrity crush?
MB: Celebrity crush. It Channing Tatum, but I met him. It was awesome, it was at the Vanity Fair Oscars party. It was pretty funny, but yeah I don't think I have a specific celebrity crush right now. I'm on the market.
If one celebrity could watch you compete, who would you want it to be?
MB: I mean, Beyonce. I know for another girl in my team it's Taylor Swift so shout out to both of them.
What's the last thing you shopped for?
MB: The last thing I shopped for were winter boots. You've gotta have something that's cute and functional. I found [them] on the Northface.com ... I found some really warm ones and then I found some really stylish ones that are also warm. Great tread. It's just important, when we're traveling you've gotta have a boot that you can walk to the mountain in and go to dinner in.
And what's one thing you always have to have when you're competing?
MB: My skis. I'm just kidding. One thing I always have to have ... a snack. We're up there for a lot of time in the day and throw a Clif bar in your pocket and you're good to go.
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