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VICTORIOUS ft. Maé-Bérénice Méité, French Figure Skater, 2x Olympian, Entrepreneur & Podcast Host
6 Plays1 year ago
Victorious : evincing moral harmony or a sense of fulfillment : FULFILLED Host, Victoria Makanjuola is joined by Maé-Bérénice Méité a two-time Olympic figure skater and six-time French national champion. They discuss Mae's lifelong passion for figure skating which started at age five, the feeling of freedom she gets while gliding across the ice, and her ability to tell stories through her routines. Mae shares that she'd like to learn daring backflip jumps in the future, as pioneer Surya Bonaly did. Beyond the rink, they talk about Mae's other interests like content creation, traveling, cooking and spending quality time with loved ones. This conversation gives insight into the dedication and artistry of elite athletes like Maé-Bérénice Whether you love figure skating or are just learning about it, Mae's infectious energy and winning energy will draw you in. Use my special link (https://zen.ai/YvuDrvZZjTkG6VQpW0ytf30aCSlyWsqpDIWk6XU6euE ) to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan. SHARE YOUR COMMUNITY STORIEZ!: https://forms.gle/df2JGAFG56wUwkwD7 (You may get a shoutout!) Listen to more interviews and subscribe to "Feel Your FeelingZ" here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Follow Maé-Bérénice on her socials: https://linktr.ee/maemeite YouTube: @flamebearers Subscribe above and follow me here to stay plugged in: https://ufeelme.univer.se/ https://twitter.com/fyfzpod https://www.facebook.com/thefyfzpodcast https://www.instagram.com/feelyourfee... Email: Serious/Business inquiries only. thefyfzpodcast@outlook.com 😁
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Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
Sometimes I'm down.
00:00:02
Speaker
Sometimes I'm down.
00:00:04
Speaker
Let's have a good day.
00:00:05
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You feel me?
Introduction of May Berenice Meite
00:00:14
Speaker
Hello, welcome or welcome back to the Feel Your Feelings podcast.
00:00:18
Speaker
I am your host, Victoria Macanjola.
00:00:21
Speaker
And today I am joined by the ice queen herself, May Berenice Meite.
00:00:27
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She is a two-time Olympic figure skater and six-time French national champion.
00:00:33
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She's also an artist, content creator, brand ambassador, and the co-host of the Flame Bearers Pathways to Paris podcast.
00:00:42
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which airs sometime in May, and I'm so excited to have her here today.
00:00:46
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Welcome to the podcast, May.
00:00:47
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How are you feeling?
00:00:48
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I'm good.
00:00:49
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Thank you for having me, Victoria.
00:00:50
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It's a pleasure and an honor to be on your podcast, and I cannot wait to dive into the conversation today and see what we're going to talk about.
00:00:57
Speaker
Awesome, awesome.
00:00:59
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It's so surreal that I'm like cheesing so hard right now, but it's so surreal that I'm getting a chance to talk to you because how I first discovered you was
00:01:07
Speaker
So I followed the Olympics on Instagram and they had posted a clip of you on ice skating.
00:01:14
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It was like this purple outfit, glittery outfit.
00:01:18
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And I had no clue who you were, but I commented, I commented, who is this queen?
00:01:23
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Like with like the black girl with the crown emoji.
00:01:26
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And I remember so many people liked my comment and I believe you liked it as well.
00:01:32
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And someone was kind enough to tag you.
00:01:34
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And I was like, oh, this is black girl.
00:01:37
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This is black queen.
00:01:38
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I just had to know who we were.
00:01:42
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At the time on my podcast, this was kind of like a while back, but I was doing like a game changer series and I kind of was like not sure if I wanted to talk to athletes or costume creators, whoever, but I definitely like had you in mind.
00:01:59
Speaker
Even though this isn't like part of that series, I still wanted to like talk to you and, you know, get to know you.
00:02:06
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So.
May's Journey into Skating
00:02:07
Speaker
Thank you.
00:02:07
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Yeah, that was my first impression.
00:02:09
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I was just like, I need to get to know this queen.
00:02:10
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So when did your love of the game start?
00:02:15
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The love of the game, the game of figure skating or the Olympic Games?
00:02:20
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Both.
00:02:21
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Yeah.
00:02:21
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Both.
00:02:22
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The love of skating started at the age of five.
00:02:25
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I went there with school and I just loved it.
00:02:28
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And I was a kid that had a lot of energy, still do to this day.
00:02:34
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my parents were like listen you're gonna choose because you need to yeah express yourself and get it out get it out you can sleep at night that's right so i they they let me choose the sport and i was like i want to be a figure skater they're like that's unusual but okay they thought maybe i was gonna be there for three months i was i would be like cold eventually and then i would quit
00:03:01
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24, almost 25 years later, we're still here.
00:03:04
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And what I love the most about figure skating is that I feel so free when I'm on the ice.
00:03:09
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It's just the feeling of when you glide on the ice, you feel the wind, you forget everything, you go, you jump.
00:03:18
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You can embody a character, you can tell a story, you can share emotions with the public, with the audience, with the judges.
00:03:27
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It's a work of resilience.
00:03:29
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It's an art as well as a sport.
00:03:30
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It's so many things at the same time.
00:03:32
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And that feeling when you step on the ice for the competition, the adrenaline, all of that, that is just something that makes that sport very unique to me.
00:03:40
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And that's everything that I loved when I first started.
00:03:44
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I loved going fast.
00:03:45
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I love falling, getting back up.
00:03:48
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Being the crazy person that I am, that's like, it was allowing me to do that in a safe space, in a safe environment and to evolve alongside with my friends.
00:04:00
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And I took it as a game when I was younger.
00:04:03
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It wasn't like...
00:04:05
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I never told myself as I started, I'm going to be an Olympic or an Olympian.
00:04:10
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I was just like, I'm having fun and then let's see what the next level is.
00:04:14
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I took it as a game.
00:04:16
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Level one is we learn and we're on the ice.
00:04:19
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Level two is, okay, we get that little jump.
00:04:22
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And that's how I evolved until I reached the Olympics.
00:04:27
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And that was my goal.
00:04:28
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I was like, okay, I've been to Europeans.
00:04:30
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I've been to worlds.
00:04:31
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Well, next step is the Olympics.
00:04:33
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So I worked to go to the Olympics.
00:04:35
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And I was the first French women figure skater representing France to qualify the country and to go to the Olympics after a lot of years, 12 years, I think.
00:04:50
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Since 2002, there wasn't any women for France at the Olympics.
00:04:56
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So 2014 was the first time we were back.
00:04:59
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on the Olympic scene and the love of the game just came with the game.
00:05:04
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Like I was just playing and I was like, that's the final round here.
00:05:09
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So I need to nail it.
00:05:12
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And yeah, that's how it all went.
00:05:15
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Absolutely love that.
00:05:17
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I was also a kid who had a lot of energy.
00:05:20
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I was a sporty kid.
00:05:22
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I wanted to play tennis.
00:05:23
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Like if you had asked me when I was eight years old, what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have told you a professional tennis player.
00:05:30
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And I looked up to Venus and Serena Williams.
00:05:32
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I still do to this day.
00:05:34
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And I played tennis in high school and like during a summer camp.
00:05:39
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in high school, but that was that was it.
00:05:42
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I had Olympic dreams at the time, but realizing how competitive it was, like I pulled back.
00:05:47
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My parents were also like, maybe you should try something less physical, you know, do something different.
Iconic Moments in Figure Skating
00:05:53
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So I was like, yeah, maybe they're right.
00:05:54
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And we had moved around a lot because we're from Texas, but we moved to Colorado and then moved back to Texas.
00:06:00
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So there was a lot going on at that time.
00:06:03
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But speaking of people that you look up to, in figure skating particularly, I'm wondering, have you heard of Surya Banali?
00:06:12
Speaker
So she was a French figure skater, and she landed a backflip on one blade in 1998.
00:06:20
Speaker
So have you ever attempted something that extreme on the ice?
00:06:25
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Oh, to answer your first question.
00:06:27
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:06:28
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The real question should be,
00:06:35
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I do know her because we have the blessing to have her as one of the French figure skaters.
00:06:41
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She represented us at European, world and Olympic level.
00:06:45
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She did such an amazing job.
00:06:47
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She has the highest prize rank as like the French figure team.
00:06:52
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Yeah.
00:06:52
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To this day, people in France and everywhere we go in the world, they know her.
00:06:57
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Like impossible.
00:06:59
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Like every time I say I'm a figure skater, they're like, sorry about that.
00:07:01
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I was like, yeah.
00:07:03
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Yeah.
00:07:05
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Now, as far as doing a backflip,
00:07:08
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I'm not there yet.
00:07:10
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Yet.
00:07:11
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But that's something I would love to work on because that's super fun.
00:07:15
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And we already have like a French figure skater, Adam.
00:07:20
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He's the current European champion and world medalist.
00:07:23
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And he did not take no for an answer and went on to the Europeans and worlds and did the backflip.
00:07:30
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So I want to follow that path and learn the backflip outside.
00:07:34
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Then I can do it on the ice at competitions.
00:07:37
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Yeah, I watched it.
00:07:38
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I watched the clip and I was first like scared for her.
00:07:44
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But then when I saw that she landed it, I was like, oh my God.
00:07:47
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I didn't know at the time were people angry at her?
00:07:51
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Because no one has ever attempted to do it since then.
00:07:55
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So it seems kind of risky.
00:07:57
Speaker
Well, it's risky, but everything really.
00:08:01
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Well, she was a gymnast.
00:08:02
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She did gymnastics alongside.
00:08:06
Speaker
So the skill, she nailed that.
00:08:10
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So no problem in that aspect.
00:08:14
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Now...
Risks and Physical Demands of Skating
00:08:15
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Right after she did it, they said that that skill was forbidden.
00:08:21
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We know when she was skating, times were different.
00:08:25
Speaker
She had to face a lot of racism.
00:08:31
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So I don't really know if it's linked to the fact that she was the only black skater doing that or if it was for something else.
00:08:39
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But yeah, they said it was too dangerous.
00:08:41
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It's forbidden.
00:08:43
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If you do it today, you're going to have a deduction in your program.
00:08:45
Speaker
But at the same time, when you do a quad jump, it's dangerous too.
00:08:51
Speaker
Not in the same way, but it's dangerous too.
00:08:53
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And when you do bear skating, when they're doing their spins, like parallel spins, that's dangerous too.
00:08:59
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We've seen a woman, she ended up with a blade in her face with her partner doing a spin.
00:09:06
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Yeah, right.
00:09:08
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So, you know, it's always dangerous.
00:09:11
Speaker
What's going to do with dangerousness, if I can say?
00:09:14
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I don't know.
00:09:16
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but more and more skaters are showing that.
00:09:19
Speaker
Nah, we want to do it.
00:09:21
Speaker
It's okay.
00:09:22
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely.
00:09:24
Speaker
I definitely feel that because being that I'm not an athlete anymore, like playing the game, but I definitely still have that competitive spirit within me.
00:09:34
Speaker
So it's like no matter what field you're in, you still have to kind of carry that mindset that there's still risk in whatever I do.
00:09:41
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There's still competition here.
00:09:43
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So I think I still, you know, I'm always going to carry that like mental aspect of like being an athlete is like mental person foremost, you know?
00:09:54
Speaker
That is true.
00:09:54
Speaker
Mental does everything.
00:09:56
Speaker
If you don't have the mindset, if you don't have the vision and the discipline also.
00:10:00
Speaker
Exactly.
00:10:01
Speaker
To go through the ups and downs, then it's going to be difficult.
00:10:04
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But life is the same thing.
00:10:06
Speaker
It's full of challenges.
00:10:07
Speaker
You have to face them.
00:10:08
Speaker
You have to go through them.
00:10:09
Speaker
You have to learn from them and keep moving forward.
00:10:13
Speaker
Sometimes it's going to be harder than others.
00:10:15
Speaker
Sometimes you would want to give up.
00:10:16
Speaker
Sometimes you don't want to do it.
00:10:17
Speaker
You don't want to be disciplined.
00:10:19
Speaker
We all have those days.
00:10:21
Speaker
And also as athletes too, because people tend to think that we're superhuman.
00:10:26
Speaker
Hi there.
00:10:27
Speaker
How are you feeling?
Victoria's Podcasting Journey
00:10:28
Speaker
It's me, Victoria, host of the podcast.
00:10:30
Speaker
And when I first started podcasting, I was super scared and nervous about the way I sounded, the way I looked, the way people would receive me.
00:10:38
Speaker
But using Zencaster has been a really helpful way for me to become more confident and express myself as a creator.
00:10:46
Speaker
So with Zencaster, you can record up to 4K quality in video, regardless of your audio and performance.
00:10:53
Speaker
wi-fi quality you can save files in the cloud recording and you can adjust your audio and noise levels in the sound section go to zencaster.com pricing and use my code victoria15 and you'll get 30 off your first month of any zencaster paid plan i want you to have the same easy experiences that i do for my podcasting and content needs it's time to share your story you feel me
00:11:18
Speaker
We're humans.
00:11:19
Speaker
That's right.
00:11:20
Speaker
But we build a super mindset, if I might say.
00:11:24
Speaker
It allows us to get to that level.
00:11:27
Speaker
But it's important.
00:11:29
Speaker
Those are values that I cherish because I will, like you said, I will carry that on even after skating.
00:11:37
Speaker
Those are skills that will take me further in life because I know I can apply what I've learned all throughout my career into the professional world and even in my
00:11:48
Speaker
Yeah, that ties in nicely to the next thing is outside of figure skating, what do you like to do?
Balancing Content Creation and Athletics
00:11:57
Speaker
I, what do I like to do?
00:12:01
Speaker
I like to do content creation.
00:12:03
Speaker
I love marketing.
00:12:04
Speaker
That's what I graduated from, like with.
00:12:08
Speaker
Well, congrats, congrats.
00:12:10
Speaker
I worked in marketing a little bit.
00:12:12
Speaker
Yeah, I'm currently working in marketing.
00:12:14
Speaker
So previously I was a junior account representative at a marketing agency for a publicist who's like a big influencer.
00:12:23
Speaker
And now currently I'm a social media specialist for a marketing company.
00:12:28
Speaker
You and I, we need to talk.
00:12:30
Speaker
We do.
00:12:30
Speaker
We're speaking the same language.
00:12:33
Speaker
We are.
00:12:34
Speaker
We are.
00:12:35
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Yes.
00:12:39
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I love that.
00:12:41
Speaker
But yeah, I love everything content creation, the creative aspect of things in general, I really love because in figure skating, you have to be creative telling your story, et cetera.
00:12:50
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And I studied marketing and in marketing, you have even the storytelling in the way you bring out your product or services or whatever.
00:12:57
Speaker
So I work on that aspect.
00:12:59
Speaker
I'm trying to re I did a rebranding of my whole brand online because I went through some in my personal life.
00:13:07
Speaker
that I wanted to showcase something different online.
00:13:09
Speaker
And I'm alone to handle all of that, knowing that I'm an athlete, an entrepreneur, content creator, manager, agent, I'm everything.
00:13:21
Speaker
So it's a little complicated to get situated with everything that I want to do.
00:13:24
Speaker
But marketing and creative aspect of marketing is one thing that I love.
00:13:29
Speaker
I'm a big nerd.
00:13:30
Speaker
So sometimes I'm on Notion and I like to create templates and to play with
00:13:36
Speaker
whatever new tools they have and stuff like that.
00:13:40
Speaker
I like to enjoy life, especially now that I'm home.
00:13:44
Speaker
I try to, well, I try.
00:13:46
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I try because I'm not the best.
00:13:48
Speaker
I like to work.
00:13:49
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If I listen to myself, I'll be up at 5 a.m.
00:13:53
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until 2 a.m.
00:13:55
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working.
00:13:56
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I can spend the whole day at home working.
00:13:59
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And my mom is like, okay, you need to, the sun is outside.
00:14:02
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There is air, oxygen, gold.
00:14:05
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We connect with nature.
00:14:06
Speaker
Right.
00:14:07
Speaker
Sometimes it's hard, but my project is my passion, really, I have to say.
00:14:13
Speaker
But yeah, enjoying time with friends and family is important.
00:14:16
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I try to make it happen as well.
00:14:19
Speaker
Reading also.
00:14:20
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I really love reading.
00:14:22
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Me too.
00:14:23
Speaker
See those books?
00:14:23
Speaker
I have a stack of books I'm reading right now.
00:14:26
Speaker
Yes.
00:14:26
Speaker
Yeah.
00:14:27
Speaker
It's good for the soul, for the mind, for the everything.
00:14:30
Speaker
Like sometimes I just need an escape that is not going to overstimulate me.
00:14:36
Speaker
And books are perfect because sometimes you can just take a fictional book.
00:14:40
Speaker
Sometimes you can take a book that will allow you to grow in a,
00:14:43
Speaker
in a way or another, or you can learn, you can educate yourself.
00:14:48
Speaker
I just, the reading is fascinating.
00:14:50
Speaker
And you can read anywhere.
00:14:52
Speaker
Like, it's perfect.
00:14:55
Speaker
I love to dance.
00:14:55
Speaker
Oh, I love that.
00:14:57
Speaker
Oh my gosh.
00:14:58
Speaker
Like that's a huge part of figure skating like on ice.
00:15:01
Speaker
And like I watched one of my favorite performances that you did.
00:15:05
Speaker
It was the song called Lift Me Up by Rihanna from the Wakanda Forever soundtrack.
00:15:10
Speaker
And you were wearing like this black sparkly outfit and like the dance was just beautiful.
00:15:15
Speaker
So like kind of, yeah, walk me through like how you go from like dancing in real life to like translating that to performing on ice as well.
00:15:24
Speaker
That's still a work in progress.
00:15:26
Speaker
I would like to be even better at that because it comes easy off the ice, but then on the ice, I'm so focused on the technical aspect of things and I know I'm going to be judged on that.
00:15:37
Speaker
So I tend to focus more on the technique rather than letting my body speak for myself.
00:15:43
Speaker
So that's a work I'm doing with my coaches, but the process is that we go through the choreography, we can go through it on the ice and then we go off ice and we work on the details like
00:15:54
Speaker
It's very subtle things that you might not see, but it's like, am I going to do the movement like this or am I going to do it like this?
00:16:02
Speaker
And those are little things that we work on over and over and over and over.
00:16:21
Speaker
without the jumps, on the ice, off the ice.
00:16:23
Speaker
And repetition.
00:16:25
Speaker
A lot of repetition.
00:16:26
Speaker
You want to build muscle memory so then whenever you are nervous, a little bit stressed, your body will take over because the practice is here.
00:16:35
Speaker
You just have to let your body go and do the thing and feel the music and be in the moment present and enjoying every single moment.
00:16:43
Speaker
So that's...
00:16:44
Speaker
that's a marathon.
00:16:45
Speaker
It's like, at first we build the whole thing and then it evolves with time, with the way we feel we move, in the way we have feedbacks also.
00:16:56
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And people tell us, oh, you should add this or the composition of your program is not the best.
00:17:00
Speaker
Maybe you should move that here.
00:17:02
Speaker
We want you to move more.
00:17:04
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We want you to express more.
00:17:06
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And with the feedbacks and from the feelings of the competition and how I feel at practice, that's how we
00:17:12
Speaker
make the program evolve.
00:17:13
Speaker
And as the season goes, you see usually the programs get a lot more maturity.
00:17:19
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We are more into it usually.
00:17:22
Speaker
There's more life to the program.
00:17:25
Speaker
Yeah, that's the full part.
00:17:28
Speaker
So like what do you kind of want to focus on this summer for fun?
00:17:33
Speaker
Because like for me with dancing, I want to learn a new TikTok dance.
00:17:37
Speaker
That's what I want to do this summer.
00:17:40
Speaker
What do you want to do this summer outside of skating again?
00:17:45
Speaker
I want to enjoy life and find a great balance between my professional project, my athletic career, and my personal life.
00:17:58
Speaker
And yeah, I want to cook more.
00:18:02
Speaker
I want to go out and enjoy some art and culture and museums
Finding Work-Life Balance
00:18:08
Speaker
and travel.
00:18:08
Speaker
I love to travel.
00:18:09
Speaker
I love food.
00:18:10
Speaker
So if we can combine food, travel, dance,
00:18:14
Speaker
and uh self-care wellness yes yes oh in you know i'm all yeah yeah i feel you yeah that's i mean i want to earn a lot of money just so i can leave experiences like that with all my loved ones and i want to
00:18:33
Speaker
to, if I cannot go physically, I want to be able to afford it for my people to enjoy that.
00:18:40
Speaker
And I'm like, you deserve it.
00:18:41
Speaker
Like, I want to send you on vacation, take this flight ticket, go.
00:18:47
Speaker
That's my goal in life, really.
00:18:48
Speaker
To be able to do that for my loved ones, for people in need.
00:18:53
Speaker
So for this summer, my goal is to find like the perfect balance between those three areas of my life.
00:18:58
Speaker
Do more TikTok dance, be less on social media though.
00:19:02
Speaker
But more dances, yeah, I'm definitely on that train too.
00:19:08
Speaker
Because I'm like, those moves, they put like the Afro for a pizza?
00:19:13
Speaker
Yeah, there's one, the song Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter.
00:19:17
Speaker
That's been like going so, I'll send you the song.
00:19:20
Speaker
But there's a TikTok dance that this girl's, I've been trying to learn it.
00:19:23
Speaker
Like I've been like playing it back and back and back.
00:19:26
Speaker
And I kind of got it down like 85%.
00:19:29
Speaker
But, you know, if you want to do it with me, like, I'm down.
00:19:33
Speaker
I'm down.
00:19:34
Speaker
I mean, I want to learn how to move differently.
00:19:37
Speaker
Like, I want to do it with my body.
00:19:41
Speaker
And the only way I'll be able to do that is by practicing.
00:19:45
Speaker
So, you know, if you have dances, I mean, send them over.
00:19:50
Speaker
Say less.
00:19:50
Speaker
Say less.
00:19:51
Speaker
So, what do you want to say to young Black girls or even women in general who want to be like you?
Advice for Young Women
00:20:00
Speaker
First off, don't be like me because there is only me.
00:20:03
Speaker
Be like you because there is only one you.
00:20:06
Speaker
The second thing that I would like to say is that if you have a dream or a vision, not everybody is going to understand it, but believe in yourself.
00:20:16
Speaker
Have some faith and trust your gut.
00:20:20
Speaker
Sometimes even your loved one and your close one won't even understand your vision until later on.
00:20:26
Speaker
If you really feel it within you,
00:20:29
Speaker
Be disciplined and have the strength to keep going.
00:20:32
Speaker
No matter what they say, try to put yourself in a bubble.
00:20:38
Speaker
It's always good to listen to advice and to be aware of how it evolves.
00:20:44
Speaker
But if your gut says one thing and you feel it deep down here, keep nurturing that feeling, keep nurturing that passion that you have, and keep nurturing your vision.
00:20:54
Speaker
Take care of your vision.
00:20:57
Speaker
love yourself give yourself the love and support you deserve don't try to find it in somebody else or think that their support will take you where you want to go you and yourself well if you're a believer god will take you there i do believe that god is always by your side always here for you he won't let you down and even if you face some hardships
00:21:24
Speaker
take it the positive way.
00:21:25
Speaker
Well, you can cry a little bit.
00:21:27
Speaker
It's okay to cry.
00:21:28
Speaker
Have a little meltdown.
00:21:29
Speaker
That's all good.
00:21:31
Speaker
But then after, also compose yourself and do an analysis.
00:21:36
Speaker
Understand what went wrong, what went right, and understand how you can take it to the next level and how you can keep moving forward.
00:21:45
Speaker
It's not the end of the world to fail, and it's okay to fail, but you just need to learn from it and keep moving forward.
00:21:52
Speaker
And last thing, do not be afraid of asking questions.
00:21:56
Speaker
Do not be afraid to be curious.
00:21:58
Speaker
Do not be afraid to disturb people.
00:22:01
Speaker
Who cares if you're disturbing someone?
00:22:03
Speaker
Because that might be the next move that will propel your project, propel your vision to a new sphere.
00:22:09
Speaker
So if you're shy, if you don't like to disturb people, if you think that you can do it on your own,
00:22:17
Speaker
No, you cannot.
00:22:19
Speaker
At some point, you'll need the help of the community of key people.
00:22:23
Speaker
So have the discernment to know who you can trust and who you cannot trust.
00:22:30
Speaker
Give all the information away.
00:22:32
Speaker
Keep some for yourself.
00:22:34
Speaker
Just give some little snippets and see if the person is aligned with your vision and what you need to achieve.
00:22:43
Speaker
And put yourself out there.
00:22:47
Speaker
Put yourself out there and let the world see you so then you can attract who you need to attract.
00:22:55
Speaker
And do not be afraid to be yourself.
00:22:58
Speaker
Whatever people say, if they say that's a weakness, that you're unusual, you're not like others, who wants to be like anybody else?
00:23:06
Speaker
That's a real question.
00:23:09
Speaker
Everybody else, but in reality,
00:23:13
Speaker
uh no you want to stand out you want to stay strong so yeah embody your uniqueness be authentic yourself do not try to copy whatever business somebody else is doing and even if there are tons of business out there that looks like that look the same um i like to take that analogy when you go to the grocery store
00:23:37
Speaker
you go to the soda section or to the bottle of wines okay well if you're not uh of age right but you see the variety of bottles that there are so competition is wide but you will find your audience you will find the people that will connect with your offer your product your service your brand so do not be afraid that competition is good competition is healthy
00:24:06
Speaker
Focus on yourself, though.
00:24:07
Speaker
Don't look at them too much.
00:24:09
Speaker
But go do it and believe in yourself.
00:24:16
Speaker
Mic drop, mic drop, mic drop.
00:24:21
Speaker
Like, I'm literally like,
00:24:23
Speaker
I'm like, teary up.
00:24:25
Speaker
But like, I'm hearing my mom when you speak because my mom always says like, have discernment and yeah, have discernment and not focusing on what other people want you to do and put yourself out there.
00:24:36
Speaker
She always says that to me and my sister.
00:24:39
Speaker
She's like, put yourself out there.
00:24:40
Speaker
How are they going to see you?
00:24:40
Speaker
You got to put yourself out there.
00:24:41
Speaker
And like, it sounds easy, but it's like, it's like, it's hard too, you know?
00:24:47
Speaker
But you would have to step outside of your comfort zone.
00:24:54
Speaker
It's not going to be easy.
00:24:55
Speaker
It's going to be definitely difficult.
00:24:57
Speaker
I'm saying that to you.
00:24:59
Speaker
I'm one of those person that I feel very comfortable on the ice skating in front of thousands and millions of people.
00:25:05
Speaker
I don't mind that.
00:25:06
Speaker
Me going to ask for help for my business, you should see me.
00:25:13
Speaker
I am panicking.
00:25:14
Speaker
I'm like, I don't know.
00:25:15
Speaker
I'm gonna disturb that person.
00:25:21
Speaker
I'm so dramatic.
00:25:22
Speaker
Like when it comes to that, I'm very dramatic because it's so uncomfortable, like deep down uncomfortable.
00:25:28
Speaker
I don't know.
00:25:30
Speaker
Let me go on Google.
00:25:31
Speaker
I'll find a solution.
00:25:32
Speaker
And then I'm like, at some point you just cannot.
00:25:35
Speaker
And sometimes you need an accountability partner that will push you and be like, girl, you're doing too much.
00:25:41
Speaker
Just go ask.
00:25:43
Speaker
Um, you have to know your strengths and your weaknesses as well.
00:25:46
Speaker
So then you can work on them.
00:25:48
Speaker
You have to be emotionally aware.
00:25:50
Speaker
So then you know how to discern the person and be like, okay, I can talk to them like that.
00:25:54
Speaker
This is like, you have to be quick with it.
00:25:57
Speaker
Um, there are little things that you will get along the way.
00:26:01
Speaker
Um, but yeah, be ready to be uncomfortably comfortable.
00:26:05
Speaker
uncomfortably comfortable.
00:26:07
Speaker
I'm gonna take that, put it in my backpack.
00:26:10
Speaker
I love it.
00:26:11
Speaker
I love it.
00:26:13
Speaker
This is like a huge transition, kind of, but your outfits on the ice.
00:26:18
Speaker
Do you have any, can we get into that?
00:26:20
Speaker
Do you have any favorite looks?
00:26:23
Speaker
Oh my goodness.
00:26:26
Speaker
I love them all.
00:26:27
Speaker
I know I do.
00:26:29
Speaker
I love them all.
00:26:32
Speaker
The Brazilian one, the yellow dress is one of my favorite.
00:26:37
Speaker
And it's the colors of Brazil.
00:26:39
Speaker
So it's yellow, blue and green.
00:26:41
Speaker
And that was one of my favorite programs because that program meant a lot to me.
00:26:48
Speaker
It was a batucada.
00:26:51
Speaker
And I love dancing, like I told you.
00:26:54
Speaker
Was that the one where you had like the long ponytail and it was like the yellow, it was like a crop top and like a skirt?
00:27:01
Speaker
I think that was the Ankara or Kinte.
00:27:04
Speaker
Maybe that was like a Kinte fabric.
00:27:07
Speaker
No, this one is a one piece is a one piece dress.
00:27:12
Speaker
Oh, okay.
00:27:12
Speaker
Okay.
00:27:13
Speaker
I can find it.
00:27:13
Speaker
I will send you a picture so then you can see what it looks like.
00:27:16
Speaker
Yeah.
00:27:17
Speaker
One of my favorite.
00:27:18
Speaker
Honestly, I like them all though, like the unitard with the Rihanna exhibition that I did.
00:27:24
Speaker
I had a Jackson outfit that I loved.
00:27:27
Speaker
My 2018 figure skating dress for the free skate and the short program I loved.
00:27:34
Speaker
I had the change of skirt in my program and I really liked that.
00:27:38
Speaker
My free skate dress, the white dress that I had like two seasons ago.
00:27:45
Speaker
I love it too.
00:27:46
Speaker
there is so much emotion and connection that goes into the making of those dresses that they all tell a particular story they hold particular memories yeah it's hard to choose it's really no i i love i love fashion and i i really like that that method of expression um i feel like in another another world or something i would be like
00:28:14
Speaker
We're our own Barbies, the way I see it.
00:28:17
Speaker
As a kid, as a kid, actually, I had like a Barbie.
00:28:21
Speaker
It was called the Star Skater Barbie.
00:28:22
Speaker
And that was my first like figure skater.
00:28:25
Speaker
Like she had the ice skates on and everything.
00:28:28
Speaker
And when I was a kid, I did.
00:28:29
Speaker
I was into finger skating.
00:28:30
Speaker
I liked I loved watching it.
00:28:32
Speaker
I had never been on the ice before, but like deep down, I was like,
00:28:36
Speaker
be a figure skater like oh yeah i was kind of all over the place uh i've only done like one i've only been on the ice like once with like my church group and we went to the galleria in alice yes we went eating so yeah you know i i did my thing i did my thing yeah yeah so may i have a speed round for you you ready let's
00:29:04
Speaker
Let's get started.
00:29:07
Speaker
Let's get into it.
00:29:08
Speaker
All right, first question.
00:29:09
Speaker
What's the last song that you listened to?
00:29:11
Speaker
Yay.
00:29:15
Speaker
Quick and fast.
00:29:21
Speaker
Oh, Tyla.
00:29:22
Speaker
Tyla.
00:29:24
Speaker
Which song?
00:29:26
Speaker
Not A-R-T, the other one.
00:29:27
Speaker
Jump, I think.
00:29:29
Speaker
Oh, okay.
00:29:29
Speaker
Okay.
00:29:30
Speaker
I love that new album.
00:29:32
Speaker
She...
00:29:33
Speaker
I love that girl.
00:29:35
Speaker
I love that woman, period.
00:29:36
Speaker
Art, work of art.
00:29:38
Speaker
She is like a work of art, like the beauty, the intelligence.
00:29:44
Speaker
Yes.
00:29:45
Speaker
Yes.
00:29:47
Speaker
Oh, what if you did a skate routine to ART?
00:29:51
Speaker
I mean, I'm your piece of ART, baby.
00:29:55
Speaker
I would scream.
00:29:57
Speaker
I would scream.
00:29:59
Speaker
Okay, next question.
00:30:01
Speaker
Finish the sentence.
00:30:02
Speaker
I truly believe that.
00:30:06
Speaker
We all have something to bring to the world.
00:30:11
Speaker
My favorite book is.
00:30:15
Speaker
Damaged, but not destroyed by Pastor Mike.
00:30:21
Speaker
Pastor Mike.
00:30:22
Speaker
Pastor Mike.
00:30:23
Speaker
Michael Todd.
00:30:24
Speaker
Okay.
00:30:25
Speaker
Pastor Michael Todd.
00:30:26
Speaker
Okay.
00:30:27
Speaker
Love that.
00:30:28
Speaker
In two words, I would tell my younger self to.
00:30:34
Speaker
Love and believe.
00:30:39
Speaker
I love that.
00:30:40
Speaker
And right now I feel.
00:30:42
Speaker
Happy.
00:30:44
Speaker
Happy.
00:30:46
Speaker
Yes.
00:30:47
Speaker
Thank you.
00:30:49
Speaker
Thank you.
Engaging with May on Social Media
00:30:52
Speaker
I wish you, I wish you all the best, all of your future endeavors and that you stay victorious on the ice and off the ice as well.
00:31:02
Speaker
Yeah.
00:31:02
Speaker
Thank you so much for being here today.
00:31:04
Speaker
And how can my listeners find you?
00:31:05
Speaker
Where can they keep up with you?
00:31:07
Speaker
Well,
00:31:08
Speaker
Thank you for having me.
00:31:10
Speaker
I wish you nothing but the best with that podcast.
00:31:12
Speaker
Keep your energy, keep your smile, keep your positive energy because it's a breathe of fresh air.
00:31:19
Speaker
So thank you for that.
00:31:21
Speaker
And you can find me on all the platforms.
00:31:24
Speaker
I'm on Instagram, TikTok.
00:31:28
Speaker
My name is at M-A-E-M-E-I-T-E.
00:31:32
Speaker
So, Mae-Mete.
00:31:35
Speaker
I'm on YouTube as well.
00:31:37
Speaker
And Facebook for the older generation or the people who are still there.
00:31:43
Speaker
My full name is Mae Berenice Meite.
00:31:47
Speaker
And, yeah, I'll try to post more content.
00:31:50
Speaker
So, yeah.
00:31:51
Speaker
Follow along.
00:31:53
Speaker
Yes.
00:31:54
Speaker
We, we.
00:31:55
Speaker
So I know you also, you co-host the podcast.
00:31:58
Speaker
Can you tell us a little bit more about that?
00:32:00
Speaker
How can we follow it?
00:32:01
Speaker
Yes.
Co-hosting Pathways to Paris
00:32:02
Speaker
The podcast is Pathways to Paris.
00:32:05
Speaker
And I'm the podcast of this season because the Olympics are going to be in Paris.
00:32:10
Speaker
And Jamie reached out to me and she was like, I really would love to have you as a co-host.
00:32:15
Speaker
You're an Olympian.
00:32:16
Speaker
So you understand what it's like to go through the journey of getting qualified for the Olympics and your French.
00:32:22
Speaker
So it will be amazing for you to be there.
00:32:25
Speaker
And that's the very first podcast that focuses on highlighting and giving the voice and a place for women in Olympic and Paralympic sports to express themselves, share their journey and make a change and impact within the community.
00:32:42
Speaker
I really loved the concept and the idea.
00:32:45
Speaker
And so I was like, I'm in and you will be able to listen to the episodes very soon.
00:32:51
Speaker
And we have amazing athletes, like amazing athletes all around the world.
00:32:58
Speaker
We'll stay tuned.
00:33:02
Speaker
And their journey is truly inspiring.
00:33:05
Speaker
What I love about conversations like we're having today and like I have on the podcast is that you learn so much from listening to others to understanding others.
00:33:17
Speaker
And it opens our...
00:33:20
Speaker
it opens our world and our vision on the world.
00:33:23
Speaker
So I truly recommend because I've learned so much and I'm pretty sure people would learn so much.
00:33:29
Speaker
And also, you might discover your new favorite athlete from the Summer Olympics.
00:33:33
Speaker
So stay tuned.
00:33:36
Speaker
Oh, another question is like, who, like which athletes for the Summer Olympics are you most looking forward to watching and keeping up with?
00:33:46
Speaker
Simone Biles.
00:33:48
Speaker
Yes, Simone.
00:33:51
Speaker
Simone, there are a lot of athletes.
00:33:53
Speaker
There are some French athletes as well.
00:33:55
Speaker
Clarissa Gbenenou, she's the current Olympic champion.
00:33:58
Speaker
Teddy Rineur.
00:34:02
Speaker
There are so many.
00:34:04
Speaker
Gabby Douglas, if she gets qualified.
00:34:06
Speaker
I'm not sure if she's qualified yet, but if she gets qualified.
00:34:08
Speaker
Yeah, it's been a while.
00:34:09
Speaker
It's been a while since Gabby's been out there.
00:34:11
Speaker
She just came back from a hiatus that she took.
00:34:16
Speaker
And that's just amazing to just see her journey.
00:34:19
Speaker
Her?
00:34:20
Speaker
Her?
00:34:21
Speaker
Who else?
00:34:24
Speaker
Sha'Carri, for me Sha'Carri Richardson.
00:34:27
Speaker
Yes, Sha'Carri.
00:34:29
Speaker
We missed her in Tokyo, so I really wanted to see her then.
00:34:33
Speaker
Muriel Auret, Marie-Josée Talou, who are like Ivorian track and field stars.
00:34:41
Speaker
Wilfrida Pio, which is the husband, my cousin's husband.
00:34:44
Speaker
So I'm cheering for the family.
00:34:46
Speaker
Okay.
00:34:47
Speaker
Samir Aitsaid, who is a French gymnast that went through a lot of things.
00:34:52
Speaker
still there and i'm hoping the best for him yeah home across i want to like honestly so many people um because all the athletes really have something empowering and inspiring to look forward to i'm also looking forward to the basketball teams the u.s basketball teams actually
00:35:14
Speaker
I don't know if they released the teams yet.
00:35:17
Speaker
I think so.
00:35:18
Speaker
I think Angel Reese.
00:35:19
Speaker
Is Angel Reese going to play for the women?
00:35:21
Speaker
I don't know because she was just drafted.
00:35:24
Speaker
Drafted, yeah.
00:35:26
Speaker
I'm not sure.
00:35:27
Speaker
I'll check.
00:35:28
Speaker
I think she's going to go back to the state.
00:35:31
Speaker
But if she is, that would be super dope.
00:35:34
Speaker
Yeah.
00:35:35
Speaker
I actually applied to be a volunteer at the Paris Olympics.
00:35:39
Speaker
I did the application like early, early 2023.
00:35:43
Speaker
I didn't get in.
00:35:44
Speaker
I like they would have let us know in September and I got the email.
00:35:48
Speaker
It's like you didn't get in.
00:35:49
Speaker
But that's OK because, you know, they didn't cover flight or housing or anything like that.
00:35:54
Speaker
So I'll still watch it on TV.
00:35:57
Speaker
But.
00:35:58
Speaker
I did get an opportunity because I'm a student at USC.
00:36:02
Speaker
I go online, so I'm remote, but I have the opportunity to go to campus like for a residential course.
00:36:08
Speaker
So I went this past spring and I actually worked with the LA Memorial Coliseum in the LA 2028 games.
00:36:16
Speaker
And as with my group and we presented on the topic of sustainability and we got to meet an Olympian there.
00:36:23
Speaker
So we kind of like,
00:36:26
Speaker
made our mark or our pitch proposal for the LA Games in 2028.
00:36:32
Speaker
So... Wait.
00:36:35
Speaker
That's exciting.
00:36:35
Speaker
I can't wait.
00:36:36
Speaker
I can't wait.
00:36:36
Speaker
I would love to... My dream role would probably be working in that industry, like with athletes, like technology and entertainment.
00:36:45
Speaker
Like that would be... That would be like a dream gig.
00:36:48
Speaker
Yeah, we're going to talk.
00:36:49
Speaker
Let's put it out there.
00:36:51
Speaker
Put it out there.
00:36:52
Speaker
Shout out to IYA.
00:36:53
Speaker
Yeah.
00:36:55
Speaker
Anyways, thank you so, so much.
00:36:58
Speaker
Merci beaucoup.
00:37:00
Speaker
And I wish you nothing but the Balthus.
00:37:01
Speaker
Thank you for bringing it.
00:37:02
Speaker
Thank you.