Olympian Evan Lysacek in ‘Stars on Ice’ at Germain
- What: “Stars on Ice”
- When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
- Where: Germain Arena, 11000 Everblades Parkway, Estero
Evan Lysacek watched, wide-eyed, when “Stars on Ice” came to town.
He was about 8 years old at the time. And that ice-skating show changed his life.
“‘Stars on Ice’ played a crucial role in my career, believe it or not,” says the Olympic gold medalist, who had just started taking group skating classes in Chicago when he saw that traveling show. “I’d never seen stuff like that before. And it excited me and maybe inspired me to be a figure skater.”
Now Lysacek, 29, hopes he can inspire other kids in the audience when he visits Germain Arena with “Stars on Ice” this Saturday.
“To see that live is powerful for people,” he says. “And they might say, ‘Maybe that’s for me.’”
Lysacek joins other figure skating stars and Olympians for Saturday’s show, including gold-medal-winning duo Meryl Davis and Charlie White and silver medalists Patrick Chan, Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto.
The News-Press chatted with Lysacek recently about the show, the Olympics and more. Here’s what we learned about:
Where he keeps his gold medal from the 2010 Winter Olympics.
“I’m not into the objects, themselves,” he says. “I keep it in a drawer in my house.”
He says he sometimes takes the medal out and shows it to people. It’s also a constant reminder of all he sacrificed over the years to get it.
He’s still not sure if those sacrifices were worth it, though.
“I don’t know if it was,” he says. “It was if I won. I got that object… It justified the insane life that I lived.”
His surprising new career.
Ladies and gentleman, meet Evan Lysacek: Real estate agent.
It’s really not as odd as it sounds, Lysacek insists. The Chicago native says he’s always loved architecture.
“It’s going great,” he says about his new job. “I’m learning a lot and I’m thankful for the opportunity to create a second chapter in my life. I have a lot of interests other than skating, and real estate is one of them.”
Lysacek started looking for other career options after injuries forced him to drop out of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. And that led to real estate.
“I don’t know if this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life,” he says, “but right now it’s pretty exciting.
“I really don’t feel the need to make a statement right now about whether I’m retired or not. But for now, it’s giving me something different in my life.”
What it was like watching the Winter Olympics after dropping out last year.
“It was hard for me! Watching the Olympics go on without me being in it was heartbreaking.”
The routines he plans to perform Saturday at Germain Arena.
Lysacek says he’ll skate to the Hozier hit “Take Me to Church” and the soundtrack from the movie “Black Swan.” He’d planned that last routine for the 2014 Winter Olympics before getting injured.
He says he trained hard for “Stars on Ice.”
“I try to challenge myself and do triple jumps and sometimes triple-triple combinations,” he says. “Just more difficult stuff.”
Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells (News-Press) (Facebook) @charlesrunnells (Twitter)
If You Go
•What: “Stars on Ice”
• When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
•Where: Germain Arena, 11000 Everblades Parkway, Estero
•Tickets: $27-137 (plus applicable taxes and fees, prices subject to change. Parking is $10.
• Info: 948-7825 or germainarena.com