Speaker 1: 0:09

Hey there, welcome to how Do you Skate, the ultimate destination for all skating enthusiasts. We cater to everyone, from beginners to pros. Whether you love inline and ice skating or prefer quads and skateboarding, we have it all covered, and we bring you exclusive interviews with professionals, talented amateurs and influencers in the industry. So sit back, relax and get ready for an exciting journey into the world of skating.

Speaker 2: 0:41

Welcome to this week's episode of how Do you Skate. I am your host, sean Egan, and my guest today is figure skater or former figure skater Luis Hernandez I don't know if you're still in the.

Speaker 3: 0:55

No, I would say former figure skater for sure. So how are you doing? I'm wonderful, thank you, excited to be here with you today, nice.

Speaker 2: 1:03

Absolutely Thank you. Excited to be here with you today. Nice, absolutely Thank you. So I always start at the beginning. So when did you start skating? How did your whole skating career start?

Speaker 3: 1:14

Oh, that's quite a ride. Okay, let's begin. Where do I begin? Well, it actually started as a newborn.

Speaker 3: 1:28

My sister figure skated. I was born in Guadalajara, jalisco, mexico, and she was training out of. It was one of the very few rinks at the time in Mexico, which was 40 years ago. Yes, I'm dating myself and she. She was a figure skater herself and I would be taken to all of her practices to watch and I was just I kind of grew up in that environment watching her skate and, to be perfectly honest, at three years old, I just absolutely loved what I saw and I wanted to be out there. So I was begging my mom, begging my dad, as a little tiny toddler, and they, first of all, they thought it would be too dangerous. So they were like not yet, you're too little to go ice skating, so they didn't let me. So basically we moved to the United States.

Speaker 3: 2:10

When I'm five years old, my family moves over to the US San Diego, california, to be exact and basically I continued to beg my parents. My sister actually stopped skating. She didn't like it, it was too much for her, too much pressure at a young age, and she actually left the sport completely. So we come to the US, I'm still begging to skate. They think that I'm crazy. My father was a very traditional Mexican man and he didn't think that the sport was for boys. So he was really kind of like saying, why don't you try? You know motor cycles or this or that? And I was like no, I want to ice skate, take me ice skating. And so that took years of begging and by the time I was about eight years old, they finally I begged more and I had a birthday coming up and I said I want to go ice skating for my birthday.

Speaker 3: 3:02

And there was an ice rink in a shopping mall here in San Diego and they finally said okay, for your birthday, we'll take you ice skating. And so it was a public session. It started at one, I remember it so vividly. It started at 1 pm and it went from 1 pm to 9 pm and I got on the ice and literally started to skate right away, like I, I, I wanted it so bad that I figured out how to move. And so I was moving, moving, moving. They couldn't get me off the ice. So I was on the ice until the end of that public sessions, from one to 9 PM, and they were like, oh my God, this boy, he, he really likes it. Um, luckily my mom loved shopping. He really likes it, luckily my mom loved shopping. So while I skated she went and shopped.

Speaker 3: 3:54

And basically some coaches kind of pointed out to my parents like hey, this kid is telling us that he loves to skate. Look how easily he's doing it. Have you ever considered lessons? And my parents were like no, and I said yes, yes, and basically I asked for lessons right away and they said, okay, we'll take you once a week so it could be something for you to at least stay active. And I didn't really love any other sport at the time. And so they, they agreed, they said, okay, let's let you take your one once a week lesson. They would drive me to the ice rink, my mom would go shopping, and that's where it all started Really quickly.

Speaker 3: 4:26

I really progressed through. There were like levels in the group classes it was. There were group lessons at the time, and so I started to progress quickly and the coaches at one point were like, well, we can no longer teach him what he needs in this group environment. And that's when the private lesson started and basically I moved up very quickly. By the time I was around 12 years old, I was competing at the regional level and doing really well, so I started to have really good results and that's when I got more serious. I had qualified for the national championship, um and the United States national championships and basically that's a huge deal.

Speaker 3: 5:07

That's, only the top 12 skaters in the whole nation uh, qualify for that event. And so I made it to my first nationals. I placed in the top 10. Um, and that's when, also, things started to shift, because the coaching in my local rink was no longer able to support my level, and so we started to look around like where is the next step? And the next step involved me actually having to leave home and move to Los Angeles where the top training center in the nation at the time was, so also with the top coach in the world at the time.

Speaker 3: 5:46

Frank carroll was teaching out of that training center and he actually had seen me compete, uh, at nationals. And he said, uh, I would love to have a trial lesson to see if maybe you could be one of my pupils. And so my dad was like, okay, uh, so he drove me up to LA and I took that trial lesson and by the time that I mean I was so nervous, like just going to that lesson. Right, I remember it so vividly and I, you know, I did my thing. I had a training session with him and he said you know, your boy's really talented, I would really love to take him on as my main pupil and that was a huge deal. I don't know if you've heard of Michelle Kwan. I'm sure maybe, maybe you're listening. Yeah, he was Michelle Kwan's coach and Michelle was training out of that training center and to be in that, to be just considered to be in that environment and be a part of that, was like a huge honor. So my family, we started to commute to Los Angeles, which was about a three hour drive from our home, and we would commute three times a week. My parents would make that drive back and forth for about two years until finally, by the time I was around 14, 15, I, I left home and I my parents got me an apartment and I was kind of on my own and I was training out of that facility for many years. But that is where it started and it really started to take off. I started to compete more and more, I started to represent the US internationally.

Speaker 3: 7:23

And then there comes a of a shift for me too. By the time I was 17, 18, my results had started to kind of go down a bit. Things were kind of changing. My body was changing. I wasn't able to perform as well as I once could and I didn't know what was happening, which was really scary for me. I had dedicated my whole life at that point and everything was dedicated to skating. So I did notice there were some changes in my body, but it took about a year and a half or two more to understand that I was actually I was suffering from some severe injuries in my hips. I was actually I was suffering from some severe injuries in my hips, in my hips, and so that's.

Speaker 3: 8:08

It was kind of a dark time. I, you know, like I said, I was the next big thing, I was having great results, but then, all of a sudden, my performance wasn't the same, and so things kind of took a dive and nobody knew what was wrong. Until one day I actually could not get out of bed because the pain in my hips was so bad. With that said, I obviously had to visit a doctor, a specialist. They took a look at me and they said well, we need to run some tests, some MRIs. It looks like it's a hip problem. And so that was the next step and I went and got those exams done and unfortunately they had said, the doctor said Well, your hips are actually completely wasted away at this point, like your labrums are gone. So basically, I was like bone on bone on my hips and they said Well, this probably will be the end of your career.

Speaker 3: 9:07

At the time there were no like hip surgery was a death sentence for for athletes at that time. So I, it was a big moment of darkness for me. I thought that I would be over with skating. And you know the code my coach at the time, I had sponsors at that moment I had a whole team and it was kind of like, well, you're no longer able to do this, you kind of are out. And it was a big moment of trauma for me. I, it was a moment where I kind of lost my sense of self. My identity was kind of taken away from me. I had based my whole identity on being an athlete at that point, you know, and I was 18 years old.

Speaker 3: 9:50

So I packed my bags, I went back home to San Diego, california, obviously with a deep darkness in my heart, a deep sadness. I didn't know what would happen next. So I kind of, you know, I said, okay, I'm going to pack my bags, I'm going to go home, I'm going to try to find some answers. I wasn't going to give up easily. I said I'm going to find some answers and see how I can maybe get back. But it was a long, it was a long shot. So you know, I took some time off. I went to school, um. So you know, I took some time off. I went to school, started college, um, that was great, it was fun. But it was also in the back of my mind. My passion was to skate and, yeah, I, I was not ready to give it up, um, so I kind of searched around san diego, california, for any doctor that would say, hey, maybe there's some hope, like, and nobody was giving me that hope unfortunately, until one day I went up to a rehabilitation center for athletes.

Speaker 3: 10:52

A lot of triathletes trained out of there and I walked into the office. I remember I met with the doctor and he said I want you to meet somebody. Her name is Pam Minix and she's a specialist in biomechanics and she's had a lot of success with severely injured athletes and maybe she could give you a little bit more hope than we can. In that moment, something really beautiful was born. She looked at me and she said Luis, I don't know if you're ever going to be the same athlete that you once were, but she said but I feel like we can get you at least back out there and I took that and I ran with it.

Speaker 3: 11:40

You know, like I said, ok, that's all I needed to hear. So I was around 19 by then, 20. And we started to do a process of kind of first of all uncovering how did this young athlete very young, I would say how did I become? I mean, how did my body get to the point where, I mean, I had an 80 year old man's hips right, like how did it get there? And you know, we started to unravel that and I started to understand that the environment that I had been training in, the, the training hours, maybe, the long drives, it was all kind of had been tearing me down for years.

Speaker 3: 12:22

And that's when I realized, like, okay, the environment that I was in didn't really know how to support me and it wasn't to blame anybody, it was just part of the culture of sport and it still is very much to this day, like it's the go, go, go results at any cost kind of situation. And I started to see that and to understand it and with that said, pam also introduced me to ways of taking better care of my body and to actually that and to understand it. And with that said, pam also introduced me to ways of taking better care of my body and to actually like listen to what was happening to me or what I was feeling, and that was very different for me. I wasn't used to feeling to. You know, checking in with myself, it wasn't, that was all new, so it was kind of relearning.

Speaker 3: 13:06

It was that was all new, so it was kind of relearning, um, how to, how to live, to be honest, and so, little by little, I uh started to actually become a little healthier and I was able to, you know, jog. I was able to start to kind of condition myself again to be an athlete, um, and by the and that this was years long, it wasn't just overnight, it it occurred over a span of two, three years, but it by the time I was around 23, I would say, I was back on the ice and I was kind of starting to do what I could do before, um, yeah, and I was seeing like, oh, maybe there is something here and maybe I can come back to competition, or or in my head, to, maybe I can do shows, maybe I can do something that's not as challenging. But in the back of my mind and in my heart, like I still always have that competitive nature, like I wanted to get out there, be with the best, so I really started to imagine this possibility to be a possibility. And so I began training skating again, now in a very different way, like I said, tuned into myself, tuned into my body, not basing my worth on just my results more, just loving it more, just skating from my heart and knowing that it could be taken away from me at any moment. So I was enjoying every step of the process this time around.

Speaker 3: 14:33

And with that said, that's when I was I had been approached before by the Mexican Skating Federation. They had asked me to come represent my native, my country of origin, and to that I hadn't been ready for that. I didn't feel like it was viable at the time. But then when I returned and I guess word got around that I was back on the ice, I was re-approached and I was asked once again and I absolutely took it. I took the opportunity. I said yeah, I think I'm ready and I want to do this. And so that's actually when the second phase of my career started and I had. That's when actually I became a six time national champion. I got to represent my country across the world in numerous international events for over a decade. So I had a very long second phase and it was a very successful and I would say more personally successful because it was me doing something that I loved and then doing it in the healthiest way possible for myself.

Speaker 3: 15:38

And it was so different than everything I knew. Gosh, I just told you my whole story.

Speaker 2: 15:43

I'm like I knew, um gosh, I just told you my whole story. I'm like, yeah, but I got questions. So yeah, your father and your parents told you that figure skating was too dangerous, and then your father suggested motorcycles.

Speaker 3: 15:58

Yeah, I think, to be honest, they were trying to completely steer me away from skating and they needed an excuse. They were like, first, all they knew the costs of skating. Like yeah that's a very expensive sport. Secondly, my dad really didn't like the figure skating thing, at first for a boy, and then he. It's very funny, he totally changed his mind once he saw me like just loving what I did and then having success in it. I think that's like every parent's dream right Like yeah, he completely changed his mind.

Speaker 3: 16:29

He said I don't, he's like okay. And he actually became what we call a skating dad. He actually was at my every practice. He was my number one supporter and I attribute so much of everything that happened in skating for me to him. He was always there and that's funny like how that shifted. But, like I said, it's a parent's dream and I think like that. I hope that listeners can hear that it's everything. Your parents just want to see you happy and they want to see that you're succeeding and in whatever form that takes um. So I feel like that was what happened there. That was the change of mind, the change of heart and the change of idea, and maybe it wasn't so dangerous after all nice, but he didn't pressure you.

Speaker 2: 17:17

It didn't become like because you said your sister quit because of the pressure. Was that pressure from your parents, or competition, or well to.

Speaker 3: 17:25

To be honest, figure skating is just a very cutthroat, intense sport and an environment you got to think about it. It's a judged sport, it's a individual sport, so it gets very competitive, it gets even yeah, it's just all about results and it's all about, I mean, you're judged on everything, on how you look, on how you everything, how you dress, how you perform, how you also like everything. It's technical but it's also artistic. So it becomes this very intense environment where there are people that don't always want you to succeed, to be honest, and so that's a lot of pressure. You know you're you're trying to, you're trying to be just your, your best self, but you also have some people that maybe want to tear you down a bit.

Speaker 3: 18:16

So my sister didn't like that. She said this is not for me. So she actually went into business. She grew up and she was a businesswoman. She's like I'm out, which is still competitive, and it's still that kind of. But skating, like I said, is just another level of competition and she, she, just she couldn't take it and obviously, like, like I told him earlier, for me the pressure was a lot too and it was too much I did. I did have really dark times where I had body, body image issues, mental health issues, just because of that pressure.

Speaker 1: 18:51

So it wasn't like I was.

Speaker 3: 18:54

I was not spared. I definitely felt the pressure and it led me to some dark, very dark places, but the love for my sport always won, like all of that could go to heck because I love skating so much, like nothing.

Speaker 3: 19:12

All of that couldn't stop me. Nothing could stop me because of that passion. So the pressure is always there and never goes away. You have sponsors, you have coaches, you have parents, parents that are sometimes investing many, many thousands of dollars every year for you to do something, and that's in across a lot of sports. So that pressure, kids are feeling it and that's something that maybe people forget. Like these kids are human, they're, they can feel the pressure that they know that. You know, sometimes my dad was struggling to make the payments on whatever the house because of my skating, or the car, or you know the little things like that. Like that put pressure on not just the athlete but on the families, on the coaches, who also the coaches are pressured to produce results and the organizations, the national governing bodies.

Speaker 3: 20:02

they also are pressured. They need their athletes to produce results. So there's pressure, pressure, pressure everywhere and it's just all about like how much do you love it, how much can you love it? That that becomes, you know, that goes into the background and the love is what leads you, the love for what you do.

Speaker 2: 20:21

Yeah, now, when you went through those dark times besides skating, how did you work through all that? Because I've talked to a lot of people and a lot of them seem to have like a dark period in their lives too, so how did you deal with that?

Speaker 3: 21:26

Well, I was very lucky. Unfortunately, skating did not provide me, like my support team didn't provide me those resources, so I actually had to look on my own for resources like psychologists, you know, mental health experts that could help me work through whatever I was going through. But that was all it was actually, really, looking back on, it's a little sad. I was a teenager and I was going I think there were, yes, there were the white pages or the yellow pages back then and I would. I actually went into a, a yellow, like a phone book, to look for a professional, to find myself help, and I actually had to do that myself because also, there was some taboo.

Speaker 3: 22:05

My family thought, like psychologists, for what are you crazy? Like? At the time it was, it wasn't so mainstream as it is now. Um, and so I I was kind of avant-garde. I was like, well, I need this, I'm gonna look for it, and I found it and luckily I was at least financially supported to to take that step and I did find myself my own help.

Speaker 3: 22:26

I had to find those resources. Um, yeah, and that's how I made it through, but I I really don't think that I would have been able to without that, that kind of support from those experts. Um so, and a lot of people unfortunately don't have access to that still to this day, or they don't know that the resources are are out there. There are a lot of resources now that can be offered, even free of cost, but a lot of people don't have that knowledge and it's unfortunate. But, but I was lucky enough that I, like I said, I was always a little ahead of my time. I I was like no, this is what I need, I'm going to find it. And I did, and that's the only way that I made it through. It wasn't, um, uh, it wasn't a job that I did, could do by myself. It wasn't something that, yeah, that I couldn't dig myself out of those holes. I needed help from from, from outside.

Speaker 2: 23:14

Yeah, and um, dan Jansen was one of my guests and he talked about how he used a sports psychologist to like get over some of the hurdles, because I mean, I'm pretty sure Are you familiar with the story? Absolutely yeah, so with the whole thing that happened in 88 with the sister. So, and even nowadays, though, there's still a lot of people that think going to a psychologist means something's wrong with you.

Speaker 3: 23:41

Exactly.

Speaker 2: 23:42

And when you were talking about. Another thing that ran through my mind was when you were talking about the pressure and very competitive. We got a huge glimpse of that in 94 with Tanya and Nancy.

Speaker 3: 23:53

Oh my goodness, yes, yes, that is the very dark side of competition and, like I said, what I was talking about earlier, like some people wanted, to they want to tear you down, and tanya unfortunately took it to a whole another level, as you know, and it's it's.

Speaker 3: 24:14

It comes from a lot of uh, it comes from a place of pain, it comes from a place of uhempowerment. That's obviously not how you go about competing. You know, competition should be about actually pushing one another to be each other's best. That's how I see it, and some people unfortunately don't have maybe the I don't know what that is. I, I, I've never had that for me. When I arrived to competition, I I honored and I admired every one of my competitors and and in a way, I felt appreciation for them because they were always pushing me to be better and to take it to that level. I think there has to be more going on, uh, internally for someone to to go to that place. Yeah, it's unfathomable for me. Unfortunately, that was such a horrific display of just what not being in tune with your heart means. That's how I see it.

Speaker 2: 25:17

Yeah, and now have you seen that in the competitions you've been to, that are people that are like that, that will try to do anything.

Speaker 3: 25:24

The it's very, very rare I maybe saw it once or twice where there are some tricky things that happen in the locker room, like little mind games, little things saying some words that maybe like they're meant for you to hear, and that's why I always would wear earphones every time. Every competition is like tune out. But yeah, you do unfortunately still see it. Um, it's not on the level of tanya per se, but there are mind games that happen and little things here and there like oh, maybe this will mess you up if I say this or that. So it's definitely out there. It's just not on that scale, thank goodness. But yes, it's there, it's always there.

Speaker 2: 26:08

So who has been one of your favorite people to actually skate with or against? I mean, you got to skate with Michelle Kwan, so that's huge, right there.

Speaker 3: 26:29

Michelle was always one of my biggest inspirations, so that's huge right there up seeing that it kind of uh, it was a great role model for me, right, like it taught me what pure healthy competition means, and that was just absolutely the best experience to be every day on the ice with her training, alongside her, seeing how she coped with stress, how she coped with stress, how she coped with downfalls, with you know, you're not always winning and she always did it gracefully and she did it in a way that inspired and honestly, like I would say, michelle was my biggest inspiration and just the most amazing person to skate alongside.

Speaker 3: 27:15

But obviously there are so many. I mean I always I competed with some amazing guys uh, johnny it was johnny weir at the time uh, evan lysacek, evgeny plushenko, even at one competition. So just great champions, that, um, that always led with respect and, like I always admire that, uh, and every athlete that can do that, that can be at the top and respect their competitors, respect everyone around them like those people are the ones that I just always absolutely love to skate alongside nice yeah, and now?

Speaker 2: 27:49

okay, this can be a weird question, okay, all right, actually I'll make a statement first for those younger listeners. A phone book is how we, how we used to look up things in the find, people's addresses and stuff. We didn't go online, just for the record.

Speaker 3: 28:08

Oh my gosh. Yes, yes, wow. That's a lot to think about. We're aging me here, but that's okay.

Speaker 2: 28:17

I'm older than you, don't feel bad. So now, one of the things that I know now it's now. I remember what I was going to say. Matt Hughes, on like the second season of the ultimate fighter, actually said if you're undefeated, you're fighting the wrong people. So it's like when you go into skating, if you're completely undefeated, you're probably not skating at the competition level. You could be. And even my son, when he was wrestling, he lost a match in triple overtime and his mom and his grandma were like, oh, it's okay, it's okay. And he told him he goes, look, I'm going to lose. He goes, I can't beat everybody. And if you can't handle that, don't go to my tournaments because I'm gonna lose again I love that.

Speaker 3: 29:06

That's a champion. Yeah, that's how it works, absolutely. And you're never, ever undefeated in skating. I'll tell you that like's impossible, especially at the top level, which is where I competed. Oh, those are always shifting. You're one day you're great, the next day you're in the dumps. So that's when you know like okay, I'm in the right place, exactly Like okay, I'm in the right place, I'm failing. And now what I do to get back up there, get back on the horse, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 29:39

Yes. So now, when you were going through and you finally found a person to help you like, what's some of this stuff, what's some of the process that you went through? Or are they some things they taught you about yourself to help you get back to the competition level you were at?

Speaker 3: 29:57

For me personally, sean, it was coming to understand that my whole self-worth could not be placed on just my sport. I had to understand that I was inherently a worthy human, just for being alive. That's what the process really came down to. It came down to me appreciating myself for just being me, not for my results, not for you know how well I can perform on a given day. It was about understanding that I'm worthy, I'm lovable, I'm just for being a human, and that's funny to even have to, you know, learn to understand that. But that was you can imagine.

Speaker 3: 30:51

If a kid is and especially in figure skating very young age. You are training all day. It is is your life. You give up I was a homeschooler, you give up schooling, you give up birthday parties, you give up everything for skating, so you really become a figure skater and that's basically your whole identity. So for me it was kind of learning to be also just a person and then I'm an athlete. So that was the process and that was not easy because I had been conditioned into me since I was, like I said, a little kid. I was eight years old when I started skating. So to to come to that realization it didn't happen until I was in my 20s, where I could value myself for just being a person. And that was a lot of work and that was a lot to unpack, but that was the process for myself decided that you're good enough and you're developed as a person like what, especially with the way your hips are, because bone on bone is painful so yes.

Speaker 2: 32:07

So now what was the process like that, getting to the point where you could skate, like physically, the physical side of it?

Speaker 3: 32:14

the physical side, it was about building my body up muscularly. For instance, I had to have a body completely from head to toe, um, I had to become a lot stronger. I had to learn new ways to? Uh fuel my workouts. I had to learn all about nutrition. I worked with a great nutritionist, jeff cotterman, uh, who was based out of san diego, and he taught me how to how to properly fuel. He helped me to rebuild my body. To. You know, I needed to relearn everything that I knew about nutrition, um, which was very limited.

Speaker 3: 33:05

And in skating it's like I said, it's a very weird sport where you have that artistic side, so your body needs to look a certain way, but you also need to be strong enough to perform the triple jumps. So it was this fine balance of being strong enough but also not having too much bulk, where then it deters from the skating. And also the aesthetic component. Like, I needed to be very aesthetic, I needed to look slim, I needed to, you know, stay lean enough to perform the jumps. So it was a very tricky learning curve, I'll say that, and there were times when I'll say it, for skating, I would become a little bit overweight, and so jeff and I would have to adjust things like, hey, you gotta, you know, lean out a little bit. So it was always this like push and pull of, like staying healthy and then staying uh, just right for skating yeah, so yeah.

Speaker 2: 33:56

Is strength and conditioning not like a actual part of figure skating?

Speaker 3: 34:01

or at least back then it wasn't no, no, no, it's a huge part of figure skating but, like I said, the tricky part comes when, for instance, before the injuries, I was doing strength and conditioning and then I would develop a little bit of bulk and my coach would say, hey, you're putting on weight. And there was that tricky moment where, like oh, I translated that into oh, I'm getting too heavy, so I would restrict my diet. And then I was that kind of led to the injuries. To be honest, like I was restricting my diet to the point where I was sometimes not eating because, oh, my coach told me I'm too heavy. What do I need to do?

Speaker 3: 34:42

So strength and conditioning was always a part of it, but the fueling and the nutrition was never paid attention to. It was not something that was like at the priority on the list of priorities, it was not. So, yeah, I think that, like I said, that led to, to the damage to my body. To be honest, the lack of education, the lack of I didn't know. All I heard was you gotta, you know, you gotta tone down the weight. So okay, how do I do that? Restrict my eating while I'm still doing conditioning and strengthening work?

Speaker 2: 35:17

Tricky. Yeah, it's a tricky sport, tricky sport.

Speaker 2: 35:21

Because that muscle density it adds to weight. That's why while I'm training, I pay attention to the scale but I don't pay attention to oh I'm gaining or oh I'm losing, because if things fit better, you know you're losing body fat as opposed to weight and people. I think that's one of the biggest misconceptions, like they always tie in weight and don't realize when you start adding muscle you're going to gain weight and it's muscle density 100%. So when he was saying that you were gaining weight, was your physical composition changed? Yes, so it was noticeable. It was noticeable.

Speaker 3: 35:59

Yes, so it was noticeable. It was noticeable and that's what that was. The issue, you know, with. That's the issue in figure skating and sports like gymnastics and diving there there is that aesthetic side too. You gotta look a certain way, you better be, you know, skinny, skinny looking or it's also not as considered as maybe beautiful to look at. So it's really tricky. It's. It was really tricky.

Speaker 3: 36:24

Um, and on another note, with that said, like I was also a very artistic skater, what, what that's what we call it like, and so I had, uh, what we call like the body lines were really important for me and for my results. It was part of why I had good results because I had I always had that artistic side really solid. So I was also really cognizant always of, like, how I looked. That was so important and it was important to my coaches because in reality it is important in skating, like I said, you got to have a certain look, you got to be, and so that was also what kind of led into that spiral of like, body image issues, et cetera.

Speaker 2: 36:58

Yeah, yeah, I don't think I've ever had body image issues. I just had cousin issues that called me fat all the time growing up. So they had issues. I didn't, but I love that.

Speaker 3: 37:12

I absolutely love that. That's awesome, that's how it, that's how we should all take it. You know like okay, one ear one in, one ear out the other, like exactly, that's a, that's how we should all take it. You know like, ok, one ear in, one ear, out the other.

Speaker 2: 37:19

Exactly.

Speaker 3: 37:20

That's a really healthy approach. I love it.

Speaker 2: 37:22

So now did you skate for Mexico when you won your national championships? I did, I skated for Mexico.

Speaker 3: 37:28

Yeah, I did. I skated for Mexico, like I said, for over a decade and I actually yeah, I had some. I was the highest ranked skater to ever represent mexico during my career, um, internationally. And then, like it was really cool because I was able to kind of give birth to the next generation, like I kind of set that new standard for the next generation. And after me now we have an amazing olympian uh representing mexico, donovan carillo. And he, he grew up watching me, you know, he, he messages me sometimes to say like hey, I always remember like watching you skate and it's really cool and he's had tremendous results. He's a big name now in skating and it was really cool. Yeah, I kind of set that bar to a new level, to a new height, and I feel very proud of that accomplishment. It was kind of something I always dreamed of too, to be honest, like to inspire the next generation, yeah, Now, when you won your first national championship, like what was going through your head.

Speaker 3: 38:30

Well, it had been a long process. I actually, when I first started representing Mexico, I did not win the national title for oh gosh, let me think two, for three years. I had not. I had been competing and I did not win. So by that moment, to be honest, it was kind of a dark time I was like, well, I'm not winning, I'm still not winning.

Speaker 3: 38:56

You know, I'm back in the sport that I love, I'm doing it in a different way, but I'm still not winning. You know, I'm back in the sport that I love, I'm doing it in a different way, but I'm not I'm still not at the top. I was kind of like this is it, if I don't get that spot at the top, I'm going to have to rethink, you know, my future. Um. So there was some pressure, but it was also like a relief. It was like me saying like this is it, luis? Like you love what you do, um, if it's not gonna be it, like it's not gonna happen for you, then then you really need to move on.

Speaker 3: 39:24

That was my mentality going into that national championship and it was actually freeing. It was like I kind of put everything to the side and said I'm just going to be who I am on the ice. And I got there, I skated great and it was like reaffirming. It was like, okay, this is where you belong. You finally got what you wanted, what you needed, and then that's how I was given the ticket to go compete internationally. So I had sat on the bench for three years Like I was not competing internationally. It was kind of depressing and like I said I finally let it go.

Speaker 3: 40:03

I was like no, this is it like I, this is it if it's. If I don't do it this time, then it's time to go. And I did it and that started, like, like I said, that started the next decade of the second phase of my skating.

Speaker 2: 40:18

Okay, and then when did you retire from actual competition?

Speaker 3: 40:24

That's a great question. I was trying to do the math. Let me think I retired, I would say in 2016. Okay, yeah 2016. So yeah, 2016.

Speaker 2: 40:39

I don't want to think of my age, but let me think 40 and 9, it would be 31 wow, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3: 40:49

I I went a long time, um, and, like I say, I attribute that to the way that I was approaching sport in a healthy way for myself. You don't hear of figure skaters going to 31. Very rarely do you ever hear about that. And, like I said, I attribute it to oh, by the way, I was consulting with coaches, but I was kind of coaching myself for those 10 years. Yeah, I had learned everything I needed. So I had great support from coaches that I trusted. I consulted with them. They would, they would, you know, take a look at me and like kind of point out this is not, this is not right, that's not right. And then I would go and kind of work on it on my own.

Speaker 1: 41:29

So it was kind of a cool and different approach that's also not heard of.

Speaker 3: 41:32

I would travel to many competitions by myself, without a coach. Yeah, because I had to do it my way or else it wasn't going to work for me.

Speaker 2: 41:43

Yeah and then. So what led into the Olympic commentating?

Speaker 3: 41:48

Oh, that's a great one. Okay, the commentating. So I had a great friend, ann Jensen. She was just, she's been, first of all, a huge fan of figure skating and she kind of had seen my career since I was a little kid friends in a in a tv network and they had actually approached her and said, hey, we need, uh, we need some figure skating commentary for the upcoming olympics and we need a spanish speaker. Um and uh, and, very cool, she reached out to me. She said, hey, someone approached me like I think you're the perfect guy for this. I said I said, excuse me, I've never done anything like that before. And she said, well, there's always a first time. And I said, all right, all right, I'll give it a shot. And so I went into the studio and they interviewed me. We did like a little mock run, you know, trial, and they said we love what you're doing, let's do it. And that just was born out of thin air.

Speaker 3: 42:51

And next thing, you know, I'm commentating at the 2014 Olympics for the figure skating portion, all of the figure skating portion. And it was an amazing experience because, like I said, I love the sport so much and I have so much just inner. Like you know, I lived it, so I knew every detail about every skater. Most skaters were my friends that I was commentating about, so it was like it was very easy, it was like second nature and it's just an amazing experience. And so, after the 2014, they were like well, we absolutely love what you did. Could you come back on for the next one? And I was like, yeah, yeah, of course, and that's how it was born.

Speaker 3: 43:34

It was a really cool experience, it was awesome so now are you looking forward to this olympics coming up I am, I am, it's, it's uh, it's tricky though I have, like this you know, there's been a lot of chaos in the olympic figure skating movement. Um, you know, with the russian athletes and the doping and all of that, it's it's been, it's been tough to to watch. Um, it kind of has deterred from a lot of people believing in the sport and trusting what's happening. So it's, it's hard to, it's hard to how do I say it? It's hard to always be excited because you kind of got that that's, it's kind of tainted right now a little bit, and it's it's hard to to be 100 excited, you know, you know it's, um, but at the end of the day, like I said, I love skating, so how can I not be excited?

Speaker 3: 44:27

but there is that like there's kind of a dark cloud right now in skating with, with the whole issues and everything that happened. But of course, of course, skating is something I always look forward to, especially at every Olympics. I'm always, I'm always tuned in and I love to see. I still have friends that are still competing, that now are much younger now than me when I retired, so they're still going. But yeah, but yeah.

Speaker 2: 44:52

Of course I'm excited to support and watch, always, yes, well, that's the one thing about sports is doping is involved in every sport. It's not just and it usually isn't really noticed until you get that one person that fails the drug test, and then it becomes a scandal exactly, exactly, exactly.

Speaker 3: 45:11

And the thing is people would never think that doping could benefit a figure skater because they see these small frames and like. But there are so many ways that doping can. Now we know, and now people know that can definitely benefit skaters and it's sad, like I said, it makes people lose trust and it makes people kind of doubt even the, the movement, the olympic movement, and that that's that makes me sad.

Speaker 2: 45:39

yeah, yeah, well, one thing about, like the doping, um, which people, probably a lot of people, don't realize just because I was involved in pro wrestling for a long time that back in like the 70s and the 80s, when you know, even the 60s that they were wrestling so much that they weren't doping to get bigger, they were doping to help with the injuries. So they can keep going so so do you think that's more of an issue, especially with you.

Speaker 2: 46:08

What, how you went through with your hips. Or do you think that training and the development of strength and conditioning has come so far that it's really an unnecessary evil now?

Speaker 3: 46:19

or no, it's definitely what you said is very poignant. It's very much sometimes used to keep the athletes standing, basically like the training is so hard and so intense that some of these drugs that they're using is just to keep to be able to keep going, to keep the endurance up. It's not even for like physical, other physical purposes, like gaining strength or this or that, it's just to keep them going and to keep them going non-stop. And that's why you see that these athletes that were doped, they were kids, they were 15 year old kids, they were 15, 14, 16 year old kids.

Speaker 3: 46:59

That's what's scary and it's because of the training is so intense and so hard on them that they just need to be able to keep going and to keep them standing. It's like, oh, can we make it to the next Olympic cycle? And they're only in their teens, in their early teens. That's what's scary.

Speaker 2: 47:17

And getting involved with that at such a young age can totally screw up.

Speaker 3: 47:21

A life.

Speaker 2: 47:22

Yeah, it's absolutely. I'm like let me take my injuries, Cause I mean at this point I'm tired of Western medicine, but I got my reasons, oh. I hear that western medicine, but I got my reasons. So, oh, I hear that, but I hear that. So now, now that you phased out of skating, it's what are you doing now?

Speaker 3: 47:42

well, actually. So, when I went through those injuries my early 20s, I worked with pam and, like I told you, uh, learning to approach sport in a different way, like I do and I did led us to actually, we co-founded Lasso Safe Together, pam and I, and created an organization which was this happened 15 years ago out to give athletes an opportunity, like the one that I had, to be able to lead a healthy life, and basically our mission was to protect athletes and to ensure that they're being heard, which was something that I didn't have. Like I said, I had to find my own resources to see how I could, you know, support myself, and so we set out to make sure that all athletes' voices can be heard through our organization and to also provide them with resources so that they can be supported in any way, whether it's mental, physical, emotional. And that started 15 years ago. And basically, the organization started to research because there were training centers around the world that were producing healthy athletes with great results, and then there were others like myself that, unfortunately, they had great results but they were falling out of competition due to mental health issues, abuse issues, et cetera, and so that research started 15 years ago and to this day now, blossom Safe has developed the sports wellness platform and basically it's a tool for organizations to use where they can track their athletes' well-being.

Speaker 3: 49:21

They can see how their athletes are doing at any given time in regards to emotional, physical and social well-being and, very quickly, an organization can track their athletes and then if there are any areas of concern where these athletes might be going into that dark side, then they can take action right away. And that's my work now with Lasso Safe. That's what I do and I go to travel to sports conferences. I was the keynote speaker at one of the last conferences I was at and I speak on athlete wellness, um, I speak on how organizations can support their athletes, um, and really just getting our platform out there and ensuring that people know that we're around and that we are here to help, because you know organizations, sometimes people want to. It's like a witch hunt. They want to say this organization is not, but organizations are doing their best with what they have.

Speaker 3: 50:13

And so we are providing a way for them to keep doing the best, but also now, with tools to ensure that they're listening to their athletes voices. And that's what I'm doing and that's my, that's my mission in life to ensure that athletes are heard and that they are protected in the way that they need to be.

Speaker 2: 50:34

And this covers all athletes, not just like a particular.

Speaker 3: 50:37

All athletes in all sports.

Speaker 2: 50:38

That's correct, you don't have to answer this. But what do you find? Which sport do you find has the most troubled?

Speaker 3: 50:48

I guess athletes troubled, I guess athletes oh my gosh, I yeah, I won't answer that, but it's. But it's definitely individual sport creates a certain environment that that kind of can easily breed, uh, abuse and a lot more silencing, because when you're on your own you don't have a group or a team right, so there are less eyes, there are less ways to kind of pinpoint if an athlete is in trouble, where when you have a team, it's a lot more. You know the team can get behind you and it's definitely individual sports are more of a pain point, no doubt.

Speaker 2: 51:31

Okay, so many years ago, a person I know, chris Bell, did a documentary called Trophy Kids.

Speaker 2: 51:38

I don't know if you've seen it I have not, but it's about parents who push their kids so far. So if you watch it, you'll see one kid where his dad pushes him so much that he ended up just quitting. He went and lived with his mom. He didn't want nothing to do with his dad because of it. So how often do you come across parents like that? I mean they even have a tv show called dance moms, which I think very similar to like pushing kids too far. And I mean, how do you feel about parents that do that to your kids, where it just I'm gonna make a harry potter reference they're like the mentors they just suck the joy out of life yeah, it is unfortunate, it is a fact of sport.

Speaker 3: 52:24

It's they are those parents are out there. But also it's about it's really misinformation that parents they don't particular. So a parent goes into a sport without really ever knowing, you know, they don't know what the athlete really requires to thrive. So a parent thinks they're doing the right thing, sometimes by pressuring them by pushing them, sometimes by pressuring them by pushing them. But parent is, like I said, investing great money many times, great amount, not just money but time, and so it's all. If, if parents were better informed, I think there would be less of that. Um, I don't always think it's, uh, it's malicious. I think it it comes from just not being informed. Like that is not how you support your kid or how you're going to get the best result. So I can't always, I don't judge a parent for that, but it, but it's definitely out there and, uh, I don't judge the parent. I just hope that they are now getting more education from whether it's the coach or the organization on what I guess you could call it best practices are, on raising and supporting your athlete.

Speaker 3: 53:40

Um but they're out there, they're yeah, the parents that do that are always out there. They are not going to go away. So it's more about, like I said, I focus, we focus on the athletes at Lasso Safe and giving them a voice. So maybe the parent is being pushy, but an organization can learn that through listening to the athlete's voice.

Speaker 2: 53:59

Nice. Yeah, I know I went through and I was honest with my kid and I got backlash from my ex. But when he was in sixth grade he goes. I don't know whether to do basketball or wrestling. And I said, do wrestling, he goes why? And I whether to do basketball or wrestling? And I said, do wrestling, he goes why? And I said, because you're going to suck at basketball, because he was a bigger kid and he didn't run fast and everything.

Speaker 2: 54:21

He just was not genetically fit to do and he ended up excelling in wrestling. He ended up quitting his freshman year. He made varsity and all that freshman year, but he ended up quitting because his grandmother passed away. And this is like he had his grandmother and his grandfather both in the same year passed away and it was like he was just done. So wow.

Speaker 3: 54:41

But but see, that's where, maybe giving him some time out like some time off and then and then then listening to. Obviously this was emotional because there weren't injuries happening or anything like that. Um, so maybe if this, if your boy had been listening, like heard, or maybe you you're still working on that but giving these athletes just also time, you know, like we're not robot.

Speaker 3: 55:06

We're not robots. Kids are not robots. They just need some time sometimes, and it could be that easy, or it could be that maybe sometimes, like he used or I'm not saying your son, but any, like an athlete, might use a certain excuse when maybe their heart is no longer in it too. You just you don't know. So it's about listening to, to the voice, to to the kid, to the athlete, and then go from there.

Speaker 2: 55:29

but yeah, I'm sorry to hear that. Yeah it. It's funny, though, because we were in California, in the Bay Area, and then we moved to Colorado two and a half years ago and it seems like my youngest and him seem to excel since we moved out here. Just the whole change of environment too. And he went in and he did a couple of plays and I'm like, dude, you could be an actor Like that's how good he is.

Speaker 2: 55:56

And he got accepted into Boulder for next year and he wants to become a lawyer and I'm like great.

Speaker 3: 56:03

But see, that's really cool. He probably knew his heart was somewhere else and like, look, now he's thriving, Like that's also that's the's the thing, like, sometimes, a kid just there.

Speaker 2: 56:13

They lived out their experience and they need to move on, and that's very okay too yeah, and if you have a good athletic background, which I've noticed, um, you actually become like a very different worker than the ones that don't like one thousand percent yeah, one thousand percent, because you've already put in the hard work. So now it's like you get a job. You put in 100%, you get. You know, whatever you do, you do 100% now.

Speaker 3: 56:40

And that's the most beautiful gift that sport will give you. It teaches you life skills that you are not going to learn anywhere else, and it prepares you for life. Hard work, dedication, perseverance like that is what sports should be about. It should it should lead us to have a healthy and to to be able to thrive in life instead of you know like there are athletes that unfortunately come out very hurt from sport, and that's not what it's about. It should be about, like, building these kids so that in the future, wherever they go, they can take that positive experience with them.

Speaker 2: 57:12

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 57:13

Awesome.

Speaker 2: 57:13

And you kind of grew up I'm a little older than you, but we kind of grew up in the same era, before the internet, where it's kind of like if you actually played on a team though you had people that were better at the sport than you, but then they kind of gave you crap, they bullied you for not being as good.

Speaker 2: 57:57

So, I mean I I shied away from a lot of sports, because you didn't you, that was not for you yeah, so it's about listening to these kids yeah, and then you have coaches that kind of join in at least back in the 80s and the 70s we did that would join in, kind of like and kind of be the bully too, and it's kind of like I don't want to play for that guy, so he's like not teaching me anything except how to bully people.

Speaker 3: 58:19

So absolutely no, you got it, you got it all right, so now the tough questions. Oh man, I thought we had them already. Let do it.

Speaker 2: 58:29

So, when you were skating, what was your skate of choice?

Speaker 3: 58:35

Oh, my skate of choice. Like the brand, the brand and oh, edea. Edea boots. It's definitely Right now. All the top guys have used them for a long time. Edea skating boot, I would use Paramount Blades, it was. It was called uh I don't know if they're still around. I hope. Yeah, like I said, I'm dating myself, but that, yeah, you you know, in sport you're always looking for the best equipment.

Speaker 3: 59:02

And what are all the top guys doing? You're not going to fall behind right like you're gonna. Yeah, you're gonna try your best. With that said, sometimes a certain fit of in skating at least of a boot and a brand might not be the best for you. So that's where you got to kind of test around and see, like, what works for me, and not just be guided by, like well, that guy's wearing that or he's using that equipment. I'm going to do that too. Sometimes it's not that way, sometimes you. That's why I say it's so important to be in tune with yourself and your body to know what's best for you.

Speaker 2: 59:36

Yeah, that's you know, yeah, I've tried on some boots, some skates and it's kind of like, yeah, these aren't going to work. So I understand. So's quite a question my biggest influence for skating I would have to say back.

Speaker 3: 1:00:00

I would go back to my father. Okay, he was a professional diver, uh, himself, and he did have that athletic background. He, he knew enough about sport where he helped me to navigate a lot of things, not just like the physical side but also like the mental side. Also, there are politics in sport. He knew about that and he knew how to manage that. And so my biggest influence was definitely my father first, and then second. I had, like I said, I had my idols. I had Michelle Kwan, I had Kurt Browning, who I admire and always have looked up to. Those were my two, my three, I guess, biggest influences in skating. And, of course, some great coaching that I had, you know that taught me some great things. I never want to discredit that. I had amazing coaches that taught me things that I still carry with me to this day. But yeah, those three were my biggest influences, no doubt.

Speaker 2: 1:01:09

Okay, and now? What advice do you have to upcoming figure skaters or people that want to figure skate?

Speaker 3: 1:01:18

oh, that's quite a question. My biggest advice is, well, from my experience, to, first of all, you better love the sport, you better love everything about it, all aspects, or you're going to have a hard time because it's not easy. So you better have it in your heart and you also better know and learn who you are outside of skating so that you can approach it in a healthy way that never you know, that sport never will deter you. If you know yourself, you'll be able to always overcome anything. So to really just love it and to know yourself, that's my biggest advice.

Speaker 2: 1:02:06

There you go. So now, how can my listeners follow you?

Speaker 3: 1:02:11

Oh, they can find. Well, that's a good question. I'm not very active on social media, but they can find me on LinkedIn, Luis Hernandez, and also they can visit our website if they have questions. Our website is lasso safe dot com and you can find some information there about what we're doing and how we can support athletes and organizations. And you can find some information there about what we're doing and how we can support athletes and organizations, and maybe even if you need resources, you could also visit our website. Shoot us an email and it's all there at lassofaithcom.

Speaker 2: 1:02:44

Nice.

Speaker 3: 1:02:45

Well, I appreciate you coming on the show Absolutely. It's been such a pleasure, sean, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.