Ice Lab Podcast

This week's episode we're joined by one of Spain's ice dance teams, which is one of the most watched stoires of this season in figure skating., Olivia Smart and Adrian Diaz the current Spanish National Champions. We talk about how they're partnership began, they're relationship on the ice, the path they've been on. As well as so much more, including what its like training at the IAM school, what the pandemic has taught them. It's a great talk we can't wait for you to hear about!

After a few weeks break, we're back with our first guest, Adam Loosley. Adam is a fellow skater from the South Western Ontario region and currently has the title of Artistic Director at Disney on Ice. He spends his time doing a myriad of things including coaching/choreographing, performance consulting, and most recently became the author of a children's book! This is a fun episode where we learn about how Adam forged his own path within skating and used his creativity to make a career he loves. Welcome back Ice Lab-ers.

This week we decided to recap the past 6 months of our podcast. We go over some "Coles notes" of each episode, and some pieces we've taken from them into our lives. We can't thank you enough for your support and for tuning into us! Here's to another 6 months Ice Labers!

This week we welcome our first, non figure skating related guest, Chris Hill. Chris is currently working as a high school golf coach in the United States. Chris is from Sarnia, Ontario and played for Wayne State before heading into his coaching career, where he has had major success at the grassroots all the way through NCAA, and high school golf. This is a great episode about coaching, and so many things to show how different sports can be so different yet so similar, and how you can take these practices into your daily life.

Joining us this week on the podcast is Mike Slipchuk. Mike has been the High performance director of skate Canada since 2007 and has over seen so many talented and great Canadian figure skaters. Along with that Mike is an Olympian, Canadian champion and world team member. We talk about those experiences, what he’s learned through his career, the connections skating has made and gives more in-site as to what his job is to help the athletes. We can’t thank Mike enough for joining us this week!

On the podcast this week, we’re joined by Nam Nguyen. Nam has had an illustrious career, starting when he was very young. He shares the impact of success at a young age, how he’s changed through the years, and what lessons he’s taken with him as he continues to progress in sport. This episode is full of great takeaways, applicable to so many aspects of life. We’re excited for everyone to listen in! Instagram: @namnamnoodle

This week on the podcast we’re joined by Canada’s second ranked ice dance team. Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen are hot off a bronze medal performance in Las Vegas at Skate America. This team has an interesting story as they started their career representing Nik’s home country of Denmark. Nik officially became a Canadian citizen this past summer and they are well on their way to securing an Olympic spot on Team Canada. In this episode we hear their story in their own words and get some insight on the wonderful people they are. We hope you enjoy this week’s episode! Instagram: @nik_sorensen

This week on the podcast we welcomed our dear friend, Keegan Messing. Keegan talks about his journey from representing the USA to Canada, training in Alaska, and of course his family! For those who don't know Keegan, he's a class act, would give anyone the shirt off his back and is full of energy. This is a fun episode and has some great stories! Instagram: @sk8erkeeg

This week on the podcast we’re joined by US National silver medalist and TikTok viral icon, Amber Glenn. Amber has such an inspiring journey filled with both triumph and adversity. She went from being at the top of her game at the junior level to quitting the sport altogether. When she returned to figure skating she became one of the few women in the world to master the triple axel and is currently vying for a spot on the 2022 US Olympic team. She became an inspiration to so many when she came out publicly as a queer woman and she tells us about how that freedom changed her skating. This is a fun and inspiring episode and we can’t wait for you to listen in! Instagram: @amberglenniceskater TikTok: @amberglenniceskater

This week we not only have one, but two guests join us! We were joined by American Olympian Ice Dancers, Madison Chock and Evan Bates. We get to talk to them about their own new podcast called Unlaced with Madison Chock and Evan Bates, as well as training, relationships on and off the ice, and some of their hobbies. It was so great to connect with this wonderful couple and we can't wait for you to listen into it. Instagram: @chockolate02 & @Evan_bates

On the podcast this week we get to chat with a wonderful person, athlete, mentor, and business woman, among other things! Paige Lawrence had a very successful career as a pair skater for Canada. Most notably, she qualified for the 2014 Olympic Games. Paige talks about the challenges she and her partner faced while training in a small town, and how they managed to get everything they needed to achieve their Olympic dreams. We learn about her experiences at the games, and all the fun things she’s been up to since then. We can’t wait for everyone to hear this knowledgeable episode! @paigehlawrence @paigelawrencecoaching

This week on the podcast we’re joined by David Islam. Dave has been a staple in Canadian ice dance over the past thirty years. He has taught skaters at all levels and has coached many athletes to national and international medals. Some of his coaching career highlights include the many titles won by his son, Mitchell Islam and now daughter-in-law, Alexandra Paul, who would go on to compete in the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. We talk about coaching, the transition between father and coach roles, and how Dave has dealt with diversity and inclusion over the years. This episode Mike also gets to surprise Trennt with something very special! We hope you enjoy this episode!

This week we’re joined by Olympic and World champion coach, Bruno Marcotte. We talk about his coaching career and the great mentors he’s worked with throughout his journey. Bruno has incredible insight on how sport brings the world together and tells us about his experiences coaching athletes from all over the globe. We had a great time with this episode and hope you will enjoy it! Ice Lab would like to wish all coaches a Happy National Coaches Week!

This week we are honoured to be joined by a Canadian figure skating legend, Patrick Chan. Patrick’s combination of artistic ability, skating skills, and technical prowess had a huge impact on our sport’s trajectory. We spoke about his journey as a young skater through to his Olympic experiences as well as his coaches and how they affected his life on and off the ice. You might hear some exciting news in this episode as well! We had such a great time catching up with Patrick and we can’t wait for you to hear it! Instagram: @pchan31

This week's guest is Tracey Wainman, a child phenom and one of our most decorated and recognized coaches in Canada. We talk about her career, and what it was like being successful at such a young age and what those pressures brought along with it. She tells us her journey from there, finding her love for the sport and her lengthy pro career. After that she goes through her coaching philosophy and how she got to where she is today. This is such a great episode to listen in on!

Our guest this week is a 3X National Champion, 2X Olympian, 4X Grand Prix Final competitor, and Mike’s better half. You guess it; it’s Kirsten Moore-Towers. We talked about how she got started in the sport, what drove her to compete as a young athlete, and her transition into pair skating. Kirsten has a passion for working to shift the culture of sport and improve mental health in figure skaters surrounding body image. We talked about all of that plus some fun Olympic stories and friendly training anecdotes among the three of us. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did! Instagram: @kirsten_mt Twitter: @kirsten_mt

On this week's addition of the podcast, we have a much newer skater to the Senior international scene, Madeline Schizas. We talk about her explosion into the senior ranks, including her first major event at the 2021 World championships, her training and day to day life at home, and some other fun things you might not know about her. Maddie is for sure someone to keep your eye out on, and we hope you enjoy this addition! Instagram: @maddieschizas

This week’s episode is with Dr. John Vargo! Dr. Vargo is a chiropractor who has worked with some of our greatest Canadian athletes, as well as many different professional athletes from the NHL and NFL. We discuss what chiropractic care entails and how it can differ throughout the field and from person to person. Dr. Vargo has some amazing stories from the Olympic Games that he shares with us as well. Mike has been fortunate to know Dr. Vargo for most of his career and is very excited for you to hear this podcast!

This week we are thrilled to speak with the owner and head strength coach of Revolution Sport Conditioning. Tyler Doig, along with Maria Mountain and the whole Revcon team, were a huge part of our lives when we were training in the London area. We can’t thank them enough for the impact they’ve had on us as athletes and as people. We talk with Tyler about the Revcon community, strength and conditioning foundations, and everything in between. We’re so thankful for this conversation with Tyler and can’t wait for you to hear it. Instagram: @revconlondon www.revolutionconditiong.com

This week on the podcast we get to speak with a good friend of ours, Jean-Luc Baker. Jean-Luc is an ice dancer competing for the United States. Together with his partner Kaitlin Hawayek, he has earned the title of Junior World Champion, Four Continents Champion, and NHK Trophy Champion, among many other accolades. He is known for his exuberant personality and comic relief on and off the ice. We share stories about our experiences together over the years, as well as learning some new ones about his journey as an athlete. We discuss training, traveling, friends, recovery, and post skating career plans with JL. We can’t wait for you all to hear this one! Instagram: @jeanlucbaker