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A life on blades: Kurt Browning still puts on a show
We talked with Kurt Browning on Tuesday about longevity, his Alberta background, and the day he got star-struck by a celebrity sighting.
| Source: |
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |
| Date: |
May 8, 2019 |
| Author: |
Kevin Mitchell |
Kurt Browning says he pedalled 100 miles on his bike one day last
summer, then dug blades into ice the next day.
The renowned figure skater, who is 52 years old and in remarkable
shape, is in Saskatoon Friday for Stars on Ice. The four-time world
and Canadian champion didn't win an Olympic medal in three appearances
(1988, 1992, 1994), but he carried the Team Canada flag in his final
Games and won the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete in
1990.
He's been involved with Stars on Ice for nearly three decades, both as
a skater and choreographer, and is back for 2019.
We talked with Browning on Tuesday about longevity, his Alberta
background, and the day he got star-struck by a celebrity
sighting.
Q: You stepped away from figure skating for a year, then rejoined
Stars on Ice for the current run. Why did you come back?
A: This year, they called and (said) 'Would you like to do the
whole tour again?' I go, 'Yeah, I feel good. Why not?' I didn't
publicly ever say I quit. I was only just having conversations with
the producer of Stars on Ice, and that was it. It was just between him
and me. It's kind of become a joke, like a yo-yo - are you in? Are you
out?
Obviously, I'm just doing it year by year now. I'm dangerously close
to 30 years (with Stars on Ice), which is another big number. I'm
happy to be back, mostly because I feel like I'm contributing, and I
feel like the body is allowing me to do what I need to do to do my
job.
Q: Is there any difference between what makes a great competitive
figure skater and what makes a great Stars on Ice skater?
A: I think the answer is yes. There's more similarities,
obviously, but in the moment of competition, the tension and the
pressure brings a lot of entertainment in and of itself. Will they
land it? Will they win? That is really exciting, for everybody - the
skaters and the judges and the fans. When you take that tension out of
the equation, are you still bringing excitement? Are you bringing
emotion? Are you bringing humour? Speed? Quality? Are you still
interesting, even without the tension of competition? I think that's
the challenge.
Q: You were born and raised in Alberta. What's the most Alberta
thing about you?
A: When I get home I talk differently, I've been told. I get a
little bit more western with my verbalizations. I do play hockey. I
don't wear cowboy boots, but I wear my dad's old cowboy hat when I mow
the lawn. But generally speaking, I think I pick up a little bit of an
Alberta twang when I get home.
Q: Most Canadians - kids, parents, grandparents - know very well
who Kurt Browning is. How do you explain that close relationship
between you and the fans?
A: Longevity works into it. And trust that goes both ways. I
used to be a competitor, which means you represent Canada, but
obviously that was a long time ago. I've become what I guess is an
entertainer, and if people see something or feel something from me
that they want to experience again a year later, then that's
trust. They trust that they can buy a ticket and get something that's
worth the parking and the popcorn and the cost of the ticket, and
their time, as well.
And I trust the audience. I try different things. In this show I'm
doing a blatant comedy; it's more of a skit than a number, and I'm
hearing all sorts of good feedback from the kids. Lots of kids come to
skating, and sometimes it can get a little repetitive for a 10-year
old. So I think that's what it is - trust that goes both ways, between
the performer and the audience, back and forth.
Q: You performed the first-ever quadruple jump in competition, at
worlds in 1988. Can you explain, for the layman, why this was so
significant?
A: It was a little bit like breaking the sound barrier, or
getting over the Atlantic Ocean first. It was a threshold people had
been talking about, and waiting for it to happen. And when it finally
does ... somebody gets to wear the 'I Got There First' pin. Obviously,
there was other guys doing it. I watched Brian Boitano land it in
person, and that's what inspired me to go home and start trying it. If
I hadn't seen Brian Boitano do it that day, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't
have gone home and tried it. It's pretty nice, because I get to wear
the accolade of getting credit as the first one to land it in
competition - but certainly not the first guy to land it. I just
happened to be the lucky one that landed it in competition, and got
credit for it. A lot of luck went into that.
Q: You've hosted Battle of the Blades, where hockey players teamed
up with well-known figure skaters. I asked Patrick Chan this question
last year, and bring it to you now: All else being equal, who would
make the easier transition - figure skater to hockey player, or hockey
player to figure skater?
A: Are we talking NHL hockey?
Q: We'll say elite.
A: I would probably have to say that it's not going to be good
for either one. Obviously, only our pairs boys, our big, strong
lifters, have even a chance of being able to withstand the pressures
of such a physical game. I think if Patrick Chan or I get out there,
we're literally just going to get manhandled by those guys. But let's
assume that one of our pairs guys puts on hockey skates and tries to
play ... I think he'll have a better chance than one of them putting
on toe picks and trying to jump.
Q: Chan says you were one of his inspirations while he was growing
up. Did you have any skaters who inspired you before you broke into
the public eye?
A: Definitely Toller (Cranston) and Brian (Orser). When I got
older, I started to migrate to really learning a lot from Scott
Hamilton. His footwork and his comedic timing were something that gave
me permission to try it myself. But as a kid, seeing Toller Cranston's
specials on TV made skating real - something that was beyond your own
rink. And then getting to meet Brian Orser and seeing him skate in
person ... you looked at him and went 'That's the epitome of what a
skater should be.' That was somebody to live up to, and try to aspire
to.
Q: What's your most memorable encounter with a fan while you're out
in public?
A: Colin Mochrie, from 'Whose Line is It Anyway?' I saw him and
I just screamed out his name - we're walking around, and he was
there. I screamed his name, and he looked at me and he screamed my
name. I yelled 'I love you!' And he yelled 'I love you!' And we went
running into each other's arms, having never met. As a fan of his, I
was like 'This. Is. Fricking. Awesome.'
I also had drinks with Gowan at a very small airport, like Kitchener
or something. I was like 'I think you are ...' And he goes 'I think
you are ...' I said 'Can I buy you a beer?' And he said 'Sure!' So we
had drinks together and it was pretty fun.
Q: You apologized to Canadians after placing fifth at the 1994
Olympics. A lot of people said that wasn't necessary, given your great
career. Do you agree with those people, in retrospect?
A: A little caveat to that is that you're a young athlete in a
highly-charged, emotional situation. It wasn't like I got a writer and
sat down for four hours and prosed up an apology to my country. It was
just this little moment, and the story was as much 'We're all in this
together; I'm sorry it didn't happen.' But it was also an apology - it
was 'I came here with a job to do, and I'm truly apologetic to my
country for not doing it.' I don't take back that sorry. I never
will. It was legit, it was real, and it was honest. It's okay for a
Canadian to represent their country and to feel terrible that you
didn't come through for that country. Which is what I did. I'm fine
with the apology, and I don't retract it.
And oh my gosh, back then there were faxes, and so many great ones
came through. One of them was six, maybe eight feet long - it was a
fax that came through with hands, and long arms, and I was supposed to
wrap the fax around me like a hug. It said I could use a hug, and it
was so awesome.
Q: Many athletes, when they move past 50, know when they get out of
bed in the morning that they put their body through a lot, for a very
long time. As a figure skater, do you have those same aches and
pains?
A: I did have all those aches and pains, and I had them in that
decade from 20 to 30. It was awful. Being me sucked. My back was
always in spasms. I would wake up for months, and think 'How am I
going to do triple-axel today?' and crawl into four inches of hot, hot
water and have trouble lying down in the tub. I was a mess. Then you
slowly warm up your body and hope it was okay - that bad back is why
one of my Olympics went down the toilet.
But I learned. I recovered. And at 52, I wake up, jump out of bed, and
off I go. I work really hard; I'm doing an exercise situation called
Isophit - a table you work on, kind of like Pilates, but not
quite. What I love about it is I'm not sore the next day. I'm getting
strong, I'm lean, I'm feeling great, and I'm not sore. As an aging
person, I love it. It's the soreness that inspires me to not want to
work out. It's 'I know I have to work out, but I can't skate tomorrow
if I'm too sore.' It's this wild balance. But I hit the table hard and
feel good on the ice the next day. To be honest, I feel great - like
... really good. (Laughs) And after that statement, I'd better skate
great (Friday in Saskatoon)."
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