There were many times that I took such a big hit that I was dazed; I'm not going to lie. I'd see black, but I'm still looking for the puck. Where's the play going? I'm going to keep going. Same thing in figure skating. If I take a hard fall, I'm going to get up, and I'm going to do the next jump.
Max Aaron
I definitely love getting a massage or going to a spa.
Maybe at the end of my figure skating career, I'll be able to have just the one game I always dreamed of having. I've still got the skill, I think. I'd have to work on my stick-handling skills, but the speed and my hockey smarts are still there.
I'm not afraid of falling or failing, because I've failed many times, and I learned from them.
I hope to take my Birthright trip.
I'm looking towards that Olympic medal and that Olympic gold and what it's going to take to get there.
I can't say I have a lucky charm, but I do wear a 3/4-zip U.S.A. jacket I wear to every event. I got it from Nike, and it was from the 2012 Olympic Games.
I have my struggles. But I'm doing whatever it takes to be an artist, to be the best technical jumper I can be, the best spinner I can be. Nothing is easy about that. But I'm doing whatever I can to be the best.
I remember watching the 2002 Olympic Games and watching the men's event. I just started figure skating, and I remember thinking how cool it would be to be there.
No fear - that's my approach every single time I'm on the ice.
I have met a lot of athletes who were on the top of their sport, and then sat around and did nothing. They just didn't know what to do.
Some days it's tough, and I don't want to train my mental game, or I don't want to train my components as hard as I used to.
I'm not going to let anyone tell me that I can't perform, that I'm not artistic.
Anyone who's been the Olympic trials before is a veteran.
Anything is possible. No one understands how far you can push your body to the limit, and I like to play with that.
I have a pretty strict diet, and for breakfast, I have three eggs and a cup of oatmeal.
I hope that my work ethic has been a model for those who do not believe in themselves or have lingering doubts about their own abilities.
Every time I watch a performance, I'm disgusted with how I've skated. It's very hurtful for me.
I was tired of getting last or fifth or sixth. I was tired of falling multiple times in a program. I was tired of competing differently than how I trained. If I was going to do that, why train so hard? I took a step back, and I figured out what I wanted to change about myself.
I was a host and a busboy and a barback.
Before I broke my back, I was really looking forward to playing hockey at the University of Michigan. That was my biggest goal.
There are no words to describe what it would mean making the Olympic team.
When I decided to continue in the sport, I decided I would do whatever it takes to be the best figure skater I can be.
In hockey, sometimes a shift can go for a minute and a half, full out.
It eventually ends, and that's what I think a lot of athletes forget. It's 10 years after the Olympics, and you won the Olympics, and that's great, but no one cares.
At the end of the day, I could go back to getting sixth or seventh place and being a mediocre skater, or I could be a champion. I want to be a champion.
I would go for the biggest guy on the team, dump the puck in. I would chase after it because I was very fast. If I wanted to get a big hit, I would have to leap into the guy. The guy would be maybe a 6-3 defenseman, 220, I would leap into this guy and plow him over. He would just fall to the ground. That was my thing.
If it's a day to indulge, I like to have a burrito or a steak.
I'll fight anybody.
I love hard work. If I'm not sweating, then I'm not working.
I push myself as hard as I can every day so I can achieve my goals and so I feel I have nothing to regret later on after my career.
I like to go to bed around 10 P.M.
I want that three quad program! That's what's going to set me apart in the U.S.
I love any event in the United States because I treat it like it's my home, my house. And I'm going to protect it.
I'm never going to let someone else tell me what I can and can't do.
The long program sets the men apart from the boys.
I want to be the top man in our sport. I want to be that guy everyone wants to see skate.
Some days you have it; some days you don't.
I always thought the list needed to be longer. We needed to have a stronger representation of Jewish athletes, and I'm so happy to that I'm part of them now.
I have always wanted to be the best, and it drives me every day, no matter the obstacle.
Nothing makes you try harder than to be told that you are not good enough or that you simply do not have the skills.
I grew up looking to all those Jewish athletes for inspiration.
I feel connected to God when I'm out there performing.
