Jimmy Ma's world changed in San Jose, California, in January.
The 22-year-old's "Turn Down for What" short program lit up the SAP Center crowd, trended on social media and put Ma on a stage bigger than he had ever seen before. After the segment, Ma was in 11th place with 75.28 points.
"Last season was very unexpected," Ma said. "I wasn't in the top 10, but I still got a huge amount of media attention. My friends and family kept me grounded and I'm grateful for that. I feel like I set a standard in terms of performance, but this year everyone expects the technical side to be there as well. After the season, I took a break and reevaluated to see where I wanted to go from there. San Jose's performance gave me a great boost of confidence."
In the end, Ma finished 11th, but it officially kicked off the 2018-19 season.
"As soon as I left San Jose, I started planning for this season. I have goals and I want to reach them."
It is a certain mentality that drives the Queens, New York, native—a "Mamba mentality," taken from NBA legend Kobe Bryant.
"Kobe Bryant is one of my role models," Ma said. "He probably wasn't the most talented player, but he was definitely the hardest working guy out there. He was always on the court longer than everyone and he motivated his teammates to work harder. That mentality inspires me to be a better athlete."
Ma has to be careful though that his intense approach does not become counterproductive. He and his team film his practices and he's focused on the details. He will take a look at the film and be back out on the ice to correct an edge or a line, even if it's just a small improvement.
"But I need to be smart about everything," Ma said. "I need to recover well and be sure that I'm not overdoing it. There are days that I know it's not the day to overdo it and there are days where I can build up to maximum output."
While there is plenty of excitement brewing for Skate America and all that has come with it (like his trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado in August for Champs Camp), that is not the end goal—it is merely a point on this season's trajectory.
"Going to Champs Camp really just re-sparked the motivation in me," Ma said. "I was motivated before, but now I approach [everything] with more intensity. I see this as an opportunity now. This season has reignited the fire in me.
"Skate America is a checkpoint this year. It's a place where I want to perform amazingly, but I don't want to peak there. At U.S. Championships, I'm not going to settle for anything less than podium. I want to skate well enough where people will argue for me to make the podium. I want to know that I fought for it and had a shot."
His first competition of his 2018-19 journey started Friday night in Salt Lake City where he was the top American man after the short program. He will skate in the free skate on Friday night, where he will look to win his first international medal.
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