The friendship of Alex Krasnozhon, Jimmy Ma and Misha Mitrofanov goes well beyond skating. Their strong friendship off the ice strengthens their performances on the ice and pushes them to become better skaters.
The three Team USA men moved to Boston after their coaches, Alexey Letov and Olga Ganicheva, were relocated to the new state-of-the-art facility at the Skating Club of Boston to prepare for the upcoming Olympics.
Krasnozhon said that it was scary to move away from where they were comfortable, but they get through it together.
"I think that living together and knowing each other's schedule and supporting each other is really fun," Krasnozhon said. "I think that on the ice we are friendly, and at home we are friendly. We try to support each other and influence each other to make smart decisions at home. That way we can be at our best on the ice."
Ma added that having Mitrofanov and Krasnozhon as roommates has been refreshing for him, especially in a time where rinks were closed for many weeks.
"I've been skating with them since the quarantine ended in Dallas," Ma said. "For me, personally, it's been a really long time since I had such good comradery amongst our team."
The friendship that Ma has found in Krasnozhon and Mitrofanov has motivated him to be a better skater and teammate. Through their comradery, Ma has found himself cheering others on a lot more.
"Every single person, when I watch them skate, I always want them to do [their best]," Ma added. "When they do it, I want to do it. It motivates me."
The three are almost inseparable now, but their first impressions of each other were not what they were expecting.
Mitrofanov cited his first meeting with Krasnozhon as one of the most interesting first impressions he has ever had with anyone. Krasnozhon pulled a prank on him before the two even had their first conversation.
"Luckily he was not with Olga and Alexey (Krasnozhon's coaches) yet, so I was not able to kill him," Mitrofanov said. "I was excited to meet this new guy and thought it would be kind of cool, but what a way to open up."
Ever since their first meeting, the three have not stopped joking and pulling pranks on each other.
The three have been living together in Boston for a few months now, but Mitrofanov admitted that he was a little worried that the dynamic of their friendship would change with them all being under the same roof.
"I think we definitely got closer as friends, because we have been living together for a few months," Mitrofanov said. "That was interesting to see, whether we would get along, or if we would want to kill each other. I'm really glad it went the first way."
"All of us can take a joke, because all of us are constantly insulting each other," Ma said. "When we are not insulting each other, we are probably sleeping."
Mitrofanov added that the three are probably still insulting one another even in their sleep. He and Ma especially try to find new ways to mess with Krasnozhon.
Recently, Ma and Mitrofanov pulled off one of their favorite pranks on Krasnozhon. Krasnozhon had previously damaged Ma's car, so Ma and Mitrofanov went to buy a new one. The pair convinced him that they had purchased an expensive luxury car.
"He was raging for the whole night, but he was a good friend," Ma said. "He asked why I was buying such a luxury car. He was so worried about us for making a stupid decision, and we were just in the corner laughing our heads off."
According to Mitrofanov and Krasnozhon, Ma does most of the cooking and cleaning, because he is the only one who does it correctly. The pair went on to say that they know not to talk to Ma in the morning, because he is not a morning person and cannot deal with their energy that early.
Ma will take his own car to training, so he can listen to classical music, while Mitrofanov and Krasnozhon will drive separately and listen to rap.
After they are done with skating, the three want to stay close throughout life. Krasnozhon and Mitrofanov plan to move back to Texas and are trying to convince Ma to go with them.
"Misha and I plan on going back, because we love Texas," Krasnozhon said. "Jimmy loves Texas too, but he just won't admit it, because he is from New York."
Krasnozhon is hoping that Ma will come with them to Texas, because he needs to have someone there that can cook for him.
"I'm going to be living with my girlfriend, and he's going come out of nowhere and be like, "What's for breakfast?'," Ma said.
Although the past year has been very uncertain for many people, the three are thankful that such a strange situation brought them together and provided such a strong relationship.
