As Johnny Weir was being interviewed for this article, three themes continued to come through in his voice and his message throughout all 25 or so minutes of the discussion. The first is an unmistakable air of authenticity – a simple comfort and confidence in who he is and letting that shine in any setting.
It's how he was raised, and it's what brought him so much success on the ice and beyond.
"I have always had the opinion that I couldn't be anything in this world if I wasn't myself first," Weir, 36, explained. "That was instilled in me by my parents, and they were very brave to give me that freedom and that licensing, and that is just the way I was brought up. … That is something that I will always be, for better or for worse, and that is something that nobody can ever take away from me."
As the story goes, Weir grew up in rural Pennsylvania and began skating in earnest at age 12, far later than most in the sport, after a backyard corn field froze over. Fast-forward nearly 25 years and that corn field led to Weir being elected to the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
"The Hall of Fame is something that I looked to for inspiration, because it's the greatest champions in American skating that are a part of this Hall of Fame; it's the people who were able to manage their talent in addition to being judged for a living," Weir said. "The people in there are certainly people I looked up to my whole career, and to now be joining them is surreal.
"I watched my family sacrifice so much so that I could achieve in this sport, and to do something that was so out of the box when it comes to the way I grew up in a small town with limited means is surreal. To have us recognized for all of the hard work and sacrifice that we've done, and I say we because it's not just me that's in the Hall of Fame – I'm taking my family and my coaches with me – I think that's the most magical part of being in the Hall of Fame. Maybe there's another little kid in rural Pennsylvania that dreams of going to the Olympics, and they feel like they have all the odds against them, and to see someone like me in the Hall of Fame might be just a touch of inspiration for that kid, and I think that's really wonderful and magical."
On the ice, Weir competed at two Olympic Winter Games, won three U.S. titles, the 2008 World bronze medal, two Grand Prix Final bronze medals and the 2001 World Junior title – to name a few – and he did it all his way.
Weir has maintained his sense of style, both in dress and in attitude, and singular personality (which he admits, "there is really is no way to describe") his entire career. Despite the naysayers who felt his at-times-flamboyant and potentially loud persona was too much, or even those within the sport who requested he "tone down" his nontraditional words and costumes at times, Weir has stayed true to himself in every endeavor.
That list of endeavors has continued to grow and includes writing (2011 autobiography "Welcome to My World"), cooking (multiple appearances on Food Network), singing (a pop single release in 2010 and a 2019 appearance on "The Masked Singer"), dancing (reaching the semifinals on the latest season of "Dancing with the Stars"), broadcasting (for NBC since 2013) and activism for the LGBTQ+ community (Weir came out as gay in his book).
The second theme of Weir's words is a sense of purpose – entertaining and bringing joy to others – which he has found in every realm he's explored post-competitive figure skating.
"The greatest joy in my life is entertaining people, and whether it was in competition at the Olympics or now afterward, I live to make people happy and to take them out of their lives even if just for a moment," Weir explained. "That's my spot on this earth and that's what I'm supposed to be doing. I feel that with age and experience, I've been able to really accept that and learn that, and it motivates me every day."
He knew when he retired from competing that he wanted to give himself the opportunity to fail – the opposite of an athlete's goal – which is what led him to trying so many avenues.
Of his latest venture, dancing, Weir said he is not yet finished. While he has yet to master counting music, he and professional dance partner Britt Stewart, who has become one of Weir's four best friends, have at least one dance left in them.
The team was eliminated on the show's penultimate week, which meant they were never able to perform a freestyle routine. That's going to change as soon as it becomes safe for Stewart to travel from Los Angeles to Weir on the East Coast.
"I live to make other people laugh or think or smile or dance along with me, and the opportunity to do 'Dancing with the Stars' and to bring people a little performance every week is what I was in it for," Weir explained. "If I could just take people's minds off things for a second, my job would be done, and that's why I took it. And I would do it again a million times over. …
"I never knew how big of a fan base and a following there is, and how supportive the fans of 'Dancing with the Stars' are of the people that have been on the show, and I think it's our duty to give them our finale dance, so we're going to work on that."
The final, equally unintentional, theme of Weir's interview was gratitude. Having experienced more life than most his age – whether it be the trials and tribulations of his time as an athlete, or the fun times that followed as a result of his success – he is appreciative of every experience and where it led him to today.
He is thankful for his role as a figure skating broadcaster, as well as a "cultural ambassador" of sorts for events like the Kentucky Derby, National Dog Show and Super Bowl.
"I'm just so thankful to have work at all and to be able to do what I love to do. … I love the fact that we get to educate people about the sport. Helping people to understand what they're watching, especially in this judging system there are so many nuances that need explaining, is something Tara [Lipinski] and I love."
He is thankful to be embraced by others in any or all of his roles.
"People are open to me and accepting of me, and that's been one of life's most magical gifts that I've gotten so far."
He is thankful to have recently purchased a home for the first time in his life and is already having a house built for his parents on that land in the Delaware countryside.
"One of my biggest dreams as a kid was growing up and doing that very American thing of owning a little piece of this world. I didn't come from a privileged background, and you never are quite sure what's going to happen for you, so the fact that I could find my first house and make it a forever home and something that will always passed down through my family, it's the greatest feeling of accomplishment. … My parents sacrificed so much for me, and the fact that I can look after them in some small way makes me proud."
He is thankful for a lengthy professional figure skating career, from which he is retiring in 2023.
"I kind of cry when I talk about it, but I feel a huge obligation to pass on not only the things I've learned, but also the space that I occupy in skating worlds, to somebody that is young and rising and special and deserves the opportunities I had when I was young and rising and special, so my spot on the tours will be skated beautifully by a young star, and I'm so excited to pass that along."
And most of all, he is thankful for figure skating and all that the sport and the community have brought to his life.
"It has altered my life in every possible way. It gave me so much insight into who I am as a person, it has been my finishing school, it has been my future. It really has given me everything that I have. I will forever want to be part of the figure skating world, and whatever life throws at me I will take on wholeheartedly and with so much strength because of what the sport has taught me."
