For Liam Kapeikis, it was a case of waking up and smelling the coffee. The new Starbucks barista-in-training learned he would be making his Grand Prix debut at Skate America while he was just waking up one recent morning.
"I remember pulling up the list and checking it, being so nervous because I wasn't 100% sure if I was going to get a Grand Prix [spot] or not," Kapeikis said. "Then seeing my name listed for Skate America, this rush of both adrenaline and relief came over me. I ran out from my bedroom to my parents, and they had just seen it, too. They were all excited. It was a very good moment."
His parents, Louise and Paul Kapeikis, are figure skating coaches who met while working with Disney on Ice. Louise played the Scrooge McDuck and Paul played Baloo from
The Jungle Book. Later, Paul jumped through flaming hoops on skates and did other stunts, which Kapeikis said helped instill in him a sense of fearlessness on the ice.
"I think it's just something that I've known and they've taught me since I was a kid to not be scared of jumps," he said.
He and his older sisters, Kaela and Danika Kapeikis, each took their first steps on the ice at age 2.
Now 18, Kapeikis is looking at Skate America as an opportunity to make a name for himself during his first season as a fully-fledged senior on the international scene.
"For Skate America and the rest of the season, I'm just trying to put my name out there," Kapeikis explained. "I'm really just trying to build … I don't want to say a reputation, but in the area of being one of the top skaters and being someone who competes at this level on a regular basis."
He added that he'd also, of course, like to perform well; it's more about taking in the experience at the senior level and getting familiar with what it takes.
Kapeikis' season so far has included a win at the Philadelphia Summer International and an eighth-place showing at Nebelhorn Trophy. His resume also includes U.S. Championships medals at the juvenile, intermediate and junior levels.
Kapeikis describes himself as a character-driven skater, leaning into the emotions that his programs evoke. For the short program, he's skating to
Mask of Zorro, where he embraces the main character's charming, clever and witty sides as the program goes on.
In the free skate, set to music from
Moulin Rouge!, Kapeikis again plays the main character, Christian.
"The whole program is meant to tell the story," he explained.
Kapeikis' retelling of the tale matches the pace of the movie, starting with a sad tone because that's how the movie opens, he said. Once Christian reaches France, "it's more hopeful, more happy. Then the ending is when he falls in love. That emotion there is supposed to be loving and again happy," Kapeikis said.
With a number of skaters choosing to perform to the iconic soundtrack over the years, did Kapeikis experience any trepidation in taking it on himself?
"I think there was a small amount of thinking about that," he admitted. "But we knew that I could put my own picture on it and kind of make it my own when I did it, as long as we did it properly. And I think we've done a very good job of that so far."
Besides figure skating, Kapeikis has a passion for robotics and aerospace engineering. Throughout elementary and middle school, he said his strengths were in math and science, which lead to joining the VEX Robotics Club. He's won medals on that competition circuit as well.
"I was researching and figuring out like 'what kind of jobs are in this?'" he said. "That's how I found out about aerospace engineering because I'm also very interested in planes and space. Aerospace engineering incorporates the robots, engineering and space."
When Kapeikis is on terra firma, he spends his time as a barista at the local Starbucks, where he's worked for about a month. He usually takes a four-hour early-bird shift before heading to skating practice in the afternoons.
To connect with Kapeikis, follow his Instagram
@leapin_liam. His account's name even has a tie back to another famous skater.
"When I was a kid, we were doing a show at my home rink in Wenatchee, [Washington]," he said. "They brought in [1984 Olympic bronze medalist] Jozef Sabovčík as a guest skater. One of his famous nicknames is Jumping Joe. I was maybe working on double Axel and one of the parents at the time started calling me Leapin' Liam based of off Jumping Joe's nickname."
The nickname stuck – and Kapeikis knew just what to use when it was time to create an Instagram account.
"I was trying to figure out something to call it that I wanted to be a little more original. I remembered that so I decided to use it," he said.
With an original approach to social media as well as his programs this year, Kapeikis is sure to make an impression at Skate America.
