After Goku Endo's grandfather was diagnosed with leukemia a couple of years ago, they made a pact.
They would fight for themselves. His grandpa would fight to stay healthy, and Endo would fight to continue his skating career with the goal of competing in Japan so that his grandparents could see him skate at a competition for the first time.
To inspire his grandpa, in their bedroom sat the trophy Endo won at 2023 Kings Cup International — his first win at an international event — and a picture of Endo from the U.S. Championships, with a special hand-written message:
To my grandparents, make sure you eat your food and stay healthy.
Endo knew the chances of competing in Japan were a long shot as most seasons, the only events in Japan are top-level competitions: NHK Trophy, Grand Prix Final or an ISU championship. Going into this season, time was of the essence as his grandpa had already outlived the original prognosis given by his doctors.
"Then this year they announced the Kinoshita Group Cup (as a Challenger Series event, taking place Sept. 5-7). I immediately texted my family and I was like, 'There's a chance, there's a chance,'" Endo said.
Next came the call from his coach with the good news. He had been selected to compete at the event in Japan.
Goku Endo poses with his family friends at the Challenger Series Kinoshita Group Cup.
"I get goosebumps a lot when I feel emotion. It's just all over, just chills," Endo said. "I just sat in the car for a moment, trying to absorb what I just heard. … It didn't feel real."
Of course, when his family heard the news, they were ecstatic and immediately started making travel arrangements.
"I think [my grandparents] called me the second they woke up, because my mom texted them, and we were just celebrating," Endo said. "It was more disbelief that it's actually going to happen. I feel like these goals are — especially something medical — you can't really control it, and it was like everything's lining up perfectly at this moment. We're just celebrating and saying how unbelievable this is. Because I'd even thought about retiring and moving on from skating to now fully diving into the sport and just like getting so excited about a competition."
But the competition was still months away. Could his grandpa make it that long?
In the end, nothing was going to stop him from making the journey from their home in Tokyo to Osaka, including a storm that caused flight delays and cancellations.
"They packed their stuff up at like 9 p.m. the day before and they came by a bullet train [instead]," Endo said. "Usually [my grandpa is] wobbly on the wheelchair and everyone's worried because you don't know what's going to happen. He's so frail. But that night, apparently, he was marching through the station. He was going to get there. … I've never seen him so excited."
While his grandparents could barely contain their excitement, Endo started to feel the pressure. On top of an already intense competition, this was seasons of work culminating in such an important moment for him and his family.
The moment was finally here. His family and friends were there. He'd finally made it.
Endo described his short program as "shaky," but advice from his grandmother helped him regroup before the free skate.
After Goku Endo's grandparents watched him compete for the first time, they continued to wear their credentials around town.
"She was like, 'Just don't worry about it. Nothing is going to happen if you worry. Just go out there and just do what you can, and that's it. We're just here to watch you, cheer you on,'" Endo said.
Taking her advice to just skate and knowing that his family didn't care about the results, Endo executed what he described as one of the best free skates he's done in a long time.
"When I went out, I could hear my cheering section and my family," Endo said. "They had a whole row of just my family members just cheering. They had a face of me on the fan, the typical super fan kind of vibe. I could just feel them there. I tried not to look, because I thought that would mess me up. I wanted to be focused, but I felt them."
After the competition when Endo was able to reunite with his family, the reality that they had accomplished their mission began to feel real. Both had overcome the odds.
"My grandpa was saying how proud he is of how I skated and how far I've gone. And I was like, 'No, no, no, no. It's crazy that you're here right now in Osaka watching me skate. We just kind of had a moment, and it wasn't too long of a journey, but it felt really long, like a constant battle," the UCLA grad, who will go to medical school after he retires from skating, said. "Goals, sometimes you can't achieve them the way you want it to be, and the way it just came together, it's just special. … My mom was like, I've never seen him so excited and alive and just enjoying the moment like that. It was one of the best moments I've had with my grandparents."
After the competition, Endo stayed for extended time with his grandparents, appreciating the time and the opportunity to spend more time with them than the typical once-a-year trip.
"We had the chaperone credentials [from the competition], and he wore it everywhere once we got back to town," Endo said with a laugh. "One day, my grandma didn't put hers on, and she's about to leave the house. My grandpa was like, 'You're forgetting something!'"
Looking back, Endo still can't believe the experience came to fruition and has so much gratitude for everyone around him who helped him in his journey to make it happen.
"I don't know how to say it in words, but it was just special," Endo said. "I think it's hard to realize in life — you look at yourself so much, and it's hard to look out. That week is all about the people around me, and I was able to appreciate that they're still there. I'm glad I was able to experience that in my life. I was able to get there while everyone is still there, and I was able to say thank you, and how proud I am of everyone."
So now the pact has been completed. And in his grandparents' house, along with the Kings Cup trophy and his photo sits Endo's credential from Kinoshita Cup, not only as a reminder of the special memories, but proof of what can come from perseverance and what can happen when you keep fighting.
