Jason Brown took some time at the Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy to answer our A to Z questionnaire. The veteran skater is known as one of the best artists in the sport, and he is hoping to make his third U.S. Olympic team this winter.
Most Used App?
My most used app is probably actually Spider Solitaire. If I can’t sleep or if I need to just like zone out, I just play to get my mind off of things. So I would say that’s probably it – besides, obviously the camera, texting, FaceTime.
Advice you’d give to your younger self
You don’t know what the future holds. So don’t think that everything’s contingent on what you do. I think that, so often we’re in this process, where we’re like, well, if I get X, then it will lead to Y or Z, and I think just keep going down your path and doors will open and you don’t know what those will be.
Bedtime?
8 o’clock in bed. That doesn’t mean I’m sleeping at 8, but that is when I get into bed and start my wind down.
Comfort food?
I just love a good pasta dish. Any good sauce, pasta, or also pizza. I guess that would be my comfort food.
Favorite Competition memory?
I have to say, I love World Team Trophy events. I just think it’s so much fun to end the year off as a team. It’s after Worlds, and there’s so much stress at Worlds, which is such an exciting time, and I think you’re kind of riding high from that event, and so then going into a World Team Trophy with all your teammates as the year end is very special.
Your last Dream or any recurring Dreams?
I have more of a recurring nightmare where I fall off a building. You know, when you wake up and you feel like you’re falling down flights of stairs. Like you’re up somewhere really high and looking over a ledge.
Embarrassing moment you can laugh at now?
Oh my gosh, there are so many embarrassing moments that I could laugh at. One thing is one of my earliest skating memories. I’m from Chicago and I did an event for the opening of the outdoor rink. And, oh my god, I face-planted in front of the mayor of the city, and I just remember being so mortified. I was like, 10, 11, 12, and I look back now and I just think it’s the funniest thing, and I love that video, but in the moment, I just remember being so embarrassed..
Favorite Fan Encounter?
Honestly, the fans are the best. They give me so much energy and I’m just always so touched when they tell me stories. So for me as a skater, my experience is obviously performing from the ice. And when fans come to me and talk about what it meant or how they felt from the audience perspective watching me skate or remembering a performance that I did, those, to me, are some of my favorite experiences with fans because they talk about what my skating means to them or how it moved them in a certain way. They’ve been through so many highs and lows with me that I’m just so grateful that they’ve been around for the whole journey of it.
Favorite Food from your country?
I know I’m from the United States, but I’m from Chicago, and we’re kind of known for a deep dish pizza. So I’m going to go with deep dish pizza.
Goal that you’re working on right now?
I mean, I am striving to make this 2026 Olympic team. Yeah, that’s a pretty big goal! That’s really where my head’s at. I took this fall season to really get my programs out in competition, learn as much as I can from them, grow from them. Definitely had some trials and tribulations along the way, but I’m really excited about the growth that I’ve made as the fall has gone on, and I’m going to keep taking those little pieces to just get better and better for hopefully making that team.
Holiday memory?
I have to say American Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and it’s actually next week. And so I’m going home to spend time with my family. For me, it’s always so special because it’s the one time of year where we’re all home together. Our U.S. championships are in January, so I haven’t always been home for the Christmas holiday, the winter holidays. So Thanksgiving is really special as a time where I get to be home with my family.
Can you play an Instrument?
I grew up playing the piano. I cannot play now, it’s like a definite no, but I did grow up playing the piano and taking lessons.
Biggest Inspiration?
Probably my father. My dad is the most positive, upbeat, guy.
Dream Job as a child?
I wanted to be a pilot. I love to travel, I was that kid that would go into the cockpit and would get those pins from the pilot and it was something that I always really looked forward. I loved looking out the window.
Karaoke song?
Uptown Funk, Bruno Mars.
Lyrics that get stuck in your head?
So many. I think especially now that when we skate, we can use lyrics. So the program is in my head on repeat. My long program lyrics, “Say Something” is constantly [in my head].
Movie night favourite?
I’m a big romantic comedy guy, and so I love The Proposal.
Do you have any Nick-names?
Okay, not really. I guess if you can call Jace a nickname. Some people call me Jay. Some people call me JB. And then, like as a joke, two of my best friends call me ‘the ankle biter’ because they always say I’m nipping at everyone’s heels at competitions. Like, I’m always up there in the mix. Even if I’m not at the top, I’m like nipping at everyone’s heels. It became a little bit of a joke.
One book, TV show, or movie you recommend?
I just had to perform in Lake Placid. And so, I feel like from that, ‘Miracle.’ If you need a really good motivating sports movie about the underdog, that’s amazing. But, if people haven’t seen Ted Lasso, I love that as a TV show.
Do you have any Pets?
No pets, never had a pet. I always wanted a dog when I was younger, but my parents said we traveled too much, and so we didn’t have time to take care of it.
Quote by Jason:
We accidentally skipped the Q question! So enjoy an extra quote from Jason’s mixed-zone comments about his new free skate
The music is “Say Something”, and throughout my career, I’ve struggled a lot with using my voice and advocating for myself, and there’s been so many times where I’ve let other’s narratives kind of define who I am, instead of using my voice and telling people who I am, or telling people what I’m striving to do. I was letting other people define what success is for me. And so [I am] kind of taking back my own narrative, finding my own voice again. And putting that all into a program!
Favorite Restaurant?
Pietro Valentini in Rome. I am obsessed with this restaurant.
Skating performance you wish you could have seen live?
Oh, my God. So many. I mean, if I could go back in time and watch any of Michelle Kwan’s programs, that would be magic. I’ve heard so much about, I don’t want to call it the olden days, but, people talk about that era, Michelle Kwan’s era. What she not only did for the sport at large, but, in the U.S., how packed U.S. Championships were, and the energy when she stepped onto the ice. She’s an icon, and I think that would be cool, to experience what it would have been like to see Michelle on the ice.
Training Day Essentials?
Besides my water bottle?
Anna: Given the number of people who have said coffee, tea or Red Bull, if you’re drinking water, I think you’re good!
Oh yeah, that’s hilarious. But yes, I always have my water with me. Don’t think I’ll ever get on the ice to train without hydration.
Who or what do you think is Underrated?
I don’t know if they’re underrated, but in general, I don’t think we give the media enough credit for what they do.
Anna: Oh, come on!
I’m not saying this to be nice! I’m not saying it to just be cordial in this setting, but I really do feel that. I took a break from skating and competing as much, and I got to work a little bit in the media side of things and [see] the ways in which that they work to bring our stories to life, and the ways in which they truly impact us as athletes. I don’t think we give them enough credit and thanks. Just the amount of work that goes into the preparation, and continuing to be innovative and thoughtful and get our stories out there and share our personalities. Like, really major props to you.
Dream Vacation destination?
I planned a trip to South Africa that got canceled due to COVID. I planned an entire trip there and never got to go on it. So I think that would probably be my dream vacation now, just because it was all planned, I booked everything, and l had that itinerary, so I really dreamed about what that could be like.
Your Whereabouts on a day off?
Bed. Honestly, if it is a lazy day, I do not leave my house and I really take my days off very seriously.
An eXperience that changed you?
Every single competition. Every single interaction with people, I mean, gosh, what experience hasn’t changed me? Making an Olympic team definitely changed the trajectory of my life in a lot of ways. That is something that changed me in terms of the way other people see me, but I would have to say, when I had a really difficult year and missed the 2018 [Olympic] team. I just skated really poorly and I didn’t deal with the pressure well, and really, I kind of crumbled under the anxiety. I think that really changed me as a person, moving forward and how I deal with those tough moments and how to move forward from them. And it’s made me a lot stronger to this day.
A Year that you would like to visit if you had a time machine?
I would love to see what the 60s, 70s, 80s, were like, because, I hear, essentially from my parents, so much about the past and how much things have changed, but you only know your own experience and you read about it in books, but I would love to go back in time. We’re just visiting it for a little bit, we’re not staying there, right? I would probably go to, let’s say…1975.
What is your Zodiac sign (and your big 3), and do you believe in the zodiac?
Sagittarius, I’m also the year of the dog. I’m not huge into astrology. That said, my best friends, they all got together and they’re like, “you have to get this Co-Star app.” And so now I’m on this Co-Star app, so we see each other’s daily astrology stuff. I always laugh – like today. Oh my god, I laughed so hard because sometimes it’s actually true. Today goes, “You’re doing the best you can”. “Oh my gosh, you get me! I am doing the best I can!”
Read our previous A-Z interviews:
A to Z with Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel
A to Z with Loïcia Demougeot and Théo Le Mercier
A to Z with Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps
A to Z with Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez
A to Z with Yuka Orihara and Juho Pirinen
