There’s fun entertaining skating audiences off the ice


BY LEXI ROHNER


CHESTER SC, CHESTER, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA SITE: WWW.SKATEGUARD1.BLOGSPOT.CA


RYAN STEVENS, 32 HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA


Stevens has always gravitated to the artis-


tic and professional side of skating. No longer competing or judging, he now maintains a blog on which he documents and studies fig- ure skating history, interviews skaters, reviews events and shares lesser-known and often un- told stories connected to the sport. “When I skated, I always tried to create pro-


SITE: WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/USER/NEW MICHAELBUCKLEY


MICHAEL BUCKLEY, 38 HYANNIS, MASSACHUSETTS SKATING LEVEL: SOME DOUBLES


YouTube star Michael Buckley began skat-


ing toward the end of college with a friend who skated. On and off the ice for a decade, he resumed after an eight-year hiatus in 2012. A huge skating fan since 1987, he was doing Axels within the first month. “I was crazy enough to just try it,” said Buck-


ley, who gained fame as a TV and Internet per- sonality making pop culture YouTube videos from his home. While his videos are not skating-centric, he


tries to cover skating often, grateful for the mi- nor celebrity status provided him, and access to skaters. “I’d much rather be friends with Tara Lipins-


ki and Kristi Yamaguchi than Beyoncé,” Buckley said. “These are my people.” Many of his best friends and best times in his life have come from his involvement in skating, he added. Buckley’s initially more mean-spirited cov-


erage of the sport has shifted to humorous, now that he knows skaters personally. “It’s always most fun for me when I can be


outraged by the results or horrified by a press conference quote,” Buckley said. “That’s the best material for me.” Buckley considers competing someday and


would love NBC to hire him for Andrea Joyce’s job. He’s covered the U.S. Championships with Tanith Belbin, Michael Weiss and Sarah Hughes as a personality on icenetwork’s AT&T Ice Desk. He loves being a fan and a skater, participating in Audrey Weisiger’s annual summer camp. Skating taught Buckley goal-setting and


hard work, which he appreciates in adult skat- ers. In 2014, Buckley was invited to emcee and skate in the opening ceremonies at the 20th U.S. Adult Championships in his hometown, Hyannis, Massachusetts. “Watching adults train, it’s evident how much they love skating and its importance to them,” Buckley said. “I was never patient enough to get good at basic skating skills; I just wanted to jump.”


46 JANUARY 2015


grams that told a story and drew the audience into the program,” Stevens said. “It’s all about the creativity and performance art aspect of what skating can offer, as far as I’m concerned.” Stevens won a provincial artistic title and


an adult artistic title during his seven-year skat- ing career. Following that, he performed as a female impersonator for a decade. A bookworm with a huge personal library,


Stevens makes a point of reading daily, and as an English major and someone always needing a creative outlet, writing about skating seemed like the obvious choice. “I’ve learned one voice can be a powerful


thing,” said Stevens, who considers his inter- view with Dick Button a dream come true, as were interviews with Liz Manley and Anita Hartshorn, who inspired Stevens to skate. Ste- vens points out it is sometimes difficult finding the right balance between respectful commen- tary and honesty, especially given the ease with which information spreads through social media. “It’s important to be mindful of your au-


dience, which includes fans, skaters, coaches and judges,” said Stevens, who runs his site free and without any financial support or compen- sation. “I rely on word-of-mouth advertising, a powerful thing. I’d love to see this take off and reach as many people as possible.” Stevens has a backlog of content sugges-


tions, including adult skating coverage for his site: Skate Guard. “The culture and emphasis on youth leads


people to think their careers are over in their early 20s,” Stevens said. “Age is just a number and I don’t buy into that. If you love skating, skate.”


CITIES: BILLY AND ENRICO, NEW YORK CITY; DAVE, LOS ANGELES


THE BOYS WHO SCORE


AGES: HIGHLY GUARDED SECRETS SKATING LEVEL: RECREATIONAL


At 2004 Skate America in Pittsburgh, Bil-


ly, Dave and Enrico raised up their first scores, sharing their predictions with the surrounding audience before the official marks were posted in the arena. “We have always enjoyed skating and got


really into it following the 2002 Olympics,” said Billy, an accountant. “We realized how much we enjoyed watching it and agreed to watch all events together in upcoming seasons.” They began their “live” scoring as a way to


share their opinions. When Dave, a banker, relo- cated in 2007, they vowed to continue attend- ing, and scoring, skating events. Taking at least two trips yearly to watch


skating, the The Boys Who Score enjoy con- necting with audiences, judges and officials alike. “A lot of people have suggested we be-


come judges, but we don’t want to go that route,” Dave said. “We love what we do, no poli- tics involved.” With numbers being a large component


of their professional careers, joining that with their passion for skating seemed a natural step. “One of the strange things people think about us is that we’re math geniuses,” said Enri- co, an architect who has traveled to more than 30 countries. “With a spreadsheet and calcula- tor, it’s not that hard. Everyone should try.” While they have little connection to adult


skating, they do skate recreationally. Dave and Billy took 10-week group lessons one summer in New York, gaining even more respect for skaters. Receiving an overwhelming welcome from the skating community and fans, The Boys Who Score have been flattered to be ap- proached by judges and well-known coaches about certain scores. “It shows we are legit!” said Billy, who also


follows NHRA drag racing (a great counterbal- ance to skating). “It’s simple addition and mul- tiplication, but with a lot of numbers.” “Skating has taught us hard work and per-


severance help you achieve your dreams,” they said. “And that good costumes are everything.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68