Joey Mantia Interview PT 1

They say the easiest interviews to start with are your good friends. So, I decided to go that route(also b/c everyone else turned me down). Fortunatly one of my good friends happens to be arguably the fastest skater alive. Coming off a year where he won 2 WIC races, 7 gold medals at the World Championships, Pan-am Championships,and an Indoor National Championship, I sat down and talked to Joey Mantia.

MC- Lets get right into it. It seems like everyone's making the jump from inlines to ice, and doing it well. Do you have any desire to trade your wheels in for blades?

Joey Mantia- My plans for ice are still a little up in the air to be honest. Most poeple ask me what im still doing on inlines because there's so much more money in ice; they say i should be going to the olympics because if chad can do it, then i definately can. It always makes me smile to hear people say that, but i know that its not as easy as he made it look. Plus, although money is very important (because this is now my full time career), it's not everything. Theres not many things in life that i would rather do than inline skate.

MC- Well that being said, what are your goals for the upcoming inline season?

JM-This year i want to reach back to my junior years and really try to put the amount of passion and drive into every single workout as i had over those years. I'm going to do an immense amount of cross training, accompanied by intense indoor workouts and long vigorous outdoor skates. My goal this 2008 season is to be able to interval like i could when i was younger... i really miss those days. I also want to continue to help Luigino develope the best skates on the market.

MC-Your list of accomplishment seems almost neverending. What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment?

JM-Out of everything, traveling to switzerland this year, winning back to back world cups, and being presented a new car for the victory. Right after it happened, it really didnt sink in at first; i thought to myself, "There's no way you just won a world cup... and a car!"

MC-I know most people don't believe this, but you've had bad times on skates before. Does anytime like this stick out in your head, and what did you learn from from this?

JM-The worst thing i can remember happening was having a complete season of getting my butt handed to me on a silver platter. When i was a first year sophomore, i spent the entire season losing. Every meet i went to, including outdoor nationals, i was just terrible. One of my teammates and good friends, Paul Fitzpatrick went on to win indoor nationals that year, which was really hard for me to cope with. I had always been the one on top, always been the "fastest", and now it was him. On one hand, i was really jealous of Paul's success, because here he was, getting a ton of attention... just like i used to get. On the other hand, i was happy for him as a friend. After that year was finished, i started fresh. I put a 100% effort into every single thing i did at practice and it didnt take long to get back to myself. It really taught me that you can't give up when things start to fall apart, if you are determined, things will work themselfs out.

MC-This year in Cali, you moved into 2nd place for overall gold medals at the world championships. The only person left to catch is 50 time gold medalist Chad Hedrick. Are you going to catch him?

JM-This is probably the most popular question i get. Only time will tell i think. It was never a goal of mine from the start and its still not. I just go to worlds and try to win as many gold medals as i can. Chad is amazing and to be compared to an icon such as himself is flattering, for lack of a better word.

MC-Ok, who cares about the medal count. You now vs. Chad in his prime, who wins?

JM-I think the style of racing, the equipment, and the amount of compeitition are all much different between my and chad's eras, so i dont really think its fair to say yes or no. Although, i would love the challenge if it were possible.

MC- Somewhere there's prolly a 12yr old kid reading this, what advice would you give him?

JM-give joey mantia 5$ every time u see him.

MC-HAHA, how about any skating advise you would give them?

JM-ha, just kidding... Just that you should always follow your dreams and never give up on things. Most importantly, do what YOU want to do. If you love skating, then skate. If you love jumping jax, do jumping jax.

MC-Well thanks for the time away from your busy training schedual. Before I let you go is there anyone you want to say thanks to?

JM-Start off by sayin that im thankful for all the gifts ive been givin in life. I have an amazing set of parents who, despite them separating when i was 12, made sure they did everything they could do to make it possible for me to pursue my dreams and do what i love to do. Im grateful for just so happening to grow up in a small town that housed one of the greatest young speed skating teams of the late 90's and early 2000's, coached by the greatest technique coach in the world, in my opinion (Renee Hildebrand). She brought me to the top, i wish every kid could get the chance to experience a ride like that and to be passionate about something; it makes life much more meaningful. Doug Glass has been an amazing mentor to me over the past few years. Last, but not least, the Hohagen family, for taking me in and making me part of the family up here in WA.

Special thanks to Joey for being my first interview. If you check back in a few days i'm going to post a few more questions I asked Joey. It just got a little long so i stopped it short. Soooo part 2 coming soon.