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Chatting with Scott Hamilton: Olympic gold medalist and author (Includes interview)

The veteran figure skater opened up about his new digital encouragement platform, Live Your Days. It is a call to presentness and not letting day after day pass by, just going through the checklist of life. It is about putting down your phone to enjoy the people and moments that God has given you because we don’t control the number of days we have on this earth; we only control what we do with them. “It has been such an amazing venture and it has kept me positive and busy during this tough time in our history,” he admitted.

“The idea came out of an interview I did right after my third brain tumor diagnosis, and that was in 2016. There was a message there that people needed to hear,” he added.

Live Your Days includes a podcast, a 30-day inspirational challenge and merch that helps support the research funded by the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation. “We have been building this platform and content to encourage people to understand that no matter what is going on in the world, today is one of your days. Today is a day to live productively, joyfully, and abundantly and it starts with that choice.”

“I’ve understood through my medical history, and what I call my unique hobby of collecting life-threatening illnesses, that our bodies are incredibly vulnerable and fragile to a lot of things, but they are phenomenally resilient but ultimately temporary. We need to be intentional with how we do this. It starts with that choice. If you want to start your day well start it with gratitude,” he said.

“I need to find something about today that will bring me incredible contentment, strength, power, dignity, and joy, in an effort for my day to have quality,” he added.

Earlier this month, Grammy award-winning country artist, John Berry and his wife, Robin, interviewed Hamilton for their podcast, “Faith, Family & Friends.” “I love John. He and Robin are lovely people. It was really fun to do his podcast. What a voice he has, and now he has a story to tell with everything he has been through,” he said.

On winning the Olympic gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games, he said, “To this day, the four words that keep coming out are ‘what in the world?’ and ‘how did that happen?’ Everything about me is so unlikely. It was a great deal of relief to remain undefeated for four years and I felt sad that my mom wasn’t there to see it. I felt incredible pride that I was able to do this for my country and with my country.”

Hamilton is the most decorated male figure skating star in the globe, and the sport’s voice of authority in the United States. In his respected career in the sport, he won 70 titles, awards, and honors including an Emmy nomination, an induction into the coveted U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and he is an inductee of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

“I would joke back then that I would be too young to get into a Hall of Fame but now, I can’t say that anymore,” he said with a sweet laugh. “It’s an honor just to be included as someone who had an impact on the sport and on the movement of the Olympic Games.”

On being a part of the digital age, he said, “You can reach a lot more people but with social media, it sometimes gets caught up with all the static and the noise.”

Regarding the title of the current chapter of his life, Hamilton responded, “Getting Strong.” “I need to get strong for whatever the next thing is, whether it’s physical, emotional, intellectual, or spiritual, or all of the above,” he said. “For me, right now, I am getting strong. The stronger you are, the more able you are to weather whatever storm you are in.”

As an author, Hamilton has written several books including his children’s story Fritzy Finds a Hat.

Hamilton defined the word success as “taking what I have been given and just levering it to make a difference.”

For his fans, he concluded, “Live your days, joyfully, productively, and abundantly. Know that there are always going to be tough times, but it’s how we choose to live each and every day that gives our lives meaning, quality, and impact.”

To learn more about Olympic gold medalist and author Scott Hamilton, check out his official website, his Facebook page, and follow him on Instagram.

Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton

Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton
Kathryn Costello Photography

Markos Papadatos
Written By

Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 20,000 original articles over the past 18 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a 16-time "Best of Long Island" winner, where for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022), he was honored as the "Best Long Island Personality" in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.

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