EP 24- Jacqueline Wiles: US ski team Olympian- On chasing snow and dreams, with a side of medicinal mushrooms
In today’s episode, I interview US downhill and super G ski team member and Olympian Jacqueline Wiles, aka Janky Lil’ J . Take a look at Jackie’s Instagram and you’ll see beautiful snow-capped mountains ranging from Chile to New Zealand to Switzerland. Jackie is living her dream, but her life isn’t always glamorous. Behind those photos are grueling traveling schedules, hours spent in the gym, and races lost by just .01 of a second.
Jackie wouldn’t want it any other way and is grateful for her journey. From the moment Jackie started skiing at age 2, she had a need for speed. By age 3, Jackie distinctly remembers being upset that her 5 year-old brother was able to start ski racing, before herself. All her life Jackie knew that she wanted to make the US ski team, and held onto that image despite people doubting her.
After years of climbing the ranks, Jackie became one of just a handful females in the entire United States to be a part of the U.S ski team. But her journey was just getting started.
Only certain members of the team are fully funded, and at the time, Jackie needed to find $25,000 to continue her dreams. She was able to raise the money through sponsorships, including one from her teammate Lindsey Vonn, through the Lindsey Vonn foundation. Also, Jackie’s teammates and her came up with a creative fundraising strategy, and sold “An Under The Suit: Bodies of the Ski Team” calendars in which they posed naked on the mountain.
Jackie’s sport is filled with ups and downs, but she’s always learning from them and eager to keep improving.
In our conversation, we dig into:
-how Jackie qualified for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics just weeks before the event
-why Jackie posed naked on the mountain to assist her in raising the $25,000 needed to pursue her dreams
-becoming the first ambassador to her teammate Lindsey Vonn’s foundation, The Lindsey Vonn Foundation
-how Jackie deals with skiing’s uncontrollable factors such as weather and slope conditions
-Jackie’s specific visualization technique before races
-Competing in World Cups (which are a lot different different than soccer World Cups)”
-how Jackie travels and lives out a suitcase for the majority of the year
-Medicinal mushrooms and why Four Sigmatic Mushroom Tea is one of her favorite products to improve her performance
-what she’s thinking about when she’s bombing down the hill at 70mph
-And a lot more
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Shownotes
:49 Who is Jaqueline Wiles?
4:07 Where did her nickname come from?
5:08 Jackie’s favorite song and music she listens to while skiing.
7:11 Jackie’s childhood skiing days
8:33 What other sports did Jackie play?
9:55 Angry 3 year old Jackie and her goal at age 5 to always ski.
11:27 What speed does Jackie ski at in competittions
12:28 Does fear intensify Jackie’s focus in skiing?
14:23 What does Jackie prepare for in each new terrain?
16:50 How much training is done on slope vs. gym?
18:38 How does Jackie incorporate visualization into her training?
21:38 How is it training for hours for just an 1 1/2 minute race?
24:03 What’s is Jackie’s prerace preparation?
25:33 Jackie’s decision to not attend college
27:57 What age did Jackie not see athletic progress and how did she change that?
20:04 Does Jackie spend more training time on the mountain or in the gym?
30:47 How did Jackie’s new training (Facebook@ BODY by TROY ) change the path to the US Nat’l team?
32:54 Training abroad experience
36:20 Does Jackie enjoy the individual competition or the team experience?
37:17 How important is equipment?
38:53 How does Jackie get back from a bad race experience?
40:17 Does Jackie journal?
42:13 Jackie’s blog http://www.jacquelinewiles.com/blog/
46:38 Jackies naked calendar experience http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/suit-calendar-features-nude-portraits-u-s-ski-team-gallery-1.2921503?pmSlide=1.2921600
51:48 How does US ski team sponsorship work?
53:38 Lindsey Vonn Foundation https://www.lindseyvonnfoundation.org
56:17 Jackie’s morning routine
1:00.09 Has Jackie had a bad spill?
1:01 What’s the biggest misconception about Jackie?
1:02.17 What is one of Jackie’s craziest beliefs?
1:06.47 Does Jackie follow any type of diet?
1:08.26 What does 18 year old self Jackie wish she knew?
1:09.35 Jackie’s favorite failure
1:11.08 Jackie’s favorite accomplishment
1:12.53 Jackie’s one tip for female athletes
Jaqueline Wiles http://www.jacquelinewiles.com
Jaqueline Wiles ski camp http://www.jacquelinewiles.com/skicamp.html
Jackie Wiles instagram https://www.instagram.com/jankylilj/
Resources
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Click HERE to check out Jackie’s Blog
Click HERE to support Jackie and her dreams
Click HERE to follow Jackie on Twitter & HERE to follow her on Instagram
Click HERE to sign-up for Jackie’s 6 day camp at Mt Hood