When most skating fans think of Jason Brown, they most likely think of one shining moment in a plethora of career highlights – Brown's 2014 U.S. men's free skate to "Reel Around the Sun" from
Riverdance, a captivating performance, which made him an internet sensation with over 4 million hits on YouTube, and earned him the silver medal and a spot on the 2014 Olympic team. The performance was so impressive and honored the spirit of the music so well that
Riverdance composer Bill Whelen reportedly sent a Facebook note of thanks and congratulations after the masterful performance.
The next year, Brown would earn the 2015 U.S. men's title, skating to the dramatic "Tristan & Iseult" by Maxime Rodriguez.
Brown realizes that while these performances,
Riverdance in particular, have tended to define him over the past several years, he feels good about other accomplishments while looking forward to more positive experiences in the future.
"I think the little bench-markers along the way were so huge: starting to compete internationally, medaling at my first Junior Grand Prix, winning the Junior Grand Prix Final (in 2012) and medaling at World Juniors twice was really exciting," Brown said. "I really loved being at the Olympics and winning that U.S. title in 2015 in Greensboro and competing at Worlds. There were a lot of highlights along the way that I'm really proud of, and I'm looking forward to more."
Part of his quest for more involved a move to Toronto in June 2018 to train alongside other elite skaters with the coaching team of Brian Orser, Tracey Wilson and Karen Preston. While it was, as he said, a "big change," Brown notes that the change has helped him grow as a skater.
"I think probably the biggest change is that I'm around some of the greatest athletes in the sport; I train alongside skaters like Evgenia Medvedeva and Yuzuru Hanyu," Brown said. "I'm in such a high-level training environment which is new for me, and it's kind of [like switching from] being a big fish in a small pond to being a small fish in a big pond and it's very motivating."
Last season was Brown's first with his new coaching team, and he earned solid results in his competitions, including a silver at the 2018 Internationaux de France, gold at 2018 Golden Spin and bronze at the 2019 U.S. Championships. Going into last season, Brown tried to remain realistic, but positive.
"I kind of had this mentality of, 'We'll see how it goes.' You know, they (Brown's new coaches) were changing a lot of the technique that I was doing, and I got off to a pretty late start.. Then things just started clicking."
Another highlight was Brown's second-place finish in the short program at 2019 World Championships.
"I think if you asked me at the beginning of the season and told me how the last season would go, I would have been thrilled. I think those expectations and what I thought I was capable of started to change mid-season," Brown explained. "I do think I expected more of myself by the end of the year because I knew I could have done better. I think even being second at World Championships in the short program was another huge highlight that shows what I'm capable of."
Overall, Brown considers his performances and results last season to be triumphs and hopes to harness that momentum into an even better season this year.
"As a whole, I'm really proud of the way that I kind of dealt with all the change and the adversity last year, especially coming back after the 2017-18 season being so rocky," said Brown. "I'm putting that behind me, putting my best foot forward and being open to whatever is up ahead."
What is up ahead immediately is 2019 Skate America presented by American Cruise Lines in Las Vegas, Nevada, Brown's first competition of the season. It will also be his first Skate America since 2016 when he won the silver medal at the event.
"I love Skate America because I actually competed there my first four years on the Grand Prix circuit," he said. "I am so thrilled to be going back; it's such an awesome event and I love competing internationally at home in front of a home crowd. I have also never been to Las Vegas and am excited about exploring a new place in the U.S."
Brown is looking forward to debuting two new programs this season: a short program to Kaleo's "I Can't Go On Without You," choreographed by Rohene Ward, and a free skate choreographed by David Wilson to music from the 1993 drama
Schindler's List.
"The short program is very sultry and fun and has a good beat," he said. "I like the darker, cool undertone to the program; I just absolutely love it. I think it shows off a little bit of my personality and I hope that the audience really gets into it and enjoys it as well.
"
Schindler's List is a piece of music I've always wanted to skate to. I'm really excited that I'm doing it this year and it's very powerful, emotional, strong and captivating, but also dark, and I just really hope to pull the audience in and take them on a bit of an emotional journey. I love that program and I'm just so eager to get out in front of an audience."
Indeed, what sets Brown apart from many other skaters is his seemingly effortless ability to connect with an audience and perform difficult programs, jumps and spins while making it look easy and fun. In the 2014
Riverdance performance, for example, he pulled off the most difficult choreography he had executed to date, punctuated with triple jumps and incredible spins showcasing Brown's flexibility and spinning ability, as well as the energetic footwork sequence which earned enthusiastic applause. The program culminated with a standing ovation, and just like that, Brown became a skater to watch.
With new programs, his new training location and coaches, and with everything coming together, Brown has set high expectations for himself this season.
"I think my biggest goals are coming in the second half of the season," he said. "I really want to be on that podium at U.S. Championships and be selected for the World team. I think it's funny for me to set goals that I have started, because I know what I am capable of, so there is for me a little bit of unknown."
When he isn't training three hours per day on ice and the same amount of time off-ice, Brown is busy pursuing his communications degree at the University of Colorado and exploring Toronto. Brown also enjoys giving back however he can, whether it's donating his stuffed animals from competitions to local hospitals and charities or encouraging other young skaters. While the young skaters no doubt draw inspiration from him, Brown feels inspired by their joy and passion for skating — qualities he exudes on the ice himself.
"It really is just a pure love of the sport, and that is something that when I get an opportunity to skate on a session with any of the younger kids, that's what I take away from them. I hope they know how special that is and how incredible it is to see when someone is so passionate about the sport — it's incredible to watch."
Brown looks forward now to Skate America, where he will showcase his love of the sport and start his season competing for a U.S. audience.
"I think there's a lot of exciting unknowns that I'm looking forward to and getting out there and performing, and it's really special to be competing at home."
