As we're all enjoying our favorite teams and sports that are taking place at Paris 2024, we have a series of interviews with Olympians that are in this issue that we participated in when we were within the 100 days of the games. We're kicking it off with 2X Team USA Olympics Gymnastics, Jordan Chiles (G1, S1) who competed in Tokyo 2020 and is competing in Paris alongside her teammates Simone Biles (G5, S1, B2), Suni Lee (G2, S1, B1), Jade Carey (G2), and Hezly Rivera (G1), known as The Golden Girls! They have already won a Gold medal from the Paris 2024 games!
We sat down with Jordan to talk about the sport, becoming an Olympian, how much she is looking forward to this year's Summer Games which will have an audience in attendance as well as being able to meet other athletes, and how she maintains self-care! We have enjoyed seeing her floor routines which mix Hip-Hop, Beyoncé, and more. She also has fans that include Megan Thee Stallion, 2X Gold Medalist + 6X NBA Champion Michael Jordan, and Queen Bee herself, Beyoncé.
ATHLEISURE MAG: We have enjoyed seeing you do and it’s great to chat with you!
JORDAN CHILES: Thank you so much for having me! I love opportunities like this and to have the ability to be able to speak with you about my goals and everything like that, this should be fun!
AM: What’s your earliest gymnastics memory that made you love this sport?
JC: I would probably say that I was around 9 or 10 years old and I had really bad ADHD when I was younger. So I always say that gymnastics saved me because I was able to get all of my energy out before I realized that I had a gift and talent and that I would be able to go somewhere with it. I just thought that it was all fun and games so I really just wanted to be able to take that energy to the next level around 9/10/11 years old so it was pretty cool to just take off and to see what else I could do.
AM: I love that!
Everyone has their specialty in the sport, what do you feel are your areas of things that you love to do?
JC: I kind of just love my sport in general. I don’t have a specialty in what I do. I’m just known as the hype woman a lot as people say! I give a lot of energy to the crowd and to my teammates. I just think that being a leader as well and kind of knowing and understanding each and every aspect of what it is to be an athlete – mentally, physically, and so I can say that it’s about me being myself and being authentic to who I am.
AM: You have been on the Women’s US National Gymnastic Team since 2013, what does it mean to you that you have represented your country from the Olympics to World Championships, NCAA Championships with UCLA, and just owning all of the spaces?
JC: Man, it’s been crazy! I can say knowing that I have been on the National Team since I was 12 years old it’s been a whirlwind, a crazy ride, it’s been up and down – the road wasn’t straight or smooth. It was very bumpy and curvy, but I am really proud to say that I represent Team USA and just being able to help the country understand that our sport is such a unique and different thing than it is to other sports in that it’s hard work, it’s dedication, and it’s a simplicity thing to who you want to be. I think that it’s pretty cool. I can say that representing Team USA wearing Red, White, and Blue and always having it wherever I go on my back is definitely something that I cherish for sure!
AM: I have always enjoyed watching your routines and I have literally had tears in my eyes just watching you perform. Whether it’s you in UCLA incorporating Hip-Hop, Beyoncé and all of these different things – what goes into creating these performances and obviously deciding the elements that are involved as well as the music and all of that?
JC: So when it comes to my floor routine, the first one that I had, I was really little and it was Michael Jackson and I did a tribute to him. I think that it’s really about the culture and the music and how pop culture has kind of changed the atmosphere into what it means to putting your own touch and taste to it – your own piece – like your cherry on top you know? It’s like you have this awesome sundae and you want to put that cherry on top to show who you are! So, when it came to my music, obviously I just want to be able to not only get the crowd involved, but also to take it back for them. Because they are watching and if they hear something that they’re like, “oh my gosh, I remember when I was in high school listening to this song,” that is what I do, whether it is Beyoncé, the 90s, taking it back to the Michael Jackson days, or even bring in superheroes! I’ve done that too! It’s pretty cool to put my own touch into everything.
AM: When you competed at the Summer Games in Tokyo and you came home with a medal, did you always imagine that you would be on that stage?
JC: I always imagined that I would be an Olympian for sure and go to the Olympics, but I didn’t believe whatsoever that it would be in Gymnastics! Back in 2008, I told my mom when we were watching the Olympic Games, “you know what? One day I want to go to the Olympics!” Back then, I didn’t know what sport I was doing, I was young. So, knowing that it was for Gymnastics and I was able to bring home a medal, being there in that position and being on that stage – not a lot of people get to experience that and I am beyond proud of myself for sure. I can just say that the little me would be very proud and to be able to continue on with something that I have always dreamed of.
AM: What are the challenges of being an Olympic Gymnast and what does an average day or week look like when you’re training and preparing for the upcoming Summer Games?
JC: Obviously, it’s a little different. My first Olympic Games, I was really a nobody! Knowing that I am going into this 2nd Olympic cycle with an Olympics under my belt, it’s different for sure! But, I am still doing everything that I was doing just like it would be my first. I have been taking it day by day and month by month. As we’re talking right now, we are under 100 days away! Knowing that makes me just like ahh – oh my gosh this is so crazy and I’m doing this all over again, but it definitely is a mental game and for someone like me who's kind of already been through it, I know what to do, but for others that maybe this is their first time trying out for the Olympics, just take this moment as this will always be something that you will be able to cherish. Just take it piece by piece, remember your why, and that’s how I always think of it every step of the way.
AM: With it being less than 100 days to Paris 2024, what does it look like in terms of your schedule for qualifying and other things on the Road to the Olympics.
JC: Knowing that we’re just a few days away as I will say it like that because it just sounds more reasonable! Right?
AM: Right!
JC: We have a competition this week which starts off with the Core Classics. Our season actually started at the beginning of Jan, but unfortunately, I was unable to compete due to a shoulder injury that I had. So this meet that is coming up this weekend is my first meet that will put me on the platform to show people where I am at, what I am doing, and to give our head people an understanding of where – if I am picked – where I can be on the team. Obviously, 2 weeks after that, we have Championships which is a really big meet as well and then about 2 and a half weeks after that, we have Olympic Trials. That will be where they pick the Olympic Team and the Olympic Alternates. It’s definitely a fast cycle for us. We are one of the last Team USA sports that do – besides Track & Field, that we are the last to find out who gets to go!
AM: Yeah, we’ve been watching other sports on Team USA that are already confirmed and we keep checking for you guys to see when those announcements will be.
JC: Yeah, us and Track & Field, we’re always the last to figure out what the team is. But I feel that that is the coolest part of it because it’s like, “ooo who is it going to be?” It’s also motivating to see other people that have already made it so it pushes you to think that you want to make it so that you can meet some of the other people who will also be there as well! It’s a great process and I think that the qualifying part is the biggest that you will ever experience.
AM: In terms of Paris, what are you looking forward to?
JC: Well, knowing that I have been to Paris already a few times, I still think that every single time that I get off the plane, it’s just beautiful. I love being out there! The culture, the atmosphere, the designers, everything fashion – it’s just amazing! I think that the biggest thing is just enjoying and having an Olympic Games that will be normal. In Tokyo there was COVID and we didn’t get to do a lot and just to be able to go around the Olympic Village with people and being able to have an audience and to enjoy the Olympic experience. So I am truly looking forward to that! Also being able to get to meet people we didn’t do that last time. I hope that I will be able to meet a basketball player or a volleyball player, golf or whatever it is and to be able to experience that!
AM: With that time being so close, you have partnered with Bliss. What is the synergy between you and the brand?
JC: So Bliss felt very natural to me. It felt like it fit in with who I am trying to be and especially with their commitment to self-care which is a very key thing to me whether it’s in your skincare, your beauty, taking a nap you know? Having the ability to just embrace who you are and with their Lemon Sage Body Butter, it’s definitely a game changer for sure. I feel very confident, elegant, and smooth who I am. It’s just a nourishment for sure and being able to have Bliss as a partner within my daily routine, makes me feel like a brand new person every single time!
AM: I have to say that I am a long time fan of this scent and that product and you get that luxury feeling when you put it on.
In terms of self-care, what do you do? I know that you’re always traveling and you have a schedule so what do you do to take that time so you have moments for yourself?
JC: A lot of times when it comes to self-care, it does come to beauty and you want to take that time to feel as beautiful as possible because you know that this world is very crucial and it does take a whirlwind on you. Within my self-care, I like to take time to myself. It could be sitting in my room and drawing, whether I’m looking at a Netflix show and binge watching and just being by myself because I am around a lot of people 24/7 so sometimes taking that sound and putting it away helps a lot. I take naps! I take naps all of the time! If you don’t know where I went, and you don’t see me at all – it’s because I’m asleep in my room napping. That’s how I do self-care for myself or sometimes I go shopping. Retail therapy is the best!
AM: How do you keep your skin looking and feeling hydrated especially when you think about travel, doing all of the movements when you have perspiration and the chalk you use? Looking at your skin right now, obviously you’ve got it down as your skin is glowing and it looks beautiful.
JC: Oh thank you! With the hydration part, I do a lot of intake of water because as a gymnast, we sweat a lot. I mean I’m not really a sweater but when it does come to working out, always grinding, we lose a lot of salt so, that does make our skin very dry and brittle. Also the magnesium we’re around in our chalk, it takes moisture out. So because of all of that, I drink a lot of water and I make sure that I am always moisturized no matter where I go! So whether it’s a lotion or a scrub or whatever it is, even for my lips, I keep everything hydrated because I am always in chalk! I don’t like chalk already because it’s nasty so that hydration, it really comes in to make you feel good. I wake up every morning, I wash my face, I do my whole skincare and if I forget to put my moisturizer on, oh I go crazy! I’m like my face is going to fall off! So I make sure that I am taking everything in for sure!
AM: Are there any kind of projects that you have that we should keep an eye out for as obviously you have an amazing schedule coming up and we can’t wait to see that! But is there anything else that we should know about?
JC: I can say that there is this one thing that is coming into play and I can’t really say a lot without saying a lot! It’s definitely going to give a perspective on when you feel you have done so much in your life that you can help others so I will leave it with that! So just keep an eye out on it and I feel that a lot of people will be able to take a lot from it. They will understand what it is like to be an athlete and to be someone that is more than just an athlete!
AM: What do you want your legacy to be whether it’s in the sport or outside of it? As you just stated it’s not just about being an athlete, it’s more than that.
JC: I think the legacy would be more so that I was always having fun, I always - I don’t like to say this, but I wasn’t always a rule follower. I always did things outside of the box and just enjoyed being the person that I was, being authentic to who I am as a person, and knowing that there is only one you and that nobody can change that. I think that the legacy is who you are, what you want to do in your life, and how can you control that within yourself!
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 66 Team USA Facebook | PG 71 + 9PLAYLIST PG 76 Team USA | PG 74 Bliss | PG 78 + 63MIX ROUTIN3S PG 80 Jordan Chiles |
Read the JUL ISSUE #103 of Athleisure Mag and see TRUE JORDAN | Jordan Chiles in mag.
