“I think a lot of people struggle with this and I’ve talked to a few skaters recently who have stopped skating. I’ve actually reached out to them and be like ‘hey how are you’ because when I stopped skating it was rough, it was really really hard because you define yourself based on your sport. Because like who am I? Oh I’m a figure skater, you define yourself as what you spend the most time doing. Like oh I’m a construction worker, I’m a figure skater, this is who I am? It’s not who you are, it’s what you do. It took me a long time after I stopped skating to realize that figure skating wasn’t who I was, it shaped who I was. Who I am, I’m a driven person with a passion for health and fitness, I’m not just a figure skater but I struggled with that and you lose your identity, you don’t know who you are when you lose your sport. I lost figure skating and I didn’t know who I was and I struggled, but I knew I liked fitness, I liked health, I liked wellness. My mom actually (thank god for her) pushed me to get my personal training certificate so I did that and started working as a personal trainer, working as a kinesiologist rehabbing injuries and now I’m in naturopathic medical school but it was really really hard. Now I’m so happy with where I am but it took me a while to realize I’m not defined by my sport.” – Larissa Van As, Personal Trainer, Former Ice Dancer, Future Naturopathic Doctor. (3/5)
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