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When I was young, many people didn't know what figure skating was. Some who knew of it thought of it as dancing on ice. But, as I entered international competitions and got good results, many people got to know more about it and came to cheer for me.

I just try to touch people's hearts in a way through skating, so they're not just witnessing a performance, they're feeling a performance and they're a part of it.

When I go out on the ice, I just think about my skating. I forget it is a competition.

My mother introduced me to many different things, and figure skating was one of them. I just thought that it was magical having to glide across the ice.

Skaters, I think they tend to be outsiders who seek a sense of belonging, but belonging on their own terms, and real respect is given by how much we take what other guys do, these basic tricks, 360 flips, we take that, we make it our own, and then we contribute back to the community the inner way that edifies the community itself.

But I never really thought that I would be extraordinarily successful at skating, it's just something that happened, you know.

I never really like to skate in an empty ice rink; I always need the attention of an audience.