Brock
“I knew of Keefer, but I hadn’t met him. Well, actually, I had met him briefly a few years earlier at a skate park, but he doesn’t remember.
Basically, we were strangers before Paris.
Both being teenagers, I was moved into his room in the athlete’s village on the last night of the Games. We weren’t allowed to attend the end party, being underage, so we hung out together in our room.
We did the closing ceremony, came back and spent the night just hanging out. We weren’t allowed to leave our rooms. We tried to think of something to do but couldn’t come up with anything, so we just chatted about stuff while listening to the partying downstairs.
He was cool. Straight away we found that we laughed at the same things. It was easy.
The morning after the closing ceremony, most of the countries had left and it felt as if we had the whole athlete village to ourselves. We got some bikes and roamed around the village exploring. We went to the dining hall and ate as much junk food as we could.
It was our farewell.
After that, we were sort of a duo. We flew home together and both being from Melbourne we had the same three flights.
"I think we both recognised that it is kind of cool to have someone our own age who has shared the same, or similar, experiences and has similar ambitions. You can’t talk with many people about the dream of an Olympic medal, you can’t share that with many people. It’s not real for most people.
But we can. We talk about it quite a lot.
We’re both aiming to be there (at the Olympic Games) in 2040. I want to do at least five (Olympics). He says he might have one or two more in him than that.
Keefer flew out to compete in the US and Italy six days after we got home from Paris. Our schedules are always going to be different. But we’ve caught up as much as we can. We try to match up our training schedules at the VIS when we can but it is tricky. We have to find time outside of our sports, really.
Next year we’ll both have our driving licences, and I reckon we’ll be able to coordinate our gym sessions at the VIS. I’m hoping to get my licence in a couple of months. Keefer can get his in May.
I have mixed emotions about Paris. Honestly, it wasn’t part of the plan. The opportunity popped up unexpectedly and to get up and perform in front of 20,000 people, I have to be happy with that. But my routine wasn’t my very best, which has made me hungry.
For Keefer, big crowds aren’t so unusual. Although on the way home, people were coming up to us and recognising us as Olympians and Keefer felt awkward about the attention. I think he secretly enjoyed it but it was as if he didn’t know how.
It’s weird hearing people refer to me as an Olympian. I haven’t got used to it. When I think about having the letters O-L-Y after my name, for life, it’s very cool. It was a bit of a buzz to have people coming up to us and asking for photos and autographs.
We chat most days in one way or another. I think we see each other competing for Australia together for a long time. Same age, starting our Olympic journeys at the same time, similar people. Two journeys in one.”
Keefer
“He says he met me but I don’t remember it.
He got put into my room for the last night, because we are under 18. We could hear the music from the party downstairs. All night. So we chilled, with my other room-mate, the breakdancer Jeff Dunne. We had hung out at the closing ceremony and then flew home together. It was sweet.
We instantly clicked.
Being at the Olympics together was pretty dope. We’re keen to do it again in LA, travel together and hang out.
I didn’t watch a lot of the Olympics when I was growing up. The first one I paid proper attention to was Tokyo, because skating was in it. The whole deal, the O-L-Y letters which come after your name once you become an Olympian, the history, the attention it gets… I didn’t grasp all of that.
But making the team and going to Paris has been life-changing. So few get the opportunity. We’re both different because of Paris, both inspired, and we understand and share that.
My goal is to go to five Olympic Games. It might be pushing it but I’m only 17. I definitely want to make it to Brisbane and, hopefully, there will be a couple after that. By the time of Brisbane, we’ll both be in our mid-20s.
"We both feel Paris was a learning experience. The start of our time. The next one is about bringing home a medal. And we won’t be locked up in our rooms next time.
We compete in action sports and I think there is a mentality that action sports athletes generally have. I’m a bit of a fan of trampolining, too.
We compete in different sports but we’re still athletes competing at a world class level, striving for success. We have the same lifestyle in that sense, and its good to have someone to chat about it all. Someone who knows what it feels like.
We got to Perth on our way home and people were coming up to us, asking for photographs and a chat. I’ve had some of that on the skate tours but it was something else as an Olympian. It was his first experience of that. I think he felt like a bit of a superstar.
It was crazy for him to perform in front of 20,000 people. There was a lot of people there. It would have been crazy for athletes who competed in Tokyo, too, where there were no crowds.
I know my adrenaline was pumping. I loved it.
We got home and we’ve stayed in touch. Most days, actually. We’re both at the VIS.
I’m planning to see if I can adapt some of his sport into my training. Skating involves a lot of spinning, so I’m going to do some trampolining sessions and see if I can improve my aerial awareness for some spins and future tricks I want to try.
Brock is obviously a natural at it, so I’m looking to him to help me improve my aerial awareness. Trampolinists have so much time in the air and their ability to stop, go or hold in the air is something else.
I’d like to have my spins more consistent so that when I try things on the ramp I have that part of my repertoire down pat.
"I’m also going to look at some of the trampolining exercises to get some strength sessions in for my spinning, to make me spin faster. Some of the snowboarders do that. They spin a lot. The VIS is full of possibilities for cross training and learning from other sports.
Outside of our sports, that’s when we really are similar people. When we put aside our sports and just hang out.
Having someone your age, in sport, with the same drive and the same goals is a rare find.
We’ve talked about getting Olympic tattoos. Not the same. I want one that incorporates a skateboard, with the rings sitting on the skateboard. I’m thinking about getting mine on the inside of my lower arm and he is talking about getting one on his back. Near his shoulder blade.
They will be different but we want to get them together. Get them at the same time. We’re going to wait until the end of the year, to think about it a little more, but I think we will.
We got sharpies and drew on one another, designing our tattoos. It’s hard to find something with a trampoline that will work with the (Olympic) rings.”
