Teen Vogue

Shawn Johnson is, no joke, one of the most amazing girls I’ve ever spoken to. & talk about driven! At 17, she’s an Olympic gold medal gymnast, a competitor on Dancing With the Stars, & is so down to earth. I was thrilled (& a little starstruck!) when I got the chance to talk to Shawn about her training schedule, lazy day habits, & beauty routine!

1. How did you get started in gymnastics? When I was 3 my parents put me in gymnastics because I was a bundle of energy & they just didn’t know what to do with me! They put me in a Tots class & I fell in love with it.

2. If you weren’t a gymnast, what would you be doing? I used to dance when I was little & I loved that… so I guess I would love to dance. I also did track & I loved it! I’m a very physical person, so it would have be something physical & active.

3. At what point did you know that gymnastics was more than just a casual sport?  Every year I just kept going back to gymnastics, but I didn’t start out training 10 hours a day. When I turned 10 or 11, I got more serious & I focused a lot on making it to the elite level, & from there I just kept going.

4. Who are some of other athletes you really look up to?  I’ve always admired the icons of gymnastics like Mary Lou Retton, & Kim Zmeskal is my favorite! Outside gymnastics, I think Lance Armstrong is amazing & really a true inspiration.

5. Leading up to the Olympics, what was your training schedule like?  I was training Monday through Friday for 4 hours a day because I was still going to public school, & then I trained all day Saturday. Sunday I was supposed to have off but I would go in anyway & do some extra work.

6.  Wait! You were still going to public high school while you were training?!  Yeah! I was still going to school every day. Now I’m doing classes online because I missed so much while I was in Beijing, but even then I was still going to classes every day!

7. Where do you keep your Olympic medals?  I keep them with me wherever I go, they were with me at home in Des Moines. But now they’re out here in L.A. with me. I kind of just travel everywhere with them.

8. What do you want to do on those days when you’re feeling really lazy?  Lay in bed & just sleep. I get less & less sleep these days, so when I have any down time all I want to do is sleep!

9. Is there a snack or c&y treat that you can’t resist? Caramel Ice Cream!!

10. When being lazy isn’t an option, how do you motivate yourself?  I think about my goals. There were a lot of times in gymnastics when I really didn’t want to go in & train, but you can’t make it to the Olympics if you don’t train!

11. What’s a normal day like for you?  Haha! There really isn’t a normal day anymore! Not one day repeats itself. Right now I usually have four to six hours of training for the show, & I’ll do media in the morning. At night I’ll do the fun stuff, like designing my wardrobe for the show with Mark Ballas, my partner.

12. Do you like designing?  For gymnastics I designed all my leotards before training. I would love to design leotards or something on the side, but all of mine I just did for myself, so I don’t know if anybody else would even like them! It is really fun though.

13. What beauty products do you always have in your bag?  Cover Girl Outlast Lipstain! It almost looks like a marker, & I love it because it’s not a lipgloss so it’s not sticky & it really stays on. I don’t have a favorite color because I always have, like, five different ones in my bag! & Secret Clinical Strength Sport, of course, because I’m so active. It’s something a girl should always carry with her. Oh! & the Cover Girl Lashblast mascara is amazing!

14. What’s your makeup & hair routine like before you compete in gymnastics?  & I’ve always wondered… how do you get the sparkles out of your hair & off your skin! Shower, shower, shower! Normally I take two or three showers after every competition, just to get everything off. You can use about a can of hairspray for every competition? It’s insane! Before a competition we all kind of go into a zone. I had this ritual where I always would sit on the bathroom counter & play calming music like Rascal Flatts & put my makeup on because it was so relaxing it helped me feel less nervous.

15. What about on Dancing With The Stars?  They do it for you! It took us 30-40 minutes before a competition to do our own makeup. Here, you’re in hair/makeup for 2-3 hours, & then they put you in your gown & the whole thing takes so much longer!

16. What’s the hardest part of being in the public eye?   How do you deal? The hardest thing really is knowing that every move you make is being watched. & what you think might be right, other people don’t, so you have to learn to not really care what everybody says. It takes a lot of confidence to be in the public eye.

17. Knowing that so many young girls look up to you & admire you, what kind of an image or message do you hope to convey to them?   To do what you love! Gymnastics is what I fell in love with & made me the happiest person ever. It took me to the Olympics & now got me this amazing opportunity. It’s been so much fun & teaches you a lot of important life lessons. Most important thing, I guess, is to stay true to yourself & do it for you, not for anyone else.

18. What do you hope to convey about being strong, or confident with your body?  Of course, there are people who pick & prod at every inch of your body, especially in gymnastics where skinny is better & that super-skinny image is the ideal. But I was never that person! I was the powerful muscular person! & I really don’t care! The main thing is, if you feel comfortable with yourself & confident, you’re going to perform that way. I just don’t care about what people say as long as I feel good!

19. How do you stay so grounded?  It seems as though none of your success has gone to your head at all, how is that possible? I’ve seen other people before me get in to this world & they change, & they’re not be the person who you thought they were. I’ve always wanted to stay the same Shawn Johnson I’ve always been. & I still feel that way: like a small town girl from Des Moines! I don’t get to see my friends as much, because I’m out here, but they still call & text every day & they might be coming out here to visit!

20. What advice do you have for young girls with Olympic goals?  Is there anything you wish someone had told you before you got started down this road? When you start, don’t think about the Olympics. The Olympics come with it. If you have fun & live your life, you’ll get there. If you focus too hard & don’t have fun you’ll burn out really quickly. Just have fun with it & really go for it!

Posted in: Gymnastics, Press, Shawn Johnson |