Olympic medalist and National champion Jason Brown returns to Vail’s Ice Spectacular

Jason Brown has remained a favorite in men’s skating for well over a decade, in large part due to his passionate artistry, but also because he’s one of the longstanding delightful personalities of skating.

On ice, his every edge and movement emanate artistic mastery.

He brought home a bronze during the 2014 Olympics in the team event and was the National champion in 2015. Since then, he has taken the podium with a silver (2020) and bronze (2018) in the Four Continents, earned four silvers in Nationals in 2024, 2023, 2020 and 2014, and has racked up a number of other medals in international competitions.

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Just as he has paved his own way to the podium through superb artistry and overall skating technique — rather than with a storehouse of quads — he has spent the last two years doing it his way, in terms of both competing and committing to full show tours during the competition season. It’s a feat few international competitors would dare, save for a short, off-season tour or show here and there.

He said the show tours made a big difference in his comfort level in front of audiences — and that was evident at last year’s Vail Ice Spectacular with his stand-out performances, as well as his performances with Stars on Ice and Japan’s Friends on Ice. It also honed skills of dealing with nerves and being creative and expressive on ice — attributes essential to finding success in key competitions.

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He had planned on retiring from competitions after the 2022 Olympics, but the “bug” returned as he performed in front of fans during the post-Olympic tour and then competed in a team event in the Japan Open that October. So, he has continued to pick and choose competitions these last two years, while also balancing show schedules, which prevented him from experiencing a full season of intense competition.

This year, he switched gears, spending this Grand Prix season competing more and putting spring and summer shows on the backburner, in order to gain as much information as he and his coaches could heading into next year — the year before the Winter Games. He has decided to take his coach Tracy Wilson’s advice: She tells skaters that if there is any part of them that still wants to compete, they should keep a foot in the door, because once they leave, most find it difficult to reorient themselves to the training aspect, demanding competition schedule and even motivation.

“As much as I want to say it’s like riding a bike, it is not,” he said about competing more this year in favor of shows. “As frustrating as it’s been, it’s also been really eye-opening.”

For one thing, he had been so busy with shows and competitions he entered in the last two years that he placed Band-Aids on certain issues, such as boots. New boots can be real boogers, as skaters, and even skiers, know. When he got his latest new boots, he didn’t take the time to fix problems.

“At the end of the day, when it got too difficult, I would go back into my old boots. Now, I’ve had the same old boots for 3 ½ years — that’s crazy,” he said, a fact any elite skater at his level would attest to. “I can’t be like: How am I going to make this last for another two years?”

It became now or never: Fix the boot problems now and regularly skate in them, because no skater wants to wrestle with bad boot fits a few months before the Olympics.

He also had to address hip issues by taking time to discover what motions negatively affected his body, what overtraining involves and how much he can push himself. Prior to focusing more on competing again, he could simply avoid elements that bothered him.

And, getting back into the rhythm of the demanding competition schedule was also challenging.

“For the last two years, I prepped for a (competitive) event, and then had two months off,” he said, referring to the difference of show touring versus intensely training for the next competition.

Now, the idea of the upcoming Olympics has shifted from a far-off, daunting four years to less than 14 months.

“Next year is the Olympic season. It happened organically by going on this path in my own way,” he said.

As he continues to follow his own path, he has to figure out how to navigate this upcoming season. But one of the aspects he’s most excited about involves qualifying to compete “at home” for the World Championships, March 25-30 in Boston. It’s only the 14^th time the Worlds have been in the United States since they originated 128 years ago, in 1896. The last Worlds took place on U.S. soil in Boston in 2016.

He admits that he has moments where he questions why he’s continuing to compete after going through so much in his career, but, overall, it’s the love for skating that keeps him coming back.

“I’ve experienced this sport fully — the highs and the lows,” he said. “The ‘why’ for me always goes back to the reason I started this sport, the root: This combination of (love for skating and) that sports teach you so much about yourself — about life lessons and the world and how to deal with life situations. That’s the beating heart of it. That learning curve is never going to go away. There’s always something to learn — a pressure that I have never felt or a challenge.”

He was 19 when he won bronze in the 2014 Olympic team event and took social media by storm with his “Riverdance” program at the 2014 National Championships. Now, as a new generation begins to take the spotlight, he sometimes questions if he still belongs in this sport.

“It’s interesting, because I’ve been that teenager. I’ve been that person coming up in this sport. But it’s a lesson you have to learn whether it’s in skating or out of skating. If you’re gunning for a job, you question: Do I have what it takes, or do I belong (and deserve) to take up this space? There’s always that feeling, no matter what career or path you’re on. You have to learn to cope with that at some point, so why not now, in this sport that I love and in this field that continues to improve me?” he said. “I am a competitive person. I love pushing myself in training as an athlete.”

He also remains dedicated to skating because he loves the expressive, artistic side, in which he can portray various characters and tackle programs that challenge him artistically.

“I love telling new stories, working through different genres and continuing to push the sport in that artistic direction,” he said.

Through his artistry, he also has a larger mission: To remind every kid in the next generation and beyond not to give up too soon.

“There’s so many different paths you can take in this sport. I don’t want kids to worry if they’re struggling with one part,” he said, explaining that if kids struggle technically with jumps, he wants them to know they can still be competitive. “I want them to still push themselves technically but not give up as early as I feel they are. I want them to fight a little bit more and believe in themselves.”

Brown, who has battled with landing quads consistently, paused working on them in the past two years. Though he has started to work on them a bit more now, it’s not his end goal, he said.

“At this point in my career, I’m always trying to push my technical limits, but I’m not as neurotic about it as I used to be,” he said.

In addition to the profound and lasting artistry, passion and overall friendliness to media, strangers and fellow skaters he has extended throughout the years, he has spent a decade as a global ambassador for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). After every competition, he donates stuffed animals thrown to him on the ice. He has visited children and their families in more than 30 homes throughout the U.S., Japan and South Korea and has said that the kids’ courage and determination inspires him.

He just set a goal to volunteer at 26 RMHC programs throughout the world before the 2026 Olympics, in an effort to highlight RMHC’s services.

“I want to show you can make a difference along the way by highlighting different programs the Ronald McDonald charity has,” he said, providing such examples as volunteering or donating money. “Family is so important to me, and the fact that skating takes me all over the world, I wanted to pay it forward (in a way) where audiences felt that they were impacting their own community. … I’m in awe of what this organization does.”

Whether it’s on ice or off, Brown’s authenticity and warmth shine through. He performed in Vail in 2013, and then it took another 10 years for him to return. This marks his second consecutive appearance in Vail Ice Spectacular.

“I cannot wait to go back. The cast is unbelievable,” he said. “Eddie does such a great job putting on this show.”

You can take part in a meet-and-greet after the shows by purchasing an additional ticket; it’s well worth the price, just to feel Brown’s — and the other skaters’ — warmth and enthusiasm.