“No matter what adversities come your way, work hard. Many times we have to learn to fight and not give up, in order to achieve our goals”, said Donovan Carrillo
He became trendy when he participated in the 2018 World Figure Skating Championship Final in Milan, Italy, performing a Juan Gabriel song. From there he conquered us with his grace and charisma, but what is behind his talent and how does he make him shine on the track? He tells you everything.
By Karina M. Soto
It was incredible to meet him, to take this photo session with him and for him to confirm that, with determination, discipline and a lot of practice, dreams can be achieved. This figure skater defines success for us as the possibility of doing what you like and excelling at it. At only 21 years old and with very clear goals, Donovan Carrillo, a boy originally from Jalisco, Mexico, is ready to succeed big…
Donovan Carrillo: what lies behind his talent and his secrets to shine in the pusa
How have you been, how did the quarantine affect you?
It was a very drastic change for all of us, I think we were not ready, we did not think of living something like this, but now that it is our turn, there is nothing left to do but adapt to this new normality, do our bit and prevent the spread of the virus. . I was at home, I dedicated my time to my training and my physical preparation, I had to train with what I had at hand.
You played several sports before falling in love with figure skating. What did this discipline give you that other sports did not offer you?
I was in gymnastics, diving, ballet. But I have never felt as identified with a sport as I have felt with skating. Although I started skating by accident and without high expectations, really as a hobby, little by little it became my passion. Every time I practiced it, I liked it more. This helped a lot for me to leave other sports and focus on skating one hundred percent.
Did your sister influence as a source of inspiration?
Yes, totally. I started skating by chance, it wasn’t that I said “I want to skate”, it was because my sister Daphne practiced it and when my parents took her to their training sessions, I had to accompany them and see her doing her jumps, her turns. At that time I practiced gymnastics and diving, I did “cart wheels”, she did handstands, some mortals while she waited for her. On one occasion, I had to go to the ice rink and I met a girl, with whom I fell in love (laughs) and for this reason I convinced my parents to put me in skating classes, to be with her. Right at that moment they told me that, who was my sister’s coach, he had been interested in me, because he saw some skills that could help me grow as an ice skater.
You had to stop going to parties and stop eating hamburgers, hasn’t that been difficult?
As in everything, you have to say “no” to some things. I think sometimes it’s more worth saying “I’m competing, I’m doing what I like, I’m enjoying skating” than going to a party. The truth is that seeing good results and what I am achieving year after year, makes the love of what you do, which in my case is skating, have more weight than the sacrifice.
How do you recover from a fall? Because sometimes not everything is perfect. What is your philosophy when things don’t go so well?
Knowing how to get up after a fall is important. Anyone at some point in their life suffers a problem, a defeat or a loss, and this is a lesson, because not everything is always perfect, there are falls that are inevitable, but you must get up and move forward. For me, what I try to do is live in the moment and try to forget what happened and focus on the present, on what I’m doing, so that the errors are corrected and fight for the program to get it out one hundred percent in the extent possible.
What is the most exciting thing that has happened to you on the track? That thing you remember and makes your skin crawl.
When I fell for the first time doing the “triple Axel”, I had to face a very big mental barrier that I managed to face and overcome. That jump is one of the most complex in my discipline and one that few skaters manage to do. This mental part played against me a lot, I doubted if I was really capable of doing it or not. But well, despite everything I tried and it didn’t work out, it was a long process. The first thing I had to do was work on my mind, that is, believe that I could do it. Many times you can have all the abilities, talent, effort, time, age… but if you don’t believe it, it will hardly happen
Tell us something super funny that happened to you, a “swallow me dirt” on the track…
When I started in my sport, I didn’t speak any English. Until now I have learned it by traveling, taking classes in the last few years, but previously I did not speak anything. I arrived at my second international competition, which was in Ostrava, in the Czech Republic, and there were people from the press who found it very strange that a Mexican skater reached that competition, they were very surprised. At that moment I felt very happy that they had asked me for an interview, but when they started to ask me the questions, I didn’t understand anything… it was a moment of “swallow me earth”. Fortunately I was with a girl, who at that time competed for Mexico and she was helping me translate the questions, but without a doubt it was a bit of an embarrassing moment.
And what is the best advice you have been given, that you apply best in your personal life and also in your discipline?
That whatever I do, I must always do it well and with enthusiasm, no matter how tired you are, you have to do what you have to do and do your best, because there are going to be good days and bad days. But bad days can sometimes add more to your goal than good days. So, if you manage to do what it costs you on a bad day, you will be able to do it without problems on a good day.
You also managed to stand out for the music you have performed. How did you come to the conclusion of using these themes of Mexican culture?
I have always liked skating Mexican music. In recent years I have chosen to skate songs by Juan Gabriel and they have been very well received, not only by the Mexican public, but also abroad. When it was my turn to compete in Japan, I was amazed at how people stood up from their seats and clapped to the beat of the music. I felt that connection, even though no one understood the lyrics of the song, you could enjoy and feel that bond, while I was doing my presentation. Later I chose a song in Spanish, but a little different from what I had done, because I have always liked to have new challenges. So, for this season, I decided to venture with a song by Carlos Rivera and Daniel Boaventura that is in English and Spanish so that the audience can understand a little more about what the lyrics are about.
What fills me with the most pride when you are competing at an international level?
Seeing my flag, that reminds me of my home, my people and inspires me to make one of the best presentations, hoping that someone in Mexico is watching my routine and that my presentation can inspire or motivate them, so that the youngest see that it is possible and that, as Mexicans, we can even stand out in winter sports.
How would you like to be remembered in sport?
Beyond as an “athlete”, I would like to be remembered as someone who broke many barriers in society. Previously, many men refrained from practicing artistic disciplines, for fear of what they will say or because they are thought to be exclusive to women. So I would like to contribute there, breaking those paradigms and showing that men can also do artistic disciplines, just as women can do combat systems or disciplines of any kind.
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