Blades On Ice Magazine Interview - March/April, 2001

Eight-time British Champion Steven Cousins is in his third season touring with Stars on Ice. This  charismatic man has a reputation for being one of the good guys, with his dazzling smile and personable demeanor both and off the ice. International medals were elusive (save for a bronze at Skate Canada behind Kurt Browning in 1993), but Cousins' appeal was never based on hardware. He is a born entertainer, and is taking that talent from the ice to the big screen. Despite a hectic schedule, he graciously met me with his trademark smile, and we sat down in the seats of the Lake Placid rink where compatriot "Robin-no-relation-Cousins"  won his Olympic Gold twenty years before.

BLADES: What is it like skating with Stars on Ice?
Cousins: It's like nothing else, probably the best job in the world. Fantastic crowds everywhere you go. People in the tour are the best at what they do. From the Crew to the choreographers to the lighting rig to the skaters, it's very top notch. Professional throughout and we're spoiled. It's a great show.

BLADES: What are you skating to this year?
Cousins: "Higher" by Creed. It's a rock song. It was Michael (Seibert) and Sandra (Bezic's) idea to have me do something which is pure rock and roll. It's something I've never really done before, and something they wanted in the show. They asked me if I'd look for a piece of music, and I had actually three or four pieces of music with me. They really liked Higher and I really liked it,too, so it stuck.

BLADES: Did Michael or Sandra choreograph?
Cousins: Acutally, Sarah Kawahara choreographed it this year and it was intensely hard. 

BLADES: Have you worked with her before?
Cousins: No, first time, so it was an experience. It was a lot of fun. She's very very gifted.

BLADES: How did you get this job with Stars on Ice?
Cousins: Although I am probably the only person here without a World or Olympic title or a medal of any kind, I think its a testament to the skating I did as an amateur-what it did for the crowd rather than the judges. I always felt like I skated for the crowd first, the judges second, and the medals third. Those were my priorities. Whether they hindered me from winning any World or European medals, I don't really care. The fact that I really enjoyed skating for the crowd is what my skating is all about. I think that because of the uniqueness of Stars on Ice, and the fact that is is working with ensembles, and that the crowd is the main focal point of the show, they thought that I would fit into this mold. It was a honor for me to be asked to do it. In my mind I thought, "If I can do it for a year and get some experience that will be nice." Now it's turning into a regular job, which is more that I could possibly have wished for. It's been great.

BLADES:Do you ever feel claustrophobic on tour?
Cousins: Yes and no. It's a phenomenal group of people, and I feel like it's cliche but they are family. They really love you, and they pick you up when you are down. They've looked after me amazingly. Of course you get on each other's nerves after four months of traveling together, but it's not even as dramatic as a sibling rivarly. It's just you spend that much time with them and you need a little space. And they give it to you and vice versa. I'm sure everyone gets sick of me at some point. No one holds grudges or anything like that. It's just a great group of people, it really is.

BLADES: Are you recognized in the U.S.?
Cousins: I think I'm getting there. When I first did the tour, there was a very mild applause when they did the roll call at the start of the show, and by the end of the show, when the roll call went again, it was 'yeah, yeah, he wasn't that bad. I've seen him, he's great.' And obviously last year was a little bit more recognition when the first show started and then again at the end of the show. I'll be interested to judge their reaction at the start of this show. This is building a brand in the States, and hopefully I'm doing that in the right way.

BLADES: Are you completely Pro?
Cousins: I turned completely pro by competing in the Grand Slam. It was the right time for me to move on because I get so excited performing for crowds in a show stage, and I just felt I did everything I could as an amateur. I skated to the best of my ability in the last year, and I just felt like it was a good time to move on and not worry about judging everyday. This way {as a pro} I get judged by the people, who I love to skate for.

BLADES: Do you think about Salt Lake City Olympics and think, 'I could be there?'
Cousins: Not one little bit. I feel like I want to be there just to soak in the atmosphere, live my memories again. I'd like to go there as a commentator or as an analyst. You know, be a part of the Olympic spirit because I think it is a phenomenal thing. But the chair I will be sitting in will be a lot more comfortable than the ice. So I'm happy I'm not in it.

BLADES: What has been your career hightlight?
Cousins: There's a few defining pieces for me. One was winning back the National title I had lost the year before the (1998) Olympics. I felt like that showed a lot of bottle to come back. The year before, people were saying, "It's the twilight of your career. Maybe you should just quit and forget about it and go onto pastures new." And I thought, "You know what, I know I'm the best here and I have to prove it before I leave." So I really knuckled down and won my title back and got to go to Worlds and Olympics again. I just felt like that was a huge step. I would say that that season was the most gratifying. It was just a test of mettle that whole year. I was really happy with the way it turned out. And of course Minneapolis was very emotional because I figured it would be the last time I did the World Championships, so to be able to skate well there was huge for me."

Daily Telegraph Interview - 12th February 98

Of his participation in the Nagano Games, he said, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think a medal was a possibility. It just depends on who is able to produce the best form on the night."

Steve talked about how he felt about the competition. "I feel good. Before, I put too much emphasis on thinking where I would finish. Mentally I'm far better prepared than I've ever been. I'm far more relaxed and positive, but if I don't win a medal, life still goes on."

Although he trains in Barrie, Ontario, Steven added "I still go home to Connah's Quay and I'll always be British. You never forget where your roots are."

British Skater Feels Canadian (�Globe and Mail, January 4, 2000)

Former champion on the comeback trail after ankle injury sidelines him for a year
By Beverley Smith

Toronto -- Steven Cousins has the best of both worlds. The eight-time British figure-skating champion has adopted Canada as his own. He's lived in this country for six years. And, judging by the receptions he always gets from spectators, Canada has adopted him, too.

While Cousins may go unrecognized at home in Britain, where the popularity of skating has slumped, he's a major skating star in Canada. One of his choreographers has likened the effect that the charismatic Cousins has on female fans to the Beatles.

All that may have ended last summer, when Cousins suffered a serious ankle injury that almost ended his skating career. Cousins was off the ice for four months, and he didn't compete for a year, making his comeback at the Sears Open in Mississauga, Ont. a month ago. He hadn't competed since the Canadian Open in Kitchener, Ont., the previous year.

He's currently touring with Stars on Ice throughout the United States.

While a Canadian competition served as his comeback event, Cousins looked to his roots back home in Britain for inspiration. He was shocked when 1984 Olympic ice-dancing champion Christopher Dean, a fellow Briton, agreed to design his new programs.

But Cousins feels lucky he got a second chance. He broke his right ankle in May while jogging near a castle at his home in Deeside, North Wales. The accident blew every muscle, ligament and tendon in his ankle -- except for the Achilles' tendon. It's still swollen and tender.

"It's getting close to being back to normal again," he said.

It usually takes Cousins about 20 minutes to jog through the hills of the pretty countryside near the castle, then he turns and runs back home again. But it had been raining. He slipped on a board that was partly wet as he was coming down a slope. The twist he put on his ankle "ripped it to shreds," he said.

"I did such a number on it, I didn't think I'd be skating again," he said.

He didn't get back on the ice until Sept. 8. Although he has been touring, the Mississauga competition came almost three months later.

"Being back on the ice is good enough," Cousins said. "It felt great, just to be able to do that level of competition again. It gets the adrenalin flowing."

He even attempted triple Axel combinations again.

But the pinnacle of Cousins's performance was his complicated interpretive routine, with Dean's imaginative stamp on it.

"It was just a phenomenal experience," Cousins said of his sessions with Dean. "I found out lots about skating."
Cousins had been on the same team with Dean and his partner Jayne Torvill at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer. He got to know them better while touring with Stars on Ice in the United States last season. Dean helped him during that tour.

In all, he had five very lengthy sessions with Dean, who is such a perfectionist that they spent one entire session on choreography just to get one five-second section down pat.

"I learned that I actually had edges on my blades," Cousins said laughing. "That was quite a revelation after 21 years of skating. I learned that there was more to skating than jumping. Everything is done with a purpose. Each move has a reason. Nothing is ever wasted."

Cousins didn't do the work with Dean in England. Dean now lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, U.S. champion Jill Trenary, and their son, Jack. Most top-notch British skaters leave home to get the training, inspiration and work they need to survive in the game.

Cousins has many fond ties to Canada. Canadian coach Doug Leigh revived his skating career. After an 18th-place finish at the 1993 world championships, Cousins had been so discouraged that he almost quit. A friend persuaded him to move to Canada to work with Elvis Stojko's coach.

Now Cousins's brother, Paul, has arrived -- he's been coaching at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ont. for about a year. And their parents spend six months of the year in Canada, the other six home in Britain.

Cousins also dates Shae-Lynn Bourne, a seven-time Canadian ice-dancing champion with Victor Kraatz.
Ask Cousins if he considers himself Canadian now, and he quickly replies, "Yes."

So do his fans.

Steven Cousins by Monica Frielander         (�Blades on Ice, 1992)

Take last year's Skate Canada as an example. The event started with an artistic competition, where in spite of his crowd appeal, Cousins could do no better than last on the judges' scorecards. If you think that put a damper on the crowd, then think again.

"After the short program a lot of people came down and gave me flowers," Cousins recalled. "But the second night of the long program there must have been 2,000 people around the sides of the boards waiting to give me flowers. I couldn't believe it. It was the biggest shock of my life. I went off the ice because there was the TV break, and the announcer called me back afterwards. I collected some of the flowers, but there was no way I could collect all of them. The announcer called me back to collect them all. That sticks a lot in my mind. I'll never forget it."

At one point, the four-time British champion may have been content to just enjoy this bonanza of fan adoration. But this year his sights are set on a lot more than flowers from screaming fans. He wants to show the world the serious and competitive side of his personality, something he has worked hard the past few years to develop and refine. His current coach, Alex McGowan, thinks he has a good shot at it this year.

"When he first came to me, he was very inconsistent with his jumps," McGowan said. "I told him if he wanted to make it on the world scene he'd have to become more consistent. He'd have to work on his body positions. That's where most of his progress has been. His consistency has really jumped. Last year, I made him do triple flips in the show. He did about 14 show numbers and landed only about three of them. This year, he's landed every one."

Cousins made his debut on the world scene three years ago when he first won the British nationals, before his 17th birthday. The victory in 1989 came as a surprise, and as a result, was that much sweeter. "I was in fourth place after figures," he remembered. "I didn't do very well in the short program, and in the long program I needed someone from the lower groups to come in-between myself and the guy who was in first. It all happened on that night."

At the time, Cousins was training in England with long-time coach Donna Gately. As he moved up the ranks, he felt he needed a change and decided to try out the mountain resort of Sun Valley, Idaho, under the tutelage of McGowan. The partnership clicked. "He's a good coach and a good motivator," Cousins said of his coach. "There are more aspects to skating than just coaching on ice. He helps me with off-ice training. He always thinks of new things to try off ice that enhance on-ice performance, and he monitors me very well."

At the end of this summer, Cousins left Sun Valley to train with McGowan at his new home, the San Mateo rink in California. Before settling into a place of his own, he found  a hospitable home with Kristi Yamaguchi's family, with whom he has become friends in recent years.

This year Cousins is determined to crack the top ten at Worlds, and with a bit of luck, even earn a medal at Europeans. The major hurdle he still has to overcome is the triple axel, which most world-level contenders have mastered. Cousins has been working on the jump this year, and while it is still giving him some trouble, he hopes to have it in his repertoire later this season.

Jumps aside, the most noticeable progress in Cousins' skating this year is the presentation. In past years, he excelled mostly in fast and jazzy numbers that turn audiences on. In all fairness, his appeal was probably due to his contagious personality as much as to sheer skating quality. Not anymore. This summer one can notice a marked development in Cousins' on-ice expression, polish and overall maturity. Skating to Queen's Who Wants to Live Forever, Cousins gave what was probably the most powerful, emotion-filled performance of his career thus far. A performance that was reminiscent of Victor Petrenko's own rendition of the same number in terms of its intensity, although the choreography is clearly Cousins' own. Part of this development may have come naturally as he matured, but a lot of work went into it as well.

"He worked very hard with his body position with a ballet coach twice a week," McGowan said. "His body is beginning to look a lot more classy. I has him do a lot of dance drills that ice dancers do so his stroke would become smoother and his stretch would be better. I made him do half an hour of dance strokes in winter. His upper body is getting better."

In addition to hard work, McGowan said he believes that much of Cousins' recent progress can be attributed to the fact that he now spends his summers training in Sun Valley, where he skates alongside skating's biggest stars in weekly shows. "The Sun Valley shows have given him  a lot of confidence," McGowan said. "He got to know that people like what he is doing. It's not many amateur skaters who can do a show every week in front of people. It's like a Godsend to him."

Cousins said he also appreciates the attention he gets from heavyweights who skate in the show, such as Brian Orser whom he particularly admires. "Brian is great and he helps me all the time. We spent some time together at the last competitions," Cousins said. They even played golf together. Cousins' favourite past-times are "golf, golf and golf."

Still, when asked what he likes to do best, Cousins kept harping on one thing more than any other - performing for the crowd. That is when his eyes shine, and an impish grin breaks up his previously serious demeanor. Moreover, his rapport with the audience is not limited to his on-ice performance. Cousins loves to mingle with the crowd, sign every autograph and pose for every picture, never giving any indication that the routine ever becomes a burden to him. "I believe it's your duty to do that," he said. "It shouldn't be a chore. As soon as it gets to be a chore I think you should forget about the sport and go on and do something else."

McGowan says he believes that this aspect of Cousins' personality explains his appeal to young people. "He's very friendly, down to earth, and he'll take time to chat with the kids. He won't sneak out the backways. He doesn't have what we call in England "a big head." He's very level-headed and he knows exactly where he is on the world scene," McGowan said.

Although signing autographs may go a long way towards making you popular, it doesn't get you there by itself. So what is his secret? "I have a good rapport with the crowd, heaven knows why," he said. "I guess I'm just lucky. My type of skating appeals to people. It's hard to put your finger on it. It's weird, eh? The crowd likes what I do. I guess it's just luck."

It always comes back to luck. Listen to him and you would believe "luck" is Cousins' middle name. He can hardly think of any aspect of his career that was somehow not touched by that magic wand. "I've been real lucky with my skating. I had a great coach who took me all the way to the national championships and with Alex I've been real lucky. So many people have had problems with coaching, and I've been so lucky. And with people in my life, too - the right people at the right time," he said. Not a bad deal indeed.

And then there is that funny other little piece of luck - sharing a last name with another British skater of some note. Surely after so many years, everyone must know that he and Robin Cousins are not related. No one could possibly ask him that question any more, right?

"Only every other day," Cousins laughed, then added with all the seriousness he could muster, that he has had it with all those inquisitive people who won't understand the simple facts of his family lineage. "So I decided to change my name," he paused a full five seconds for effect. "To Curry."