Brendan Corey Interview
It's time to return to the sport of short track speed skating today as we speak with Australian skater Brendan Corey about his recent experiences at the Olympics and everything else about his amazing career! We find out from Brendan just how he got into the sport and how it was growing up in Canada when it came to going through the ranks in short track. We also learn about just what brought him to Australia to compete and how it was wearing the green and gold rather than the red and white. We also find out about his time in Beijing, how he nearly missed the Opening Ceremony and had to get the help of some of his teammates to make it happen as well as just why a certain iconic Canadian-born Australian Winter Olympian might spur him on to golden glory in Milan in 2026. It's an entertaining interview that will make your day better, so listen in and enjoy!
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Please note this is an automated transcript that may contain errors.
BEN WATERWORTH: It is Off The Podium, An Olympics Podcast coming to you again today for another great interview. We are speaking to Australian Olympic short track speed skater Brendan Corey competed at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in the 500 and the 1000. And this is a great chat with Brendan, goes into a lot of detail about how he got into the sport, growing up in Canada, why he came and competed for Australia instead of Canada at the Olympics, as well as how he got poached by a great Australian short track speed skater. And just everything else in between, this is a really interesting chat learning a lot about Brendan. Also learning a lot about the training in short track speed skating, which we always love to talk about too, the strategy, his experiences in Beijing, as well as learning about how he went to the opening ceremony, but very much nearly missed it. And also his love of another sport, which excites me, which is always a good thing, because apparently it becomes about me in these interviews. And that's apparently how I like it. Even though we know you don't like it. But anyway, not about me for once. Let's hear our chat with Brendan Corey, Australian Olympic short track speed skater.
BEN WATERWORTH: Very excited to be able to welcome our next guest to the show, recently competed in the Beijing Olympics, in the great sport of short track speed skating, a sport that, as many Australians know, have a bit of a decorated history, and it's some famous moments. Did very well in those Olympics. His first time has also recently just competed in the World Championships. And I'm very intrigued to learn a whole lot more about his journey through the sport, and also his journey from one country, which is very closely related to this show, to another country that is very closely related to this show. I do of course speak of the one, the only Mr. Brendan Corey, and he's with me right now. Brendan, first of all, welcome to Off The Podium. It's a pleasure to have you on the show today.
BRENDAN COREY: G'day.
BEN WATERWORTH: I like that. I was going to say like we can get like some sort of Canadian crossover, like a G'day-A, but I don't know if that really works. That's a weird sentence. I don't think I should have said it, but yeah, that kind of works that way. But it's exciting to have you here, Brendan. We actually had Stephen Bradbury on a couple of weeks ago to talk about his career, and obviously many Australians listening or watching to this single short track, the thing of Stephen Bradbury. But obviously, your journey is a little bit different growing up, being born in Canada, New Brunswick, to be precise, which is where we're talking to you tonight from as well. So I'd love to learn, how do you get involved in short track? Because I can imagine maybe a bit more common to get involved in short track in Canada than it is maybe for Australians.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, maybe. I don't know about that. Well, when I was a young kid, I was in hockey. My dad was a hockey player growing up. So he put me in the hockey program here. And then after a couple of years of hockey, I just decided I don't care where the puck is. I just want to skate fast. So that's when we found short track and loved it ever since.
BEN WATERWORTH: Perfect, which it's kind of always interesting, I think, when it comes to the disciplines of obviously speeds, getting long track, short track. I mean, is short track, I guess, something that a lot more say hockey players, if they had that opinion, like, I just want to skate fast. It's something that's easier to transition to than long track because you're on sort of maybe a similar size rink as opposed to a long track, which I can imagine is almost a little bit different to short track, right? And I don't know if hockey players would really go into long track.
BRENDAN COREY: Well, I guess the reason that it's more accessible is because there's not many long track rinks in the world. It's much easier to do pick up short track because all you need is a hockey rink. So the number of hockey rinks to long track rinks is quite a lopsided number. But yeah, and to me, I like just the speed of the tight corners in short track. So that's really what intrigued me with the sport and why I keep doing it. And just the tight corners, just being so close to the other racers and just duking it out on the track.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which it gets a bit physical too, like short track is kind of not necessarily like hockey, but I mean, you're not really pushing people away in long track unless it's the best start, right? And that's only kind of new. So I mean, you've got a bit of that competitiveness, as you're saying there, as opposed to the long track.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, I'd say short track is one of the most physical non-contact sports there are out there.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's a great way of describing it, the physical non-contact, which so what age were we talking? So sort of, you know, when you're starting in hockey and you decide to make that transition to short track, how old were you when that happened?
BRENDAN COREY: I was eight years old when I decided to make the switch to short track. And I just found one of the local clubs here in New Brunswick. I grew up in Fredericton, so that was the club where everything started for me.
BEN WATERWORTH: Great. And was it a scene in terms of, if you're getting into short track in Canada, is New Brunswick a known province for short track? Or was it sort of one of the more smaller ones where maybe there's not as many skaters as there are in some of the larger or more populated provinces?
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, well, short track is definitely more popular in Quebec and even Ontario, just because there's more people in those provinces. So just by that fact alone, you're going to have more people involved. I'd say provincially, at least when I was growing up, New Brunswick always seemed to fare quite well. So we had a good provincial program for being such a small province. And then I learned basically all the basics growing up at the local club here. And I skated with them all throughout grade school and secondary school, or high school, as they call it in Canada. So yeah. And then once I got a little older, I moved to Montreal to skate with some of the top skaters in Canada.
BEN WATERWORTH: Went from there, which it's fascinating because I can imagine at that period as well that Canada, if I'm not mistaken, based on when you were born and your age and everything along those lines, obviously the Vancouver Olympics were sort of, I guess, around that period coming in there as well. So was there a lot more interest in sort of these Olympic sports? And I mean, obviously Canada is a very big winter sports nation, but something like short track, was it taking on something a little bit different, whether the participation, the competitiveness, things were a little bit different to say maybe now when you're not really preparing for a home Olympics as such?
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, well, the Vancouver Olympics was really my first big exposure to watching short track at the highest level. So, yeah, it really got me even more intrigued and inspired me to become the athlete I am today.
BEN WATERWORTH: Great, because it takes over a whole country, obviously, when an Olympics is in your home country. I mean, I've talked a lot on this show about I was 13 when Sydney was on, and whether you like the Olympics or not, like the whole country just goes absolutely crazy for the Olympics. And I can imagine that obviously Canada was in the grips of that too. So and particularly if you're in a sport, as you said, kind of like that's what you're doing. So was that then when like a light went off in your head that I want to do this? I want to go to an Olympics one day?
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, I mean, it was always in the back of my mind, but growing up, I wasn't certain that I, you know, I'd ever get to that level. Really, I just kept pursuing it, and I kept improving every year.
BEN WATERWORTH: So, yeah, kind of kept going along that way, too. What was your dad's reaction when you said, hey, dad, don't want to do hockey anymore. I just want to skate fast. Like, was he supportive of his life? No, no, no, no, don't be stupid. You're going to keep playing hockey.
BRENDAN COREY: Well, yeah, he was a little bit upset at first, but I mean, my heart wasn't in the hockey. So, yeah, my parents are very supportive of my speed skating career. Fantastic. Yeah, been really supportive of me. And I couldn't have done it without their support.
BEN WATERWORTH: Great, great. Got to ask a question as a hockey player starting in New Brunswick. What's the general team that people go for? Are you close to Montreal? So you straight away a Habs fan or like, does it depend on your parents? I mean, like, how does that work? Who do you go for?
BRENDAN COREY: I would not consider myself a hockey fan. I don't really follow the sport all that closely. I mean, I enjoy watching a live game, but I wouldn't do more than that. I don't have a team. I don't watch, go out of my way to watch it on TV or anything like that.
BEN WATERWORTH: And that's why you came to Australia. You got deported. That's what you're saying.
BRENDAN COREY: You can't not like hockey. You can't go to Australia.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's how it works. Which is there, I mean, you say, you know, you like the skating fast aspect of it. When you transition and you take up the sport seriously, besides the obvious I can think of, you don't have a stick anymore, you don't have to chase after a puck, you're skating fast. What are some of the biggest challenges that you then find from that transition, and did you find it challenging from going from hockey into speed skating?
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, well, honestly, I was so young that there wasn't really much of a transition phase to me. I was basically still learning to skate when I was in my hockey years. It was just go out and skate around on the hockey rink with the stick and a puck versus speed skating, skating around in the circle. So my first year I was speed skating, I was still skating in hockey skates in a caged helmet. At that age, it's a pretty easy transition.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which I guess that makes it easier then. So when you're going through that, and you get to a point where you forget playing hockey, but it's more your life has then been on the skating point. It's like, oh yeah, I used to play hockey, I remember that. Exactly.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, I didn't get quite advanced enough with the hockey to forget those skills because I never really learned any hockey skills really.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which then, were you playing other sports at the same time? So like, was it just hockey and then skating and nothing?
BRENDAN COREY: Oh yeah, growing up, I did quite a lot of sports growing up. Throughout grade school, I did some basketball, some track and field. I even did wrestling for one year in high school, so I tried a lot of various different sports, and short track was the one I always kept going back to.
BEN WATERWORTH: All Olympic sports too, Brendan, I'm seeing there as well. So it's kind of like testing the waters when it came to that.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, exactly.
BEN WATERWORTH: How then does it work in Canada when you're going through the ranks? So, you know, is that a case of things like provincial championships? I mean, you say you moved to Montreal, so then like you have like a club, or then like just how do you sort of race through the ranks that you get from point A to going to a junior world championships or a Canadian championship, things like that. How does a progression system work with that?
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, so just when I was really young growing up, we just travelled to provincial competitions within the province, getting to skate with other skaters my age in New Brunswick and some of the other maritime provinces would come over as well. You know, Nova Scotia, PEI, those countries would come over because it's close. So they would come over to Brunswick to skate with us. And then as I started getting older in high school, then I started going to Canadian junior competitions. And so every province has to qualify for that. So within their province, they do their own provincial championships first to decide who they're going to send to the Canadian championships. And then from there, the Canadian championships, they decide their junior teams and senior teams. So that's kind of how I transitioned that way. I just slowly move up through the ranks of competitions.
BEN WATERWORTH: And as you're going through those ranks, I mean, obviously, your mother's got those ties to Australia and will get sort of how that led to you representing Australia at an Olympics and not Canada. But are you envisioning purely a maple leaf on you competing in an Olympics? I mean, was there ever any prospect during rising the ranks that there was a possibility of maybe competing for Australia or just not?
BRENDAN COREY: No, not when I was young. I mean, I only really started to realise that could be an option as I got older, university age, and was getting to become more familiar with the international side of racing. I mean, when I'm growing up through grade school, I wasn't thinking of going to Australia. That hadn't even come into my mind yet at that point. So it only came to me later in my career that I realised that could be a potential option.
BEN WATERWORTH: And was it when you say potential option and when you realise that, I don't want to make this sound disparaging because it's not in any way, but is that like a backup option as in Canada is a lot more competitive than Australia? So if I can't reach a certain level, I can go over Australia? Or is it a case of really that it's an option that is there, should certain things fall a certain way?
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, more the latter version, what you said. Not that it would be an easier team to make, although I can agree with that. The Canadian team is much more competitive than the Australian team, but more so just a potential backup in case I had any roadblocks or something unforeseen along the way came up, that I could always use that as an option.
BEN WATERWORTH: Because at the end of the day, to qualify for an Olympics, you've still got to reach a certain level. It's not just a simple case of like, oh, I'm just going to go compete for Australia because they've got a designated quota. You've still got to achieve the qualifying period to get there.
BRENDAN COREY: Exactly, I qualified for the Olympics based on my own ability.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's not just a simple case of Australia has a spot ready to go.
BRENDAN COREY: No countries were confirmed any spots for this Olympics. Everyone at the Olympics earned their spot, at least in short track.
BEN WATERWORTH: I mean, obviously Canada has a storied history in the short track program at the Olympics. And in Australia, we've won a couple of medals, but obviously ours come in different circumstances. But before you ended up meeting Richard, and we'll talk about that, of course, were you familiar with the story of Stephen Bradbury? Because I feel that's a story that most non-Australians still know. The guy who won the gold with everyone falling over. And is that something that with your connections to Australia, you sort of looked as, you know, like, okay, this guy is weirdly inspirational, because he has a great inspirational story, but it's just something that you were at least aware of, I can imagine.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, of course, everyone in the speed skating community, I'm sure, has heard of that story. I knew about that when I was still in high school, I think just after watching the Vancouver Olympics on TV, I went and started to look up more short track events just on YouTube. And I found that one, I just couldn't believe that race and what happened there, it was incredible.
BEN WATERWORTH: And you then eventually going to be coached by one of his teammates, of course, that he won a bronze with back in Lillard. How did you meet Richard, of course, we're talking about Richard Nozelski. I mean, how did that come about? And sort of, was he the one that really then was recruiting you hard to come and compete for Australia instead?
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, so I was living in Montreal at the time. I would have been 21, 22, somewhere around there. So the World Junior Championships was taking place in Montreal. So I was too old to be competing that obviously, but I just went down to watch. And that's when I met Richard. And then we just started talking. And then he brought up the fact that Australia was trying to rebuild their short track program to the success they had in the late 90s, early 1000s. And I thought that could be a great opportunity to pursue. And that's kind of when I really got into my head, okay, I can actually see myself skating for Australia in the future. So I think that was 2019 when I met Richard. And then 2020, I went to Australia for the first time to go skate, skate in Australia with some of the other Aussies and with Richard in Melbourne.
BEN WATERWORTH: And then something happened in 2020. I don't know what happened then. People might have heard it was COVID or something like that, wasn't it? But I mean, that's obviously good timing, though, I can imagine. It's not like he's coming to you, I guess, in December 2021, like two months out from an Olympics. I mean, he's sort of come to you at a point. And were you at a point then with your skating that Beijing was becoming a goal, be it for Australia or Canada, like at that point, or is that what you were going towards, was 2022 for an Olympics?
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, I could see myself that I really wanted to try to get to the Olympics. I was moving up in the ranks in Canada. I was actually on the Canadian development team at the time, and Richard met with me for the first time. So, yeah, I could see myself either on the Canadian team or the Australian team at that point. I still was looking at both options when I first met him.
BEN WATERWORTH: Let's be honest, the only reason why you couldn't get on the Canadian team is because Charles Hamlin bloody wouldn't retire. I'm retiring these Olympics, I'm retiring these Olympics. And finally, no one believes him right now that he's retiring, right? He'll be there in Milan. Yeah.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah. So yeah, there's actually a bit of politics behind that. So the 2019, at the end of the 2018-2019 season, just after I met Richard, before the Canadian Nationals, I got a concussion, and I was unable to compete to earn my spot on the Canadian team that year. And it was, I mean, days before the competition started. I mean, I was devastated. And when the doctor says, I don't think you should compete, I have to listen to the doctor, of course. So I mean, I'm not going to go against the doctor's words and compete. I was, I thought I had a very good chance of making the Canadian national team again that next season. I mean, with the retirements after the Olympics and whatnot, yeah, I thought I had a really good chance. And then, you know, I had gotten concussion, and then Canada didn't take me on their team. And I mean, I was pretty shocked because they were taking athletes on the Canadian team that I was consistently beating for the past three years. So, I mean, it really hit me hard. And yeah, at that point, I realised, okay, I think Canada doesn't want me on their team for whatever reason. So that's when I started my transition to Australia.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which did they then, is there a point when they come begging you back? Like, it's all of a sudden you make the Olympics for Australia, and then they go like, fuck, well, we fucked up here.
BRENDAN COREY: We should have kept it. No, Canada has not reached out since I decided I wanted to leave.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which I can imagine, I mean, you're born in a country, you grow up in a country, you've worn that country proudly on your clothing in international competition, for them to, I guess, turn your back on you like that, and then you go and represent another country, which I mean, how is that? Like, how does that kind of like something, you know, as great as these go to Olympics, but you're not wearing the clothes you thought you would be wearing.
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, initially it hurt because I did represent Canada at the Junior Worlds in 2016. So I already had a taste of kind of what it would be like to wear the Canadian suit on the highest level. But then after, you know, a couple months after Canada decided they didn't want me on their team, I just thought, well, you know, it's a new opportunity. I don't care which flag I'm wearing on my back. I just want to get to the Olympics. And now I'm even more proud to be wearing the Australian flag on my back because they've been supporting me and they want me on their team. And I feel like Australia has really welcomed me with open arms and I just feel like Australia is really happy that I'm here competing for them.
BEN WATERWORTH: We are. I'm saying that right now. We have a good habit of getting Canadians and making them winter athletes to be successful. If you're familiar with Dale Begg Smith winning a gold for us back in Turin, of course, we're very good at taking Canadians and making them Olympic gold medallists. So I'm just saying now, Brendan, you've got some good luck on your side come the next few Olympics. So it will happen. Just, you know, we're good at that.
BRENDAN COREY: Awesome.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which then, does it make you when you're competing up against Canadians, like do you get a bit pissed off? Like you say, it's, you know, the most physical non-contact sport out there, but you see a Canadian coming behind you like, fuck you, mate. Like, I mean, if you're from China or Hungary, maybe I wouldn't be as rough as I'm about to be on you, Canadian.
BRENDAN COREY: Well, it gives me a great satisfaction every time I beat a Canadian in a race. Let's just say that.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which it's just, I mean, these are obviously guys too that you were your teammates. I'm guessing.
BRENDAN COREY: I was a teammate with all of these Canadians at one point during my career. I even went to World Juniors with a couple of them.
BEN WATERWORTH: Is there then much, I guess, smack talk out there on the ice? Like a short track of sport where you are going just before you're lining up, like, you know, mate, you suck. You're not going to win this.
BRENDAN COREY: There is really not much trash talk going on. It's more just, hey, good luck. That kind of thing that, yeah, no smack talk. It's not like honky or any one of these other sports.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which when you go back to sort of like working with Richard and meeting Richard, you know, you sort of mentioned obviously you sort of Googled and YouTube and sort of looked at things like that. But were you familiar or did you sort of go back and then look up Richard to see? I guess he's part of what he was in Australian, I guess not only short track history, but Australian winter sports history.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, of course. I mean, I went and looked him up and thought, oh, you know, he's a he was a successful guy within the sport. So I'm sure he knows what he's doing. And turns out he does. I mean, Richard is absolutely fantastic. He's the best coach I've had. We just really connected. Well, we work well together. Our personalities match really well. So we just really understood each other. And everything he told me to do, I completely agreed with. And I'm in the best shape that I've ever been.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which would take us through a regular training week for a short track speed skater, because I mean, it just of all the sports I look at at any Olympics, like short track and any speed skating, both short and long track, just leg day is obviously every bloody day I can imagine. You are constantly working on those things. But I mean, is that your focus for every day of the gym week and maybe one day on something else? Because I can imagine it's pretty hectic.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, so pretty much, yeah, like day every day, as you say, skating itself is pretty physical in the legs. I would get on the ice six days a week, sometimes twice a week, let's say three or four times a week, I'd skate twice and then Sunday would be rest day and then be in the gym between two and three times a week. So that would be basically like day every time, every day in the gym. So that's deadlifts and squats. In the off season, we'd work overall body just so I'm not a toothpick up top. But really during the season, just focusing on legs and trying to stay lean everywhere else, because the less weight I'm carrying on top is more beneficial in short track. So yeah, we're not really working chest and arms and those muscles. And then in addition to the gym might be on the bike. So if I'm not skating twice a day, I'm on the bike. So whether that be outside doing a longer ride between two or three hours, or just even intervals on the stationary indoors.
BEN WATERWORTH: There seems to be a lot of transition when you do have summer and winter athletes transitioning. I feel like it's always cyclists going into speed skating, and speed skaters going into cycling. That seems to be a common transition. Does that make you want to take up cycling, Brendan, when you're doing so much bike work?
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, I thought about it in the past, if I'm going to be honest. But I don't know, for now, I just want to stick with the short track. The muscle groups between short track and cycling are quite similar. So that's why you see a lot of transition between those two sports. Although that push itself is different, whereas cycling is up and down, and skating side to side, the muscles are the same. You know, your quads, glutes, those muscles are very important in both of those sports.
BEN WATERWORTH: When it comes to the skating aspect, obviously going fast, I can imagine is pretty darn important in a sport called speed skating. But when it comes to short track, obviously it's a bit more strategic with, I guess, the racing element. So are you working that with other skaters, or like is there something that Richard can do or any coaching can do to kind of help you with the racing element when maybe you don't have a group of people that you can constantly race at full tilt with?
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, so this past season, I was training overseas in Salt Lake City with the US national team. So I had some other skaters' similar ability to mine. I can train with, you know, practise the passing, the strategies with them, and also getting used to high speeds with them. The facility there was great. They have a completely boardless rink. So in Australia, there is no boardless rinks. And what I mean by boardless is no hockey boards, and just only the padding around the outside. So if someone was to crash, it would break their fall rather than just slamming into the boards. So it's a lot safer to practise at these high speeds at a boardless rink. So when I am training in Australia with the hockey boards, I'm not training at high end speeds. So the training is much different in that respect. Yeah, so when I'm in Australia training, it's basically a lot of laps, but at a slower speed just to kind of build up the base. And a lot of that base is even done on the bike, per se, because we only get an hour or so of ice time a week, or sorry, a day, not a week. Yeah, an hour of ice time at a time. And we're not skating constantly for that whole hour, whereas on the bike, we can just get out and ride for two, three hours at a time. So it's a lot easier to build that base. And yeah, so back to the question, I went on a little tangent there, but...
BEN WATERWORTH: You're on Off The Podium, Brendan, you're feeding him well. It happens all the time.
BRENDAN COREY: So yeah, back to what I was saying, I was training in Salt Lake City with those guys. So yeah, they were able to push me and give me some good opportunity with the various different race strategies and passing and whatnot. So yeah, I was happy to be there training with them. I think we both benefited from... I helped them and they helped me kind of thing. So it was beneficial to both groups.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which, I mean, this is one thing I love about the strategic element to any sport, but like, you know, short track, it's always fascinating watching it. Because I mean, you know, back to Bradbury, the strategy we all famously know from Stephen, of course, was the whole like hang back, you know, people fall over type of strategy. But it's like it's... How many different type of strategies can you come up with? Is it dependent on the day? So like, if you get drawn into a certain heat and you know you're up against skater A, skater B, skater C, well, the strategy is going to change if I'm up against somebody else in the quarterfinals. So it's constantly evolving, I can imagine, on competition day.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, it really is. I mean, I know my strengths, so I know generally of what I'd like to achieve during the race, but then that can be tweaked based on who specifically is in the race. So before a race, you know, I would talk to Richard and we'd sit and we'd just sit down and say, okay, this guy, we think he's going to do this, and this guy, he's going to do this, and this guy is going to do this. And I'd say eight times out of ten were correct on what everyone's going to do. So just from watching the previous races over the years, we can get a good feel of the various different athletes and what they tend to stick with. So yeah, that's kind of what we do. I have a general idea going into the race of what I'm going to do. And then based on what happens in those first couple of laps, things can change on the fly. So things don't go according to plan. First couple of laps, you got to be able to adapt really quick and get your head back in the game, so to speak.
BEN WATERWORTH: And is Richard on the sideline? Is he yelling at you? If you're two laps in and all of a sudden things are like, he's going like, plan B, plan B. And can you hear him in a loud arena with people screaming?
BRENDAN COREY: So yeah, he is there standing on the sidelines. There is a little area for the coaches to stand to the athletes. But to be honest, most of the time, I don't hear very much of what's going on. I just cancel most of it out as white noise, and I'm just focused in on what I need to get done. That's why we have these conversations beforehand and talk about all these various different scenarios of what could possibly happen. If this happens, then do this, or if this is going well, do this. We do plan out beforehand two or three different strategies, and then it's up to me to make the decisions on the fly. I'm sure Richard is for sure yelling at me on the sides because I go back and watch the videos, and that's all I can hear is Richard screaming. It's just something about being there in the moment. I just tone everything out and focus in.
BEN WATERWORTH: Go that way. Does he still have the hair? Does he still have that crazy, like, I just remember that from Lillehammer.
BRENDAN COREY: Shaved it all off. Damn.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, geez. There's that image gone from 94. I'll keep that image in my head of having that hair. Just on watching tapes, is it a sport where you are constantly rewatching, and not just for your own self, but like going back to where you're studying other skaters so that you are kind of, you know, if you're drawn into a heat two days beforehand and you know who you're up against, so let's watch these skaters so we know what to expect.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, I mean, that potential option is always there. They, the ISU records all the World Cup events and World Championships, so they're all on YouTube for you to watch for anybody. So, I mean, if you want to go back and search through the eight-hour live stream of the races to find the guy...
BEN WATERWORTH: We're all Olympic geeks right now, Brendan.
BRENDAN COREY: It takes a little bit of hunting to find it if you want to try to look for a specific person. But yeah, I mean, it's there, easily accessible to go in and watch. And really, even the same race can be watched four or five times over if you're just watching a specific person in the race. Yeah, so just off the first glance, you can be just watching whoever's in front most of the time. And then you're not seeing what's happening in the back, and then someone making a late move to the front, and you go, oh, where did he come from? So that's another thing I like about rewatching these races. You get to see all these different strategies that people take.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's a sport, too, that, you know, I think of long track where you've got a very big discrepancy between the smallest distance and the largest. You know, you've got a 500 metre versus a 10,000 metre, whereas obviously in short track, you've got a 500 metre and a 1500 metre, which, I mean, doesn't really seem like there's much of a difference, but obviously there's a significant amount more of lapse to the 1500 to the 500. Is it a case of you decide that you're going to be focusing on the long, like the 1500 versus the 500, or do you always have to be versatile in short track, where you kind of always have to be ready to do all three and then maybe eventually do the relay if you've got enough teammates?
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, short track is one of those sports where you need to be good at all the distances. Because even at the Olympics this season, there were many people who competed in all three. So you can only send so many people to the Olympics. So if you have people who are consistently at the top in all these events, it makes it much easier for the country. And even like, for example, World Championships that just went by two weekends ago, that is a cumulative event. So they add your points up from the three distances to declare the overall winner. And then the World Championship results from this season carries over to next season for seeding purposes for the start of the season.
BEN WATERWORTH: Obviously, I can imagine having a preference, like, I mean, like, I hate the 500, but I love the, you know what I mean? Like, I mean, I can imagine. Is it your preference? Is it the 1000? Is that kind of your favourite?
BRENDAN COREY: That's my favourite, yes, you know, in the middle. So it's pretty quick the whole way through. And there is an element of strategy, whereas I find 500 basically just go as fast as you can for four and a half laps, and the 1500, the thing about the 1500 is that most of the time it's meandering at the beginning of the race. And I don't know, there's something about I just want to get going. So it's not that I'm impatient. I just want to, you know, I like pushing the pace up there.
BEN WATERWORTH: Going through that, and then given the state, like obviously Richard's goal is to, you know, get Australian short track back to where we were, you know, 20, 30 years ago. But have there been, now that you competed for Australia rather than Canada, are there, have you been in like the 5000 relay? Because I mean, that obviously, I'm always, most Australians will have that very soft with their heart, our first ever winter medal, which Richard was a part of. But that's a great event to watch. Like I love watching the relays. Like, is that something you've been able to do at a big international competition?
BRENDAN COREY: Unfortunately, no. I would like to get into a 5000, but first we're going to need some more substance in Australia. I mean, at its current state, if we were to send a relay team, it would just be, I feel it would be me just catching up every time. And then that sort of thing. But we're still working on building the program up, trying to get a couple more skaters up there at the higher level. There's some coming up, hopefully. So we'll see where we are in two, three years' time. Hopefully we can have a relay going.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, no, it would be great to see that. You go to Australia, you said, so you said that was the first time you'd actually ever been to Australia as well? Like had you not gone there? Wow, so what's that like then, not only going to compete for a new country, but you've never been to that country before. Like I'm sure your mum and your family have told you stories about Australia. But I mean, what's that like? Was it much of a culture shock coming to Australia?
BRENDAN COREY: Not really, to be honest. I find there's a lot of similarities between Canada and Australia. Same language, so that helps out a lot. I mean, I didn't really find anything much different, to be honest, driving on the other side of the road, of course. But just check twice before crossing and you're good. So I mean, I didn't have any issues fitting in. Was it a shock with the facilities?
BEN WATERWORTH: It was the accent, I'm sure. How many times did you get called an American? I can imagine that got a bit tiring after a while, you know, kind of going that way. But things like facilities, obviously, you've come from a country where there's maybe 20 rinks in most cities to a country where there's only 20 rinks in the entire country. So that's got to be a bit of a shock when you've gone to your first rink in Australia. Oh, this is a bit different to what I'm used to.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, so the first rink I went to was in Melbourne. That's where the Australian national team would train, but due to recent circumstances, that it was unable to get everyone together in one central location, which is why I was training overseas this past year. But yeah, training in Melbourne there, we have to put the protective pads out before every session. I mean, that's not uncommon, because here in my local club in Fredericton, we would have to do that as well. So I was not unfamiliar with that sort of thing. It's just, you know, it feels like more like, how do I say, more as a rookie feeling than a higher level, just because we have to put out the pads. And yeah, and they always cut the ice well for us in Melbourne there. The ice was, I thought it was all right for short track. The ice in Melbourne was better than it was in Sydney when I was skating there, that's for sure. So yeah, I didn't find it was too bad, to be honest. It wasn't as fast or has as much glide as some other rinks that I've skated on in the past. But I mean, for what it was, it was a good rink.
BEN WATERWORTH: And to clarify as well, I guess that connection, that history to Australia, so your mother grew up in Australia, and your grandparents, I believe, like your grandfather discovered gold or a town or something in Australia, is that correct?
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, my grandfather helped to develop one of the gold mines in Western Australia. It's called the Plutonic Gold Mine.
BEN WATERWORTH: Have you visited it? Have you had an opportunity to go?
BRENDAN COREY: I have not been to Western Australia yet, no, unfortunately not. But hopefully, this winter, I can get over to Perth and maybe drive down and see it.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, that's epic. It must be then like, I guess, going back to that, so you got family history in Australia. So kind of, you know, there's a bit of it, obviously the ties there with that. But it's, I mean, at what point sort of through that journey, whether it be, you know, coming to Australia, starting to see it, you know, training and that sort of stuff. But was there a point where you like, you go like, I'm Australian now. Like I'm, this is my goal. I'm going to Olympics. I want to wear the green and gold. Was there a moment or was it maybe when you got to the Olympics and you're sort of there wearing the green and gold, that that was kind of a realisation?
BRENDAN COREY: I think for me, the moment when I realised that I'm Australian is when I got my passport. That's when I felt I am a true Aussie citizen now. And that's what did it for me.
BEN WATERWORTH: Great, which it must be a special feeling then to throw the issues you obviously had and unfortunately not making it to the Canadian team. But again, to be welcomed by a new country. And as you said, it didn't really bother you what country you were wearing at Olympics to get to that. And we'll talk about you qualifying for the Olympics in just a moment. But to have that acceptance to be like, OK, well, this is a little bit extra real now. And this is potentially happening right now that these Olympics are a real opportunity for me and a real realistic chance.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I mean, it was a great feeling becoming an official Australian. And yeah, I can't even describe what I was feeling. I just felt proud and accomplished at the same time as I'm an Australian, because not only do I want to be an Australian, but Australia wants me to be an Australian.
BEN WATERWORTH: And do they then force you to adopt a footy team, basically, as you get the Australian passport? Like, mate, you've got to choose your footy team right now.
BRENDAN COREY: You have to do it. You have to do it before you take the oath. No, that was not part of the process of getting my passport.
BEN WATERWORTH: But did you choose one, though? Have you adopted a team at all?
BRENDAN COREY: I'm still open to be persuaded.
BEN WATERWORTH: All right, well, I'm just going to say as a Carlton supporter, we've done all right so far this year. We usually suck, but we're doing OK right now. So get on the bandwagon right now. You know, just get on board. All right, the train is coming. So you can take that advice.
BRENDAN COREY: I'll have to watch a couple more games before I make my decision.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, OK, now we're screwed. I think we just lost you. But we'll see how that goes. So what was the process like? Obviously, COVID, I'm sure, is sort of spanner in the works. You've gone to the US to train. But what was the process like that led you to qualifying? Was it a simple case of is short track a sport based on rankings points? Is it you've got to finish a certain position at a certain event? Like, how did that work? And at what point were you aware that, boom, I'm going to the Olympics?
BRENDAN COREY: So in short track, it's basically it's ranking. So there were four World Cups this season within six weeks. So that started in late October. So there were two in Asia and two in Europe. So and basically it was a cumulative ranking of those events. It was the best three of four competitions. So and then that's how they did the ranking. And then if you are in the top, you know, 32, you could go to the Olympics. It was a little more complex than that. It was basically like as you go down the list, the more people you're trying to qualify for your team, the more difficult it is because for an Olympic spot, it's not based on the athlete who qualify. So it's based on the country. So say, I'll just use Australia as an example here, but say in the 1500, one Australian did well in the first World Cup and in the second World Cup, a different Australian did well. It wouldn't matter the name associated to the country. It's just people from the country and how they've done. So the country as a whole. So the country needs to be consistent to get the spots rather than the athlete.
BEN WATERWORTH: So it's basically you're all kind of working together to get that slot, and then it's up to the country's selection committee to then go, okay, Brendan, you are the one who's going based on that slot that we qualified.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah. So basically, once I came around to, I think it was after the second World Cup, once I'd finished in the top 20 for a second time, I went, okay, I think I've got a pretty good shot here at making it. And that was in the 1,000-metre. The 1,000-metre. So you have to qualify each distance separately. So if you do really well in one distance, you'll only get that one distance, which is why I only qualified the two distances, because my 1,500 was not as consistent as my other two events at the World Cups.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which, I mean, I can't imagine that's disappointing knowing that you're going to the Olympics anyway. You're in two of the three events. But I mean, like, is part of you going like, ah, shit, well, I'm missing out on the third? Or it wouldn't have mattered if you just qualified for one, you would have been satisfied?
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, I would have been happy just to go in for one, but I mean, it was a little bit of a bummer to miss out on the 1500. Actually, I prefer the 1500 to the 500. I'd never really considered myself a sprinter, but I mean, if I qualify, I'm going to race it, and I've skated the fastest I've ever skated in both those events that I qualified for this season.
BEN WATERWORTH: So you make it to an A final in a world cup in the lead up. Was that the one that gets you in, or did you know you were already going to Beijing before you made that?
BRENDAN COREY: So the A final I was in was in the fourth World Cup, and by that time I had already known that I was going to the Olympics. So I guess that just lifted the stress off my shoulders, and I just went out and skated and did really well. So I mean, maybe there's that subconscious mental aspect there that helped me do well, whereas maybe other countries were still unsure if they were able to qualify and maybe scrambling a little bit more at that fourth World Cup. So I was able to capitalise on that.
BEN WATERWORTH: Do you remember the feeling when you knew you were going to the Olympics? Again, going back on the quota system you're talking about, I'm sure it comes down to when the Australian Olympic Committee officially says, Brendan, you are the one going to the Olympics. But do you remember that moment when you were told you're going to the Olympics and this dream that you've been working towards, which countries you'd moved to the other side of the world, like that moment was like?
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, for me, there wasn't really one specific moment because it's just building and building and building and building throughout the season. So, I mean, as the weeks gone by, it was just getting closer and closer. I'm like, OK, I think it's going to happen. I think it's going to happen. And then it's happening. It's happening. It just kind of transitioned. I can't really put a pinpoint on, OK, like I've actually done it. I think after that first couple of races of me just racing and then seeing where I fared, I went, Oh, wow, I am actually competitive at this level because I this was my first season internationally, so I didn't know how I would I would fare. To be honest with you, it was not even a goal of mine to make the Olympics this season. I just went I just want to see how I do. And if I do make the Olympics, that's a huge bonus. And that's awesome. And sure enough, that it happened. And wow, I'm just I'm still like, I can't believe that I was actually there.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's incredible. You're sitting here right now talking to us, wearing the rings literally on your clothes and everything like that, which I mean, it must be it must be an incredible feeling. But then do you with everything you just said, not necessarily a goal, but you've done it. You said then a switch that goes off and goes, well, fuck, I just made an A final in the World Cup. I'm doing all right right now. I could do all right at the Olympics. So like bring it on.
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, to me, it's just that's when I was in that A final, that was the moment where I thought I deserve to be skating at this level. I deserve to be at the Olympics. I can be competitive with these guys, and this is where I belong.
BEN WATERWORTH: Right, which it's then I love always finding out from our guests, particularly for their first Olympics, all those leading things that obviously you're experiencing in Olympics, from the moment you get selected, from the moment the press goes out, Brendan Corey is our Olympian too, you get your uniform, you're on the plane, all these sort of things. Is there a moment that kind of clicks to you that I'm an Olympian? You're on the start line, you've got your uniform. Is there a moment that light goes off in that aspect to say that I'm an Olympian?
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, yeah, just arriving at the village, seeing the rings just everywhere. That's just, I'm an Olympian. Yeah, to me, like, yeah, it's something I've always been admiring, and now I've done it. I just, yeah, it's hard to describe the feeling, honestly.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which it's just obviously a unique Olympics, too, given that, you know, Koa was still a thing. I think it was sort of a little bit more freer than a lot of our Tokyo guests that we've discussed, too. But I mean, were you able to at least go out and see other events? Like, was that still restrictive in terms of things? Like, were you kind of in a bubble where, like, you're only doing your event only, go back to the village, and you can't go watch the hockey or something like that? Uh-huh.
BRENDAN COREY: No, they would let us go see some other events. I did go and watch one of the Canada US hockey games, for example. I went out and saw the long track, speed skating. Yeah, so they were not restrictive in that aspect, but we weren't allowed to leave the village. I'm sure you've heard this many times, but we couldn't leave the village or the various venues, and the only way to the venue was by bus. And some of the traffic in China was not pleasant, so that's the other decision you have to make. When going to watch one of these events is, do I want to sit in a bus for 40 minutes or more, both ways? So it does take a big chunk of the day. You know, leading up to my events, I was not really going out to see many other events, just because I wouldn't have time during the day, because I'd be training or need to go to sleep or whatever. Getting my meals in recovery, all that stuff is really important, leading up to the. A part of me wishes I went to see more, but a part of me is like, yeah, I can watch it on the TV just as well.
BEN WATERWORTH: And you've also got other Olympics to go to Brendan, this won't be your last, you've got plenty of opportunities to do that. Did you get to do the opening ceremony? Was that something you were able to do?
BRENDAN COREY: Yes, I did. Actually, it was kind of a fiasco for me, because I had training on the ice. And just as I was getting back to the village, everyone's saying, Brendan, we have to leave in five minutes to go to the Olympics. So I'm running back to my room as fast as I can, trying to scramble to get changed, finding the proper outfit to wear so we're all matching. Even some of my other teammates were waiting outside the bus, trying to stall the bus driver from leaving the village, so I could make it on the bus. And yeah, I didn't get a proper meal after my training before the ceremony, so it was a bit hectic, but luckily they did give us some food before the ceremonies while we were waiting around.
BEN WATERWORTH: Because there's a lot of waiting around for opening ceremonies. You were standing there for a long time, aren't you?
BRENDAN COREY: It was near the end as well. I don't know why they were so early in advance, but they were rushing at something awful.
BEN WATERWORTH: Usually it's at the beginning, but I still can imagine it's a special experience to walk into that stadium and have that moment.
BRENDAN COREY: To the stadium with the flag waving and all of us walking in, matching, waving. They did have some spectators in there, so that was pretty cool just to see all the dancers around everywhere. It was an awesome feeling. Once in a lifetime experience.
BEN WATERWORTH: Before I talk about your events, before I talk about your events and obviously what happened there, the vibe amongst the team, Australia's most successful Winter Olympics ever in terms of medals won, but what was that like just in the village? Because we talked a lot to our Tokyo athletes about the vibe and obviously a much bigger team, much more medals, but there's only 40 or so of you guys, almost a tenth of you are winning medals. So it's a much closer-knit community. I can imagine that vibe would be very strong amongst you all.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, well, even at our village, it was even more so since we were only, I think at one time the most athletes we had was six in the Beijing village, because all the skiers and snowboarders and the sliding sports were up on the mountain three hours away. So the only time I ever saw any of those guys was opening ceremonies. So yeah, it was just basically myself and the curlers and the figure skaters. And then just my last couple days, the big air snowboarders came down. So yeah, I got to chat with everybody and got to know them. And yeah, they were all really nice people.
BEN WATERWORTH: So that's sort of almost like a virtual team, kind of the way you're all spread out, kind of sharing that love. But we had Dean and Tali on a couple of weeks ago. I've had them on a couple of times. And obviously they had some drama going on with the COVID back and forth and everything along those lines. But I mean, what's it like then with Kalani and Brendan? Like your little tight little group there, I can imagine that would have been fun to kind of share along with.
BRENDAN COREY: Well, even the figure skaters, they shared the venue with us. So sometimes I would see them on the bus, travelling between the training sessions and whatnot. So yeah. And then I shared an apartment with Brendan as well. So we got to... Flag bearer Brendan, of course. They were not in the village as long as I was, but it was nice to get to meet the other athletes.
BEN WATERWORTH: Nice. Did you give him any flag waving tips? Of course, he's just so busy practising, like opening ceremony flag basically, that he was just too busy to talk to you.
BRENDAN COREY: Well, he's more experienced with the Olympics than I am, so I didn't have any tips for him.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which, I mean, the events itself, the thousand, you're the first Australian to get through to a quarterfinals since Stephen Bradbury set an Australian record, I mean, through the heats. What was the mindset going into that quarterfinals? Going on that confidence level that you were saying, you're competing with the best, you're up there with the best. Were you confident that this was just, okay, quarter simple, semis, here I come. How were you feeling going into that quarter?
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, I was feeling good. I thought I had a good race, as in the people who were in my race, I thought I had a good chance in there. But yeah, I was feeling good, but then, you know, unfortunately, I had the crash, so a bit of bad luck. But, you know, that short track, and those things happened. You know, I don't regret what happened in the race. I was fully competitive in there, and I wanted to prove that, you know, I was in the race, I didn't want to just settle for third and glide across behind the others. I knew I could be in there. You know, the Dutch guy in front of me, he was skating a similar pattern as throughout the laps before, so I saw an opening, and so I went for it, and then, you know, unfortunately, it fell over, but, you know, these things happen in the sport. And I mean, it's not the only time I'll get to race, so I've got four more years of racing ahead of me at least, so that's a lot of races to do, and anything can happen.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which I love that attitude from you afterwards in the interviews that you were doing, because it's sort of like, you know, us as armchair experts watching, we're like, we're disappointed, and then you're like, oh, like, I don't know what's going on, but they're just exactly the attitude you just say. It's like, I don't regret what I did. Like, I went for a move, and like with any sport, any opportunity, like sure, it didn't work out for you then, but it could have easily just worked out the other way, couldn't it? And we could be talking about a completely different scenario.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, exactly. And I mean, I was just happy to be there. So, I mean, yeah, I was just happy to be there. And really, if, even if I did nothing, I still would have been happy. But I just wanted to prove myself, I deserve to be here. I want to make the move. I can compete with the best of them.
BEN WATERWORTH: Australian record holder then too, Brendan. You set that record straight away. So you've got that in the back pocket.
BRENDAN COREY: I've got two records now. I've got the 500 as well, which I did at the World Championships.
BEN WATERWORTH: Congratulations. There you go. Do you have the 1500 yet, or is that coming?
BRENDAN COREY: It will come. The 1500 is a little bit more tricky because you need to be in the right race for that to come. I am confident in my ability that I am able to do the time. I have done faster than that time in training multiple times. So I just need to get in the right race, a fast race right from the start. And then I'm sure within the next couple of years, I'll have it, that one as well.
BEN WATERWORTH: There you go. You heard it here first. We were on board with the Turkish skater Fikant Akar, which we loved his story. And we were like, OK, Brendan's gone. We're behind this guy now. We're cheering him on there. I think the commentators were saying that, you know, Turkey's got even less of rinks than Australia does. So this is even more of a unique story. Do you look at the story? Do you know Fikant? Do you know these people and get behind them once you're out? Or is it kind of you're too busy focused on the 500s that you don't really give a shit who wins the gold?
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, it all happened so quick after the fact. I mean, basically, I was scurried off into doping control before I even knew what was going on. So I didn't really get the chance to watch the later rounds. But I mean, he was in that position because of what I did. So in a way...
BEN WATERWORTH: He has you to thank for it, basically.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: He has your box of chocolates or something, basically. Oh, yeah. Turkish delight, maybe. I don't know. Which I mean, the finalist, the one thing that I found fascinating about the final is they had to restart it because a piece of blade was lodged in the ice. Is that common? Like, does that often happen in events?
BRENDAN COREY: Um... It's not... I wouldn't say it's uncommon. But it's not, you know, something that happens every time. But it happens every once in a while. It'll happen. Not more than... If it happens more than two times per event, then that's abnormal. But, I mean... It can happen off the start, you know. Blades are going everywhere, so it's easy for them to hit. And they're so fragile. If it hits in the wrong spot, then it just breaks right off, which is unfortunate.
BEN WATERWORTH: I feel like it's like final destination, Brendan. Like, you've got things flying everywhere, and somebody's gonna lose an eye. Or like, their jugular colour. How does this not happen more often? It sounds scary.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, I mean, well, as soon as they notice that there is a piece of blade on the ice, they will stop the race just for safety reasons, as you're saying. But yeah, and that's why we wear the fully cut proof suits as well, just in case if there is a crash, there's less of a chance that someone is to get cut.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which it's obviously a very brutal spot when you do crash. But I think I remember during the Olympics when Stephen Bradbury was doing commentary, he mentioned something at one point about how he's like, yeah, you know, it's not like when I was skating where the padding wasn't as thick, I was breaking bones everywhere, the padding is so thick that you're obviously still getting injured. But I mean, I don't know if it's quite the extent as people used to be, because it was a fascinating thing that Bradbury was saying about that.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, it is definitely safer than it was 20 years ago. Yeah, I would say injuries are not as common nowadays. Of course, if you're falling with another person, I mean, there's always that chance that, you know, something can go wrong. But most of the time, if it's just a fall on your own, you'll be walking away just fine.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which I do love the sort of in the preparation for this interview, the image that ABC decided to use of you for the article of you not making it through to the semifinals of the 1000, was you very much on your back with your legs up, like awkwardly falling. Like, I can imagine you always must love it when you see these images of you. There's more to me than just falling over.
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, at some point, you got to just embrace it. Yeah, that was me. That's what I did. But I mean, I don't want to be known for the guy who fell at the Olympics. I've got so much more to offer than just that. Exactly, exactly. I mean, where was everyone during the season for my World Cups? Like, they have that to go back and watch and see my progression through the season.
BEN WATERWORTH: Very true, very, very true. The 500m, as you said, not really your favourite event. But I mean, what was that mentality then going into that? Was it a case of, well, anything can happen? Like, you know, who knows? Because this isn't my event or was it, again, switch gears, boom, let's see how far I can do with this.
BRENDAN COREY: Oh, for me, I was starting outside lane because I was ranked near the bottom of the list. So for me, it was just go as fast as I can, try to hold on and see what happens. But, you know, I missed out on the quarterfinals by one spot, which is a little bit too bad. But at the same time, it was my fastest time up to that point. So I was not upset with that at all.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which does it then, now that you got your first Olympics done with, kind of again, ahead of schedule, as you were saying, does that now when you look towards 2026, it switches focus to, okay, I've had that, I've got that experience. Now it's not that it wasn't serious before, but now it's, I guess, on a level now where it's like, I can go in four years time and seriously think about getting a medal.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, I mean, I've got the next four years to get more experience racing. I think that was what was holding me back. This season was my inexperience to the international stage. I've raced a lot in Canada, but, you know, racing in Canada is different than racing World Cups and Olympics. So, yeah, over the next four years, getting a lot of racing in, just building this experience. Hopefully, I continue on this upward trend as I've been going this year. So, yeah, I'm really excited to see what I can accomplish. Hopefully, I can get on the podium within the next couple of seasons and then winning some races.
BEN WATERWORTH: Go through that way, which, I mean, you sort of we touched on a little bit. The World Championships have happened since the Olympics. You know, no time to rest. Basically, you have an Olympics and then to a World Championships, and you finished 21st overall, because as you were saying, they sort of they do the rankings of it. But I mean, your tweet that you put out there saying that, you know, despite a few little incidents, you were very satisfied with your performance. I mean, do you, did you leave the World Championships more satisfied than what you achieved at the Olympics? Or was it kind of a different thing where kind of they just were both, I guess, different feelings?
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, so my goal actually way back at the start of the season was to finish somewhere in the 20s at the World Championship. So I achieved that goal. That's a check mark there. But yeah, I was quite satisfied with my World Championship performance. I made it to the quarterfinals in the 500 and the 1000, and I was in the semifinal in the 1500. That was my first semifinal in the 1500 of my, of this season. So I was thrilled with that. Yeah, I think I could have placed higher, despite my two penalty calls, that I don't know if I quite agree with. The referee at the World Championships was Canadian in Montreal, so there might be a little bias there towards some of the Canadians to help the Canadians go through. But yeah, overall, I'm not unhappy with what happened. I mean, it was my most consistent event of the season, so I'm happy with that. And now I've got space to improve over the next seasons as well. I mean, in my mind, I think I can be better than 21, so the only way to go is up. So yeah, I think I can do that for next season. Definitely there's room for improvement.
BEN WATERWORTH: We were going to say, so the season now, was the World Champion, was at the end of the season now?
BRENDAN COREY: That's it, yeah. We're in the off season now.
BEN WATERWORTH: So what does an off season usually look like for a short track? I mean, you're back there in New Brunswick at the moment, is a bit of time off before you hit the ice again? Or is there no rest for the wicked, and you're basically like, I'll have a week off and then back to it?
BRENDAN COREY: So, yeah, for now, I'm just visiting with my parents and family, just basically taking it easy for now. Nothing, you know, structured for training. Yeah, so the other day, I went out and got on the bike with one of my friends here, high school friends, so that was good. I mean, nothing saying I can't train, but I don't necessarily have to do anything either. It's good to give the body a rest and just, you know, refresh. And even the mental break of just not having to wake up and train and then focus on all those other aspects that go along with training, you know, because it's more than just showing up to the rink. You know, what do I have to eat? You know, when do I have to go to bed? Those things are also very important throughout the season.
BEN WATERWORTH: Is there then, you're talking about that progression, World Champions just want to be in the 20s, you've got that. So do you then look ahead to the next season and go, okay, well, next World Champions, I want to be in like, you know, between 11 and 20 or like, you know, do you set yourself a target? Like, World Cup, I want a podium next season. Like, is that things you and Richard start sort of thinking about right about now leading into the next season?
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, I haven't really sat down and officially thought about it, but I mean, you know, those are always things in the back of my mind. You know, if I'm 21 this season, where do I want to be next season? I mean, I haven't put an official number on it yet, but, you know, somewhere in the between, you know, 10 and 20 would be, I think, would be a good realistic goal for next season. And then, you know, if I get in a couple more A finals, that would be awesome. I think that's realistic as well. So, you know, well, I still need some time to think about it a little more, but I've got a general feeling of what I want to accomplish next season.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's a progression ladder there, though, Brendan, like, you know, the teens and then the top 10. And then by the time I get Milan, it's, you know, multiple world champion. I'm ready to go do some keeping up.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, it's like anything else. You're not going to be the best in the world straight away. So it takes some time to, you know, go up through the ranks. I mean, same thing as when I was young and going up through the ranks here locally. It's the same thing. Just at a different stage in my career.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's like with us on this show, we hope to be good one day. We'll get there one day. We'll gradually, you know, keep going. We might get some listeners one day. You never know. But I actually just I'm thinking about going back to my point about us Australians getting Canadians and doing well, making you Australian, you know, Dale Begg Smith. Just to put that into perspective, that was 2006 in Italy. 2026 in Italy. We have you as a Canadian. We have poached. There's there. It's a poetic, you know, it's a pattern.
BRENDAN COREY: You're throwing pressure on me now.
BEN WATERWORTH: I think it's just it's happening. It's not pressure. It's happening, Brendan. Like it's meant to be. So just saying on the 20th anniversary of Dale, Canadian wins another goal for Australia. It's going to happen.
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, yeah, we'll see what happens.
BEN WATERWORTH: Play this clip, play this clip before you're, you know, you're in Milan and you remember this conversation. And then when you get that gold, you go, that Ben, he was under something. He was in you, in you.
BRENDAN COREY: He knew four years ago. He knew.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. The only the only former guest on this show to win a gold medal after being on this show was Charles Hamlin. So it's short track speed skating. Like, come on, like we've got a good track record. No pun intended of people winning. It's all falling into place, Brendan. It's working well for you.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah.
BEN WATERWORTH: You're welcome.
BRENDAN COREY: We'll see what happens. Which got some questions. One season at a time.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's I like that perspective of it. We'll get to some closing questions in just a moment. Sort of some fun ones to close it out. But one thing I wanted to quickly touch on, I watched an interview you had done online and you were talking about sort of other sports you were into. Now, we obviously already touched on, you're not a big hockey fan, but you mentioned basketball and Formula One, which I need to talk to you about Brendan, because I'm a massive F1 fan. You mentioned you'd been to some races. Did you go to Montreal, like Melbourne? Have you been to both?
BRENDAN COREY: I went to Montreal 2019, I think it was. The most recent one that they've had before COVID. So I went to that one live. That was awesome to watch. I wanted to get to the Australian one this season, but our World Championships was pushed back by a month. So that was a little unfortunate that I was unable to attend that one. But maybe in the future, I'll get to go see the Melbourne race. If I'm in one of these countries when there's a race going on, I'll have to stop by. It's addicting. I'm always looking forward to the next race weekend.
BEN WATERWORTH: This was the first Australian Grand Prix that I haven't been to since 2009, so it's been a long time. But I went to the Montreal one in 2017, and probably the best Grand Prix I've ever been to in the world. The way that was put on, the whole city was incredible. It was a great experience and fun to watch. But who do you support? Do you have a driver? Do you have a team? Who do you go for?
BRENDAN COREY: I don't know. I kind of just flip-flop back and forth, if I'm going to be honest. I don't really have a specific driver or team. I just like the competition. I like seeing them do well. So I was happy to see Verstappen win the championship last season, for example. I like Lewis as well, but it was nice to see that change. You know, I'm liking to see that the Ferraris are doing well this season, for example. So I mean, I'm just a fan of the sport, rather than a fan of a specific driver or team.
BEN WATERWORTH: I've got to ask, because I don't know if I've ever had a conversation with a Canadian who likes Formula One, Canadian Australian who likes Formula One, but Lance Stroll and Nicolas Latifi, is there any sort of, you know, because they're a bit interesting in the fan base in Formula One and people's opinion on them. So how do Canadians feel about Latifi and Stroll?
BRENDAN COREY: I would not say they are my favourites. Yeah, so no.
BEN WATERWORTH: That's a standard answer for a lot of Formula One facts when you talk about them.
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, let's just say, I think there could be better drivers in those seats.
BEN WATERWORTH: I will say, I actually, I'm a bit of a closet Stroll fan. I actually have a Lance Stroll T-shirt. I think I'm the only person in the world who owns one. But yeah, it's interesting because I actually watched a video. I was on a Formula One channel, and it was a New Zealand guy and he did a video on Lance Stroll, and he got, I think, a Canadian YouTube Formula One channel to express opinions on them. Because I think the thing I find fascinating about Canada and Formula One is that you have one of the greatest drivers of all time in Gilles Villeneuve, then his son wins the World Championship, and then not a lot of people maybe like Jacques too much, but now you've got two Canadians where they don't really like them that much. So it's like, oh, poor Canada and Formula One. You've got some good history there.
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, like I said, after I've been, you know, felt a little bit betrayed by Canada, I'm not always rooting for them as hard as I was in the past.
BEN WATERWORTH: So on the Ricardo bandwagon, then get on Daniel.
BRENDAN COREY: I'll support Daniel. Yes, I like him. He's a nice guy and a great character and a great driver. So there you go.
BEN WATERWORTH: You really are an Aussie now Brendan, that works.
BRENDAN COREY: Hopefully one day in Melbourne, I can cross paths with him if he's around.
BEN WATERWORTH: Absolutely. Play the Olympic card like you're an Olympian. You can cross circles with him. You know? Yeah. Come on. Jakara was on the green. I mean, Scotty James is obviously engaged to Lance's sister. So like, I feel like you are teammates with somebody who's connected to Formula One. Like his father-in-law owns Aston Martin. So like, play the cards here, Brendan. Your Olympic teammate can get you connections here.
BRENDAN COREY: Well, I've never met Scotty in person where he didn't come down for the opening ceremony. So I never got the chance to meet him. But maybe, you know, maybe things can happen in the future. Who knows?
BEN WATERWORTH: Remember that by the time Milan comes around, he should be married to Chloe. So by then you should be like, hey, Scotty, buddy, how you doing?
BRENDAN COREY: Like, you know, get some connectives behind the scenes. Exactly. Yeah. Again, Jakara was on the crew to build. Yeah, exactly.
BEN WATERWORTH: Who cares? Like, bugger Aston Martin, screw Lance Troll, get me in these other teams. Come on, let's do this. Brendan, as I said, we love to close out interviews with a set of get to know you questions. These were actually based on a Team Canada questionnaire they gave athletes ahead of Rio and Pyeongchang. And just a bit of fun, learn a little bit more about you. And also, lad, there is a drawing element. I don't know how your drawing skills are. You don't have to do it. But if you feel the need, there are some ones here you can do some homework, and we can put them on our social media. So again, entirely up to you. How are your drawing skills?
BRENDAN COREY: Mediocre at best.
BEN WATERWORTH: Okay, that's better than crap. Your favourite all-time Olympic moment is?
BRENDAN COREY: Favourite all-time. That's a tough question. I mean, I haven't thought about it. A part of me wants to say the Bradbury moment, but...
BEN WATERWORTH: Great answer.
BRENDAN COREY: I don't think that will ever happen again, at least not in short track. That was a once in a lifetime event. That was just insane.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'm assuming you would have met Bradbury. I'm guessing.
BRENDAN COREY: I have not met him in person. We spoke over the phone a couple of times.
BEN WATERWORTH: Do you then watch the Channel 7 coverage, so you can hear him commentating on you? Have you seen that sort of footage of the Olympics?
BRENDAN COREY: When we were at the Olympics, that's what they had playing at the Aussie Team HQ. When I wanted to go watch any of the Olympic sports, they had the Channel 7 on there. I did go back and watch the short track broadcast, and I got to hear Stephen's commentary.
BEN WATERWORTH: It must be surreal. That must be a weird moment to know who he is, to know the history, to know that you're in his event, and all this kind of stuff. But then he's talking about you. There he is. He's commentating you at the Olympics.
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, yeah, it's kind of crazy. I grew up and I heard about his story, and now he's there, and he's talking about me, and he's cheering for me. Even so, I mean, it's just a crazy, crazy moment.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, insane, insane. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
BRENDAN COREY: Any superpower? Teleportation, for sure. So I don't have to get on any more bloody flights.
BEN WATERWORTH: Bit of a long one from Canada to Australia. Yeah, that's not the worst itinerary I've had, let's say that. Give us your worst then.
BRENDAN COREY: My worst itinerary actually was coming back from the Olympics. It was from the time I left the Olympic Village to the time I returned to my apartment in Salt Lake City. It was 70 hours, 7-0.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, 70, jeez.
BRENDAN COREY: So I don't know who was responsible for booking those flights, but I mean, come on.
BEN WATERWORTH: How is that possible? It's like, I mean, it's not that far over the Pacific.
BRENDAN COREY: They were sending us everywhere. I mean, from Beijing, went to Singapore, and we were overnight in Singapore. By we, it was myself and Richard. We were travelling together. And then from Singapore, we went to Japan, because that makes sense, and then had another couple hours lay over there. And then from Japan, we went to LA, I believe it was. And then, you know, another four or five hours lay over there. So, I mean, it adds up.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah.
BRENDAN COREY: So, I mean, I felt like we could have definitely travelled more efficiently than what we did. I think going to Singapore to Japan. I mean, that seems kind of strange. But you could have swum that.
BEN WATERWORTH: Brendan, I think you should have already just like jumped in in the water and swum across the Pacific. You might have made better time. Geez. I'm never going through the Australian Olympic Committee's travel agents. Let's just say that. Your favourite sports movie is?
BRENDAN COREY: Sports movie. Can it be real or fictional?
BEN WATERWORTH: It can be whatever you want it to be.
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, Happy Gilmore is a classic.
BEN WATERWORTH: Ah, yes.
BRENDAN COREY: Love it.
BEN WATERWORTH: Good answer. There will be an answer. Happy Gilmore. That's real, isn't it? We all play like Happy Gilmore now that you've seen the movie. To draw a picture of yourself, again, if you want to draw, you can draw one.
BRENDAN COREY: I think I'll pass on that one.
BEN WATERWORTH: You're allowed to do that. Your funniest childhood memory is?
BRENDAN COREY: Maybe let's loop around to this one later. I don't have one that's jumping out at me at the moment.
BEN WATERWORTH: All right. We'll come back to that one. Do you have a favourite pump up song? Like you got the AirPods in before a race and there's a song that really punch you up?
BRENDAN COREY: Actually, this season at the Olympics, I was listening to a lot of Slipknot before my races. That was getting me in the mood, especially with the warm up area. It felt like someone had just died and we're all about to go into a funeral. I mean, the atmosphere in there was terrible. So that was pumping me up. And then that plus me joking around with Richard, we had a good attitude.
BEN WATERWORTH: Great. Do you get timid with the masks? Yeah, far out. Can you wear a mask in an event, like a slipknot mask to scare everyone off?
BRENDAN COREY: When we were warming up, we did not need a mask on. So warming up or on the ice, obviously.
BEN WATERWORTH: Can't do it. Well, there's an idea you can use to scare the other competitors. Just be like, oh, I'm very conscious. I'm just going to wear this face slipknot mask going off there. The most recent TV show that you binge watched?
BRENDAN COREY: The TV show that I really been liking recently is called Taskmaster. I don't know if you're familiar with it. It's a UK series. Basically, they get a bunch of comedians on there, and they just get them to do these outrageous tasks, and it's just hilarious. I recommend you go watch it. You can find it on YouTube. All the series are on YouTube. It's hilarious.
BEN WATERWORTH: Done. There you go. Taskmaster. We'll check it out. The next drawing one, draw a picture of one of your teammates. I mean, you can draw a picture of Richard with the hair. I appreciate that. Bring back the hair, Richard. If you weren't an athlete, what would you be?
BRENDAN COREY: That's a very good question. I don't know what I'd be, to be honest. I mean, probably I'd probably be working somewhere. I do have my... I have graduated university, so I mean, I'd probably be doing something along those lines. I just... Last year, I graduated in Supply Chain Management, Commerce, Bachelor of Commerce. So, I'd probably be working in the supply chain somewhere.
BEN WATERWORTH: I don't know if any supply chain people are listening, you know, begging to hire an Olympic short track speed skater, but you don't need to worry about that.
BRENDAN COREY: Supply chain is all the rage these days, so... There's a lot of jobs. I don't think I'll have any problem finding a job when I...
BEN WATERWORTH: We know when you retire, though, Brendan, as a multiple Olympic gold medallist, you'll be working for Channel 7 as a commentator at the Olympics after that, so it's fine.
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, I need something else to do in the meantime when I'm not commentating.
BEN WATERWORTH: Start a beer. Like, I mean, you know, Stephen Bradley started a beer, so start a rival beer to Stephen. You'll work with him. Last man standing.
BRENDAN COREY: You know, in four years' time, who knows what's going to be going on, so...
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, again, we'll listen to this in four years' time to see what's happened. Where is your favourite vacation spot?
BRENDAN COREY: favourite vacation spot? Well, I really like roller coasters, so anywhere with a good roller coaster is where I'll be.
BEN WATERWORTH: Have you done the theme parks on the Gold Coast? Did you manage to get up there at all?
BRENDAN COREY: Not yet. Hopefully, I can get around there sometime soon in my off season. I haven't been up along into Queensland yet, so when I do go to Queensland, I'll make sure to stop in at Movieland and those places.
BEN WATERWORTH: I think you need to spare a good week, I think, and get the multi-park pass. Dreamworld, you like Dreamworld? They've got the Thrill 6 or whatever those ones are called. I'm more of a water park man, so Wet n Wild, Whitewater, they're worth it. I like water parks too. Definitely worth it. Queensland Tourism Board, you're welcome. I expect a check in the mail, you know, visit all the theme parks. What's something that people usually describe you as?
BRENDAN COREY: Oh, I don't know. What would Richard call you?
BEN WATERWORTH: Has Richard ever described you as something?
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, hardworking, determined. I know what I want, and I'm not afraid to go get it.
BEN WATERWORTH: There you go. What would you describe Richard as?
BRENDAN COREY: Richard as flamboyant.
BEN WATERWORTH: Flamboyant.
BRENDAN COREY: That's a good word for him. I'm a little more reserved than he is.
BEN WATERWORTH: Has he taught you many Australian words that you didn't know before you worked with him?
BRENDAN COREY: Yeah, a couple.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. Okay.
BRENDAN COREY: I'll just leave it at that for now.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, that's a good answer. If you could be an Olympian in any other sport besides your own, what would it be?
BRENDAN COREY: Okay. And this would be assuming I have the skills to be.
BEN WATERWORTH: Right now, it was like, boom, you are as good as you are at short track in equestrian. Yeah, you can.
BRENDAN COREY: I think I would say 100 metre sprint.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yep.
BRENDAN COREY: To me, that seems like it's like the most hype event of the Olympics.
BEN WATERWORTH: Good answer.
BRENDAN COREY: When people think of Olympics, they think 100 metre sprint. So that's what I would choose.
BEN WATERWORTH: And to put that into perspective from Australia, I'm not even going to bring up Andre de Grasse, Canadian. Everyone knows who he is. But Australia, we had Rowan Browning, who won a heat, and he was treated like he won a gold medal. That's how big of a deal it was. We had an Australian win a heat of the 100 metres. He's more famous than some of our Olympic medallists from freaking Tokyo. So that's how big it is. So there you go. What is your guilty pleasure? Now, this one usually can be food, but this can be anything. Like if you like dressing up as a clown on the weekend. I don't know. If you do, good.
BRENDAN COREY: Great.
BEN WATERWORTH: Tell us more about it.
BRENDAN COREY: But what's your guilty pleasure? Let's say I'm always down for a round of Mario Kart.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yes. Is this Mario Kart 64 or like it doesn't matter what Mario Kart?
BRENDAN COREY: Any Mario Kart. I'm more familiar with the newer iterations.
BEN WATERWORTH: Of course.
BRENDAN COREY: Yes. I'm just ageing myself there. That's my generation.
BEN WATERWORTH: Now, who do you play as? Who's your character? Who do you go to character?
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, it depends on the game because, you know, different characters are better. Strategic.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah.
BRENDAN COREY: You got to give yourself the best chance of winning.
BEN WATERWORTH: So have you gotten just on the video game page and being Formula One fan? Have you played many of the Codemasters, like F1 2021 or games like that?
BRENDAN COREY: I don't own any of those games. In Australia, I had a mate who had one of the F1 games, so I played with him a couple of times. It was quite fun. He didn't have the wheel at the time. Unfortunately, he's got the wheel now, but at the time he didn't. So we were just playing on controller, but it was a lot of fun. Yeah, it's very challenging as well. I was playing with all the assists.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, look, I mean, I played a lot, but I play with the assist. I'm no good. I'm never going to be on an e-sports team. But I think that the newer ones are great because they've kind of almost gone down the path of like, say, NBA 2K, where you can create your own team now and you can sort of like recruit drivers. And it's fun. Like it's very, a lot more custom. Team liveries and things like that. That's really fun. I'll circle back then. Funniest childhood memories. Has anything clicked at all?
BRENDAN COREY: I mean, nothing's jumping on me straight away. I think if I had more time to think about it, I would get something. But I don't know. It wasn't necessarily a requirement.
BEN WATERWORTH: You don't have to answer them all. You know, you don't fail the interview if you don't answer the questions. Like you're fine. It's all good. Before we let you go, anywhere people can follow you, social media, websites, anything if people want to kind of follow you between now and Milan, future events and everything along those lines.
BRENDAN COREY: I have Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. You can find that Brendan Corey AUS on all those platforms. So, yeah, give me a follow. Still growing my following. It's still quite small. So you can jump on the hype train before it was cool.
BEN WATERWORTH: Not on TikTok yet? Are you on TikTok at all?
BRENDAN COREY: No, I don't even know what I would do on TikTok. I still have not downloaded TikTok on my phone yet, just because I know I'll get addicted to it. So I'm just trying to avoid it now.
BEN WATERWORTH: No, I'm just that old man who just says, TikTok, that's a Kesha song, isn't it? I don't know what it is. So we're not on TikTok, but maybe one day. Brendan, this has been a lot of fun. We really appreciate your time sort of learning all about everything, your career and the Olympic experiences that. And as I said, bookmark this. Remember this moment in your life, come Milan, when you got that gold medal around your neck. It's just everything has come full circle and you can thank us. You're welcome.
BRENDAN COREY: Well, thank you for having me. It was a nice chat.
BEN WATERWORTH: And a massive thanks to Brendan there. No pressure going into Milan in four years' time to bring on the spirit of Dale. Get the Dale Begg-Smith connection inside there. Gold medal-winning Australian-born, or Canadian-born Australian in Italy. You know all the connections that I'm trying to go here. Again, I'm just, I'm making no sense of this, but a lot of fun chatting to Brendan there. Next episode, actually before I say next episode, if you want to see the video episode of this, video interview of this, YouTube search for it on there, Off The Podium. You will find it on there so you can see it on my face, and you can see it at Brendan's face more importantly, if you want to see the visual element of this interview as well. Next week, we'll have another great guest on the show. Stay tuned to our social media, and we will let you know who that is along the way. And to do that on social media, search for Off The Podium. We are on Facebook, we are on Twitter, we are on Instagram, we are on YouTube, as I just mentioned. And if you subscribe, follow, all those kind of things on those channels, you will be able to stay up to date with everything that we do closely. And that is how you will never miss an episode or never miss what is going on with Off The Podium. And of course, of course, Ben, speak that language that you learned as a child. It is called English. Well done. You can subscribe to our show on all good podcast platforms. Search for Off The Podium wherever you listen to podcasts. Hit subscribe and you will never miss an episode. And while you're there, leave us some feedback. Say, Ben, you really need to work on these intros and outros. They're becoming worse. Bring back Colin. We like him. He's better. You can say that. I expect to see plenty of those comments as well. Never miss an episode. Do that while we're there. And we also always like to hear your feedback in terms of not just that I'm shit, but who would you like on the show? Is there a certain Olympian that you would love us to interview? By all means, send us some suggestions and we're always open to them. Now that we're an award winning podcast, we have to sway now. So if you want Michael Phelps on tomorrow, we'll get Michael Phelps on tomorrow. We've just been holding him back. Stop bombarding us with messages. So always open to suggestions if you want to hit us up on social media or leave us a comment on one of the podcast channels. Big thanks again to Brendan for his time, and a big thanks again to you, the listener, for tuning into the show. My name is Ben. Shout out to Jason Momoa. And as always, remember, go left.
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