David Morris Interview (Brink Vault)

Our final interview in our 'vault' series today as we travel back to 2014 for an extremely entertaining chat with Australia's surprise silver medalist from Sochi, aerial skier David Morris. From his expectations going into the games to just why he tried to trade his medal, this is one chat that you definitely will be smiling throughout it.

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Please note this is an automated transcript that may contain errors.

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BEN WATERWORTH: That's why you're listening to my voice as we get ready to get the last one out of the vault. You know, vault series of interviews that we're bringing you with Olympians and people involved with the Olympics throughout our parent show, The Brinks History. And this is the last one that we did. David Morris, Australian aerial skiist and silver medallist, won the silver medal in the Sochi Olympics in the men's aerials. And somebody we've talked up a little bit over the years, all over the episodes, we haven't really been around for a year. And somebody that, you know, mentioned recently in our Zali Stegel interview, and again, somebody who just really came out of nowhere to win the medal in Sochi, and it was such a great, great moment for Australia. And David is just such a nice guy, and you will hear this in this interview. A bit of a background is that I actually just reached out to him on Facebook, probably only about two or three months after Sochi. You might have even been sooner than that. And basically agreed to the interview straight away. We did the interview and, you know, bombed your uncle. And I guess if this was a Canadian athlete, winter athlete, it probably wouldn't happen. No difference, so I couldn't exactly just, you know, message a swimmer after winning gold or a silver in Rio to get him on the show that soon. But a fun chat, such a great guy, and somebody that definitely I know that I'll be rooting for hard next year when it comes to Pyeongchang. But let's listen to my chat with David Morris in 2014 from The Brink.

BEN WATERWORTH: David Morris is a two-time Olympian in the sport of freestyle aerials. And earlier this year in Sochi, he became the first ever Australian male to win a medal in the sport. I spoke to David about just how amazing it was to win that medal, whether or not he's actually taken the medal off since he won it, and just what perks he can try and get by wearing that medal into certain shops. David, welcome to the Brink and Edge radio.

DAVID MORRIS: Thank you, well, my pleasure.

BEN WATERWORTH: It's a massive pleasure, mate. I mean, things have obviously been a bit of a whirlwind for you in the last few months. I suppose it's been an interesting journey. I mean, four or five months ago, not many people in Australia had heard of you, and now everybody's talking about you. It must be a lot of fun.

DAVID MORRIS: Yeah, I just sort of went under the radar, leading up into the games and stuff, didn't want the extra pressure, and then obviously, you know, a medal would be great. I wasn't expecting it, but I wasn't super surprised either. But afterwards, everything just went kind of crazy. It's been just super intense since then.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, I can definitely imagine that. I mean, did it sort of surprise you when you got back at the reception that you have sort of been getting? I mean, I've been looking at your social media, and a lot of people very excited to meet you. A lot of the engagement from the fans on Facebook and Twitter, it's just sort of been incredible.

DAVID MORRIS: Yeah, it was actually, it was a surprise. You know, we don't have the... We didn't have a TV over there to sort of see what was going on. So when I came back, and it seemed like there was a lot of hype over the Winter Olympics, which is a surprise in its own. It's not as popular here as it is in other countries, fair enough. You know, we're a summer nation and things. But we came back, and there's all this exposure, and people sort of knew who I was and could walk down the... OK, I couldn't quite walk down the street and be recognised. But the occasional person would say, but it was really good. It was a very positive response by the media and just everyone. So it was a privilege to be part of that.

BEN WATERWORTH: I can remember, actually, the morning when it had happened, we were on air and we were sort of going through the results and we'd noticed that you'd won this medal. And I think a lot of people sort of weren't expecting it. I mean, you mentioned before that kind of there wasn't a whole lot of pressure going into you in the games, unlike some of our other athletes. Did that sort of help you with your preparation for the event that you didn't have this sort of weight on your shoulders that you're expected to win a medal?

DAVID MORRIS: Yeah, I purposely didn't really talk to media about my expectations going in because it does add an external pressure that you just don't really need when you just had to concentrate on your job. I sort of just said, look, I'm just going to do my jumps and see what happens. But realistically, in my head, I was expecting a sort of a top five and my team was expecting that sort of result for me. So we got it and it wasn't a surprise to us because we've known, you know, we know we've put in the work for the last 12 years to sort of get to this, but people tune in every four years to watch the Olympics and they haven't heard of us before. So they suddenly see a result of someone who hasn't talked themselves up. And it seems like a surprise. And I'm happy to ride the surprise wave because it comes off very well. But in the end, it wasn't a surprise to us that we did very well. It's what we've been training to do for a very long time.

BEN WATERWORTH: And how did you actually get involved in the sport? I mean, as you mentioned, winter sports, not exactly huge in Australia. Was it something that happened by accident?

DAVID MORRIS: I was just doing some flips in my gym one day, I was about 19 years old. So I was actually sort of relatively old to start the sport. And Kirsty Marshall came in and she was an ex-Olympian in the sport. And she noticed me doing my flips and offered to train me out at Lilydale, which is near my house. It's Australia's best training facility into a leech-infested pond. And she said, would you like to be the only boy on the team? I'll train you for free. So I just happened to meet her on the right day at the right time. And she introduced me to the right people. So it was just by chance that I got started in the sport. I wouldn't have pursued it otherwise, never heard of it. And it turned out pretty well.

BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, that's an amazing thing to sort of think that. Kirstie Marshall, huge champion in the sport of aerials, sort of, you know, multiple Olympics and everything along those lines. We've had such success in women's aerials across the years, with Lydia and Alyssa across the years. So, I mean, to be that first male in the sport for Australia, I mean, that must be a huge honour to get that medal.

DAVID MORRIS: It really was. Obviously, an Olympic medal, it's a pinnacle of our sport, and it's just a privilege to have an Olympic medal altogether, to be the only boy on the team to achieve that, as like, you know, the one possibility in men's aerials to get a medal, and I managed to do it. That was an absolute privilege, and it blew everyone's mind. It was great. You know, we have trained for it, but it just sort of just proved to us and everyone that the work was worth it, and a lot of people put in so much time and effort into me, and it's a bit hard to have, you know, just one boy on the team. So it just showed that, you know, it was worth all their time, and I let everyone know that, you know, they've put in so much work for me. I appreciate it from the very start, because a lot of people have helped me out from the start. It wasn't always easy, but I found the right people to help me out throughout the whole thing. And I wrote everyone a little email after, saying, you know, thank you very much for supporting me, believing in me since day one, and look what we got.

BEN WATERWORTH: Fantastic, fantastic. Have you had many people come up to you since the middle win and say, hey, I really want to get into aerials now after seeing you in Sochi?

DAVID MORRIS: I think we actually have two boys who are just starting trampolining as part of the sort of winter teams now, which has never happened before. So I'd like to, you know, claim it for myself. I've pioneered this just a little bit, and it might be starting to allow some boys to start or at least look at that sort of as a possibility. So that's actually what I've been trying to do for a long time, is just initiate a small men's program or something to sort of, you know, start some foundation in that. So they might have done that already, which is great, because that's what I've been trying to do for many, many years.

BEN WATERWORTH: It seems that every year, well, every four years, I should say, when the Winter Olympics are on, our Australia's team grows and grows in all the various categories that there are in the Winter Olympics. And given now that we sort of have the success on your side, if we can get those people in to men's aerials, that obviously then brings a question about things like funding for the sports facilities. I noticed on your Twitter that the only ramp in Australia for you guys broke about a week ago now. So I mean, this is obviously bringing you into question now. Where's the funding for the winter sports, I can imagine?

DAVID MORRIS: Yeah, and the funding is a very tricky question. I'm not going to claim that I know a lot or everything about it. Our aerial team definitely gets the funding that we need. We're supported very well through the government. You do have to sort of earn the privileges. So the more results you get, the more you get paid for. So like I have coaches paid for and training paid for. And then as you get further and further up in the rankings, like last year, I finished number two overall in the world. So I get the flights to the competitions and things paid for. Now, which is obviously very handy for me, because then I can just concentrate on that stuff. But there are other things that we need like a nice training facility because we really just don't have one adequate for World Cup level competitions. But there are a lot of other sports in the winter teams that don't have the same funding as we do. So we always like to complain about what we don't have. But if we look at the whole picture, and especially for me, I get what I need. There's other things that we could have, which could be very helpful, but there's also other teams that don't get the same sort of privileges as we do that need probably more than we do at the same time. So it's a toss up between who do people give the funding to? Because the aerial team, we're one of the most successful winter teams that we have. We got two medals at these Olympics. We do get the results, so we do burn the additional funding. So I can see how other people think that's unfair. But unfortunately, we're just a number on the page for some in the government, and they give money to the statistics sort of thing. So we do what we can. We ask for what we can get. But at the end of the day, it's up to other people where the funding goes. We just take what we get.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah. Well, I mean, five out of Australia's 12 winter Olympic medals in our history have come from aerials. So I think...

DAVID MORRIS: It is pretty well.

BEN WATERWORTH: I mean, that's pretty much 50%. One thing that fascinates me with the Winter Olympics is that going into it, and there was all this expectation on so many people, and then when the results don't necessarily come, people are quick to blame. But I mean, I sort of grew up, David, watching the Winter Olympics and the days that Zali Stegger would get a bronze, and she was treated like a queen. It was amazing that we could win one bronze. And now these expectations, you know, do you think they're maybe a little bit too high that we haven't sort of achieved that level that Australia can sort of win as many as we maybe expect?

DAVID MORRIS: Yes and no. The problem with winter sports, I think it's just a little misunderstanding that when people watch the winter sports, they expect that the best people can win on the day. And it's unfortunately not like this has been, you know, just my opinion. Summer sports, to me, like, if you're the fastest runner, you're probably gonna win. If you're the fittest swimmer, you can make the long distance, like, you'll win. But in winter sports, you can make the smallest mistake and crash out in that scene of your race. It's so cutthroat and anything can happen on any given day. And us as athletes, and I guess since you've followed winter sports, you understand that anything can happen, and you can't sort of rely on just the best person of the day winning every time, because that's just not how it works. And we get used to that on a weekly basis. But when people watch the Olympics and they sort of expect the same sort of thing as in summer sports, like, oh, this person's meant to win. Yeah, they are meant to win. They're probably good enough to win. But if you get just unlucky on the day because of the weather conditions, that can change everything. So I understand why the expectations are high. But realistically, for winter sports, you just can't look at it that way. And we've accepted that as athletes, that you can be the best in the world and come last. Like in the aerials in the men, the world number one actually did come last on the day because you had a bad day. And that's just unfortunate.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, and that's what I absolutely personally love about the Winter Olympics. I like them more than the Summer Games because it fascinates me. It's entertaining. I mean, there's a sports set as Australians. We're not used to seeing. And I mean, case in point with you, you're in that final four, you know, 75% chance of a medal. You've had your jump. And in a way, you kind of got a hope for people to sort of muck up, don't you, in order to win that medal?

DAVID MORRIS: Yeah, it's a tricky place to be in because I'm actually a very good friend to all the guys I compete against. I was up in the land of my jump, and I was just like, oh, I really hope you guys get what you deserve, but I wouldn't mind if you want to put a hand and I'll have a lie down on the hill. That's totally fine, as long as you don't injure yourself. So, you know, when Anton, who won the medal, when he landed, I was disappointed for me for a second because that was the gold medal gone, but he absolutely earned the gold. And then the two other guys from China crashed, and I was disappointed for them personally as my friends, but I just felt a little bit more happy for me. So it's a tricky situation. But then, of course, everyone watches and goes, Oh, you know, Dave came second, he's so good. And in reality, I just had a very good day that day. It wasn't purely luck, and it wasn't purely skill. It was a good combination of both. I was trained enough to land my jumps perfectly and make the right decisions. And we planned how the competition would go out six months ahead. But you do have to get a little bit lucky on the day with a couple of people crashing, but people suddenly went, Oh, Dave's really good. And I'm like, Yeah, I am good, but don't judge my whole career off this one day that you watched.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, I mean, it's sort of I remember going back in time to when Stephen Bradbury won the gold, for example. Many people called it lucky, but we've had Stephen on this. Yeah, I mean, we had him on the show, I've read his autobiography, and it's sort of the lead up to that day as well. So yeah, it's fascinating. And it's also amazing to see, David, since you've got that medal placed around your neck, to me, it seems like you've never taken it off. Have you taken it off at all, David?

DAVID MORRIS: Yeah, it's always within a 10-metre radius of where I am. People are like, oh, did you bring it? I'm like, funnily enough, it's in my pocket. No, I do love it, and I like people to feel like they're a part of it and hold it and have a look at it, because I get a lot out of that. And I say it when I talk to kids. I'm like, look, I won this on the day. This is great. I get to keep this medal, but it's worth 12 years of effort. And I like people to get into that and realise that it's more than just one day, and they hold it, and they're like, oh, wow, you know, I was up watching, and I talked to my friends, and we talked about this the next day, and these are people I've never met before, and I've managed to have an impact on people who I've never met, and that's really important to me. So I like it when people want to hold it and want to feel like they're a little bit a part of it, because in the end, they sort of are. Like, I'm representing Australia, I'm representing everyone, whether they like it or not, you know, through how we show ourselves on the TV and stuff. So people who want to be a part of it, I'm all for it.

BEN WATERWORTH: Well, if I ever won an Olympic medal, I would literally never take it off. I wouldn't care what colour it was.

DAVID MORRIS: I'll just get it fused into my chest like Iron Man.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yes! Hey, there's a superhero in there somewhere, I think. That's right, yeah. The honour as well continues to represent the nation, as you're mentioning there, carrying the flag out there into the closing ceremony. Was that kind of... How was the thrill factor compared to getting that medal around your neck? Can you compare the two? Was one better than the other?

DAVID MORRIS: Well, I would say... I think it's tricky to answer. The medal was such a long process in the making, but having the honor of carrying the flag was... You know, I was chosen out of the whole team to represent everyone for how I conducted myself for my result, and it's another moment that you just... You don't really get to do it. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Maybe I get to do it again if I'm lucky, but the medal... The medal happened so quickly, and it was so intense, but the flag ceremony, carrying it in, I really took my time and sort of absorbed everything. So that was sort of nicer that I could really enjoy the moment, knowing that it was coming, and understand the significance of it. Whereas the medal was like, boom, I won. Oh my gosh, here's all these crazy things happening. So it happened so quickly. They're very different, but they're both amazing and moments that I will absolutely never forget.

BEN WATERWORTH: You get to bump shoulders in with a lot of the other sort of athletes carrying their nation's flag. Anyone cool that you got to chat to along the way?

DAVID MORRIS: A couple of gold medalists beside me. I was like, hey, do you want to swap? I like your colour more. I was like, if you wanted to swap them over, fine. But everyone there is an amazing athlete. And the results, unfortunately, like we're saying, for winter sports, the best person on the day might not win. So there's a lot of results that sort of go unnoticed. But the effort that everyone put, even just to get into the Olympics is absolutely outstanding. It's just it doesn't show in the newspapers at the end of the day. Some people came like tenths, but that's the best result that ever got in their whole life. And they did it at the Olympics. It's fantastic. So you walk past everyone in the village who's just amazing at something. Yeah, for sure, all the flag bearers were exceptional athletes, but we're just one big group of people who are standing for something that's bigger than us individually, like the Olympics. I finally realized after all this time how important it is to be a part of that. It's, you know, sport unites people together. Everyone around the world tuned in to watch, and all these problems that we have just can sort of be pushed aside for a little bit, because this sport just brings everyone to cheer and cry for, you know, one team, even if they're not yours. And it's just, it's such a powerful tool, and to be a part of that's really important. I finally realized that after many years that I have the power to sort of influence people's decisions a little bit and say the right things and promote, you know, sportsmanship and leadership and the right morals and things. It's just huge.

BEN WATERWORTH: A very unique club too that I can imagine is an amazing feeling. Now, I want to wrap up, David, with our final five. But just before I get to those, training for you, I mean, given that you've sort of come back now, you've been doing everything you've been doing, is training something you've started again? When do you sort of get back into actually competing again?

DAVID MORRIS: I technically never stop training. So it's one of the, it's like, it's a job. Except so when I'm home and relaxing, I'm technically just recovering for our next session, wherever that may be. I have been on the trampoline. I've been doing lots of running. I'm starting to get back into the gym, just to sort of make sure I'm fit enough for when I do decide to start again. I'm just taking a little bit of time off at the moment just to let the body recover, because I've been wearing it down for two years basically. So I want to wake up one morning, just really want to return to the sport, because at the moment, I'm just... I need to find the motivation to set myself another four years, because it is a long time. If you ask anyone, what are you doing in four years? They don't know. I don't know either, and I don't know if my body will hold up. So the morning that I wake up and I decide I'm ready to go back, I'll head straight back into it, and it'll be great. I hope it happens. I really want it to. And I'll just train for the next Olympics and try and get a gold medal next time, because now I know I'm capable.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, exactly. Well, I was going to say, that's probably the question most people are asking you. Are you going to Korea in 2018?

DAVID MORRIS: So my official answer is yes, I'm going there. I'm just waiting for the day where I'm motivated to start it properly.

BEN WATERWORTH: There you go. There you go. Can you imagine that the season coming into the Southern Hemisphere is winter at the moment as opposed to Northern Hemisphere? I mean, when does sort of the actual proper season start again? Does that happen later in the year?

DAVID MORRIS: So we're all Northern Hemisphere season, so that's usually December that we... December, December, we head over to Finland for training and then start following the World Cup around. But usually about now within the next month or so, we head over to the US to train in their summer, and we train off a water ramp. A plastic ramp in the water, so we spend four months over there training in their summer, come back here for a little break, and then head back over again for the winter. So we're not home very often. So our season, even though the winter is actually quite short, we're travelling all the time and training most of the year, ten months of the year.

BEN WATERWORTH: Wow, so you're either getting wet or are getting wet with cold snow.

DAVID MORRIS: Yeah, pretty much. It's either warm when you're soaking or you're trying to keep warm while your toes are freezing off. It's not the best. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't take up sprinting or something.

BEN WATERWORTH: Well, you never know. That could be something that you could look at. I don't know. Final set of questions for you, David. I know these are very fun, easy way to end the interview. Starting off with question number one, what is your favourite type of cheese?

DAVID MORRIS: My favourite type of cheese? I would say Swiss cheese. I can just eat it on its own.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yes, yes. Now, are you sort of when you go to like a subway and they try and force the cheddar down your throat, are you straight away like, no, give me some Swiss, none of that cheddar rubbish?

DAVID MORRIS: Pretty much. Like, excuse me, give me my choice. I get to choose everything else. I'm going to choose my cheese as well. It kind of makes the whole family.

BEN WATERWORTH: Well, they're very forceful now, I've found, actually, when they straight away just say, cheddar cheese, OK? It's like, no, it's not OK. I want my Swiss.

DAVID MORRIS: Just like, is monopoly money OK?

BEN WATERWORTH: Yes. You should try that next time. That might work.

DAVID MORRIS: Yes, yes, that works.

BEN WATERWORTH: When it comes to toilet paper, are you a folder or a scruncher?

DAVID MORRIS: Oh, a scruncher.

BEN WATERWORTH: A scruncher. No hesitation there.

DAVID MORRIS: I've got things to do. No time to be, you know, careful. I'm like, I don't want to stay in there or that. I want to get out and get on with my life. You're in and out.

BEN WATERWORTH: You've got to go out and win Olympic medals.

DAVID MORRIS: Come on.

BEN WATERWORTH: Training, training. Growing up, what was your dream job?

DAVID MORRIS: Dream job. Originally, I wanted to be a vet. Then it sort of turned to being a pilot. Then I realized I had to really study for those quite hard, and then they went out the window, and I ended up being a teacher. Not that that's any worse. I liked that, but wasn't prepared to study that hard to become a pilot. So that would have been my original one. You know, maybe an astronaut. That's quite out there.

BEN WATERWORTH: Well, you fly, kind of. You go up high and stuff.

DAVID MORRIS: Yeah, I was not in control of it, and I want the plane to leave, and I have to wait for them to do it for me. I'd rather be doing it myself.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yes, yes. Also, growing up, who was your childhood celebrity crush?

DAVID MORRIS: Well, that's always a good question. It would have been, what do you think? Probably like Christina Aguilera.

BEN WATERWORTH: Ah, yes.

DAVID MORRIS: And now it's moved to Mila Kunis, probably.

BEN WATERWORTH: Ah, yes, yes, indeed. She's on everybody's list at the moment, I feel. Sorry, everyone.

DAVID MORRIS: Silver medal.

BEN WATERWORTH: I always forget priority.

DAVID MORRIS: I can step back in line.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yes, well, look, I'll tell you what. You get her, and then you hook me up with Natalie Portman. After seeing them in Black Swan together, I'm set.

DAVID MORRIS: Okay, we can make a deal. You call your people, I call my people.

BEN WATERWORTH: Set it out. Done. It will work very well. Final question for you today. David Morris, what is your worst habit?

DAVID MORRIS: My worst habit? Probably not being able to sit still or stand still when I need to.

BEN WATERWORTH: Right.

DAVID MORRIS: Like right now, I'm talking to you, I'm pacing around my house. I literally cannot stay in one spot. When I'm interviewed, I feel like I want to move around. People have to follow me. I just can't sit still. I have to be fidgeting or doing something, and it leads to nail biting or I have to eat, because I just have to be moving at all times. It's quite frustrating for me and everyone else around me.

BEN WATERWORTH: I could actually say that it's being a fun sort of interview, like pacing around with you with the microphone. It's sort of, you know...

DAVID MORRIS: Yep. All right, let's go skiing while we're talking. Please keep up.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, absolutely. And look, you could become the first ever aerial skier to maybe be interviewed mid-air. I don't know how that would work, but...

DAVID MORRIS: It would be a very quick three-second interview.

BEN WATERWORTH: Yes. I'm sitting, I'm sitting, landing. Okay, done. Might not work, perhaps, what we're thinking of, but they can work something out. David, pleasure. Of course, people can check out more on you. Of course, aerialskier.com is your blog. Follow you on Twitter, aerialskier, and on Facebook at Oz Aerial Skier, and it's always fun.

DAVID MORRIS: Yeah, I've just owned an aerial skier all over the internet.

BEN WATERWORTH: You do. Get it out there. Yes, exactly. You're the only one out there that people need to care about.

DAVID MORRIS: That's right. I mean, you can care about the others, but look, pretty important. I have a medal now. You can believe what I'm talking about. Kids now, they suddenly listen to me. I told you the same thing last year, but now I'm wearing this. Now you pay attention.

BEN WATERWORTH: That's what you should do in Subway, actually. Walk in there with the silver medal, and they may now ask you for space.

DAVID MORRIS: What piece would you like, sir?

BEN WATERWORTH: None of this cheddar garbage. You're an Olympic medallist. Best of luck, mate. Hopefully, we'll get you on before Korea, when I know you're going to go on and win gold. It's been a lot of fun. And best of luck for everything that comes your way in the future.

DAVID MORRIS: Thank you very much.

BEN WATERWORTH: Bye I can say that David did win bronze in the recent World Championships in 2017. So heading into Pyeongchang next year, good lead up. And we hope that he can go one better. Hey, silver is a nice colour, but you know, clearly he wants gold, and we're going to be rooting for him. Lots of exciting things to happen with Australian and Winter Olympians, and we've got less than 12 months now to see how they go. So bring in Korea 2018, and we're going to keep an eye on them. You're going to keep an eye on Off The Podium, because while the vault is now closed in terms of the interviews that we can bring you, we're still going to bring you other stuff, because that's what we do here on Off The Podium, we like to bring you content, the interviews, other episodes, plenty of things still happening that we're planning and we're hoping to bring you. So stay tuned for that. iTunes, subscribe to us on there, you leave us feedback, you can rate us, you can like us on Facebook, you can do all that, and you can feel satisfied with yourself because you've done something good. So please don't do that, because again, as you often hear from my voice, we mean it, because we don't feel loved. But we are loved, because you're listening to us right now. I'm a contradiction, just sometimes, just really don't listen to me. That's why I'm going to end this episode right now, Off The Podium. Thank you for your time. We're going to speak to you soon, and we appreciate your company.