The "beginner's mind"

Appearing on TV this past February, Ayumu talked about fulfilling his dreams. He mostly looked relaxed, like it was any other day, but in his face and in his voice you could detect a special softness and ease. This wasn’t just because he was recharging, after taking home the gold from the Beijing Olympics, his third consecutive medal at the Winter Games. The Yokone Ski Park where we caught up with Ayumu is, in his words, “almost like my hometown, the place where it all began.”

The facilities include a 450m ski slope and a 100m halfpipe. Relatively small for Japan, this is a tranquil place—family-friendly and best suited for beginners and intermediates—in stark contrast to the champion who trained here and, at twenty-three, has already conquered the world.

“I spent most of my childhood practising here with my brother and dad. We came out every day, up through middle school. It’s about forty minutes from where I grew up in Murakami [Niigata Prefecture]. The second school was over, we headed for the slopes. Practice was intense. Fast-paced. We’re talking one run every minute or two. Once we got home and ate dinner, I hopped onto my skateboard. I practised until late, tiring myself out every day. Sometimes I wanted to hang out with friends, and other times I didn’t want to come out here at all. But hard as it was, I kind of miss those days.”

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The lodge at Yokone Ski Park is steeped in memory, as the place where Ayumu would reflect after a day of practice as a kid. Today, it’s home to a cafeteria open throughout the year.

Ayumu wrote in his first social media post after taking the gold: “I’ve met one of my childhood goals.” At Sochi in 2014, his first Olympics, he won silver. At the precise age of fifteen years and seventy-four days, he became the youngest Japanese person to win a medal at the Winter Games. Later, at Pyeongchang in 2018, he won his second Olympic silver medal in a row. Branching out in 2021, he skateboarded for Japan at the Tokyo Games, where he stunned the crowds. Back on his snowboard not even a year later, he was crowned victorious.

“Ahead of the Olympics, I started wondering if maybe I was overdoing things. Pushing myself harder every day, racing against time...It’s not like I’ve stopped practising, but the fact that I’m not in that state of mind anymore feels, at least to me, so restful. It’s like I can be my true self. What’s fun about right now is I can snowboard on my own without thinking about anything. Or I can go out to eat with friends. Just like anybody else.”

Saying this with a warm smile, he really does come across as being “just like anybody else” his age, but looking back on what Ayumu has accomplished, he’s already had a brilliant career, reaching levels met by no one else before him. Most of all, his parallel distinction at the highest levels of skateboarding, “a completely different sport,” may well be called unprecedented.

Soaring more than five metres above the edge of the halfpipe, itself as high as a two-story building, Ayumu spins so fast he’s gone before you blink. His superhuman abilities are the fruit of untellable hours of practice.©Kosuke Shinozaki

“Honestly, it was pretty scary moving away from snowboarding and competing in a different sport. I had my doubts for sure. There was no way of knowing if I was just taking a step back, or whether or not it was going to help me grow. But I learned things that I only could have learned by confronting those fears. In the end, the experience served me well in Beijing. Trying something new, totally different, gave me an energy that really boosted my performance. That’s something I would never have learned without skateboarding. It’s funny how growth can sneak up on you.”

Confronting his uncertainty gave him something priceless. He was entering uncharted territory, with no map or manual to turn to. The only thing he had to guide him was the strength of his resolve.

“At this point, I’ve approached the limit of what’s physically possible, so going forward, I’ll have to forge ahead and create my own opportunities. That’s really tough. No one else can point me in the right direction. I have to figure it out for myself. I guess I’ve gotten tired of this competitive atmosphere where everybody’s held to the same standard and it’s all about winning or losing. There’s always going to be younger athletes, and eventually the day will come when I fail to qualify. That’s why I need to find a new field, so that I can stay continuously engaged. Though it’s really hard to figure out what that might be. I’m sure people are wondering, ‘What’s the next big thing for you?’ but it’s okay for it to be, you know, something small. Since I was four, I’ve been aiming for the highest heights of competition, and that’s meant not having a lot of the experiences other people my age take for granted. I think I’d like to spread my wings. To get down to business, but also have some fun, instead of just pushing myself. I know there’s value in the group dynamics of a competition. I’d like to continue what I’ve started, I’d just like to add something to the mix. I guess you could say I’m reaching higher than ever.”

His usual cool and collected self, Ayumu has a forthright spirit when it comes to curiosity, challenges, and competition. I had to wonder how today’s world looks in his eyes, so I asked him.
“I’m not so worried about what people think. Everyone has their own way of living,” he began, by way of an introduction.

“I’ll say this though. Having the internet and all kinds of technology has given us lots of control, but it’s also taken it away. We think we can’t survive without this stuff, or maybe we’ve forgotten how to think on our own. Lately, it seems like lots of people have become more concerned about others than they are about themselves. Expecting them to behave a certain way. Obviously I think we should make the most of modern conveniences. But all the same, it’s important to me to make sure I’m always thinking for myself, working from my own strengths. So when it comes to what I want to do, or want to become, an ideal scenario would be that I’m doing what I like, while making some kind of a difference in other people’s lives.”

Not relying on the standards or systems set by others, but striving to think for yourself, on your own terms. In that sense, finding the next challenge is not a breach of character for Ayumu, but a return to square one. Much like how “classics” often hold the key to opening new worlds

“Long before skateboarding or snowboarding were considered sports, there were people out there on their boards, figuring things out. They had a hunger that I find really cool. Sometimes it’s called ‘beginner’s mind,’ which is something that you need to hold on to. It makes me think of this place. There’s just a tiny halfpipe. It’s not like it has all the facilities you could ask for. But it helped me grow. It takes more than a day or two, but stick with it for ten years, and you’ll stand out from the rest. I’d like to think I’ve proven you can start from somewhere like this, nothing special, and still make it to the top.”