BOARD REP

ON FEB. 11 Red Gerard, 17, won the U.S.'s first gold medal of the PyeongChang Games—and then things really got crazy for the youngest snowboard champion in Olympic history. Gerard still had another event in Korea to prepare for, the big air competition on Feb. 21. But two days after his gold, he was back in the States, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live in Los Angeles. Two days after that he was in New York City to make the morning-show rounds—and stop by the SI offices for a chat—before returning to PyeongChang.

SI: Are you exhausted?

RG: I'm pretty tired. It's been fun. It's been pretty crazy. Ever since I won this, it's been all interviews.

SI: You've said that you weren't an Olympics fan growing up. Do you still feel that way?

RG: It feels a little different. I didn't think it was going to be this intense, this much stuff going on.

SI: When you won gold, did you have a sense of how your life would change?

RG: My agent always told me that if I did win, it would be nonstop media for a while. I still don't know if my life will change afterwards, though.

SI: Were you enjoying Korea before you left?

RG: It was cool. The only bummer part was the athlete village. The food is so Americanized.

SI: How are you feeling about your next event?

RG: I don't think of myself as a big air rider. I actually wasn't too psyched that it got put in the Olympics. Big air is one jump, slopestyle has three jumps. I don't get what they were going for.... I look at myself as a more creative snowboarder.

SI: What happens when you get home for good?

RG: I'm hoping I can just chill for a really long time. The U.S. Open is four weeks after [the Olympics]. That's my favorite event ever. And then hopefully going somewhere tropical after.

SI: With the medal?

RG: No, I'm putting this thing in storage. If I don't have it on, no one knows who I am. That's perfect. That's what I like.