Apolo Ohno - Personal Life

Personal Life

In the United States, Ohno is credited with popularizing and being the face of his sport. He said it is amazing being a role model to younger skaters. Growing up, he did not have that influence within his sport, but looked up to other athletes outside his sport, such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, and Lance Armstrong. Training for short track has been the main focus of Ohno's life, but he has been able to work on other endeavors. He studied business at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Believing in healthy eating habits, Ohno worked with his training coach John Schaeffer during preparations for the 2010 Winter Games to develop a nutritional supplement business called 8 Zone. The supplements consist of eight-hour segments where a dose is administered. He hopes this business will be able to be a sponsor for future Olympic Games.

After the 2010 Winter Games, he created the Apolo Anton Ohno Foundation and partnered with the Century Council's Ask, Listen, Learn Program to discourage underage drinking of alcohol and to promote a healthy lifestyle. Furthering his goal of promoting healthier food choices and working with the endorsement of the Washington State Potato Commission, he will be working on a cookbook with top Seattle chefs in 2010.

He has an interest in pursuing a career in the entertainment world. He participated and won the fourth season of the U.S. reality show Dancing with the Stars. He will be returning for the 15th Season which features all-star celebrities. Ohno's interests in fashion led him to be a guest judge on the fashion reality show Project Runway in 2008, and to an endorsement deal with Omega, the maker of luxury watches, in 2010. Omega President Stephen Urquhart said, "We are very proud to support Apolo here in Vancouver and congratulate him on his outstanding performance. He is poised to make history of his own here and we are thrilled that he is part of the Omega family".

Ohno has an interest in being a philanthropist. He participated in GAP's campaign to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa by joining Product Red. Half of the proceeds went to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Besides working with The Salvation Army and the Clothes off our Back Foundations, he used his fame to help raise funds for a Ronald McDonald House in Seattle after the 2002 Winter Games. He helped raise $20,000 for Nikkei Concerns, a provider of care and services for Japanese elders living in the Pacific Northwest. Later that year, Ohno joined Senator Ted Kennedy in Washington, D.C. to show the importance of math and science education by helping launch the "Math Moves U Hippest Homework Happening" program, which gave students the opportunity to do math homework online with celebrities and athletes.