The Me I Was Then Is Still the Me I Am Today ー　　Yuzuru Hanyu, Johnny Weir, and “Poker Face” August 8, 2026

I found myself thinking about Yuzuru Hanyu again today, for the first time in a long while.

How many years has it been?

Back then, I knew absolutely nothing about figure skating. Then, by chance, I watched Yuzuru Hanyu skate to Romeo and Juliet, and I was completely stunned.

He was about seventeen years old.

I remember thinking:

“Who is this young skater?”

That was the beginning.

From then on, I started following Yuzuru Hanyu.

At first, I knew nothing about skating. But the more I followed him, the more I began to understand. I learned about jumps, spins, steps, costumes, music, and all the things that make figure skating so fascinating.

I followed him through the years, all the way to his Olympic gold medal and eventually to his retirement.

Along the way, I discovered another skater: Johnny Weir.

Johnny Weir.

The American figure skater whom Yuzuru Hanyu greatly admired.

And one of the performances that remains particularly vivid in my memory is Johnny Weir skating to Lady Gaga’s Poker Face.

https://youtu.be/iodhXLVmEMI?si=Gfr-5hBShvEcB64O