Two-time snowboarding gold medalist Chloe Kim “loves” Coach Prime (Deion Sanders) and likes to ride at Copper Mountain and Aspen Snowmass, she told a crowd of around 100 gathered for a wide-ranging question-and-answer session at The University of Colorado-Boulder Tuesday night.

Kim covered topics ranging from managing the expectations associated with winning Olympic gold at a young age, to mental health, work-life balance, branching into acting and media careers and more with student moderators at the event.

Kim, who won her first Olympic gold medal on the halfpipe at age 17, has dealt with lofty expectations since childhood.

“I kind of miss being 13 and being the underdog — there was no pressure back then,” Kim said. “I got to get on that podium because that’s what people are expecting of me. I felt like for a long time if I didn’t win, I was a failure.”

The 23-year-old has taken most of the year off from snowboarding to be “able to be a young adult.”

“I got into acting a bit, I was able to chill with my family and friends. There’s so much more to life than competing,” she said.

Kim has been able to differentiate snowboarding from her self worth after years of trying, she said.

“I feel like I have two different personalities (in training and not). I take my rest seriously. I get 10 hours of sleep every night. I need to sleep. I know what needs to be done. I’m the first one at the mountain and last one to leave. Truly, I work hard and I play hard,” Kim told the crowd.

In tougher moments, Kim likes to remember why she began snowboarding in the first place.

“I didn’t start because of the sponsors,” she said. “I thought it was cool to get free stickers on my board.”

Kim has become a bit of a de-facto role model for other young Asian-Americans. Seeing her excel in winter sports “is exciting. I know I didn’t have that when I started skiing,” moderator and CU student Nell Hubbard said.

After winning at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeonchang, Kim was proud of her Korean-American identity for the first time, she said.

“I really want so many other young Asian Americans to feel what I feel because I think for the longest time we’ve been put in this box. So many family members told me to be a golfer or a lawyer. I don’t have the qualifications for those things, but I’m a pretty good snowboarder,” Kim added.

The speech was a marquee event for CU Boulder’s “Distinguished Speakers Board,” a student group that seeks to bring a variety of talented and interesting individuals directly to the student body.

“Our fall events are normally a little bigger. Freshman are wanting to get involved and meet people,” Chair Veena Bhatnagar said.

Students from Crystal Ski Shop, a local winter sports gear store, set up a booth in the lobby for curious students to ask questions and learn more about visiting ski resorts themselves.

For those just starting out in the sport, Kim stresses patience.

There are somedays where, Kim said: “I’ll catch an edge going down the mountain and I’m like, ‘I thought I was supposed to be good at this.’ It’s all about practice.”