5 Questions With World Champion Inline Speed Skater Julie Brandt Glass

In this episode of 5 questions with an Inline Speed Skater, we brave to rain to catch up with World Champion, Julie Glass-Brandt. We asked the legendary speed skating champion 5 questions about her professional skating career and we are happy to share her answers with you.

Who is Julie Glass Brandt:

Julie Brandt Glass (born 23 February 1979), known as Atomatrix, is a former roller derby skater, and a 17 World Champion Inline Speed Skater. We look forward to checking in with Julie and learning more about her illustrious skating career and her awesome skate company, TKO Racing.

What World Champion Julie Glass had to say…

What does the sport of inline speed skating mean to you?

Inline speed skating, man it’s a tough sport but I feel like it’s given back so much to me over the over the years, and I feel like it’s translates to life and other sports, so well that it’s been really good to me. It’s all the only thing we’ve ever done also to for our livelihood is be in the business and selling skates so as an athlete, and as a business, it’s it’s just been been really good to us. I love it.

Which race events do you find challenging to skate?

I guess the most challenging events are always points races for me, the longer races. I have my most world titles at like 500 and a thousand. So for, those that are like my total wheel house. Um, the hundred and three hundreds, I haven’t done as well in the past because I don’t specialize on starts. It’s something you kind of have to work on and work on work on, and I just don’t because I’m always nervous to like pull a groin or something. But if you’re gonna specialize like you know, I definitely could do that easily if I put more time into it, but I’d say I get the most anxiety with points races, Anything other than that I’m good.

What was your greatest moment in the sport?

Oh man, the greatest one. I think that making the team for the first time I was on the bank track and I’d already won the 300, and then I won the points race, I went two races back to back. I think after I knew that I won the track and I was on the world team and it was my first world team, I was like it was a really, I mean back then it was really difficult to make the US team. I mean it was a dog fight just to make the team. Um, I almost I feel like it was more memorable than my first world title I get.

I think that we just all got to such a high level that winning a medal was inevitable. Like of course I’m gonna win a man. Of course I’m gonna win multiple gold medals. You know I’m on team USA, you know. So yeah, just making the US team and really like putting my stamp on it. I wanted to make it the year before, I got laughed off the track. It was a disaster and I think just working so hard that next year like, I’m making it no matter what and I’m gonna do this. I’m gonna be a world champion, and then it kind of all comes to fruition. And then you know, you then you have to always set new goals. Because I see a lot of people, they go into sport, they do really well, and they’re like I’m done. And I’m thinking, what? You just got started you know, that’s actually half the battle, is like or the hardest part of the battle is getting to a high level and maintaining. Because then it’s like people want to knock you off your pedestal they wanna they wanna beat you, and for me, I found I learned how to have joy and enjoyment in that. It was fun.

What needs to happen to grow inline speed skating?

I’m thinking that we I think we’re missing, I think coaches. I think we need more more coaches you know. We had we had such high level coaches back then. They were so into it you know. like Paul Hedrick and David Downing. They were parents, but they also like put their whole heart and soul into it for not only their kids but for their whole team. So I do feel like we’re building back right now. Though, I have I sense some special things coming.

I feel like Joey and Brittany, like I love them, they did amazing, and they they did everything they could in the sport, but they kind of they left pretty early because of the ice, and why wouldn’t they. I mean now they’re Olympians, as they should, but I think that the baton didn’t really get passed off . There was a generation where it missed where it’s kind of like you needed Brittany to chase you know. Or you need it because you know when I she was coming up ,she was chasing me you know. So there was just that lapse in there and I feel like, uh you know, I don’t know. I feel some special things coming. I think the US, so we’re not down and out forever so we’ll see.

Who are your favorite skating coaches?

Um, favorite coaches. So my first coach was Mark Muse. He was really good Rob Dunn was huge part of my skating career I have to say my husband was probably the biggest help to me he was on the world team 86 to 91 he’s the world champion as well he’s more of the Muse brothers era um but yeah I mean he’s really when I moved out to California my outdoor skating I just really worked on outdoor outdoor outdoor and technique and it just brought me to a whole another level because i was already really good indoor but then ii hit the other aspect of it and then you hand now most recently I’m into the overall fitness and nutrition so we’re kind of bringing it all together like how can you do this at this age but really I have everything covered now I got the nutrition covered I got the technique covered. Um yeah, so it’s been fun to come back and just get out there and hang with the little girls.

Make sure to check out the TKO website: https://goldmedalcompany.com/tko-racing/

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