The Squeeze - Lindsey Vonn: (Snow) Peaks and Valleys

Episode Date: February 15, 2023

TW: depression  Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn, one of the most successful female alpine skiers in the history of the sport, joins your hosts today to discuss her mental health journey and her unbelievable longevity in the sport. Lindsey explains that her injuries gave her a renewed perspective each time, and she never felt she worked a day in her life. Of her unparalleled accomplishments, she shares which one meant the most, and talks about her decision to retire, which was ultimately made for her by her body. She speaks to her mental health while she was injured and following her retirement, and the emotional support she finds from her dogs. The three discuss the false notion that success equates to happiness, and your hosts applaud Lindsey for being so open about her depression. Lindsey discusses the Lindsey Vonn Foundation, empowering underserved girls with scholarships and programs, and what’s in store for the future. Lastly, Lindsey tackles the Lemon 11 segment, diving into the dangers of social media, the value of finding the type of therapy that works for you, and, potentially, a dog podcast? We’re in.  Be sure to follow Lindsey @lindseyvonn and visit lindseyvonnfoundation.org  Thanks to our amazing sponsor for making this episode possible: Farmer's Dog — Get 50% off your first box of fresh, healthy food at TheFarmersDog.com/thesqueeze. Plus, you get FREE shipping To email us your questions or share your story, you can reach out to [e-mail].  Be sure to rate, review, and follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode! Plus, follow us on Instagram, @thesqueeze and personally @taylautner and @taylorlautner. To learn more from The Lemons Foundation, follow @lemonsbytay on Instagram and visit lemonsbytay.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Over here at the squeeze, we talk about it. Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of The Squeeze. I'm your host, Taylor Lautner. And I am also Taylor Lautner. Finally, you got that. All right.

I feel like I always say, I'm like, I'm your host, Taylor Lautner, and then I look at you and I'm like, Oh, girl, I'm a fast learner. Okay, good job. Uh-huh. I'm turning this on. How's your day, babe? My day? Uh-huh.

It's a good day. Yeah. It's a good day. Yeah. So like a highlight or anything? Uh, probably talking to the one the only, Lindsey Vaughn. I grew up watching Lindsay's races and everything about her. My dad was a skier, a very competitive skier on the U.S. ski team. You're welcome, dad. And he was obsessed with Lindsay.

I mean, all skiers, but Lindsay, he was like, she's the best. So I would watch her all the time. And she is the definition of a bad biotch. Her career, she started at, well, I mean, she started skiing at the age of two. competitive at the age of seven and then had her Olympic debut in 2002, age 17, did it until 2019. She has 82 World Cup wins, 20 World Cup titles, three Olympic medals and seven World Championship medals. Yeah. I mean, the accolades are unbelievable.

The longevity is unbelievable. I had to like look up multiple websites to verify that that the 2002 to 2019 was accurate. Because I was, I had. no clue that it was that she skied for that long. Yeah, no, she's one of the best Olympians of all time. The best female skier. For sure. I saw like a chart of all of the years and all of her medals.

Wait, this is real? And then I literally searched it four different times trying to figure it out. Yeah. This interview with her, I think, is one of my, is something that I looked forward to the most because there is something about speaking to an Olympian, someone that literally dedicated their entire life from the age of two in Lindsay's case to when she stopped in 2019. The just the achievements, the just I can never, even just like if like an NFL player, for example, like it's obviously different, but like they wake up, they work, they train.

These Olympians are literally skiing for the country against the top people in the entire world. Yeah. No, the respect that you have for that is just unbelievable. And I mean, I'll just say she's not just an Olympian. Yeah. She is the top of the top. She is one of the legends. And I think it's so cool that with the titles and everything and all for accolades and being literally one of the best, if not the best in the world, she is so kind. Yeah.

She was so sweet. I didn't want to stop talking to her because there's. She was so sweet, but also just so much wisdom and she's experienced so much life. Yeah. Yeah, she's very down to earth, a very kind person. It just seems like somebody you'd want to hang out with. Yeah. You know?

I mean, I invited ourselves over. Yeah. Let's see if she follows up with that. But yeah, just like loves quiet time, turning on the fireplace, spending time with her dogs. Just, yeah, very much our speed. Yeah. All right.

Let's dig into it. Let's get squeezing. Lindsay, thank you so much for being here. We're really truly honored to have you. And we just feel so lucky. I mean, I was a fan of yours before I met you. My dad, you know this. My dad was a skier, was on the U.S. ski team.

So growing up, he literally would force me to sit down and watch your races. Not that I didn't enjoy doing it, but it just, it was a lot. So I grew up with watching you all the time because my dad was like, this is what you're going to do. You must watch me. Well, I'm sorry for the tortress. Trust me. I feel bad for like boyfriends and husbands that are forced to watch me when they clearly don't want to. But no, I genuinely enjoyed it.

And then we finally met, I think, proactive. Maybe the first time. Yeah. Is it proactive or was it with your sister? I don't know. I can't tell. Yeah. I spent many hours rehabbing with your sister.

I know, because they actually met you before I did. Yeah, she definitely did. Yeah. I'm, I'm, intertwined a lot in her family, so. Yeah. Yeah, you're practically part of the family. So, thank you for being here. We're very honored. Yeah, so excited. But we do start every episode with a little citrus got real. This picture thing has a bunch of random questions in it. So Taylor is going to pull a question in your honor. Fun, silly, stupid questions. But it's like, like our icebreaker to start the show. So I'm going to pull one for you. All right.

And let's see what we get. Get a good one. Drum roll. Is cereal soup? No, it's cereal. Because soup is like, you know, like, it's not soup. It's not, you know, soup is like, it's tomato soup. It's chicken noodle soup.

You know, cereal is just cereal. It's awesome. Could be any meal any time of the day. So then with that, because my mind went. Who laid up this question? Of course it's not soup. Sorry. Because like soup, my mind goes, so soup is hot.

Cereal's cold. Uh-huh. But there is cold soup? So is cold soup? Yeah. Cereal? No. But it's also not just milk and like, I don't know.

I guess, yeah. Cereals just like two ingredients. Like the cereal and the milk. And the milk. Yeah. Well, that was the correct answer by my point of view. Because if somebody says cereal soup, we got to have a conversation. Yeah. I think that would be a secondary problem. That's awesome. Well, as we said, we're so excited to have you, but also we had so much fun, like, researching you.

I literally, I think I sat up here for like four hours, just like she did this. Deep in the depths of Google. It was just, it was, it was, I went down the round. It just kept going. And I was just like shocked. And I just have so many questions because like when we started this podcast like a big thing of mine was like I want to talk to Olympians like people who have literally gone through the most insane, most physical, mental just like training careers. It's just it blows my mind that people do this. I just I don't even understand. There she is. She's she's there in the flesh on the screen. But you made your Olympic debut at 17, 2002, and then you did it until 2019. How do you, how do you do that? How do you stay, like, driven and, like, wanting to, like, just, like, keep doing that and stay focused and stay, like, at the level you were competing at for so long?

I know that's a huge question, but I'm just like, how the heck does that happen? Yeah. What's the secret sauce? I think the secret size is just that I love what I do. You know, I'm so passionate about it. I think every day that I'm on the mountain is a lucky day, and I've never taken it for granted. I think also my injuries have given me, you know, renewed perspective. You know, every time I've been injured, it's given me something new to be thankful for and to

appreciate and to really, I don't know, grow as a person. So I think skiing's really, it's obviously like my passion, my love, but also my backbone and something that gives me like a lot of stability and joy. So I've never lost the fire and I always was motivated because I always loved it. You know, it didn't feel like a day of, I've worked in a day in my life. Wow. Wow. That's the goal.

That's so special. I know. I feel lucky. Like, you know, it's not very many people that I don't know. I feel like I've seen a lot of people in my life that have been pretty miserable doing what they do. And I'm very privileged to be able to. to follow my dreams and do what I love.

Yeah. That's so awesome. This is a massive question as well, but I am curious. You obviously have a ton, a laundry list of accomplishments. If you could choose one, is that even possible? Is there one accomplishment that you could say I'm the most proud of or means the most to me? Or is that just entirely impossible? I mean, it's a pretty hard question.

I mean, I think there's so many things that I'm proud of. And I think a lot of the victories after, you know, being injured for two years, you know, those kinds of things are really meaningful to me. But I think winning the Olympics was probably the most meaningful simply because I've been working towards that since I was nine. You know, since I met my idol who is Pigaboo Street. You know, that's all I wanted to do. And so all of the other achievements were amazing. and they all had, you know, their incredible memories and different experiences.

But the Olympics, it felt like that was my life of sacrifice for that one moment. And I wish I could relive it over and over, but it was gone so quickly. But I so enjoyed it. And, you know, especially now, looking back, you know, since my mom passed away and she was there. And I have so many amazing clips of her and my sister and sisters and brother and, you know, just how emotional we were as a family because, you know, it's not just my sacrifice. it was also theirs. I think that was all of our accomplishments together as a family.

Yeah. No, I can definitely relate to that. And that's something super special. Yeah, you talk, I mean, you've mentioned your injuries. These are all such big questions because you literally like had such a big career in trying to sum this up. I'm sorry. I'm making you quote unquote sum it up. Feel free to give a long answer to. We got nothing after this. But how has like injury infected? your mental health throughout your career.

Like when you first got injured, what was that? Because as you said, like skiing was your, that was like your everything. How do you handle that? It was hard. And I think each injury had,

you know, different moments that were harder than others. I think my first, you know, major ACL, MCL blowout in 2013 was, I had the Olympics coming up. So I think that goal really pushed me.

I mean, I was working out, you know, the day of surgery, you know, right after I got out of when I was like, as soon as I was conscious, I was basically working out. But my second ACL injury, I missed the Olympics. And it was probably one of the lowest moments of my life. You know, I was sitting there and I didn't have skiing. I was missing the, you know, I was in the peak of my career and I was missing, you know, the 2014 Olympics in Russia. And I just, I couldn't even get out of bed. And I was, I'm really thankful that my

therapist, Lindsay Wininger was there because she literally would throw the covers off me, like, grab me and, you know, force me out of bed some days. And it was, wow. It was pretty brutal. And I think the other thing that really saved me was my dog, Leo. I adopted him right before I had my second surgery. And, you know, I think just dogs in general are such an emotional support. And I know everyone, like that term gets thrown around so much. And, you know, it's like emotional support dogs should be on airplanes and all that crap. But honestly, it was what got me out of bed in the morning, you know. And it once I finally got my footing and I felt like I was making progress and I got out of this hole that I was in, you know, then I was okay. But it was.

It was really hard. And, you know, sometimes it's just hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You know, why am I working hard? What am I doing here? And, like, your mind just spins and there seems like there's no way out. And, yeah, so my great support system and Leo, good old Leo, he saves the day. Oh, my gosh. Dogs.

Yeah, I don't know. I don't know what I would do without our dogs as well. Yeah. How cool that your therapist is there, too. That was literally like, no, we're getting it. Like we're doing this. Yeah. So something as you guys know that has been a huge part of my mental health journey,

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That's Cerebral C-E-R-E-B-R-A-L.com slash podcast and use code the squeeze. Offer is only valid on monthly plans. Other exclusions may apply. See C-Sy for details. Get going on that therapy. So you go through all the injuries. You have an insanely prolific career. And then let's jump to the end.

When you start to realize it might be time to hang up the cleats or the skis, how difficult was that decision? And I mean, just how much of a toll did that take on you having to get to that, you know, conclusion? Yeah, I mean, I basically, you know, when I realized, It was time. I like locked myself in a room and I kind of had to process it on my own. And, you know, it was a really hard decision to make.

But I had had three surgeries in one summer. And it was just, it was too much. You know, my body was falling apart. I was trying to get back to racing midseason with no LCL. So I was like two knee braces. I had three fractures in my knee and in my leg. And I was like, what am I, what am I doing here? You know, I want to ski with my kids one day and this isn't worth it anymore.

You know, I'm not going to be able to walk when I'm 50. So, you know, I made the decision. And in some ways, it was a little bit easier to retire that way because the decision was really made for me. You know, my body made the decision over my mind. But it also made it a little bit harder to digest because, you know, wasn't necessarily my choice. You know, I would like to choose when I go out. But, you know, I was able to finally finish my career with a World Championship medal in my last race. And I think, you know, if I'm looking, if I'm being realistic, that's probably one of the best case scenarios in that situation that could have occurred.

So I think then, you know, after I retired was the most challenging part because, you know, you realize that there's no going back. I woke up the next day after my next race, after my last race. And I'm like, well, that's it. There's no more. But my career is literally dead. And I had to kind of go through the grieving process of, you know, figuring out, you know, what to do next. And I knew what to do. I had, you know, a million business things lined up.

You know, I've been prepared for that moment my whole life. But it's when that thing that drives you is no longer there is really, really hard. And so it took me about a year and a half to really think. figure it out. And I'm actually kind of thankful for COVID to have the time to be able to reflect and, you know, think about my life and what I want and what makes me happy and all of those things. And it's not often that you actually get to, you know, stop everything and really focus on yourself, which I think most of the time is, you know, it's like being happy seems like, you know, it's like everyone, you know, be happy. That's, you know, everyone has to do that. But it's so

difficult. You know, actually knowing who you are and what you want is is also really challenging, especially knowing who you are. And when you really have to sit and like look in the mirror and when you turn the lights off and you're alone and you have to, you have to be happy with yourself and what you've done and, you know, find something else that motivates you. So I think I'm in a great place now, but it was a challenge. I don't say that. I can only imagine when you're just, when you're go, go, go, especially as much as you were, I just can only imagine the reality that hits when you finally do like hang up the cleats. And like you said, you knew what you were going to do. You had, you know, a ton of options. But the reality of just sitting on the couch and being like, okay, this is real. Now I'm starting with this next chapter of life, which I've never been before, it's, that's a scary thing. feeling. Yeah, and be lucky for that. I mean, you've got plenty of opportunities ahead and it's yeah, I think it's a great position to be in. So I'm jealous. I'm jealous of you. We watched a few things

and you, we want to applaud you and we have the utmost respect for you and how open you've been about your struggles with finally facing depression for Taylor and I, obviously that was a little hard for us to come to, but I can't imagine the stigma that is of the athletic world and to the degree that you were competing at how difficult that was for you to, one, finally face it, but to be open about it. So we just have like the utmost respect for you to being open and having that conversation because like men's mental health, mental health of athletes, like all those things. Like there's so much stigma behind it and like finally breaking those walls down is something that we're very passionate about breaking down walls in the world of that so we just want to thank you for for that

yeah that's huge and we're like we're newer in that journey we're we've just begun that and we're passionate about it but after you know watching plenty of interviews of yours and stuff i mean you've been talking about it for a while and you know i'm sure that was terrifying to come out with like for the first time but just you know the most respect thanks no i i appreciate that and i know i mean the kind of the first step is the hardest and you know you guys are early in the journey but you've already made the hardest hardest step so again kudos to you as well i mean it's a it's a tough thing to talk about but i think once you do talk about it it opens the door wide open and and i don't know for me i felt a huge relief i mean i kept it a secret

such a long time. And, you know, as an athlete, everyone wants you to be strong and tough. And, you know, you can't show weakness to anyone, especially not your competitors. Yeah. And when I came out with it in 2012, it was like, no one was talking about it and no one really knew what to do with it. You know, I would, I would get the craziest questions. Like, how is your mental health today? Do you feel sad? Are you going to take a pill for it? I'm like, that's not how it works. It's not like I take a Tylenol when I wake up and I feel sad. You know, it's like I was really frustrated with the lack of knowledge and, you know, understanding from people, especially when I was in Europe, you know, that just the concept

was so utterly foreign. And now it's so nice because everyone's talking about it and so many athletes have been so vocal about it. And, you know, there's so much less stigma to it. And I think, you know, the notion that if you're successful, that means you're automatically happy is finally going away. You know, success doesn't mean, you know, you're happy. And, you know, trophies and gold medals, that doesn't make you happy, you know.

And I think, you know, I think that understanding is finally becoming, you know, more better received and better known and just much better place than when I started talking about it. So. Yeah. And I know, again, for me, it felt so nice to actually talk about it. And at that time, you know, a lot of people would. come up to me and they would say, oh, you know, I'm depressed too. Thank you so much for talking about it. And people that you would never expect and never, even after that, ever spoke about it. So at least,

you know, I hope that it gave other people, you know, the courage to either get therapy or, you know, talk to someone. But for me, it was, it's been a long journey. But, you know, therapy works and I'm in a great place. So I'm thankful for that. I love that. I also love what you said about people think you have success or you have all the trophies or you have the money. Yeah. Like, why are you sad? Yeah. And like, you have to come to peace with who you are like inside.

Like, adding those things on doesn't take away the issue. Like you have to address it within. You know, like people think, oh, if I just got this much more money or I got this job promotion, then I would be happy. But that's like, that's not what it is. And that's why people with millions of dollars or $10 deal with this. and we have to address it, like, within ourselves. Yeah.

I mean, I've thought that before. Plenty of times I've been like, well, if I'm able to do this or get this, I think that will fix the problems. And pretty much every single time I've learned that it doesn't fix anything. Maybe it even makes it worse sometimes. Honestly, it just complicates it more. I think it makes it worse. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think success and mental health are two totally separate things. and we've always mixed the two to your point of, you know, money or success or fame gets you, gets you happiness or, you know, and I think that's why people always keep, you know, keep searching for something that's not there, you know, and you can't, it's not an exterior thing. You know, your, your well-being comes from inside and you have to take care of the inside, you know, to be truly happy.

And most people, you know, miss that step. And I think, you know, understanding yourself, whether it's journaling or talking to friends or therapy, you know, that's, you know, you have to figure out who you are and what makes you tick. Yeah, absolutely. So being a nonprofit founder myself, Taylor, you helped me along that process. We wanted to touch on the Lindsay Vaughn Foundation. What inspired you to start it? What is it? I'm sure our listeners would love to hear about it.

Oh, thank you. Our mission is to empower underserved girls with scholarships and programs. We started in 2015, and it really stemmed from me meeting my childhood idol, Pekulu Street. I met her an autograph signing in Minnesota for about 90 seconds, and that totally changed my life. And what I want to do is empower girls to believe themselves, you know, whether I'm at a camp with them in person or just giving them the opportunity, you know, to follow their dreams, just making them understand that they have the ability. you know, to go where they want to go and be who they want to be. And you'd be really surprised at how many people tell children they can't do something. And, you know, that's, I think, one of the things that I experienced in my camps, you know, with the girls is that, you know, oh, well, my teacher said I could never be this.

Or, you know, my coach said I could never, never do this. And I'm not smart enough or I'm not good enough. And I just try to empower them in whatever way I can to be the best people they can be. It's crazy. I hear like all the time. I don't, I didn't specifically deal with it, but I hear so many stories from people that are like, you know, my teacher told me, you know, my teacher in high school or college, like literally like told me I would never amount to anything like, you know, family members of mine. Why are these people teaching? I'm like, what? I can't believe this is real. It's just, it blows my mind, but it's unfortunately true.

And I love that you are, you know, counteracting that. I'm trying. I think honestly, those kinds of negative comments either completely squash a child or, you know, turns them into someone like me who is like, you know, extremely driven and motivates them even more. But I'd say 99% of the time it's going to squash a kid's hopes and dreams and make them feel utterly, powerless. And, you know, I don't really know how, you know, how to correct that and, you know, where it stems from necessarily because it's really all walks of life, you know, it's teachers, it's parents, it's friends, you know, it's also social media. You know, there's so many ways to

be negative. So I think for me, I just focus on the positive and, you know, how can I enable these girls to think positively and turn, you know, a negative comment or, you know, whatever it is. it's negative and something positive. And I've seen a really good feedback with that. And it's a simplest thing. You know, it's honestly, you think every kid knows that. And, you know, if someone says something negative, it doesn't mean that it's negative. I can make it something positive.

But they really, they don't really grasp that concept. And so I think that's something that, again, I've had a lot of success with. And I just keep trying to hit home with them on is that, you know, just because someone says something to you doesn't mean that's true. Yeah. Yeah. And how cool that I know those girls just like value your opinion and your advice so much. So that is just like so amazing that you decided to do that and inspire young girls. And that's just huge. Yeah. That's huge. Superhero to them. So cool. So are you guys. So I think it's just, you know, everyone can have a positive impact. So it's all about just, you know, trying to do something good. where can people go if they want to get involved read about it donate how does that is there a website to go to is there yeah how can people read more about it i appreciate it it's just lindsayvonne foundation dot org it's a super easy you know yeah it's hard to remember yeah not so taffy okay life now

let's jump forward even more what's going on what is the future have in store where where's your headspace at now? Like what's going on in life? What are you excited about? Honestly, I have no idea what the future holds. You know, I feel like I'm in such an amazing place and I, you know, have so many things going on. I'm very lucky that my hard work on certain things is really paying off. But I don't, I don't know. And I think that's the exciting part. You know, for me, I try to find new challenges. You know, as I said, skiing was such, you know, So much my passion and what I love to do. And I feel like I love doing a lot of things, but I haven't found, you know, like one thing that I'm, you know, this is it.

You know, so I'm just challenging myself every day. You know, I'd make sure I have the right perspective. And I feel lucky that I'm able to work hard, you know, that I have these opportunities. I'd say what I'm enjoying the most of all the things is probably, you know, being more creative and designing my own ski clothing line. and I have my own goggle company now. And we just did a collaboration with Gucci. And that was insane. We've only been, you know, really on the market for three years.

So we're just, I don't know, it's fun to see the progress and, you know, to kind of build the team and to be, you know, so involved in the creative process. And then we just got a CBS Studios deal with my production company, which has been awesome. And hopefully we're going to get some projects done here. But yeah, you know, I think I'm trying to keep my mom's perspective of, you know, every day is a great day and just see what I can do, see what's possible. Are you going to start like developing projects and stuff? Yeah. Yeah. We're talking. We've got some projects lined up and we're talking to some writers and I've got, you know, some projects that I've already been working on that we're, you know, trying to get slated. So, so we'll see. It's, it's fun to be, you know, kind of the opposite side of the camera and, you know, to really develop things out. and my partner, Claire, and I grew up together in Minnesota.

We've known each other since we were like seven years old. So it's great to be able to work with your best friend. And we've got a lot of, I think, hopefully good ideas. So hopefully, I mean, nothing happens quickly in show business, as you very well know. But hopefully we can get something going. That's awesome. I got to say, your ski goggles. I don't even.

Yeah, you use them for cutting onions. You know, that's not necessarily what I made them for. But, you know, you look good doing it. But they worked. And I look really cool cutting onions. He does look really cool cutting them in those goggles. So chic. I don't remember.

So chic. I love that. I should bring them back down. I put them with the snow gear. I should put them in the kitchen. Yeah, because we get to the snow so often. We ski all the time. Yeah.

But they're just too cool to not wear. So I'll just wear them around the house. Did you see her Gucci collab too? I have. So cool. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Well, I know what I'm doing after this.

Thanks, guys. And I know you probably want to ask this, but will there be another dog in the future? Or is like three? You have three, right? It's three. No, I mean, three is like. So when we lost our dog bear in January, last January, I was like, I was so devastated. And I was like, I can't get another dog.

But then only having two dogs after you have three is like a giant hole. and I couldn't handle it. So we got a Belgian Malinua, Jade. But I think for right now, that's that's all I've got. You know, I don't know if I could handle four. I'm already feeling like the crazy dog lady with three. But I think if, you know, I stopped traveling as much, you know, there's negotiations happening. It could be, could be four.

I also feel like a Malinwa counts. I was just two and a half dogs because sometimes I'm just even just with our one puppy. I'm like, you are literally like, you. There's a lot. They're so sweet. And, like, R. Malin Wah, she, like, is the most cuddly girl. Like, she loves to spoon. She's, like, so, she's so sweet.

But she is just, you, that girl sees a ball and she will not stop until her. That's a long. I've never seen her stop. The focus is unbelievable. The focus is insane. I mean, we take her on, like, you know, a 10-mile mountain bike ride, eight-mile mountain bike ride. And she gets home and she's like, okay, guys.

what's next? I'm like, we're not moving anywhere for a few days. Remy's eyes allow her to get away with a lot more than she should. Yeah, she's beautiful. I would, I would be a sucker. I mean, I'm already a sucker, but. Yeah. I'm a little nervous once we have children. Yeah, I don't know how we're going to have kids. Our kids are going to look at you and be like, peace with the eyes. And you're like, okay, they're literally going to come to me, ask me. And I'm going to say no. And then they're going to go to you and be like, can we do this? I'll be like, sure.

And then I'll be like, no, babe. That's, I see it. I see it on now. I don't think I can do that. Oh, my gosh. Remedy just has a hold with me. I know. She does.

Well, good luck with that guy. Thank you. Appreciate it. Oh, my gosh. Next, you want to head into our little lemon 11 segment, just 11 questions that we love to ask here at the squeeze. Yep. Okay.

You want to kick us off? Oh, sure. This one is a fun one. Okay. First question. What movie or song title best describes your mental health today? That's a tough question. Or song title, man.

Because there's so many good ones. Or like song lyric too. Man, there's so many. I mean, like every workout video, I feel like my rap songs are pretty much my mental state. Any little Wayne song, basically. Okay. I mean, gladiator's kind of like my motto, you know, just just a boss, badass, you know, it's kind of just grit it, grid it out to the end.

But I don't know, let me, let me think about that one. Yeah, I didn't, I didn't plan this one. So I didn't think about it ahead of time. I would have had a good one. But let's just say, let's just like any little Wayne song, probably. Okay. Okay. Best described.

Noted. What's a title of a little wine song? Well, we won't go with a lot. So maybe any of the other ones. Maybe not lollip. Next question. Oh my gosh. Okay.

Next question is how open are you with the people in your life when you're struggling? It's always hard for me. I think that's my biggest struggle is talking to people about it. I'm really good at sharing with my therapist and, you know, with my friend. But, you know, I'm, I'm, that's one thing. that I kind of hold really tight is, you know, how I'm feeling because I don't usually like anyone knowing when I'm feeling happy or sad. I'm just, you know, I'm just a strong person and I don't want to let anyone in. So I think that's my, that's my hardest thing is being open. But, you know,

when I start crying and then it's a little obvious. You're like, crap, now I've got to come clean. Shoot. Yeah, I'm with you there working on working on. working on that one. You're getting better. I'm getting better. Yeah. I'm getting there. I just, I take all my problems to Remy. I tell her everything. I do too. And Lucy looks at me with like, I have five heads, you know, especially when I'm crying. I'm trying to talk to her. She's like, why are you here? What is wrong with you? Don't drag me into it. Oh my gosh. Like, I was perfectly sleeping without you disturbing me. Okay, moving on, number three.

What is your favorite part of your morning or night routine? Night routine is just cuddling on the couch with the dogs. Like, I make a fire and I watch a TV show and, you know, we just relax. You know, it's, I feel like in the morning I've got so many things that I've got in my mind that I want to accomplish in the day that I kind of am a little frazzled. times and at night it's just a nice time to unwind with with the pups yeah i think that was i think that was my same answer for you we we did my episode of her interviewing me a couple weeks ago and i think i think that was my uh same answer yeah you like time laying on the couch um yeah fire turning on the tv snuggling with the pups yeah the dogs the dogs is a big one if you

ever need company to snuggle your dog with you. We don't want to invite ourselves over, but we would gladly accompany you with the dogs. I think Jade and Remy need to meet. I think Jade and Remy would be best friends. I think they do. But, you know, we could open up a can of worm so we can't put back in. So I don't know. It could go both ways. Or they could just tire themselves out and then we'd be both very happy. Yeah. Yeah. Now that is important. Best case scenario. Okay, next one. How is your career impacted your well-being? Yeah, positive and negative. A lot of positives, you know, a couple of really big negatives, but I think mostly positive, you know, it's while skiing was always a crutch for me,

it was also something that gave me a lot of stability and happiness and, you know, again, I said the positives that way, the negatives by a mile. Yeah, absolutely. Okay, number five, this is a tough one. at least it is for me. What is the most misunderstood thing about you? A lot of people think that I'm, at least in the skiing community, think that I'm really dramatic and it really bothers me. I'm very open-minded and I speak my mind and I've always just kind of been me and I don't, you know, everyone in skiing, you know, kind of likes to do the same thing all the time.

And I like to do things differently. And I think people just don't really get that. You know, they don't get why. I don't do it the way that everyone else does it. And I think that's often misconstrued as, you know, I'm like seeking attention or I'm arrogant or dramatic and I'm literally just being myself and enjoying my life and, you know, doing what makes me happy. And I think in my career, it's been pretty frustrating.

You know, at the end of the day, I really don't care. Right. At the end of the day, like, you have to be happy. And like, you know, it's like, it is what it is. You can think what you want, but I know who I am and the people that know me know who I am. And that's the most important thing. Exactly. Yeah.

That's so true. As long as the people that are in your little who, know who you are, obviously easier said than done. Easier said than done for sure. But it's just so important. It's just so important to remember that, remind yourself that all the time. Yeah. You can't control what other people think of you. Out of your control.

Who the Frick cares? Bye. Exactly. Next question. What is the greatest advice you've ever received? For my old coach, he's Austrian. He's my coach in Minnesota. He's also my dad's coach.

And he said, you know, you're fast the way that you are. Don't ever change. And I really took that and incorporated it into my whole life. Kind of the same thing that we're just talking about. You know, I am who I am. And I'm unique and I'm different. And I'm great the way I am. And I don't need to change for anyone else.

and I think that that advice has served me really well. Yeah. That's so sweet. Yeah. I love that. How cool also that that was your dad's coach too. I know. He's 97 and he like just stopped coaching two years ago.

Yeah. He's a force. And he sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger, so it's pretty funny. Oh my gosh. That's so good. That's great. Wow. Okay.

Number seven. What is wellness? mean to you? I think wellness means taking care of myself. And I think that can mean a lot of things from mental health to physical health to the way I eat, you know, how much I sleep. I just think it's about taking care of yourself. And that's, you know, like I said, it's a lot of things that's important not to try to cut

any corners and, you know, keep a broad perspective of what you need to be well. Yeah. Yeah, can't agree more. Number eight, what is your relationship with social media and do you think it affects your well-being? Loaded question. Yeah. You guys know the deal. You know, it can be a really great place and it can be a really, a really nasty place.

And I've, you know, sometimes I really can't help myself. And I'm like, I have to respond to this. And I always regard it because it's just giving them, you know, the bullies and the mean-spirited people of the world a voice. And I shouldn't, you know, I shouldn't engage and I know that. But, you know, sometimes when people criticize me or, you know, they say, I'm not nice to kids or like something like that, I'm like, but this is so not true. I have to, you know, and it really gets me in this, you know, negative cycle of like, why do people think this? And I am not that person and I want to stand up for myself. but you're just never going to win.

It's not a, you know, social media is not a battle that's once. It's a place where, you know, you can make it positive by sharing, like, I feel like if you share your experiences, you can help other people. But, you know, there's always going to be people that hate you. No matter what you do, no matter of your mother, Teresa, there's always going to be people that don't believe you, that hate you, whatever it is. And it's hard to have thick enough skin to not let it affect you. But that's the only way that you can survive in that realm. And I think that's really hard for kids. You know, that looks like all the kids that they're around,

they're on social media. And it's like a nonstop, you know, bullying. And I don't honestly, I would hate to be a kid right now because I don't know if I would do very well in that situation. But, you know, you just have to find the positives. And like, same thing as I said, say true to yourself and that for everybody else. Yeah. Yeah.

It's so true. I can't imagine. Like, thankfully, I didn't join Instagram or social media in general till I was, I mean, definitely into my 20s. Now, like, you know, I deal with it and I'm 30. I can't imagine a teenager. I used to say that when I mentored a group of junior high girls. That was five years ago.

And I was saying that five years ago. Yeah. Like, I would say I can't imagine being like. in your shoes right now. And I really can't imagine it. Yeah. What a dangerous world. It's just,

yeah, you've got to constantly remind people that it is true. You're never going to win that battle. Yeah. You can give it all the effort. You never going to win. Yeah. Yeah.

And I think, you know, to the point of kids, you know, that's the biggest thing that I have to work through with my kids in my camps is like, you know,

having them stop thinking that social media is real. You know, and that that's what dictates real life. It's not. You know, there's so many also like Photoshop and edited. It's not just bullying. It's also self-confidence and where, you know, kids are getting their images from and, you know,

what they think is beautiful and what they think is acceptable. And there's so many things out there that are just not, they're not real. And kids just don't understand the difference. And I think it's a hard thing, but the necessary thing to try to teach them, you know, that Instagram is not real. and, you know, we just have to be true to ourselves and be authentic.

And that's all you can do. Yeah. Yeah. And like following the correct accounts, like following people or accounts that are going to better you. I remember being in junior high. I think Instagram had like just started maybe. But before I could physically see pictures, I remember like cutting out photos from magazines

of models and taping them on my meet to be like, like, I want to look like that. And like that is now like on. social media. That's what you're scrolling. That's what you're scrolling and you're seeing. And if you are struggling with how you look and you're judging yourself based off of that, like some people just have some people just got lucky. I don't know. You know, but also like it's you just need to feel your like, you need to put in the healthy stuff into you. You can't be scrolling on that if you know you're struggling with that. You got to follow those accounts and just make sure what you're looking at is going to fuel you,

it's going to like fulfill your heart is going to not send you spiraling. Yeah. Okay, nine. On to nine. What is your favorite form of self-care? The gym probably is my favorite. Yeah.

Right below that is the dogs, but I think the gym is, you know, since I don't have skiing anymore, it's really the only place that I feel like I'm 100% present and I can kind of clear my mind and, you know,

empty out all of my energy and in a productive way. And I always feel better when I leave the gym. And it's a really big priority in my life. You know, again, it's like it's everyone's, everyone thinks meditation is great. And to me, fitness is a form of meditation. You know, it's a form of like being present and clearing my mind. Yeah.

Meditation has a lot of different looks, I feel like. Yeah. Like it's not just like sitting with your eyes closed in a yoga position. Yeah. I don't have enough patience for that is the problem. No, but you're so right, that is such a form of meditation. I feel like meditation is whatever you can be doing that just like clears your mind. That just lets you have that chill, just reset, figure out, you know, what's going on and just kind of like, not associate, but just kind of like, work out the energy that your brain.

Whatever allows your mind to do that and get there is meditation. Okay. Totally. Second to last one. For me, that's looking into Remy's eyes. Oh, my gosh. Sorry, it's just going to be a dog. Just titled this episode,

like Yvonne and dogs. You should do also a dog podcast, and I'd be happy to help with that too. Okay. Oh, my gosh. Business idea, it's creative. That's awesome. To your production company.

Yeah, we got a production company. We're set. Yep. Okay, number 10. Who has had the most positive impact? act on your mental health. My therapist, Dr. Armando Gonzalez, he's a, he does a lot of athletes and he's a really different way of approaching mental health. And, you know, we have like goals and, you know,

you approach it like you're going to the gym and, you know, what you want to accomplish. And I don't know, I just feel like he's opened my mind up to, you know, what therapy means. And, and really helped me, you know, my journey after I retired from ski racing. So I think he's been the best and most positive impact on my mental health of anyone ever. That's amazing. That's awesome. I love alternative, like, not use or approach it. But yeah, alternative approaches to like typical, like, therapy sitting and having someone listen to you.

Yeah. That's awesome that you have someone. Yeah. It's not talk therapy. Yeah, it's different. And I, yeah, I just think, you know, different forms of therapy work for different people. And, you know, it's all about finding what works. for you and how you can process things.

And yeah, and so his form of therapy worked really well for me. And I feel like I've processed a lot of unprocessed things. So very positive. That's incredible. Okay. Last but not least, number 11. If you could go back to one moment in your life, what moment would it be and what would you say to yourself?

Ooh, that's hard. Deep. I mean, yeah, it's really deep. And I'm trying not to cry because I think it would most likely be a moment with my mother. It's hard because I can't go back. So it's like a really hard thing to think about, you know, what I love to do certain things in my career again, absolutely winning the gold and sharing that with my family, of course.

But, you know, having Christmas with my family, with my grandparents in Wisconsin, you know, those are the kinds of moments that I think I would. I would be so amazed if I could experience that again, but I can't. So I have to, you know, I have to process that. I can't go back in time, unfortunately. Yeah. I want to ask you guys a question. What has been the thing that's helped both of you the most in your mental health journey?

I'd love to know that. You didn't expect this, did you? You didn't expect it. I didn't. I didn't. But I'm well equipped because I definitely know what the answer. is to that in that Tay is the biggest part of that for me

because for so long I just didn't allow myself to access those thoughts and the idea of that, you know, admitting it to yourself. And it took Tay in meeting her and getting to know her and kind of both of us

going through that same thing around the same time. to be able to get there. And just like you said, the hardest part is admitting it to yourself, is coming to that conclusion that you need help in whatever way it is. That's definitely the hardest part. So, yeah, I thank Tay for just even, you know, allowing me to stop pushing and pushing down

because it's just going to get worse the more you continue to push. That's awesome. What about you? Oh, you guys are so cute. I mean, I don't want to be annoying, but say, I don't know. No, say it. Wait, I've been, like, I've been around a lot of mental health, different aspects of mental health, like, fiction, different mental health diagnosis. Never myself, but with a lot of, like, family members, close friends.

At work. And, yeah, I worked as a COVID nurse, and I, that was a horrific time. Definitely pulled it out of you. That definitely, that was the first time I ever experienced anything. And it took, it honestly took Taylor being like, dude, you're like unwell. What is happening in to put it in layman's terms? But I think just having someone, because we both, we both didn't get into therapy until recently.

And I think that we were kind of giving each other therapy until as of recent. but I definitely think that just having someone that you're comfortable with really like pulled that out. Yeah. And just feeling safe, having someone that you could feel safe with. For sure. Definitely. And me to be like, I woke up really sad today or I'm like in a mood. Some days I'm just like in a mood and Taylor's like, okay.

But I love it. I love nothing more than like a morning where we wake up and she gets, she typically gets up before me because she goes with the dogs. but I love nothing more than in the morning when she's just like, I'm not in a good mood today. And I'm like, okay, you know, I'm glad that you feel comfortable enough to say that to me. I know that going forward. So let's, you know, attack the day knowing that because we all have those types of days. We have days where we wake up sad. We have days where we just wake up grumpy, anxious.

and it doesn't, sometimes you can't put your finger on it, why you wake up that way. But again, the most important part is just being able to identify that and know it. And now let's move forward. And I love nothing more than just, you know, you expressing that to me. And I think you said it in an interview I watched Lindsay that you, when you finally, like, face your depression, you were like, I'm fine. Like, yes, I have this, but I'm fine. Like I'm, I'm fine. And I feel like that's like something that it took us a while.

And I think that's one of the hardest things people need to understand is like, just because like you're dealing with these things doesn't mean that's just something you need to address and like just be open about and just like obviously easier said than done. But like I just need to tell Taylor, hey, I'm having. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. I don't know what's going on. And then we'll just like face like just address it as it is and yeah, you know. just like anything else. Yeah,

I totally agree with you guys. I think it's almost like an injury. It's like, oh, I woke up in my tricep perk. I'm going to take care of that. You know, like,

and no, I think the perception is, and I think what also you have in your mind, at least what I have in my mind before I talked about it, was that like something's wrong with me. And it was more scary in my mind when I kept it,

when I tried to keep it, you know, suppressed. And then as soon as you are open about it and talk about it, and admit it's like, I'm, I'm good. You know, I'm struggling, but I'm fine and I'm here and we're going to fix it.

And, you know, I'm going to talk about it. And it's like, I don't know, I think it's just like anything else that you face in your day. And it shouldn't be treated as something, you know, so, you know, taboo. It's just a normal process of life. And it's got to take care of each other and take care of yourself. And that's just a part of being, you know, finding out how to be your best self. Yeah. I'll move on from this right after this,

but I am obsessed with that correlation of injury and mental health. Like I've never thought of that before. If you get injured, whatever, you know, if you don't, you're going to get better. If you treat it, you can't just, you know, you can't just go through an injury. It'll linger. It'll get worse.

Yeah. It's going to get worse. It's not going to take care of itself. do what you need to do to, yeah, to fix it. And it's the same thing with your mental health. Yeah, it's true. I love that. Totally agree.

Taking that metaphor. I love a good metaphor. I always say I'm a visual learner, like a nursing school. All of my study guides were color-coded. So like one disease would be this color and then another one would be another color. And that's how I would remember. So I love a good, a good little visual demonstration. Well, thank you so much for chatting.

us. It was so good seeing you. Please tell the puppies. We say hello. I will. Give them an extra treat for you guys. Oh my gosh. Please. Please give Lucy kiss for me and tell Jade that she needs to meet Remy. We'll do. We'll be besties. Well, thank you so much, Lindsay, for squeezing us in. And thank you all at home that are listening for squeezing us into your busy schedules. Please be sure to check out our full episode on YouTube. You can follow us at Taye Lautner, at Taylor Lautner, at The Squeeze. Also, you can check out Lemons by Tay on Instagram and lemonsbytee.com for additional resources and conversations on there.

You can check out Lindsay's Instagram. She's at Lindsay Vaughn and check out her foundation, which was super cool to learn about today. That is Lindsay Vaughn Foundation.org. Yes. Plus, if you want to email us at Lautner.com, the squeezepodcast at gmail.com. If you have any questions, anything you feel like sharing with the squeeze community, any topics you want us to touch on, guests, you want to see any insight, advice, questions, tips you have for us. Send them our way. But most importantly, please make sure to share your journey with us and with those around you and send the show to a friend you think could use a little extra squeeze in their life. Absolutely. Love you all.

See you next time. When life gives you lemons, what do you do with them? Over here at the squeeze, we talk about it. This podcast has been brought to you by Podcast Nation.