Olympic ice dancer Alex Shibutani on tackling creative projects and taking on his next endeavour - photography

"The storytelling element on the ice and the sharing of the experience off of it has been something that I've always involved myself with," explains Alex Shibutani, the PyeongChang 2018 bronze medallist in ice dancing alongside his sister, Maia.

Since the Shibutanis last competed over five years ago at those Winter Games - where they also helped the U.S. to a bronze medal in the figure skating team event - the duo has been busy with said storytelling: Video-blogging their adventures around the world; writing young adult and children books; and speaking at a myriad of conferences and summits; and much, much more.

"I've taken it as an opportunity to be able to share the sport and then my story with people around the world and create a more inclusive environment," Shibutani says of his approach.

But in the recent past, the 32-year-old has turned to a new outlet for his creativity as he has tried his hand at - and trained his eye on - photography.

"For me, photography has always been something that has been a bit of an escape," Shibutani tells Olympics.com. "Now as I'm transitioning into more professional [photo] work, I try to maintain that same sort of appreciation for the mindfulness and sort of the simplicity that I find in taking photos.

"It's always been something that's been relaxing for me, so even as I progress into this new chapter, I want to be able to maintain that."

• Shibutani siblings on their new role as authors (2020)

Alex Shibutani: A focus on photography

As some of the Team USA athletes walked into the studio for a promotional photoshoot in November ahead of next year's Olympic Summer Games Paris 2024, there was a familiar face behind the lens for the U.S. Olympic Team: Alex Shibutani.

Shibutani photographed the likes of reigning Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee, 800m athletics winner Athing Mu, 400m hurdle champ Sydney McLaughlin and many other Olympic and Paralympic stars.

"I've been looking to expand the horizons for the types of storytelling and [platforms] that we communicate with," Shibutani says of his photography foray. 

This follows Shibutani's extensive YouTube efforts throughout his and Maia's career up until a year ago, the ShibSibs channel garnering some 147,000 subscribers as the sibling duo criss-crossed the globe for skating and beyond. 

But now he's turned his focus on photography, having had an exhibition of images he took in Japan (he and Maia are of Japanese descent) earlier this year for Leica in Los Angeles - and now seeing where the medium takes him next.

"I'm expressing my creativity in different ways than I'm used to doing on the ice," he says. "It's been interesting to be able to explore all of that."

'I always tried to ground myself'

While Shibutani mentions toying with the idea of a return to competitive skating ("there's definitely the possibility that we will return"), he appears firmly planted in "the life after" for an Olympic medallist, but still feels as though he and Maia are reaping the benefits of their experiences as world-class ice dancers.

"I always tried to ground myself in the present moment because it's easy to get stuck in the future and start thinking about your goals," Shibutani, now 32, says. "Every athlete has very specific situations; each person is different.

He continues: "But I think to start with, just on a very simple level, breath and the ability to control one's energy, especially when there might be a heightened level of intensity, [that] is something that definitely required years of experience to be able to - I wouldn't even say master - but to have more awareness of that."

Shibutani participated in the IOC's International Athletes' Forum in October, a gathering aimed to "empower, excite and unite the global athlete community" that included a mix of current and former athletes, as well as leaders within a host of Olympic sports.

The forum represents another pillar of Shibutani's varied CV, as he also serves on the Athletes' Commission for the coming Olympic Summer Games LA 2028, set to be the first Olympics in the U.S. since Salt Lake 2002.  

"The job of the Athletes' Commission is to be a voice for the athlete globally: Not just the U.S. team, not just the L.A.-based athlete, but we are trying to craft and form the Games to the best of our ability that will positively impact the athletes that compete in L.A., but also the future," he says.

"[Our aim is] to create a defining legacy - for both Games and the city."

Alex Shibutani, choreographer?

Maia and Alex were inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in January of 2023, with Alex becoming the first Asian American man to earn such an honour. 

"The visibility that we've been privileged to have as Olympians and as Asian Americans is in large part thanks to the people who've come before us," he told U.S. Figure Skating. "I think it's up to every next generation to continue to carry things forward and make things better."

While there are no shortage of projects off of the ice to keep them busy, does Alex consider choreography as an option in his future?

"I think anything is a possibility," he says. "I really try to avoid fencing myself in - or limiting myself. I think, you know, here in Lausanne [at the forum] we are having all these conversations about athlete life and athlete transition and identity. And so I wouldn't rule out choreography. The ability to move and express myself to music and then to be able to maybe help other athletes do the same, [that] is something that definitely is very appealing."