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Sports + Life + Balance
Sports + Life + Balance
S2 E5 - “Skating with Your Best Friend” feat. Tai Babilonia + Randy Gardner
In this episode of SPORTS + LIFE + BALANCE, John Moffet is joined by figure skating duo Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner. Tai and Randy competed in the 1976 winter Olympics, won 5 consecutive U.S. Championships, and were World Champions in 1979. They were favorites to win Olympic gold at the 1980 games in Lake Placid, New York, until a freak injury took them out of the competition.
Tune in to hear Tai and Randy share how it felt to have their heartbreak unfold on live television around the world… destroying their Olympic dream and denying them what everyone assumed was their destiny.
Follow Tai Babilonia on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/tai_babilonia/
Follow Randy Gardner on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/gofiguredocumentary/
Thanks to our episode sponsor, Roka! Use code "SLB" for 20% off your purchase at Roka.
https://www.roka.com/
Here we go. You know what time it is. It's another episode of Sports Life Balance.
Tai Babilonia:The press, they want it. They wanted me to be so upset with him. They wanted that hook. They wanted that story. They never got it. I never got it. It's like, Are you kidding me? I said, you know, but then I think back it's like, well, how would they know? They're not athletes, and they just, you know, their reporters. They don't get it. They want that. I mean, it would have made a great story if I just went off on him and left in a huff.
Randy Gardener:Very dramatic,
Tai Babilonia:very dramatic. It's like,
Randy Gardener:they wanted drama.
Tai Babilonia:Yeah, we gave them enough drama.
Randy Gardener:But we kept we kept skating. So it sort of it sort of took care of it.
Tai Babilonia:Right. Yeah, go and quit. I didn't we didn't leave it. You know, we kept the team. We stay committed. That commitment is huge. And that was part of it. But it's your best friend who he's hurt. He's hurt. Do you not see that he's hurt? See, I'd've been pissed. Shut up, you'd never
JOHN MOFFET:You know, that's the beginning and end of a relationship
Tai Babilonia:Exactly. And that's why we're still together.
JOHN MOFFET:For the first time on Sports Life Balance. I'm interviewing two people, figure skating pair, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner. I'm John Moffet and welcome to this very special episode. Tai and Randy's partnership began when they were just young kids growing up in Southern California. And through the years, the awkwardness was replaced with near perfect harmony, grace, and grit on the ice, and off the ice, they became best friends. As teenagers Tai and Randy competed in the 1976 Winter Olympics. The pair would go on to win five consecutive US championships in 1979. They were world champions and favourites to win Olympic gold at the 1980 games in Lake Placid, New York. That is until a freak injury took them out of the competition. Tai and Randy's heartbreak unfolded live on televisions around the world, destroying their Olympic dream and denying them what everyone assumed was their destiny. Tai and Randy, what a thrill it is to have you here today. I've been wanting to speak with you two together for so long. So thank you.
Randy Gardener:You're welcome.
Tai Babilonia:Thank you
Randy Gardener:any day John calls, we run
Tai Babilonia:finally happened
JOHN MOFFET:Well, I'm glad you did. I'm glad we finally made it happen. You know, Tai, I think we've known each other for probably six years, something in that range five or six years. But Randy, Randy, we've only met once. And that was briefly and that was at a party when we couldn't really speak. So
Randy Gardener:I remember
Tai Babilonia:That party was loud. Already.
Randy Gardener:Gold Meets Golden
JOHN MOFFET:Gold Meets Golden at that mansion. Where it was a who's who of who's who,
Tai Babilonia:right. Yeah,
JOHN MOFFET:I don't know. Why was there everybody?
Tai Babilonia:No. Well, I do. We all do.
JOHN MOFFET:But I want to speak mostly about you two. And okay, you two have known each other for a long time.
Tai Babilonia:Yeah. They're long time over five decades. That's a long time. Well, yeah.
Randy Gardener:Almost almost in the 60s. Oh, my goodness. Yeah. Yay. Well,
JOHN MOFFET:yeah, I guess. Well, I mean, wouldn't when you put it in those terms? I mean, like half a century. I mean, that's obviously a vast majority of your life. Right. And so there's a lot of impression that you've made on each other.
Tai Babilonia:since we were little since we're eight and 10. And I mean, for two people, two kids, who really didn't know each other at eight and 10. And stayed together through the ups and downs and the highs and lows. That's what I'm most proud of,
Randy Gardener:oh, yeah, we had to grow together to, you know, grow. And growth is a it's, it's an experiment, it can be painful. Growth is, you know, for spiritual, it can be spiritual. But you know, growth, growth is tough growth, growth can be a challenge.
JOHN MOFFET:And, and the difference is where most teenagers say adolescents and young adults are kind of going out on their own, especially when it comes to athletic pursuits. Now, you two had a completely different experience where you are leaning on each other as far as performance goes as far as training, dedication, all those things that us as individual athletes take for granted. have on our own shoulders, but you had somebody else on your shoulders.
Randy Gardener:True. Yeah. Well, we were lucky. You know, we were so young. And I think maybe we kind of just grew into that pattern and knowing it because we were put together when we were 10 and eight, and we weren't that good or that serious about it then but as we got older and matured more into our sport, it sort of was just ingrained. than us.
Tai Babilonia:And we have the same goals as we got older.
JOHN MOFFET:Yeah. Which is unique for two adults. Right?
Tai Babilonia:And it was and the thing is it wasn't. And I can ask this a lot. It wasn't to win, like, speaking for myself. I was it wasn't about the trophies and coming in first, it was just improving each year and just being the best pair team that we could be. It wasn't we didn't have that. Tonya Harding. Oh, you know, that whatever that ship is? I don't have it. I don't think Randy has it. We just, we knew the hard work that, you know, came with that went with everything. And we were up for the challenge. And we just happen to win. Yeah, because we were trained well, and we had the same goal. And we were focused, and, you know, we won, but it wasn't, well also die situation, you know, John to like what Tai was saying, you train. You know, you're good. I mean, you're different than others. And, and so there's a little bit of pressure to keep that level up each year, each each each competition each season. And, and you may not want to win. Like you're not really going for the gold. But you know, you kind of go for the gold, but it's more about improving oneself for you was probably the time you're racist, for sure. Right. And with that the byproduct is getting a medal or going to the next competition or qualifying for the Olympics. And I think in the back of our minds, we all know that that's there. But it's more important. The journey now you get there. Yeah. Well, it's in your sport.
JOHN MOFFET:In hindsight, for sure. We understand that right. I'd like to Tai first go back to how you found the ice how you found skating. And how it obviously got the hooks in you. Even before before yeah before, right?
Tai Babilonia:Oh, yeah. My godfather. He just passed away. Mako Nakashima was a recreational skater. And I guess there was a skating birthday party at the rink in Burbank. Pickwick. Brahmi 1966, I think. So. I was six. So he took me I had no idea what skating was. I had I clueless, but he took me put my skates on. It was cold. It was there were kids yelling. It smelled funny. And I just started crying. And he and he had to leave the party and take me home just because I was I was hysterical. Little bit after that, I saw Peggy Fleming on TV.
JOHN MOFFET:Oh, wow.
Tai Babilonia:Light bulb. That was it. That was it. Mommy, I want to try it again. Cuz she made it look so easy. And she looked like she was a fairy. And she was flying. And now I knew what it was and what it entailed. And you were going to fall and it was going to be cold. And it was going to, you know, all of these elements. And I was also a kid a child artists like, and I was accepted to this prestigious art school. But next right next to the tar pits. Okay, um, well, sure. So we were going to check in on that. And I just started skating and loved it. But I also love the art. Right. So on Wilshire Boulevard, I had to make a decision. My mom goes, we can't afford both. She goes, what what's it going to be? And I said skating.
JOHN MOFFET:Wow.
Tai Babilonia:I said, I want to skate, Mommy. And that was it. That early. I made that decision. She No. She says, Well, of course. She picked the expensive hobby.
JOHN MOFFET:Well, that's what kids do.
Tai Babilonia:Yeah. So that's how it all started. But Peggy Fleming kind of you know, ignited ignited something right, because now I understood it.
JOHN MOFFET:And and Randy, how what attracted you to the ice and skating as a little boy? Well,
Randy Gardener:we went my parents were taking me to ice shows when I was a kid. Holiday on Ice
JOHN MOFFET:your parents were were like they liked skating.
Randy Gardener:Well, that Yeah. Then they they did. They didn't skate but they liked that. And I would go like by the babysitter or my grandma would take me and Pan Pacific. Yep. Icecapades, LA Sports Arena. It was Holiday on Ice too and I remember all that night. I love the sound that the skates made. Because I would just bet Can we sit in the front or near the front? I love the sound that that the skates made and I watched it on TV as well. But the neighborhood kids were going to the ice rink on Saturdays and I sort of hooked along Would them tagged along, and we would go on Saturdays for public session and did that. And I remember my very first lesson, my dad actually took me with some of the kids from the neighborhood. And then, you know, I, I guess I liked it. I'd like the freedom I remember taking off and just kind of going, you know, and then I wanted to go back. And so we would go on Saturdays, and they, the other kids kind of dropped out. I went into group classes, and then into private lessons. And I started this and I let everybody else behind. And it was odd because the kids, the kids have gone on to do other things. School, their own different world and our own family things. And I stayed on the ice.
JOHN MOFFET:Well, at some point you were paired together. Like how did how did that come about? And who was the orchestrator behind wow, you know, little Ty is showing promise and Randy is well, let's put them uh, how did that work?
Tai Babilonia:Mable Fairbanks? I don't know what we I wish I would have asked her what she was thinking when she paired us together. I know part of the story was, there was a club show in Culver City where we were skating and solo skaters and took for Mabel and they need I think they needed. Mabel had one spot. And this was a hustler. And maybe she was a hustler. She had one spot but she wanted us both. She wanted us both somehow to be in that one spot. That's how she created the pair team. Well, so she got the pair team and Randy a solo. So he was Dr. Doolittle. And I was what is a little his little, not the wife but his companion. So she got to she's actually got three spots. So Mabel created tTai and Randy It was pMables brainchi
Randy Gardener:Yeah, it wasn't it wasn't we didn't think it was gonna last
Tai Babilonia:Yeah, I did. I barely knew Randy he was a much better skater. And she simply said hold his hand go around the rink and hold his hand. Oh, yuck. Cooties but that was it. That was it never did know, I'd seen pair skating because there she had another pair team that she was teaching. So I knew what it looked like, but had no idea that this would be you know, our future. So Right. Yeah, whatever, you know, thanks. Thank you, Mabel, for making me Hold his hand. Who knew? Who knew more than five decades later, he would still be holding hands. So she gets all the credit. Wasn't the parents it was her?
Randy Gardener:Yeah, sure.
JOHN MOFFET:Well, within a few years, though, so that was I think 1969 If I remember correctly, yeah. Nine by 1971 You're attracting some big time coaches. And and I know Look, John Hicks is the north the next Oh, I have a I have a type of John next, John next is I mean he's he's like Coach some serious gators through the year so I mean, what what what was he thinking when he saw you? Obviously they he see you either saw immense talent diamond in the rough all of the above?
Randy Gardener:Well, we had to go to him like Yeah.
Tai Babilonia:To him and like I think it was it was it the fall of 71. or later somewhere he was just about to leave for the Olympics in Sapporo, JoJo, JoJo Starbuck and Ken Shelley. So we caught him right at the tail end of that, so we got to see them train. And yeah, it was a big deal. He was at that time. The number one not just pair skating coach but coach in the States. You know, he came from England, right. So we left Mabel, which was that's a whole nother story. But our parents I think had a meeting with him. I don't know if he'd seen us. I don't remember.
Randy Gardener:He knew we were okay. Because we competed against someone somewhere in bronze. Yeah. Yeah. And he was at those events. I don't think he said all that team. So fabulous. But yeah. He knew who we were. And then we had to approach him to see if he take us on and I guess he said yes. And then he says no, he says in the film, I knew they had talent, but I didn't realize how much talent Ah,
JOHN MOFFET:okay, so he saw He saw the town saw
Tai Babilonia:the town and plus, we were also single solo skaters. And Randy was really good. I was I was okay. But Randy had was really talented as a solo skater. So once again, he was getting this as you say diamond in the rough but a pat like a package deal. Yeah. And and it was just an honor. To be in His presence and be with him. I mean, his students were so good. And that, you know, even just watching you improve, because you know, oh, like the level,
Randy Gardener:you know, when you see another athlete, even if it's another sport, yeah. You watch them and you want to be like them, Jojo Kenny. Yeah. And there's stuff going on. And you learn from watching. Yeah, for sure.
Tai Babilonia:You want to keep up and you want to, like, I can do
Randy Gardener:that. I want to try that. Or
JOHN MOFFET:oh, well, that's where yeah, that's where I want to ask you about then is that obviously, you didn't. You saw yourself in there, you saw yourself somehow looking at those really, really good accomplished skaters? And saying, I think I can do that. Or I'm gonna try to do that. And that's a huge work to get
Tai Babilonia:to that level. Yeah, yeah. We knew what it entailed. And Mr. Nix was so inspiring. Once again, back to the other skaters in the rink, they were all so good. And it's just inspiring to be in that environment.
Randy Gardener:But you know, some kids, some athletes don't have that gene, or that. Chip that I love that. The CHIP. CHIP, there's a chip in there that certain people have to be an athlete. Yeah,
Tai Babilonia:absolutely. We have it. We all have it. And I whenever that it
Randy Gardener:wasn't when I'm, you know, when I when I'm coaching, you can see that chip, or if they have that in their DNA? Yeah, some haven't. It shows up in different ways. You know, and some will either have the drive and or the physical to do it. Some of us have the natural talent. They don't have to work too hard. And that's in them. We have the drive, but we have the drive and I think and the talent combined. But you all have to all athletes, I think have to have kind of a goal setting thing in their mind. But also, you'll almost do anything to make it work.
JOHN MOFFET:Right. Yeah, that that chip that chip, I mean, you can speak about it in all kinds of different terms. It's that X factor. And we all know what it is. We've all seen those athletes oftentimes, like when we were competing, yeah, like there would be athletes, I would look at them in that go, ooh, that dude is scary. Good. Right. But they're not they don't have the you know, it's only partially developed that chip or that X factor or something. And at some point, you realize, okay, I don't have to worry about them, because they don't have that Yang that added spark. It's, I know exactly what you're talking about. Randy. Yeah.
Tai Babilonia:It's, it's, it's hard to explain. But we all know it. We all know it, because we were not the most talented in the rink. There was, but we had that whatever that is that thing that chip, we had it. And it you know, we passed him by I'm not being, you know, snotty about it. But we because they didn't have the drive, they didn't want to train. And they probably didn't have goals.
JOHN MOFFET:Right? Well in in that, in that respect that chip that we've been, we're talking about? It's also transferable to life.
Tai Babilonia:Yes. Hello? Yes.
JOHN MOFFET:It's it's that you know, certain like as a as an adult, it's like, what am I going to do for a living? And try to find that thing that you're good at, that you gravitate toward that you that you can also work hard at and be successful and happy? Absolutely.
Randy Gardener:Well, yeah. And also, in my case, I've done so many different things. And I hate that thing. Reinvent. So I don't say anymore. But there are new paths that open up for people. And he can't wait. You've got to sort of take the path yourself. Yes. Yeah. And if there's a dead end, there's a dead end.
Tai Babilonia:No one's handing us anything. Well, yeah, but
Randy Gardener:that's true. And that we know that yes. But I think in athletics and in sports, how that transcends into life, is that, okay, I'll put the car in reverse. And I'll go down the other road. And there's something there. And I'm not I'm not afraid to do it. Right. We don't want well, a lot of people are afraid to do it. And they just don't stop.
JOHN MOFFET:Well, that's a that's another lesson we carry with us is, is is risk, right? We're willing to take that risk. And we've all had it crashed down our heads, which we will talk about at some point in a few minutes.
Tai Babilonia:But then you have to have that armor, you have to be tough. And skating or sports, makes you tough. And you bring those those lessons, which I'm you know, and I'm passing them on to scout and you know, puts that armor on don't take things too personally, but you just keep moving forward. Don't go backwards. Keep moving forward.
JOHN MOFFET:Grit resilience, whatever you
Tai Babilonia:want to call it. Yep. Yeah.
JOHN MOFFET:Yeah. Well, so let's let's go back to then. The development that coach Nick's worked with you. You too dedicated yourself to the point where you both ended up dropping out of classes school like Going to school traditional Normal School traditional school you're still you're still we graduated your your you did homeschooling. Um, yeah, early version of homeschooling was the fourth homeschooling
Randy Gardener:was that it was
Tai Babilonia:we had a teacher and she was wonderful Mrs. Van Valkenburg. Either come to the house or come to the rink, or, you know, library wherever. And that's how we and we, you know, we both got our diplomas. But yeah, I finished middle of eighth grade is at a junior high in Santa Monica. That's when I was like, it was one or the other. It's one or the other. So yeah,
JOHN MOFFET:well, yes. And it was that it's also an indication of your dedication. And the thing that, you know, I keep thinking about this. It's one thing, doing it on your own as an athlete with your parents support. It's a whole nother equation more complicated when you have another person in that equation. And the fact that you two are in sync is I mean, for me, it's crazy to think about, like, I can't ever imagine taking some of the two
Randy Gardener:sets of parents had to had to had to come to terms with because we had to go, we had to had, we had to have kind of the same hours in school. You know, so that was picking up and then taking home school because it was a team that had to go together.
Tai Babilonia:Yeah, right. And parents had, yeah, it's
Randy Gardener:all that out, you know,
JOHN MOFFET:you know that that sort of support network, right, it would never have happened. Well, I'm assuming that sometime around this time, and you tell me that you started discovering that you're good that you were, I'd like it. It wasn't about the time when you said you said it was a choice one or the other? Was it about that time when you're like, Okay, I can write my ticket, and I'm going to go for it. What was sort of,
Tai Babilonia:probably 1973, we were with Mr. Nix, and we won our junior national champ championship. And we were good. Like, we improved so quickly, once we went to, you know, Mr. Nix. And we just learned what pair skating was. And I look back at the footage is that we were just in sync. We just, it just worked. And so we won that. And then that's when the you know, tick button saw us and ABC and the chatter started. And then the next year, we made the world team
JOHN MOFFET:in 7414. Yeah. 16 Yes.
Tai Babilonia:That yeah, we made
Randy Gardener:for crying out made. I remember laying in my bed. Waking up. Yeah. From that championship. The National
Tai Babilonia:Providence was in Minneapolis. Oh, 73. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Randy Gardener:And wasn't Minneapolis. A blur? And I won't I remember. Oh, my God. I'm like champion of the United States. And he was junior champion. Yeah.
Tai Babilonia:Wait in 76. You win. No, next year, you know, she also meddled as a solo skater that same at Nationals. So he was like Double G,
Randy Gardener:I wanna, I want the junior man's man.
Tai Babilonia:And talk about scheduling. I mean, it was so it was tricky. But, you know, we were trained well, and we just wanted to be the best. And it was, it was it happened. Everything happened so fast for us in the 70s. It's like the train had left the station in 1973. Because it was just it was non stop. But we kept improving learning. We just got better and better and better.
JOHN MOFFET:And you kept the competition up to from 1975 to 1981. Every single national championship 7676. Okay, so for 76 to 80, so five years. five consecutive years. Like that's an that's insane. Like that is that is like that is the freight train that you're writing on?
Tai Babilonia:Yes, it went. We had to fight for it. Yeah, the last one was not there. It wasn't the always do that last one. You know, there was some that others were like, right on our heels. They were just they were so good. And thank God, it was our last year because you know, they were ready to rock and they did you know, the next five years or whatever that was, so you know when to get out?
JOHN MOFFET:Yes, well, that was a different circumstances, some different circumstances, what we'll talk about that we'll talk about in a little bit. Yeah. Let's talk about 1979 First, so World Championships you were the first team and if I could have this wrong, but over the years, tell me about what was significant about the World Championships.
Tai Babilonia:And you're actually the second team. Oh, yeah. In 1950.
Randy Gardener:Yes. About 2820 29 years.
Tai Babilonia:Yes. There was a team Kennedys. The Kennedys had wanted American American team had America. Yes. So we were the second American team and still So far no one has a record still stands.
JOHN MOFFET:That's crazy. Well, there was another. Whoa, I love it. That's that's, you know, that of course is huge and, and I believe what I read was you. You scored a 6.0 which is first time. Yeah. In in World Championship history.
Randy Gardener:Well, no, no Sardinas ISEP did it first time for us first time America. Nevermind.
Tai Babilonia:It was whatever they were they were good enough to win that title
JOHN MOFFET:still deserves applause.
Tai Babilonia:Yeah. It was a good night. It was such a great night. It was it was. And we all have those out of it was kind of out of body. You know them?
Randy Gardener:Do you have a championship? Like, you know that there was like, youth still think that maybe had a couple? Yeah, but that was like our thing. It just worked. We train hard. Like, when would yours have been?
JOHN MOFFET:If you can think it was 84 Olympic trials? For sure. And then kill the limbs. Yeah, broke the world record. Yeah. Hello. And then and then at the prelims of the Olympics, and that were a torque toward the muscle, but we'll go back to that. We can follow up on that. Yeah, that notion. Yeah. When we go back and forth on our on our parallel injuries, all right. Because I don't want to I want to get I don't want to get ahead of ourselves here. Yeah. Now, so. So I guess you Okay, so you're saying it was a transcendent experience? Like it was something that was it changed you? You were you're different after that? I mean, your destiny really was toward like path placid at that point, right. I mean,
Tai Babilonia:that was that was Yeah, cuz that was the last. Our last amateur. Remember amateur being amateur,
JOHN MOFFET:you all that stuff.
Tai Babilonia:That was it for us. And then you know, it was time to move on. So a lot of emphasis on that a lot of press. There was a lot of broader press a lot of having us win before we even got there. All that kind of, you know, all that stuff. You know how they do it?
JOHN MOFFET:I do. And I remember it from another perspective, which is as a teenager being raised in Southern California. Seriously, you two were skating royalty. I mean, you were you were like you were everywhere.
Tai Babilonia:We didn't see everything. And maybe that was a good thing it well, you know, we didn't. Mr. Nix was great about picking and choosing which interviews to do and not to because, you know, there was just so much, so much and so much. I'm not not complaining. I'm not making excuses, but it can be distracting.
Randy Gardener:Well, and also, he was like he underplayed the importance of the PR and how big it was. And it's okay now, you know, if it was Sports Illustrated coming for the article or Time Magazine. Yeah. And we were like, excited, but then okay, they would leave. We have to train for four hours. Exactly. Right. Yeah. Take care. We got to work the day the day was not about that. Yeah. And so he always made sure that we had to keep our heads level and not get wrapped up in that. Right Stuff, which and I think he did a really good job at that. Yeah,
JOHN MOFFET:focus on what's important a focus, which is on the ice and Tai, I believe it's you said that the ice is your safe space
Tai Babilonia:still is even when and I don't even skate that much. But one when I'm out there. I don't know what it is. But it's like you can't you can't mess with me here because this is this is my home. This isn't my house. And it's I love it. It is safe. It is it's that special.
JOHN MOFFET:And Randy, is it kind of similar to you? Or was it your place where you would just get away from everything? And yes,
Randy Gardener:it is. Um, I'm going back now because I'm doing some stuff in the summer but I had didn't skate the whole year of the pandemic. I had a year and more probably 13 months. And that's the longest I had never ever been on the ice. Wow. So I got back on it was freaky. It was scary actually. And because being allowing the body to balance is really yet to find that again. Right. And I'm still nervous and I started I went back in like April I think and I go once or twice a week now but very cautious.
Tai Babilonia:I'll go with you. Okay, I have to be on the eyes. Next week and in so you better start you better get go. You know, I'll go with you because I need someone to hold on
Randy Gardener:but it's it's the legs. Yeah, balance and the things you take for granted when you're really in shape or even halfway in shape.
JOHN MOFFET:I understand. Everything's a bit more rickety than it was before. Yeah, yeah. And I want to ask you again about your, your relationship to to grit. You leaned on each other when you were on the ice and you trust is a trust. Right? I mean, don't do you think how much trust Do you think your safe space was? Also enhanced by the fact that
Tai Babilonia:scanning with your best friend Absolutely. Doesn't get better than that. How lucky? Yeah. The whole time, you know, since we're little to be out there and just know that he's, you know, he's there. And that's why I prefer pair skating over. So let's getting Wasn't it just didn't. I was boring. I want this
Randy Gardener:pair skating. We were in this bubble together.
Tai Babilonia:Yeah. Yeah. Everything was together more comfortable. Yeah. In our case, and you develop the secret language and secret giggles and everything, you know, and it's and people look at us like, we're crazy. But it's just, it just happens when you're together. Since eight and 10, well, then
JOHN MOFFET:you found chemistry too, because chemistry is so elusive. between two people.
Tai Babilonia:Right? Right. You know, is that having the same goals and knowing exactly, you know, and it was just to be come. Great pair skaters.
JOHN MOFFET:So let's, um, let's move on then to Lake Placid. And leading up to Lake Placid. Like I said, You guys work? Everywhere. And there was I'm sure heaps of pressure on both of your shoulders.
Randy Gardener:Everyone shoulder yesterday? Well, there was no we had won the world championships in the 79. Yeah, that that was big. Yeah. And then like placid limp the Winter Games in the United States? Yeah. Number two, number three, reading design stuff. Our head on competition. Were out there before. So it was our first time she had a baby. She was gone for a baby for a year. Right. So now they're back. And what a story and it was like, what was that? That was that was and it was cold war time? Yeah, right. That was that whole USSR? USA. Boom. What's gonna happen? Yeah.
Tai Babilonia:You know, the press went with that. They just Yeah, it was like the perfect hook.
JOHN MOFFET:I forget and I should have looked this up before did Miracle on Ice happened before or after you after was after thing
Randy Gardener:it was there like event? Yada god? Yeah.
JOHN MOFFET:Because? Because just I mean, it truly was the Cold War. It was a fever pitch. Like, growing up in Southern California. I remember we would do duck and cover drills for attack. A nuclear attack. Right. Not so much. So for earthquakes. I mean, it was right. It was on everybody. Everybody was like nervous. About the Soviet Union. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And it was quite the, it was quite the rivalry. You know, the the superpowers?
Tai Babilonia:Absolutely can't.
Randy Gardener:Well, they were so good in sports. And they got they would do anything. USSR, you know, and those days and probably in swimming, too. But in skating doping was there but it wasn't that wasn't that evolved very advanced. So, you know, who knows what they were doing, then? They were doing something? Yeah, cuz they write about it. Now, but oh,
Tai Babilonia:it's all coming out. Well, you
Randy Gardener:know, those East German swimmers? Yes. Have you seen some of those ways? Once they left? Yeah. They look like Monster. Like, yeah,
JOHN MOFFET:and they will. And this is this is a different topic. But you know, they didn't know they were being doped. It was other Yeah, they were they were they were told they were vitamins.
Randy Gardener:Right. Catarina writes about right? Yes, yes.
JOHN MOFFET:Yeah. And it you know, there were there were, you know, there are criminal charges brought against some of those coaches for child abuse because they were administering these anabolic steroids to these prepubescent girls, right? And just destroyed the reproductions reproductive system,
Tai Babilonia:we saw, we saw it firsthand with the little Russian pair skaters that you know, the little girls look like little little boys. You know, I was developing as a normal teenager would develop here and here, you know, everywhere. And they would stay their bodies would stay like 12 year olds. And I just like I said, Mom, why? Why aren't they growing? I didn't understand.
Randy Gardener:Well, they weren't around that long either. Right? They didn't when they would go see them grow. Because then when they grew up, it was out they spit them out. Right? Yeah. So we you know, they had the Tallboy Short Girl for about a year or two and that was it. And then the boy usually got another partner another 13 year old or 14 year old girl. And then maybe those boys would graduate out of that. Then there'll be a new Yeah, another little girl thing. It was this machine same was running. But you know what they so talk about doing anything to win. Listen, they were good, too. They were not they were not hard. Trouble skaters. They were really good. Mm hmm. And so we had to, you know, keep up with that on our own term. Right.
Tai Babilonia:But they got help to be good.
Randy Gardener:They get out. They get out. Yeah. But we that's what we were against.
Tai Babilonia:Of course, yeah. There's nothing you can do.
JOHN MOFFET:Yeah. Right. Yep, exactly. That was your competition, right? I guess I didn't think about it. Yeah. Never just
Tai Babilonia:put your blinders on and do what you have to do. And you know, the press can say what they want to say and build it up. We still had to get out there and do the job. You did.
JOHN MOFFET:So back to your back to your bubble on the ice. So let's go. I went. I went back and I watched it yesterday. I watched the live the Lake Placid live broadcast. Oh, wow. Yeah. That's so intense. It's so intense. And it comes in 20
Randy Gardener:minutes of it is our
JOHN MOFFET:it? Yes.
Tai Babilonia:nightmarish,
Randy Gardener:actually about a half an hour.
JOHN MOFFET:So you when you hit the ice, you were on live TV. The world was watching. I don't know how many hundreds of millions of people have been built up around the world for this rivalry that's going to start unfolding tonight. And there you were a Randy. You tried to do I believe was a relatively simple jump. Yeah. And your lake collapses? Yeah.
Randy Gardener:Well, you know, I was injured going in. Yeah. Taken before that. Lake Placid. So training here in Santa Monica. And then we did the flight, probably about 10 days before we were to leave, and then it was getting better. And you know, they we had opening ceremonies. Oh, right. Yeah. Outside, you know, stuff. And then we had a practice after that a training session. I think after that, and I really enjoyed it. It was actually getting better. And but I really enjoyed it, and then it hemorrhaged, you know, yeah. hammered. Yes. He will come to Ernie to help. Yeah. And then
JOHN MOFFET:suddenly, mind
Randy Gardener:to code. Yeah. You know, so. So. Dr. Daly was Dr. Daly your team doctor
JOHN MOFFET:and I was I've been searching my memory bank. I think that was it. But anyway, oh,
Randy Gardener:eight. And I think it might have been at four and stuff. Yeah, yeah. And the summer and winter. So and the trainers and stuff and you have that little trailer is really all where the doctors were. And they were frantically trying to get me going. Yes. And then the shadow Xylocaine. Yes. was the last resort.
JOHN MOFFET:meetcha Yeah. Oh, yeah. Multiple.
Randy Gardener:Like, you had to had the earlier you know, several lucky. Yeah.
JOHN MOFFET:Yeah, it was. It was unpleasant. Yeah.
Randy Gardener:So I lost. So what you saw what we saw on the on the telecast was after the shot, I couldn't pull my leg in the muscle was kind of dead. And so that's why I couldn't complete the jump. And I was wobbly. Mm hmm. And I was lifting here. It was weird. It was just off. Course, the balance. You can't feel your leg can't figure that. Yeah. Like I like I could feel most of it, but I couldn't feel the ad adductor abductor ad.
JOHN MOFFET:I think it's Dr. AD,
Randy Gardener:I think. Yeah. So it's the inner thigh. And I felt like, you know, I was a little crooked. But so that that's, that's how that evolved into that moment. And then, then the rest is, and it saw
JOHN MOFFET:and unfolded. It's such a heartbreaking way. I mean, and of course you were I don't remember seeing you first time that you collapsed. I think you were out there solo or your by the I don't remember actually being able to see or we were
Randy Gardener:to get by by side double flips. The gym.
Tai Babilonia:Here's the thing. Oh, that's right. Yeah. He never falls, if anyone's gonna wipe out or fall or trip to me.
JOHN MOFFET:So you need something and
Tai Babilonia:YouTube's there to prove it. I just, you know, I would chip on silly things. But Randy never fell. And this was one of his best jobs. And as he was missing it, but also I could tell but
Randy Gardener:it's not just where the grip was nervous.
Tai Babilonia:Something was I and I caught my mom's eye she because I always knew where she sat. And she was like, something's wrong. Something's wrong. And I was starting to lead. And I never lead in our team. He's leader in crossovers in everything, Randy, you know, I take the lead from him. I was in the lead that night and that's when I knew something. Something's not right. Wow. And then for him to fall on that jump, which he never fell out. I went what some because I didn't know in front of the biggest audience. Yeah, I didn't know that the shot that it went down his leg and knocked his leg and you know, he just Oh, man.
Randy Gardener:And then I tried it myself. Yeah, it was yeah,
JOHN MOFFET:I remember seeing that.
Randy Gardener:And I'm watching us. That's the tick button thing. Right. Well, yeah. Jim
JOHN MOFFET:McKay was commenting through it, threw it down to Dick button. And Dick button basically I think he said something To the effect of my heart is in my throat. Yeah, that this doesn't any he just says this does not look good, right?
Tai Babilonia:Yeah, he was right. Yeah.
JOHN MOFFET:Yeah. And and, and then you went out one last time I believe.
Tai Babilonia:That's when he tried to jump. Yeah
Randy Gardener:by myself right before Okay. All right. Because I said I want to try one more. Let me try one more run out you got to you want to keep going until they shoot you. You keep trying keep going. So that's what I did. And then Mr. Nix made the call. And then he said then he told the referee.
JOHN MOFFET:Yeah, the team leader
Randy Gardener:had to walk it to the referee.
Tai Babilonia:You could hear a pin drop. Yeah. Oh, it was surreal. John, it was surreal. Yeah. Beyond intense. I mean, I have a hard time. I know he has a hard time watching it. It's hard to watch. But it's also fascinating to watch that because that's our history. Yeah. And you can't shied away. It's just, this is part of our history. And you just deal with it, and you keep moving forward. As best that you can.
JOHN MOFFET:Right, right. And, and I completely understand. I
Tai Babilonia:want to hear you're like well, well,
JOHN MOFFET:first of all, it's pretty eerie for me how similar they are. And we were treated exactly the same way. So I injured my leg. It was in training a couple weeks before I laid off it a couple of days, I think two or three days I laid off it, which is like when you're an athlete, you get little strains and bumps in it. And sometimes you just have to like okay, let's back off a little bit. Right. And so there wasn't anything completely out of the ordinary. But I did strain something. And I promptly put it out of my mind because the Olympics were there. And that's what I felt better than I ever felt in my entire life. I was training better than I'd ever trained. I felt smooth. I felt strong. I felt relaxed. Surprisingly enough. I just got in this weird zone.
Randy Gardener:Were you confident? Yeah. Oh, gosh, yes. I
JOHN MOFFET:remember going into it feeling. I got this. It wasn't it never. I never. I was never, I never felt like I got it. And it like none of my races. I never felt but you were ready. When I was ready. I was never more ready than he knew. And and so then it was the prelims of my first race. Wait, so these, it's so the way the way it worked back then is that you would do as preliminary heats, they would do the heel, got it? Okay. And then you had to be top eight. And then the afternoon the top eight would compete for the medal.
Randy Gardener:Wow. Alright, so yes, it's a race isn't one day racism one day, she had to train that I always wonder swimmers did you train that way? Like, kind of mock two competitions in one day or two races in one day? Yeah. You
JOHN MOFFET:know, that's what you have to do. And you know, you know how hard to push it in the morning? Yeah. You don't want to, you don't want to like completely blow yourself up in the morning. Pace yourself. There's nothing worse than going faster in the morning than you do at night for you know, yeah, for the marbles. Right. So yes. And and I remember that race was like URI because there were 15,000 people there. And and remember to the first is to lapse of a 50 meter pool, the first 50. Right, I'd never felt better. I'd never felt better. I was going so easy. I could tell I was ahead because in breastroke, you were looking ahead, you can tell somebody's heading here. Right, right. And I, I did the turn, you can see a lot more you can see the competition. I was pretty far ahead. I'm like, What the heck, I'm not going going that hard. And that was about the third or fourth stroke, boom, the muscle tour with about probably 35 meters to go or something like that. And then the adrenaline kept me through the end of the race. And
Randy Gardener:did you keep kicking? Yeah, yeah.
JOHN MOFFET:I mean, yeah, I actually broke the Olympic record and was three 100 off my world record was second fastest. And but I never felt better. That was the weirdest thing. So and, and so I just think my body was never more primed. It was that muscle had never fired that hard. And it was easy. It was easy. And it just, it just broke.
Randy Gardener:And then he complained he completed that race. Right. And then did you try to do the finals that night? Oh,
JOHN MOFFET:yeah. Yeah. What happened was you I don't know if you had this experience. But when when the injury first happens, like you can get through, you're like, Okay, I'll be okay. I'll be okay. But then it started setting in Yeah. And the inflammation started setting in and then the bruising starts setting up and I'm like, I'm going oh, crap. I mean, I've never had bruising like that before. And it started in the middle of
Tai Babilonia:the muscle. Is that how much it is? It's a hemorrhoid hemorrhage.
JOHN MOFFET:yeah and and unlike I'm in trouble so I, you know, I forget how it all came about but you know at certain times during the day I'd be laying in the bottom of a bunk bed in the dorms at USC overlooking the pool. And I'd be in there would be there would be a battery of doctors and coaches and doing this doing that treating me this treat me that and I'm like going Gosh, this is the worst. It's the worst it was. It was nightmare. Yeah, I just felt like everything collapsed on me. And the doctor said, Listen, I think we can we can help you with this but it's gonna be a risk. And they basically took me in the back and they said we can numb it up and see if that helps. And so they numbed it up. And and then wrapped it really, really tight. They sprayed sticky stuff on me and then wrapped it really tight with basically adhesive tape to kind of try to keep it from self destructing. And this isn't this isn't an interview about me. Why am I
Randy Gardener:talking so no, but I want to know, it's it's fascinating.
Tai Babilonia:It is fascinating.
JOHN MOFFET:I just will took every ounce of will that I had and and I was eventually able to kick my leg felt like a complete noodle and it hurt like hell. It hurt like depressed get winded, but at that time, I think they started calling it in Yeah. Yeah. So but I you know, I was I was just my own private hell and ended up trying as hard as I could. But I got fifth. And Steve linquist ended up winning and, and right, breaking a world record. And, and then I have
Randy Gardener:Yeah, but you know what? Good for you. You got to do it.
JOHN MOFFET:Well, you know, like you may be going out for the second time, I wanted to leave that day, with no regrets that I tried as hard as I can. Because I knew even back there in my 20 year old brain that this is you got to do everything you can and you have to be convinced that you are doing everything you can. And I did.
Randy Gardener:Well, yeah, you're not an Olympic athlete. Unless you have that. In your mind that psyche? You do? I did? Like I just said you do whatever they shoot you.
JOHN MOFFET:Yeah, no, that's
Tai Babilonia:good. I mean, so similar.
JOHN MOFFET:Similar. I had no idea.
Randy Gardener:I remember years.
JOHN MOFFET:I had no idea was that similar? But oh, what was the what was the name is Dr. Daly? Daily. Yes. That and I remember him pulling me aside like the next day or was within it was while at the games and said, you know, you're definitely What's your doctor here? Your injury was the same as
Randy Gardener:because he treated me after? Yeah,
JOHN MOFFET:he told he told me that there was we had the same injury. And so since then, you know, we'd never met so what was it? 40 years later, we'd still we finally met 38 years. Whatever. Amazing. Yeah. So it's strange. I'm Wow. It's anyway, one of the one of those shared
Randy Gardener:we have something in common.
Tai Babilonia:It's, it's our history. It's your history. It's that that sports is Randy always says that sports. You never know. It could change on a dime. Nope. You don't know you. And after it happened with us, we got so many. We got a lot of fan mail, telegrams, but people were most most impressed with how we handled it. Yeah. Yeah. As teenagers or however old we were, I was impressed how we Yeah, they were impressed with that. And you know, cuz we didn't why we didn't complain. We just and the some interviews were harder than others. Right. But we just you put on your game face and that, you know, most baffling how we do it? Yeah, we
Randy Gardener:had our Ice Capades contract looming to right, because we knew we were going to turn pro. So the whole thing is, could I was I ever gonna skate again. I honor that or skiing that do that? Because that was gonna be starting my professional skating career. Yeah, yeah. And I didn't know No, I was gonna be able to do that or not continuing on
Tai Babilonia:so many questions. When would we go to college? Would he get a smaller partner but I get a boy partner what you know, whatever, all that kind of stuff. And
Randy Gardener:but it was really from Pixar. In February, March, April, we signed our contract with Ice Capades and our tours and stuff. And then I was in therapy, that physical therapy the whole time did you do those ice baths? The dunk deal and I remembered I sat on ice baths, all kinds of things.
JOHN MOFFET:I did all kinds of helpful. I mean, I think I didn't swim breastroke again until October. So that was in July or in July. That was end of July. And then it was I remember it's before Thanksgiving that I was a blind train again.
Randy Gardener:Mine I felt it for at least God and then when we went on the road with the show We had three show Saturdays and my leg was soaked. It was, it was I could do it. But I got really fatigued for like about a year. Yeah, there's still a knot in there, I think or something. scar tissue. Yeah, I
JOHN MOFFET:don't know, I it was ultimately what ended up taking me out of what happened is I injured the other leg because I was overcompensating for the right leg. And so then I pulled the tendon off the bone on the on the other leg. So it was all that's ultimately what was my demise, you know, because my kick was everything. And that was my, that was where I could do really well. And I just didn't have it and everything. Everything got all cockeyed to like my kick turned lopsided and, and it was just like, you just can't sustain that long. No. Yeah. You know, one of the things that is very different from what, from our parallel experiences, Randy, is that you had somebody else that you were also like you your injury affected Tai in an enormous way. How did you come to terms with that Tai?
Tai Babilonia:It's your best friend. And the press. Love to or they want it. They wanted me to be so upset with him. They wanted that hook. They wanted that story. They never got it. They never got it. Like are you kidding me? I said, you know, but then I think back it's like, well, how would they know? They're not athletes, and they just you know, their reporters? Yeah. They don't get it. Right. They want that. I mean, it would have made a great story if I just went off on him and left in a huff. Very dramatic. Very dramatic. It's like,
Randy Gardener:they want to drama.
Tai Babilonia:Yeah, we gave him enough drama. Um,
Randy Gardener:but we kept we kept skating. So it sort of it sort of took care of it.
Tai Babilonia:Yeah, right. Right. Yeah. Quit. We didn't leave it. You know, we kept the team. We stay committed. That commitment is huge. Right. And that was part of it. But it's your best friend who he's hurt. Yeah, he's hurt. Do you not see that he's hurt.
Randy Gardener:See, I've been pissed.
Tai Babilonia:And that's why we're still together. No, it's so no, that never. And God did they try for that? It's like, no, it's no. Good luck with that.
JOHN MOFFET:And it was attempting to train for four more years. Oh,
Tai Babilonia:no, no, no.
JOHN MOFFET:Whoa, that was resounding no, no, no behind you that and we had done 76 Olympics. Yeah. You know, when you've peaked, you know, it's like, you know, people. We didn't even go to the World Championships that year, because I couldn't, but we weren't going to anyway, which were in March, we knew, like pass was going to be it. We were going to debut with the escapades in April, and we're gonna open up the neck right after a little bump in the road. Sort of.
Tai Babilonia:Yeah, everything went as planned
Randy Gardener:It was as easy as we thought. Going in. But yeah, so yeah, no, it was I couldn't fathom. Well. And plus, you know, it was time for us to do to open up a new chapter in our life,
Tai Babilonia:You know when you've peaked. It's like, we've done everything. Except, you know, the one thing and it's just it's time to go had it.
JOHN MOFFET:You hit the road with pros.
Tai Babilonia:Right.
JOHN MOFFET:So it was the two of you still net, but I'm assuming things were not exactly the same as they were before or what what was different about becoming professionals and being on the road for what was it? Eight months a year?
Randy Gardener:Nine? A year? 30 weeks a year. 30-32
Tai Babilonia:Two weeks off Christmas.
Randy Gardener:For three years.
Tai Babilonia:It was long
Randy Gardener:and the summer off, like eight weeks off in the summer. It was hard.
Tai Babilonia:It was hard. And no one can. No one can prepare you for life on the road.
Randy Gardener:Plus, we had those pro competitions like mid December. Yeah. Things were interjected.
Tai Babilonia:It was nonstop
Randy Gardener:whenever they were off. They grab us for something, you know, our heads were spinning, but and then that's, you know, it gets up like it's rough.
Tai Babilonia:Right? Yeah. And I was got tired
Randy Gardener:and cranky, but she react in a different way.
Tai Babilonia:I was tired, right? No, it wasn't tired. As last.
JOHN MOFFET:We'll hear more from Tai and Randy in a minute. But first I want to tell you about our exciting new partner Roka. Roka was founded by two of my fellow all American Stanford swimmers, and I've been using their equipment for years and not just because of our shared backgrounds, but because their training and racing gear are second to none. And check this out. Roka also makes the best performing eyeglasses and sunglasses on the market. wearing some right now. They're super lightweight, totally adjustable, and they never fall off my face, even when I'm hot and sweaty. And best of all, I totally forget that I'm wearing them. Roka has dozens of great looking styles to choose from. And one of the best things about their classic designs is that I can use the same pair for a hard workout or a night on the town. So whether you need prescription glasses like mine, or a stylish pair of sunglasses, please go check them out. Head to roka.com That's R O K A .com and enter code S L B as in Sports Life Balance. That's three letters. S L B to save 20% On your first order. And that's for anything and their catalogue. How fun. You're back in listening to Sports Life Balance with John Moffet.
Tai Babilonia:I was lost.
JOHN MOFFET:How so?
Tai Babilonia:Just not knowing what how to be a good good professional. How to be good. Three times a day three shows a day. Two on three on Saturday two on Sunday, how not, you know didn't know how to pace myself is like you know, as athletes you go full out every show or you try and that you just can't. And I learned my lesson the hard way. You know, a so hard on myself if I wasn't perfect. Oh, really? Yeah. Because someone you know, the other half was kind of perfect. And I wasn't perfect. So it was just Yes, you were cuz he doesn't show his head? No, no, he doesn't fall I do and I was just, you know, I just and the diet was, you know, because now I could eat and not in kind of, they still weight us. But you know, I was overweight. I was just confused. I was lonely. I was I stumbled the whole three years. Each year got a little better. But some some days it's like, oh my god, I have no idea what I'm doing and we're getting was a great job, you know, a lot of money on the line, big old paychecks. And I was clueless. But looking back on it. It's like the best lessons in those three years the best. And Hamill went through it. We all went through it. If you if you go back and talk to Dorothy, she'll say the same thing.
Randy Gardener:We all gain ulcers. Yeah.
Tai Babilonia:Oh, really? Yeah. And it's just I think maybe it's harder, not harder for women. But it's, I guess I definitely think so. It's an adjustment. It's an adjustment. It's just learning how to be a professional and learning to pace yourself. And maybe learning to trust people I didn't know who to trust. I trusted him of course, but just a lot. A lot of stuff happening plus that whole Lake Placid thing. I mean, it just added more intrigue and you know, we were selling out the places and but chalked it up to a learning experience. And I'm so glad I stuck with it. Because there were some days where I just wanted to bail. You can't because you're in this huge contract. Right? You know, once again, you have your partner with you kind of picking up the slack. How do I was lucky.
JOHN MOFFET:How did you how did you deal with that? I mean, from what I read that it meant some some bad
Tai Babilonia:habit habits. Yeah. Choices and choices. Yeah, that's where I learned to drink. The simple glass of wine. This is one of the performance director because I wasn't sleeping also. Just you know, everything was happening. And I just I wasn't sleeping stressed. And someone said Have a glass of wine. I didn't know I had an addictive personality. Like glass of wine was turned into everything. bottles in your dressing room and yeah, just real because it it took the edge off. Probably too much sometimes. But it you know, that was my introduction into becoming a full blown alcoholic.
JOHN MOFFET:And how long were you able to successfully remain successful? In other words, how long did it take before the crash? Yeah, I crashed in 88 so
Randy Gardener:yours I think at seven it started
Tai Babilonia:at seven. downhill. Yeah. On Tour not with Icescapades with another tour. But I was you know, I was drinking and handling it. Functioning functioning. I was a functioning alcoholic until it then I wasn't and that was it. It all blew up. It all blew up in Lake Tahoe. Like, what? What happened? I lost my cookies. I lost my mind. Oh, no. Yeah, I totally lost. And my best friend was there to see it was nice.
JOHN MOFFET:Okay, so I'm assuming you can have a sense of humor.
Tai Babilonia:Yeah, we can laugh, not laugh but you know, once again, it's it is part of my journey. I can't shy away from it. It comes up in every interview. I'm open about it. I love talking about being a recovering alcoholic. That's my story. And if anyone learns from it great, but it's, it's, it is part of it was part of my journey to get me to where I am now. So there's no regrets. Yeah, it was tough. And I pissed off a lot of people, producers and you know, people in the show on tour. But I guess I had to go through it to get to here. But if it got dark, I went to the dark side. I went to the dark side. And came out of it.
JOHN MOFFET:Well, you're out of it now. Yeah. And you're sober.
Tai Babilonia:Very much. So 12 years
Randy Gardener:You're like good.too .Like good. sober. Oh, good.
Tai Babilonia:I take it. I'd say it's, it's the most important. And it's a job is is that whole one day at a time thing? No, it's it's it's one second. I can't imagine you have to take care of it. You have to. It's the priority. And once you can find you can do this. Like everything just gets better.
Randy Gardener:She just she did it like she left.
Tai Babilonia:I had to leave here to do it. Right. Yeah. I went she went
Randy Gardener:up her mind. She was ready. And she did. She probably had a couple tries. Right?
Tai Babilonia:I some tries in the 80s. But didn't understand what's you know, I just thought I can handle it. Right. Without doing
Randy Gardener:I can go when I take five days off a wine. I'm like, Okay, it's been five days. Okay, I can have talks was was a bit I can't imagine someone that was so reliant, having to be reliant on it physically and emotionally. And then you have to drop it right.
Tai Babilonia:Well, I had no other choice. It was either drop it, or I wouldn't be sitting here. Exactly. Let's be honest. I wouldn't be here. So it was there was no there's no middle with me on anything. It's one or the other. It's either I'm going to go for it. Or you're not going to. I'll be gone. You won't see me and I chose to go for is with the best decision. This best decision to leave here and get sober somewhere else. I couldn't do it here. Leave here. What do you eat? I went to Ashland, Oregon. Oh, okay. Okay. Because, you know, there's distractions here. Yeah. And I knew I couldn't do it here. I knew I had to. I just had to stop and attempt to be still was I good at being still? No. But I was going to three, three meetings a day. Wow. Um, like I said, the detox was hell. But that's, you know, once you commit to it,
Randy Gardener:Do you crave it anymore? No, no, it's just never because and plus, I know the consequence, it's out of here. It's out of here. I've worked so hard to get here is like, I'm not going to get away. Well, I know when we cook and stuff. Well, not together sometimes. But if my husband and I are doing something, okay, what's in it? If it's a Oh, God, is it? Oh, it's like, if it's a drink or certain sauce, right? Is there? Is there any is a vodka. Oh, it takes the alcohol out of it burns. All right, right. But she won't we don't do it. Because with that in mind, but because what's in the sauce? She doesn't want to have I guess the taste and or,
Tai Babilonia:but I'm fine with you know what people drinking around me just because I know it's like, it's like you worked too hard to get here and it just feels so good to wake up with a clear head. And being a mother I mean, Scout saw it all Scout saw it and he's my biggest cheerleader because you know, also Randy to my family. But it's, I want to I just wanted to be there 150% For him, I said well, scouts, I gotta go I'll see you when I get back but Mommy's got to get better. I gotta get well so you can have a mommy. Do you think that some of your determination to get past this and stay sober. You draw from your experiences as an athlete and if so, how absolutely discipline driven to get it right. You know, I'm a perfectionist. So if I'm going to be sober, I want to be the best sober person I can be i Then I think I was born with that. Not that type of heart and kind of drive, but there's some sort of drive, just to, and I'm a people pleaser, to a certain point, but it's just you make that commitment and you stick to it, we made a commitment together and we stuck to it. So it's just, it's in there. And it has saved me that discipline from skating that huge part.
JOHN MOFFET:And, and that discipline also came with a partner, and how much has your relationship together, helped you get through all of this? And what role has it had?
Tai Babilonia:The friendship is so powerful. And it's not that we see each other every day. But I know he's there. And I know if there's a problem, he's there, and the same, you know, same with him, and I'm very protective of this. This friendship, this relationship. Don't mess with it.
JOHN MOFFET:Right. Well, I appreciate you being so candid about it. Thank you.
Tai Babilonia:Yeah, you're welcome.
Randy Gardener:Well, the other day, I was talking to Tai's mom and I brought it up before two people tried to pit one against the other between the two of us and had times in our life in our
Tai Babilonia:Oh, yah, yah, yah,
Randy Gardener:yah, and John next our coach said, You guys have to stay united. And because when you're united, it's so much more powerful than if you're not. Yeah. And we learned that it's people tried to do that. And Tai's mom goes, it doesn't work they've tried. It just doesn't just doesn't work. And that that's an add on to what she was saying. Yeah.
Tai Babilonia:It's, it's so powerful. And when I try not to analyze, because everyone's like, what goes up? Like, how do you guys keep it together?
Randy Gardener:Well, you respect one another is compromised, also. Yeah. And you know, we talk about stuff, sometimes I want to do something or not, and vice versa. And we come to a conclusion. And if we don't do something we don't, right. Well here's a good example, we have the 40th anniversary of Lake Placid.
JOHN MOFFET:Right?
Randy Gardener:Oh, yeah. Winter Olympics. Yeah.
Tai Babilonia:I went and I said, Randy, if you want to go great, if you don't want to go great.
Randy Gardener:He chose not to go. So you go. Yeah.
Tai Babilonia:Like I didn't, like I get an I get why I didn't want to go that's not you know, to go and relive it. It's, you know, it's I can't even I'm not in his shoes. So who knows what's kind of going on when you walk into that arena? And you know, I saw it back the one time, right, and you had to you had some moments. And that was good. And I mean, you took that moment you go I need to take a minute to and you walked around. He just happened to home. Yeah. Oh, really. And I had to let him go. And and so you know, and that's respect. I respected his decision not to be there where people, you know, not pissed, but it's like, Where was he? Where is he? I said, You know what, he chose not to come here. And the story. Don't question it. Right. It's not your you know, we're not in his shoes. No, we didn't pull our groin. In 1980, he did. Right. Yes. All that kind of stuff. Respect.
JOHN MOFFET:Well, you never forget that day. Right? No, it's it's it's like, it's history. There's like, before and after, with me anyway.
Tai Babilonia:Sure. Right. Absolutely.
JOHN MOFFET:Absolutely. See that with both of you. Now, Randy, you you have had a I don't know what else to call it. But you had a bombshell of your own finding out that you were adopted?
Randy Gardener:Oh, yeah.
JOHN MOFFET:And you didn't you didn't like you went through a majority. I mean, a huge 40. You're about 40 years old
Randy Gardener:I was 40 when I found out.
JOHN MOFFET:Wow. So I've heard you speak of that and how it's affected you since then.
Randy Gardener:She just died.
JOHN MOFFET:Your birth mom?
Randy Gardener:Yeah.
JOHN MOFFET:Oh, I'm sorry.
Randy Gardener:April 11.
JOHN MOFFET:Yeah. Wow. But anyway, sorry. Well, I mean, how did you? I mean, you found out from a family member, correct. That, that. This was like, I guess a secret from you? Or I don't know.
Randy Gardener:Yeah, no one really told me but I think back at different hints and different like innuendos and stuff when I was growing up. But I found out myself through a search agency, and then we found my birth mom. And then this is a very abridged version of it. But then I contacted her and then I found out what happened. You know how, why I was put up for adoption. You know, she was raped as a girl at sixteen. Repeatedly at work.
Tai Babilonia:Do the line you do in your show. When she finds out, you are who you are.
Randy Gardener:Oh, yeah. So I, we met in San Jose, California. So a mutual meeting place right. And we went there and then She, we talked on the phone, of course. And then I was very vague on who I was. Because I didn't know you really don't know who you're talking to. You know who the mother is really, right. You really know if they want you to show up or you don't know. So I was very vague. And then she finally got it. She She woke up one morning. Oh my god. That's Randy Gardner, the ice skater. He's my son. And she said, I never could have given them but
Tai Babilonia:no to keep going.
Randy Gardener:Because I never could have given him that life. I'm so glad I gave him. Oh, my heavens and what else? She was a fan. She's been Oh, yeah. And she goes, I've been a fan of yours. For 40 years. She was watching me and her as her son. Yeah, right. Never knew that. Oh, that's my kid in that show.
Tai Babilonia:Go figure. It's like, oh my god. That just does it for me. She was a fan. A Tai and Randy fan? Yeah.
JOHN MOFFET:That's crazy. Well, who wasn't? Yeah, right. Right. I mean, I don't mean, but you were so popular. I mean, you're so big. Well, so we brought it up Tai, I mean, go figure. I mean, you have a you have a project. It's called, will tell them. Tell me about it. And I know that it has been a live show. Right. So tell me about it. I just
Randy Gardener:go forget the Randy Gardner story started as a play. Okay, like one person show. Right. But Tai is in it and Dorothy Hamill in it. So it's that's always been fun. Right. So it started as a as a live autobiography, as some people call them. And it took a little bit, and then the film that was inspired by the play is coming out. It's in distribution right now. Wow. So it's completed. It's done. Oh, yes. Yeah, it's done. Yeah, the broadcast version is done. Oh, cool. So it's just it's a decision. You will you will, and I can't tell you when it's going to start airing or where but it will in February during the Olympics, the winter game.
JOHN MOFFET:That's so cool. So okay, so I won't go back. So is it? Is it a documentary? Yeah. The Docu drama is it a dramatize kind of the film
Randy Gardener:was a feat quote in the category feature documentary.
JOHN MOFFET:Oh, so cool. It is yeah. And and maybe this is just as a simple a stupid question. But it's, I'm assuming it's chronicling all that we've been speaking of.
Randy Gardener:A lot of today. A lot of today. Yeah. And some other stuff. The plays in it a little bit. But a lot of but the in the film, a lot of new stuff was shot. Okay. And, and old footage and old footage, different clips. Yeah. More home movies, right. But the director shared it and Sotelo. One day she was over and we're going over stuff and she grabbed my scrapbooks. Just took a handful home. Yeah. And then she. And from that day forward, the film took a new turn because she made it into a living scrapbook. The film, oh, there are pages that turn. Oh, cool film. So she she had to re edit and re sort of redo it. Because there was one version early and then the second version became, but ended up being there. The final cut of the film. So and it's all based on the scrapbooks.
JOHN MOFFET:That is so cool. Well, congratulations on getting distribution. I know how difficult it is firsthand.
Randy Gardener:Sure you do.
JOHN MOFFET:Yeah. So so it'll be out. It'll be released in February. We don't know when,
Randy Gardener:but gotten to a film festival. Oh, cool. And when when? Oh, has it already been released last year? Yeah. Okay. You know, Colin put up. Yeah. So it was a film festival called outshine Miami. And it was last April. Okay. So we got the Laurel, and all that, but everything was shut because of COVID. Hmm. But we still got laurels as an official practice. Yeah. So there may be some more film festivals over kind of, we want it to be alive. You know, in person, a film festival, right? Because everybody wants to do like a skating party around it or some sort of event. Yeah, of course, as it goes in. But I don't know if the film festival route is going to take hold anymore because we kind of jumped.
JOHN MOFFET:Yeah, and COVID messed everything distribution. Yeah.
Tai Babilonia:So we'll say timing of everything.
JOHN MOFFET:I have a question for you. You know, I tried for an excess of a decade to make a documentary about the 1980 boycott. It ended it ended up not happening for various reasons. But I know for me personally, and I guess I'm curious for you. Part of that for me was this. There's a catharsis how much of your drive to make go figure is this pent up kind of cathartic sort of desire to Tell the story that's bigger than all of us, which is the Olympic and Paralympic Games question.
Randy Gardener:It's kind of my last thing I really want to do in terms of work and goals and stuff and things as one of the things I want to do. But I'm kind of an I pushed really hard for it, I want to, I want to share my story with future generations. And I want to tell the story, because it is cathartic in that way. And I want people to learn from it and set the record straight, set the record straight. And I think revealing one's life to the public, I think can be very important. And you know, to others, as well. So it's really something I wanted, I didn't really want to do, I didn't know, let me rephrase that. I didn't know I was going to do a play. I didn't seek that it kind of came to me from a director and writer of it. So and I, it took me a couple years to kind of get that off the ground. And then we did it. And then I kind of liked telling my story. So I kind of felt important to make as the reaction to people coming up to me other either other adoptees or their young gay boys, or any of that group are like, Oh, my God, I'm really making a difference here with people. So and that's inspiring. Yeah, that's kind of it's, it's fun to inspire to inspire other people.
JOHN MOFFET:Well, that's the best kind of legacy.
Randy Gardener:So yeah, so I pushed it, you know, it's really like right now, it's really the only thing I'm thinking about doing. You know, I'm coaching a little bit still, but this is sort of my biggest thing that I want to kind of finish off with. That's been before. I feel like I don't have to do anything.
Tai Babilonia:Consuming. Yeah, of course,
JOHN MOFFET:of course. I'm curious about something you said. You said, you want to set the record straight? What what she said it? I thought you said it. I said?
Randy Gardener:She said oh, you said it?
Tai Babilonia:Why did I say? Well, because there's a lot of crap out there. Yeah. A lot of stuff. That's not true. On the internet, and people you know, a lot of question marks and with go figures like yours, your answer to what you're thinking or what you thought you knew, and you thought you knew everything, but you don't know anything? Because Oh, you don't know. Cuz here's the truth. So it's, it's a lot. It's a lot about our relationship. Yeah, there's just
Randy Gardener:a lot about me. It was the most personal format. One can do and telling a story coming from writing, you know, book, a play, or documentary. Yeah, yeah. If you're, if you're the lead, subject in it, and you're telling it yourself. It's the most authentic thing you can do. I can't wait to see it. I can't wait to show I want to go to the screen emotion I'm on. Okay, we'll do it. For sure.
JOHN MOFFET:I can't wait. Bring your Kleenex. Just to kind of wrap up here. Um, you know, the name of my podcast is called sports life balance. And everyone understands sports, and everybody understands life. But what's that balance thing? That's more elusive? And do you think I kind of feel like like your balance is derived from each other? Is? Where does your balance come from? You say this is the last thing you want to do. You know, you had to achieve your own, you know, balance with struggling through the addiction. What is your balance
Tai Babilonia:that's never been asked that good one, John. Very good. I think the balance is what you know, the, the strength of the friendship, it always comes back to that, you know, like me going off the deep end and Randy, you know, his his drama was going to find, you know, find out the truth about his, you know, his parents. It's all that's some heady stuff. But it always comes back to the time Randy friendship not even the time ready skate, not even the, you know, all the skating stuff, all that stuff that's so separate to me, it's that what's important to me is that we kept in is the most important always will be, we kept this friendship and the commitment. We kept it together through some, you know, some deep stuff some, you know, it's it's the roller coaster, it is a roller coaster. It's the E ticket ride at Disneyland. It is all of that. And yet, I think any other pair team would split. And they do, but we kept it together and that I think inspires people. It inspires me, but it's it's that bond. It's like, you know, I can't explain it. I can't I don't even want to try analyze it.
JOHN MOFFET:It's elusive. It is. Yeah,
Randy Gardener:it's balance. I think balance, you have to work in a balance every day.
Tai Babilonia:No pun intended to balance things.
JOHN MOFFET:That's, I think that's true in your life.
Tai Babilonia:Yeah, motherhood and, you know, he's got a husband and you know, we just go through all this stuff, then it comes back to time, Randy. I mean, it's a powerful,
Randy Gardener:well, like life lessons to help you, right? Create life lessons. Whether you're an athlete or not, I think athletes are a really good way. And a really quick way and intense way to learn balance and to learn. We're also disciplined thing and discipline, all that, you know, that comes with sports. And, you know, if you are, like balance, balances, like, I think weighing two things in my mind, right, are weighing a couple of things, and sometimes they teeter off, you got to figure out how you're gonna fix it, or they're gonna let them let things fix themselves. Or are you just gonna forget about it and go on to something else?
JOHN MOFFET:And I think strong relationships really teach you a lot about that friction and pushing and pulling
Tai Babilonia:his work.
Randy Gardener:What don't you think COVID was so tough being around? Anybody, especially your partner and or family? Every single day? During lockdown? Yeah. And oh, my God, I thought was gonna blow up.
JOHN MOFFET:This has been a trying here for all of us. Yeah, we got we're all we're all looking for.
Tai Babilonia:It was the true test. And we you know, we passed it. But it was
JOHN MOFFET:your your relationship is definitely been pressure tested through
Tai Babilonia:the years. Absolutely absolutely. Well Tai and Randy, thank you so much for sharing. I mean, just a heartfelt sharing of who you are and your journey, and you for sharing with us. Thanks. I kind of kept going and going, man, and I loved it. I loved it.
JOHN MOFFET:Oh, thanks. Well, I certainly loved Randy getting to know you better. And both of you. I so look forward to seeing what is in store for your futures.
Tai Babilonia:Thank you, John. Thank you so much fun. It's one of the best interviews we've done.
JOHN MOFFET:Oh, thanks. I appreciate that. Yeah, one who's done it. Family. Family. Yeah, it is.
Tai Babilonia:Respect.
JOHN MOFFET:Thanks again. Thank you. Tai told me her absolute favorite quote is by poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou. And it goes like this."Do the best you can, until yo know better. Then when you kn w better, do better." Randy as chosen a quote of unknown ori in that has to do with the peo le you choose to spend your t me with. "There's your biolog cal family. And then there's our logical family." Clearly, Ta and Randy are logical family If you enjoyed this episod of Sports Life Balance, please ell a friend. I'm John Mof at. Thanks so much for joining ai, Randy and me for their time ess story. See you all next w ek. Thanks for listening. We ope you enjoyed sports life bal