Anastasiia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov: “We are used to challenges, to when people tell us: “You won’t be able to”, and then it turns out we can.”
Interview with Anastasiia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov.
original source: RT dd. 27th September 2024 by Elena Vaitsekhovskaya
In the interview with RT Anastasiia Mishins and Aleksandr Galliamov talk about new programs, trainings, development of pair skating ad fashion. Here’s a translation of their comments.
“Q: Everyone remembers not only your performances at the test skates but also the two huge plush bears gifted by fans. It’s understood that no skater keeps all the toys from competitions at home, but… This question is probably for Nastya: Is it sometimes hard to part with them?
Anastasiia Mishina: It usually concerns my childhood toys, the ones I grew up with and got attached to. But even among those thrown onto the ice, some occasionally tug at my heartstrings. Either they are handmade or connected to certain people or events in our lives. I always want to keep those toys.
Q: I know that Tamara Moskvina always organizes an extensive program outside the rink for her athletes, to get them known and to help them build necessary connections. Can you recall any particular event that truly stood out and brought strong emotions?
Aleksandr Galliamov: We indeed learn a lot beyond training, for which we are very grateful to our coaches. But off the top of my head, I mostly remember recent events. For instance, this spring we met with very young athletes at VDNH. The way children listen to you is incomparable to most things. So that meeting was very emotional.
Anastasiia Mishina: I remember an event that was actually not very public. Before New Year’s, Channel One organized the “Tree of Wishes” campaign, and three or four sisters from an orphanage who dreamed of skating with champions came to our rink. Sasha and I helped fulfill that dream. It was very touching to learn later that all these girls were adopted by one family.
Q: Skaters are quite often invited to star in television commercials, but I don’t recall seeing you in such projects.
Anastasiia Mishina: There was one time. We advertised the MIR card and specifically went to Moscow for that. The commercial was made up of several segments: in addition to figure skating, it included football, hockey, and athletics. It was a completely new experience for us.
Q: Did you enjoy filming?
Anastasiia Mishina: It turned out to be interesting. Honestly, I didn’t know that a short clip took so long to make. The shooting took several hours in total. First, there was makeup, approval of the costumes we brought with us. The director approved not only those but also our hairstyles and even makeup. Then we waited quite a long time to film the hockey segment — there was some unexpected delay. When it was our turn, we did about ten throws, then spirals, so there was a lot to do.
Aleksandr Galliamov: Filming the ad was not that difficult, but now that I think about it, Nastya and I oddly don’t have a single professional photoshoot. We even planned such a project a couple of years ago, but it fell through. Personally, I want to change this as soon as possible.
Q: Nastya, if you were offered to star in a solo ad, what would be your preferred theme?
Anastasiia Mishina: I have always wanted to advertise some sort of sports apparel. I know previously similar contracts were had by Evgenia Medvedeva and Anna Shcherbakova with Nike, Sasha Trusova with Adidas, and Alina Zagitova with Puma. I would really like to participate in something similar.
Q: Am I right in understanding that sportswear is what you feel most comfortable in?
Anastasiia Mishina: Yes.
Aleksandr Galliamov: I also used to prefer athletic style mostly. But now I’m leaning more toward classic. If my day consists only of training and some personal errands that do not involve meeting people, I can spend the day in sportswear. But internally, I prefer to wear classic clothes.
Q: Does your popularity obligate you to always be conscious of how you look?
Aleksandr Galliamov: I generally like to look good — both in business and sporty styles. I want even strangers to enjoy looking at me. Accordingly, I would never allow myself to go out improperly dressed or with messy hair.
Q: Judging from a recent photo posted on Telegram, you seem to favor branded clothing?
Aleksandr Galliamov: Are you referring to the Gucci shirt and shorts? Actually, I don’t chase brands specifically. If I like an item, if it looks unique, I might buy it. But again, I’m not trying to assert myself through it. I think my face is already a brand itself.
Q: And how do you feel about brands, Nastya?
Anastasiia Mishina: Neutral. I usually dress according to my mood. For me, it’s not about the label on the clothes but how they look and how well they match my style ideas. I might notice a branded item if it has an interesting cut, style, or color.
Q: In the mixed zone after the free program, it seemed like you really liked yourself in the new dress.
Anastasiia Mishina: That’s true. I really liked the result — it met my expectations. The dress turned out exactly as it looked in the sketch, which doesn’t always happen. It’s very comfortable, very beautiful, and suits my style. Considering that the seamstress gave us the costumes for both programs only on the evening before the performance and we had just one morning practice to try them out, it was especially pleasing.
Q: I know many female athletes don’t like how dresses look on a sporty figure because they rarely look as good as they do on a mannequin.
Anastasiia Mishina: I also feel quite comfortable in dresses. For me, comfort is paramount in clothing, whether it’s competitive costumes or everyday wear. The other thing is that we don’t have many events where you can go in a dress and heels. Most of the time, it’s all about sportswear due to training and camps.
Q: When you dress up for public appearances, do you aim to attract attention?
Aleksandr Galliamov: I never lacked attention as a child, so my answer is no. In any situation, I can initiate a conversation with a stranger and engage in dialogue. But I definitely won’t try to attract attention in an extravagant way.
Anastasiia Mishina: I would never wear something I consider vulgar or, conversely, too plain. I try to ensure my appearance is appropriate for the event I’m attending. Somewhere subconsciously, perhaps, there’s a desire not to hear criticism from those around me or see disapproving looks.
Q: Could you ever dye your hair pink or green?
Anastasiia Mishina: Theoretically, yes, but I know that Tamara Nikolaevna really dislikes such hair manipulations. So the most I might allow myself is some subtle highlighting.
Q: In figure skating, children are involved from a very young age, especially girls. Have you ever wanted to rebel, to disagree with the fact that your fate is being decided by your parents and coach rather than by yourself?
Anastasiia Mishina: I liked practicing from a young age. No one ever forced me to train. Perhaps, at times, my mother was strict when she felt I wasn’t working properly or listening carefully to the coach, but she definitely wasn’t preparing me to conquer any peaks or win anything. Especially since I was ranked 20th in singles skating. I would say that sports weren’t a priority for my family at that time. Even in terms of education, they were preparing me not for a sports university but for an economics university. Actually, I was planning to enroll in the School of Economics. I changed my mind a month before the exams.
Q: Why?
Anastasiia Mishina: I was discussing it with my older brother, and he asked me why I needed it. It seemed to me that there was no other way: all my family members are economists, all either work or have worked in banks. What could be more natural than wanting to follow in their footsteps? But after that conversation with my brother, I realized that I actually wanted to tie my life with sports, which is closer to my heart. And I submitted my documents to the Lesgaft University.
Q: Do you have any dreams related to money?
Aleksandr Galliamov: I would phrase it this way: life provision. The things that are necessary for a person to feel materially secure and comfortable.
Anastasiia Mishina: Among global things, I’ve always wanted my own apartment with a view of the water — Neva, Griboedov Canal, or Fontanka. While it’s unrealistic at the moment, it’s just a dream… not mandatory, just a little fantasy.
Q: Based on posts in Aleksandr Galliamov’s Telegram channel, it seems you are each other’s closest people, who can share any problems, knowing that the partner will always support. Is this really the case?
Anastasiia Mishina: In terms of work, we always communicate in a business-like manner.
Q: Do you think Galliamov can be called the ideal man?
Anastasiia Mishina: I would say he is the ideal partner for me. Very stable in all respects, and that’s important for an athlete. For example, in throws, I know that in any condition and regardless of how he feels, Sasha always throws me the same way. There are no unpleasant surprises when one throw is strong, and another is weaker and I have to save the element right in the air. The same applies to other components.
Q: When people spend so much time together in training and traveling, it seems to me they inadvertently begin to see each other as their sporting property. And suddenly the partner goes to the movies or has dinner with someone else. Don’t you get jealous?
Anastasiia Mishina: That’s actually great when there’s an opportunity to rest from each other, to switch. When people are together all the time, they sometimes get a bit annoying.
Q: Sasha, what is the most valuable quality of Nastya as a partner?
Aleksandr Galliamov: Stability. It’s very valuable and pleasant when you are supremely confident that your partner can perform well everything they need to. Plus, we can always talk about something. We can switch off from work thoughts for a few minutes and discuss something unrelated even during training, when we are tired and want to catch our breath. It’s cool.
Q: Your current free skate program seems to be stylistically similar to the one you had two seasons ago to Elvis Presley’s music. But I got the impression that it was a bit harder for you, especially for Nastya. You seemed more organic skating to Michael Jackson.
Anastasiia Mishina: I would explain that by the choice of character. In the previous program, the choreographers envisioned me as Elvis’s muse. That concept was somewhat unclear to me. A muse, an inspiration, something rather ephemeral. So, I wasn’t even a person, then?
Q: As Vladimir Vysotsky wrote: “Today, the muse visited me. Sat briefly and left…”
Anastasiia Mishina: Yes, that’s pretty much what happened. Now, we have decided to skate as two Jacksons. I have always dreamed of skating male characters. I get an extra internal drive in those cases.
Q: Tamara Nikolaevna once mentioned that you find certain new choreographies challenging.
Anastasiia Mishina: On the contrary, lyrical characters require much effort from me. They are less clear and, consequently, less interesting to me. It’s easier when there’s a storyline. Skating about love is incomparably harder for me.
Q: Maybe it’s just not the time yet?
Anastasiia Mishina: Maybe, but I think it’s more about personality. I prefer dynamic, positive movies.
Q: Sasha, which of the programs do you feel closer to?
Aleksandr Galliamov: If choosing from all that we have ever skated, I found it most interesting to perform the exhibition in 2021/22 season to Beggin’ by Måneskin and Oh, Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison. As for Michael Jackson, I can say I’m beginning to feel the music more and I like it. There’s a lot of music in my life in general. I listen to it throughout the day. In the car, during warm-up, in the locker room, on the ice, and at home. Jackson’s style immediately resonated with me. Therefore, I was particularly looking forward to training, knowing we would be working on the free skate.
Q: Do you dance well?
Anastasiia Mishina: Probably not very well.
Many people, even those not in sports, are taking up modern dance classes. I can’t say I often go to clubs, but compared to some friends, I even feel a bit constrained if I have to dance. It would certainly be interesting to learn something new like hip-hop, just haven’t had the time. And apparently, I lack the desire. When there is a desire, you can always find the time.
Aleksandr Galliamov: I dance very poorly, to be honest.
Q: Yet you skate dance programs. Where’s the logic?
Anastasiia Mishina: Dancing on skates and dancing in regular life are completely different things.
Q: During the skates, I read an interview with your former teammates Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitri Kozlovskii. Dmitri mentioned that with the new coaching staff they finally have systematic training. I thought, though, that one of the most systematic coaches in your sport is Moskvina.
Anastasiia Mishina: Well, we do have a certain work system, a training plan. Dmitri probably meant that their elements and daily activities are more explicitly detailed. Our plan is more flexible. We also schedule what exactly we’re working on each day, when we do short program, when free, but depending on the performance, we decide what needs further work. In a certain way, we are more free and act according to the situation. Usually, in the last one and a half weeks before competitions, we manage two or three full run-throughs of short programs and a couple of free.
Q: Some coaches think that a skater should do a run-throughs of the programs every day to achieve consistency. Could you work in such a regimen?
Anastasiia Mishina: Initially, it would probably be hard. I also heard from Sasha and Dmitri that they skate every day. At first, it was difficult for them, but then they got used to it, and such a regimen became normal. I don’t really know how effective this is for results. I see that the guys are in shape, that they have gained speed, and their free skate seems perhaps more polished than ours. I’ve noted all this. But right now, there’s no need for us to rush building our form: our first important competition is only in November.
Q: Do you always keep track of how your competitors perform?
Anastasiia Mishina: I generally watch the skates after the competitions, analyze them. I find it interesting.
Q: A future coach’s perspective?
Anastasiia Mishina: Maybe.
Aleksandr Galliamov: At the test skates, I didn’t see anyone at all. And I haven’t reviewed any performances since – just haven’t had the time. So, there’s nothing much to say about that. As for the training system, it’s clear that by the age of 25 a system has been established. Tamara Nikolaevna might make some adjustments, but generally, we already know how to structure our work and prepare ourselves for competitions.
Q: A year ago, we already discussed with you that pairs skating is actively moving towards complicating jumps and that as long as the rules are what they are, excessive risk simply isn’t beneficial. But do you discuss among yourselves or with the coach that times may change? When triple toe loops and salchows won’t be enough to win?
Anastasiia Mishina: We have a reserve in complexity. In other words, if necessary, of course, we’ll change something.
Aleksandr Galliamov: Last season, by the way, we already showed the figure skating federation management a version of a more complicated program. Just for now, it’s indeed more advantageous for us to perform the well-rehearsed content. That doesn’t eliminate the fact that an athlete always needs to have a contingency plan in case of unforeseen developments.
Q: Does it worry you that with age, mastering more risky elements might prove harder than it seems?
Anastasiia Mishina: We are used to challenges, to when people tell us: “You won’t be able to”, and then it turns out we can. Back in my childhood, Alexei Mishin didn’t take me into his group. He told my parents, “your little girl will never be able to do a double axel or triple jumps.” I was little and thin at that time, hence my jumps were very small. I almost always had under-rotations even on doubles. Usually, everyone says that a girl needs to master jumps before she grows and gains weight, but for me, it was the opposite: as soon as I grew and gained some weight, I started to jump consistently and well.
Q: What does an ideal day off look like for you?
Anastasiia Mishina: I love going out into the countryside. We have a cottage quite far from St. Petersburg — 70 km. There are few people there; you can walk around, pick mushrooms, berries.
Aleksandr Galliamov: My rest days vary. I can also go to the cottage to relax with my family, or I can travel somewhere with friends. But I always try to find a certain balance.
Q: Who cooks at home?
Anastasiia Mishina: I know how to cook and love brewing. I used to make desserts, but now it’s mostly meat and vegetables. I often cook for the whole family.
Aleksandr Galliamov: I can also come up with something myself. Sometimes my mom or grandmother cook meals for several days, I load it all in the fridge and that’s what I have for lunch or dinner. Between training sessions, I can snack at the rink. Or just order food through delivery for bonuses. Not fast food, of course.
Q: Really! Are you saying you never order pizza and burgers?
Aleksandr Galliamov: No, I can order anything, really no problem, but sometimes you just realize looking at the scales, that today only salad.
Q: Do you gain weight quickly?
Aleksandr Galliamov: I can gain weight quickly, but also lose it quickly. The last time I gained 3.5 kg in five days of illness. I had to quickly lose it. It would have been unthinkable to go out on the ice in such condition.
Q: By the way, whose extra weight in the pair is most critical?
Aleksandr Galliamov: As for Nastya’s weight, I generally don’t feel it when performing lifts. It’s all done not by strength but by technique, so a couple of kilos here and there don’t play any role. It’s much harder to perform the same lifts when we work not on the ice, but in the hall. Just if I lose more weight than necessary, jumping becomes very easy, but doing spins and lifts becomes much harder. Familiar sensations get lost. So, weight is a double-edged sword. For a male skater, it’s crucial to find his own balance. Another matter is that our costumes are not oversized. If I start eating too much, my sides will be visible to everyone.
Q: Nastya, when puberty started, wasn’t there a temptation to resort to some quick but not very healthy methods, which are very popular in sports where you have to strictly maintain weight?
Anastasiia Mishina: Not the very strict ones. Of course, there were various silly things like wrapping myself in film and going to run. Or not drinking water at all. Now, I constantly watch my weight, try to lose a bit before competitions to feel lighter. But I wouldn’t say I have an ideal competition weight. For me, physical fitness and how ready my muscles are is paramount. If they are sharp, then everything is fine.
Q: Final question for you, Nastya: if your partner one day makes you a proposal, will you immediately say “no” or will you think about it?
Anastasiia Mishina: Let that remain my secret.
Q: And what will you say to that, Aleksander?
Aleksandr Galliamov: I think, hearing a girl say ‘no’ is the scariest thing for any man.”
Related topics: Anastasia Mishina Alexandr Galliamov
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