Well Jan and I just got back from spending some time with Apolo and his agent Janey Miller tonight after the ESPY awards. How is this possible you say? Well both Apolo and Janey were staying at one of Hollywood's chic-est hotels on Sunset Boulevard called the "Mondrian". On Wednesday, I contacted Janey at the hotel and introduced myself. Apparently, she already knew who I was from speaking with Yuki.....she had been warned!!! Ha! Ha! We chatted for about a good 15 minutes regarding Apolo's schedule for the day. She said that they were just about to leave for an interview (sorry! did not ask her with who). Talk about timing!!! After the interview, both Apolo and she would return to the hotel and put their "game faces" on and depart for the ESPY'S at 4:00.
I then proceeded to ask Janey again, the agenda for their evening and that we had some gifts for Apolo and would it be possible to "hook up" later in the evening. Well, to my surprise, she asks me for my cell number and tells me that she will call later that evening to set a time when we could meet and it would probably be around 11:00 pm. Well at this point, I just had to call my life partner, Jan, and spill the GOOD NEWS about "hooking up" with Apolo and Janey that evening. You can imagine her reaction when I told her. ....UNBELIEVABLE!!!!! She said she wanted to scream but she was working on a client (she is a hair stylist), so composure was in order....Hell, forget about composure girl! Let it out!!!
We headed up to Hollywood around 9:45 pm (we live about an hour away), got lucky with a parking spot right in front of the hotel and proceeded to check it out. The place was smoking with people. Keep in mind that it is about 10:45 and no call from Janey so Jan and I jumped into Plan B and just walked in to the lobby and waited for Apolo and Janey to show up. Remember I mentioned that "timing is everything". Just as we were returning from the restrooms, I spotted Apolo and Janey walking into the Private Party. I called out his name and he stepped out of line to greet us. I must say that he looked pleasantly surprised to see us and I will say fellow OZoners, the very first thing he did was raise his arm to show me his koa bracelet...How cool is that? We exchanged "da hood" handshake and he proceeded to give my Jan a big hug....she is still in a daze and has not snapped out of it yet. Ha! I mentioned that the OHNOZONE fans have purchased the koa bracelets and are wearing it in his honor. He thought that was cool!!! We introduced ourselves to Janey, presented her with a few gifts (it's an Aloha spirit thing) in appreciation for her suggestion to meet.
We hung out with them for about 25 minutes taking pictures and "talking story". (we will submit when we return from our vacation) We mentioned to Apolo that we would be attending the Torchlight Parade and that he should look for our "Remember You Had Dinner With Us" sign....chuckle! chuckle! At one point, Janey asked us if we would like to join them inside at the party..Do you need to ask????? Turns out, they were maxed out so....oh well. Thanks Janey for trying. I have to tell you, I have dealt with agents in the past but she is one of the nicest agents I have met....How refreshing.
While "chillin" in the lobby with Apolo and Janey and surrounded by a mass of people, I noticed that their attention was solely on Jan and I. What an awesome feeling!!!!! As time past on and out of respect for their time and moment, we decided to let them attend their party. We thanked the both of them for spending time with us and how we enjoyed it very much. Apolo turned to the both of us and thanked us for coming out to see him....Our pleasure my friend!!!!
Jan and I left the hotel for the drive home and we expressed to each other how lucky we were to spend time with Apolo. Like our dinner with him in Chicago in June, he was pleasant, gracious and nothing but class.
Well OZ fans, that is our latest encounter with the APOLO. See you in Seattle!!!!
Some people missed it the first time around, so from Kimo:
Here's the "skinny" as to where you can get the bracelet. The company is called HAWAIIAN ACCESSORIES. Call (888) 747-9663 and ask for the "Apolo" bracelet (or leave a message on the machine). Sizes are S-M-L
Well, OZ fans... we have an embarrassment of riches for you today and will be posting them shortly. Just wanted to let you know we have some great ESPY-related stuff coming your way!
I don't have a lot to report--I'm sure nyla will have the scoop from inside the theater--and Molly may have some news from the "after party" if she gets in! But for what it's worth, here's what happened... First of all, Hollywood Blvd. in front of the Kodak Theatre was closed off, and so was the sidewalk--the bleachers were reserved for bleacher ticket holders, and the red carpet area was reserved for ESPY ticket holders. Our only recourse was the 2nd level shopping area which overlooked the red carpet walkway directly below. Security was tight with officers next to the balcony overlooking the walkway, but they had to keep the floor open to shoppers. They had chains up to keep people away from the balcony, but they said we could hang around as long as we "kept moving." Well, Molly, her cousin, Kahuna (from apoloantonohno.com and The Scorpion King with Molly), and I just kept walking around, peering over the balcony whenever security wasn't looking. The E! announcer periodically announced people, but we couldn't make out what was said, so we just kept looking. Suddenly, Molly says, "There he is!" We looked over the balcony. Molly said, "Over there, with the lady with the blue dress!" Then we saw his beautiful head of hair! He was walking with two tall women who I think I recognized as his agents from the eBay convention, but I'm not sure. He looked so handsome in what looked like a black tux. We got so excited! We got our cameras ready and followed as he walked down the walkway below. I just couldn't control myself and I ran to the balcony. I called out, "APOLO!" He stopped and looked up. I waved. He smiled and waved!!! I don't know if my pics came out, but Kahuna got some beautiful digital photos of this moment!! I wanted to say more, and cheer Apolo on with something like "You're the best!" or "We love you!" but when he looked up and waved, that was a "NO WORDS!" moment! Also, I think security was after me! Well, that's it for my latest Apolo encounter! So he didn't win Best U.S. Olympian...We know he's THE BEST!! We missed you Abigail and monalisa--maybe we'll all meet again at the Teen Choice Awards?
posted by noelle . |
12:20 AM
Wednesday, July 10, 2002
Thursday February 28, Apolo Anton Ohno (2L) of the United States tries to pass South Korea's Kim Dong-sung in the final lap of the men's 1500 m short track final at the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
posted by noelle . |
8:57 AM
Tuesday, July 09, 2002
Update from Jan
Thank you so much for inviting me to OZ and making my story look so good! It was so exciting to see it there! You are incredible and so are all of you DOW's and DYW's (I love it!). I was overwhelmed by all of your comments and reactions to my letter. It was more than I expected. You are all so unbelievably nice! I was so surprised to hear that many of you are in my age bracket (!) so I'm not alone afterall. Your comments were so touching and unexpected. I would like to respond back individually when I have more time, but for now I wanted to thank you all as a group for being so supportive and endearing and for embracing me and making me feel so welcome. I'll be back soon with more. You guys are great - THANKS!
posted by noelle . |
6:16 PM
Monday, July 08, 2002
**AN OHNO ZONE SPECIAL** eBay Winner Shares Story of Dinner With Apolo
We are very pleased to announce that Jan, the lovely lady who won the ebay auction to have dinner with Apolo after SportsFest, has agreed to share her story with the Ohno Zone. Her story is below, followed by several more photos. From one fan to another, thank you Jan from the bottom of our hearts!
Hi Everyone! I'm finally writing to let you know about my unbelievable dinner with Apolo. At first I thought I wasn't going to bore you with all the details, but then I thought again - hey, how many people will get this chance of a lifetime experience that I was lucky enough to have? Not many. So, I decided to write something different. Here goes...
Dinner was at Gibson's in Chicago with Apolo, his dad, Yuki (it was Father's Day weekend), a very nice woman from Pennsylvania and her 11 yr. old son (who won the drawing at Sportsfest and who, by the way, did know who Apolo was), a representative from Mounted Memories (who brought Apolo there to do the autograph-signing), and my life partner and I (who flew there from southern California).
It was a night to remember! We had an unrushed 2 1/2 hrs. and had a wonderful meal and great conversation. Apolo had a filet mignon, medium-rare, with veggies, just water to drink and chocolate cake for dessert (the restaurant provided a gigantic wedge for the whole table), after appetizers of oysters, shrimp, crab and lobster. He also tried some of his dad's prime rib. Dinner was delicious and he went around asking us individually at some point how we liked our meals (how sweet!).
Apolo and his dad are both so gracious. They were relaxed and comfortable with us. Yuki is in awe of Apolo's popularity. When he was in New York doing hair for runway models, no one knew who he was when he'd be walking down the street. Now he said when he's walking with Apolo in the streets of New York, people come running up to him to tell him what a great job he did in the Olympics! Yuki says, "It's so fantastic!"
They told us how the Korean team in the Olympics were really frustrated because many skaters weren't qualifying to the finals, so by the time Kim Dong-Sung skated in the 1500m with Apolo and got disqualified, that was the last straw for them, and that was how the whole anti-USA sentiment got started. It still goes on and was carried over into the World Cup soccer game. After Korea played the U.S. in Korea and tied, 1 to 1, the whole Korean soccer team mocked Apolo by getting into the starting position for skating. We asked him about that and his response was, "Yeah, I saw that. Bad technique, too!" We all laughed. Another example of Apolo's great sense of humor was when my boyfriend asked him how old his dad was, and he said, "The last time I remember he was 39. Hey, Dad, are you still 39?"
We talked about the Super Stars competition in Jamaica. He said it took him 17 hrs. to get there and when he finally got there, they had already started and he had to just jump right in and get going. We commented about his cornrows and he said, "You gotta have cornrows when you're in Jamaica!" He also said that everyone went to bed so early, like 9pm, and he thought - hey, where is everyone? We're in Jamaica - aren't we supposed to be having fun? He also hurt his neck when he was practicing for the swimming. He hit a sandbar that he didn't know was there, but luckily he was okay. (If anyone saw it, Apolo did great and came in 4th! He was the youngest and smallest competitor and still managed to be one of the few to come home with some cash!)
The highlight of the night for me I guess was when I presented Apolo with a poem I wrote for him. There's a story to this poem. I wrote one over 30 yrs. ago for someone none of you have ever heard of - Bobby Sherman. He was my teen idol at age 15. Tiger Beat magazine printed it in their Sept. 1971 issue and I've never written another one since, until I was inspired by Apolo. I tried to fax the poem over to the Jay Leno Show when he was on in Feb. after the Olympics, but that failed. Then I tried to hand deliver it to him in Seattle at Apolo Ohno Day, but he didn't do autographs or meet anyone at that time afterall. So, here was my chance at last. It was great for me to see his reaction when he read it!
We also gave Apolo some gifts from Hawaii (where we're from originally). We gave him a koa bead bracelet and koa wood box, which he seemed to really like. To our surprise, he was wearing the bracelet at the ebay Live convention the next weekend (we saw Nyla's picture on your web site!). He must've really liked it - how awesome!
I must admit that I was disappointed when I heard that we had to share our evening with two other people, but as it turned out, Judy and AJ were really nice and they were a great addition to our evening afterall. (Judy said some young girls wanted to scratch her eyes out for winning the drawing since she was a housewife and not a teenager!) At one point AJ said to Apolo - "Apolo, chicks dig you, huh?" It was pretty funny.
The evening was priceless! I was very happy to know that my winning bid was going specifically to Apolo's massage therapist's son, Cody. It was a great feeling to know that I was helping someone like that. Apolo and his dad were so appreciative and Yuki videotaped us to show Cody who was helping him. They are a great team and have a great relationship. I'm a hair stylist as well, so Yuki and I talked a little "hair" and they never said, but I know that Yuki was there to do Apolo's hair that night after dinner, as well as spending time with him for Father's Day. He was doing Apolo's hair while Apolo was answering his fan mail!
I was especially impressed with how Apolo handled himself - relaxed, comfortable, fun and cordial. Afterall, he had to spend an evening with a few perfect strangers - not exactly an easy situation to be in. There is much more to him than I expected. He is appreciative, caring and so centered. He's a gorgeous person - both inside and out! Someone asked me what my first impression was of him and I clearly remember thinking to myself when he looked and smiled at me - wow! You can see his whole inner self shine thru! I hope you all get a chance to experience this one day because it's MAGICAL!
You must all be wondering why an older person of 46 would admire someone like Apolo who's only 20. Let me tell you that he has touched all of us of all ages, from children to grandparents, and his appeal is wide and universal. As a role model and someone to admire ( and dream about), Apolo has won the hearts of all of us. All I can say to all of you is - GOOD CHOICE! He takes nothing for granted about his fame and popularity. Keep it up everyone - you've picked a WINNER! He reads all of his fan mail, so don't give up, you will one day hear from him!
Apolo autographed a huge picture of him (at the Olympics when he got his gold medal) for us - "My Friends - Kimo and Jan - Wishing both of you much happiness in life!" What a special memory of our time with him this will be for us. He is such a special person. (He has a great signature, too!)
Good luck to everyone in your quest to meet and get to know Apolo! Don't be afraid to dream big because dreams can come true as this dream did for me.
Keep up the good work, Noelle and Todd - your web site is great!
The name is what draws us near. His first name sounds like the Greek god of music, poetry and vision, his surname explaining his last thought Saturday night before he went sliding into the wall. Apolo Ohno. Many thought he would win four gold medals in short-track speedskating at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, but he met disaster on his way to the podium in the men’s 1,000 meters. He was in the lead, pushing through Turn Four on the final lap, some 15 meters from the finish. He was bumped. His skates became tangled. And his dream for four golds tumbled with him into the padding. Apolo Ohno. He regained his feet and never gave up, accepting the silver in the 1,000 but vowing to return for the gold. We believed him. The gash in his left leg, closed with six stitches, was nothing. He had overcome many wounds over his 19 years, but he caught a break Wednesday night in the Salt Lake Ice Center. He had crossed the finish line second but was awarded the gold in the 1,500 meters after an official ruled Korean Kim Dong-sung had illegally cut into Ohno’s lane on the final lap. Apolo Ohno. He’s young but experienced. He waited toward the back Wednesday, searching for a hole for 12 of the 14 laps. In less than two seconds, he darted through a crease and moved from fifth to second with two laps remaining. He needed to make one more move to raise his arms in victory. Instead, he raised his arms and alerted Australian referee James Hewish he was cut off, selling his case like a wide receiver exaggerating interference. Apolo Ohno. He’s a tough kid from Seattle. His mother abandoned him when he was still in diapers, leaving Apolo to be raised by his father. Yuki Ohno worked long hours as a hair-dresser, and it wasn’t long before the boy would defy the father. He angered the old man with his long hair and poor grades, but being smart in his crowd meant being shunned by his crowd and, heaven forbid, a teenager would be exiled by his peers. So he bombed enough tests to get tossed from the honors program and spent his free time breakdancing. Why? Because breakdancing was cooler than good grades. Apolo Ohno. He was an in-line skater with an X Games attitude, most likely headed for a boarding house with the other delinquents in his clique. Only his life would change, this time for the better, after watching the Winter Games on television in 1994. Short-track speedskating had grabbed him by each biceps and shook the marbles loose. The sport was trying to love him, but he had to love it back. Apolo Ohno. He possessed every skill required for short-track. He had the instincts needed for position and the quick feet to follow them. He could break down a race in his head and find the quickest means to its end. He moved to the top of his age group at 13 and became the youngest national champion at any age group at 14. He was not quite 15 when he was invited to train at Lake Placid, only he never made the flight into Albany. He waved goodbye to Yuki and grabbed the pay phone, calling a friend to pick him up at the airport. He spent a week bumming around with the other hoodlums in Seattle before Yuki escorted him to the front door of the training center and prayed the kid wouldn’t mess up. Apolo Ohno. He goofed off when he first arrived in Lake Placid and was nearly tossed. Predictably, he finished last in training tests among short-trackers, and the embarrassment provoked his competitive edge. He was only 14, but many had him pegged for gold in the 1998 Games in Nagano. He never went to Nagano. Instead, he finished dead last in the U.S. Olympic trials. It was a good thing. Looking back, he had too much success too soon, and he wasn’t ready to take on the world. Apolo Ohno. He began dominating the World Cup in short track in 2000. He was first in the 1,000 meters, first in the 1,500 meters and first in the 500 meters, giving him the overall points title by a mile. He did not participate in the World Cup this year because the U.S. skaters feared for their safety following the terrorist attacks. It was a good thing for those abroad. International skaters feared Ohno attacks. Apolo Ohno. He was the center of controversy after the U.S. Olympic trials last month. He had finished first in every heat but one, allowing best friend Shani Davis to secure a spot on the team with a victory. Ohno claimed he was merely skating conservatively to avoid injury, knowing his place on the U.S. team was secure. Tommy O’Hare, citing unfair play, considered filing a lawsuit before dropping the issue. Apolo Ohno. Two months ago, America didn’t know him from Yoko Ono, but he now has the nation’s attention. He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and traveled through the TV talk-show circuit. He knows when to smile and how to laugh at himself. Teenage girls are screaming, but it shouldn’t be long before everyone embraces him. He’s much cooler now, cooler than he thought he was. Respect for him skyrocketed when he fell down and pulled himself up Saturday, just like he had for 19 years and counting. Apolo Ohno. He might have disappeared in the police blotter had short-track speedskating not saved him. The sport turned him into a man, and now he’s a rich one with a gold and two events remaining. He’ll be 23, still a year away from prime age in his sport, when the 2006 Games are held in Italy. Maybe then we’ll forget what the sport has done for him and measure what he has done for the sport. It needed a name. Why are so many people suddenly fascinated with short track? Apolo Ohno.
Technical Difficulties Hello Ohno Zoners. Hope you all had a wonderful Fourth. Unfortunately, we are still unable to upload new pics or files! We'll be updating with new pics and more just as soon as we're able, and I think you'll find the wait was worth it! Thanks for your continued patience.
Thanks for visiting OHNO ZONE: Web resources for fans of Apolo Anton Ohno with the latest Ohno news, competition info, photos, appearances and more. Most of our photos,
fan encounters and comments are contributed by visitors. Many thanks to everyone who has contributed so far!
- Todd & Noelle
Comments by: YACCS
