Show Notes
What does it mean to succeed when you’ve reached the Olympic podium? How do you separate that success from your sense of self-worth?
The world knows Chloe Kim as one of the greatest athletes ever. At 17, Chloe was the youngest person to win an Olympic gold medal in snowboarding. She was the first to win two gold medals in the Halfpipe. She was the first female snowboarder to have landed back-to-back 1080s. She is the first athlete ever to win all four major snowboarding titles in the Olympics, Worlds, Youth Olympics and X Games.
Under the pressure and expectations of the world, how does Chloe stay true to herself? Now 24, Chloe holds so much wisdom. Grappling with her incredible success, she has sought to understand what truly matters - insights that have come from her moments of pain and struggle. In this conversation, Chloe opens up about how she found her way through her depression and anxiety. And how she finds inner peace. As the children of immigrant parents, Chloe and the Surgeon General talk about family and what the American Dream means to them.
Ultimately, this episode is a meditation on where we find meaning in life.
(00:03:15) Dr. Murthy and Chloe sort out Team Dog vs Team Cat tension.
(00:05:38) Where did Chloe’s love of snowboarding come from?
(00:08:55) What inspired Chloe’s parents to come to America?
(00:12:45) What were the early days of snowboarding like for Chloe?
(00:14:25) How Chloe learned to be fearless on the slopes & off the slopes
(00:17:27) How do people’s expectations of success affect Chloe?
(00:20:50) How did Chloe get through her mental health struggles?
(00:25:05) How did Chloe turn to therapy?
(00:27:45) What brings Chloe (and Dr. Murthy) inner peace?
(00:32:58) How do you live a life that’s grounded in love?
(00:38:20) What gives Chloe a sense of purpose when things get hard?
(00:39:41) Chloe’s evolving definition of success.
(00:44:12) Chloe on her relationship to self-worth and loving herself.
(00:47:04) What is Chloe’s relationship to social media?
(00:52:17) What does Chloe want her parents to know about what they mean to her?
Special thanks to the President's Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition for collaboration on this episode.
We’d love to hear from you! Send us a note at [email protected] with your feedback & ideas. For more episodes, visit www.surgeongeneral.gov/housecalls.
Chloe Kim, Snowboarder
Instagram: @chloekim
About Chloe Kim The 2022 Winter Olympics cemented Chloe Kim as the female face of both snowboarding and action sports when she became the first female in history to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in halfpipe snowboarding. After being accepted to Princeton University, Kim took the 2019–20 season off from competing to focus on her education. Returning in January 2021, after a 20-month hiatus from snowboarding competition, Kim continued her dominance of the sport, winning all 4 women’s superpipe events in the 2020–21 season including her seventh X Games gold medal and her second World Championship.
Kim has had just as much success off the mountain as she’s had on it. She’s been featured on Forbes 30 Under 30 list, Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list, and Time’s 30 Most Influential Teens list (3 years in a row), as well as the cover of Time Magazine, Shape Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Sports Illustrated Kids, and ESPN Magazine. She also had an appearance in a Maroon 5 video and the Charlie’s Angels reboot. Additionally, Kim has taken home 5 ESPY Awards, the 2022 Daring to Disrupt Award at Glamour Women of the Year Awards, 3 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Sports Awards, and 2 Laureus World Sports Awards. Kim was appointed as a member of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition on March 24, 2023, for a 2-year term. Kim, whose parents emigrated from Korea, now lives in Los Angeles and has been recognized for her positive impact in the Asian American community.
More from House Calls with Dr. Vivek Murthy
As Dr. Murthy's term as the 21st U.S. Surgeon General comes to a close, House Calls is ending, too.
As Dr. Murthy prepares to conclude his term as Surgeon General, the moment is , the moment is bittersweet: serving as Surgeon General has been the honor of his lifetime, and saying goodbye is hard.
On a recent trip to India, the Surgeon General sat down with the delightful and inspiring father-daughter duo of Aamir and Ira Khan. Aamir is a renowned and beloved actor and producer, appearing in some of India’s biggest films. Ira Khan is founder of the Agatsu Foundation, a peer support and counseling center in Mumbai.
“You can re-imagine anything.” This was life advice that fashion designer Phillip Lim was given by his mother. His family escaped the Khmer Rouge and came to America as refugees. They had no resources and had to start over from scratch. Somehow, Phillip rose to become one of the most successful fashion designers in the world. He started his label 3.1 Phillip Lim with his business partner when they were both just 31 years old. In this heartfelt episode of House Call, we catch Phillip in a moment of evolution, surprising the fashion world by stepping away from his company and starting a new, unknown chapter in his life. As he opens up about his continuous journey of becoming, of re-imagining his life, Phillip and the Surgeon General ponder: how do you distinguish between success and fulfillment? How does being part of a community help our mental health? Why is creativity and sense of play so important? What is the connection between beauty and the values we live? While they come from very different worlds of medicine and fashion, Phillip and the Surgeon General are both guided by love of community, a desire to help others, and the inspiration of their mothers. (02:46) What role has Phillip Lim’s mom played in his life? (06:20) How did Phillip Lim maintain a sense of optimism in his early life? (09:20) How did curiosity and creativity put Phillip Lim on an unexpected path? (15:27) How did Phillip Lim navigate the competitive world of fashion? (18:54) What practices does Phillip Lim use to stay grounded? (23:02) What is the difference between success and fulfillment for Phillip Lim? (26:33) How can we find the courage to make big life changes? (31:58) How is Phillip Lim building community and advocating for mental health? (42:32) What message does Dr. Murthy have for Phillip Lim’s mother? (48:05) Phillip Lim asks Dr. Murthy for advice on empowering others to be seen, heard, and show up for each other. We’d love to hear from you! Send us a note at [email protected] with your feedback & ideas. For more episodes, visit www.surgeongeneral.gov/housecalls.
Do you feel you can no longer talk with people who hold different opinions? Has anger become the predominant tone? If we want this to change, how can we as individuals, change the way we talk and connect when we differ?