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Beautiful on the Outside
Beautiful on the Outside: A Memoir | Adam Rippon
15 posts | 9 read | 8 to read
Former Olympic figure skater and self-professed America's Sweetheart Adam Rippon shares his underdog journey from beautiful mess to outrageous success in this hilarious, big-hearted memoir. Your mom probably told you it's what on the inside that counts. Well, then she was never a competitive figure skater. Olympic medalist Adam Rippon has been making it pretty for the judges even when, just below the surface, everything was an absolute mess. From traveling to practices on the Greyhound bus next to ex convicts to being so poor he could only afford to eat the free apples at his gym, Rippon got through the toughest times with a smile on his face, a glint in his eye, and quip ready for anyone listening. Beautiful on the Outside looks at his journey from a homeschooled kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to a self-professed American sweetheart on the world stage and all the disasters and self-delusions it took to get him there. Yeah, it may be what's on the inside that counts, but life is so much better when it's beautiful on the outside.
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JenReadsAlot
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Eggs Well done 👍🏼 12mo
21 likes1 comment
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MallenNC
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These were the first three books that came to mind for this prompt. Adam Rippon was especially funny, which is no surprise based on his Olympics interviews.

#3Books
#BooksThatMadeMeLaugh

OriginalCyn620 I haven‘t read Adam but the other two are definitely funny! 4y
MallenNC @OriginalCyn620 I really liked his book! I bet it is great on audio. 4y
JenReadsAlot I picked Adam's book as well for mine! 4y
MallenNC @JenReadsAlot It‘s so good! 4y
JenReadsAlot Listened to the audio and was laughing/crying so hard at times! 4y
18 likes5 comments
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Cinfhen
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Pickpick

While some parts of this memoir were repetitive, I was truly entertained and charmed by Adam Rippon. He came across as genuine & truly appreciative of his successes; never sugarcoating the intensity and drive it takes on both your body and mind. Kudos to Adam Rippon for keeping his sanity and humor intact & 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼earning a bronze medal in South Korea. Loved his narration, honesty & humor🖤I‘m a fan🙌🏻

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Cinfhen
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“I was a skating raisin” ⛸🎧🏅
Listening to Adam discussing his weight reminds me of my niece, who at 92 pounds, was told she needed to be below 90 pounds if she wanted to stay competitive. The psychological abuse these athletes go through is horrible. 😢💔Really enjoying all the behind the scenes gossip that Adam is SO DELICIOUSLY dishing 😜

wanderinglynn That‘s so terrible! How can they keep strong muscles if they‘re forcing their bodies to weigh so little? It‘s not healthy, physically or mentally. 4y
Cinfhen She was weighed EVERY morning @wanderinglynn and her day consisted of 3 + hours of gym/ conditioning and 3+ hours of ice/skate time. She literally had to write down everything she ate and show it to her coaches & nutritionist. Looking back now, those were messed up years 4y
MoonWitch94 @Cinfhen That‘s so sad & disgraceful. 😔 I hope your niece is doing well. 4y
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Amandajoy This makes me so angry! I‘m a Registered Dietitian and see so many people with disordered eating patterns. It doesn‘t help when people in positions of authority promote it by telling people to lose weight! Coaches, doctors should not be doing that. Especially not to young people. This makes me angry on a daily basis. 4y
LeahBergen Oh God. 4y
Cinfhen She stopped skating competitively at the end of 2018- she tore her meniscus and realized all the physical & mental toll on her body & spirit just wasn‘t worth it anymore @Amandajoy @MoonWitch94 she‘s actually SO HAPPY now although she does have fond memories of traveling & competing around the world / thanks for asking 😘 4y
Cinfhen It was crazzzzy @LeahBergen she would count 4 almonds 3 raisins and 1 green apple and put them aside for her daily snacks 4y
Megabooks Under 90 lbs!! That is just too small! 💔 4y
MoonWitch94 Oh good!!! At least that didn‘t stop her from having beautiful memories of her years spent skating. 4y
Kalalalatja I‘m glad your niece can look back on the good times, but that does sound pretty awful! I can only imagine the toll it must take on a person 👎 4y
wanderinglynn I‘m glad to hear she‘s happy now 💜 and that her skating memories are fond ones. 4y
Cinfhen We miss watching her skate/ compete but she‘s so much happier without all the constant pressure @wanderinglynn @Kalalalatja @MoonWitch94 @Megabooks and now she gets to be a sulky teenager 😊😆 4y
CarolynM I have a friend who's son was a teenage swimmer. She would only let him do about half of the hours of swimming the coaches wanted him to do flatly refused to let him do weight training. You can imagine how angry the coaches and officials were when he was state champion in his age level 4 or 5 years running. 4y
Cinfhen Wow!!! That‘s pretty amazing @CarolynM Every time my brother or SIL questioned the coaches they were labeled “difficult” parents and they made life for my niece even harder. Professional sports can be pretty nasty 🙄 4y
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Cinfhen
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I‘ve been going down the YOUTUBE video hole, watching Adam Rippon‘s performances that he keeps talking about....
It‘s amazing to watch his transformation ⛸❣️Skating is such a subjective sport, so even when you do your personal best, it doesn‘t necessarily mean it‘ll be received/judged that way. You need to have a thick skin and nerves of steel to be a competitive skater. I‘m REALLY loving this audiobook ❤️

MallenNC I read this and loved it. I wish I‘d listened to the audiobook but I still “heard” him as I read. 4y
Cinfhen He‘s SOOOOO ADORABLE @MallenNC and SOOOOOO UNCENSORED 🙊 4y
JenReadsAlot Just finished this on audible and loved it!! 4y
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MallenNC @Cinfhen I love him. His book was exactly what I was hoping it would be. 4y
erzascarletbookgasm Your enthusiasm has made me watch a bunch of his performance videos! 😘 He‘s so fun to watch, so cute! 4y
Cinfhen Isn‘t he adorable??? I‘m so glad you watched him skate/ I love how he‘s ALL sequins & mesh @erzascarletbookgasm 💖💖💖he‘s got that EXTRA sparkle @MallenNC @JenReadsAlot ❇️ ❇️❇️ 4y
79 likes6 comments
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Cinfhen
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OH MY GOD, Adam Rippon is hilarious 😆 he definitely has a career in stand up🙌🏻🎤❣️

And bonus points....A shout-out to our hometown rink....The Skatium in Havertown, PA ⛸I never knew he once trained there
#LiveAndLearn

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JenReadsAlot
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Pickpick

Oh my goodness this was SO good on #audio with Adam reading it. So my LOL moments and also inspiring.

Megabooks Agree! 4y
20 likes1 comment
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Megabooks
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Pickpick

I haven‘t watched figure skating in years, but I‘m a sucker for a fun, inspirational sports memoir, and this delivers.

The book follows the trajectory of his career, coaches, trainers, and family from his small-town PA roots to the Olympic medal stand in Korea.

So many Olympic athletes now are incredibly young, and he shows the wonderful perspective that can come from peaking late (28), and what it‘s like to be an openly gay Olympian. 4⭐️ ⬇️⬇️

Megabooks Audio is definitely the way to go! #bookspinbingo 4y
Cinfhen My niece was a world competitive figure skater....she placed 6th at Jr World‘s pair in 2018 but the pressures, demands and unfortunately politics left her too frustrated and depressed to keep going. We were so sad when she gave it up but it was the best thing for her physical & mental health. So I‘m VERY intrigued (edited) 4y
Megabooks @Cinfhen I can understand that. Adam nearly gave up multiple times. I think that fact about your niece has been in the back of my head somewhere. Anyway, I think you‘ll find it an interesting read! 4y
88 likes3 comments
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Megabooks
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This book is so funny!! I‘m so glad I picked it up when it was an #audible daily deal. I am a sports memoir fan (mostly), but I haven‘t followed figure skating in years, so his story is totally new to me! #audiobook

JenReadsAlot I grabbed this when it was on sale too! 4y
MallenNC I read this in print but I loved it. I could hear his voice as I read. I‘m sure the audiobook is fun! 4y
Megabooks @JenReadsAlot I hope you enjoy it! 4y
Megabooks @MallenNC he is a great narrator!! 4y
Cinfhen I bought this last week, too!!!!! I was betting it would be a riot ....yay 🥇 4y
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Shadowfat
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Pickpick

21/63
I really liked this book. I knew he was a figure skater but other than that I knew nothing about Adam before reading this. Adam's humor throughout is great, even when something bad happened or didn't go well. It really made me appreciate all Olympic figure skaters and how hard they worked to get there!

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MallenNC
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I absolutely love Adam Rippon. he was so much fun during the Olympics. His memoir made me #smile many times! Catching up on #ReallyRandomFebruary

OriginalCyn620 🙌🏻📚😊 5y
31 likes1 comment
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Nitpickyabouttrains
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Pickpick

Rippon is charming. I am totally all in on hearing about figure skating stories.

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MallenNC
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Pickpick

This was a fun book. I could just imagine Adam Rippon saying the words as I read. He‘s funny throughout but you also see how hard he worked to get to the Olympics and how much he and his mom sacrificed to make that possible. He‘s an inspiring person.

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MallenNC
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Not that I‘m going to stop reading but I officially made it to 24 hours! I‘m loving Adam Rippon‘s book. I can just hear him saying these words. #24B42020

OriginalCyn620 Awesome! IDK if I will make it but I‘ve got tons of reading done, so still a win! 5y
Andrew65 Brilliant! Congratulations 🍾🥂🍾🥂🥳🎯🤩😍👏👏👏🙌🥇 5y
Andrew65 @OriginalCyn620 Best of luck. 😊 5y
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MallenNC @OriginalCyn620 It is! I finished two library books and one audiobook along with nearly finishing a few others. 5y
MallenNC @Andrew65 Thanks for hosting a fun, low stress challenge! It was a great way to spend the end of my holiday vacation. 5y
Andrew65 @MallenNC Thanks and yes it was great to spend it with everyone! 😊 Happy New Year. 🥳 5y
16 likes6 comments
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MallenNC
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Taking a library book break for Adam Rippon. I bought this when it came out so I am happy to finally be reading it. #24B42020

Andrew65 😊👍 5y
27 likes2 stack adds1 comment