This February, NBC is home to two of the world’s biggest sporting events: the Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl.
You already know you’ll be seeing Chloe Kim, the two-time reigning champion in women’s snowboard halfpipe, at the Milan Cortina Games, but if you keep your eyes peeled, you might see her during the Super Bowl as well.
Well, not at the Super Bowl, but during one of the commercial breaks.
That’s because Kim was tapped to be part of a Super Bowl commercial for Michelob ULTRA. The 60-second spot, which has already been released on YouTube ahead of the big game, stars actors Kurt Russell and Lewis Pullman and features cameos from Kim and another famous Olympian, hockey star T.J. Oshie.
Ahead of the commercial’s release, NBCOlympics.com caught up with Kim — who is recovering from a recent shoulder injury — for a quick Q&A about her Super Bowl debut, her preparation for the upcoming Winter Olympics, her pet snake and more.
The below interview has been edited for length and clarity.
NBCOlympics.com: Obviously, the Super Bowl is a big cultural thing, and commercials have become a huge part of it. What was your initial reaction to that whole opportunity?
Chloe Kim: I was really excited. I think any opportunity to be in a Super Bowl commercial is such a big deal. So, yeah, I was super excited to be part of this.
NBCO: Where did you film your segment at, and what was that day of shooting like?
CK: We were in Utah in Snowbird. I’d actually never been, so it's my first time, and it was snowing the whole time, which made me really happy. It was so fun. I wish we got to stay there a bit longer.
NBCO: What was your favorite part about the the whole experience and being in the commercial?
CK: I think my favorite part of being part of this commercial was, I just think it was fun. It was cool to meet Kurt Russell, was fun to meet the whole crew. Obviously, everybody on set is incredibly talented, and I think being around that energy is very exciting and inspirational. So I was honored.
NBCO: Looking ahead to the Olympics, first of all, how's everything going with with the shoulder?
CK: Things are good.
NBCO: What are these next few weeks looking like for you?
CK: They're looking pretty chill, honestly. I'm home right now, and I'll be heading out to Europe early next week to get a few days of training in before we head over to Milan, and then I'll be there for the big day.
Editor’s Note: This interview took place on Thursday, Jan. 22.
NBCO: What have you been doing during this recovery process?
CK: I'm always doing something, so I've kind of just been like sticking to my routine and getting all the things that I need to get done, done, which has been enjoyable. And I think once I'm back on my snowboard, I'll have to kind of tune out all the noise and start really focusing for what I need to do.
NBCO: What are you most looking forward to at these upcoming Games?
CK: I'm excited to stay with my family. I think it'll be really fun. I'm excited to explore Italy. I'm excited to be at my third Olympics. There's a lot to look forward to, so I'm eager to get there.
NBCO: And what are your thoughts on what we might see in the Olympic final, just from the field as a whole? It seems like everyone's really stepping things up this year, and it could be a really, really exciting contest.
CK: Yeah, I think every Olympics I've been to, it's always been really exciting, because people give it their all, and I don't think we get to see that very often, so it's always really exciting when we get there and everyone's super fired up and ready to go. That energy is so contagious. It makes me want to do my very best too. It feels very different compared to other events. I think the experience as a whole, it's really hard to describe, but I feel like we all kind of transform into peak versions of ourselves.
NBCO: I wanted to ask you about one of your competitors, your teammate Bea Kim. It sounds like you two have a pretty close relationship. What can you say about her, just as a person and as a snowboarder?
CK: I love Bea. She actually sent me this photo that we took a long, long time ago, I think it was almost 10 years ago now. So it was kind of funny to see that, and it feels like such a full-circle moment, and I feel very old after seeing that. So thanks, Bea. But no, she's awesome. We live pretty close to each other in LA and it's been fun just getting to spend time with her and kind of helping her throughout this entire process. I think it's cool to see, it's cool to help out the next generation. I think that's been one of my favorite things about getting older and being one of the, oh my gosh, it's kind of crazy, because I used to be the youngest. I was the youngest for so long. And now I'm one of the older ones on the start list. It's very humbling, but I get to just share knowledge, experience, support. She's such a hard worker, and I love shopping with her.
NBCO: I hear she's big into thrifting. Is that a thing you do with her?
CK: We haven't been thrifting yet, but we're always like sending each other pictures of things that we think are pretty, outfits that we like, inspo pics, all of that. So we talk about a lot of things outside of snowboarding, and I think that's been a big part of our relationship.
NBCO: I heard that you have a pet snake. Can you tell me a little about that?
CK: Yeah, I never thought I would own a snake in my entire life, but my friend came by with all these baby snakes that were looking for homes, and I held this really cute snake. She's leucistic, so she's white and has blue eyes. She's a ball python. And I don't know, I think we connected. She was looking at me, I was looking at her. She was tiny, she didn't bite me, she was really confident. So I decided to adopt her right then and there. And now I have a snake, and she's grown a lot since I first met her.
NBCO: Is she home with you right now?
CK: She is. I just fed her yesterday, so she's digesting the rat she ate.
NBCO: And what is her name?
CK: Jelly Bean. I kind of wanted to give her a cute name, and also, all my pets are named after foods, so I landed on Jelly Bean.
NBCO: Speaking of food, what kind of food are you looking forward to when you go up to Livigno for the Olympics? I know there's a lot to choose from.
CK: Yeah, I think I'm looking forward to some pizza, pasta and gelato.