Nastia Liukin’s transition from Olympic gymnast to businesswoman was underpinned by advice from the late Kobe Bryant.
“It was actually Kobe,” she exclusively told Pvnew Tuesday at Stagwell’s Sport Beach activation at the Cannes Lions Festival in the South of France.
Liukin referred to the NBA legend, who died at 41 in a tragic 2020 helicopter crash, as her “mentor.”
“He always said that, ‘You have this idea in your head that you’re the girl in the pink leotard and the scrunchie — and you are so much more than that,’” she continued, detailing the wisdom he imparted.
Since retiring from gymnastics more than a decade ago, Liukin, 33, has launched a clothing line, skin care and has solidified herself as formidable influencer with one million Instagram followers.
In addition to appearing on such reality shows as “Dancing With the Stars” and “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test,” she works as an NBC Sports Olympics analyst.
Bryant’s advice, Liukin said, was paramount to adopting the confidence to ditch her leotard and pursue other money-making endeavors.
“He helped me believe [in myself] because he’s like, ‘If you don’t believe that, who else is going to believe that?’” she recalled. “[Gymnastics is] not something that defines me. And I think realizing that it’s something I can be proud … but it’s like a job title or a relationship, those things don’t define who we are as humans.”
In addition to Bryant’s sage words, Liukin noted that “falling flat on [her] face” during Olympic trials in 2012 helped her successfully separate from the sport she dedicated her entire adolescence to.
“It was four years after I won the Olympics and trying to make my second Olympic team. And at Olympic trials, I fell flat on my face. Laying on that mat, I remembered thinking, ‘OK, that dream is over,’” the gold medalist said.
Liukin memorably failed to find a grip on the high bar and plummeted to the ground face-first during the competition, which was aired on national television.
“My parents always said, ‘No matter what you do, always just finish what you started.’ So I got back up and finished my routine, landed on my feet in my dismount,” she said, recounting the moment.
“And for the very first time in my life in my entire career, I had a standing ovation for the worst routine of my entire life.”
Resounding support from roughly 20,000 spectators set the foundation for Liukin to embrace Bryant’s guidance.
“I’m like, ‘OK, I’m not defined by any placement, any routine, any of those things,’” she told us.
“It kind of really helped me … that was my last competition of my whole career and being able to move forward with life, knowing that people are still going to love you even if you fall on your face or you’re not a gymnast anymore.”
Liukin was tapped by Stagwell to participate in a Tuesday Cannes Lions panel titled “Axios Presents: Women in Sports Broadcasting and the Road to 2024,” featuring a lineup of esteemed female sportscasters including NBC Sports’ Maria Taylor, ESPN’s Holly Rowe and others.
