Eileen Gu on Burnouts: Time Management, Post-Olympic Depression, and Staying True to Yourself
Olympic skier, model, and Stanford student Eileen Gu opens up about balancing multiple careers, dealing with public scrutiny, and why she refuses to glorify suffering.
Time management isn’t about doing everything at once
Eileen reveals that her secret isn’t multitasking, but strategic pivoting with low emotional toll. She focuses intensely on one thing at a time, treating each activity as “rest” from the others.
Realistically, what I’m really good at is less doing everything at the same time and more pivoting with very low emotional toll. So, you do periods of hyperfocus on one specific thing and then switch.
When training or working out, it’s a physical toll—but when she’s in class, her body repairs itself while her mind engages elsewhere.
I have all these tasks running in the background.
Post-Olympic depression is real—and it doesn’t care about your medals
Despite winning gold, Eileen experienced the same post-Olympic depression that affects athletes regardless of their results.
You can win the Olympics and still just enter the deepest rut of your life and just really be questioning everything, your purpose, feel so burnt out, but at the same time just have all this anxiety and pent up energy, not sure where to direct it.
Six months after the Olympics, she hit a wall.
You’re working your entire life towards this one massive goal. And so then you’re 18, you feel like you’re on top of the world and then you hit this and then what?
How she accidentally went pro
Eileen’s skiing career began by chance. At 16, she was invited to her first freestyle ski World Cup as a last-minute alternate—the same week as her high school state championships in cross country and track.
I actually picked running cuz I was like no way. Oh my god. Cuz I was like, I’m going to be a runner. Like, this is my thing.
Her teammates’ parents convinced her to go to the World Cup instead. She did well enough to earn her own spot, placed second at her next event, and won her third.
Oh wow, I’m actually relevant here.
Read your own contracts—always
From her first brand deal at 13 or 14, Eileen has made it a point to read every contract herself.
Seriously, read your own contracts. Do not trust anyone with the final read. I don’t care who they are. Read the final cut.
Her negotiation advice for young women: do your homework, know your value, and don’t be afraid to ask.
The worst someone can say is no. And then you can settle for something in between.
Working with her mom: conflict, trust, and boundaries
Eileen and her mom—who also serves as her manager—have had to learn how to argue productively. They even stopped being roommates after years of living together to protect their personal relationship.
There’s nobody on earth who has my best interests at heart like my mom does. Sometimes I just take a step back and be like, without her, without that level of trust, it’s irreplaceable.
The power of solo travel and being alone
Eileen emphasizes the importance of spending time alone to build self-confidence and critical thinking skills.
It’s so valuable to take time and just be alone. You don’t even have to be doing anything. It’s just the sense of being alone in the world and building up that self-confidence of, hey, I am a capable person.
Her solo trip to India was transformative.
That’s like the moment when I realized I’m not a kid anymore. Like I’m fully in charge of myself.
Walking Victoria’s Secret—and staying true to your values
At 18, Eileen was asked to walk in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. She weighed the opportunity carefully, considering whether it would close doors for her future as a founder.
Is this still a founder that someone could respect if they if I wanted to approach them? Is there any door that is going to close because of this?
She found a way to say yes on her own terms, wearing a custom athletic bodysuit that felt sexy but aligned with her values.
I found a way to say yes. And what that meant was I actually wore this custom bodysuit situation. It was still sexy but athletic.
She applied the same approach to her Sports Illustrated Swim shoot, working with an all-women-led team and going in knowing exactly what she was okay with.
I knew exactly the values that I wanted to embody.
Becoming a cultural bridge—not picking a side
As a biracial American-Chinese athlete, Eileen has faced intense scrutiny over her identity and decisions. She’s learned to embrace her role as a bridge between cultures.
I actually can be a cultural bridge. You’re right. I’m not fully one. I’m actually both. And there’s no shame in that. Like, I’m fully both. And that’s even better. My world is even bigger.
She recalls bringing Chinese food to kindergarten in the U.S. and becoming a “cultural ambassador” instead of feeling left out.
My whole grade grew up loving Chinese food.
Why smart women scare fragile men
Eileen speaks candidly about how some men feel emasculated by intelligent, ambitious women.
That’s how you can tell a high quality man from a low quality man. The male ego is such an interesting thing, but it’s a very fragile one.
She warns young women against trying to “fix” insecure men:
The problem was never you. It was an insecure guy who doesn’t know how to deal with competence.
Her ideal relationship is a true partnership.
You’re sitting down every two months like, okay, where are you struggling? Where am I struggling? What are our goals for the next couple months? Let’s be a team here.
Glorifying suffering is not a flex
Eileen’s hot take: we glorify sacrifice too much as a culture.
No one gets a prize for suffering. If you want to talk about productivity and you want to talk about optimization, talk about that, but don’t talk about the suffering that you went through. If you can do something easier, do it easier.
She lives a full life without feeling like she’s sacrificing.
I have a vibrant social life at Stanford. I have tons of friends. I’m taking every class that interests me. I literally am doing everything and I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing on that.
Physics made her a better skier
Eileen credits her academic curiosity with giving her an edge in skiing. Understanding physics, visualization, and psychology helps her learn tricks faster and compete more effectively.
If I’ve taken a physics class and if I know how the trick feels in the air and I put those two things together, I feel like that gives me a unique edge.
She’s proud of being the “nerd” and never felt embarrassed by it.
The older you get, the cooler it is. And then everyone wishes they were a nerd when they were younger.
Injury, identity, and learning to rest
After a concussion at X Games and a broken collarbone, Eileen faced an identity crisis. As someone who’s always regimented, not being able to run or train was debilitating.
People don’t understand the emotional and physical toll that injury takes on athletes and it’s just like absolutely debilitating on all levels.
She’s now on her second quarter off from Stanford, learning that rest is not a weakness but a necessity.
On campus: preconceptions and punch lines
At Stanford, Eileen deals with people surprised by her intelligence or preparedness.
Wait, you’re actually really smart. Wait, you actually really know what’s going on in this class.
Her friend Phoebe offers to punch anyone who says this. Eileen laughs:
Call me anytime. I’ll be there. I’ll chug it down. Tequila.
Key takeaway: Eileen Gu’s story is about rejecting false binaries—between skiing and school, femininity and athleticism, American and Chinese identity. She’s built a life on her own terms by knowing herself, saying no when needed, and finding creative ways to say yes.
This recap is based on Eileen Gu’s appearance on The Burnouts podcast. For the full episode, click on the YouTube link at the top or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
