In China and beyond, Eileen Gu is an icon. You see her defy gravity with impossible spins as the first woman to land a forward double cork 1440 in freestyle skiing. You see her dazzle at Met Gala and grace the cover of every major fashion magazine. Somehow alongside all this, you see her studying at Stanford and now at Oxford for a term of exchange – she hasn’t been in the same country for more than three weeks this year.
Gu has three Olympic medals for China – including two golds in big air and halfpipe – and a full-fledged fashion career. Time named her among the world’s 100 most influential people, and Forbes named her the world’s second-highest-paid female athlete. Omnipresent on billboards, the news, and video platforms, she’s made over $30 million in luxury endorsements. But when we chatted at Oxford’s Vaults & Gardens cafe over jasmine tea, I was speaking to a 21-year-old girl who is down-to-earth in her demeanour and full of excitement about coming to Oxford.
Born and raised in San Francisco but began competing for China in 2019, she said that she is “American when in the US and Chinese when in China.” She is also a self-described nerd who signed her email with an affectionate “E”, made light-hearted quips, and asked me questions about everything from punting to subfusc. After our conversation, she headed to the Rad Cam to get some writing done – classic Oxford.
Gu generally does not comment on politics. For context, Western media has reported on Gu’s straddling the Sino-American geopolitical divide (BBC and The Economist) while Chinese media portray Gu as crucial to rejuvenating the motherland (China Daily).
Cherwell: Why Oxford?
Eileen Gu: I have always valued education deeply. Lots of people around me – other athletes, advisors, mentors, my mom – all tell me to take time off school, but I feel like being an academic is an integral part of who I am, so that’s why I’ve remained a full-time student throughout my life. I want to explore the institutions that make up our educational landscape globally, and Oxford is definitely one of those. There’s also a romance about it: the architecture, the wit, the fashion. Lastly, I’m training in Europe this fall, so Oxford’s closer to Austria, where we have training and a World Cup next month.
Cherwell: Between school, fashion, and training, what’s your schedule like?
Eileen Gu: I competed in the the first World Cup of the season was in New Zealand this August, where I was happy to win my 15th world cup victory. I was at Paris Fashion Week before I came to move in, then I’ll be doing various shows the next few months. But for the most part it’s gonna be training and competing because it’s pre-Olympic qualification season. I spend a lot less time on snow than all of my competitors on the professional tour – that’s my own doing, though, and it’s worth it because school and fashion are deeply enriching. But when it gets to crunch time, aka now, I have to be a lot more focused and intense because every day I’m on snow has to count for three days. The hardest part isn’t necessarily producing high quality work while on different time zones or locations, but rather maintaining strong friendships and making sure I get the true campus experience.
Cherwell: What tutorials are you doing?
Eileen Gu: I’m doing a creative nonfiction tutorial because I’m writing a memoir. I’m also taking an entrepreneurship and the arts seminar – that’s particularly interesting for me as a member of the creative sphere to understand how people build businesses and value creativity.
Cherwell: There are lots of Oxford traditions, some of which people all know about while others come as a surprise when we get here! What classic Oxford things have you done?
Eileen Gu: This is actually funny: we’ve been to a lot of freshers’ events, but all of us on exchange are juniors – a third-year here – so I’m actually not sure how I should meet people my age. [At freshers’ week this morning] I signed up for a bunch of societies: cheese society, running, equestrian, polo, Oxford Union, and squash on a whim. I definitely want to attend some formals – I love fashion so the opportunity to do it in an academic sense is so fun. They sell out really quickly! Every time there’s an intersection between my three spheres, it makes me so excited.
Cherwell: Do you plan to pick up a British accent?
Eileen Gu: (With a giggle) I wish it were that easy!
Cherwell: People always want to take photos with you. (At this point two graduate students recognised Gu and asked to take a photo with her). What does fame feel like here at Oxford?
Eileen Gu: Everyone wants to separate their work and their personal life. I think I’m pretty normal, I love making friends, I’m also just a new student here trying to figure it out. But I don’t want people to be friends with me because they think I’m famous or whatever – I would prefer for people to be friends with me for substance, interesting conversations, mutual exchange.
Cherwell: Recently people like Chappell Roan have be outspoken about treatment of celebrities, especially women, in their personal lives, to a lot of positive traction. What are your thoughts on this?
Eileen Gu: I feel that part of having a platform is understanding all of its impacts. Her case is a bit different from mine, since I have made it my personal mission to make social impact in terms of sports, using my voice and my platform. Because I do a lot of outreach, I can’t really complain about it. I do feel bad when my friends get harassed because they didn’t consent to the publicity. If anyone comes up and asks me for a photo, I say yes nearly 100% of the time – I only don’t if I’m mid-training. Especially at Oxford, where everyone’s so brilliant, it’s a two-way street where I’m always curious what other people are doing. But it’s really unfair if my friends get the short end of the stick just by virtue of association with me. It’s a tough thing – sometimes it’s tiring but I feel lucky to have the privilege to do what I do.