Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Two Guys, Five Rings: Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir
24 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: How did Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir meet?
This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.
Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring. That was a new melody we found. I like it. Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring.
It can be anything and it is. Five notes, five syllables is five opportunities for, or more opportunities for melody.
And that's on music. Now, today we're here to talk about sports, though, because this is the Two Guys, Five Rings podcast. And I'm Matt Rogers.
I'm Bowen Yang. Would you say music is the opposite of sports? I would. No, theater is the opposite of sports. I don't know. Theater and sports are kind of similar where it's just people watching.
Well, here's the thing. Theater really does meet sports when we discuss a certain dynamic duo that's, get this, on our show today. Yes, there is another Olympics duo that's not us. I don't know whether to be threatened or welcoming, I guess, because they're on the show. We should choose the latter.
We should choose the latter and welcome them. They are our guests. We're not going to threaten them. It's going to be a nice moment. We don't want to be, I don't know, a Judge Judy. You know that woman, she brings people into her show and then she's rude to them.
She really is a very judgmental person. But I guess that's sort of the whole thing with being a judge. You know what I mean?
I'd go, oh, Judge Scheindlin, have some respect for yourself. I'm not going to call you by your first name. I don't know you like that.
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Chapter 2: What events have Tara and Johnny participated in together?
It's the checks and balances of the Olympics, as it were.
And here they are. The one, the only, or should we say the two.
And only.
The two and only.
Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir. Enjoy.
Enjoy.
Well, well, well, look who it is. Another pair.
Another iconic pair. We've got Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir with us. Thanks for joining.
We're so excited to be here. Thank you guys for having us.
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Chapter 3: How has their dynamic changed the commentary landscape?
So I think the fact that people have fallen in love with you beyond, you know, the technical precision of what you've done and demonstrate in your careers is sort of the special thing. But how did you guys know to expand beyond figure skating? Because talk about doing the Summer Olympics. Talk about doing the Derby. Like, how do you read up on these things? That was a hat thing, wasn't it?
It was a hat thing. Well, what was so crazy is we didn't really expect this. We went to Sochi. We were in Russia. We had our adjoining rooms. We were having the time of our life. We were on NBC Sports, which was, you know, not the primetime show. So no one was really noticing us while we were there. But one morning I looked at Instagram and I was like, Johnny, things are happening at home.
We barely understood it. Of course.
But we realized that, you know, oh, when we get back, things might be a little different. And they were. We immediately sort of got the spot as the new primetime commentators. And then really the cherry on top for Johnny and I, where our careers together expanded, was the offers and the opportunities to work within NBC Sports at the Kentucky Derby, the Super Bowl, the National Dog Show.
And then beyond that, we... We then got other opportunities, which we didn't expect. I mean, we hosted a Food Network show. We have done the crate. We show up everywhere you think we should have been.
And somehow we just have to learn and figure out what we're doing.
At the Super Bowl, it was kind of the cutest thing. So we went to the media day, which I think we were both pretty unfamiliar with. And it's when the players sit in their own little booths and the press of the world travels around from booth to booth talking to whomever.
And because we are so much like slighter and tinier than most of the other football people, we had to push through a little bit. But then these other like very kind of grizzled football reporters and people from the local beat, like we're not reporters. We're not used to like shuffling. We get taken places. They opened this little beautiful pathway and kind of pushed us forward.
Here's Rob Gronkowski. Here's Tom Brady. And it was just, it was so fun. And it's, it's funny to see, the kind of people that react to us because being from figure skating, it's very niche world. And then, you know, I, I had my own reality show for a long time and that was even more niche than Olympic figure skating.
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Chapter 4: What challenges do figure skaters face in their careers?
And we showed up in white and black. Like we are just... We, it's like telepathic. We kind of know what to do now. We know our colors. And so we'll shop and we'll source, you know, a few months in advance. And then we really do. It's no joke when we bring like 20 suitcases because we just bring everything. Yeah.
Because then when we get to the hotel, we put it all in our wardrobe racks and we like to mix and match and make sure that we are sharing some similar elements in each broadcast. And we do it there. But I feel like this year, Johnny, we have one fun look. We always do a gold look that we look forward to, but we have a traders nod coming at you guys for this year for one of the looks.
It's your season. On Traders Giving Fashion, at the Olympics Giving Fashion, it's going to be all about you two.
Johnny, we should just wear a cloak one day. We should just straight up both being cloaks.
I am a faithful. I don't know what you're saying.
There's going to be a turret-like space in Milan that we will stake out for you. And we'll find that turret for you. Thank you. I want to go back to this idea that you guys show up where you quote unquote shouldn't be. I think that is why... I think the fact that you guys stand out in this outstanding way is because I think even with figure skating as a niche thing, you guys...
really did like push things forward in terms of people like projecting certain ideas onto you, right? Like Tara, you as a teenager and Johnny, you as someone who was really pushing the boundary for like what the visuals and the campiness and the fun of what the sport could be.
I think this is why, I mean, well, I should ask you guys, like, do you guys think that's what's given you this instinct and this maybe armor to like be in spaces like that?
Well, I think, We we both come not only just from skating backgrounds, but we're both from Tara was born in Philly. I'm from Amish country outside Philly. We come from a similar place and we have very similar values, I think, in the way that we were raised in the way that we grew up. And there's just that natural way that we respond to one another. just from humble upbringings.
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Chapter 5: How do Tara and Johnny prepare for their commentary?
We're seeing, especially in the women's event, I think it's incredible. We call them the big three, the three women going to the Olympics and they all have such different personalities. Isabel Levito is the perfectionist of the group, but very funny. And then you have Amber Glenn, who's had an incredible journey. And like one word to describe her is just perseverance and authenticity.
And she wears her heart on her sleeve. And she talks about her mental health struggles and how she's overcome all that or still tries to in this moment. And then you have Alyssa Liu, who is just so much fun pushing all the boundaries, shows like dyes her hair every day and shows up to practice late. And is like, this is who I am. And this is what I want to ski to.
And this is the dress I'm going to wear. And I think that's great for the sport.
Absolutely. And before we wrap it up with some traders questions, we have to, our friend who grew up in Newark, Delaware wanted us to ask you Tara, if you did indeed train at the university of Delaware before. Oh my goodness.
You just, you just, you confirmed a lot of lore.
Because it was, because it was, it was the scuttlebutt in town, just in Newark, Delaware. There was like, Tara Lipinski's training here. And so I think you figure very heavily into that town.
Johnny and I both, again, all the best stories of Jay and I, but we were both there.
We both, so in our area, the University of Delaware was the number one training facility for figure skating. And it's still, skating's still like that. There'll be huge training bases in Montreal, in Michigan, in California, in New Jersey. But, you know, back in our time, it was Delaware of all places. And my parents took me there because of people like Tara Lipinski that had been training there.
And the level of coaching was so high and the level of skating was so high. And yeah, there's a lot of people that have come through Newark, Delaware, more than you would expect. Delaware, Delaware, Delaware, Delaware, Delaware.
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Chapter 6: What makes their friendship special in the competitive world of sports?
So I was very worried about how I was going to look because I'm not gifted to do my hair and makeup. So that was one thing. But then otherwise, I am so...
chill with people like i accept you as you are i'm a cancer so like give me all of your trauma let me help you like that's that's my vibe so in trying to suss out um especially from the beginning candace rena and rob i was just like i love everyone And I want everyone to win. But it's just, it's such an overwhelming experience. And Tara and I watched it back.
That's when we were commentating the US Nationals. We stayed up until two in the morning watching the three episodes after work. And it was just so funny because there are so many moments that you're not in the room for. And the conga line, I missed the conga line entirely. No idea where I was.
Well, I like a good time too, Jay. The thing about the castle is traumatizing and terrifying most of the time. But then other times, this cast was so cool. I think all of us got along so well. For the most part. And it was hard. But but, you know, conga line or dance party. I'm like any camp, you know, castle camp activity. Like, let's have some fun. Let's do it up.
It didn't feel it didn't rub you. It didn't feel weird to you that she was just like out of nowhere suggesting it. It was like, yeah, we've been drinking. Let's do a conga line.
I did say, maybe we do this tomorrow. But then, like, you hear me saying that? Because I'm like, this is strange. And it's late. And I'm tired. But you know what? If you're going to do the conga line, let me get in.
Tara goes all in, too. Like, we didn't have normal childhoods or proper childhoods in any way. So anytime you give us, like, a ramhead Easter egg hunt or a conga line, like, we're both going to give it our all. Because we didn't get to do it when we were little.
it's healing it's healing something from the past i i have a very important question which is how long is the drive from the castle to where they put you up which is not a production secret no i just want to know how long is that oh no you're not allowed to say they're not allowed to say they really can't say that you really can't say wow you guys are good we're just like you guys are good well we signed crazy ndas we can't tell anything i can't afford a lawsuit
Yeah, I was going to say, now I want to know what does the NDA say? Can you say that? Like, what are you up against? I can tell you were there, and we were facing... We can tell you what happened that you saw.
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Chapter 7: How do they balance technical knowledge with entertainment?
And I saw his face where he's like, okay, I don't know where to go.
I'm really socially awkward. And like, I like my people and how to be outgoing and stuff is just a very learned skill. So we, I don't think we never assume anyone knows who we are. And I think it's just, again, because of the way we were raised and who we are, I'm not going to assume anything.
We're going to be humble about it if someone does know, but if they don't know, we're also not going to be upset about it. And with that said, I never know who anyone is. I really don't follow pop culture a lot. And I don't have time, to be fair. And we showed up and I knew Tara, obviously, and I knew she was going to be there.
And we had interviewed Eric Nam for a piece on K-pop during the Olympics in Pyeongchang. So we knew him, but he had to remind me that I knew him. Otherwise, I was just like... they're all so pretty and loud. Like, what am I going to do?
Like, obviously we knew like Lisa Rinna, but I've never watched Housewives. I didn't know who Rob was. I had no, we had no idea.
I think the question we get a lot is about Rappaport. Because like when you're there, you don't have access to your phone or the internet and things like that. So I couldn't even like Google people. And I didn't know how divisive he was because I take everyone at face value. When you shake my hand, that's when I kind of make my judgment about you.
So we didn't have any background information about anyone. And like, since I've been home and people have seen the first three episodes, they're all like, how did you handle him? I'm like, I just thought he was loud. But I didn't realize his kind of reputation.
Yeah.
Well, pretty quickly, he I feel like divided the room within the traders anyway. So, you know, he he he tips himself off.
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Chapter 8: What can we expect from the upcoming Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics?
I'm Eric reminder. That's how you do it. He's so cute. He's so sweet. The best, the best. Well, thank you so much for joining us for giving us your time. You guys are very busy right now. Um, we'll see you in Milan. Hopefully we're going to be watching.
We'll hang. We'll get a, we'll get a cocktail. I feel like this is a, this is a foursome that needs to happen.
We're going to be working so we can have like a butter noodle or some pasta. Sure, sure, sure.
I mean, I like a glass of wine.
Yeah, hello. I'll have dinner with you both.
It's heart healthy.
There we go. See you there.
Thank you guys so much. Bye. Bye.
A stirring conversation. Truly. They were willing to get into it with us about traitor stuff. I'm truly grateful. As much as they could. As much as they could.
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