Justin St. Ours | Daily Press Olympic gold medalist Nick Baumgartner talks at the Gladstone High School auditorium Thursday.

GLADSTONE — Failure, determination, believing in yourself and Yooper grit are just a few of the things Iron River native, former Wykon and Olympic gold medalist Nick Baumgartner talked about with students in the Gladstone High School auditorium Thursday morning.

The 40-year old professional snowboarder and concrete worker earned his first Olympic medal, gold no less, at his fourth Olympics appearance in mixed team snowboard cross in Zhangjiakou, China, Feb 12.

“It’s super cool being able to get around and see all these kids and share the story in hopes of getting more stories out of the U.P.,” Baumgartner said before he addressed the crowd.

The gold medalist detailed his introduction and acceptance into the U.S. team as a younger man by taking a chance on a competition that was a 29-hour drive away, and it aligned with the main thrust of his advice to the students listening.

Take chances, be prepared to fail when working toward your dreams and be prepared to learn from those failures to help yourself in the future.

He also touched on what he feels is a core identity trait of a Yooper, grit.

“I think back when I was a kid, and it would’ve been awesome to see someone that had a story similar to mine to just let us know that the hard work can pay off and regardless of where you’re from, even if you’re from small communities here in the Upper Peninsula that don’t have the same opportunities these big schools have, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible,” Baumgartner said. “You still can succeed and do what you want to do. I think my story shows that, so I think it’s my responsibility with this medal to share that story.”

Baumgartner has been making the rounds to various schools to try to inspire students to work toward their dreams. He emphasized his point with a quote from Muhammad Ali, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.”

It wasn’t all idealistic quotes and sage wisdom however as the snowboarder also illustrated the practicalities and sacrifices he had to make to improve his skills to the point they’re at — chasing snow over 200 days out of the year, missing time with family and earning the money to help pursue his dreams by being a concrete worker during the summer.

Ultimately, a part of his message to the students boiled down to, “if you’re not failing, you’re not trying.”

“It’s just been unbelievable to see it come full-circle after 17 years,” Baumgartner said. “Everyone sees how much I talk about how I’m a Yooper, and I’m proud of it. And, I’m proud of it because the people up are so good. They’re so supportive to me and everything I’ve done, and it’s an honor to come around and share this with these kids.”

The former Wykon also touched on how COVID restrictions during the games actually helped him prepare for his events.

“It was definitely different,” he said. “Everyone’s had to deal with the COVID restrictions over the last few years. We had that at the games in China. We were pretty restricted in what we were able to do. I felt bad for the kids who this was their first Olympics — and lots of times it will be their only, but for me, it was good because you get rid of all the distractions. If you’re not allowed to go do anything, (you can’t be distracted). You can stay focused on what you’re doing, and that’s what I did. And, for me, to be competing at 40 years old, I spent a lot getting PT, making sure my body was right, massage (therapy) and just taking care of my body so I could perform at the time came.”

Baumgartner closed the talk with questions from the audience and some time dedicated to taking pictures with the students.