13 Sochi Olympians with Day Jobs

Hubertus Von Hohenlohe

The 55-year-old German prince representing his birth country Mexico at Sochi already stands out for being one of the oldest male competitors, but his mariachi-themed speed-suit may make him stand out even more. Off the slopes, he is a photographer and pop musician who has recorded albums like Shopping Bags & Religion, which features tracks called “While the Pope is Sleeping” and “Values Bye Bye.”

Jessica Lutz

Raised in Rockville, Maryland, the 24-year-old forward for the Swiss women’s hockey team boasts dual citizenship because of her father’s nationality. While preparing for Sochi, the University of Connecticut graduate worked as a barista at Coffee Bar, a Washington, D.C., coffee shop, in the mornings and trained in the afternoons, NPR reports. Recently her fellow baristas crafted a latte illustrating the five Olympic rings in her honor.

Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson

Born in Singapore and raised in Britain, the 35-year-old violin prodigy known as “Vanessa-Mae” on stage will represent Thailand using her Thai father’s surname “Vanakorn.” Known for fusing classical music with pop and techno, she landed one of the top spots on the U.K. albums charts with her breakout album The Violin Player (1995), and People listed her as one of the “50 Most Beautiful People in the World.” “When it comes to music I am a perfectionist but when it is skiing, I have no delusions about a podium or even being in the top 100 in the world,” she told Reuters. “Living my dream of being a ski bum is great but the best job in the world is being on stage, making music.”

Chris Fogt

The 30-year-old American bobsledder from Alpine, Utah, is also an Army Captain. Through the Army World Class Athlete Program, he competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics, then deployed to Iraq for a year. After Sochi, he is expected to report to Fort Huachuca in Arizona in May, he told the New York Times. “I love wearing the flag on both uniforms,” he says in a United States Olympic Committee video.

John Landsteiner

A Minnesota native, the 23-year-old lead on Team USA’s curling team is a civil engineer who started a job at Lake Superior Consulting in Duluth after graduating from the University of Minnesota-Duluth with a civil engineering degree. According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, he works on energy pipeline projects and “typically hops on a plane every other Thursday night, curls over the weekend, and returns jet-lagged to his desk,” which he calls “a sanctuary.”

Jeff Isaacson

The 30-year-old vice-skip on Team USA’s curling team, the Minnesota native also teaches science at Eveleth-Gilbert Junior High School. “It’s never ending, so it’s been a very tiring year trying to do both,” he told Minnesota Public Radio.

Lydia Lassila

The 32-year-old Australian aerial skier developed “Body Ice,” a line of ice packs, after injuring her knee during 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. She went on to win Gold and set a new Olympic record in aerial skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

Kyle Tress

The 32-year-old U.S. skeleton racer from Ewing, New Jersey, and fellow skeleton athlete Chris Nurre founded A Tiny Tribe, which makes apps for iOS devices like Moodboard, a tool that helps creative professionals organize their projects.

Armin Zöggeler

The 40-year-old Italian luger, who some consider the greatest in the sport’s history, is also a member of the Carabinieri, the country’s paramilitary police force.

Jennifer Jones

The 39-year-old skip for Canada’s curling team is a lawyer for National Bank Financial and has been juggling the two passions throughout her career. In 2008, she told The Lawyers Weekly in Canada that she is glued to her laptop and smartphone in between competitions: “my team will usually go out for dinner but I’ll just order room service and work and that’s fine.”

Brad Jacobs

The 28-year-old skip for Canada’s curling team is an account manager at RBC Royal Bank. He told The Toronto Sun that his co-workers have been very supportive, dressing in red and white, the colors of the Canadian flag.

Zoe Gillings

To raise money for her competitions, the 28-year-old British snowboarder founded IsleofDeals.com, a website that offers daily deals in her hometown, the Isle of Man. She also runs ExpertHealth.me, which promotes a nutrition and exercise regime developed by Gillings and her coaches.

Julie Chu

The 31-year-old three-time U.S. Olympian and ice hockey forward holds a psychology degree from Harvard College and worked as an assistant coach to the women’s ice hockey team at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. before resigning in March to train for Sochi.