Phoebe Gates And Sophia Kianni Sit Down With Olympian Eileen Gu On The Burnouts

Forbes

16 hours ago

Filmed in New York City the week her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue hit stands, champion freestyle skier, Gu, joined former Stanford peers Gates and Kianni for a candid conversation about cultural identity, belonging, and what it means to come of age in the public eye. Together, the three women explored the realities of life in their early 20s—navigating global visibility, solo travel, building businesses, and learning who they are through self-exploration. Gu reflected on her meteoric rise, including the surreal moment of waking up to hear Tucker Carlson speaking about her, the pressure of answering geopolitical questions moments after winning Olympic gold, and what it meant to take bold leaps with Victoria's Secret and Sports Illustrated. Her exchange with Phoebe and Sophia is a window into the nuance of female ambition—how culture, identity, and power shape the journey, but remain deeply personal and singular to each woman.
Gu made history at the 2022 Winter Olympics, securing two golds and a silver medal, becoming the only action sports athlete to clinch three medals in a single Olympic event. At age 18, she set the record for the youngest freeski Olympic gold medalist. Gu's extraordinary feats extend beyond the Olympics; she's the first snowsport athlete to claim three medals at both the 2021 XGames and FIS World Championships and the inaugural female freeskier to execute a double cork 1440 and unnatural double cork 1620 in competition. Gu also currently holds the win record for any freeski athlete, male or female, with 18 FIS World Cup victories.
When asked about the criticism she received for choosing to represent China instead of the U.S. in the Olympics, she explained that her focus was always on her passion for skiing rather than geopolitical issues, 'And so there was a press conference right after the Olympics, like literally right after I won the Olympics. I was taken into this press room by myself. No agent, no mom, no family, nothing. Totally vulnerable, just me and in front of me, there's a room of reporters. They asked, 'So what do you think about US-China geopolitics?' And I'm like, I just won the Olympics. Like you were asking me to solve problems. I'm just trying to focus on what is relevant to me, what I actually can have an impact on, and also what I'm passionate about.'
She is not just a champion on the slopes but also a voice for young people, particularly girls. Her advocacy for female empowerment earned her the Vogue Aurora Award in 2019. Gu has also made her mark on the fashion world since the age of 15, including walking the runway for Louis Vuitton, closing the Brunello Cucinelli 2025 show, and opening and closing the Bosideng 2024 show at Milan Fashion Week. She was one of the Founding Collective members of Victoria's Secret, and has brand ambassadorships with brands like Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, IWC, and Porsche. She has been featured on covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, V Magazine, L'Officiel and Marie Claire. For her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover Gu embodied her inner femininity, 'I wanted to embody strength. I wanted to embody femininity and the intersection of beauty and power.' She even wrote her college essay on this topic.
With Gu only being 21, the conversation left you eager to see where you accomplishments take her next. The Burnouts recently launched this past April in partnership with Alex Cooper's Unwell Network and dives into the unfiltered reality of building a startup as two 20-something women in NYC. Season one guests have thus far included Kris Jenner, Sara Blakely, Whitney Wolfe Herd, and Chelsea Handler.
Both Gates and Kianni are also co-founders of Phia, a viral venture-backed AI shopping tool that finds the best prices on fashion across 40,000+ retail and resale sites, coined as the Google Flights for fashion. Phia debuted at #21 in the App Store within 48 hours after launch, with over 100k+ downloads. Together, Phoebe and Sophia have 1.5M+ followers and 100M+ social impressions, and are quickly becoming the new faces within the zeitgeist of Gen Z entrepreneurship.