March 19--U.S. Olympic gold medal winning figure skater and former "Dancing with the Stars" runner-up Evan Lysacek now has a regular-person job. The Naperville-raised Lysacek began working for Charter Realty and Development in New York in September. He focuses on landlord representation and his responsibilities include matching shopping centers with the right brands.
Every now and then, Lysacek, 29, said a potential client will recognize him from his previous high profile gig.
"They'll ask 'What are you doing working for Charter?" Lysacek said over the phone Wednesday. "I really can't say for sure if it's helped me get any deals done."
Lysacek began considering a career change after dealing with a series of injuries leading up to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, which he was forced to miss due to a torn labrum. Charter co-founder Dan Zelson knew Lysacek through his work with the U.S. Olympic Committee and offered him an opportunity to work in commercial real estate, even though he had no experience.
"I was looking for something that would take over the time commitment that skating represented in my life," Lysacek said. "I needed to transfer my focus and energy into something else. It's physically not the same thing, but the hours are long and the work day is still exhausting."
Lysacek, however, hasn't hung up his skates entirely just yet. He's currently on a brief hiatus from Charter so that he can participate in Stars on Ice's Dancing for Joy tour. The show comes to the Allstate Arena Saturday and includes U.S. Olympic gold medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White.
"I was kind of heartbroken after I had to end my run for Sochi," Lysacek said. "I went to Sochi and played a minuscule role in the NBC broadcast, which was really hard. I came back home and felt like I wanted to get as far away from skating as I could. That's why I moved to New York and started working in commercial real estate. But then I missed skating a little. I felt like if I'm going to end my career -- I don't know how many performances I have left moving forward -- I needed to put a punctuation mark at the end."
Could Saturday's show be Lysacek's last time skating in front of his friends and family in the Chicago area?
"I don't know," said Lysacek, who has a home in Chicago and comes back about once every month or two. "I have thought about it. I'm not sure how much longer my body can take skating at any level. Skating can be physical, dangerous and high speed. That's what I like about it."
Stars on Ice's Dancing for Joy
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Allstate Arena; 6920 N. Mannheim Road, Rosemont
Tickets: $25-$155; ticketmaster.com
