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Three-time Olympic medalist snowboarder Chloe Kim announced that she had been diagnosed with ADHD earlier this month.
The five-time ESPY Award winner spoke with the California Post in an exclusive interview about her ADHD diagnosis and her partnership with Qelbree for their “Ms. Represented” campaign, which is focused on bringing greater visibility to the experiences of women and girls ADHD.
“I got diagnosed with ADHD seven months ago, and I think that it was the most freeing thing I’ve experienced in a while because I felt like everything I was experiencing had a reason,” Kim told The Post.
“I do believe that ADHD is incredibly misrepresented, which is why it took me so long to get diagnosed and seek help,” she added. “When I got to a place where I needed some answers and I needed clarity, and ultimately got my diagnosis, it made so much more sense. It was so nice to feel validated, my experiences being validated and not dismissed as just being normal or being overwhelmed.”
“It was nice to know that there’s a reason why I have a very special, fun brain, and that she just needs a little bit of guidance sometimes.”
Kim admitted that she “wasn’t in a good place” before receiving the ADHD diagnosis, despite her success in snowboarding.
“It just led to so many years of confusion and disappointment in myself, too, because all the things I was experiencing, I was like, ‘Well, maybe I’m just lazy. Maybe I’m not a good listener. Maybe I’m not a good friend.’ I would just talk so negatively to myself because I was so unaware of what I was going through,” she continued.
Kim didn’t view her ADHD as a negative when it came to her snowboarding career.
“I think my ADHD helped me so much in my sport and what I needed to do. I was very focused and fixated on my sport. How to be better, how to be the best, what I needed to do to get there,” Kim said.
“But outside of it, I didn’t put any time or effort into me and myself. I wasn’t able to just hang out with people, make plans, remember the plans I made … I just felt like my life outside of the snow was such a mess.”
When asked to speak more about her ADHD benefiting her snowboarding career, Kim said, “I think it was incredibly helpful. I think my ADHD has been a superpower to me, and I think it’s helped me get to this place because I am so dedicated to my sport … It was an obsession, and I think that it helped me in so many ways to progress as fast as I did.”
The 26-year-old feels much more balanced and content in her life outside of snowboarding after her ADHD was diagnosed and treated.
Kim is in a high-profile relationship with Rams star edge rusher Myles Garrett. She shared several insights about how her ADHD has impacted their relationship.
“It’s funny because he’s definitely the quiet one in the relationship, and I’m the one that can’t shut my mouth to save my life. But in a way, I think at first he was like, ‘Hmm, this girl talks a lot,’” Kim recalled of Garrett.
“I feel like he was so supportive when I got diagnosed. He was like, ‘This actually makes a lot of sense for you. I’m proud of you for doing that and getting the help.’ But I feel like we’re good … Nothing’s changed that much. I think that I’m just able to get the things I need to get done that involves him.”
Kim spoke about how her ADHD would make her forget to get Garrett the cookies he requested at the grocery store and instead come back with the cheese she wanted.
“And he doesn’t really like cheese like that. So you can imagine the disappointment in his face when I come back from the store and there are no cookies,” she added with a laugh.
Now Garrett gets his cookies, and Kim can have her cheese.
