“I Don’t Just Have To Be A Gymnast.” Simone Biles On Ice Skating, WAG Life & Her New Athleta Collection

Simone Biles isn’t ready to get back in the gym yet. The Olympic gold medallist is the most decorated gymnast of all time and undoubtedly one of the most dominant and greatest athletes to ever grace sports, but these days, she’s taking time for herself. After competing for 22 years, Biles is on a “break” from gymnastics. Now, she’s focusing on hobbies like horseback riding, ice skating, pilates and long walks with her husband, Chicago Bears safety, Jonathan Owens. On NFL game day, you can find her on the field giving Owens a good luck kiss (his one pre-game superstition) and showing out in various football-appropriate ‘fits. 

Lately, football Sunday has turned into a who’s who of WAGs (wives and girlfriends) — celebs like Ciara, Hailee Steinfeld, Taylor Swift, and Normani are all partnered up with players — and their fashion makes weekly headlines. For Biles, game days are “so fun” but over Zoom, she says the attention is stressful: “I wish we didn't have to walk the runway so much. I'm just there supporting my man.” It’s a good thing Biles has her own collection with Athleta to keep her looking good on game days. She even teased a custom Athleta look for the Bears’ upcoming faceoff against the Minnesota Vikings this weekend.

Biles and Athleta have been partnering for years but this marks the Olympian’s second women's and girls’ collection for the activewear brand. Like her last Athleta collab, the collection is affordable, size inclusive, and includes intergenerational styles as well as accessories. Whether you’re looking for soft hoodies, performance-ready tights (Biles told R29 that the Elation Ultra High Rise Shine 7/8 Legging is one of her all-time favorites), barrel-leg sweats, or a new fall jacket (the Sateen Bomber is another Biles must-have), Biles has you covered with pieces that are deserving of a game-day catwalk. 

Throughout our chat, Biles’ excitement for the collection is palpable but so is her joy for this current moment in her life. She’s letting herself be bad at things (“I’m learning every day!” she says) and she’s soaking in a softer, more “selfish” life. To put it simply, Biles seems free. It’s beautiful to behold, and even more inspiring that the woman who landed the hardest vault in the world so flawlessly that they renamed it after her is now happily losing at darts to her friends. After all of Biles’ public mental health struggles, the normal, quiet contentment she describes to me feels like her biggest win yet. 

Here, she talks more about her Athleta collection, how she really feels about being called a “WAG”, and supporting her friend and former teammate Jordan Chiles on Dancing With The Stars. 

Simone Biles: It's very different. It's the boldest collection that we've had thus far. I’m obviously biased, but this is one of my favorite collections. We have followed some of the trends but really, I always say, that you can take it from the mat to conferences or whatever it is. It doesn't have to be just for the gym. It's my go-to travel style, as well as if I'm taking a pilates class with my husband. 

SB: There's a couple. I'm going to start with the sateen bucket bag. That is just such a fashionable piece. It's just a really cute accessory. And I think people are going to love to layer it, as well as the Elation Shine Leggings, those have a subtle zebra print, which you can't really tell until you're up close. It just adds something extra without being overpowering. That's really, really cute and fashionable. We have the sateen bomber jacket that in the fall and the winter, I just put over everything. We also have the Forever Fleece sweatpants, which are a barrel leg, and that is just so fun. What I love about Athleta so much is that everyone can wear it. We try to be inclusive — there’s extra extra small, all the way to extra large, as well as tall and petite sizing. And for me, at 4’8, that's perfect. But then we got my girl, [Olympic swimmer] Katie Ledecky, over here, wearing tall. We don't want it to be one size fits all. We want everyone to be able to rock it, especially through this fall and this winter weather. 

SB: Now, I've started to explore other hobbies that still include working out, but it just looks a little bit different. Right now, although I'm not in the gym 24/7, I'm in my horseback riding lessons, and I'm about to pick up ice skating lessons because I feel like gymnastics, although it was working out, it was just it was so much fun for me and you don't even realize you're exercising. So I wanted to feel that similar feeling. I took up horseback riding because going to a gym for me and doing pilates and all that stuff seems a little bit scary and daunting, but if you put it as a hobby, and say “I'm working out for an hour or so,” it feels a little bit easier. I'm about to start doing my ice skating lessons. I've already called the ice rink. I know they're tired of hearing from me [laughs]. 

SB: The ​​rink is literally three minutes from my house and since I pass it all the time going to and from the airport, I'm like, okay, that's going to be a fun, little hobby. I walk my dog and I have a weighted vest but just going on walks and seeing the leaves change in the fall is also fun for me. I don't think I'm ready to just get into a gym just yet, unless it's a girls’ activity and we're doing pilates or we're doing something cute. I don't think I'm ready. I still want to have fun with it. Just random sidequests. 

SB: Yes! We can do it all. I’ve never seen as much representation as I have these days, and it's so exciting. It's inspiring me. At the end of the day, I don't just have to be a gymnast. I can do it all because I’ve seen us do it all.

SB: Yeah! It's coming soon. We're planning on not this weekend but the next weekend in Minnesota. A little custom bomber going on, okay! Got a little custom action coming. 

SB: I really try to base it on the weather and where they're playing. My husband wants me to wear more navy and orange [for the team’s colors], but I'm always going with the blacks and the whites and the grays and the neutrals. I'm trying to implement a little bit more of the Bears’ colors. But other than that, I really base it off of the weather. I know later this year when we play in San Francisco, you can get a little bit more cute and fashionable, because for me, with my height, it's so hard to be cute and look fashionable [in the cold] when I'm just going to walk around looking like a marshmallow. I try to implement certain things like that. But definitely, we have a couple things coming, and so I'm really excited about that. But weather first and foremost, and comfortability, comfortability, comfortability! And movement! 

SB: I don’t know about that! We still got Ciara, we got Normani. We can all fit in that space! There’s room for all of us. 

SB: I don't mind the word WAG, because really, I'm just showing up and supporting my husband. Although the fashion is so much fun to do, I'm really just there to go support my man, and that is really important that we get to show up and support one another. We're always working so hard, and we have a limited amount of time with each other. We don't know how long each of us are going to be professional athletes playing on a stage like this. So it's really just fun for everyone to show up and support. I don't mind sharing the space.

It's so much fun. But again, there are a lot of eyes. I can wear a sweatsuit like this to a game, but I was telling my husband that every time I go on the field, even though I'm just supporting you, photos are everywhere. And that part stresses me out, because I just want to be relaxed. At the last game, I just did a messy bun, a sweat suit, and that was that. But you always have to pop off and I wish we didn't. I wish we didn't have to walk the runway so much. I'm just there supporting my man, but I know how much it is going to be highlighted.

SB: I'm only on the field because that's my husband's good luck thing. He knows that he has to have me on the sideline. He said that's his one thing. He's not superstitious at all, but he's like, “I know I have to have my girl on the field, get that good luck kiss, and then we're good.” If not, y'all would never see me down there. I would be up in the stands hiding like y'all would never see me. But that's my husband's thing so that’s why I do it. 

SB: I'd be hiding. I don't like the attention — never have, and maybe never will. That stuff stresses me out so bad, I will be hiding as much as possible. I don't like all of this attention but you get used to it, I guess. But it’s stress! Anxiety! I just want to just go do my thing and watch in peace and quiet. Next year, I think I'm going to stay home for the away games. I just can't do it. I'm just so stressed. There's a lot of behind-the-scenes logistics that goes into it as well. It's not the easiest to try to get me into a stadium, either.

SB: I would say the one piece of advice that I have is you have to take that mental time to yourself and those personal days, because it really does change how you feel, talk about yourself, what your life looks like. So I would say, take those personal days. It's really important to stay in tune and to listen to your body and your mind, because that literally can change the trajectory of your life. Be selfish, show up for yourself. We're so in tune with showing up for everyone else, but at the end of the day, we neglect a little bit of our personal space and our well being. You have to show up for yourself first and foremost. Put on your favorite tunes, some Cardi B. Women are so powerful. We can do anything we put our minds to. And showing up for yourself is a win. We have to put ourselves first.

SB: Every day with me and my husband, we’re learning new recipes. Since I've done my craft for so long, over 22 years, it's really hard for me. I love learning new things, but I'm always learning, and keen to keep learning. It never ends. I’m learning every day. I know I'm not going to be the best at it. We even did a wine and sip the other day. Did my painting look the best? Absolutely not. But I don't care. I'm not trying to be the best. I didn't train 22 years to paint so it looks like what it looks like, and every day when I'm doing new recipes in the house, because now I love to cook, I love to cook, it’s OK.

I'm even trying to get better at my makeup and my hair. I was just bugging one of my makeup artists yesterday, like, girl, you really try not to have me be great at makeup, because I keep asking you to send me the tutorial, and she finally sent it to me yesterday. So now today, I'm going to go look at it, and I'm going to go practice my makeup. We always have more to learn. I’m okay with that. I love playing darts. I love playing ping pong. At our new house, which we sign for next week, we have a ping pong table and a dart board. Am I the best at it? No, but it's about making memories, having fun and just still learning.

SB: You know, that's actually so funny, because everyone thinks I'm going to be so competitive at whatever we do, but I literally don't care if I'm last place. Every time, I'm still going to play, I'm still going to have a good spirit, good energy, because it's about making those memories. Obviously for them, they're like, “I beat Simone Biles at something!” I don't care. I don't care. Let's just have a good time. Let's kiki, have a good time, good conversation, good vibes, good energy. And that's a win in my book, because we're not going to be good at everything. I'm incredibly gifted, and to do what I do every day has been such a blessing and to come out on top. But I also know that's not normal. I know that's very rare. So I’m just incredibly blessed and thankful. 

SB: Yeah, well I never wanted to be the best at gymnastics. I just wanted to go to college, hopefully get a college scholarship, and that was it. Obviously, the cards fell in place, and I got to do way more than my wildest dreams. But even as a young girl, did I want to go to the Olympics? No. Every one of my teammates said that. So I said it. I don't even know what the Olympics was. I saw it in 2008 on the TV. And I was like, Whoa. How'd they do that? But I didn't even want to go there. At that point. I saw the girls [gymnastics team] and they went to Italy. And I was like, how do I go to Italy? I want to compete in Italy. I never wanted to go to the Olympics. You just dream big and dream bigger.

SB: Oh my god, I'm so proud of her. She's totally in her element. This is what she was made to do. She's always been an entertainer, and obviously that goes hand-in-hand with gymnastics. On floor [routines], we do have to entertain a little bit, but this is her space completely. And she gets to be 100% herself. People get to see her personality shine. It's a little glimpse of what we've gotten to see over the past couple of years, but now she gets to share it with the whole world.

SB: She needed no advice. She is so confident in who she is, and her personality is so big. I was too shy for that. Now I think I'm a little bit more comfortable in who I am, but this is perfect for her. So there was no advice, just “good luck, have fun.” And I told her, “you're going to be on that show one day.” And she's like, “No, I don't think so.” Girl, look at you now! I said “they're going to keep asking you and bugging you to do it.” And she's like, “No, I don't think so.” And now she's like, “why are you always right?” I know these things. It's like a sixth sense.

SB: Yeah, I get badgered about that a lot. “You’re just always right!” OK. And am!