Shortly after Holiday on Ice finished in Taipei, Taiwan, my friend, Ellen, e-mailed me saying that it was a fantastic show and how much fun I would have if I could make it. I was so jealous, because I had to tour with Disney on Ice and was not able to make it. It was the first ice show played in Taipei Dome, the place our skating people dreamed about for almost 20 years, since we never had a regular sized ice arena before. By now, you probably can tell that I am a Taiwanese skater, and the first Taiwanese professional skater ever.

Skating in Taiwan is not a popular sport, since we lack good coaching and we only had one SMALL skating rink in the entire nation back when I was skating. I still remember the moment when I stepped onto the ice. The feeling was so cool, and I felt like that I could forget everything and be me when I was on the ice. That is when I was 13 years old. Yes, a 13-year-old boy whose height was about 5’0″ and weight about 180 lb. I never thought that I could become a professional skater since I was not very fit! However, I love ice skating; it is something I would never give up. One day while I was practicing, one of my friends came to me and asked me, “Max, why do you skate? You are so fat; please don’t waste your time and go to do something else!” It hurt, deeply into my heart. I almost gave up on my dream to be a skater, but I didn’t.

I told myself that I have faith in myself and I will show him what I can do. Shortly after that, Disney on Ice – Toy Story 1 came to my town. I was so excited about it since it was my first ice show. In my memories, I remembered there was a little boy who could spin really fast and jump really high in the show. He was my skating hero because I had never seen someone do that in front of my eyes before. He was Mr. Craig Heath. I said to myself, I want to be like him, skate in front of audiences, and entertain people. Because of that, I made up my mind to be a professional skater.

I never competed, but always loved skating. Maybe I am not that good of a skater; however, I have the heart to skate. Now, I am 21; 8 years after making my dream. I have the job I love, traveling all over the world that most people don’t get chance to see. I did it. And I want to thank all of you who love skating because without you, I wouldn’t have become who I am now. Finally, it hits me when my friend told me the names of the principals for Holiday-Hollywood. It is Craig again… a little boy who helped me make my dream come true. Thank you!

Posted by: Hao Liu  Last modified on: 1/25/2006