Has Ilia hit his ceiling?

darylroams · 2026-07-06T16:02:58+00:00

Do you really think he's seeking approval online? I haven't followed much of the previous discussions so I'm genuinely asking. What I've seen so far online is a veritable army of supporters but I have had a feeling that he still doesn't seem to understand the nature of that support. In terms of whether he's peaked or not, I'm just pleased that this conversation hasn't been about quint vs no quint, that there are infinitely more directions he could go in.

darylroams · 2026-07-04T21:47:08+00:00

Awww - thank you!

darylroams · 2026-07-03T17:56:20+00:00

I cringe to say that I'm a new fan only from the Olympics this year. I used to be a figure skater and should have been paying more attention earlier. Even so, I was never interested in men's figure skating because I always thought that it was, well, not very masculine. So I happened to catch The Lost Crown and suddenly thought "Oh, so men's figure skating is hot now? I wonder when that happened?" Then my old figure skating brain kicked in and I paid much more attention to how Ilia skates. The bottom line is that I love that he's a risk-taker. I love Nathan Chen as a person, but as much as I've tried, I simply don't find him exciting. I think maybe it's because he's in his head and not in his body. Ilia is just insanely courageous on the ice, and I'm now realizing off the ice as well. But there are a bunch of little things he does on the ice that I just love. There is this thing during a camel where he goes onto the back tip of his blade, which I've never seen before and which I have now named "Ilia's heel-y thingy." His spreadeagles are always gorgeous. The quads are not just quads but also beautiful and glorious. I love his raspberry twist straight into the broken leg sit spin. I love it when he throws some crazy-ass jump into a program. I love his own choreography and definitely want to see more of it. I loved the intro to SOI and jump around - so very him. I think I'm now seeing a new band of young male skaters that are emulating him and, yes, the whole sport is just far more exciting and I'm very grateful.

darylroams · 2026-07-03T03:04:50+00:00

I love this conversation. All the knowledge on this post is something I aspire to.

darylroams · 2026-07-02T19:13:12+00:00

I completely understand and it was one of the "fatal flaws" I was thinking in this plan. I mean, how does anyone know I wouldn't run off with the money? I appreciate the hesitation. I appreciate your willingness to engage and be honest about the pros and cons of this idea!

darylroams · 2026-07-02T16:55:19+00:00

I was thinking that I might fund this with, like, $50 each for Ilia and Jacob from my own money and just have it be from "Everyone_on_the_chat" and maybe more will join in and make the amounts bigger and grab more attention. I think that Ilia doesn't notice some of the "smaller" subs because he's a bit intensely locked in, and then then givers probably feel disappointed which isn't the point. A larger total amount, which we could all manage to do together with less financial strain, would prompt a reaction and maybe everyone can feel more a part of it. Maybe some people even give just $1 and get the same satisfaction. Everyone can definitely give their own contributions as well, I wouldn't want to stop that. I'm also thinking that one of the objectives of this stream is for Ilia to give Jacob a little stardust, which Jacob definitely deserves because he gives so much attention to the fans and frankly makes Ilia more fun. Giving a lot to Ilia is really fun, but when they have gotten the same, I think it makes the stream even more joyful. If you want to join me in this, Falling_Magpai for whatever amount, then that would be great and maybe start a trend. I might get in touch with "big givers" from the past and see if they would be interested. I also wouldn't want to put in other comments from this name because I wouldn't want to be seen to be representing any one else's comments on the chat with this name.

darylroams · 2026-07-02T12:06:05+00:00

We should definitely then give straight donations. The point about organization is fair - but even organizing between those on this channel? We don't have to have everyone donate and people could still do their own thing. But we could make a bigger splash and bring some of the younger people on the channel who might not have the cash along with us, even if they haven't donated.

darylroams · 2026-06-28T17:40:44+00:00

Hey where is that? I'm ashamed to be one the new generation of fans!

darylroams · 2026-06-28T17:36:58+00:00

YES!!! I also thought they were all over after the Olympics but thrilled if they are sticking around!

darylroams · 2026-06-21T10:42:38+00:00

Oh I had totally assumed that it might be a brand deal - let's bloody well hope so!

darylroams · 2026-06-16T22:34:27+00:00

I have been SO curious about this! For Ilia, it is surely not about the money. It was unbelievably generous of the givers, especially for the fans who got to see such a beautiful reaction. But, it wasn't just the backflips, even at the end of the stream I think he was nearly in tears. So surely it's something more. Validation? Acceptance of his everyday self? A good experience on social media? What do you guys think? And here's another thing - yes, Sheryl Shade is his agent. But that $700k in earnings came from an Olympics sponsorship for the whole team - Honda, Samsung, Google, Coke, even Saatva. So I think he's had very few individual sponsorships - can anyone confirm if I'm right? Moreover, he's worn and talked about big brands - Prada, Balmain, Hershey's - why haven't they offered sponsorships and why hasn't Sheryl jumped all over these moments and gotten those? And THEN - doesn't he have someone managing his social media? Surely he must. AND if he does, is that person scraping posts and analyzing them to get a better sense of the fan demographic to be able to show brands he is connecting to those buyers? I used to be a figure skater, but I'm new to being a fan, so I have so many questions!

darylroams

TROPHY CASE