Your name on Twitter is @JohnnyGWeir. What does the "G" stand for?
"My middle name. It's Garvin. For the longest time, I was super-against my middle name being public because I hated it. And then I was, like, 'Well, it's the last thing I'm actually keeping from people, so I may as well tell them.' And also, somebody has already taken JohnnyWeir on Twitter!"
Who designed the costume you'll be performing in tonight?
"The costume I'll actually perform in, I designed. I'm doing a holiday moment with 'Ave Maria,' and it's just very simple and pretty. Louis Vuitton painted my skates."
If you had to wear just one costume for the rest of your career, who would you want it to be designed by?
"Karl Lagerfeld. A figure skating costume that Mr. Lagerfeld would design would be pretty outrageous, yet still have so many of the classic touches that he brings to Chanel, and that he brought to Fendi for so long. He's somebody who always inspires me. If not Karl, then Gareth Pugh."
What is the personal significance of this performance that you're doing? Is there a message you want to impart to San Francisco?
"I love San Francisco! It's my favorite city on the West Coast. I'm an East Coast person. My heart's there; I was born and raised there. But of everywhere else in the country, San Francisco is my favorite. It's such a free place. There are protesters out today, and they're free to do that — they're comfortable enough to do that. I think San Francisco is such a bustling, beautiful place, and I wanted to bring my own special blend of prettiness to the city. I want people to get into the holiday season and feel happy. It's kind of a dark time for the country right now, so I just want to be out there, and be a light and sparkle. I want to show people that, while there's a lot of nasty stuff going around, you still can move forward, be glamourous, be pretty, and leave your happy statement on the world."
Do you have any go-to spots or restaurants that you frequent in San Francisco?
"In Asia de Cuba at the Clift Hotel, they have this dessert called the Bay of Pigs. We used to prowl through San Francisco when we were doing the Champions On Ice tour, and we always stayed at the Clift. And for us skinny figure skaters, this ice cream dessert is enough for 20 people. And we all order it, just sit, and have the best time eating it. The Men's Saks store in San Francisco is incredible. I don't know San Francisco like the back of my hand, like I do New York or Moscow. But in San Francisco, you can turn a corner and find completely unexpected glamour."
With the holidays already here, we just have to ask — do you own a cheesy, ugly sweater?
"I have lots of cheesy, ugly sweaters in my closet! There's one in particular — it's a Dale of Norway sweater that I got in Norway. They've always made Olympic-themed sweaters during the Olympics. It's just a very big yellow, gray, and white Norwegian fisherman-style sweater, I've had it forever. It's way too big. It's one of those things that as a Norwegian, I can't not have in my closet. It's not really tacky, but I have a Chanel menswear sweater. They do a really limited menswear collection, and it has a penguin on it. A penguin and a little CC! I can only wear it in the winter, and it's not really ugly, but it's super wintertime cheesy."
Do you have a favorite holiday movie?
"Burl Ives' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer — I love that movie! It's old, old, old, and it's all Claymation. Burl Ives plays the Snowman, and his voice always reminds me of being young and being surrounded by my family, watching it."
How do you keep your skin looking so stunning on ice? Any beauty secrets you want to share with us?
"I always have a MAC artist do me up. I like powder, I like looking like a porcelain doll, and having very matte skin. But the most important thing I've been obsessed with is my skin regimen, ever since I got my first pimple when I was 13 and vowed never to have another one! No matter how many bottles of Champagne I've had, no matter how early I'm up, I wash and condition my face every morning and every night, no matter what. I could be falling down drunk, and I'd still wash my face."
You are an award-winning figure skater, a published author, a reality show star, you have a single out...you've done so much! What can we expect in 2012?
"Next year is going to be a big year. The second season of my reality show, Be Good Johnny Weir, will come out — I have the final shooting on Monday, actually. So, we're very, very close to finished. I think we're going to get paired up with RuPaul, so when RuPaul's on, I'll be on right after — we're a tag team of power-players for the LOGO Network. Between January and March, I'm going to train with my coach and see if I can get back into competitive shape. I don't know if I'll compete again, but I wanna see what my body can do. I'm a little old for competitive figure skating now, but I wanna see what I'm capable of."
You didn't participate in competitive skating these past two years. How was that for you?
"That's been hard. It's really hard when you've lived your life one way for so long to watch other people still doing it, and you're kind of just sitting it out. Even though I'm doing fabulous, wonderful things, I still have the heart of a tiger — all I want is sparkly warfare with other figure-skaters. But there's a time and place, and I'll have to see if I'm ready. Regardless, I feel like I just keep getting busier and busier. I have more and more things to accomplish and do. I mean, I wouldn't want to be any other way."