the huge response they received , they slowly began to open the doors wider and wider .
One important aspect to Grander is its focus on women ’ s sports and inspiring young female athletes . While Liukin knew her fiancé could bring in connections from the NHL , which could lead to connections in the NFL and NBA , they both realized that young boys already have plenty of opportunities out there when it comes to sports .
“ We felt like women ’ s sports are so underserved compared to men ’ s sports ,” Liukin said . “ We decided after doing a lot of research and realizing how underserved women ’ s sports are , we really wanted to focus on that .”
Grander only has a gymnastics community right now , the obvious place to start . But with over 10,000 users and growing every day , Liukin has already set her sights on what communities they will hopefully add next . Right now , their targets are women ’ s soccer , women ’ s swimming , and figure skating .
As big as the app might get , there ’ s no growing out of what its main purpose is .
“ This is the place that they ’ re going to come to get valuable , educational , inspirational content in order to be the best version of themselves that they can be ,” Liukin said .
Liukin has no shortage of impactful lessons she can pass on . One that most athletes deal with at some point is dealing with pressure . While she said that she never felt pressure from her parents to live up to any expectations , the Olympics did bring in its own unique pressure , which she found a way to deal with .
“ You ’ re representing your entire country and the weight of the nation and the world is on your shoulders ,” Liukin said . “ I just wanted to make people proud . But , I guess in handling that pressure , for me it was important to stick to that same plan , that same routine , and visualize and trust the process and the training that I had just done for years and years and have that guide me through .”
She can also share the feelings that come with success and achieving goals , like when she won her gold medal .
“ It ’ s kind of hard to put into words , just because it was something that I had dreamed about for years and years , and then when it actually happens to you , you kind of feel like it ’ s literally a dream ,” Liukin said . “ It ’ s a very surreal moment , so many different emotions are going through your mind . It ’ s almost like your life flashes before you . All these things that you ’ re remembering : the people that didn ’ t believe in you , the people that told you that you couldn ’ t do it , the people that did believe in you and that helped you get to that moment .”
Of course , Liukin is also very familiar with the challenges that can come from leaving something that ’ s been such a major part of your life , as she dealt with after retiring from gymnastics in 2012 and trying to figure out what to do next .
“ That was my biggest concern and it was my biggest obstacle that I had to overcome ,” Liukin said . “ For me , gymnastics defined who I was for so many years and so I was really afraid that I wasn ’ t going to be able to figure out who I was as a person without gymnastics in my life on a day to day anymore .”
Liukin didn ’ t allow that fear to consume her , and instead was able to turn to other things she knew she was interested .
“ I knew that I still had other dreams and other goals and I moved the second I finished to New York City , went to school at NYU , and those four years truly shaped me into who I am today ,” Liukin said . “ It allowed me to just be Nastia , and not be Nastia Liukin , this Olympic gymnast . So I think that was a really crucial and critical point in my life and career .”
Liukin has gotten the opportunity to explore many different areas that she ’ s interested in . She just recently took part in Celebrity Ninja Warrior , completing the course and helping to raise money for Red Nose Day .
“ It was so awesome ,” Liukin said . “ Even as a gymnast , I was never the strongest , I was always more flexible , graceful , artistic , and so I was just really excited . It ’ s a show that I have watched on TV for a long time ; so actually being able to try the course was pretty cool .” Another one of Liukin ’ s ventures was a clothing line she worked on with Warner Bros . and JCPenny a few years ago called Supergirl by Nastia . When Liukin talks about the inspiration and meaning behind the line , it ’ s not hard to see why she ’ s so passionate about supporting and inspiring the next generation .
“ No matter what they ’ re doing , no matter what their background is , what they look like , what sport they do , they ’ re a supergirl ,” Liukin said . “ That project was something that I just felt really connected to quite a bit because it was my passion , it was more than just a clothing line to me .”
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