A Balanced Life Ever-Competitive Brian Boitano Takes Skating Expertise To Television

World class figure skaters always speak of branching out, finding new avenues of expression and entertainment. Brian Boitano, never one to shy away from exploring the unknown, is doing just that, on the ice and in television.

The 1988 Olympic champion still enjoys competing at 33. He remains one of the best professional skaters, a perennial contender and, usually, a winner on the ever-growing competitive circuit.

He’ll be in Landover, Md., on Saturday for the World Professional Figure Skating Championships, an event he’s won five times.

But he’s also concentrating on other areas, particularly television. Boitano stars in “Skating Romance II,” which he produced and directed and is to be shown Thursday night on USA Network.

Another TV project, “Three Masters of the Ice,” with Scott Hamilton and Payl Wylie, is scheduled for February.

“You make the decisions on what will be out there, so the most fulfilling thing is have your own company and have carte blanche to do what you want,” he says. “I want to do what I feel is important artistically and is a step in the right direction.

“It’s a personal challenge for me to develop innovative ice shows of the highest quality for everyone to enjoy.”

Boitano and Katarina Witt will co-star in “Skating Romance II,” reuniting for the first time since a 1992 tour.

“It was easier to do this second show, because I had more help and a bigger budget than for the first one, which was an impossible situation to get everything done,” Boitano says. “I was able to concentrate on directing.

“Just knowing we made so many mistakes from having to do too much in too short a time the last time has helped. It’s all about being able to hire the people you need to make it great.”

While Boitano does not foresee retiring from competition in the near future - “Skating competitively and doing projects like these are about equal in my mind right now” - he wants to do more television shows.

“I’ve found it is easier to get your foot in the door to do TV specials when you bring yourself to the table,” he says. “When we can say, ‘We have Brian Boitano already,’ it helps sell the idea and it helps get other skaters involved.”

Being part of a project with Hamilton and Wylie was special, too. Boitano competed against both in the Olympic-eligible ranks, but he wasn’t on Hamilton’s level in the early 1980s and Wylie wasn’t much of a challenger to Boitano in the later 1980s.

As showmen, however, they are equals.

“It’s going to be really good,” Boitano says of the show. “It was about the guys doing any numbers they chose. At first, it was going to be signature pieces, but it evolved into something else.

“It became what each of us wanted to show, and the audience went wild when we taped it in New Haven, Conn. In fact, TBS asked if we had any other ideas for TV. It showed how powerful men in figure skating are as an attraction.”

Somehow, in between the competitions and the television specials, Boitano finds time for touring. He’ll be on the winter Tour of Champions, but will take a break to do TV commentary at the national championships.

“It’s a pretty hectic schedule,” he admits. “I just have to keep reminding myself I’m only 33. When I was in Kansas City, a security guard at the rink came up to me and said, ‘Hey, you’re Brian Boitano. You’ve been around forever.’

“But really, I’m so young. Isn’t 33 young?”