From Almost Quitting to Champion

At 13, Lucas Appel was ready to call it quits. Jumps weren’t clicking, and the joy had faded.  Then his coach suggested something new — solo dance.

“I told myself, ‘I’ll do it for one year and see if I like it.’ And the rest is history.” — Lucas Appel

That “one year” became a defining journey. Today, at 20, Lucas is a two-time U.S. senior solo dance champion (2022, 2024), 2025 bronze medalist, and the first American man ever to win an international solo dance event.

“I knew Solo Ice Dance was for me,” Lucas says. “It gave me creative freedom and let me skate without the pressure of landing difficult jumps.”

His rise has been marked not only by medals but by resilience, artistry, and a quiet determination to carve out space for himself in a growing discipline.

Breaking Through

Lucas’s breakthrough came in 2022 when he stunned the field by winning his first senior national title at just 17.

It was my debut senior season, and my goal was just to crack the top six,” he says. “To go out there and win… it felt like I had really left my mark on the Solo Dance world.

Two years later, he made history again on the international stage, taking gold in Poland — the first American to do so at an international solo dance competition. 

“It was such an honor,” he recalls. “To experience another country and realize I was representing the United States — that’s a moment I’ll never forget.”

Rivalry and Respect

In the tight-knit world of solo dance, Lucas’s friendly rivalry with Brooke Tufts became one of the sport’s storylines. For several seasons, they traded national titles—Brooke in 2021 and 2023, Lucas in 2022 and 2024. Their back-and-forth pushed both of them to new heights.

“My rivalry with Brooke was one I’ll always be grateful for,” Lucas says. “She pushed me to take my skating to the next level.”

The Artist on Ice

Lucas approaches skating with the heart of an artist. Both of his parents are artists, and that influence runs deep in the way he chooses music and builds programs. He doesn’t just skate to fill requirements—he builds worlds.

“When I go about selecting my program music, I create different playlists and show them to everyone. My coaches, parents, and friends listen to all my music options, and they all give their opinions on my music selections. I am very involved in what music I will skate to and how the choreography should look and be nuanced. I want to show with my programs that I enjoy skating to the music, so that the judges and audience can feel that they are a part of the performance as well.”

Though skating demands athletic precision, Lucas sees himself as an artist first. 

“When it comes to my skating, I try to see myself as an artist first and an athlete second. As much as all figure skaters are athletes and we all do high intensity training to make clean and consistent performances, when it comes to my skating I try to be an artist when listening to the music and making choreography. I believe I try and think about my skating this way as both my parents grew up as artists, so their view on art has really inspired me.”

His collaboration with renowned coach Marina Zoueva is key. As he said, “My head coach, Marina Zoueva really is at the helm of helping me as a skater and performer as we discuss characters and choreography so much to help me understand what will work best for my programs.” 

It is important to me to be able to convey a story and draw the audience in to whatever story I am trying to create, whether it be a Swan, Michael Jackson, or even Scheherazade.

Life Beyond the Rink

Lucas’s typical day begins at dawn.

 “I’m up at 6 a.m., at the rink by 6:45 for off-ice with Marina, then on the ice until noon,” he says. “After that, I head to classes at Florida Gulf Coast University or stay at the rink to coach until late evening.”

That grind nearly led to burnout in 2024. Halfway through the 2024 season, Lucas hit a wall. Burnout crept in, and for the first time, he wondered if he had pushed too hard. Working with a sports psychologist changed everything. “I wasn’t taking enough time for myself,” he admits. 

Working with a sports psychologist helped him find balance: 

“After starting with my sports psychologist around this time, I became very aware of how much I needed to balance my training, my academics, coaching and still having time for a social life. I really believe getting out of the rink and surrounding myself with my friends and going out in my local area or even just spending time at my dorm with my friends baking and watching television helped a lot with my mental and physical aspect of not constantly thinking or talking about skating.

Creating a separation (between skating and life outside the rink) helped my mental and physical relationship with skating.”

Now, his psychology degree helps him manage pressure and how to deal with the mental side of competition. .

“Taking classes focusing on the genetic, biochemical, emotional, and external parts of psychology have helped me deal with the mental side of skating more efficiently. Now I know what goes into making people have nerves and get up in the morning for training. I have a better understanding of how and why people work a certain way when it comes to a high intensity sport”

Outside of skating, his creative spirit continues.

“I’m a huge Toki Doki collector — I have hundreds of blind boxes!” he laughs.

A Trailblazer for Boys in Solo Dance

As one of the few men competing at the highest levels of solo dance, Lucas embraces his visibility. He takes pride in showing that the discipline isn’t just for women.

“It means the world to show young boys there’s a space for them here. If I hadn’t found solo dance, I probably would’ve quit skating years ago,” he admits. 

Advice for aspiring skaters:

• Just try it. “Watch different kinds of male skating online. From singles to teams. You only live once nd just being able to give it a watch and even give it a shot is such a great stepping-stone of being inspired..”
  
• Experiment. “That is what I did going into my first year of competitive dance and had no expectations. This was back in 2018 when I was starting my dance journey in Juvenile. I just had fun with it and let myself live in the moment.”
  

Behind the Scenes in Poland

Not all memorable moments happen on the ice. After his historic win in Poland, Team Spain invited Lucas, his mom, and a Thai teammate to a homemade Spanish dinner.

It was post-competition joy — filled with love for the sport and one another as people and athletes.”

“Solo Dance feels like home,” he says. “It’s the reason I started ice dance and why I’ve built the career I have.”

Looking Ahead

Lucas has already mapped out the next chapter. Lucas plans to retire after the 2026 season, aiming for one final national title. His goals are simple: skate clean, perform with joy, and return to the top of the national podium. After graduation, he plans to move to Arizona to coach alongside Olympian Naomi Lang-Strong at the Ice Den Solo Ice Dance Team. “I want to pass on what I’ve learned,” he says.

“Solo dance gave me a career I never imagined. Now I want to help the next generation find their place in it.”

For now, though, Lucas remains focused on the ice—and on creating programs that remind audiences why figure skating is as much about artistry as athleticism. “At the end of the day,” he says, “I want people to walk away from my performances feeling like they were part of the story.”

For Lucas Appel, every step, spin, and story is part of the same message — skate fearlessly, live fully, and leave the ice with meaning.