Isabelle Brasseur
Profession: Skating coach; former Olympic pairs figure skater
Age: Turns 42 on July 28
Hometown: born in Kingsbury, Que., and raised in St. Jean sur Richelieu, Que.
The car: 2012 A4 sedan
Notable achievements
- Brasseur and Eisler won five Canadian pairs championships and two Olympic bronze medals at the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics
- Won five medals at the World Championships from 1990-1994
- In 1992, Brasseur and Eisler started their own production company, BBE Productions, organizing charity figure skating events across Canada
- Married to American skater Rocky Marval
Currently
- Has a skating school and coaches in New Jersey where she lives
- Appears in ads with former NHL player P.J. Stock for the Depend brand of absorbent adult undergarments
Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler are one of the most decorated figure skating pairs in Canadian history. The five-time Canadian Pairs Champions won two Olympic bronze medals and the gold at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1993.
They retired from skating in 1994, but Brasseur didn't hang up her skates completely. She coaches skating and takes to the ice for causes close to her heart such as Depends Silhouette for Women undergarments. Her mother wore Depends after suffering from incontinence while battling a degenerative brain disease which claimed her life three years ago.
Brasseur is loyal to brands; she is an Audi girl who drives a 2012 A4 sedan.
Why did you buy an Audi?
We lease every two years. We switch often, but I always go back to Audi.
I like Audi because I remember when I was little it was one of my dad's dream cars. He knew one day he could have one. I still remember the memory of him bringing it home when I was about eight or nine and how happy and proud of himself he was that he finally had enough money to buy the first Audi he had dreamed of for so long.
He definitely convinced me Audis are the best car out there to drive.
Nowadays I like the firmness of it and how it drives. Also, deep inside it brings me the safety of my childhood of my dad driving the car. I just love it. I keep going back to Audi no matter what I've tried before.
Do you know what's under the hood?
No. I'm the type of girl that if I like the look of it, if I like how it feels driving it – it could be little people running under it – I couldn't care less.
I really don't care about the inside. My husband has to remind me to bring it in the garage. Thank God, my husband is around to remind me. I'm sure my car would fall apart at one point from not changing the oil. I am the worst person to take care of it. But I do love my car when it brings me from A to B.
What does an Audi say about you?
I'm not throwing a sales pitch here, but I will – it says I like when I can depend on something and trust something.
I've always had great trust in Audis. It always brought me to where I need to be. I've never had any major issues with the mechanical part of it. I know I can depend on it. I feel safe when I drive it.
What it says about me is that I'm a person that you can trust. If you put your faith in me, you can trust me and hopefully I can trust you, too.
What's your driving style like – do you like to drive fast?
Two years ago I would have said yes. … I strongly believe in people sending you messages. My dad died 17-18 years ago and he used to tell me when I was young, "You're driving too fast! You're driving too fast!"
I guess after so many speeding tickets – I'd get two-three a year driving from Montreal to the States – it was his way of giving me the message to slow down. It worked. I put myself on the cruise now.
What was your first car?
My first car was a little red Hyundai I bought myself. It was my fun car.
What I liked about it living in Montreal in the winter when its super cold no matter what – at minus 30 – I never had to plug it in. It would start. I don't remember once that my car didn't start in the freezing cold weather of Montreal.
My second car was my cool car – a Mazda MX-3. After that came a Volkswagen Cabrio, which I liked because of the roof. I never had an open roof before and I liked that.
Then I got pregnant and the baby seat would not fit in the Cabrio so that's when I switched to the Audi A4.
What's your best and worst driving story ever?
My best memory driving memory is not me driving. It's when we were young. My parents would pack my brother and I in the car and drive to Florida for a 35-hour drive.
I would like being stuck in one small place together. I was the type of person that needed their attention all the time. At that point, they had no choice. If I spoke, they had to answer. I was selfish.
My worst driving memory? There are a few of them. I do have a tendency to hit non-moving objects for some reason.
It's always surprising. Those objects just jump at me in the middle of the road – like a parked car in the road or my father-in-law's truck in the driveway. And then a few weeks ago, a garbage can in the street. One side of my car is missing a mirror – the garbage was hungry and it ate my mirror that day! It attacked me!
I'm very lucky. I've never had a dramatic experience on the road and I hope I never do.
If I can bring you the keys to any vehicle what would it be?
I love my Audis, but I would take a Porsche. It`s one of those dream cars, you're probably never going to get. I've always said, one day I'll drive a Porsche. But then you have a kid and a family and the Porsche is not so practical any more.
And you put the dream behind you. Maybe when my daughter goes to college, I'll get one. My husband loves cars so we can spoil ourselves and drive around in our Porsche.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
pgentile@globeandmail.com
Petrina Gentile