Zeus Plays the Role of Apollo

Zeus Issariotis

August 6, 2006
Article & Photo © J. Barry Mittan 

In ancient times, Apollo was the Greek god of music but in figure skating, it is Zeus who is creating the music. Greek skater Zeus Issariotis is more famous in the world of electronic music than in skating. His electronic synthesizer software programs have been featured in top audio software magazines all over the world. Issariotis has been interested in music since he was a child. "I took piano lessons from when I was seven until I was ten," he recalled. "Then I got my first electronic synthesizer when I was nine and became obsessed with it. In high school, I also played bass guitar in some garage bands."

But to make himself a success in the music world, Issariotis had to make some sacrifices in his skating career. The Toronto native started out on the ice when he began playing hockey for fun when he was seven, usually playing right wing or center. He started figure skating when he was ten. "My mother told me it would help my hockey, but I think she had an ulterior motive of making me a skater," he recalled. "She was a big skating fan, especially of Brian Orser. We watched the Battle of the Brians at the Olympics on television." But Issariotis gave up hockey at eleven to concentrate on skating.

By the age of 13, he had landed his first triple, a salchow, followed by a triple toe loop within the month. Competing at Canadian Nationals, the youngster from Toronto reached seventh in junior men in Canada in 1999 and 2000. "I had a triple axel and was doing triple toe-triple toe and triple flip-triple toe," he noted. "I was even practicing the quad toe and had landed a few two-footed."

But then he decided to take a break from skating to focus on electronic music. "I was in a rut and decided to take some time off to clear my head," he stated. "One month became two months and then two years. Then I thought, if I don't go back now, I won't be happy. I had always wanted to compete for Greece so I contacted the federation to get their support. I started back again in July 2003. I was back up to a triple lutz when I hurt my back in August 2004 and lost the entire season. I had a herniated disk and a pinched sciatic nerve."

But that was a blessing in disguise. "I had been looking into designing my own software synthesizers for about a year and never had the time to fully pursue it due to all of the skating until I hurt my back," he said, "so I lay in bed with my computer and really dug into it." "I designed some synthesizer software that I started selling on the Internet through my website (www.bizune.com)," he continued. "Since then I've built a studio to create electronic music with my partner, Michelle Bylow. We're working on our first album." That will be available at www.bizune.net. In addition, Issariotis plays in the band Instant Vintage (www.instantvintage.ca) with his brother, a classical guitarist who won the Canadian championship twice.

Naturally, the 24-year-old Issariotis selects and cuts his own music for his programs, both of which were new for the 2005-06 season. Bylow, a former Canadian skater who is now a technical specialist, choreographed his short program to music from the soundtrack of "Conan the Barbarian". "That was always my favorite movie as a kid and I always wanted to skate to it." Issariotis stated.

Sebastien Britten choreographed his long program to "Transcriptions for Orchestra" by Sergei Rachmaninoff. "That's a rare Rachmaninoff piece I liked," he said. "I like skating to classical music so I raid my brother's stash of classical music looking for unusual pieces. You know it's right when you hear a piece of music that touches your heart."

Next year, he plans to use one of his own electronic music compositions for his short program. "I want to be an electronic robot kind of guy," he added. In practice, Issariotis listens to electronic music. "It keeps me pumped up," he noted.

Issariotis finished 31st at the 2006 European Championships and 19th in the qualifying round at Worlds. Earlier in the 2005-06 season, he finished second at the Copenhagen Trophy, 16th at the Otto Nepela Memorial and 13th at the Karl Schaefer Memorial. "My back is fully healed now but I lost a lot of training time so I've struggled this season," he said. Issariotis hopes to compete until the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, but said that he's still taking things day by day. "I'm not skating for results yet," he added. "It's still a personal journey to skate my best."

He trains three hours a day, five days a week, with Sebastien Britten at the Cricket Club in Toronto. That's a lot more ice time than he would have in Greece, which has only one "mini-rink". "It's pretty remarkable what Greek skaters have been able to do in the past considering that they had to train on a tiny ice surface," Issariotis stated. "The previous champion before me could even land triples. We are getting our first full sized rink in Greece very soon and I am looking forward to moving there when it is done." Due to his injuries, his off ice training has been limited to an hour a day on weights and an hour and a half in the gym. He also uses an aerobic bike at home and rollerblades in the summer. In high school, Issariotis also competed in cross-country running.

Except for his work in music and web design, his off ice time is limited to spending time with Bylow, his girlfriend, and their two cats.