How to Be a Great Dad, According to a 23-Year-Old
Kelsey Lucas /
Meet David Wise. He’s a 23-year-old father, married to the love of his life, and a gold medal Olympian.
He’s making headlines for his performance in the first ever ski halfpipe event in Sochi. Wise’s score of 92.00 points on his first run beat out Canada’s Mike Riddle and France’s Kevin Rolland.
But we think Wise is headline-worthy for more than his Olympic skillset.
His first words after winning the gold medal were to his two-year-old: “Hey, Nayeli, Daddy loves you!”
She’s his biggest fan. Watch her excitement when she saw him win the gold:
His other big fan is his wife, Lexie. They got married almost three years ago. He was 20. She was 19.
Wise is just as much a fan of Lexie and Nayeli as they are of him. He told ESPN:
I never expected to be a young dad or even a young husband. I always thought I’d settle down when it [suited] me … But I found someone who I knew would enrich my life. That made the decision easy.
He’s proud of his family. Check out this picture he posted on Instagram on Valentine’s Day dedicated to his wife:
He’s also a shameless romantic. He collects heart-shaped rocks for Lexie when he’s traveling and arranges them on a brick windowsill outside their front door.
The New York Times calls him “The UnDude” because he’s 23 and doesn’t party.
But Wise just sees it as wanting to make the most of his day.
When I get up, and there’s fresh powder, and you can hear the birds and you can see the sun cresting over the mountains, I just feel like that life keeps me from having the kind of day I want to have.
He also gives 10 percent of his winnings — money that might normally have been spent on drinks with other skiers — to water projects in the Dominican Republic.
While others in his sport might spend their off-time partying, Wise doesn’t judge them for their lifestyles. “To each their own,” he told The Washington Post. “This works for me. This is who I am.”
He admits that a perk of ski sponsorships are the free diapers from Procter & Gamble.
Moving from #Breck back to #Copper. Thought the car was full last time… @Pampers #familyproblems #toomuchstuff pic.twitter.com/8GpBVFWjez
— David Wise (@mrDavidWise) December 15, 2013
Wise may now be a history-making-gold-medal-olympian, but it’s his family he values most.
