A tragedy that took the life of his young daughter has made legendary Olympic skier Bode Miller an pool safety advocate for life and he shares his story and preventive measures to prevent similar tragedies. He also shares his love of the mountains and never-ending urge to get on a hill and soar.
Bode Miller, a legendary Olympic skier, joined Nestor Aparicio to discuss pool safety following the tragic drowning of his daughter. Miller emphasized the importance of Water Safety Awareness Month and early swim lessons. He highlighted the effectiveness of automatic pool covers, like Cover Star, in preventing accidents. Miller shared his personal experience, noting the lack of water safety education from pediatricians. He also touched on his continued love for skiing, now more for enjoyment than competition, and his appreciation for the outdoors. Miller urged parents to research and implement safety measures to prevent similar tragedies.
Legendary Olympic skiier Bode … safety and love of the mounta
Tue, May 13, 2025 6:18PM • 9:38
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Pool safety, Bode Miller, Water Safety Awareness Month, drowning prevention, early swim lessons, automatic pool cover, Cover Star, New Hampshire, summer season, family safety, outdoor activities, skiing, Montana, Utah, Baltimore positive.
SPEAKERS
8
Bode Miller, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T. Am 1570 to Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive, and amidst all of the baseball and the LUCA be at the ballpark down at Camden Yards this week, as well as the big race going on this week in the Preakness. We are. We’re welcoming the summer season here. It’s been nice around people. Got pools out. We’re going down to the beach. It is never a bad time to talk about safety and pool safety and and amongst amidst tragedy comes information. Bodie Miller. Everyone is familiar with Bodie Miller. My wife, when she found out that Bodie Miller from the Granite State was coming on, said, You gotta talk New Hampshire with Bodie Miller. Bodie Miller usually talks about alpine skiing, amongst other things, and very involved in entrepreneurial aspects. And it was a pleasure watching you ski. And when it came to my attention that we could have you on talking about pool safety and the tragedy that you and your wife and your family endured, I want to open it up. And first things, first, welcome. It was always fun to watch you go down those mountains, my brother.
Bode Miller 00:59
Thank you. Appreciate it. Your your story is
Nestor Aparicio 01:02
not about the mountains and gold medals and all of that these days, you’re talking about pool safety. Anyone watching is out seeing you in front of a pool. My dear friend, Denny Nagle, a former major league pitcher from here in Maryland, lost a family member, lost a niece. You had the worst tragedy anyone could possibly imagine, and you’re here to save other people from having this happen to them. Yeah, it’s,
8Bode Miller 01:25
it’s not just me, obviously, as you mentioned, I have a bunch of friends who unfortunately met, typically through this, this sort of club, which no one wants to be a part of. But yeah, maybe Water Safety Awareness Month is, is an important one. Just coming into summer, as you said, you just want to want to kind of bring awareness to it. For me, you know, things I didn’t know prior to losing a child to drowning is sort of my, my driving force behind I just want to share information knowledge, get people aware of you know what they can do and what they should know. I’m
Nestor Aparicio 02:00
looking behind you at a pool and thinking, if you had a toddler there, that’s not a safe circumstance. And I’ve seen bulls to be more safe, and I’ve seen others that said, Well, I hope they have a lifeguard here. Your education in this and mistakes others have made along the way. What can people do to make sure that this doesn’t happen. I awareness is first, just knowing that, yeah, we’re big people. We jump in the pool. It’s fine. It comes up to here. It’s not like that for everyone, even animals around the pool,
Bode Miller 02:29
right? Yeah, you gotta get older and you you take for granted that, you know, young kids just don’t have that, that awareness, right? They, they’re, you know, in the case of my daughter, I’d been swimming are there all morning. And, you know, I’d been at lots of pediatric visits with our doctors, and they talk about formula and sleep patterns and and all sorts of things, and not once did they bring up water safety, which, you know, again, was was frustrating after the tragedy. You know, I’d been with my daughter, and she just felt like, yeah, with water, you just jump in, and your dad’s there to grab you. So I think awareness and having the conversation be be more open, you know, amongst families and communities and stuff. But you know, when it comes to sort of the prevention stuff or early swim lessons, you know, survival swim is a huge part of it. And then, you know, in this case, cover star, automatic pool cover turns what, as you said, looks like a risk, a danger. It truly is a risk. You know, the most likely chance of accidental death for young people. So it turns it just into regular ground. You can walk right across it and have complete peace of mind that there’s no danger there. So, I mean, that’s, that’s sort of the layering system of awareness, and then, you know, early swim lessons and then prevention around the water. So the cover star, automatic pool covers are amazing solution for that.
Nestor Aparicio 03:53
8Well, you’ve talked to many other people and folks in your unfortunate circumstance, the education part of this in pool covers. Was it anything you ever even thought about at all? Was it anything that came to you? I mean, you grew up in a mountain up in New Hampshire.
Bode Miller 04:12
Yeah, New Hampshire is not, not a lot of pools. Um, obviously, we’re, we’re around lakes and rivers and, you know, because my so my uncle drowned, actually, my my mom’s brother, and so I was aware of it, and from a young age, and but again, without, without pools, obviously you can’t cover a river. You can’t cover a lake. It just became, you know, you were really aware of the danger, of the risk from a young age. And, you know, it’s still, it still seems like a miracle that it does that more tragedies don’t happen. But, you know, when we had a pool in California, we did put up a pool fence, but again, we were not aware of cover star, automatic pool cover. I think we would have certainly done that had we been aware. So, I mean. And that’s that’s why I’m here, is just trying to bring people’s awareness to what the options are, what their you know, what their options are, to make their pool safe and still super fun and enjoyable, where they can relax and feel good about it. Big appreciation
Nestor Aparicio 05:14
to cover star for providing Bodie Miller, one of the most talented ski racers of all time on a mountain. So I have you for a couple of minutes. I gotta talk a little bit of new little bit of New Hampshire and say you’re in front of a pool. You’re doing pool things. I know you’re you’re married to a beach person. How often do you find yourself on a mountain? I mean, I thought about this this morning and having you on because I don’t talk to a lot of ski racers, but it’s the most intentional thing in the world, because you have to be somewhere to do it. It’s not like going and playing tennis or having a different kind of vocation. How often do you get on a mountain these days? Bodie,
Bode Miller 05:46
well, we were in Southern California, so I had a good hiatus from it. But you know, the last since COVID Actually, we were in Montana first, and now we’re in Utah, so we’re around the mountains all the time. And I’ve had now probably five or six years consecutively, where I’m getting 100 days on the on the mountain the winter, but, but, you know, and I still love it. I love I go out by myself. I got my kids, but you’re right, it is, it is deliberate, and I’m a bit spoiled, where I’m used to not having long lift lines and stuff, and that’s been a bit of a of a shock to me, or I can’t just ski right past everybody and hop right on the lift. I gotta wait, wait in line like a normal person now, so
8Nestor Aparicio 06:29
like a normal person when you’re out there right, like you, you do, you know,
Bode Miller 06:34
no, I can’t, can’t go, can’t go fast. But, you know, I’m old enough now where and I went fast plenty. So I enjoy just going out and being outside. And, you know, such a great sport for families and for social aspect. I love it.
Nestor Aparicio 06:50
What do you love the most about it all these years later? Because there’s no more competition. There’s no more winning thing, any of that now it’s just the rest of your life. I have a cousin who played big time tennis, put the racket down, hasn’t touched it in 20 years, just because maybe didn’t like it as much. But this was a hobby for you. This was a passion and a joy, like playing the guitar or something, right?
Bode Miller 07:12
8Yeah? Well, I think that’s, that’s the advantage of skiing, right? Tennis, you need an opponent so, and there’s such a competitive aspect to it, you know, if you’re, if you’re, you know, buddy went out and played. Now, he’d need somebody who was at his level. Otherwise, it’s kind of miserable chase the ball around all day. But skiing is individual, so I just go out. And mostly I like being outside. I always joke that I, you know, I play golf, I’d be a better caddy. My least favorite part about golf is hitting the golf ball and then skiing. You know, I loved racing, but it wasn’t the only thing. I love Valley. Just like being outside, I like being in the mountains. I love the juxtaposition between really slow, quiet Lift, lift rides that are mellow, and then kind of the more aggressive speed of of ripping down the mountain. And, yeah, I think it’s, it’s a sport that you never stop learning to I mean, every time I go out, I still feel different things, and there’s no two turns that are the same. So that keeps it kind of exciting. What’s
Nestor Aparicio 08:06
the most beautiful mountain in the world you’ve been
Bode Miller 08:10
on? That’s a good question. I mean, I still I really like Big Sky in Montana. It’s just one of those. It’s a standalone kind of peak, and it’s just really dramatic, big, big cliffs and rocks and just lots of kind of unusual, unusual space. And you definitely get the sense of that you’re on this massive mountain. Coming from New Hampshire. Our mountains are great, but they’re they’re a little smaller, and so for me, that’s, that’s an amazing spot in the US. Yeah,
Nestor Aparicio 08:41
well, you’ll get my wife around the White Mountains up there and Mount Washington and all that stuff. New Hampshire zone. Bodie Miller joining us here and talking about pool safety. Reminder to everyone out there, it is pool season. We’re going to be at the Y next month, and there’s pools everywhere around here. Take care of the little ones out there. A party shot for you. Bodie, last piece of advice for people in regard to pool safety,
8Bode Miller 09:03
yeah, just, I mean, I think, you know, research nowadays, information is easier to find. Go to coverstar.com they have a bunch of information really useful. And, you know, keep in mind that even if you have an existing pool, you can, you can make it better with a cover star cover or if you’re building a pool, keep in mind,
Nestor Aparicio 09:19
take care of yourself. Thanks for the window of time. Thanks for the New Hampshire love from the Granite State. Bodie Miller joining us here, all a part of pool safety and the summer safety. I will continue to remind people about all this stuff. I am Nestor. We are W, N, S T. Am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We never stop talking Baltimore. Positive. You.
