ISW: Where and when (what age) were you when you got interested in skating?

NB: I took my first step on the ice when I was 4 years old. I wanted to be a ballerina but my dad didn't want me walking like a 'pigeon.' At the time the Winter Olympics were on the television and I used to dance around the lounge room when the ice skating was on. So my parents took me down to the local ice rink and I haven't stopped since.

TNB: I started skating at the age of seven, because I wanted to know what was in the strange dome building! I started to skate in my own suburb of Narrabeen, and it was a very old and run down building that was subject to flooding. It was only around 20 meters away from a lake and maybe once every two years it would flood badly enough that fish would come onto the ice.

Both Natalie and I have the ambition to make the Olympics in 2006 in Turin, Italy and we are doing everything in our powers to get there. We are also striving to be the best that we can be.

NB: Prior to taking up Ice Dancing I was a Free Skater for almost 15 years. I was at a point where I was considering giving it all away and moving on with the next chapter of my life. It was then that Trent asked me to give Ice Dancing a go. He had recently broken up with his previous partner. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I gave it a go and turned out that I liked it.

TNB: The thing that prompted me into getting into ice dancing was the attraction of skating with girls. I also was getting injured with doing singles and my build wasn't the best for singles either. I was also a little bored with doing skating by myself and I also started doing pairs.

ISW: How many partners did you each go through before joining up?

NB: None
TNB: I have been with four other partners before I teamed up with Nat.

ISW: Who are you now training with and where?

NB: We are training with Natalia Dubova in Connecticut USA.

TNB: We have been together as a team for almost 4 years now and love everyday as we have achieved a lot together and without one another I don't think that we would have kept skating.

ISW: How is training here in the US different for you than in Australia?

NB: When we were in Australia we had a lot of things on our plate. We had many other things in our life that we also had to focus on, which obviously took our focus off our skating. Trent had a full time job while I was doing a full time bachelor of Marine Science at a university, along with a part time job on top of that. Australia also doesn't have the facilities like they do here in America. Our ice rinks are there for the public, and so if we wanted to train, we had to be on the ice by 5 a.m., which obviously meant waking up at 4 a.m. Here in America we can wake up at normal hours of the morning and skate as much as we want. We are here to skate and so our lives reflect that, I guess. The time we used to spend at the university and at work is now being spent on the ice, so that's a head start already.

ISW: How long have you been skating together as a team?

NB: October 99 was when I took my very first Dance lesson, so almost four years now. Gosh, time flies.

ISW: Were there times in your training when you wanted to quit? What kept you motivated?

NB: There are many times when you wonder if what you are doing is the right thing. For me personally it was hard to defer my university degree. This degree was something I wanted to do since I was little. I always dreamed of being a Marine Biologist.

I have also been waking up at 4 a.m. to go training since I was 13 years old. I can definitely say that many a times I woke up thinking to myself "I am insane…Why am I doing this?" But then you get on the ice and you realize that you love what you do and it's not all that bad.

TNB: Sure, there have been times that you want to quit but the fact is that we have common goals and without one another we would not be able to achieve them.

ISW: Have you ever been seriously injured?

NB: Yes, last season (2001/2002) was a tough season for me. I have never been seriously injured before in my life and then they all seemed to come at once. In early March 2002 Trent and I were experimenting with new moves for one of our new programs and he accidentally severed my finger to the bone with his toe pick. I had to have microsurgery to sew all the tendons back together and it took months of physical therapy to get it moving again. All this happened a week before I had to leave for the World Championships in Japan. I ended up skating in this huge cast that went to my elbow. It wasn't very elegant to say the least.

Then, about 4 months later I was accidentally dropped in a lift and fractured two of my lower vertebrae in my back. That has been a re-occurring injury ever since, so I have had to learn to manage them well.

TNB: With my last partner was really the only time that I was seriously injured as I fell in a lift 2 months before we had Nationals and I broke my knee cap in half. The doctors said that I wouldn't be able to walk for 2 months but with a little determination I was at Nationals and competing and did my best. I'm absolutely amazed by Natalie sometimes as I accidentally cut her hand a week before Worlds in 2002, and she had to have surgery to get it sown back together and was able to skate on it. Wow, and last year I accidentally tripped in a lift trying to watch out for a little girl, and Nat landed on her back and had 2 broken vertebrae. But again she muscled through that and competed through pain.

ISW: When did you win your first 'big' competition?

NB: We gained our first National title in December 2002. So we are the current Australian Ice Dance Champions.

ISW: How many hours per day do you practice?

NB: On-ice we train about 4 hours a day and off-ice is another 1-2 hours each day.

TNB: Now that we are over here in the states training, we are generally on the ice up to 4 hours a day and do gym work, mirror work and also cardio work with Natalia's husband.

ISW: Do you do anything Off-ice to improve your skating?

NB: Yes, we have an off-ice conditioner who takes us several times each week. His aim is to improve our flexibility, coordination, posture, stamina and aerobic capacity. He really knows how to push us to our maximum without overdoing it. That was one of the things that we noticed really helped us last season in comparison to previous seasons. In addition to that, we each have our own individually designed gym program and the occasional ballet class.

ISW: Tell us about your greatest success and what it has meant to you.

NB: Winning Nationals in 2002 was definitely a highlight but I think our placing in Worlds 2003 has been our greatest success yet. It was more of a personal accomplishment more than anything was. We had trained so hard and it was nice to be rewarded a little. We are just hoping now that by working here we can improve on that even more.

TNB: Our biggest success was this years Worlds, after making big sacrifices to do well, we actually did really well in our eyes. Not only did we skate well, but also we actually got great marks. I guess the hard work paid for in the end. We are looking to do an even bigger improvement this year.

ISW: What are your future goals after in the sport of figure skating?

NB: Once skating is over I want to focus on finishing my university degree and getting a job in the Marine Science field. I will probably coach but it won't be my career. I will gladly put time and effort back into skating to help out all the people that helped us on our journey, but when I finish skating I think my time will be over.

TNB: After I finish skating it will be hard, as skating is something that I have been doing for close to 20 years. I plan on doing lots of different things. Coaching is definitely something that I would like to do as I would like to give back what the sport has given me for so many years.

ISW: Tell us about your upcoming schedule this season.

NB: In December we a have to fly-back to Australia to compete in our National Championships.

TNB: This year we are planning on doing a competition in Lake Placid, NY and then get as many European comps done as possible so that the judges know who we are and what we are about. Home for Nationals and then depending on how we skate, Four Continents and then Worlds. For this year we are doing two Waltzes, a midnight blues and a polka.

ISW: What kind of boots and blades do you use?

NB: We have been using Klingbiel boots for as long as I can remember and we have never had any problems with them. They are great. Our blades are Concord co-planars.

ISW: Who are your favorite skaters that you admire?

NB: That's a tough one…Definitely Shae-lynn Bourne and Victor Kratz. They were so determined and focused on what they wanted and they were a unique couple. Their skating had their own style. You could tell them apart from a crowd. I also enjoy watching the Canadian team, Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon. They a have a beautiful style and she always has these amazing dresses!

TNB: When I did singles skating I used to love, Kurt Browning and Brian Boitano. Now that Shae, Vic, Gwendal and Annasina have gone, I have to look around but there are so many good skaters; probably the top Canadian couple because they always dress so well and are beautiful to watch, and Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto are great as well. It's so hard because they are all so good in the top 10.

ISW: Are there individuals you would like to thank for helping you be the best you can be?

NB/TNB: Yes, the list includes: Anne-Zoe Heiss and her husband for all of there help; Natalia Dubova and her husband Semione for coaching us; The Cox family for looking after us her in CT; Don Klingbeil for our beautiful skatingboots; Stamford Twin Rinks; Champions Skating Center; Barry J Mittan (photographer that has done so much for us); Canterbury Ice rink in Australia; Jeff and Jan Thorn; George Knackal; Toni Bonnici my tailor; Chew for doing many tedious hours doing our website ; and of course our families and friends. And everyone else that has helped us out to make our dream come true!

Trent and Natalie are available to answer your questions. Feel free to email interview@iceskatingworld.com and we will forward your questions or input to this great couple.