Paul Wylie back to ice skating, including benefit event in Cleveland

Retiring from a retreat off the ice has given Paul Wylie a fresh edge on his chosen sport.

The 1992 Olympic men's silver medalist said since ceasing professional skating in 1998, after six seasons touring with "Stars on Ice," he found a new desire to lace up the boots again this past summer.

"I started to feel unnatural about that," he said of his self-imposed break.

Once back on track, several calls came with invitations, including groomsman Scott Hamilton, to do some shows.

"It was pleasantly surprising how much fun it is to be back," Wylie said by phone a week after taping a show in Philadelphia starring Kristi Yamaguchi due to air Nov. 30 on NBC.

The Dallas native talks of "so many changes in life." He and wife Kate, whom he wed in 1999, just moved back to Cape Cod, Mass., after three years in Burbank, Calif.

"Things are really in transition," Wylie said. "I can thank or blame the economy for a lot of things."

The political science major has been teaching skating and putting his master of business administration from Harvard to work as "a small-business entrepreneur."

"Skating has been a nice way to fill the financial gap," he said, "while I try new projects."

At age 39, Wylie said after having experienced "that Olympic shape," he admits it now "takes a long time to warm up, but it's still gratifying.

"It's almost like a different artistic level, when you have to work for it. I was definitely far away from it for several years, so I have a better appreciation for it."

Wylie, who won alternating silver and bronze medals nationally from 1988 through 1992, said being on the road with Stars on Ice afforded "an advantage." He said besides having his two individual routines every show, there's ensemble numbers, "so I did five characters in one evening, a lot of versatility."

Being part of the group gave him extra abilities.

"It taught me a lot of teamwork that I never would have learned as an amateur," Wylie said, jumping to the element of choreography.

"There was an essence there to bending to the choreographer's vision," he explains. "I become a piece of their art, vs. their bending to mine."

Reflecting on strides made in his professional career, Wylie describes how "being in front of an audience every night teaches you a different skill, a sense of presentation timing, a sense of 'performance shape,' as Scott Hamilton says."

In many fans' minds, Wylie, like Brian Orser and Todd Eldredge, fits the classical skater mode.

Asked how he is so serious yet so expressive on the ice, Wylie replies, "It comes from the music. I try to express how the music makes me feel. The choreography should be an extension of the meaning of the music."

Wylie plans to take part in 20 of the 60 U.S. Stars on Ice shows, including April 4 at the Erie (Pa.) Civic Center.

Looking ahead to the fourth annual edition of "An Evening with Scott Hamilton & Friends" Saturday, Wylie's voice hits a crescendo in his excitement about the guest singer.

"Meeting Aretha Franklin will be an incredible highlight," he said, noting his hope to skate to her music, in a city full of "skating traditions."

Wylie, who won a national junior pairs title in 1980 with Dana Graham, skated an exhibition number at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, with then-ladies bronze medalist, Nancy Kerrigan, who landed silver in 1994.

"I haven't lifted a girl since Dana Graham," Wylie said. "That's another experience that took me out of the spotlight and taught me some teamwork. Pairs is very valuable for skaters."

He encourages boys to skate pairs, "to give them someone to bond with on the ice" and teach them "to relate not to just themselves, but someone else."

A pair for life, the Wylies are ready to bring home their ultimate Christmas gift, a present they'll share forever: a daughter they'll name Hannah, due Dec. 10.

"Talk about taking the spotlight off oneself," the prospective dad said.