Ilia Malinin Had Just Landed His First Quad When He Branded Himself The Quad God
Ilia Malinin is known as the first ever figure skater in history to successfully land a quad axel in a competition.
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Ilia Malinin (Image via Associated Press)
The US figure skating phenom Ilia Malinin has one of the most impressive resumes among the active list of figure skaters. Malinin, who fell short of a medal at the Winter Olympics a few months back, has earned his place in the figure skating history books with his signature quadruple jumps.
Malinin wasn’t always the skater synonymous with historic quadruple jumps; once upon a time, he was simply known as “Lutz Boi” before rebranding himself with his iconic new moniker.
During the recent Toast to Milan event, which served as the first official reunion for the US Figure Skating Team after capturing gold in the team event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games, host Adam Rippon put Malinin on the spot. Rippon asked the reigning champion to share the backstory of how exactly he went from “Lutz Boi” to the legendary “Quad God.”
Rippon revealed that the young star made the move to name himself and called the move ‘Marketing 101‘.
Yeah, I mean, it was just like the first time I landed one quad, and it was just a natural thing. I was like, ‘Oh, I landed a quad. Maybe I should change something to have quad in the name.’ First thing on my mind, quad god. Oh, okay. Sure. Let’s put it in. You know, my young dead brain at the time was like not thinking and I just put it in.
Malinin recollected
However, claiming the legendary title wasn’t entirely smooth sailing. When Malinin first tried to change his Instagram handle, he discovered that the straightforward username was already taken. To get around this, he used a clever social media hack: he swapped the letter “o” in god for a zero, securing the handle (ilia_quadg0d_malinin).
Malinin admitted that the moniker has been far more than just a username. Since making the switch, the “Quad God” title has served as a massive source of personal motivation and helps him do the things he’s been doing.
Ilia Malinin looks back at the Olympics disappointment as a lesson
Fresh off the competitive season, reigning figure skating phenomenon Ilia Malinin is finally catching his breath. Following a whirlwind year that culminated in the World Championships, Malinin opened up to Dazed about the immense pressure of the sport, the heartbreak of his individual performance at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
“I feel really relieved,” Malinin admitted when asked about the conclusion of the season. “I feel relaxed and able to show just why I love skating so much to the audience of the show world.” Malinin, alongside few of his teammates, are currently skating in different venues non-competitively in a show type offseason business.
He confessed that he walked into the 2026 Games with a sense of bulletproof confidence that didn’t account for the unique, overwhelming nature of the Olympic stage. Nonetheless, he has perceived his shortcomings as a lesson and a necessity in his budding career.
I always think that everything happens for a reason. What happened in Milan was definitely a learning curve… It helped me to understand that I am so much more than just figure skating, and that I have so much more to learn… It honestly, again, just helped me improve and develop and grow as a person. Looking back on it now, I think it was really necessary for that to happen.
Malinin said
He did take those lessons into Prague a month later, where he won his third World Champs in a row. He even joked about his makeover before the event, “You know hair holds memories. So I had to get a trim before I went.”
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