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DULUTH, MN. (KBJR) - When Team Shuster won the gold in the 2018 Olympics, Duluth native Chris Plys was watching with friends and family from the comfort of his own home. However, in these Winter Games, Plys has a chance to secure a gold medal for his country and his favorite city in the world, Duluth, MN.
“Yeah man, born and raised in Duluth, as my friends all know I am a Duluth homer like my bottom half sleeve is dedicated to the city,” said Plys.
Just going to Marshall Hardwood in Lakeside and just having people, saying, “hey good luck go get ‘em,” is awesome man. It’s a special city and I feel very special to be able to represent that city, you know you’re excited to represent your family and your friends, but high on that list would be Duluth,” Plys added.
As Plys, who was called the ‘cute one’ on the Stephen Colbert show, isn’t your typical curler, his hair flows as he throws the rock down the ice sheet and you may not see his tattoos during the games, but they are a big part of who he is.
“Yeah, I got that from the Colbert Show in 2010 and my friends have not let me forget since,” said Plys.
“For me, I got my first tattoo when I was 18 years old, it’s just something I wanted to do, my dad passed away in 2012, seems like yesterday some days and forever ago other days, I have a couple for him. He had battled brain cancer for a long time, the last time he went into surgery he ended up having a stroke and kind of lost his ability to speak and walk, super active dude, the first thing he wrote when he could start writing again, was, “I choose joy,” I have I choose joy tattoed on my forearm, so it’s kind of like when I’m throwing the rock it’s right there,” Plys said as he reflects on the memories he shared with his dad Patrick.
With those powerful words, ‘I choose joy,’ the Plys family launched Project Joy with the goal of fighting hunger for children.
“I’ll never forget the food company we have that I run now, was started by him and there’s definitely some moments I’ll remember from back in the day,” Plys said.
“When I was just starting out when I noticed he was watching and a little smile, like okay, you’re doing okay. Those are the other ones like yeah, it’s not always the big stuff, it’s just like those little ones, you knew that they were there and cared and just kind of passed it on a little bit,” Plys added.
You can follow Team Shuster and Chris Plys’ journey to gold all Olympics long on KBJR and our website.