Oleg Verniaiev was a guest on the Youtube channel “Ot dushi v dushu” [From soul to soul] and he was asked some pretty weird questions (along with some interesting ones). If you wanted to learn what was the weirdest place Verniaiev had sex at, whether he has a “chairdrobe” or whether he ever tried drugs, that’s the interview for you. They also promised to release the second part soon, and we’re already full of anticipation.
Q: How many saltos do you need to do in order to throw up?
A: I don’t know. Well, now, let’s say, the guys do circuit conditioning, about 50 saltos. Some, especially after holidays, can run to the bathroom, they can feel sick. But I’ve never experienced this.
Q: Why is the gymnastics uniform called a “swimsuit”? [In Russian, a leotard is called “koopalnik” which literally means a swimsuit”]
A: Well, yes, it’s called a swimsuit, and “leotard” in English – I don’t know why. When I want to explain something to a person outside the sport, I start like “swi…” oh, gymnastics uniform! Because when [you say] “swimsuit” everyone reacts in a stupid way.
Q: On what did you spend the winnings from the Olympics Games?
A: First thing I bought was a car. I took a long time choosing it but decided that I want it and that’s it. Porsche Macan. And, you know, I used to drive a Ford Fiesta and it seemed soooo cool to me. But here you’re driving and instead of looking at the road you’re looking at the wheel, at that [Porsche] sign. Then I bought an apartment.
Q: What are your shortcomings?
A: Well, my apartment is always a mess. I come home, put one thing here, another thing there. I have a chair there and an armchair. I fill one of them first, and when there’s no space, I start putting things on to another. And only after a long time I’ll clean that up, tidy it. That is, I can create such a mess.
Q: What is a bong?
A: Bong is a bad thing [laughs]. I think it’s made from a bottle, right? I’ve never tried any drugs in my life, I’ve never even taken nas. You know, the chicken shit guys put under their lip and get high. But I’ve never tried it. Honestly, I don’t even have the slightest desire to try.
Q: If you were a policeman, would you take bribes?
A: Well, you know, it’s a complicated matter. Our country is like that, out mentality is like that. Some can scream that we’re Europe, we’re all “no to the bribes”, the whole airport is plastered with “No to corruption” signs, [they pretend] we don’t have anything like that. Well, I literally witnessed it recently. I saw with my own eyes how someone gave it. The person was absolutely sober. But in the morning they caught him with alcohol breath and, I don’t remember, [he gave] like 400 euros or something like that. Yes, in Ukraine. They at first asked for a thousand.
Q: Is there sex at the Olympics?
A: At the Olympics? Sure thing. After all, we’re staying there after the competition as well. I think that many have it both before the competition and after, well, depends on the sport, I don’t know.
Q: What was your most adventurous sex?
A: Well, I don’t know how adventurous that was, but basically I was in Germany, abroad, and they have like a physical education gym there and we were celebrating our friend’s birthday. And they were sitting there, drinking, I got bored and we went up, on the bleachers, and I guess that was the most adventurous there. At any moment someone could turn around the corner and yell “where are you?”. And I was literally – like, you just go up, turn around and we’re there in the back, upstairs. I sort of suddenly disappeared for half an hour, so people went looking for me, but I ducked my head – let them go.
Q: Have you ever hit your head in training?
A: Yes, when I was a kid. And when I grew up, too. Once even on the metal. I was doing a salt and the bar ended up too close to my head, and when I raised the head, it grazed it completely, by the face. I landed and immediately the blood started dripping. I was like – oh, cool. The second time I was jumping on the trampoline and we have concrete walls which are covered with the usual rubber, and I started flipping, lost my sense of space and basically landed flat there – boom.
Q: Why did you write the post complaining about the apartment you were given as a gift?
A: Well, I complained, because why give apartments, promote yourself with it, if they don’t exist for years to come? What I understand – if you want to do a good deed, you come and give the keys, here’s your apartment. But what happened with us is that they “gave” us the apartment and you wait for ten-twenty-thirty years, crudely speaking, maybe, for five years until the building will perhaps be finished one day. So, they kind of gave it to us, did a great thing, but there’s no building, there are no documents. After I posted it then, I was told right away – don’t show off, they did a great thing for you as it is. So, I decided I didn’t want any conflicts before the Olympics, don’t want any unnecessary hype, you know, so I deleted it.
Q: Were you ever bullied because you’re short?
A: Well, not bullied, but trolled a bit because I’m short. When I started studying at the sports school in the 8th grade, we, the four gymnasts, were teeny-tiny. And the girl volleyball players from the 9th grade kept saying “oooh, you’re so cute”, they defended us and if someone said something, they could even slap them, and the volleyball players have really big hands. And there were wrestlers too, and when wrestlers know you, like you, joke around with you, you don’t need to be afraid.
Q: Did you receive any threats after the photo with the Russian gymnast?
A: It all started when the tennis players took a picture not on the medal podium, then it happened to Harlan, then to me. It all happened so fast. And they started threatening us, like “wtf are you doing it? shove that medal up your butt! don’t even think about coming to Ukraine! when you come back to Kiev, we’ll catch you” – I was supposed to be met by a lot of people who didn’t like me. I talk to a person, not a flag or a country’s name. But they have a stereotype that here’s the flag, the country’s name and it means this person is bad.
Q: How was your Instagram account hacked?
A: That was totally shitty, I was so upset. I came home at 1 am, went to bed – I came sober, I drove, I was in a good mood, we hung out with the guys. An email comes – we’ve hacked you if you want to get your account back, pay 7000 grivnas or 14000 rubles. Well, I didn’t bother, I said no because they would sell me my own thing like to a moron. Then, a month later, another email – “hi, we wrote to you about your account, the hack, before the New Year, and we have a new offer for you, 50% discount, 3500, and we’ll give you your account back”. I didn’t even answer this garbage. So, that’s why I had to create a new account on Instagram.
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