When you grow up with your parents owning a gym, gymnastics becomes a part of your life before you can even really remember how or when it started. But one thing’s for sure: From the moment Jade Carey began competing at an elite level, the world quickly noticed.
Best known for her powerhouse skills on vault and floor, the 24-year-old is already an eight-time U.S. Women’s National Team member and the sixth most decorated American female gymnast. She’s a two-time World medalist, and–oh, no big deal–the current defending floor exercise Olympic champion. Just seven years after her international debut, Carey now finds herself one of the veterans of the five-woman U.S. squad heading to Paris.
The pressure is enormous, and the excitement is palpable. But even if gymnastics is a huge part of her life, Carey knows how important it is to have a life outside the gym. In fact, it’s something she and her dad (who, fun fact, is still her coach!) talk a lot about.
“Me and my dad have really noticed throughout the years that when I get the time outside of the gym to take a day or two off and focus on anything but gymnastics, it really helps me come in the next day feeling fresh,” she says. “So he’s really good at giving me a day or two off each week so that I don’t get too overwhelmed.”
We had the chance to speak to Carey after her final practice at home before heading out to Team USA training camp in Houston ahead of the Paris Olympics. Here are a few of her favorite off-duty items.
1. Simple skincare
“I’m not the biggest makeup girl, I’m pretty basic and minimal,” Carey says. “But right now I use the Summer Fridays Jet Lag mask for moisturizer and the Drunk Elephant B-Goldi Drops for some glow.”
There is one thing she never skips, though: “I’m someone who always has to have something on their lips,” she says. “Most of the time it’s just Aquaphor, or sometimes Summer Fridays Lip Butter Bomb for some color if I want that.”
As for hair care, Carey is all-in on Olaplex products. “I feel like my hair just gets oily really fast and it’s really thin,” she says. “I use all the Olaplex products for my hair. I got my hair done one day and the lady recommended it for me, and I’ve stuck with it since.”
2. Netflix and giggle
“I am definitely not a reader, except for when it comes to homework,” says the college junior, who attends Oregon State University (and is also a member of the women’s gymnastics team). “I’m definitely more of a TV kind of girl. I usually watch Netflix. I like to find movies, mostly funny movies or rom-coms. Those really help me escape a bit and make me feel happy. It definitely feels good to be able to relax, watch some TV, and laugh a little bit.”
3. Recovery products
She has a Therabody massage gun that she’ll whip out before gym, after gym, or whenever she’s a little sore. But there’s one recovery tool she can’t live without. “I use my NormaTech boots everyday after gym,” she says. “Being so powerful, those truly help my legs recover quicker.”
Carey also likes to have a little routine at night to help her unwind. “I feel like that’s one of the most important things for me going into the next day of training,” she says. “Usually for me that’s either taking a bath or putting on some lotion. I really like Tree Hut right now and all their fun scents. I have my own little spa at home.”
As for nightcaps, Carey says she’s a big fan of R.W. Knutson Just Tart Cherry Juice. “I love that for recovery. I drink a glass of that every day, usually at night, because it helps you sleep, too.”
“When I get the time outside of the gym to take a day or two off and focus on anything but gymnastics, it really helps me come in the next day feeling fresh.” —Jade Carey
4. Travel essentials
One thing Carey always has when she travels? A blanket. “I definitely always bring the same one–I guess I am a little superstitious in that way,” she says. “Before the last Olympics, I got a red, white, and blue blanket from Goosebumps, and so I like to bring that everywhere I go. It’s super thin and light but also comfy.”
5. Un-fussy footwear
During the summer, you can bet that Carey is sliding into something comfy outside of the gym. “I’m an always-wearing-slides-and-sandals type of person,” she says.
She has her pair of Crocs that she wears to the gym, personalized with two Jibbitz charms (“I have a little OSU Beaver and one that says 2024.”)
“Outside of the gym, I’m a big Birkenstocks girl,” she says. “Oregon has definitely turned me into that.” She mainly wears the classic leather style, but of course has a pair of the waterproof Arizona EVAs, as well. “In Oregon, we can float the rivers, so those are good for the water.”
6. Bag snacks
We all have ’em: easy little snacks we can toss in our bags for early mornings at the gym, late nights at the office, or long days of traveling. Carey has them, too. “I typically reach for the same two bars for a gym snack,” she says. “I like That’s It fruit bars, and then I like RX Bars—the oatmeal chocolate chip. Those are kind of my two right now.”
7. Healthy hobbies
Carey is conscious about using her free time to help her headspace stay positive—whether it’s journaling (“I definitely like to journal a lot.”) or vision boarding (“I like to do that every year to just really put my goals on paper. [This year’s has] a big Eiffel Tower in the middle, representing where I wanted to go this year. So that feels really good.”).
But she’s also found a new hobby. “Just for fun, I’ve been getting into photography,” she says. “I got a camera, a Fuji X-T5. I feel like NIL [name, image, likeness] has opened a lot of opportunities for me to be more creative, and that’s something that I learned recently that I like to do–taking pictures. It really lets me capture what I want to capture, and it is a really good mental break from all the training that I do.”
8. Lucky charms
While we’re talking, I can’t help but notice Carey’s simple-yet-stunning Olympic Rings necklace. “It was a gift from my mom when I made the team in 2020,” Carey says. “It’s really special and reminds me how proud my mom is of me and how happy she is. This time, I’m just really, really excited that she’s actually going to be able to be there.”
You can catch Jade Carey competing in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics starting on July 28. NBCUniversal is the official U.S. broadcaster for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, but you you can also watch Jade Carey on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, USA Network, CNBC, and E!
