(4 Feb 2014)  Jason Brown, the 19 year-old Illinois native who stunned the skating world at the 2014 U.S. Championships with an astounding second-place finish in Boston is geared up to make waves again in Sochi next week.

Three weeks ago, this talented skater rocked the skating world with a stunning Cinderella-story finish when he catapulted from eighth at the 2013 U.S. Championships to second this year, edging out Max Aaron, the 2013 national titlist who wound up third, which earned him a coveted Olympic team berth.

“I enjoyed every moment,” said Brown. “I went out there, I was so trained and I was ready to fight for whatever I could. That’s what I did.”

At the U.S. Championships, Brown proved he is much more than just a skater but also possesses that veritable ‘it’ factor it takes to become a star. In fact, his free skate, named the best men’s program of the 2014 U.S. Championships by the Professional Skaters Association earlier this week, was described by Scott Hamilton, the iconic 1984 Olympic champion famous for his showmanship, as an ‘incredible’ performance.

Brown, in his usual humble and genuine manner, explained how important a role an audience plays at any competitive event and how they bring out the best in him.

“The most important thing for me is to perform to the audience,” said Brown in an Olympic conference call. “You’re trying to showcase your work and the energy [the audience] brings to the atmosphere is something I feed off of.”

This approach seems to be effective, as Brown nailed all of the technical elements in both his short and long programs in Boston with the aptitude of a seasoned international competitor and confidence of a professional entertainer, showing he has all the integral components to make an big impact over in Sochi.

Brown’s ‘Riverdance’ program, meanwhile, might go down as one of the most incredible performances ever at a major U.S. skating event. Not only did he earn the highest scores of the entire men’s free skate field with it, but has also has become a breakout viral sensation on the internet since it was first broadcast on NBC television three weeks ago. (Since then, his Riverdance performance has received nearly 3.3 million hits on YouTube, making it one of the most popular internet video skating clips ever in the modern history of the sport.)

“This year has taught me that anything is possible,” said Brown. “As I progressed, I started to believe it more and more.”

Over the past few weeks, Brown has also has come to represent a beacon of sorts for the entire 2014 U.S. Olympic team with his upbeat and optimistic attitude, something that is especially important in lieu of some of the media hype surrounding the fear of terrorist threats regarding Sochi over the past few weeks.

“My main focus is to enjoy the experience and soak it up and to compete to the best of my ability,” said Brown. “I have to be grounded and stay focused to do the job I can do.”

Going into Sochi, Brown is looking to earn as many points as possible in both of his performances and over the past few weeks, has been working hard on all of his jumps, spins, footwork and connecting steps.

Reputed to be one of the most pragmatic workers in the sport, Brown went right back to training when he returned home from Boston to his hometown rink, which he described as a ‘great’ environment.

“It’s a sport and it comes down to that day and those two performances,” said Brown.

During his pre-Olympic conference call last week, Brown had also been asked if he ever faced downtimes. In his usual honest manner, he said he experienced ‘moments’ (like any person or skater), but has learned through the guidance of Ade and a sport psychologist, to employ a good, healthy mindset in order to work thorough them.

“I do get down, sad and frustrated and it’s more of an internal thing, but [I’ve learned] to turn it around,” said Brown. “What you see of me is who I am.”

He also credits his family and peers, many of whom he had gotten to know in high school, for helping to stay in check and maintain a positive perspective on everything.

In the end, Brown just wants to keep raising his own personal bar as an athlete, person and competitor.

“I just want to compete in the way I know I’m capable of doing,” said Brown. “I want to gain as much experience as I can.”