TIPHANY SANTO PIETRO: A LIFE ON WHEELS AND LESSONS BEYOND THE RINKS

The story of Tiphany Santo Pietro goes far beyond the medals she has won — though they would already be enough to impress any reader: more than 80 gold medals in the United States, the result of years of intense training, unwavering discipline, and love for the sport. But in On Wheels: The Journey of Tiphany, the young skater reveals that her greatest trophy is not on the shelf, but within herself — in the scars of her falls, in the tears that preceded her smiles, and in the courage to start over every time the ground seemed inevitable.
The book emerges as an intimate and honest dive into a trajectory marked by persistence, faith, and discoveries. It is a testimony about how sport can shape character, open horizons, and teach lessons that transcend the boundaries of the rink. On every page, Tiphany shows that artistic skating is more than technique and performance: it is a language to communicate with the world, a way of expressing feelings too vast for words, and a powerful metaphor for life itself.
From her first hesitant steps in a rink in Santos — when she clung to the walls to avoid falling — to her performances in international arenas, Tiphany learned that every movement on wheels is also an inner movement. Falls, inevitable in any journey, became part of her dance; and it was precisely in them that she discovered her greatest strength. Throughout her narrative, the athlete makes clear that true gold lies not only in the shine of medals, but in the persistence to get back up, in the humility to learn, and in the confidence to keep moving forward, even when the path seemed far too challenging.
On Wheels is not just the biography of a talented athlete: it is an invitation to reflect on how dreams are built with daily effort, how faith sustains the hardest steps, and how resilience can turn any journey into a source of inspiration.
Lessons from the Championships: Learnings on Wheels
More than collecting medals, trophies, and titles, every championship in Tiphany Santo Pietro’s life was a chapter written with sweat, discipline, and courage. In On Wheels: The Journey of Tiphany, she makes it clear that championships are not limited to results: they are laboratories of life, where fears, anxieties, and joys blend together to shape character and strengthen identity. Each competition worked like a mirror — showing not only her technical performance but also revealing who she was becoming as an athlete and as a person.
4th Juliana Almeida Artistic Skating Circuit (2015): the courage to begin
Tiphany’s competitive journey began with the 4th Juliana Almeida Artistic Skating Circuit, in 2015. Still very young and with little experience in major events, she faced what might be the greatest obstacle for any beginner: fear. Not the fear of falling, which is part of the sport, but the fear of failing in front of others, of not meeting expectations, of feeling “smaller” among more experienced athletes.
It was in this tournament that Tiphany learned that courage does not mean the absence of fear, but the ability to move forward despite it. As she herself writes, “just stepping onto the rink was already a victory.” That phrase not only sums up the spirit of that moment but also a principle she would carry throughout her career: every performance is an act of courage, every entrance onto the rink a declaration that passion is stronger than fear.
This initial learning is symbolic: as in any human journey, the most important step is often the first. The 2015 championship taught Tiphany that one doesn’t need to wait to be “ready” to act. Readiness is built in motion, in trial, in the act of facing the unknown.
Figures and Loops Championship (2017): the value of repetition and patience
Two years later, at the Figures and Loops Championship (2017), Tiphany discovered a lesson that seemed simple but was profoundly transformative: patience. Unlike fast-paced routines or dynamic choreographies, figures and loops demand precision, endless repetition, and mastery of details almost invisible to the audience.
Here, she realized that mistakes in training were not failures but seeds of victory. Each unsuccessful attempt became raw material for refining technique. Skating thus became a metaphor for life: it is not about eliminating mistakes, but about learning from them until they turn into more solid, beautiful, and confident movements.
This championship taught her that mastery is born of repetition, and repetition, in turn, demands patience. In a time when everything seems immediate, Tiphany discovered on the rink that nothing can replace the slow rhythm of consistent effort.
Brazilian Skating Championship (2018): the measure of challenge
Competing in the Brazilian Skating Championship (2018) was a turning point. For the first time, Tiphany faced the best athletes in the country, people with years of experience, refined technique, and top-level training. The weight of the championship went beyond performance: it was about measuring herself against the elite, to see how far she could go.
The great lesson of this tournament was that competing with the best does not mean defeating them, but surpassing oneself. The focus was not on outperforming others but on challenging her own limits. This perspective brought maturity, shifting her away from an obsession with the podium and closer to the deeper meaning of sport: personal growth.
Paulista Championship (2018): consistency and the invisibility of training
That same year, the Paulista Skating Championship brought another crucial lesson: consistency. Tiphany realized that it is not enough to have a good day to win; one needs a solid foundation built on silent training, far from medals and recognition.
Here she discovered that great victories are the fruit of an invisible routine. It is in the solitude of training that the strength of an athlete is forged; it is in the silence of repetition that the victories applauded by the public are born.
America’s Cup in Orlando (2018 and 2019): anxiety, energy, and pressure
The America’s Cup in Orlando was another key milestone. In 2018, Tiphany faced the anxiety typical of entering a major international competition. The butterflies in her stomach could have been paralyzing, but she learned to convert them into positive energy. Nervousness was no longer an enemy but became fuel to shine on the rink.
In 2019, the experience intensified: now it was not only about competing but also about dealing with external expectations. Pressure increased, and it was in this context that Tiphany learned the lesson of resilience: to continue even when everything seemed against her, even when the weight of others’ expectations outweighed her confidence.
Ohio Cup (2019): adaptation and flexibility
The Ohio Cup (2019) taught Tiphany one of the most necessary virtues for any athlete — and, by extension, for any human being: adaptation.
Competing in a new environment, with different rinks, audiences, and even climates, showed that it is not enough to trust in technique; one must have the mental flexibility to adjust to the unexpected.
Adaptation, she discovered, means placing trust less in the external scenario and more in one’s internal foundation.
National’s (2019): imperfection and love for the process
Finally, the National’s (2019) brought perhaps the most mature lesson of all: the awareness that perfection is unattainable. At such a high level of competition, mistakes are inevitable, no matter how prepared an athlete is. What really matters is what happens after the mistake.
In this championship, Tiphany realized that the true learning is not about avoiding mistakes but about getting back up without losing love for what you do. Skating ceased to be a search for perfect results and became a celebration of the process itself.
A Work of Inspiration
Throughout the pages of On Wheels: The Journey of Tiphany, it becomes clear that the story is not only about winning medals or climbing podiums but about something much more human: the ability to remain true to oneself in the face of obstacles. Tiphany writes with rare honesty, exposing not only victories but also the insecurities, frustrations, and doubts that marked her journey.
Her reflections on cultural adaptation in the United States highlight the shock of leaving behind her homeland, childhood friends, and familiar routines. Each training session in a new environment, each competition with different rules, each interaction across language barriers became a challenge. Yet each of these experiences was transformed into learning, showing that sport is a universal territory, a shared language capable of uniting people from diverse backgrounds.
This sincerity turns the book into a mirror for young athletes who, like Tiphany, carry dreams that seem larger than their own strength. For the beginner, her hesitations are familiar; for the student balancing studies and sport, her persistence is inspiring; and even readers who have never worn skates will recognize themselves in the universal emotions of struggle and resilience.
The narrative gains even more strength with testimonials from family, friends, and coaches, who not only confirm her talent and discipline but reveal her human dimension. Her mother, Simone Santo Pietro, captures this essence perfectly: “every sacrifice and every hug on the hard days made all the difference.” The phrase reveals the crucial role of affection, support, and a network of care that sustained her journey.
Thus, On Wheels is established as a work that transcends the universe of skating. It is about resilience, faith, and persistence — but also about family, belonging, and the ability to reinvent oneself amidst change. It inspires not because it idealizes the life of a champion, but because it humanizes her, bringing her closer to every reader.
Tiphany’s Call
In the final part of the book, Tiphany’s message becomes a universal call. More than telling her story, she invites the reader to believe in their own dreams, no matter “the size of the rink” — an expression that gains symbolic meaning throughout the narrative. The rink may be the concrete space where one skates, but it also symbolizes the personal challenges of each individual: the workplace, the classroom, the family sphere, the projects that seem out of reach.
By declaring that “falls are part of the dance,” Tiphany reframes failure as an essential element of the journey. For her, falling is not synonymous with defeat but with movement: a gesture that precedes overcoming. Each fall opens the possibility of rising again, stronger and more aware of one’s body, one’s faith, and one’s story.
The second part of her statement — “Love — for the sport, for family, for one’s own story — is the most powerful drive there is” — expands this call even further. Here, love is not just a feeling but a driving force, a vital energy. It is what sustains discipline in training, dedication to studies, the courage to face new cultures and challenges. Love, for Tiphany, is the fuel that transforms effort into joy, that gives meaning to every early morning practice and every silent hour of commitment.
This call resonates as a generational message: in a time marked by external pressures, social expectations, and constant comparisons, Tiphany affirms that the true path is not dictated by metrics or applause but by love and persistence. On Wheels shows that no achievement is worthwhile without affection, without roots, without connection.
More than inspiration, Tiphany’s call is also an invitation to action. By sharing her journey, she does not intend only to move the reader but to motivate them to rise after their own fall, to acknowledge vulnerabilities, and to transform them into strength. It is a reminder that life, like skating, is made of unexpected turns, inevitable falls, and, above all, new beginnings.