“Fifty-eight percent of all women do suffer from having sensitive skin,” explains Hope Solo who has entered into a new U.S. spokesperson role for the popular UK skincare product Simple. “I’m happy to be partnering with Simple and I’m happy to have a product that I can recommend,” expressed the Team USA goalkeeper, herself challenged by personal skincare exacerbated by frequent travel and athletic stresses, added “It’s a skin care line that’s dedicated to people having sensitive skin … there’s no harsh irritants in any of the products; there’s no dyes, there’s no perfumes; it’s easy on the skin yet effective.”
In bit of irony, where Solo counts her herself a statistic among sensitive skincare sufferers, on the soccer field she absolutely has no “[belief] in statistics.” Solo explains, “Statistically eighty percent of all shooters go to a goalkeeper’s right” revealing it was a collective coaching decision made to go right each time during the World Cup Finals penalty kicks loss to Japan last year. A decision that was actually a departure from her style expressing discontent for the statistics offered, "My style is to walk up to the line, to get a feel for the shooter and to play my game."
And it "is a beautiful game" that Solo loves revealing she has “dreamed to play in the Olympics since the time [she] was five years old … [and is] excited to show world ... what the game’s all about” at this year’s 2012 Summer Games in London, a city in which Hopes holds a great deal of excitement to be competing.
“We’re just competitors that are driven to compete and we’re driven to win,” further explains Solo who admits the intent is “to come home with a Gold medal,” and like the statistics, puts no belief in the rankings. “We are ranked #1, but rankings mean absolutely nothing … we have a lot to prove on the field,” adamantly states Solo.
Later this year, on August 14th, the former Washington Huskies standout will release an auto-biography entitled Solo: A Memoir of Hope which she reveals to being “a scary thing” adding, “I have a lot of trepidation opening up my life to the world … but I’m confident in where I came from and I guess I’m happy to share it with everybody.”
Solo has certainly been accepting of the leaving her comfort zone of the soccer field for the challenges not only of an autobiography, but the ABC celebrity dance competition show Dancing with the Stars as well as an appearance in last year’s ESPN The Magazine The Body Issue. “I feel honored to be able to do that; it is my obligation to help grow our sport, to bring our attention to the mainstream media in regards to soccer,” stated Solo adding, “And I think we’ve come far. Obviously last year’s World Cup did a lot for the game and it wasn’t about the look of the women on the field, it was all about the quality of soccer that we brought on the field every single game.”
Now serving in capacities beyond the athletic field, Solo believes, “Athletes are great role models, it shows young females what it’s like to have confidence to believe in oneself, to follow your dreams …I think more athletes should be involved outside of the white lines.”
