Lindsey Vonn’s Sacramento-based mental performance coach speaks out
WELL, THE WINTER OLYMPICS HAVE CONCLUDED AND IT WAS A TOUGH RUN FOR OLYMPIC LEGEND LINDSEY VONN AFTER MAKING A COMEBACK AT 41, SHE BROKE HER LEG AND UNDERWENT SURGERY AFTER CRASHING INTO A GATE JUST 13 SECONDS INTO THE OLYMPIC DOWNHILL COURSE. AND AFTER SEVERAL SURGERIES, VONN IS BACK HOME IN HIGH SPIRITS AS SHE IS BEGINNING HER REHAB. BUT JUST THE MENTAL TOUGHNESS TO EVEN GET BACK UP THERE AND COMPETE IN THAT LAST RACE IS ASTONISHING TO ME AND EXTRAORDINARY TO ME, AND TO TALK ABOUT ALL OF IT AND ABOUT THE RESILIENCE, THE PAIN, WHAT IT TAKES TO REALLY COMPETE AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS. VONN’S LONGTIME MENTAL PERFORMANCE COACH, DOCTOR ARMANDO GONZALEZ, WHO HAS HELPED HER SINCE 2020 REALLY, AFTER SHE HAD RETIRED INITIALLY, DOCTOR MONDO, WE CALL HIM FOR SHORT LIVES HERE IN SACRAMENTO. THE FOUNDER OF CHEAT CODE, WHICH IS FOR ATHLETES. HOW WAS IT WORKING WITH LINDSEY VONN? BECAUSE I KNOW EVEN AFTER THE ACL TEAR, GETTING HER BACK UP TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN, THAT MENTAL STRENGTH WORK STARTED BACK IN 2020, RIGHT? YEAH. AND I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, I GOT FORTUNATE WITH LINDSEY. A LOT OF THE WORK THAT I DO WITH MY ATHLETES IS ALL ABOUT GETTING THEM PREPARED TO PERFORM UNDER BIG MOMENTS WITH LINDSEY. SHE’S ONE OF THE ONLY ATHLETES I HAD IN THE LAST 5 OR 6 YEAR RUN OF WORKING WITH MLB CHAMPIONS, SUPER BOWL WINNERS. YOU KNOW, TOP OF THEIR GAME ATHLETES. WHERE SHE WAS ASKING ME, YOU KNOW, SHE SAID. I GOT THE PERFORMANCE SIDE. I NEED HELP INTEGRATING MY LIFE WHEN I COME OFF THE MOUNTAIN. SO OUR WORK BEGAN IN 2020 WHEN SHE STOPPED SKIING. WHEN SHE CAME BACK TO ME, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THIS PROCESS ABOUT SIX, NINE MONTHS AGO AND SAID IT’S GETTING CLOSER TO NOW. ME COMPETING AT THE OLYMPICS. IT BECAME THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY WE HAD TO REALLY GET INTO THE PERFORMANCE MINDSET, AND IT’S BEEN A LOT OF FUN WORK. AND SO WATCHING OBVIOUSLY WHAT OCCURRED FOR HER, IT WAS DEVASTATING. BUT LINDSEY WAS AT PEACE NINE MONTHS A YEAR PRIOR TO COMPETING WITH WHATEVER SHE ENCOUNTERED ON THE MOUNTAIN. AND I THINK THAT WHEN YOU LOOK ABLE TO DO IS THEY MAKE DECISIONS THAT ARE GOING TO DO SOMETHING, AND WHATEVER NOISE COMES UP, PAIN IS A VARIABLE. THAT’S NOISE, WHETHER IT’S OUTSIDE NOISE FROM COMMENTATORS OR PEOPLE ON TWITTER, THAT’S NOISE THAT THE ATHLETE MAKES THE DECISION, LIKE LINDSEY, THAT SHE’S GOING TO MANAGE HOWEVER SHE HAS TO. AND THAT’S PART OF WHAT I’M HELPING HER DO, IS BOTH MANAGE ANY OF THE NOISE, PAIN INCLUDED. AND SO AT THAT POINT, EVEN AFTER THE ACL TEAR, YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO SAY MUCH TO HER. SHE’S GOT A HIGH TOLERANCE FOR PAIN. YOU’VE TOLD ME. YEAH. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US FOR? FOR THOSE OF US MAYBE THAT HAVE TEEN ATHLETES OR THOSE OF US WHO ARE WEEKEND WARRIORS OR ATHLETES, WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE US TO HAVE MENTAL TOUGHNESS? I THINK PAIN IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEVER HAVE HAD A FULL EXPLANATION OR UNDERSTANDING OF. WE DON’T GET REALLY. WE DON’T GET SAT DOWN AS CHILDREN AND REALLY TAUGHT THE LESSONS OF THE SCIENCE BEHIND PAIN AND TEARS AND ALL THE THINGS THAT IT MIGHT PRODUCE. THE REALITY IS THIS THE WAY TO IT IS THROUGH IT. SO WHEN YOU’RE GOING THROUGH PAIN, IT CAN BE A VARIABLE THAT WILL TURN ON AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF DYSREGULATION DISTRACTION IN YOUR MIND, AND IT WILL MAKE IT REALLY HARD TO ACCESS YOUR SKILLS AND PERFORM AT A HIGH LEVEL. BUT SOMEONE LIKE LINDSEY LEARNED FROM A YOUNG AGE THAT THE WAY TO IT IS THROUGH IT THAT WHEN SHE ENCOUNTERS PAIN, HER FIRST JOB ISN’T TO TRY TO ANALYZE IT OR MAKE SENSE OF IT, OR FIGURE OUT WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT. INSTEAD, IT’S TO BREATHE AND ACCEPT IT. AND THAT PROCESS OF RESPONSE TO PAIN IS TYPICALLY WHAT DICTATES WHAT HAPPENS NEXT WITH PAIN INCREASE, OR THE PAIN SENSORS START TO GO DOWN A BIT. AND WHAT LINDSEY HAS DONE OVER HER CAREER, BECAUSE SHE HAD SO MUCH EXPOSURE TO PAIN AND SURGERIES, IS SHE DEVELOPED A SUPERHUMAN ABILITY. EVEN WHEN I WOULD WATCH RACES WHERE SHE CRASHED, SHE’D HAVE A HARD TIME EVEN REMEMBERING ANYTHING OTHER THAN JUST SEEING IT FOR WHAT IT WAS, THE LOGICAL NESS OF IT SO QUICKLY. WHAT ABOUT THE MENTAL GETTING MENTALLY OVER OUTSIDE NOISE, WHETHER IT BE ON SOCIAL MEDIA OR FROM COACHES? WHAT CAN YOU TELL US FOR FOR ATHLETES ON THAT? THAT’S A, THAT’S A, THAT’S A, THAT’S A TOPIC THAT I’M, I’M, I’M HIGHLY INVESTED IN. I’M BACK HOME IN SACRAMENTO WRITING NOW FOR A BOOK CALLED THE AGE OF NOISE. AND IT’S REALLY ABOUT THIS THAT WE’RE ALL JUST LIKE ATHLETES HAVING TO DEAL WITH AND MANAGE THE NOISE THAT THIS WORLD HAS BROUGHT. WITH CELL PHONES BECOMING AS ADDICTIVE AS THEY ARE, THE WORLD THAT WE LIVE IN IS NOT SET UP TO TRULY ALLOW US TO BREAK FREE FROM THE NOISE. SO WITH MY ATHLETES, THEY HAVE REALLY BIG GOALS AND THEY HAVE A LOT OF NOISE THAT COMES WITH IT. AND I TELL THEM WE HAVE TO HAVE A REALISTIC, SCIENTIFIC LOOK AND UNDERSTANDING. IF YOU LET THAT NOISE INTO YOUR LIFE THAT IT WILL IMPACT YOUR PERFORMANCE WHEN THE LIGHTS GET THE BRIGHTEST. SO WHAT DO WE DO? YOU KNOW, I HAD AN ATHLETE, CHRIS GODWIN, WHEN HE WENT INTO A SUPER BOWL RUN WITH TOM BRADY, THAT WE DEVELOPED WHAT CHRIS CALLED A BRICK PHONE MENTALITY. I USED IT WITH CADE KLUBNIK, A CLEMSON QUARTERBACK THIS PAST YEAR AS WELL. THE BRICK PHONE MENTALITY IS I’M GOING ANALOG. I’M GOING TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO BLOCK OUT THE APPS AND REALLY BE IN CONTROL OF WHAT INFORMATION IS COMING INTO MY BRAIN. 93% OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE TAKE INTO SUBCONSCIOUS, AND SO MUCH OF WHAT THIS AGE OF NOISE IS DOING WITH CONSTANT STIMULATION IS FEEDING INFORMATION THAT’S MAKING ITS WAY INTO THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF THE ATHLETE. IF WE DON’T HAVE A SYSTEM TO PUT BOUNDARIES WITH IT, IT WILL TAKE OVER. AND THE GREATEST ATHLETES ARE FINDING THAT REGULATION, FOCUS AND GETTING CONNECTED BACK TO THEMSELVES AND THEIR COMMUNITY IS REALLY THE ANTIDOTE. IN THIS AGE OF NOISE. ALL RIGHT, DOCTOR, I COULD TALK TO YOU FOR A WHOLE HOUR. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. WE’LL PUT A LINK TO CHICO ON KCRA.COM.
Lindsey Vonn’s Sacramento-based mental performance coach speaks out
Updated: 4:09 PM PST Feb 26, 2026
The 2026 Winter Olympics are over, but the road to recovery is just beginning for Olympic legend Lindsey Vonn, after making a comeback at 41.She broke her leg and underwent surgery after crashing into a gate just 13 seconds into the Olympic downhill course.After several surgeries, Vonn is back home in high spirits as she begins rehab. Vonn’s longtime mental performance coach, Dr. Armando Gonzalez, joined the KCRA 3 News at noon to talk about how he has helped her mental strength game since 2020.”Dr. Mondo” lives in Sacramento and is the founder of Cheatcode, Inc.He said a lot of the work he does is about getting elite athletes prepared to perform under big moments. Vonn said she had her performance side down but wanted help from him in integrating her life when she comes off the mountain. “Watching obviously what occurred for her, it was devastating,” he said of her fall during the Milan Cortina Olympics. “But Lindsay was at peace nine months, a year prior to competing, with whatever she encountered on the mountain. And I think that when you look at elite athletes, what they’re able to do is they make decisions that they’re going to do something. And whatever noise comes up, pain, is a variable. That’s noise. Whether it’s outside noise from commentators or people on Twitter. That’s noise that the athlete makes the decision, like Lindsay, that she’s going to manage however she has to.” See more in the video above.
The 2026 Winter Olympics are over, but the road to recovery is just beginning for Olympic legend Lindsey Vonn, after making a comeback at 41.
She broke her leg and underwent surgery after crashing into a gate just 13 seconds into the Olympic downhill course.
After several surgeries, Vonn is back home in high spirits as she begins rehab.
Vonn’s longtime mental performance coach, Dr. Armando Gonzalez, joined the KCRA 3 News at noon to talk about how he has helped her mental strength game since 2020.
“Dr. Mondo” lives in Sacramento and is the founder of Cheatcode, Inc.
He said a lot of the work he does is about getting elite athletes prepared to perform under big moments.
Vonn said she had her performance side down but wanted help from him in integrating her life when she comes off the mountain.
“Watching obviously what occurred for her, it was devastating,” he said of her fall during the Milan Cortina Olympics. “But Lindsay was at peace nine months, a year prior to competing, with whatever she encountered on the mountain. And I think that when you look at elite athletes, what they’re able to do is they make decisions that they’re going to do something. And whatever noise comes up, pain, is a variable. That’s noise. Whether it’s outside noise from commentators or people on Twitter. That’s noise that the athlete makes the decision, like Lindsay, that she’s going to manage however she has to.”
See more in the video above.