Kiwi Winter Olympics medal hopeful Nico Porteous isn't getting carried away by his favourite tag as he prepares to hit the slopes in Beijing later this week.
Porteous, 20, is regarded as the man to beat in the freeski halfpipe, following his Winter X Games gold medal in Colorado last month.
And after overcoming a back concern in the lead up to the Games, Porteous has finally touched down in Beijing and acclimatising to what's on offer in his second Olympic campaign.
"It's been going really good," Porteous tells Newshub. "I'm just settling in, adjusting to the timezone, recovering from travel. [I'm] just getting used to things, getting the feel for being back in the Olympic environment.
"The excitement is building, for sure."
Porteous is also entering the Games in red hot form. His winning run at the X Games was the same run he'll be using at Beijing and leaves Porteous knowing exactly what he has to do if he's to better the bronze medal won at Pyeongchang four years ago.
But even with the confidence of X Games success locked away, Porteous isn't getting ahead of himself in his hunt for New Zealand's second Winter Olympics gold medal, insisting he has to get through qualifying first.
"It's there for sure, the confidence from X Games is in my skiing," he adds. "I did my Olympic run at X Games, it's given me a lot of confidence to put it down when it counts.
"But I've got a job to do here, and that's just to get through qualifying. So one day at a time, and I'm taking it as it comes.
And if Porteous is short of inspiration for his Beijing title, he needs to look no further than longtime teammate and compatriot, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott.
Another to arrive in Beijing as a competition favourite, 20-year-old Sadowski-Synnott didn't disappoint and won New Zealand's maiden gold medal in dramatic style last Sunday - clinching first place with her final run in the women's slopestyle.
The win was justification for Porteous, who boldly predicted that Sadowski-Synnott would take gold before the Games even began.
But even with that belief in Sadowski-Synnott, the excitement at seeing her create history was still as enjoyable for Porteous.
"She's amazing. That was incredible," Porteous says of Sadowski-Synnott.
"We were in Switzerland, and woke up at 2:30am to watch her compete. Safe to say, [I] did not get back to sleep after that.
"There was a lot of excitement in the house.
"[I'm] really, really proud of her. She's absolutely stoked.
"It's given me a lot of inspiration for the events to come."
Porteous competes in the men's freeski halfpipe qualifying on Thursday, alongside brother Miguel, Ben Harrington and Gustav Legnavsky.
The final, should any Kiwis qualify, will be held on Saturday, February 19.
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