Page 28 - 2019 April-May IWMA Magazine

From Ice Capades to IHRA Champion
IHRA Champion Dina Parise has been an athlete all her life. She was a competitive gymnast on her school teams, but her love was Figure Skating.
“I skated as a kid through to adulthood. I performed with the famed Ice Capades. I guess you can say my ‘hobby’ turned to ‘living a dream’. I trav- eled with the show for 4 years. It’s quite like traveling with racing. We travel from city-to-city, we’re there to put on a show, we mix with the fans and we sign au- tographs. I like to tell people that I traded my skates for tires and my sequins for a fire suit! It’s all relative. I did not begin racing until I was in my 30’s. I am con- tinuously reinventing myself. I have a saying, “You only get one ticket in life, I’m using mine until it ex- pires.”
As a little girl she played with both cars and
dolls. When I asked her what her favorite TV show was, she said, “Truth be told, I’m addicted to the ‘Housewives’ Reality shows and I love the show A Million Little Things!” Her fa- vorite holiday is Halloween because she loves scary stuff!
Something most people don’t know about her is that she runs a great Site (and Social Media) called the Pickles Project. It is all about pets, their health and happiness.
She also does a lot of motivational speaking. “I speak with students all the way up to the corporate level. I have incorpo- rated a mentorship program as well. Mentorship for company and personal branding, as well as teaching athletes to execu-
tives, how to properly do an on camera (or radio/podcast) 28
interview.” she shared.
Dina enjoys working part time in a Bridal Salon, as a
Consultant. Her co-workers are very supportive of her rac-
ing. One thing Dina would like to learn to do is weld.
Her long-term plan is to continue racing, but what is most important to her is to make an impact as she does.
Dina said she works constantly, but for fun, she hangs with her husband Andrew and their dog Twizzler! If they made a movie of her life, Marissa Tomei would play her
Her favorite race car driver, hands down, is Bunny Burkett. “She is my inspiration. She is the epitome of Beauty, class and talent. She is the whole package. I don’t feel as if