Dairy Farmer Swaps Lives With U.S. Speed Skater

In Unbottled’s new Adventure Swap series, we make that happen—pairing dairy farmers with people from completely different lifestyles. Together, they step into each other's worlds to explore their routines, values and the often-misunderstood realities of their work.

In our first swap, Utah dairy farmer Mattie Skeen teamed up with U.S. national team speedskater Greta Myers for a one-of-a-kind day of trading roles and trading perspectives.

The day started at Mattie’s dairy, where Greta—who already had a baseline appreciation for agriculture—came with curiosity and left with newfound respect. She asked about breeds, nutrition and sustainability and was wowed by how data-driven the industry has become. She saw wearable cow pedometers, watched a rotary parlor in action and even tried milking a cow herself.

As Mattie puts it, caring for animals is about precision and passion. From daily health checks to fresh bedding and personalized feed, every detail is designed to ensure cow comfort and milk quality.

After a muddy morning, Mattie traded barn boots for blades and met Greta at the rink. In the high-performance training space known as the Speed Factory, she jumped into dryland exercises and skating drills and experienced firsthand the intensity behind a sport that looks effortless.

Greta walked Mattie through the routines, nutrition and discipline it takes to train at an elite level—and how dairy plays a starring role in her day. Her favorite way to fuel? She’s a big fan of cottage cheese topped with different flavor combos depending on her mood. 

Mattie and Greta laughed, sweated and bonded over shared values—like showing up consistently, navigating misconceptions and loving what you do even when it’s tough.

From the outside, farming and speed skating may seem worlds apart. But both are built on discipline, care and community—and both deserve more understanding than they often get.