Apolo Anton Ohno could have been mistaken for a local boy in an aloha shirt and slacks, with his brown hair falling over his flower lei and a laid back, happy-go-lucky smile. But a few things gave away the five-time Olympic medalist's celebrity status, including the media cameras and the fact that Mayor Mufi Hannemann presented him with the key to the city.

The short-track speed skater was in town last weekend to receive honors at the Victor Awards, a ceremony which recognizes prominent athletes. The private ceremony held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village will be televised this month on Fox Sports Net West. To pile on the honors, Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona also declared July 28 Apolo Anton Ohno Day in the Islands.

Ohno spent some time hanging out with Special Olympic athletes who came to see him and share photos of their athletic accomplishments. He said he relished the opportunity to visit Hawai'i. "I am half-Japanese, and it's my first time to Hawai'i, and it feels good," he said. "To be able to come here and be so embraced — it's hard for me to explain the feelings I get."

He also spoke on the life lessons he's learned from competing in two Olympics. "It's not always important sometimes to reach that podium, rather than to focus on how you can get back up after you've fallen — how you get back up and face that mountain."

And will he be in the 2010 Olympics? "I'm still thinking about the possibility of competing again," he said, suggesting fans check out his Web site, www.apoloantonohno.com, for the latest news — and Team Apolo items.

And yes, he's single.

Ohno, 24, answered questions about his fitness routine, goals and future plans at a press conference and in an individual Q&A. Here are his responses:

Q. What is a typical day for you when you're not training?

A. When I'm not training, it's kind of like this — a lot of media. I do a lot of speaking to kids and just try to bring a lot of them awareness about the Olympic movement and about the Olympic dream and the ideals that are supported by that.

Q. What do you like to do in your downtime?

A. I like to just relax, just hang out with my friends. There's so many things. I'm normal at heart, really I am, so I like to do anything that everyone else does — just kind of hang out. You wanna go see a movie? Sure. Do you wanna go surfing? Oh, I'll try it. You know, it doesn't matter. Just chill out.

Q. Are you going to try surfing?

A. Trying it today. So I dunno, we'll see!

Q. If you were in the summer Olympics instead of winter, what would your sport be?

A. Track cycling, and track and field. I think those guys who run track and field — like the 100-meter, and the 200-meter, 400-meter — I think they're just, like, amazing. ... And I would love to be able to be that fast. And track cycling, just because I like biking. I like to do it for cross training.

Q. What are your next goals?

A. Outside of sports, I have many goals. In business, I have the same mindset as I do in skating, and the goals that I set for myself are very high. So I want to be very successful, but I also want to do it in a way that I'm happy with myself, whatever avenue it is. Whether it's doing day-trading or whether I'm doing real estate or development, I want to be able to rest my head every night knowing that I made a difference or I created a community that was healthy, and just do it the right way.

Q. What's your message to kids who want to get involved in Olympic sports?

A. Well, I think, a number of messages. I'm involved in a lot of anti-drug campaigns within sport, against performance-enhancing drugs, and also outside of sport, no drugs and a healthy lifestyle in general. I think it's really important for younger kids to realize that anything is possible.

Q. For kids in Hawai'i, they don't necessarily need ice to become speed skaters?

A. That's right. In Seattle, there's no speed skaters. There's one speed-skating club now, but growing up, I would travel back and forth to Vancouver, British Columbia, to get ice time. There's lots of training that kids can do. Speed skating is an interesting sport, you know, anybody can participate in.

Q. What was your favorite Hawaiian dish?

A. I really like kalua pig. I don't eat a lot of pork, but the kalua pig was really good. Haupia. What was that? Squid luau, wow.

Reach Christine Terada at cterada@honoluluadvertiser.com .