The Great One

“With four Stanley Cup championships, eight consecutive M.V.P. awards and an unprecedented 61 NHL records, there’s no question that Wayne is one of the most legendary athletes of all time,” said David Rogier, founder and CEO of MasterClass. “His unique ability to take an advanced mental approach and turn it into consistent physical performance at the highest level of pro hockey is inspiring, and in his class he shares lessons from his life both on and off the rink to help members find greatness in their own lives.”

In his class, Gretzky will share the physical and mental habits that made him a champion—from the fine art of anticipation to setting and resetting the right goals to fighting rigidity and embracing improvisation in thought and action.Throughout his class, he will offer a behind-the-scenes look at his unparallelled hockey career, sharing intimate stories from childhood through his record-breaking professional career in the NHL and advice passed down from his beloved father, Wally, and the coaches who contributed to his success. With refreshing honesty, Gretzky shares lessons learned throughout his journey as well as insights on why preparation and hard work is just as important as the actual game itself. His advice on blazing your own trail, dealing with change, fostering creativity and committing to achieving excellence will prove that learning to trust your instincts and abandon the desire for perfection and the fear of failure is the key to success. Gretzky’s philosophy and experience will leave members feeling ready to unlock their full potential no matter their passion.

“You don’t have to be an athlete to make an athlete’s mindset work for you,” Gretzky said. “I hope MasterClass members walk away with the understanding that believing in yourself is three-quarters of the battle, and once you combine passion with putting in the work and time, there’s nothing stopping you from achieving any goal you set out to accomplish.”

In celebration of Gretzky’s class launch, MasterClass has partnered with three iconic hot dog stands across the country—Pink’s in LA, Byron’s in Chicago, and Gray’s Papaya in New York. It’s a poorly kept secret that Gretzky’s favorite pre-game ritual was eating hot dogs—sometimes four at a time. This is an important window into his preparation showing that comfort and habit helped him to enter the athlete’s mindset, achieving flow and creating with unpredictable artistry. For three days, these three stands will each offer a “Victory dog” in his honor. With every dog, customers will receive a limited set of Upper Deck Gretzky cards, each set unique and exclusive to the restaurant. Limited t-shirts will also be available for purchase exclusively at the stands.

Widely considered hockey’s greatest player, Gretzky learned to skate on a rink his father built in his family’s backyard when he was just 2 years old. Once he turned 18, he played in his first full NHL season for the Edmonton Oilers; he dominated the sport for the next two decades, leading the Oilers to win the Stanley Cup in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988. Gretzky also played for the Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers during his unprecedented NHL career. He holds an incredible 61 NHL records, including most career goals (894), most career assists (1,963) and most career points (2,857). Gretzky retired in 1999 and was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame, the only player to bypass the Hall of Fame’s usual three year waiting period for players to be inducted and the first in history to have his jersey number retired league-wide. After his retirement, Gretzky stayed immersed in hockey and was the minority owner and head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes and executive director for the Canadian national men’s hockey team during the 2002 Winter Olympics, leading them to win the gold medal. In 2002, Gretzky founded the Wayne Gretzky Foundation with the mission to provide less fortunate youth with the opportunity to experience the sport of hockey and reap the physical, emotional and social benefits the sport can offer. Despite his success, Gretzky’s proudest roles are as a husband to his wife and as a father to their five children.

ABOUT MASTERCLASS:
Launched in 2015, MasterClass is the streaming platform where anyone can learn from the world’s best. With an annual membership, subscribers get unlimited access to 100+ instructors and classes across a wide range of subjects, including Arts & Entertainment, Business, Design & Style, Sports & Gaming, Writing and more. Step into Anna Wintour’s office, Ron Finley’s garden and Neil Gaiman’s writing retreat. Get inspired by RuPaul, perfect your pitch with Shonda Rhimes and discover your inner negotiator with Chris Voss. Each class features about 20 video lessons, at an average of 10 minutes per lesson. You can learn on your own terms—in bite-size pieces or in a single binge. Cinematic visuals and close-up, hands-on demonstrations make you feel like you’re one-on-one with the instructors, while the downloadable instructor guides help reinforce your learning. Stream thousands of lessons anywhere, anytime, on mobile, tablet, desktop, Apple TV®, Android™ TV, Amazon Fire TV® and Roku® players and devices.

Follow MasterClass:
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Facebook @masterclassofficial

Follow Wayne Gretzky:
Twitter @WayneGretzky 
Facebook @WayneGretzky

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