Olympic gymnast Casimir Schmidt talks gaming tattoos, favorite Pokémon

You can’t see Dutch gymnast Casimir Schmidt’s tattoos when he’s spinning furiously on the Pommel horse or flying through his tumbling passes in floor events. It’s only when he stops flipping that you may notice two specific tattoos on his arm: Mythic Pokémon Mew and Mushroom Kingdom (and TikTok) icon Toad.

The world noticed Schmidt’s tattoos during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where Schmidt competed both individually and as part of the Dutch national team. Naturally, you’d think having a Mew tattoo would mean it’s Schmidt’s favorite Pokémon — but you’d be wrong. Schmidt told Polygon that his favorite Pokémon is actually Charmeleon, which evolves from Charmander and evolves into Charizard. He doesn’t have a Charmeleon tattoo just yet, but it’s on the docket.

Calling in from Paris, Schmidt spoke to Polygon about his tattoos, favorite Pokémon, and gaming at the Olympics.

[Ed. note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.]

Polygon: How have the Olympics been? Are you still in Paris?

Casimir Schmidt: Yeah, I still am in Paris. I’m training right now, because one of my teammates still has a final. I’m accompanying him, and it’s been a blast. Of course, there was stuff that we hoped went better, but it’s been successful. I’m really happy.

I [and lots of other people] saw you had Toad and Mew on your arm. Do you have any other gaming tattoos?

I don’t, actually. I’m just checking my arm now. I have no clue for some of the things. But no, I don’t. I think it’s just because I’m not a big gamer. But on the other hand, I did play all the Nintendo games when I was younger, especially Mario Kart. That’s probably why. And a lot of Pokémon.

I also have a lot of tattoos and can relate. Isn’t it funny how easy it is to forget what you have? I’m going to ask you a question I hate to be asked, which is: Do the Mew and Toad tattoos have any special meanings behind them?

Honestly, no. Mew is just one of my favorite Pokémon. My favorite one is Charmeleon. It’s going to be there some day. I don’t know when yet, but it’s going to be there. Toad is the one I always raced in Mario Kart. That’s basically it.

But the story behind them… I was getting tattooed and my mom was going to get something too. My mom went first, and we were just waiting. There was this new guy who is now a friend of mine, and he just started tattooing — like two or three people. He was like, “Yeah, I’m bored.” And I was like, “Do you want to practice? You can just put something on me?” I saw he had drawn Mew, and I was like, “Yeah, let’s go.”

I think a year later, I was with another friend of mine, an ex-Olympian who did short track [speedskating] in the Winter Games. We were just chatting, because he had just started tattooing too. His very first tattoo on somebody was me. It was a bit crooked, but it was fun. It’s a good thing to remember. But a year later, he got way better and works in a tattoo shop now. He was like, “Yeah, come over.” So I came there and he was like, “Do you want Toad?” I was like, “I kind of do.” And then I got Toad.

It wasn’t really planned or anything. Mew and Toad are two of the most fun ones for me.

You mentioned you’re not the biggest gamer, but do you still play video games?

I still play Fortnite. I used to play FIFA a lot when I was younger, and Pokémon, Mario Kart, Nintendo [games] on the Wii, like Wii Sports. I wasn’t really a gamer as in Call of Duty. But six years ago or something, a friend of mine started playing a new game Fortnite. I’m still not really great. I just like playing it. But I don’t play alone. I’m only online when my friends are playing, so we can talk.

As an elite gymnast, or a high level sportsman or woman, we just don’t have a lot of time. And whenever you do have time, you don’t want to go out of the house or have your friends over every day. It’s a good opportunity to connect with friends.

It’s just fun. It’s fun if you die, and you laugh at your friends. You get mad at someone, then you laugh some more. It’s just a fun thing.

Are you playing the new season?

The one with the cars? That was rough. But the Unfolded one was really nice — the one with the small map with Tilted and stuff. That was nice. But then I left for the Olympics, so I’m curious what they have when I get back.

So no gaming at the Olympics for you?

We do have a PlayStation in our housing, but we just play FIFA in there. I don’t know if there’s a PlayStation in the housing in the village for everyone, but we have one in our Netherlands housing. We have two PlayStations.

Are they popular with other Olympians?

Yeah, they are. But everyone’s just playing FIFA. It was more at the beginning, because now the TVs are more used for watching other sports. But it’s still a lot of fun.

What’s your favorite game?

I think I’d say Mario Kart. I do like Pokémon, but it’s more the cards and the creatures. But with Mario Kart, everybody can play it. When you’re competitive? When you’re drunk? When you’re at a party? You can always play. Everybody has fun. You can play with kids. You can play with older people. It’s a nice game.

Did you get into Pokémon cards again during the boom in the pandemic?

Not recently, but yeah when they went up again. I had a lot of Pokémon cards from when I was younger, but I never found them. I think I threw them away or gave them away. That was a bit unfortunate. But yeah, I did get into it. I watched some unboxings on TikTok. I ordered some stuff, just like in the old days.

Is there anything else you want folks to know about you?

No, I think I’ve already said it. It’s more that gaming is not just for gamers. Some people just see it as gaming, but it’s also about connecting with other people.