He is a busy man, is Evgeny Platov. Last Wednesday, he was in Moscow, contesting the finals of Dancing on Ice on Russian television. "I didn't win, but I got to rub shoulders with a beautiful model," he reflects.
Barely had he finished his sessions with the paparazzi and signed autographs for numerous children, than he flew off to New Jersey the next morning to pursue his burgeoning career as a skating coach. By Friday, safely ensconced in his American penthouse, Platov was turning his attention to his latest work in progress - steering Scotland's Sinead and John Kerr to an Olympic medal in 2010 - and you suspect he will not be found wanting if it boils down to commitment, chutzpah and sheer charisma.
During the last 15 years, this fellow has developed the reputation as one of the sport's genuine legends and commands iconic status in his homeland, where the fine art of rinkmanship has lost none of its allure.
Platov and his long-term partner, Oksana Grishuk, were the ideal fire-and-frost combination: while he smouldered in pursuit of perfectionism, she seemed to morph into the Snow Queen with every appearance.
They accumulated an unprecedented haul of 22 consecutive victories, including four world titles and two Olympic triumphs, at Lillehammer and Nagano, between 1994 and 1998.
Yes, they had their critics, and controversy was never far from centre stage with Grishuk, either through her mistakes going relatively unpenalised by (largely Eastern European) judging panels, or in her determination to woo Hollywood with her refined impression of Garbo in sequins, but Platov was, and is, the epitome of the Zelig-style character who can fit into any picture without disturbing the perspective.
"If you look for the best in people, you can generally find it, and I am lucky, I have a home in Russia and I am comfortable here in the States," he tells me. "What you have to show is that you have the belief, the passion, and the steel, when it matters, where it matters. We Russians are emotional people and that is good.
"I have told Sinead and John to follow their hearts and, despite us only being together for a couple of months, they have grasped the message that robots and skates don't go together."
Platov's services don't come cheap but who better to transform the Kerrs into Kerenskys than somebody who has performed a million Russian revolutions?
"He has been an inspiration, not just because he is still an amazing skater, who can do the most incredible things on ice, but also because of his powers of motivation and his eye for detail," says John, at 26 the younger of the Livingston-born sibling duo who will continue their rise into the global elite at next week's Skate America event in Hartford, Connecticut.
"Evgeny's not a shouter, he uses a carrot and not a stick, but we have been left in no doubt what we have to do to realise our dream. And that means driving ourselves to the limit and never ever playing safe for an instant."
Since they finished 10th at the Olympics in Turin in February, the stakes have been raised for the Scots, whether in their award of around Ј500,000 of funding by UK Sport, or in the recognition that they are flying the British flag almost single-handedly.
Yet, for Platov at least, the next four years should be a challenge to relish, rather than fear. "I have no doubts whatsoever they will be on the podium at the next Olympics," says Platov.
"I am not predicting miracles and we probably won't see a huge improvement in Sinead and John until the end of 2007 or the start of 2008 but, wherever they go, crowds adore them, they are unorthodox and prepared to try new routines, and I love their willingness to take risks. Skating needs that, otherwise you have one couple after another, going through the motions, moving from one technical exercise to another, and behaving like clones.
"My job is to combine terrific choreography with athleticism and artistry; theirs is to blend it all seamlessly and be passionate and controlled in the same breath. It isn't easy, but I am looking for them to gain a medal at Skate America [they won the Nebelhorn trophy in Germany last month].
"I think I have managed to inject a little bit of Russia into them. You know, the fire in the belly, the notion that if you don't believe what you are doing, why should the audience care? Okay, Sinead and John are nice kids off the ice, but they are ambitious and they appreciate that you don't get anywhere by being nice. So we have clicked. Look forward to 2010 and they can be treading in the footsteps of Jayne [Torvill] and Chris [Dean]. I'm sure of it."
With which, he was off for a doctor's appointment, with the parting comment that he has suffered more falls than any Siberian tundra. "You have snow in your country as well, no?" he concluded. "But it is how you cope with heat that matters in skating."
You suspect that the Kerrs have engineered the ideal move in escaping the comfort zone of Blighty.