CHARLOTTE - An Olympic gold medal around his neck, John Shuster isn't changing a thing about who he is.  He's just talking to a few more people about the sport he loves: curling.

"For us to win a gold medal, and spread the good of curling around our country is something that none of us are taking very lightly," he said.

Shuster was in Charlotte Friday at the Charlotte Curling Club getting in a little practice before meeting with guests from a corporate event.  He is an ambassador for the game, a role he embraces.

"Our job, or what I see as my job is supporting that boost (in popularity), so we can have more and more clubs popping up around the country.  To give more and more kids opportunities to do stuff like myself and my teammates.  We're just regular kids from small towns that had curling clubs with available ice.  When that's possible, any thing's possible.  Like going to the Olympics four times,  and medaling a couple times and even winning a gold medal at the Olympics," he said.

In curling, there are 10 "ends," similar to innings in baseball.  In the gold medal game with Sweden, Shuster converted a clutch shot in the 8th end, giving his team five points, and all but icing the first USA curling gold in history.

"You know, the shot that clinched the Olympics, essentially when we scored 5 points in the eighth end.  When I sat in the hack, I just saw a shot that I had made against some guy that I played one-on-one before I left for the Olympics.  That's the greatest  part about what we did at the Olympics.  We let ourselves off the hook, enjoyed the moment, and were able to perform in the biggest moment as a team," he said.

Shuster admits his success on the ice at the Olympics hasn't made him rich by any means, but he is enjoying the perks of being one of the American faces of men's curling.

"It is a lot of fun.  I love meeting new people all the time.  I've probably met 20 to 30 new faces, and make new friends and network throughout curling clubs around the country and around the world," he said.

The Chisholm, Minnesota native, however, is able to separate the competitor on the ice from what he feels it truly important in his world.

"Being John Shuster, Olympic gold medalist, is fun for me to share my medal with people in the curling world, and people I met on the street. I try to make sure that 'John Shuster dad,' and 'John Shuster husband,' is still what it takes. Any time I get home, the gold medal goes in a drawer, and I go back to living the same life we've been living as a family for the last 10 years since my wife and I got together," he said.