During the Vancouver 2010 Winters Olympics, bronze-medal speedskater J.R. Celski's Twitter feed was dedicated to shouting-out Seattle hiphop artists more than his own athletic achievements.

And post-Winter Games, the Federal Way native is dedicating his time to covering those local artists through a website and filming a documentary. He's taking a break from both school and skating to focus on these projects.

His account @celskeet promoted local rappers Macklemore and Grynch, and the group Blue Scholars via Twitter while he was on a world stage in February, but Celski didn't even know the artists at the time.

"It is interesting, because a lot of connections are made through social networking" Celski said during a meeting in Belltown on Monday. "At that time, I really loved the music, but I wanted to get to know the artists for who they are. ... You can appreciate artists once you have seen them live or spoken to them more."

The 20-year-old got us up to speed on how Tweeting as a fan has led to a pause in training, a project called M.A.D. Northwest and an in-progress documentary looking at race in the Seattle hiphop scene.

He's working with creative directors Jeff Santos and Dan Torok as well as his childhood friend Vinny Dom on these projects, and they've been documenting their work at madnw.org.

The interview below has been edited for length and clarity:

Q: Tell me what's happened since we last talked. Because you said that was the first time you've really talked to the media about your love for hiphop.

A: I love music, I love culture, I love art. I find it more intriguing to talk about that kind of stuff ... I pay particular attention to the Seattle hiphop scene.

After the Olympics, I wanted to do a benefit concert, and the timing just didn't work out. It was just too short of a time period for how big of a concert I wanted to do. So I actually got in touch with the artists, and they were all for it, and very positive in what they had to say.

We actually did a smaller concert at the Seattle Children's Hospital. Macklemore, Grynch, Wizdom and the Massive Monkees actually did a little show for the children at the hospital. And it was pretty interesting to see how the children reacted, but also to see how the artists reacted in that situation, because they usually don't do that kind of stuff that often.

Q: How did that communication happen? How did you reach out to them?

A: It was actually a lot through Twitter ... It's interesting to see how that connection turned out ...

I'm not going to speak for (the artists), but it's interesting because, here I am: I'm skating in the Olympics, and through Twitter and broadcasting stations and newspapers, the Olympics is one of the biggest media (events) in the world. And I think they were just kind of thrown off that, during the Olympics, a kid from the area was talking about Seattle hiphop. I don't know, it's weird to see. ...

I was surprised I even got a response. They're people, just like me and you. They have their profession, and on the side, (Twitter) is just their platform, I guess. ...

Once I got in contact with them, then I started asking them about the benefit concert and it just kind of stemmed from there. Now we're working with a couple of artists closely through this documentary. So, it's interesting how Twitter, or any social network can stem a more of a personal relationship.

Q: Is this documentary focusing on any specific artists?

A: We are actually posing a much-bigger question with the documentary than we had originally intended. Of course, we want to portray the scene, and how it is and how it has evolved and where it is today. But also, we are looking in-depth at the racial perspective of it ... A lot of artists that come out of Seattle are — I don't know — of a different cultural background than that of what hiphop had first started in. It's interesting how Seattle has taken this genre and how's it's been successful in this community. ...

With that bigger question, we are using Seattle hiphop as an example that no matter what color skin you are, or background you come from, you can be successful ... Seattle is one of those places where it really doesn't matter.

Q: Do you think that image is maybe becoming less important? And it goes back to content?

A: It's definitely narrowing down to that if you're good at producing music and you're good at rapping, then you'll be good. It's just as simple as that. You have Macklemore: he's opening up for artists like Snoop Dogg and Big Boi for a different demographic and different parts of the country, and that's success itself. You can share the stage with those guys who have really built a foundation for hiphop — I think it's success already.

Q: When you're looking at race in local hiphop, it's not just white artists ...

A: We're not biased. We're looking to get the community involved. It's just a simple fact: you have a lot of white artists becoming more locally successful here. We're really trying to pose the question: What does the rest of the community think about that? I know it's been asked before, but people really are kind of scared to talk about it.

Q: Have there been uncomfortable conversations?

A: We actually just started, so I'm sure there will be because it's a touchy subject. But for people to understand it and see where it's going now, they have to talk about it. I think it's necessary.

Q: What is your plan for (releasing) the documentary?

A: We want to get it out to the major film festivals, and that's our goal is to get it played somewhere where people can see it and hopefully they can put it in theaters. We're hoping it gets played [laughs]. That's the ultimate goal: for people to see it. The more connections we have, obviously, the better it's going to get recognized.

Q: What is madnorthwest.com going to be?

A: Our website, which will hopefully launch very soon, will be spotlighting local music, art, dance as well as businesses within the community to get people to pay more attention to what's going on locally. And, hopefully, what our goal is later on down the line, is to be a production company.

Q: Do you think there needs to be more exposure within Seattle? There's so much music coverage here — what kind of hole are you trying to fill?

A: We want to fill the void that's been put there between commercial and the underground scene. A lot of bigger businesses have a hard time reaching that independent culture ... We've got people out there promoting their scenes and doing music that is not nationally known, but they have so much talent ... they deserve to be recognized.

Q: Do you go to local blogs or forums?

A: Yeah, definitely ... We have a couple on our website. We pay attention to what's going on in Seattle Weekly or The Stranger, stuff like that. In terms of blogs around the area, we pay attention to the artists a lot: Blue Scholars and Macklemore ... those guys blog a lot and Twitter a lot. We pay attention to what they have to say. Also, big managers and artists like Larry Mizell Jr. and Jonathan Moore.

Q: What's your plan for skating?

A: I'm taking a year off to clear my head. I had a rough couple of years.

Q: The accident?

A: The accident, ups-and-downs from me growing up. I think me chilling out is necessary.

I'm going to get back into it next year. And, I mean, I can say that right now, but you never know. You never know where your life will take you.

Q: Is school the same way?

A: This opportunity presented itself, and, you know, just to have any affect on anybody is success for me. And really, Seattle hiphop is something that should be paid attention to ... there's so much talent here. People know that locally, but I'd really like to see it get nationally recognized. ... We know have a gem here, it just haven't been exposed yet.