Lance Armstrong – remember him?

Yeah, the guy who rose to the top of his sport before some bad life choices and doping led to a disgraced fall from the top.

Oh, and then he said that, given the chance, he would do it all over again. You can read all about that here, here and here if you need a refresher.

All you really need to know is that Lance is a cautionary tale of what not to do if you’re a professional athlete and sports icon, or at least he was.

A recent appearance in Architectural Digest suggests that no matter what you do, everything eventually comes up roses – provided you’re really rich.

If you aren’t rich you’re probably screwed.

You can join the former cyclist here on a tour of his humble abode in the millionaire and billionaire playground that is Aspen:

Not so humble after all.

The house boasts 6 000 square feet and five bathrooms, and the basement has four bedrooms, the media room, and the wine room.

The grand staircase really brings it all together:

For the interior design, Armstrong turned to his longtime decorator Roy W. Materanek, who has designed nearly a dozen of the athlete’s residences.

“In a sense, we sort of finish each other’s sentences,” he says. “Roy is a very mild-mannered, plainspoken country boy that does amazing work.”

Materanek’s inspiration for the Aspen home was streamlined comfort. “Lance appreciates a classical look with clean lines,” he says. “He has a preference for textures, solid colors, and a comfortable feel to fabrics and materials, with the overall mood being relaxed and welcoming.”

How nice for him. To add to the “comfortable feel” the house also boasts an impressive art collection. Armstrong’s love of art goes back decades, to when he was spending half the year doping racing around the world.

“I used my time [there] as kind of an education in culture and art,” he says. “And then it’s just kind of grown and grown and become a secret obsession of mine.” Aside from Ruscha, whom he now counts as a friend—“He’s just a super rad dude, loves his vodka, too.”—Armstrong’s collection also includes Shepard Fairey, Tom Sachs, and Yoshitomo Nara.

His favourite artist is Banksy, whose Paranoid Pictures (above) hangs on the stairwell.

Armstrong plans on collecting more art over the years to add to his collection.

I guess once your career fails, you need a hobby.

[source:architecturaldigest]