Torin Yater-Wallace had to overcome more challenges than anyone I’ve talked to.  From growing up with a dad in prison, to moving countess times as a kid, to injuries, to a sickness that became so bad that he was medically paralyzed for 10 days.  Through all of this, Torin had skiing and all his dreams revolved around becoming a professional.  With all the cards stacked against him, Torin never quit or felt sorry for himself and made his dreams happen.  The funny thing is, listening to the podcast, it doesn’t even sound like he likes halfpipe skiing.

There was a time when Axl Rose left his small town in Indiana as there was nothing left for him there.  To make it, he needed to move west where he would surround himself with other, likeminded people.  While Nick Goepper is no Axl Rose, his story is the same.  He started honing his craft in the Hoosier state, moved west to Windells Academy and found more success than he ever dreamed of.  Like Axl, Nick learned that with success comes problems.  While Nick didn’t alienate his fans and get fat, he did uncover some real issues that we talk about in the podcast.

Alex Schlopy set a goal for himself going into the 2014 Olympic Games:  In his words it was “make the Olympics or I’d rather be dead.”  Unfortunately, Alex missed making the US Olympic Team by the slimmest of margins and decided to seek out crack and heroin to dull his pain and follow through on the ‘or I’d rather part’.  A few suicide attempts and an arrest later, Alex went to treatment and is currently getting back into the sport he loves.   He’s young and still has a chance to regain all that he thought he threw away.  Hear his whole story on the podcast.

Joss Christensen was on the bubble to make the US Olympic Team in 2014 when he lost his dad.  When he was selected to the US Team with the discretionary spot, skiers all over the internet were outraged and Joss was put down, harassed, bullied, and even asked to give up his Olympic spot for someone else.   While this hurt Joss’s pride, it also gave him something to prove…And he did by becoming the first ever Ski Slopestyle Olympic Gold Medalist.  Fast forward 4 years and Joss is on the bubble to make the team again.  He’s coming off a horrific knee injury and has only been on snow for a month.  Will he qualify?  That and a deep dive into his while career on the podcast.

Bobby Brown didn’t start skiing until he was 11 years old and just 7 years later found himself standing on top of the X-Games podium, which he considers more important than the Olympics.  Bobby and I talk about coming up, his career, his final shot at Olympic Gold and everything in between.

While Sage Cattabriga Alosa had set his goal on being a professional skier, his ski career was made in one shoot and he never looked back.   From racing in Wyoming to chasing the Collins Brothers around in Utah, Sage honed his craft and became one of the best skiers of his time.  His exploits are legendary, his movie segments many and his outlook on things is a little bit different and that’s just one of the things that makes him awesome on and off the hill.

Scot Schmidt is a legend in mountain towns across the globe.  He blazed a trail that inspired generations of skiers and created a way for ski athletes to monetize their talents outside of competition.    From learning to ski in Montana to moving to Squaw Valley with the goal of making the US Ski Team…. Skiing was “It” for him.   When money became a barrier to making the team, found himself shooting with local photographers and, eventually, traveling the world in the pursuit of good snow.

John Spriggs is known for many things:  Being a professional skier for over a decade, taking his basketball height and making it work in the terrain park and backcountry and, most recently, a high-profile arrest for assault and other charges.  Fresh out rehab, John now has 6 months of sobriety under his belt and he’s trying to figure out who he really is and learning strategies of how to deal with that person.  Between the alcohol and the anger issues, it’s not going to be an easy road.  And….he hasn’t given up on his pro ski career, the question is, have sponsors and fans given up on him?   

Glen Plake is the most famous skier ever, in my opinion.  While his skiing has always been top level, no matter what type of skiing he was doing at the time, he’ll always be remembered as the guy with the Mohhawk.   The guy who, along with Scot Schmidt, Mike Hattrup, and Greg Stump, created the overused word Extreme.  From arrests to celebrities to his thoughts on the state of skiing, here is the best of Glen Plake