In 2022, freestyle skier Nick Goepper was done. He was burned out from being a young ski star and winning bronze in Sochi at 19, silver in South Korea four years later, and silver in Beijing. He was anxious and exhausted; he was partying too much.
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But gifts this prodigious cannot be denied. After months of adjusting his routines and attending therapy, Goepper was ready to come back. He is still terrifyingly good. (He's also now one of Team USA's biggest advocates for mental health.) In 2025, he traded slopestyle for halfpipe, taking gold at the 2025 X Games and silver at the 2025 FIS Freestyle Ski World Championships.
“When you get into your early thirties, you get better at turning it on and off,” he tells WIRED. “When I was 18 to 25, that button was always on. As you get older, you learn there are moments to go balls to the wall, psychopath mode, and then moments to relax, sleep, and not worry about falling behind. You get confident knowing exactly when to be a killer.”
Now 31, the soon-to-be four-time Olympian says his mindset has shifted. “I’ve been soaking up the little moments and enjoying the ride a bit more,” he says. But after the competition, he plans to decompress the same way he always does: “Get a bowl of chili and be around loved ones.”
We caught up with Goepper to chat about what he’s packing for Milano Cortina 2026.
Crispy Underwear
Performance starts with the basics, and Goepper is oddly particular about his underwear. “I gotta have super clean underwear,” he says. “Kind of new and crispy.” He refuses to ski in the same pair he slept in. A fresh pair goes on five minutes before he walks out the door. It’s not glamorous or sponsored, but when you’re dropping into an Olympic halfpipe, starting the run in a clean pair just feels right.
Snow Goggles
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