Alex Hackel - From Being Picked Last To 2x X Games Medalist

I first met Alex Hackel in Austria filming a video where I taught him to improve his short turns, tracked by CARV, the digital ski coach. What struck me most was how good a learner he was — focused, determined, and genuinely humble. That’s a big part of why I wanted him on the podcast.

Two-time X Games medalist Alex Hackel didn’t get here by being the most naturally talented kid on the mountain — he got here by getting rejected, picked last, and told by a coach he’d never make it pro.

In this episode we go back to that moment at Sunday River, how he found the coach (Mike Hanley) who changed everything, the story behind his triple cork 1080, and how that same “figure it out and go again” mindset led him into filmmaking, freeride, co-founding his own ski company (1000 Skis), and starting a YouTube channel from scratch that’s since taken off.

If you’ve ever felt written off before you even got started, this one’s for you.

Get 20% off Big Picture Skiing membership with code PODCAST at bigpictureskiing.com

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:56 Why Alex is successful in so many different ways

01:24 The Sunday River story — judged and picked last

02:52 Growing up with idiopathic short stature

04:23 What kept him from giving up

06:29 Finding support in the terrain park (meeting Curtis)

07:38 Convincing his parents to send him to Windells Academy

09:03 Meeting coach Mike Hanley

11:10 The triple cork 1080 story — a coach who believed in him first

13:00 Advice on learning bigger spins and takeoffs

16:16 Managing fear and nerves on big tricks

18:08 How airbags changed trick progression

19:04 Getting into filmmaking

21:47 What it actually takes to grow a YouTube channel

25:19 The “White Rush” video and why it stood out

30:34 Why he started his own ski company, 1000 Skis

37:41 Sleep, routine, and shifting to long-term thinking

41:17 Final words and mutual respect

42:34 Where to find Alex Hackel + 1000 Skis

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