Show Notes
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.
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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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