Level Up: Drew Petersen

Pro skier Drew Petersen grew up in Breckenridge, Colo., and built a successful career skiing in front of the cameras. But it wasn’t until he made his ski movie, “Ups and Downs,” that he felt he reached his true purpose.

Petersen struggled with mental health his whole life, but he kept it a secret from everyone. Then an accident on Mt. Hood changed his trajectory, and he took on the mission of sharing his story to help others.

Drew Petersen going up.

Many mountain towns report the highest suicide rates in the country, sometimes up to twice the national average. Petersen’s film reveals his own battles with darkness, and it gives others a guiding light toward healing.

On this very special episode of our skiing podcast, “Next Level Skiing,” our inimitable podcast host Jason Blevins reached out to Petersen in February 2024, just before his movie came out. Here’s what he had to say. 

Blevins: How did you find your way on snow?
Petersen: I was pretty much born on a pair of skis. I grew up in Summit County, Colo., before there was even a hospital here. I started skiing when I was 1 and a half years old. Born right into it. 

Blevins: How’d you get into making movies and the pro aspect of skiing?
Petersen: At this point in my life it feels like a 20-year overnight success story. I kept fun as No. 1, chasing my dad and brother around, and started having some success competing doing some freeride competitions, and that was my launch board. Then I switched over from competing to skiing in front of a camera and telling story. I think of as my role now as I’m an ambassador of the sport. I tell stories that connect with the community.  

Drew Petersen in the trailer image for his most recent film 'Feel It All'. 

Blevins: Is your brother older or younger?
Petersen: He’s two years older. I grew up chasing him around. 

Blevins: I have a theory that the very best skiers in the world grew up as a younger sibling. You would be left if you didn’t keep up, right?
Petersen: It makes sense. It certainly checks out with me. I remember skiing early season groomers, following him around and copying him.

Blevins: Mental health is more important to our skiing than any stretch or technique, and you made a movie called “Ups and Downs” that’s been really groundbreaking in the ski community. Talk to me about how you came to make that film.
Petersen: I wanted to tell stories in my own way, and the first movie I made is a film called “Ski the Wild West” in 2017 when I did a road trip to climb and ski every highest peak in the United States. I went back and watched it in was like, ‘God, that was awful.’ But eventually that evolved into my signature film. 

Drew Petersen by Jeff Keefer

“Ups and Downs” mirrors the mountains and valleys of ski touring with my own mental health journey. The onus behind that was to open a conversation in the ski world and outdoor world that I felt like didn’t exist previously. I also wanted to talk about suicidal thoughts and suicidal ideation, and the fact that our communities are facing a suicide crisis and suicide epidemic right now. I wanted to bring that conversation to light.

Blevins: It’s perhaps the most powerful ski movie ever made. Ski movies don’t let you peek behind the curtain and see the darkness. You took that theme and said, ‘I’m not going to only show the darker aspect of skiing, but of the challenges of living in some of these mountain towns.’ Talk a little bit about what brought that on.
Petersen: “Ups and Downs” is a raw exposé, and it catalogs a lot of my life, but it can only show so much. I’ve been struggling with mental health my entire life. The earliest suicidal thoughts I can remember was when I was 9 years old. I kept that completely secret. I hid it from my friends, family, and community. As I started to grow up and got more visible, there was this reality of my life that was happening outside the limelight. And I was really tired of hiding it.

I needed things to get bad enough to face everything head on. On the road trip in 2017, I was climbing and skiing Mt. Hood on May 10, and the biggest thing we worry about on these missions is rapid warming, especially on volcanoes because the melting snow releases rock fall. The sound of rockfall is really distinct, it’s like a gun shot, but there’s this eeriness because the sound comes before the rock is falling. So there’s this eerie pause. The first rock we ever heard fall that day, during the entire climb, was the size of a microwave and it fell directly on me.

Click the image above to watch 'Ups and Downs'.

I spent a lot of time in the years following what happened that day—it is pretty wild. When you look at the probability of the first rock to fall falling directly on top of me, it’s insane. It changed the track of my life for sure. That’s the biggest turning point of my life, and for that, I’m forever grateful. Every molecule in my being is grateful for that rock because of the path it sent me on. 

Blevins: That led you to seek professional help and talk to a therapist. You spent years thinking skiing and booze was going to help you through your challenges. They both can be escapes, but they’re not the best way to treat what’s going on.
Petersen: It’s a very common conversation in the recovery communities that we’re doing the best we can with the tools we have. We’re medicating, and very commonly that’s drugs and alcohol. For a lot of people, drinking keeps them alive because it’s the only medicine to be able to continue on another day. there are a lot of parallels in that relationship to that of skiing. 

I am so grateful to have been born on skis, it’s an amazing vehicle through which to see the world. But I think skiing in a lot of ways was the only thing keeping me alive for a long time. it gave me direction and a reason to wake up in the morning when I didn’t have one. but that can’t be the only thing. And who knows how long I would have gone on like that. Because I was using skiing and drinking as an escape and to numb away my problems. 

Photo courtesy drew-petersen.com

My relationship with skiing is so different now than what it used to be. And what’s most amazing about it is, sure it’s a tool to feel good and positive with dopamine and serotonin coursing through my brain. I still get that out of it. I’ve made every life decision based around the sport of skiing. But skiing’s actually a lot more fulfilling now. I’ve learned how to take care of my mental health through therapy and a healthier lifestyle overall. And now skiing can just be skiing. I’m having the most fun of my life on skis now. It’s like a whole new dose of that childhood joy. Going straight and going fast. 

Skiing is a way we can be happier. But it’s not a source of happiness. It’s not a destination or arrival fallacy. We’re never actually going to reach a state of happiness that is permanent or complete. Skiing is this little input of positive energy, and when we use it as that, that puts us on a track that’s not based on that arrival or destination fallacy.

For me, skiing is not an escape. And the reason it’s not an escape but an opportunity to ground myself and recharge so I’m able to fully engage with life in all its different forms. 

Petersen on stage in Telluride after presenting "Feel it All". Photo: Telluride Mountain Club

Blevins: How do you feel better while you’re skiing, and what does that look like? How can your friends tell you’re in a better place?
Petersen: More than anything I’d say I’m more present. I feel like I’m a lot more present than I’ve ever been in my life. That’s where that joy and that complete sense of fun. A lot of that is rooted in mindfulness. A lot of my transformation is mindfulness and meditation. 

Blevins: It’s only been later in life that I’ve been able to recognize that I’m being present and mindful. And I’ve had a renovation in my lifestyle, too. But to recognize how rare and precious that moment is, especially when skiing pow, that’s the trick. 
Petersen: That’s where that mindfulness comes in because you can recognize it and celebrate it in the moment. That’s what I carry with me through so many different aspects in life. I view connecting with community as celebrations. I celebrate all these moments, even waking up on the right side of the grass this morning. 

Blevins: Are you finding a lot of people who are glad to see you pulling that curtain back?
Petersen: Sometimes I wonder how many people out there actually have a grasp of what’s happening in our communities. Every time I get to connect with a person who is impacted or who resonates with our story, it’s a very uniquely transcendental experience that I get to have. I could not put a number on how many people I’ve connected with in person, but I have received thousands of digital communications thanking me for making them not feel so alone. When I was putting my neck out there to live my truth, I knew there would be those people out there. If I could have heard my story when I was living it, it would have been a survival guide. It would have made it all valid, and that’s what I’m able to provide for people now. and when people share that with me, it’s an amazing opportunity. 

Drew Petersen at a film presentation. Photo courtesy drew-petersen.com

When I first showed the film in Denver at the Oriental Theater, it was met with a standing ovation. That just rocked me. I had no idea what to expect when sharing that much of myself with a live crowd. At the end, this dude came up to me, he was like 300 pounds, huge beard, tattoo sleeves. And he asked me if he could give me a hug. And he broke down crying in my arms. I’ll always hold on to that.

In Tahoe City, these three kids came up to me, and that was amazing because it used to be me on the other side of that poster signing table. And one of them wasn’t sure if he was going to walk away or not. I just waited with him, and he just looked in my eyes and said ‘Thank you for doing this.’ That’s why I do it. That little boy, maybe he’s 11 or 12 years old, that was me. If I could have heard a pro skier or someone I looked up to talk about mental health and about suicide openly when I was that kid’s age, my whole life would be different. I’m so grateful for every one of those kids.

Blevins: You have an aura of gratitude about you, for reaching this point that you have, and the reward you feel for reaching those people. To have a voice like yours in our industry is more important than anything out there. 
Petersen: Thank you.

Drew having fun on skis. Photo courtesy drew-petersen.com

Blevins: Now, if you have to tell someone how to squeeze the most fun out of skiing, what would you tell them?
Petersen: When me and my brother were little kids, I was probably 4 and my brother was 6, my parents started saying at the top of each run, ‘Ski and enjoy.’ I still think about that. That means go have the most fun with what’s right in front of your skis. Point ’em downhill and put a smile on your face. 

You can watch Petersen’s film, “Ups and Downs,” on Salomon TV on YouTube. Follow Petersen on Instagram @drewpeterski, and catch him on tour in a mountain town near you.

If you or anyone you know is in need of immediate help, call 988 to reach trained crisis workers at the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or text HOME to 741741.

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Intro by Kim Beekman, original interview by Jason Blevins for 'Next Level Skiing' podcast.