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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