Photos by: Chris Lawson //Columbia Sportswear
Alex Ferreira is known for his highly energetic and fiercely competitive nature.
My summers been great thanks for asking!
We did get on snow, we got out to Mt Hood; it was such a blast.
The vibes are high, everybodys skiing in the slush, in their t-shirts, and throwing down.
It was a good way to get back into skiing for myself.
Injuries are never fun.
Alexs recent surgery comes off the back of a fall that he never fully recovered from.
Overshot it by like 20 or 30 feet and got this super bad whiplash.
Just crazy intense burning in my traps, tingling in my fingers.
The nerve was basically being compressed to death and they went in there and did whats called a foraminotomy.
They basically shave out the root of that nerve ending to give it a bit more space to breathe.
It healed really well and I’m doing way better and pain-free which is super nice.
Everybody goes through hard times, thats inevitable.
To get through that I like to work out to release those endorphins.
I just got an ice bath actually, on the back deck so Im jumping in there.
I think that really helps with the whole mental health thing.
I have no shame in doing that.
I’ve talked to a few and its definitely helped me out.
But also dont hesitate to do your own bit of research into bettering yourself.
For sure its kind of crazy that its right around the corner.
I did get to watch a lot of the summer games.
I was really pulling for Nyjah, but it didnt happen.
I thought the stars aligned for Yuto and it was meant to be that way.
I thought they did a great job, but it was a little weird with no fans.
I assume the Beijing Olympics will be kind of similar to that but Im excited about it.
Ill give it my absolute all and do my best to make the team and totally win that thing!
The qualification period for this year’s Olympics has been compressed due to the pandemic.
An already stressful time for athletes has been made even more so.
Alexs competitive side is fierce.
I think its going to be very different from the last games.
The last one, the qualification process was pretty simple and I squeaked in there which was great.
This ones a little different, based on both FIS rankings and qualification events.
What matters is skiing, ski your absolute best and do you.
Im not here for the fame or the dollars.
Im doing this because I love it.
The discipline of halfpipe has seen its fair share of superstars.
I wanted to know who Alex loves to compete against.
I have the utmost respect for Kevin Rolland, I think hes a savage through and through.
That guy has no shortage of sending it, I really appreciate that; his intensity.
Im also a huge fan of Noah Bowman, hes one of the most stylish riders of all time.
I’d say he makes the hard tricks look effortless and I really appreciate his style.
Nico Porteous is really pushing the sport, hes doing both ways 1620s no-one has ever done that before.
Ive been working with my coach, Elana Chase, since I was 10 years old.
Elana knew that we had so much love for skiing and she recognized it at a young age.
There have been so many intense moments at the top of the pipe and she read the room perfectly.
Shes an amazing strategist and an overall wonderful person.
A life coach and a wonderful, wonderful human.
I wouldnt be where I am today without her.
It was so potent at the time.
I started doing just that and it worked out.
I take everything day-by-day.
I love the pressure.
I’m going to try and do it for as long as I can.
I have so much more respect for the movies that I watch now, especially Henrik.
So I have the utmost respect and I definitely want to get into it more.
So I definitely want to do both, both for as long as I can.
So any day with Kyler on the mountain on Highlands is such a win.
The Olympics are at the forefront of so many peoples thinking right now.
And its clearly an important goal for Alex too.
But chatting to him, its been incredible to see his stoke for all kinds of skiing.
Theres a new episode of Hotdog Hans coming around Christmas time and we cant wait for that.
This article was produced in partnership withColumbia Sportswear
