From ski star to ‘fashion icon’: Aleksander Aamodt Kilde on expressing himself, finding a ‘good balance’ with Mikaela Shiffrin
The downhill World Cup champion reflects on his desire to 'explore other things' beyond skiing and explains how he and Shiffrin have successfully balanced public visibility in their private lives.
Alpine Skiing
Intense training sessions, state-of-art equipment, and a relentless pursuit of speed and optimal lines dominate the world of top alpine skiers.
Yet, for Olympic and world medallist Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, his public image transcends his performances on the slopes.
“Of course skiing is important and what I do is super important, but I also like to explore other things and try to build up an image without just being the skier, Alex Aamodt Kilde,” the Norwegian speedster said in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com during Atomic Media Day in October.
As he documented well on his social media profiles, the 2020 overall World Cup winner had a busy off-season, attending several black tie events in the US with girlfriend Mikaela Shiffrin, including the Time100 Gala in New York City and the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles.
“I just love it," Kilde shared. "I just love being at events, meeting people, getting the opportunity to do a lot of fun stuff because I have incredible sponsors that put me in a position where I can be myself and build my brand with them. And that's always bringing so much joy and so much happiness for me and in the work I do.”
Kilde: ‘Fashion is more about showing who you are and being who you are’
In September, Kilde had the opportunity to hit the catwalk as a model during Milan Fashion Week.
“Fashion is something for everybody," he said. "It gives me an opportunity to work on my brand and to be like a fashion icon. But for me, it's more about showing who you are and being who you are.
“It's a whole different experience, a different world, but I kind of like that because it's so many different characters within that world and you see them being themselves and just owning it.
“It's good for people to see that you can be yourself and express yourself without having to think about what everybody else is thinking.”
While in Milan, the 31-year-old shared the runway experience with athletics star Noah Lyles, met fashion designers and executives, and also reconnected with influencer Khaby Lame after collaborating with him last season in several humorous social posts.
“For me, it's just meeting incredible people because they're there for a reason and they're often there because they did something incredible," Kilde explained. "I just take advantage of that and it gives me so much, and I hope and I wish I could do that more in the future and build up not just my brand, but also myself as a human.”
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde at the 2023 Time100 Gala with his girlfriend Mikaela Shiffrin.
Kilde on his relationship with Shiffrin: ‘It can’t be better!’
For the past three years, Kilde’s personal relationship with Shiffrin has remained in the public eye.
However, the power couple of skiing has successfully balanced public visibility with their private life, all while celebrating continued success on the slopes.
“It's been a little bit round edges and not taking yourself too seriously,” the five-time crystal globe winner shared.
“To give a space for your partner and also other human beings is something I've experienced as being really cool and a great way of living” he continued. “That's how we also do our relationship, is that we are just authentic and we don't need to hide anything and there's nothing to hide.
“Of course we need our privacy, but we also get that it's not that crazy. But for me, it's all about just enjoying, being with someone that's super into what you do and into you. And it goes both ways and that's a good balance. It can't be better.”
Since this season, the couple started sharing a flat in Innsbruck, Austria. It is a country where alpine skiers are considered real celebrities, but as Kilde said, the attention is manageable.
“It’s not too crazy. Of course it happens [to be stopped by people], but it's part of the game and it's part of being us and just owning it and having a good time with it,” Kilde said. “If you think about being annoyed, then you should have thought about that before you started skiing!”
Kilde: ‘It’s about staying hungry and daring to change’
After clinching his second consecutive downhill World Cup title last season, the Norwegian star is yet to race in the 2023/24 edition as the opening speed event in Zermatt-Cervinia was cancelled.
With another exciting showdown against Swiss phenom Marco Odermatt looming, the double silver medallist from Beijing 2022 is well aware of what he needs to do to stay at the top.
“It's mostly about staying hungry and wanting to change and daring to change,” Kilde said.
“It's about the [development of the] material. We have a team around that is always doing their job to find out things that might be faster and try to do the development of equipment. And in my case, it's all about trying that and being willing to try because the world is, in general, changing. We need to also change with the world. So that's why I think it's really important to just stay open-minded and try to... dare to try."
Kilde credited working on his technical set-up as the key to achieving a better level of consistency in races.
“I would probably start working on the equipment a little bit earlier. I probably started five years too late because I gained a lot from it after actually starting to be focused on it and adjusting it to how my body works,” he said.
“Everybody is different and everybody's built different. And I think in this case it's been challenging for me and that's why it took a little bit longer. But other than that, I'm really happy with my path and how I developed, but of course [there are] so many details in the sport and maybe it was good for my skiing that I didn't focus on the equipment earlier.”
Hardcore gym sessions, breathing exercises and cold showers
In addition to focusing on technical set-ups, Kilde invests significant effort in his physical preparation, particularly during the off-season.
“Every year in the training we do in June, we have three sessions a day and we do a lot of weightlifting where we push our bodies to the limits, trying to gain physical strength," the three-time Olympian said. "For me, it's not about that one training, but it's about the total package."
The Norwegian skier documented his gruelling sessions on social media: “Many reps of squats in any type of way are terrible, like doing short sprints of 30 seconds on the watt bike. Yesterday I tried a crossfit exercise where I was pushing for 500m as fast as I could using my arms and legs, like a cross-country skier, and I was feeling the pain even after 30 minutes after!”
On top of keeping a balanced diet - not too much sugar and plenty of proteins - Kilde also deploys some unusual tactics to gain an edge on the slopes.
“I do use breathing quite a bit. I would try to tape my mouth and I know my brother is doing it, and he says he got great results out of it," he said.
"I also started taking cold showers. Every time I shower, I do 30 seconds minimum, at the end of the shower, just to freshen up and to get the body temperature a little bit controlled. I would advise people to do it because I feel great after."
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