Alex Hall exclusive: “Freestyle skiing is art because there's so much self-expression”
The slopestyle Olympic champion tells Olympics.com how his creativity comes from his upbringing, the "Eileen Gu effect", and why Milano-Cortina 2026 is personal for him.
Freestyle Skiing
There are many ways to win freestyle skiing competitions, but creativity is king for reigning Olympic men's slopestyle champion Alex Hall.
The USA star has a unique style that can be traced back to his upbringing. Born in Alaska to an American father and Italian mother, he grew up in Switzerland before the family moved back to the US.
Hall was exposed to many sporting environments which all played a part in developing his skiing style.
“We were always being creative and I loved 3D art like ceramics. In our backyard, I built a ton of different rails out of wood and PVC pipes and stuff. I've always loved thinking outside the box and challenging the norm,” the 26-year-old told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview.
“I learnt so much from everyone around me. Growing up in Switzerland, football was actually my main sporting passion, and even that gave me a slightly different perspective on skiing.
“I never had any ski coaches and was never part of a ski team, so I just learnt on my own with my brother, who’s a really good snowboarder. We watched videos online and figured it out on our own. Instead of being told what to do, we were just having fun. Maybe this meant we didn’t have the best fundamentals, but it really pushed our creativity and we learnt different things that other kids in ski academies didn’t.
“I really don’t think I would be where I am today if it wasn’t for that upbringing.”
How Alex Hall avoids burn out
Hall attributes his longevity in the sport to the various styles of skiing he enjoys. Outside competitions, he goes on backcountry and street skiing trips to film with teammates including Colby Stevenson, Hunter Hess, and Mac Forehand.
These breaks ensure Hall avoids getting mentally fatigued, while he also tests new tricks that can be transferred to a World Cup event.
“I love filming and the creativity it gives me. I try to balance filming and competition 50-50 during a season. I love the balance it gives me because I'm not one of those guys who could only compete all season long. I think I’d get burned out,” he continued.
“With filming, you're not necessarily doing it for anybody, you're doing it for yourself. That's where you really push the limits of what's possible in free skiing. When you're sliding down handrails in a city, it’s an environment that's not necessarily built for skiing. So you have to adapt a lot more and it's a lot more challenging.
“You’re figuring it out on your own, unlike when you show up to a competition and everything is set up and perfectly manicured. There have been multiple times where I learnt a specific trick or got an idea for a trick while filming because the terrain is so unique. Then I translate that idea to a competition environment.”
Filming in an uncontrolled environment also breeds confidence.
After landing tricks on streets and concrete features in a city, switching back to snow feels like competing with a safety blanket for the thrill seekers.
“After I’ve been on a film trip for a couple of weeks, competitions seem a lot more mellow and less dangerous! The features are quite a bit smaller and there is a softer landing, so you just have this extra level of confidence.”
Alex Hall: "Our self-expression is judged by other individuals"
Unlike many Olympic sports, there are large elements of freestyle skiing that cannot be controlled.
After adapting to environmental factors like the wind, snow conditions, and course layout, athletes are judged on their performance.
As such, Hall has learnt not to get too caught up in the results.
“It’s obviously a sport because we all train hard but I almost consider it more of an art form because there's so much self-expression,” he said.
“And that's also what makes it really tough in competitions because, like figure skating, our self-expression is judged by other individuals and it's so particular to each person that it's hard to quantify what a certain trick should be worth.”
Alex Hall performs a trick during the men's freestyle skiing freeski slopestyle final at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Taking a risk to win gold at Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
Hall rolled the dice in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics freeski slopestyle final.
Days previously, he failed to land a technical trick with many spins in the Big Air final and agonisingly missed out on a medal. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
This time, the Park City resident opted for more creative moves to win the contest a different way, and it worked. He executed a difficult first run - including a final double cork 1080 into a 900 - that was good enough to seal the Olympic title.
While the gold medal did feel like redemption, Hall was more satisfied with the manner of his victory.
“I remembered why I do this sport. Instead of spins, I incorporated creative elements that were pretty outside of the box and it was a big risk to take because, with the creative stuff, you never know exactly how the judges are gonna score it,” Hall told Olympics.com.
“I just went with my gut and it worked out because I was no longer overthinking. I was excited obviously to win the gold medal but the most special part was that I did it my way, taking a risk and being really creative.
“I skied the way I love instead of being driven by what the judges may like. So that was a pretty special moment for me.”
It’s a mindset that has seen Hall enjoy astonishing success throughout his career.
To date, his resume features four X Games titles, a Big Air Crystal Globe, Youth Olympic Games silver, bronze at the World Championships, and Olympic gold.
Despite this success, he’s more motivated than ever to keep pushing the boundaries of himself and his sport, rather than focus only on tangible accolades.
“My perspective has never really been results-based. What I think is a great achievement isn’t necessarily getting a huge score,” he said.
“I find passion and motivation in learning new tricks, pushing myself as a skier and an individual more so than whether I'll get on a podium. I’ve focussed more on filming in the last year or two as well.
“In competitions, there's a set peak where if you win in X games or an Olympics, people think that's the top and you can't really go past that. Whereas in filming that doesn't exist. You can always push yourself, you can always get a better trick, a better shot, a bigger feature.”
Motivated by Eileen Gu
Hall also draws inspiration from what some call the ‘Eileen Gu effect’.
The People’s Republic of China star’s meteoric rise to the top of the sport in the women's disciplines, culminating in two Olympic golds and a silver on home snow at Beijing 2022, exponentially boosted freestyle skiing’s popularity around the world.
“It's crazy. I was there in China when she won three medals, and the viewership has gone up a ton because Eileen is so popular over there. That's helped the sport in a huge way because it's brought eyeballs to us that we usually wouldn't be able to get.
“She's just really impressive with her work ethic. We were down in New Zealand and there would be horrible days with blizzards and rain and we would just be lapping the chairlift and having fun messing around. Then we look over and Eileen's hiking this one specific rail all day working on one trick in a snowstorm. Despite all of her success, she just wants to get better.
“That part's cool when you see how amazing her work ethic is. It does inspire you and motivate you when you think about how many things she's juggling in life. You realise that you can ski, but also have other passions outside of life and push yourself in other ways that maybe aren't necessarily ski related.”
As one of the most experienced freeskiers on the circuit, Hall wants to use freestyle skiing's increased viewership to provide more opportunities for athletes.
“We don’t get paid a lot in our sport and I’ve been trying to be a voice to make sure we as athletes can do this on a professional level and support ourselves.
“Eileen’s success gives us an opportunity and a platform to grow the sport even more. We want to use these numbers and the changing of the tides within the sport to increase revenue and hopefully uplift it for everyone.”
A new perspective from living New York
Perhaps inspired by Gu’s glittering CV on and off the snow, Hall accepted an offer to work in New York City as a finance intern for six weeks during the most recent off-season.
Coming from the creative world of freestyle skiing, working in the city couldn’t have provided a greater contrast. But that’s exactly why he did it and the experience gave him a new perspective on his sport.
“It came up through the U.S. team and there wasn't a ton of snow left post-season, so I figured it would be interesting just to see what it's like and gain a new perspective on how other people live,” he said.
“Living in New York was really cool, right in Brooklyn, taking the subway, just living a very different life to what I usually do. It was weird sitting at a desk for 10 hours a day but you get used to it after a couple of weeks.
“I don't know if I can see myself doing that in the near future, and my main takeaway was that I just wanna keep skiing!”
Alex Hall's personal connection with Milano-Cortina 2026
For the next two years, there will be plenty to keep Hall motivated to compete on the snow.
Being half-Italian, the opportunity to defend his Olympic title at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics holds a special attraction.
“My mum’s from Bologna so it would be cool to go to Italy as I know the whole side of our Italian family would love to show up for that, which would be awesome,” he said.
“I've gone to two Olympics but they've both been in Asia, so it'd be interesting to see what it's like to compete in Europe. We have a really competitive team right now in the U.S. and I'd say there are about eight guys who are all good enough to get one of our four spots. So it's gonna be tough to make the team, it’s pretty cutthroat.
“I’ll keep focusing on my skiing and then hopefully I qualify but it's also tough when you win gold at the one before. You expect to win again but hopefully, I can think of an expectation that's more than just necessarily winning a medal. If I do get to go, I’ll give it my best and a medal would be awesome.”