This week’s Out of Bounds pod recap tackles some very serious topics. Adam’s guest is a professional skier, Drew Petersen. They tackle heavy subjects of mental health, depression and even suicide. Adam and Drew both get very vulnerable about their past and share struggles in detail. So before we go any further, let me say thank you for taking the time to read and listen to these stories. Whether or not you are currently struggling or know someone who is. You’re not alone. And if help is needed you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Center by calling 1-800-273-8255 or by texting HOME to 741741.
Drew’s latest ski film Ups And Downs is live now on Salomon TV. You don’t need to have watched it to relate to this interview, but it might help, and in my opinion, is a must-watch. So here it is:
Drew Petersen is a professional skier who sets his DIN at 13. He also uses his career to bring light to causes he cares about. And he is passionate about talking about mental health. First some background: Growing up in Colorado with parents who loved skiing, Drew was skiing by age 2. Pro skiing was pretty much always a dream, He was winning contests at 15, and now at 27 he quotes Cody Townsend calling it a 12-year overnight success story.
His latest project is a short film, called “Ups and Downs”. It’s a raw and vulnerable expose that mirrors his personal mental health journey with the mountains and valleys of ski touring. A serious ski injury almost 5 years ago left him with PTSD and caused him to contemplate suicide. Now he’s telling his story. Knowing that at his darkest days, if he had been able to hear his own story, it would have been a survival guide. His hope in sharing his story is that it can be just that for someone else.
Adam shares his own story of struggling with ADHD, Bi-Polar and struggling with his own self-worth. They connect on and discuss the double-edged sword of a diagnosis, and the ability to share as part of the tool kit. Whether it be expressing what’s going on in writing, talking with friends, or working through with a therapist. How and when to get it out is unique to each person and part of an individual’s journey. But hearing stories from others is what helps to know you’re not alone, and sometimes that’s all it takes to take a step forward in a new day.
When suicide is brought up, many people think or say suicide is so selfish, why would you do that? I would be so sad, think about your family. Drew says it so well. If you know someone on the edge. DO NOT MAKE IT ABOUT YOU! Listen. Be there. And just create the space to help your fellow human being who needs it, at that moment. Also while Drew has climbed back a long way in five years, it’s like he says in the film, life has no summit. There’s going to be peaks and valleys and mental health can be a daily life long struggle. There is no done. The film encapsulates that message so beautifully.
Man this episode and this film just have all the feels. It’s just so good and fucking important. Thank you, Drew. And Thank you, Adam. If this all helps just one person it will be worth it but I know it will help so many more. One last note and thank you, to this week’s only sponsor, Phunkshunwear. Use promo code “loveyou” and you’ll get 15% off your purchase, but Phunkshunwear will also donate 20% of every order to Building Hope of Summit County. Also for more on the film and additional resources check out https://www.drew-petersen.com/upsanddowns/
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