a team sport!?

massive thank you to all my sponsors

good morning!

I woke up in rainy Ellicottville, NY where I’ve been enjoying a week of sunshine and remembering how nice WNY can be in June. I’ve been taking care of our family dog Atlas (a massive and rather stupid English Mastiff), working out (our summer conditioning program finally(?) started to ramp up in the end of May), hanging out with my younger sister Mary who came home from college last week with a teammate after their final rowing regatta (IRA’s), and I’ve been working away at my part time (which becomes less part time during the summer) job at BetterBrain - a dementia prevention and cognitive health start up.

I have also been working on creating more content on social media and in the midst of editing videos of “a day in the life of a ski racer” I realized just how quickly last season turns into prep for this season. I actually found out I was renamed to the US team (yay) during our spring prep camp which was labeled as a ‘2024/25 season camp for this 2025/26 season prep.’

I also realized that I never took the time to 1. share this good news and 2. thank all my sponsors for their amazing support this season.

I’ve never really viewed ski racing as a career option (I think a number of things impacted this). Obviously the biggest reason is that I have never been ‘good enough’ to get the very big sponsors or the very big prize money checks. I’ve talked a lot in my blogs about how incredibly challenging fundraising was for me (both logistically but mostly physiologically) during my independent years. The biggest question was “why do I think I deserve to ask other people to support my dream?”

This forced me to reflect on why I was still ski racing and how to explain that to ask for help in a way that felt genuine as I wrote in depth about here.

But asking others for help was also one of the biggest life lessons I’ve learned through ski racing. It showed me how amazing community is, how many people I have that do believe in me, and the special feeling of chasing (and sharing) a dream not just for yourself. And many many other things :)

Luckily, since being on the US Ski Team, I have not had to crowd (read: family and friends) source fundraising and my income has been from ‘sponsorships’. But the principles and goodwill behind these sponsorships is actually quite similar. Almost all of my sponsors support me, not just because they are hoping to get some sort of value in kind (exposure, awareness, content etc.), but also because they love the sport, realize the importance of community and character, and hopefully they believe in my potential as well - not just in ski racing, but in being a valued member in my own circles and community and in sharing their brand’s message in a genuine, authentic way.

So, I wanted to dedicate this blog to thank all of you - my OG supporters and to thank the amazing brands who have supported me this season.

Holimont - my home ski club that is the best place to return to for its TRULY unmatched community. When I went to the NYC Gold Medal Gala this fall, I had multple people tell me that Ellicottville, NY (and Holimont) was there favorite ski town in the east!

Rembrandt Charms - speaking of amazing Ellicottville community, I was so excited when Eric Lux, Holimont member and owner of Rembrandt Charms reached out about a sponsorship this season. I have been wearing their necklaces non stop since receiving them!

Clif Family Foundation - Clif has been my biggest sponsor for the past three years and I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Kit and Gary Erickson (founders of Clif Bar) this past spring. They could not have been nicer and it was really special to meet them and try to express just how grateful I am for their support. It was also very inspiring to hear about their other grant projects they support through their Family Foundation. They are both very big role models for me.

The Feed - Another one of my biggest sponsors (and they sponsor my brother Andrew as well!) and definitely the most exciting packages to receive in the mail! The Feed is an online store for athletes that sells literally everything!!! (every type of fuel, supplement, recovery tool, sports gear) you might need. I visit their website at least once a week. I am also incredibly grateful to the Feed for inviting me to their Tour de France commercial shoot the past two years! See last year’s video below!

Aztech Mountain - My outerwear sponsor the past two seasons (if you’ve seen my bright pink ski suit - that is courtesy of them :)) Aztech is a performance sportswear company with a long history routed in ski racing, and the quality of their clothing is really incredible.

Hedlum - A fun new sponsor this year! They make an awesome non-alcoholic beer. My favorite flavor is Juicy Boom, but my dad loves their Rogue Wave IPA. You should definitely check them out :)

World Cup Dreams Foundation - is a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance and mentorship to help athletes achieve their goals and reach the World Cup level. They also make private donations to me (from individuals) tax deductible which helped massively in my independent years.

My equipment sponsors are a bit more focused on providing product, but I would not be nearly as fast without them :) Head (the best race skis in the world!), Briko (the coolest and safest helmet and goggle set up), Level (the undeniably coolest mittens on the circuit) and Swix my ski pole sponsor who also make amazing base layers and sport clothing and the highest quality tuning equipment and fastest wax!