Growing up in Lawrenceburg, Ind., Olympic slopestyle skier Nick Goepper didn’t have the traditional opportunities to excel as skiers who grew up in places like Colorado and Utah did.
Despite many months without snow and next to no altitude, the 19-year-old was able to ski in the winter at nearby Perfect North Slopes. Training year-round was more of challenge, though.
“I built rails out of wood and PVC pipe,” he said.
Goepper was able to use water and dish soap to practice on his homemade equipment. Practicing on AstroTurf pipes and rails in his backyard during the summer months helped him keep up with the competition and become the skier to beat.
While Indiana’s weather and terrain are not as ideal for athletes as more mountainous states are, Goepper is proud of his origins.
“That’s my favorite part about it … just representing southeastern Indiana,” he said.
Goepper’s competition helmet also pays homage to his roots, complete with corn stickers.
He isn’t the only one representing Lawrenceburg in Sochi, either.
The rest of the Goepper family traveled to the Olympics as well, including Nick’s younger siblings, Kasey and Jason.
“I’ve never been out of the country, so it will be awesome and new,” Kasey Goepper, 17, said a few months before the trip. “I’m so excited to go.”
His younger sister, a retired gymnast, also understands some of the intense training her brother has been going through.
For Jason Goepper, being able to travel to Russia has been a nice change.
“There are ups and downs [to Nick Goepper competing] because sometimes you get lonely, especially when you’re so used to him being home and hanging out with you,” he said. “I just want him to be happy and try his hardest.”
The 12-year-old said he hopes to follow in his older brother’s footsteps and continue to ski for as long as he can.
Reporters and admirers congregated at Perfect North Slopes, which was more crowded than usual and buzzing with excitement after Goepper was named to the Olympic team, but Kasey Goepper said her brother is still able to be himself.
“He’s just Nick,” she said. “I love how when he comes home to ski, he never brags about anything.”
Before heading to Sochi with his family, he competed at the Winter X Games and was able to defend his 2013 gold medal. He was the first to do so since Tanner Hall won three in a row from 2002 until 2004.
Nick Goepper took home the bronze medal in Sochi for slopestyle skiing. He stood on the podium with two other U.S. athletes, Joss Christensen and Gus Kenworthy, who won gold and silver.
He said he has been inspired to do well, knowing that he has a support system with him during the 2014 Olympic Games.
“I feel very blessed to have the opportunities that I do, and I try to inspire other people to do the same,” he said. “It’s been a pretty fun ride so far.”
MORE: See content that BSU at the Games created by visiting their website
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