Nick Goepper is a bit of a history nerd. In one breath he's discussing the late-1800s and Quanah Parker, the next he's noting that humans have existed on Earth for 50,000 years.
"We've gone through a lot of stuff," Goepper said of the species. "I mean, every scenario you could probably ever imagine."
Which is why his mental health journey, Goepper realized, was not one-of-a-kind. The bad times, following his first Olympics in 2014 when he won a bronze medal in men's free ski slopestyle, resulted in an arrest. In his native southeastern Indiana, he sat on an overpass and flung rocks at cars below. Ultimately charged with criminal mischief, Goepper came forward and confessed. He offered checks to the victims for compensation, as the damages totaled $8,000.
Those were dark times. Goepper had to reinvent himself – as a person first. But also as a skier. His first three Olympics came as a member of the slopestyle/big air team, and he won three medals – bronze in his debut at the 2014 Sochi Games, and silver in back-to-back Olympics (all in the slopestyle event). His2026 Winter Olympicscompetition will be on the halfpipe, however, an uncommon transition in the freestyle skiing universe; a medal would be history for Goepper, as the first member of Team USA to reach the podium in an individual event in four consecutive Games.
Goepper isn't the first to try the halfpipe transition – just the latest, which is something that has rang true throughout his life. Knowing he's not alone, whether it's in his professional life or mental-health journey, is the most important thing.
"You would be surprised at the amount of people that have a similar story to you" Goepper said. "Especially when you're younger. You think that when you're going through something, you think you're terminally unique, and no one else has gone through anything like this before. And in fact, that's 99 percent not true
"The people I've been inspired by that have been open about their vulnerability, I hope to be that example for people younger than me."
And it's his younger self that motivates him in the present day. Would 14-year-old Nick be proud of the 31-year-old he is now?
"Hell yeah, dude," Goepper replied. "Bunch of Olympics. Won money, lost money. Married, divorced. Life is crazy. I can't believe I'm still here doing it."
China's Gu Ailing Eileen reacts in the freestyle skiing women's freeski big air final run 3 during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park, in Livigno (Valtellina), on February 16, 2026. Vice President JD Vance suggested the San Francisco-born skier should be competing for the U.S. as the Stanford student accumulates medals representing China in the Olympics." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Eileen Gu of Team China takes 2nd place on day ten of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Livigno Snow Park on February 16, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. Gu, 22, is a freestyle skiing star who has won two silver medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, adding to her three medals − including gold in the big air and halfpipe − from the 2022 games in Beijing. Her mother is from China, and Gu also represented the country in 2022. Her father is from the U.S." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
See Eileen Gu compete at Olympics for China amid Vance scrutiny
China's Gu Ailing Eileen reacts in the freestyle skiing women's freeski big air final run 3 during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park, in Livigno (Valtellina), on February 16, 2026.Vice President JD Vancesuggested the San Francisco-born skiershould be competing for the U.S.as the Stanford student accumulates medals representing China in the Olympics.
Why Nick Goeeper went from slopestyle sleuth to halfpipe 'jock'
In the summer of 2024, Goepper built "Rollerblade Ranch," a series of jumps and obstacles, on the 40-acre ranch he purchased in the desert on the border of western Utah and Nevada. He used it to perfect some tricks he'd been working on. One was the reason he won the 2025 X Games and built his confidence heading into this season, which included a silver medal at the World Championships.
Going from slopestyle to halfpipe is "crazy," said Goepper's former slopestyle/big air teammate Alex Hall.
"I would never do that. No way," Hall said. "They're very different … it's like two completely different sports, but it's so impressive that he's doing it. I personally would never do it. I'd way rather go ski powder or something. But I commend him. It's really impressive. That's why no one's ever really done it."
Of the three free ski disciplines, big air is the simplest. One jump. Crazy tricks. Slopestyle requires the rider or skier to master a rail portion followed by three jumps. Halfpipe is a different beast, Goepper said – 600 feet long, 22-foot-high walls and five tricks to determine one's score.
Slopestyle is a canvas that enables creativity, Goepper said. Halfpipe "is a little bit more militant."
The repetition leads to relaxation. Every halfpipe being similar is reassuring.
"You can sort of, I don't know, just strategize a little bit differently," Goepper said.
Goepper is somebody who enjoys being around different groups of people. He loves his slopestyle/big air and halfpipe brethren all the same.
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"They call them 'pipe jocks,'" he said, "and there's a reason for that."
Goepper would not be classified as a planner, but is a firm believer in doing whatever he sets his mind to. Once he decided halfpipe was the new path, he was all-in.
"I was going to hang my life on it," he said. "So yeah, I'm proud of myself."
To make the podium in Italy, Goepper said, it would require tricks fans aren't used to seeing, such as alley-oop doubles, 1620s (4.5 revolutions). Staying healthy, too, and a ton of grit. A Tom Brady interview he watched once, in which the seven-time Super Bowl champion stressed the difficulty of competing at a high level, is something he often returns to.
The legacy-making fourth medal is on his mind, sure. But he prefers to focus on other tasks, such as making his bed and completing his stretching program.
"I know it's there," he said of the medal chase. "I think it'd be unprecedented to go four-for-four. I try not to think about it that much, though."
For Nick Goepper, Olympic job not done yet
If International Olympic Committee wardrobe rules were more lenient, Goepper said, maybe he could one day live out his dream that if his first run goes "super well" he can ski the last one in jeans.
A normal uniform at these Games will do. His family was so confident that he'd make the Games they booked their accommodations in Livigno more than six months in advance – well before he'd actually qualified. He didn't mind the expectations and any worries he possessed evaporated after he won the Calgary Snow Rodeo to lock up his spot on Team USA.
Goepper's career used to make him feel selfish, especially around family.
"Like 'Oh man, it's all about Nick because he's a pro skier,'" he said.
But a new perspective allowed him to realize that every time they watch him in person, it's a chance for the extended family to congregate and celebrate and cheer. That feeling fills him with gratitude.
"Who knows how much longer I'll be able to do it?" he wondered.
Goepper has a tattoo of the "Rebel Alliance" logo on his right arm. He's refused any ink related to the Olympics, such as the rings – common for athletes to get once they've gone to a Games – because he's simply not done with them.
"I don't want to put something on my body that makes me feel like I've made it, because I don't think I have made it yet," he said. "I haven't quite achieved all that I want to. There's still a little bit more to go, so I don't want to put that finishing touch on there until I'm done."
China's Eileen Gu, the American-born women's free skier, won three medals in all three disciplines at the 2022 Games and is on the verge of doing so again.
But a medal for Goepper in halfpipe? Now that would be historic.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Nick Goepper path to Olympics halfpipe competition much like his own