Next Level Skiing

Welcome back to the Next Level Skiing podcast, brought to you by Wagner Skis. We've been around for eight seasons, and in that time, we've been able to ask skiing luminaries for tips and strategies, ways to improve our time on snow. From insights into fundamentals of strength and balance to perspectives on confidence, goal setting, and finding flow, this episode has it all. So many dollops of wisdom and vision from skiing's best to help every skier take their turns to the next level. Thanks again for tuning in to Next Level Skiing. We'll see you again next winter.
Guests:
1:42 Chris Tatsuno
1:50 Lee Cohen 
2:08 Krista Crabtree
2:23 Nader Jamal
2:41 Stephen Casimiro
2:46 Angela Hawse
3:15 Mark Morris 
3:27 Adrian Ballinger
3:32 Kim Grant
3:38 Dan English 
3:45 Ted Ligety
4:10 Drew Peterson
4:41 Scot Schmidt
5:00 Reggie Crist
5:28 Aaron Blunck
5:34 Kim Beekman
5:52 Cody Townsend
5:56 Doug Stenclik
6:20 Erik Lambert
6:33 Mike Douglas
7:15 Robert Koell
7:37 Skylar Holgate
7:59 Ted Mahon
8:03 Wes Wylie
8:21 Amie Engebretson
8:52 Brody Leven
9:28 Kristen Ulmer
10:04 Lou Dawson
10:51 Mike Hattrup
11:26 Pete Wagner
11: 56 Rob Dickinson
12:06 Willie Volckhausen
12:35 Allen Tran:
12:52 Evan Reece
13:03 Hilaree Nelson
13:22 Joel Gratz
13:31 Jonathan Ellsworth 
13:47 Kim Relchhelm
13:59 Lindsay Anderson
14:14 Wendy Fisher
14:18 Parkin Costain
14:41 Mali Noyes
15:08 Maggie Voisin
15:09 Tom Wallisch
15:38 Josh Daiek
15:53 McRae Williams
16:07 Marcus Goguen
16:12 Mark Abma
16:22 Dr. Allen Lim
16:33 Michelle Parker
16:38 Chris Anthony
16:54 Alex Cohen
17:03 Daron Rahlves
17:10 Lorraine Huber
17:15 Julian Carr
17:27 Angel Collinson
17:35 Chris Davenport
17:54 Chris Steiner
18:00 Jake Hutchinson
18:11 Jim Lindsay
18:39 Klaus Obermeyer
19:02 Tom Hackett
19:28 Tommy Moe
Resources:
Wagner Custom Skis

Welcome back to the Next Level Skiing podcast, brought to you by Wagner Skis. For more than 20 years, Ingrid Backstrom has been championing women in freeskiing, through more than 20 ski movie appearances, pioneering first descents, coaching and teaching avalanche awareness classes. The mother of two who grew up skiing in Washington's Cascades continues to plow a path for women in skiing, encouraging up-and-comers to find their creative voice through skiing. Listen in as Ingrid shares insights into coaching, shifting mindsets in the backcountry, balancing life as a pro skier and parent, changing training tactics as you age and the importance of getting out of control on skis. Thanks for listening to Next Level Skiing. 
Topics:
2:30 Winter weekends in a 1954 Bookmobile at Crystal Mountain
3:15 First move appearance in Matchstick Productions "Yearbook" in 2004
4:30 Carrying the torch for women in freeskiing
5:10 The new generation of female rippers. "The level has just gone exponentially higher."
7:30 Challenges of coming up as a pro skier 20 years ago versus today
9:40 Twenty years coaching with the Superstars Camp in Portillo Chile
11:00 "The best ways of learning something is to turn around and teach it."
12:30 Personality and style in skiing
13:00 Being able to read the front of a sweatshirt from downhill perspective
13:30 The power position 
16:30 Lack of industry support for moms in pro skiing
19:10 "If you want to grow, get more women on skis."
21:00 Training shifts as you age. "Play On: The new science of elite performance at any age."
22:10 Nightly mobility exercises for 15 minutes 
24:00 Diet and cooking for recovery
27:00 Mental preparation and the "75% rule."
27:40 Tuning in and asking "Why am I doing this?"
28:20 Task driven versus ego driven 
30:00 Shifting mindsets in the backcountry 
32:10 "Let's ask the stupid questions because there is no stupid question." 
33:20 Go into the backcountry like a robot
33:50 Best advice: Get out of control
Quotes:
"My contracts got cut when I got pregnant. There wasn't really, at the time, a marketing demand for moms as pro skiers."
"If you want to grow, get more women on skiis."
"Just the maintenance becomes so much more important, training smarter and not harder."
"Taking away that ego piece of [asking questions] has led to a lot better discussions and, frankly, a lot better education."
Resources:
Ingrd Backstrom Website
Ingrid on Instagram
Wagner Custom Skis

Welcome back to the Next Level Skiing podcast, brought to you by Wagner Skis. Following explosive wins in the 2025 Freewride World Tour in Georgia and Kicking Horse, 4-year tour veteran Marcus Goguen claimed his first FWT world champion title. His unflappable style and huge tricks are not by chance. The 21-year-old Whistler skier has spent almost a decade following a strict training regimen. And now he's sharing. His Adrenaline Performance program offers skiers customized strength plans to ward off injuries and boost performance. Listen in as the big-mountain boss shares how he is infusing structured training regimens into his freeride skiing, the importance of post skiing workouts, the role of a daily routine in comp-day confidence and how to make your body your armor. 
Topics:
3:00 "Everything I've done in my life is for skiing."
3:20 The Whistler Freeride Club": peer pressure, buddies, and coaches
4:30 Competing in downhill bike racing
5:30 Honing fast-twitch eye-hand coordination 
6:15 Training regimen inspired by his uncle, Canada's legendary Olympic racer Thomas Grandi
7:00 Mixing the structure of training with the fun of freeride skiing
7:40 The building blocks of training
8:30 Maintenance workouts during the ski season to maintain strength
9:00 Maximizing the ski day with gym workouts 
12:30 Getting into training after enduring pain at age 12
14:00 Results of training by age 14
15:00 An injury-free ski career
16:05 "In freeride, there's a lot of impact."
16:50 Structure should be fun
17:10 The evolution of Adrenaline Performance 
18:00 App-driven motivation with coaches, peers
20:30 Beginner, intermediate, advanced, and Olympic-tiered programs
21:40 Building strength and infusing explosiveness into that strength
23:30 A year-round training program for all mountain athletes
25:20 Meditation to start the day, then mobility, then supplements
25:45 Creatine, omegas, collagen
29:40 The role of daily routines, so "every day is a competition day."
30:00 Skiing with E. coli poisoning
34:00 Accountability and follow-through with Adrenaline Performance app
35:12 Best advice: put a smile on your face at the start gate
Quotes:
"I try to do as many different sports as possible and that will always transfer over to my skiing." - Marcus
"My muscles are my armor." - Marcus
"You need to listen to your body because it's easy to burn yourself out if you go too hard." - Marcus
"To continue improving in the game, we all need some structure." - Marcus 
Resources:
Marcus on Instagram
Adrenaline Performance
Wagner Custom Skis

McRae Williams navigated from a childhood on trampolines to aerials on his hometown water ramps at the Olympic Training Center in Park City to become one of the most explosive slopestyle skiers in the sport. He's a World Cup world champion, two-time Olympian and three-time X Games medalist who is channeling years of Olympic-level training into audacious filming performances in remote backcountry locations. Listen in as the 35-year-old slopestyle pioneer explores his work as a mindful athlete with a keen focus on his mental game honed through passions for diverse mountain sports, from flyfishing, pow surfing and mountain biking. Thanks for listening to Next Level Skiing

Welcome back to the Next Level Skiing podcast, brought to you by Wagner Skis. Josh Daiek skis remote, highly technical terrain with jaw-dropping speed and flow. After a decade competing on the Freeride World Tour, he's moved into ripping the loneliest lines in the lower 48, snowmobiling deep into Nevada's Sierra and Ruby ranges and skiing down steep, rock-choked chutes far from anywhere. The 42-year-old Salomon-sponsored skier has made two movies — Mountain State and Mountain State 2.0 — detailing his crew's exploration of overlooked terrain in Nevada. You've seen his clips in the Gram and they are scroll-stoppers. Listen in as Josh connects his high-speed, fast-twitch ski style with exploration and patience, the role of repetition in dynamic skiing, using speed to navigate consequential terrain and learning from mistakes on this illuminating episode of Next Level Skiing. 
Topics:
2:30 The holiday ski family in Michigan, "like the East Coast minus the mountains."
4:30 Moving to Tahoe  
5:34 "Rat-packing" at Kirkwood 
7:18 10 years on the Freeride World Tour
8:00 Getting serious about training
9:30 Squats, dead lifts, core, shoulders and bike for cardio
12:00 Keeping the mind in-tune with fast-twitch reactions: "bang, bang, bang, react, react, react"
14:00 Time in the saddle and the role of repetition
14:00 Skiing every day all winter
15:20 Learning from mistakes and experience
16:20 The biggest mistakes 
17:30 "You'll never catch me wearing ear pods in the mountains"
22:00 Exploring remote lines in Nevada
26:20 Melding a fast ski style with making movies and exploring unasked lines in Nevada
30:00 Using speed as an asset in consequential terrain
32:00 All about the fall line, fast and fluid. Straight and to the point. No bullshit. 
34:10 Skiing for Salomon for 13 years
35:00 Best piece of advice: Ask yourself 'Why are you doing this?'
Quotes:
"When [I] wanted to give up, competition really kept me motivated." - Josh
"That's what's more important to me is making split-second decisions." - Josh
"When I'm in the mountains, and I'm in nature, I really want to be there." - Josh
"Be present in that moment. That's what works for me." - Josh
Resources:
💻Josh on Facebook
💻Josh on Instagram
💻Josh on YouTube
💻Wagner Custom Skis