The Drew Petersen Podcast

Robert Gallery is a retired NFL player turned advocate for mental health—especially psychedelic treatment because ibogaine, more specifically, has been an integral part of his journey. The physical dominance that notched Robert as a former second overall NFL Draft pick and helped him carve out an eight-year career in the NFL devolved into a severe mental health spiral after retirement. He was faci...

Tim Tollefson is a professional ultrarunner, community builder, and role model of mental health and eating disorder recovery. Tim has chased finish lines all over the world, notching third place at UTMB, a top-5 at Western States, and wins including Javelina Jundred, Lavaredo 120K, Canyons 50K, Ultra-Trail Australia, and more. But he crossed perhaps his greatest starting line of all time when in 2...

Mental Health Awareness Month continues with Shannon Decker, the executive director & co-founder of The Speedy Foundation, whose mission is to prevent suicide and take action for mental health through education and awareness. Founded in memory of Jeret “Speedy” Peterson, an iconic American, Olympic & World Cup aerials skier who died by suicide in 2011, The Speedy Foundation is in some ways...

Dillon Osleger is a geologist, professional mountain biker, conservationist, and author of the new book Trail Work: Restoring the Paths and Stories of America’s Public Lands. The book is a love letter to trails themselves, but seen through the lens of public lands, conservation, and a vision for the future of all the above. Within the book, Dillon weaves together the perspectives he has learned th...

I’m starting off Mental Health Awareness Month with Annekë Efinger, Co-Founder and Director of Community Engagement at Love Like Ky, a mental health non-profit based in the Wood River Valley of Idaho, where Sun Valley is located. Founded by the Efinger family in memory of Annekë’s brother Kyler, their work largely focuses on their local community, but also branches wider, especially to mountain to...

Rollie Williams is a climate comedian as well as the creator and host of the wildly popular Climate Town. What’s a climate comedian, exactly? Well, someone who knows how to make a joke out of something very serious in a manner that welcomes people into the conversation to make them care. I’m sharing this episode now to bridge between Earth Day last week and the upcoming arrival of May, which is Me...

Jason Blevins has been writing about mountain towns and the ski resort industry for over 30 years. Jason is a co-founder and reporter of The Colorado Sun and has rightly become one of the most revered and bonafide experts on many of the most relevant, pressing topics in mountain towns: housing, public lands, economics, and mental health. Rather than just interview Jason about a specific story he’s...

A New Winter reimagines the history of skiing. Sofia Jaramillo’s landmark photography project saw the early depictions of skiing, its narrow vision of who belongs on the slopes, and reenvisioned it by creating vibrant renditions of classic photos, but now with people of color. Sofia Jaramillo is a Colombia-American photographer and director based in the Mountain West. Her resume spans documentary,...

A flood of green stickers in the Alta ski community became a movement for mental health that has reached far wider. The seemingly simple text “Hug your homies and tell them you love them” was Dan Parisi’s effort to start difficult conversations following the loss of a friend in the community to a death by suicide. Dan himself embodies the message and the energy. He’s welcoming, quick to flash a sm...

Auden Schendler is one of the most influential and impactful leaders on climate and sustainability in the outdoor world and industry. His latest book, Terrible Beauty, does a brilliant job of addressing climate change head-on, in a frank, realistic manner while being shockingly hopeful, personable, and invigorating. Auden ran sustainability programs at Aspen Skiing Company and Aspen One for 26 yea...

For Sierra Schlag, empowering women looks more like welcoming people in and becoming friends than it does competing for a seat at the table. Sierra Schlag is a Japanese-American professional skier and storyteller who is one of the brilliant minds behind Girl Winter Film Tour, Moonrise Creative, and more. Sierra has starred in, produced, and created some of my favorite ski films of the past few yea...

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, so I’m joined for a chairlift chat by Kelsey Boyer, founder of Save A Brain, who is channeling her experience to shift the brain health of her community. Save A Brain’s mission is to provide education, encourage prevention, and spread awareness about the long-term mental and physical effects of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and concussions. Kelsey’s magnetic...

Devon O’Neil is a journalist and author of The Way Out . A gripping, consuming read, The Way Out chronicles a 2017 backcountry ski trip in the Colorado Rockies that ended in both tragedy and miracle—and changed a community forever. Set in small towns and towering mountain ranges, it is at once an ode to high-country life and a dissection of what that life costs. After reading the book, I was left...

Cam Smith just competed in the sport of skimo’s Olympic debut in the Milano Cortina Olympics, including a 4th-place finish in the mixed relay. Cam is an 11-time US Ski Mountaineering national champion, holds course records for The Grand Traverse, Gothic Mountain Tour, and Power of Four, and has also represented Team USA at the Mountain & Trail Running World Championships. As a professional mou...

Alan Henceroth has worked at Arapahoe Basin since 1988. Now the President & COO, Al has been a core part of the history of one of North America’s most legendary, unique ski areas. His leadership has helped to shape not just the ski area itself, but also the soul, charisma, and identity that’s given A-Basin its ardent following and community. Al and I ride Pallavicini, so of course, we talk abo...

Zoe Atkin is competing for an Olympic medal. She is the reigning 2025 World Champion in the halfpipe and also just grabbed *another* gold medal at X-Games. This week, in Livigno, Italy, Zoe enters the 2026 Olympics as a top contender in the halfpipe. While her prowess on skis is truly world-class, Zoe is also a student at Stanford and approaches the halfpipe with a conscious approach and wisdom be...

Chris Davenport is a professional skier, ski guide, and true legend of the sport. The multifactorial chapters of his career—from winning the World Extreme Ski Championships in 1996 all the way to his film career, skiing Everest, numerous first descents around the world, authoring the Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America, and more led to him being inducted into the US Ski & Snowboard Hal...

This chairlift chat on The Drew Petersen Podcast is with Caroline Gleich, a professional ski mountaineer who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2024. As an athlete activist, she has climbed Everest, was the first woman to ski all 90 lines in the Chuting Gallery, a guidebook to skiing in the Wasatch Mountains, climbed and skied Cho Oyu, and is pursuing her goal of climbing the Seven Summits. But in 2024, s...

In the winter of 1972/73, Powder Magazine was founded by Jake and Dave Moe. In the decades since, Powder became the Bible of skiing, defining the culture and helping shape the track of the sport. Fortunately for us, Jake also just happens to be one of the most passionate skiers I have ever met. This episode felt like the right fit to kick off the podcast. First, Jake is hilarious and so joyful. In...

Angel Collinson surprised most everyone when she retired in 2021. She was, and likely always will be, one of the greatest female big mountain skiers of all time. This episode was actually filmed all the way back in February of 2024. It was one of Angel’s first times back on skis. I’m also choosing to start the podcast with this episode because it illustrates that I’ve been wanting to create this f...

Welcome to The Drew Petersen Podcast Recorded on a chairlift with a ski pole microphone, professional skier, runner, and mental health advocate Drew Petersen cuts through the small talk in honest, unfiltered conversations with professional athletes, artists, authors, and more. Launching February 3 wherever you listen to, or watch, podcasts. – Watch on YouTube – Follow me/the show on Instagram: @dr...