As we head into one of the biggest seasons of her career, we sat down with OR athlete and reigning World Champion Zoe Atkin to talk gear, progression, and the mindset that’s carrying her toward Italy. Zoe’s been part of the OR family for five years, and in that time we’ve watched her evolve from a young standout with huge potential into one of the most composed, technically gifted halfpipe skiers in the world. What follows is a conversation about balance, fear, confidence, and the passion that pushes her to excel in skiing and life. Q: How long have you been skiing for OR, and what kits are you wearing? Zoe: I’ve been with Outdoor Research for five years now, and I love to switch up my kits. Powderverse Kit for training — lightly insulated, warm. Cloudchaser Limited Edition Kit in spring — breathable, great colors. Stormtracker Gloves for pipe training — great for mobility. Team GORE-TEX Mitt for free skiing — super warm, love the leather. Q: How did you first get into skiing? Zoe: I started skiing around age two. We lived on the East Coast then, and my parents drove us to Maine every weekend. I instantly got hooked. Q: You live in Park City now. Hot take: East Coast or West Coast? Zoe: West Coast, for sure. But I’d totally go back East sometimes — the culture is fun and people get after it even in icy conditions. Q: Community comes up a lot in freeskiing. What does it mean to you? Zoe: It’s everything. Having great skiers around you helps you push your limits. The stoke is always higher when you’re skiing with others who are chasing the same goals — it brings out the best in everyone and makes it really fun to get out and ski with your friends. Q: Your sister Isabel is a huge inspiration. What was it like growing up with her? Zoe: Growing up with my sister was the best. I never dreamed of becoming a professional skier when I was younger but watching her succeed showed me what was possible. I was at the 2018 Olympics when she won her medal — after that, I wanted to do everything she did. She’s also been an incredible support system. Not many people understand standing at the top of a massive pipe intending to throw your body 20 feet out of it — but she gets it. Q: Why halfpipe instead of following Isabel into slopestyle? Zoe: Part of me wanted my own identity. For a long time I was “Isabel Atkin’s younger sister.” Superpipe gave me my own avenue to grow into the skier and person I wanted to be. Q: You compete at the highest level and go to Stanford, while a lot of your competition is just focusing on skiing. How do you balance both? Zoe: I grew up in an academically focused household. School was always the main thing and skiing was extracurricular, and I’ve always loved learning. Competing at the highest level is demanding, especially mentally. Stanford gives me space to step away from skiing and be “Zoe the student.” That balance helps me perform better on snow. Q: Does your academic work influence your skiing? Zoe: Definitely, in a couple of ways. First, developing an identity outside of skiing and competition results has been huge for my performance on the hill. The ups and downs of skiing at the highest level are stressful and knowing that I exist outside of competition takes a lot of the pressure off. Second, I study symbolic systems — essentially how thinking systems work. Understanding the psychology of fear, rationality, and performance psychology has helped me push through mental blocks in the pipe. It’s made a big difference. Q: You’re known for big amplitude and high-consequence tricks. How do you balance progression with staying healthy through a long competition season? Zoe: Skiing is a dangerous sport, but I try not to focus on the risks. Instead, I focus on building confidence and staying in the right headspace. By the time I drop into a competition run, I’ve done hundreds of repetitions of every trick and amplitude, building trust in my body and my preparation. I know I’ve put in the strength and body awareness work to handle whatever comes, even when things don’t go according to plan. Q: Walk us through your most recent season. Zoe: 2nd at Copper World Cup, 2nd at Calgary World Cup, 1st at Aspen World Cup, won the Crystal Globe overall, and became World Champion. X Games was hard — I finished 4th and struggled with a trick mentally. But then I landed the run I needed to win the World Cup in the same pipe the next week. That felt good. Q: Can you connect the X Games low to succeeding at World Champs? Zoe: X Games 2025 felt like a big loss. I didn’t want to be 4th ever again. After X Games I recommitted to training — especially a trick I’d feared for years. I worked on it every day for two weeks leading into World Champs. Bit by bit, the fear lessened. I built confidence. Landing that run under immense pressure and winning World Champs felt incredible and validated the work. Q: What’s training been like leading into the Italy? Zoe: Intense. World Champs was a big turning point — I overcame major mental blocks and landed a high-pressure run after falling on my first run. That proved to me what I’m capable of. I’m getting a ton of reps — more amplitude, more style, more confidence. I have this renewed mentality with my training — in the gym, with my sports psych, on the snow, and going into Italy as world number one feels good. Q: Great Britain doesn’t have a pipe team, so you and your coach run a solo program. Do you miss having a team? Zoe: Sometimes, yeah. But the ski community really feels like a team — we’re all competitors, but we’re all friends. And I like the independence of running my own program and setting my own goals. Q: What’s the dynamic with your coach like? Zoe: He knows me really well, and he knows I want to win. There’s a level of trust we have with each other — we hold ourselves accountable. He really understands my mental process and helps me work past my fear blockers. Q: Thinking back to your first Olympics in 2022, what changed for you? Zoe: My first Olympics was exciting but stressful — COVID tests, charters, not much outside contact. I was 19, put a lot of pressure on myself, and didn’t land the run I wanted. That was tough. Taking a summer off, doing a Europe trip with my sister, and starting at Stanford reset my perspective. I even considered retiring — and then I won X Games that next year. That was a huge confidence boost and a testament to focusing on the process and having fun while you’re doing your sport. Q: What does your dream post-event celebration in Italy look like? Zoe: Aperol spritz. Pasta. Pizza. Gelato. Maybe champagne. The essentials. (Laughs) Q: We get the feeling you’re going to be drinking a lot of celebratory Prosecco. Best of luck in Italy, Zoe! Zoe: Thank you so much. >> Learn More About Zoe Atkin
