The freestyle skiing pro chats about his latest win, what he loved about this Olympics experience, and why he uses a more gentle approach to health.
When freestyle skiier Alex Hall won his silver medal at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games’ slopestyle competition, adding to the gold medal he earned at the 2022 Beijing Games, everyone thought he’d need a break. But unlike some athletes who describe a dramatic crash after the event, Hall didn’t spiral or overhaul his life. Instead, he booked a filming trip, kept skiing, and started planning surf sessions for spring—basically a continuation of his regular, balanced routine.
That grounded mindset extends to how Hall approaches health and longevity. While many top athletes travel with supplement stacks and protein powders, Hall keeps it simple. He focuses on vegetables, balanced meals, daily movement, and a 30-minute stretch routine—no optimization obsession, no rigid tracking. He says that perspective comes from watching his 103-year-old grandfather, who still lives independently and walks an hour a day.
Hall. 27, has a clear vision when it comes to health and longevity but only recently realized that he literally needed clearer vision, especially for precision rail skiing and nighttime events. He’s now partnering with ACUVUE to talk about how contacts have upped his game, the 2026 Winter Olympics (from the sauna and ice baths in the Olympic Village to his post-games schedule), and why he believes moderation might be the ultimate healthy aging hack.
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The Healthy: Congrats on your Olympic medal! Tell us what that experience was like, both physically and mentally during the competition and immediately after.
Alex Hall: Thanks. Honestly, it was great. We got so lucky this time around with the facilities at the Olympic Village, especially compared to four and eight years ago. We had this amazing spa in the athlete village so we’d hit the warm pool, sauna, cold plunge, [and] hot tub. We’d use it pretty much every day after training, which was super nice. It’s rare to have something like that at our disposal.
The schedule was heavy. I’m used to skiing almost every day year-round, but the Olympic schedule is pretty crazy. They give us a couple extra practice days that we don’t usually get for World Cups, and then we had multiple competition days. I think I didn’t take a day off for 15 days in a row. It was at a nice point in the season where I’ve skied a bunch already before, so I’m feeling really warmed up.
The Healthy: Can you share any unexpected behind-the-scenes Olympic moments?
Alex Hall: The really nice spa surprises people. Some of the parties at the end were pretty fun. As soon as everyone’s done with their events, there’s all this pent-up energy and everyone’s like, “I’m free now!”
The Healthy: How do you come down from such a mental high of competing at the Olympics, winning a medal, then going home and trying to sleep?
Alex Hall: It’s interesting. People talk about the Olympic comedown for athletes. What I love about freestyle skiing is that there’s so much more to it than just competitions or the Olympics. I love skiing on a daily basis. I love doing it with friends. For the three times I’ve gone to the Olympics, I always keep [the momentum] rolling and do something after. So tomorrow I’m flying to Boston to do a filming trip in the city, because they just got a bunch of snow and we’re going to be sliding down the handrails and stuff.
You have this crazy sense of emotion when you get done with your events and all of your friends and family are there to support you. And then there’s this weird period afterward. I stayed a couple extra days to watch friends compete in the halfpipe. I went to the [Olympic] closing ceremonies. That made it more of a gradual comedown. Now I’m just looking forward to skiing more. It doesn’t feel like this was the only thing I was working toward for four years and now it’s over and now life has no meaning. I still want to go out and ride.
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The Healthy: Is that intentional—making sure you have things lined up afterward? Or is that just naturally how your life works?
Alex Hall: It’s natural, but it’s definitely a strategy. I knew that when I got back from the Olympics, I’d want to go on a couple trips instead of sitting at home. When you do some big event and you just go home, everyone expects you to just go chill. But a lot of times, that can actually make it worse. So [I’m] just still living it pretty normally.
The Healthy: You’re 27 years old and already a two-time Olympic medalist. How are you thinking about protecting your body for the next decade?
Alex Hall: It’s tough in freestyle skiing. Injuries are common because what we’re doing is pretty crazy. But I’ve been super lucky, knock on wood. I’ve never really had an injury. For me, it’s about continuing what I’ve been doing, which is get a ton of exercise in different forms: stretching, gym work, going on hiking, [and] surfing. Doing different activities keeps your body mobile and used to different movements, instead of just doing the one specific thing all the time.
The Healthy: How’s your surfing?
Alex Hall: Not bad. I didn’t grow up surfing. I started surfing at 15, so I’ve been doing it about 10 years. I try to surf quite a bit every summer. I’m not bad. I’m decent.
The Healthy: Let’s talk about vision. Obviously, eyesight is critical for competition. What was it like realizing you needed contacts, and how has that helped?
Alex Hall: Everyone in my family needs contacts or glasses. I [thought] I was lucky, but I think I was more in denial because I just didn’t want to deal with it. This summer, I realized I probably should get something for my eyes. I noticed it while driving, but also during athletics. Through this partnership with ACUVUE, I was able to start using their contacts, which are just so comfortable. They helped me see so much, especially when I’m doing the rail stuff—which is sliding down the long metal bars—because you really have to keep your eyes on the end of the rail. Night events, too. Usually the lighting’s pretty good, but it’s not always as good as the daytime.
The Healthy: What’s one self-care habit you never skip?
Alex Hall: During the season, it’s a 30-minute stretch at the end of the day. I wouldn’t even call it yoga necessarily. It’s even a little more chill than that. And it makes me feel so much better the next day.
The Healthy: What about recovery—sauna, cold plunge, red light?
Alex Hall: If I have the tools, I love sauna and ice baths. I’ll do sauna, and then ice bath for three to four minutes twice—a little cycle. We were doing that every day at the Olympics. I don’t know all the science but if it makes me feel good, then it works. Beyond that, I just try to eat well.
The Healthy: Do you follow a specific diet or use supplements?
Alex Hall: Nothing super specific. If I’m eating fairly healthy or get my veggies, I’m going to feel good about myself. But I’m not crazy regimented. I just know if I’m not eating good, I’m not going to feel good the next day.
The Healthy: Are you on any protein powder, supplement stack, or creatine?
Alex Hall: A lot of my friends are crazy on the supplements and stuff. I don’t really do those. I just try to eat how my mom taught me growing up: Eat my veggies, eat healthy, but not go too crazy with it. Just keep it pretty basic.
The Healthy: In an era where everyone’s optimizing everything, what’s your perspective on longevity and keeping things simple?
Alex Hall: It’s maybe not as conventional as top-top athletes. Part of [my perspective on longevity] is just ease. [I’m] always in different places around the world. At one point I’ll be in Japan, then I’ll be in China, then I’ll be in Europe, [or] Australia. In a lot of those places, you can go to grocery stores. [But] if you’re staying at a hotel, you’re not cooking and you’re eating the food they give you. So part of it’s just being OK with eating a lot of different things and not letting it affect my day or getting hung up on it. The other thing is how my parents raised me. They raised me to eat good, but also they never were too over the top.
The Healthy: So you don’t travel with any powders, any supplements?
Alex Hall: Nope, none.
The Healthy: Where did you grow up?
Alex Hall: Switzerland. I’ve lived in the U.S. the last 10 years. My dad’s from the U.S., my mom’s Italian, so we had a lot of different cuisines at home.
The Healthy: I read you keep your medals in your underwear drawer. Why?
Alex Hall: It’s a couple reasons. I think it’s mainly my mom being paranoid that it’s going to get stolen.
The Healthy: You have an Olympic medal. You need a safe.
Alex Hall: That’s another thing they suggested and I was like, that’s ridiculous. No way I’m getting [a] safe. The other reason is too— I don’t know, I feel like I’m not the kind of person to sport my medal around in the first place. There’s an occasional fundraiser where they’re like, “Can you bring your medal?” So I’ll bring my medal, but except for that, you don’t ever need it. So it’s just nice to just keep it out of sight, out of mind.
The Healthy: What’s next for you—trips, surfing, what else?
Alex Hall: A couple sponsor ski trips, competitions, some World Cups, and then hopefully some surf trips once May rolls around. Pretty much the same program, just a bunch of skiing and a bunch of trips, which I really enjoy.
The Healthy: Sounds like a great life. Anything else you want to add about health or longevity?
Alex Hall: I take a lot of inspiration from my granddad. He’s 103, still living at home, no assistant living. [He] still goes out on a walk every day for an hour [and is] still sharp. He’s never done anything crazy, nothing too specific. He just gets his exercise, eats his food, goes about his life. A lot of that is probably genetics and he’s gotten really lucky with that. But I think that’s inspired me, too, to not be too hung up on doing anything too specific. As long as you’re getting your steps in, getting your exercise, maybe you don’t need to be an ultramarathon runner and you’ll still probably live a pretty good life.
The Healthy: I think that’s a great message in this optimization era.
Alex Hall: My grandma made it to 99. I’m hoping I got some of his genes. We’ll see.
The Healthy: You’re an Olympian who has two medals, so I’m assuming you got a good portion of them.
For more wellness updates, subscribe to The Healthy newsletter and follow The Healthy on Facebook and Instagram. Keep reading:
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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
