ABOUT ME
01/THE BEGINNING
From Minnesota to the Olympic Games:
When I was 5, I stood at the door of a ski condo in Colorado, fully suited, wearing boots and a helmet, while the rest of the family scrambled to find their belongings. I was first on the hill, last off. Some could say I had snow in my blood.
When I was 9, I stepped onto a snowboard for the first time. I had no idea it would take me around the world and eventually to the Olympic Games.
Growing up in Minnesota, I fell in love with competition. I joined every co-ed sport I could, always battling against the boys. My family skied and did just about every outdoor activity we could in the winter to get out in the snow. My family had a strict rule about no snowboarding, but somehow my older brother got on board. I immediately followed in his steps as I did with all things.
At the start, I just wanted to keep up with my older brother. After a season of having fun, I joined Gteam (a local snowboard club based at Hyland Hills, Minnesota). I discovered jumps, rails, and boardercross racing. But after entering my first races, I discovered something that would shape the rest of my life: I loved going fast.
At 12, I began racing around Minnesota, Wisconsin, and at the National stage in Colorado. I began taking it a little more seriously as I realized how far it could take me. I quit hockey and decided to focus solely on snowboarding in the winter.
At 15, I moved on to the North American Circuit (Noram), competing all over the US and Canada. While many of my friends spent weekends at home, I spent mine training, traveling, and competing. School assignments were finished in airports, cars, planes, hotels, and mountain lodges. I spent my sophomore and junior years of high school balancing classes, training, and competition. Little did I know this was just the beginning. I qualified for Junior Worlds the first year.
My first Noram podium – a win – came in Steamboat when I was 16. After finishing 3rd overall in North America that season, my coaches, parents, and I decided that the World Cup and Europe were the next step on my journey. I earned the opportunity to compete at the World Championships that year.
A month later, COVID hit.
With a plane ticket in one hand, a covid test result in the other, and a mask on my face, I arrived at the airport ready to head to Europe. My coach had a setback and couldn’t join us, so my teammate Lily and I traveled to Europe alone at 17, in the middle of a pandemic. That season, I finished top-30 at my first race, followed it with several more, took nearly 100 COVID tests (yes, really), and learned so much more than I expected.
After deferring enrollment at the University of Denver, the next season came, and I pursued my first Olympic Games. A few top-30 finishes and a top-40 ranking weren’t enough, leaving me one spot out from the Beijing Games. A blowback, but in hindsight, exactly what I needed. I finished the season as the Vice Junior World Champion.
Over the next 4 years, I spent from October through April in Europe training and competing. Summers were spent in Minnesota working various jobs: fabrication factory work, inventory, and eventually restaurant serving. I also enrolled in Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Worldwide program in 2022, pursuing a Bachelor’s in Engineering with double minors in Communications and Mathematics.
During those 4 years, I became North American Champion, earned three Vice Junior World Champion titles, achieved 10 top-10 finishes in the World Cup, and secured a 3rd-place podium in a team event with teammate Walker Overstake from Colorado.
In January, I heard I qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy. A dream that I had since I was 5-years old, standing at the door of the ski condo fully dressed.
Yet the most important lessons weren’t learned from podiums or personal bests.
Sport has taught me resilience. It has taught me how to overcome failure, adapt under pressure, and continue pursuing goals that often seem out of reach. Every athlete experiences setbacks, injuries, and moments of doubt. What matters is learning how you respond.
Today, I compete against the best snowboard racers in the world on the World Cup circuit while continuing to pursue bigger goals: a World Championship medal, World Cup podiums, and future Olympic success.
02/THE REALITY
The Truth Behind the Scenes
When people hear "Olympic athlete," they usually imagine a dream life, major sponsorships, endless support, and a lifestyle built around training. They assume that once you reach the World Cup level, and certainly once you meet the Olympic Level, that everything is taken care of.
The reality is very different.
Behind every race is a constant balancing act. Between October and April, I spend nearly seven months living out of a suitcase. Airports become second homes. Hotels blur together. Some weeks I'm racing in Switzerland, then Italy, then Georgia, then Turkey, all while trying to recover, train, and prepare for the next race.
There isn't much routine. Home becomes wherever my snowboards are.
People often assume Olympic athletes are financially supported simply because they compete internationally. For many of us, that's far from the truth. In my case, it is the exact opposite. The US Snowboard Team does not support the Parallel Snowboard Racing discipline. All equipment, physical and mental therapy, coaching, training, recovery, flights, food, housing, and everyday living expenses are up to me to pay for. It all adds up quickly.
To make it work, I've spent my summers working wherever I could. I've worked in manufacturing, completed inventory jobs, and waited tables in restaurants. Every paycheck helped fund another season chasing the dream.
At the same time, I’m continuing to earn my engineering degree online. Homework is completed on airplanes, in hotel rooms, between training sessions, and sometimes after twelve-hour travel days. It isn't always convenient, but I want to build a future beyond sport while giving everything I have to my athletic career.
Then there’s the part no one can see.
Snowboard racing is unpredictable. One race can end with a podium celebration. The next can end in a crash. Results fluctuate. Confidence fluctuates. There are days when months of preparation end in less than sixty seconds.
You learn to separate your identity from your results.
You learn that success isn't always measured by medals. Sometimes success is showing up after disappointment. Sometimes it's trusting the process when no one else sees the progress.
I've learned that resilience isn't something you suddenly have. It's something you build—one early morning, one setback, one long travel day, and one difficult decision at a time.
The medals are memorable.
But the journey behind them is what has shaped me the most.
Step Behind the Scenes on my Journey
Hear real stories, funny memories, travel nightmares, equipment issues, testing days, board prep, and more. Join the insider blog and dive into the everyday life as I travel abroad as a World Cup athlete.
03/MORE THAN COMPETITION
Giving Back and Making an Impact
For a long time, I believed success was measured by results.
Faster times. Better rankings. Bigger races.
Those goals still matter to me. I wake up every day striving to become a better athlete and to compete with the best in the world. But over the years, I've realized that the impact I make off the mountain is just as important as what I accomplish on it.
Being a World Cup athlete and Olympian has given me opportunities I never imagined. It has allowed me to travel the world, meet incredible people, and represent something much bigger than myself. With those opportunities comes a responsibility to give back.
Whether I'm speaking to students, visiting local ski/snowboard clubs, mentoring young athletes, or sharing my journey online, I hope people see more than race results. I want them to understand that success is built through consistency, resilience, and the willingness to keep showing up—even when things don't go as planned.
I'm especially passionate about encouraging young girls to dream big. Growing up, I looked up to athletes who proved that women belonged at the highest level of sport. Now, I hope to be that example for someone else.
I'm also committed to being open about mental health. Elite sport often looks glamorous from the outside, but behind every competition are moments of pressure, uncertainty, disappointment, and self-doubt. Mental strength isn't about never struggling—it's about learning to navigate those struggles, asking for support when needed, and continuing to move forward. I hope that by sharing both the highs and the lows, others feel empowered to do the same.
Beyond inspiring individuals, I want to help strengthen the future of my sport. Snowboard Parallel remains one of the most exciting and dynamic events in the Winter Olympics, but like many Olympic disciplines, its future depends on continued growth, visibility, and participation. Following the 2026 Olympic Games, our discipline faced uncertainty as its place in future Olympic programs came under review. I joined athlete representatives from around the world to advocate for our sport, working alongside media teams and representatives from FIS and the IOC to demonstrate why snowboard parallel deserves to remain on the Olympic stage.
Every young athlete who discovers this sport should have the opportunity to dream of one day competing at the Olympics. If I can play even a small role in protecting that opportunity, while continuing to grow the sport and inspire the next generation of racers, I'll consider that one of my greatest accomplishments.
You don't have to become an Olympian to learn the lessons that sport teaches. Confidence, discipline, leadership, teamwork, and perseverance are qualities that carry into every part of life. Those lessons have shaped who I am just as much as any medal or podium finish.
I believe every athlete's career has a purpose beyond competition. We have a unique opportunity to inspire, educate, advocate, and connect with others through our experiences. If my journey helps one young athlete believe their goals are possible, encourages someone to prioritize their mental well-being, or inspires a child to discover a lifelong passion for snowboarding, then that impact lasts far longer than any race result.
04/LOOKING FORWARD
What’s next?
I've always believed that the best goals are the ones that scare you a little. More importantly, I’ve stood by the quote: “A dream is a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan.”
Qualifying for my first World Cup once felt impossible. Then it was standing on a World Cup podium. Then, competing at the Olympic Games. Every time I reached one goal, another appeared just beyond it. That's the beauty of pursuing excellence—there's always another mountain to climb.
The next chapter of my career is about more than chasing medals. It's about discovering how far I'm capable of going.
My goals are clear. I want to stand on more World Cup podiums. I want to win a World Championship medal. I want to compete at future Olympic Games, not simply as a participant, but as a genuine medal contender. Every training session, every race, every strength workout, every recovery day, and every decision I make is aimed at closing the gap between where I am today and where I know I can be.
Snowboard parallel is a sport decided by hundredths of a second. At this level, progress isn't measured in giant leaps; it's measured in tiny improvements repeated day after day. A slightly better start. A cleaner line. A stronger mindset under pressure. It's the relentless pursuit of marginal gains that eventually produces extraordinary results.
Those goals demand sacrifice. Months away from home. Long travel days. Missed holidays. Countless hours in the gym and on the mountain. But I've never viewed those sacrifices as something I'm giving up. They're investments in a dream that's worth pursuing.
I don't know exactly where this journey will lead. That's part of what makes it exciting.
What I do know is that I'll continue showing up with the same curiosity, determination, and belief that first led a nine-year-old girl from Minnesota to step onto a snowboard.
PC: Justin Reiter
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