I first met Alex Hackel in Austria filming a video where I taught him to improve his short turns, tracked by CARV, the digital ski coach. What struck me most was how good a learner he was — focused, determined, and genuinely humble. That’s a big part of why I wanted him on the podcast.

Two-time X Games medalist Alex Hackel didn’t get here by being the most naturally talented kid on the mountain — he got here by getting rejected, picked last, and told by a coach he’d never make it pro.

In this episode we go back to that moment at Sunday River, how he found the coach (Mike Hanley) who changed everything, the story behind his triple cork 1080, and how that same “figure it out and go again” mindset led him into filmmaking, freeride, co-founding his own ski company (1000 Skis), and starting a YouTube channel from scratch that’s since taken off.

If you’ve ever felt written off before you even got started, this one’s for you.

Get 20% off Big Picture Skiing membership with code PODCAST at bigpictureskiing.com

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:56 Why Alex is successful in so many different ways

01:24 The Sunday River story — judged and picked last

02:52 Growing up with idiopathic short stature

04:23 What kept him from giving up

06:29 Finding support in the terrain park (meeting Curtis)

07:38 Convincing his parents to send him to Windells Academy

09:03 Meeting coach Mike Hanley

11:10 The triple cork 1080 story — a coach who believed in him first

13:00 Advice on learning bigger spins and takeoffs

16:16 Managing fear and nerves on big tricks

18:08 How airbags changed trick progression

19:04 Getting into filmmaking

21:47 What it actually takes to grow a YouTube channel

25:19 The “White Rush” video and why it stood out

30:34 Why he started his own ski company, 1000 Skis

37:41 Sleep, routine, and shifting to long-term thinking

41:17 Final words and mutual respect

42:34 Where to find Alex Hackel + 1000 Skis

Are your ski boots holding you back from the performance your skis are capable of? In this episode I sit down with Master Boot Fitter Brent Amsbury to break down everything you need to know about plug boots — the type of ski boot most top level technical skiers are wearing.

Brent is a Master Boot Fitter at Park City Ski Boot in Park City, Utah, where he sets up plug boots for racers, instructors, and high-performance skiers. If you’re chasing higher carve scores, driving race skis, or pushing toward your highest instructor certification, this conversation will save you a lot of trial and error.

We cover:

• What a plug boot actually is and who it’s really for

• Why they’re called “plug” boots (the internal construction explained)

• Forward lean, cuff height, and why these boots feel so much more powerful

• Ramp angle adjustability and why most racers reduce it

• The thick sole and torsional rigidity that sets plug boots apart

• Why plug boots are a “project in a box” — not a boot you just heat mold and go

• The best time of year to buy (and why waiting until the season starts is a mistake)

• Pricing, and how to get into a great plug boot for a fraction of retail

• Longevity — how many days you can actually get out of one

• Brand-by-brand differences: Lange/Rossignol, Head, Atomic, Fischer, Nordica/Technica, Dalbello

• Fitting advice for wide, low-arch, or fleshy feet

• How to choose your flex (110 vs 130 vs 140+)

• How manufacturers actually create different flex ratings

• Junior and shorter-cuff options

• Why heated socks or boot heaters are non-negotiable in these boots

• Why the pain isn’t mandatory — proper fitting makes these boots comfortable

• DIY boot work vs. working with a fitter

⛷️ Enjoyed this podcast? Frustrated with staying at the same level of skiing for the past few years? To change your skiing you need a systematic approach that covers all aspects of skiing. That’s exactly why I built my learning platform, Big Picture Skiing. It’s not this YouTube channel, it’s where skiers go to find more than just tips. If you are ready to finally take your skiing to the next level go to www.bigpictureskiing.com

Podcast listeners get 20% off using code PODCAST. So why wait when you could be getting started today.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

1:54 What is a plug boot & who's it for

4:23 Why it's called a "plug" boot

5:33 Forward lean, cuff height & power vs. freeride boots

7:01 Ramp angle & boot board adjustability

8:05 Thick sole, torsional rigidity & weight

9:45 Plastic type & retail price ($1,000-$1,300)

10:26 It's a "project in a box"

12:53 Checking flatness out of the box

13:32 Cuff canting, liners & fine-tuning

15:42 Best time of year to buy

17:18 Pricing & buying older/discounted models

20:21 Lifespan, durability & upgrading liners

21:06 Brand differences (Lange, Rossignol, Head, Atomic, Fischer, Nordica, Technica, Dalbello)

25:01 Fitting for low arch or wider feet

27:04 Grinding, shaping & sizing tips

28:56 Choosing your flex (110 vs 130 vs 140+)

30:15 How flex ratings are actually made

31:50 Junior & shorter-cuff options

32:44 Wrap-up: which route to take

33:19 Heated socks & boot heaters

34:16 Plug boots don't have to be painful

35:03 DIY boot work vs. going to a fitter

36:26 Find Brent / Park City Ski Boot

37:17 Leave your local boot fitter recommendation

38:19 Outro

If moguls intimidate you this episode is going to change that. You’ll learn a clear, repeatable method for going from avoiding bumps entirely to skiing 60 in a row with control and actually enjoying it. Expect practical handholds: how to control your speed and direction, why “just get small and absorb” quietly sabotages most people, and the mindset shift that turns a scary bump field into a series of solvable problems.

My guest is Geri Tumbasz — Hungarian-born, Austria-based, and one of the most highly certified ski coaches in the world. What makes him the right person for this is that he wasn’t a natural at moguls either. He struggled, got frustrated, went looking for answers, and reverse-engineered a progression that now gets terrified skiers skiing bump lines in a single camp.

Here’s what we cover:

✅ The full beginner-to-confident progression — wedge-parallel turns in a corridor, then building a real mogul line with gates

✅ Why you find the round line before the direct line (and how that kills the fear)

✅ The “just get small and absorb” myth — and what to do instead

✅ The heel-up / hamstring-as-a-hinge move for releasing your tail in steep zipper lines

✅ Where pole-plant timing actually wins you control

✅ The mindset shift: hunting for the solution instead of staring at the problem

✅ Geri’s bouncy low transition and where his style comes from

✅ The ideas he stole from Japanese and Korean technical skiers

✅ Why he deliberately overdoes a movement to find its limits

✅ How telemark transformed his feel for pressure and dorsiflexion in alpine skiing

⛷️ Geri’s online Mogul course (founder/lifetime access offer mentioned in the episode): https://www.snowsportsgeri.com/offers/m7hSgEVq/checkout

🌐 Geri’s Ski Camps: www.snowsportsgeri.com

🏕️ Geri’s Cold Candy ski school: www.cold-candy.com

For everything I do on carving, short turns, body prep, mobility and mogul skiing, it’s all in one place:

👉 https://bigpictureskiing.com (use code PODCAST for 20% off any membership)

🎿 Ski camps with me: https://skicoachcollective.com

⏱️ Chapters:

00:00 Intro – why moguls scare people

01:20 How Geri became the go-to mogul coach

05:30 Where the progression starts: the wedge & corridor drill

13:00 Moving from groomers into real bumps

15:00 The "get small and absorb" myth

16:20 Finding the round line before the direct line

21:30 Reading the line & looking for solutions, not problems

25:00 Steep, long bumps and over-skied lines

32:15 The steep rut line: the heel-up hamstring release

40:30 Pole plant: timing, prep & targeting the next bump

45:40 What he learned from World Cup mogul skiers

51:40 Mogul waves: the easy way in

54:50 Who the camps are for & "booking your line"

57:15 Moguls and your knees

01:00:45 What makes Geri tick: the low position & overdoing movements

01:09:00 Japanese & Korean inspiration + favourite drills

01:14:30 Telemark: what it taught him about alpine skiing

01:24:15 How to ski with Geri – camps & course

01:29:20 Wrap-up

🎧 Also on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

👍 Enjoyed it? Subscribe and tell me — what trips you up most in the bumps?