Hunter Hess: 'Why not turn it into something positive?'

Somewhere over the Atlantic in late February, Hunter Hess had time to think. The 27-year-old Freeski Halfpipe athlete from Bend, Oregon, was flying home from the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 after the most intense two weeks of his life: a viral press conference answer, a rebuke from the White House, threats directed at his family, and a tenth-place finish that fell short of the run he knew he had in him.

By the time he landed in Utah, he had a plan. That plan became The Real Loser Project, a fundraising initiative that reclaimed the insult aimed at him during the Games and channeled it into STOKED, a nonprofit helping underserved youth find confidence and community through action sports.

With The Real Loser Project launching in May and delivering its first $15,000 installment within weeks, Hess sat down with Inside FIS to talk about family, noise, and turning “the most negativity I’d ever been a part of” into the biggest opportunity of his life.

Inside FIS: When you look back at those two weeks of the Winter Olympics, what are the emotions that stand out most?

Hunter Hess (HH): I skied so well leading up to that point and I was as prepared as I could have been. Then, two weeks prior, the moment we got over to Europe, everything just started crumbling…

The media attention was crazy, I had taken a pretty bad crash so my personal health was super bad, and the contest wasn't really lining up the way I wanted it to. It was an uphill battle the whole time. It's not regret or resentment. I just wish I lived it a little differently.

I really felt that way before we started The Real Loser Project, but once that came out it made the experience feel more complete and whole. I sat with myself for a little bit and realized that was my experience. It wasn't about walking away with hardware, with a medal, it was about walking away with this thing that was bigger than myself.

Skiing's a beautiful thing, but it's all I've ever done, and freestyle skiing in particular is a little world. You're so sheltered from real media, and then suddenly the entire world has its eyes on you! It really made me realize how big of a deal the Olympics is.

Inside FIS: That said, there's nothing that can really prepare you for what happened, for your world being tipped upside down like that…

HH: Yeah, 100%. It was funny because before the Olympics I’d texted my family - wanting to make sure there was no stone left unturned - because I knew my family was a safe haven for me.

So, I sent them this big text saying "hey, I know media is going to be crazy but I need you guys to keep me level-headed and keep my head in the game, keep me focused." And they were like, "yeah, OK," but they got a little bit more than they asked for!

They were still in the US when the vast majority of it broke out, and I talked to them for hours every single day. They were my sounding board. It was a really emotional time and they were there for me. They played a huge, huge role, bigger than I think they'll ever realize.

And I don't want to use the word regret, because I don't regret a single piece of it, but I just wish I’d skied better. That was my whole thing. I really wish I’d been able to put down a run I was proud of and walk away with my head held high.

But everything else? I'm extremely proud of how I dealt with it, and how my family and my team dealt with it. I think a lot of people who were in my corner will never forget it for the rest of their lives.

Inside FIS: When was the moment you decided not to just move on, that you were going to turn it into something positive?

HH: That for me was when I was flying home, from Italy back to Utah, and I had so much time to think. It had been a crazy, crazy experience - so full on. It was the most exposure I’d ever had but also the most negativity I’d ever been a part of. And that weighed really heavily on my soul, as a human being.

The Olympics were supposed to be a time for bringing my friends and family together, for identifying with a moment they've also invested a lot of time and energy into. It was supposed to be beautiful and it turned into maybe the worst moment ever for me personally, just because of all the negativity. It just felt so toxic.

So, when I was flying home, personally I really needed to turn it into something positive. I think some people thought it was for publicity, but it was about my soul and making me feel better about this situation. And by doing that and also being able to give back to other people, it meant even more.

I wanted to make it this full-circle moment where I was able to give back to a sport that's given me everything. Skiing’s given me life, purpose, my sense of community, my self-esteem - everything! The story felt too big to just let die, and we’d gone through too much to just sit around, say "that was crazy" and move on. It felt like the biggest opportunity I’d ever had in my life to make something positive happen.

Inside FIS: If somebody buys a “Real Loser” hat in five years' time, without having heard the original story, what do you hope being part of the project would mean to them?

HH: There's so much negativity out there, I’d want them to feel as if they're part of something bigger than themselves, part of something positive. If people can walk away with a smile on their face and feel like they helped someone somewhere, especially a young kid, an underserved youth who's been able to get into action sports, develop self-esteem, develop a community, develop skills they would never have had otherwise, I think that's a really powerful message.

And I hope people do feel that, because this isn’t about me, I was just the messenger. It's down to all the people that supported it, all the people that went out and bought a shirt or a hat or donated money. They're the heroes. They're the ones making it happen, and they're the ones really changing people's lives.

Inside FIS: Have you already started to see the impact of some of the money that's been raised? What has it been used for?

HH: We already did one installment; I donated the first $15,000, and that was really satisfying for me, a big moment. I discussed with Steve [Larosiliere], who runs STOKED, what the money would actually be going toward, and he was telling me it'll go on educating more coaches.

The more coaches they can educate and help transition into this career path, the more ability STOKED has to get more kids involved in their programs and hopefully lead them into a positive career path as well.

Inside FIS: Even that first installment is going to go a long way then. You can train a lot of coaches for $15,000.

HH: Big time, they're super excited! From what I understand, these will be some of the biggest donations they've ever received. And for them it was great exposure, the story got picked up in a lot of different places.

I met an Irish guy at a Snow League event this year and he’d heard about the project and just loved it, and went and personally donated, I think it was 1,000 bucks, directly to STOKED, because he loved action sports and was so inspired by it. So hopefully the exposure carries on, gets them more donors and gets more kids in the program as well.

Inside FIS: Do you think being at the center of such a political story has given you a different appreciation of how much impact an athlete can have?

HH: Yeah, for sure. I think athletes should use their voice, 1000%. People look at us as role models in a sense, at least I did growing up. I always idolized skiers, and that's what put me in this position.

I think a lot of people want to silence athletes and think they don't deserve a platform to speak, but I think athletes need to use their voice and speak up for things they find important. We do have an interesting perception of the world, because a lot of us are sheltered in these little communities, but I also think we have a great appreciation for hard work, the outdoors, our community and respecting others. Those values can carry a long way.

If you're in a position where your voice can reach thousands if not millions of people, why not use it for what you think is right, stand behind your beliefs, and speak up for what you think matters?

Inside FIS: On the flip side, given the backlash you experienced, you can understand why some athletes wouldn’t want to put their heads above the parapet...

HH: Yeah, for sure. For me, I didn't intend for my statement to ever reach anyone, really. We were asked a tough question and we all thought we answered accordingly. It's a sensitive time and a sensitive topic, but no one thought they said anything out of the ordinary…

I think people interpreted what I said in a million different ways, but I knew what I meant. It was never about me trying to be defiant against the US or anything like that. It was me speaking up in a sensitive time and answering the question that was asked, doing so to the best of my ability while holding my morals in the right place, trying to speak from the heart and speak with honesty and be a genuine human being, because that's how I always was.

Maybe that was because of my lack of media exposure to a global audience. But I'm extremely proud of how I dealt with it. I never felt like I sold out or said something I didn't mean or tripped up on my words. For me, I never felt like I lost myself, and I think that was the biggest piece of it.

And yet again, it’s put me in this position of opportunity to reach so many people. Whether they loved me or hated me, it gave me the ability to reach them and for them to sit down and listen to my words. That was a big, big piece of coming up with The Real Loser Project. You have people’s attention for only so long, and it will probably be the most exposure I ever have, so why not turn it into something positive? They can hate my words yet again, but at least they’ll know about a good cause that's going toward something bigger than myself, you know? That was the biggest thing.

Inside FIS: Is there any direction you'd like to take the project in the future? Any new initiatives you'd like to carry out through it?

HH: I haven't thought too far ahead. For me, it was kind of just: "get it out there while people still care about it." I didn't want the doors to close. It took a lot longer than expected, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be, and there are a lot of moving pieces, but we were able to get it out there and get eyes on it.

For STOKED, a lot of the work they do is surfing or skateboarding related, just because there are lower barriers to entry. If I can use some of my sponsors and other connections I have with certain brands to close that equipment gap a little bit, to introduce more kids to skiing and snowboarding specifically, I would love that, whether it's through Real Loser or something else.

I'd also love to make it a bit more of a hometown thing. A lot of people in Bend, Oregon really identified with this and full-on support it. The ski foundation there is called MBSEF (Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation), and they do a great job. It was because of them and a fund that they used that I was actually able to qualify for the US team - without that, my parents wouldn't have been able to afford it.

So, if I can give back in that way and make it more of a hometown thing, maybe host an event or two, another fundraiser where all the proceeds would go to MBSEF, and hopefully inspire some local kids to get out there and give them the opportunity to compete on the world stage, I would also love to do that.