Olympian Nick Goepper Learns The Truth About Halfpipe Skiing

This past winter, in January, decorated Olympian and slopestyle skier Nick Goepper announced his retirement from competitive skiing. It was one heck of a run: Goepper's trophy case includes multiple pieces of Olympic and X-Games hardware.

Since then, Goepper's social media presence has taken a turn, with the Olympian playing a down-on-his-luck, washed-up version of his former, glorious self -- his Instagram bio now reads "Struggling Olympian trying to make ends meet."

While Goepper's new Toyota Tundra doesn't exactly scream "struggling," the whole bit is pretty hilarious -- I do hope it's a bit for his sake.

Goepper's latest post involves a trip to the halfpipe, wherein he investigates the potential of a possible career change as he navigates his retirement.

It's all tongue-in-cheek, but I suspect there's a bit of truth here. Halfpipe skiing, and competitive freestyle skiing more generally, is brutal.

Injuries are always a risk at skiing's highest level, and half pipes are known to be the least forgiving of freestyle's many disciplines. I can't imagine Goepper was feeling particularly excited about getting into halfpipe after these informational interviews -- I know I wouldn't be.

As for Goepper's retirement journey, this video is only one of many.

Here's another that better captures the current state of affairs.

Amidst these silly videos, a few questions loom: Is Goepper fully committed to becoming an internet funny guy? Will he return to competitive skiing? Is the bank actually going to take his house?

As for that last question, my money's on the answer being no, but for the rest, I can't say. The only thing I do know is that despite being "retired," Goepper still rips.

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