Alpine Skiing
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen is doing it his way – and not afraid to cry
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen isn't just a ski racer – he's the samba dancing sunny boy of skiing, attempting to rewrite the rules in a sport rooted in tradition.
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen is a man of hidden depths. He models. He DJs. He dances samba on TV and on podiums. (Basically, wherever he gets the chance). He also has a talent for turning the sport on its head, racking up podiums and an Olympic appearance for Norway before retiring and then returning to represent his other home country, Brazil, in 2025.
If you're thinking, 'Someone should make a film about him', you’re right. "I've had quite a rollercoaster of a journey… and I don't think it's slowing down," the 25-year-old laughs in Lucas Pinheiro Braathen: On My Terms, the forthcoming feature-length documentary exploring his rise to the top – and back.
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen's enthusiasm is clear in his performance
© Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
If you haven't heard of Pinheiro Braathen, here's a brief recap. Born in Oslo to a a Norwegian father and a Brazilian mother, he grew up in Norway. From an early age, it had been his father who pushed him towards skiing, despite Pinheiro Braathen's own initial reluctance. Nevertheless, he became one of his nation's best alpine athletes. Yet, behind the scenes, all was not well. With unflinching honesty, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen: On My Terms turns back the clock to explore how his parents' "hostile divorce" and his dual citizenship of two vastly different nations served to undermine Pinheiro Braathen's sense of his place in the world.
"I love both of my parents, I have difficulties with them both," Pinheiro Braathen admits in one of the film's most touching moments, explaining that as a child it was difficult to understand that the people he was supposed to look up to for guidance couldn't handle being around each other. “Growing up was confusing, it was scary… your accent always being wrong, the way you dress being wrong. You become so professional at submitting your true self… the result is a loss of identity. I look back at it as a lot of insecurity, a lot of anxiety," he explains to a friend.
Known for his smile, Pinheiro Braathen opens up about his challenges
© Johann Groder / Red Bull Content Pool
Skiing was making me miserable
It got worse when he joined the Norwegian Ski Federation. Pinheiro Braathen fought to fit in as a Norwegian ski racer, winning his only World Cup title for them in 2023. However, despite the podiums, he explains that his role in the team never quite felt honest to his own sense of self. "I found myself in a situation where I was limited to practice my profession for other people's purpose and not my own," he says.
Norway is home to many alpine athletes and the focus is always on the team. To hear Pinheiro Braathen tell it, there was simply no place for his individualism there. At this point – in late 2023 – he realised with crushing certainty: "Skiing was making me miserable."
"Skiing was the cause of everything that was shit in my life," he explains in a shocking section in the film. "I had to go through a lot of success before realising, 'What am I doing here'" he says, admitting that he always felt that "something was missing" on the podium.
Pinheiro Braathen skied in the colours of Norway initially
© Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
Now, he's proudly flying the flag for Brazil in the alpine skiing world
© Erich Spiess/Red Bull Content Pool
Viewers aren't allowed to shy away from the very real pain that Pinheiro Braathen was going through. He became depressed, breaking up with a girlfriend on an impulse. "When I lose faith, I lock into myself and refuse assistance," he says. He spiralled into his own head. "I communicated extremely little with my family." Something needed to change. So, after three years of conflict with the NSF, he retired. The film captures the tearful press conference when he announced the end of his time in sport. He was just 23 and the reigning World Cup slalom champion.
After spending a few months in Brazil with family, he realised he wanted to come back, but in his own way. He called his father, they build a team specifically for him. Then, shockingly, Pinheiro Braathen switched sides, signing up to represent his mother's home country, Brazil – the place where he "discovered my love for sports". "I asked the Brazilian Ski Federation for one thing, freedom," he explains. He got it.
Get to know Lucas Pinheiro Braathen better
"I decided to come back to ski racing because I found the possibility of doing it on my own terms," he continues. "It would be different if the purpose was to start skiing again and bring the Brazilian flag to the World Cup, but I made it clear that I'm coming back to make history and I'm coming back to be the best."
Pinheiro Braathen is certainly livening up alpine skiing with his approach
© Erich Spiess/Red Bull Content Pool
I'm just an individual with a different approach than others. I don’t see anything wrong or right with that, it's just different
In other words, as the film makes crystal clear, this time around he's doing this for himself. For the first time Pinheiro Braathen is being unapologetically true to himself. "I'm at this stage in my life where I'm going to do me over everything. Whatever unfolds is meant to be," he says, signalling a mindset shift that prioritises individuality over conformity.
I asked the Brazilian Ski Federation for one thing, freedom
It's still far from plain sailing. He may have found his place, but the pressure to be the best can be overwhelming. Later in the film we see him planning a difficult ski route, calling out the turns and line of attack in advance. The pressure is palpable. Naturally, sometimes it's too much. "I'm a modern, masculine man. I'm not afraid to cry!" Pinheiro Braathen says, only half-jokingly of his new approach.
"I’m coming back to make history and I’m coming back to be the best"
© Johann Groder/Red Bull Content Pool
Early in the film, he tells a story of being chastised by the NSF for posting a video of him celebrating a good training session with a Brazilian flag draped over his head. It's the perfect metaphor for how he was a man split into two parts. As the film charts his return from retirement we see that he's learned to blend the best of both worlds. With input from his Norwegian father, he's bringing Brazilian flair to the sport, dancing on podiums and literally kicking it with some of his country's best footballers for a TV spot. "I'm just an individual with a different approach than others," Pinheiro Braathen says. "I don’t see anything wrong or right with that, it's just different."
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen: On my terms reveals a unique comeback story
© Red Bull Media House
Crucially, as the film explores, he's now happy and more confident, resulting in Brazil's first-ever slalom win in 2025. With a good decade ahead of him in the sport, for the first time it feels like Pinheiro Braathen is looking to the future with excitement: "I walked away from my first season of representing Brazil as who I am and skiing with my heart."