Wintersports
Alpine Skiing
How Lucas Pinheiro Braathen is building a life in Milan by his own rules
Alpine skiing loves tradition. Lucas Pinheiro Braathen never quite fit the frame. Now in Milan, he’s building a new life – and rewriting the rules.
The media have made Lucas Pinheiro Braathen out to be a peacock – a flamboyant showman and entertainer. They probably couldn’t come up with anything better to pigeonhole the 25-year-old professional skier, who won the overall Slalom World Cup for Norway in the 2022-23 season before unexpectedly dropping out and competing instead for Brazil.
Maybe Braathen simply made it too easy for them to label him, with his big slogans, varnished fingernails and weakness for wearing skirts and ultra-baggy shorts. Peacock. With this as a moniker, we’re not talking about a sportsman for whom sport alone was ever enough. It’s not enough simply to see him on the piste, in training races or in press conferences; that’s how you get to know Braathen the technician, the explosive perfectionist who fights for every hundredth of a second.
Braathen made history for Brazil when the 25-year-old picked up the first World Cup victory for the South American country in the Levi slalom in November 2025.
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen is redefining what an athlete can be
© Mark Clinton, The Red Bulletin
01
Finding his place
To find out about the man himself, to discover the source of his inspiration, you have to track down the other Braathen – the fashion enthusiast and furniture collector, DJ and art lover. And the best way to do this is to head to Milan.
“I love everything about this city,” Braathen says, blinking absent-mindedly in the late-morning Milanese sunshine. He sits at his favorite bar, Bar Paradiso in Via Gerolamo Tiraboschi, eating a couple of artichokes from small Puglian producer, Agricola Fratepietro – they’re the best in Milan, he says with feeling. Following his comeback in the Ski World Cup, Braathen bought an apartment in this city of business and creativity, in addition to his main home in Austria’s Altenmarkt. It’s a long way from Norway – his father’s home – and from Brazil, his mother’s country of origin.
“I’ve travelled so much in my life, and I still travel a lot,” he says. “Now, I want to live in places where I feel truly at home.” Braathen’s parents split when he was still very young. After that, he split his time between two countries and cultures. In Norway, his father introduced him to skiing at the age of four: “I hated skiing and found any excuse possible to avoid the pistes.” In Sao Paolo, on the other hand, his mother encouraged him to play football, and he was instantly hooked. “I was the gringo in Brazil,” Braathen says, “but once you’re kicking a football around together, it doesn’t matter what you look like, where you come from or what you wear.”
Bold choices, beautiful outcomes
© Mark Clinton, The Red Bulletin
02
Always on the run
The boy felt accepted and understood for the first time. When he was eight years old, he tried skiing again and instantly made friends at Norway’s Bærums Ski Club. From then on, Braathen spent his time on the pistes and traveling, always in the company of new people from a broad range of cultures. “I wanted this life, but I was also always on the run,” he says, taking another artichoke from the small plate.
On the run? Yes, he says. “I was running away from myself,” Braathen elaborates. “I tried to integrate, to fit in – I didn’t understand what was actually important to me.” He asks whether I’m familiar with the Law of Jante, a social code that’s well-known in Scandinavian countries. The ‘law’ comprises a series of 10 unwritten rules for behavior, with an emphasis on equality and modesty.
“You can’t go around thinking you’re different, something special,” Braathen explains. “But,” he then blurts out, “I am different – I’m an individualist!” He attributes this outburst to his Latino blood, which brings us back to Milan.
03
Keep training fresh with variety
Training the body to match the vision
© Mark Clinton, The Red Bulletin
In the summer, months before the Ski World Cup is due to begin, Braathen is trying to introduce as much variety (his cross-training includes biking, running, yoga, surfing and cliff diving) into his training regime as possible – even more so than during the rest of the year.
“I train in the same way that I live my life,” he says. “The only way I can stay absolutely on top of my game is to keep things as varied as possible.”
04
Making a home in Milan
Milan is the perfect location: it’s close to both lakes and mountains, and it has two airports from which you can fly to destinations all over the world. It’s also internationally renowned as a capital of fashion and design, making it the ideal place to grow as an athlete while unleashing your creativity at the same time.
The Brazilian skier is rewriting the script
© Mark Clinton, The Red Bulletin
Maybe my openness will encourage other athletes to show a bit more of themselves and make the world of skiing more diverse
This is his mission in life: to make skiing more colorful, and to show that there are many different sides to his personality: “Skiing has so much potential,” Braathen says. “Maybe my openness will encourage other athletes to show a bit more of themselves and make the world of skiing more diverse!”
05
From injury, into a new era
In January 2021, at the age of 20, Braathen was seriously injured skiing down the giant slalom in Adelboden. This drew his season to a premature end, and soon after, the COVID pandemic brought public life to a complete standstill. “That was a low point in my life,” he admits. “I thought about jacking it all in.” A group of artists Braathen met in Oslo helped him escape his emotional crisis. “A couple of people set up a creative laboratory in Oslo’s former airport,” he says, “and I was at the heart of it all.” Fashion labels mixing with musicians, and artists with design aficionados – this was a world suited to Braathen’s tastes.
“The best thing about it was that they – especially Jonny from the artistic duo Broslo – made me feel I had talent, and they told me to use it!” he says. A couple of months later, Braathen designed his first collection for the Scandinavian fashion brand Swims, together with the campaign and a huge launch event. He’d finally found his raison d’être. Or nearly found it.
Redefining what an athlete can be
© Mark Clinton, The Red Bulletin
At the top of his game. It still took a stubborn argument with the Norwegian Ski Federation and Braathen’s unexpected withdrawal from the Ski World Cup in autumn 2023 before he announced his return to skiing – a year to the day later – in Sölden, amid much media fanfare. This time, however, he would be representing Brazil.
Of his comeback, Braathen says, “My goal is to do what I love most, and, at the same time, to try to grow beyond the ski and sports industry by using my voice and showing the world who I am – no compromises.”
