Tanner Hall is, without question, one of the most influential figures in modern freestyle skiing. His willingness to push boundaries started when he moved from Montana to Utah as a teenager, joining the Winter Sports School in Park City. As a strong mogul skier, he boasted the technical background to translate to other events like half-pipe and the upcoming Big Mountain redemption tour he’s on.
He’s also the ski industry equivalent of a child actor who gotten too big, too quickly, and didn’t quite know how to handle the fame and money that came with success. He got kicked out of high school, arrested twice, and burned a few bridges.
He’s also been vocal at various times over the course of his career about addictions to pain killers and alcohol. Tanner recently opened up to theinertia.com in a refreshingly frank interview.
“CR was my savior. He had come out of his coma wise. He came back from that different. He didn’t like drinking and smoking. He treated his friends well. He treated life well. He was helping me with all of that. When he passed away, I just started drinking myself retarded.”
“This is my third time getting clean and third time’s a charm. But I now know how to work my body, what specific workouts I need to do, the foods I need to be eating. I did some heavy lifestyle changes and I’m the last man standing of a generation. I’m still “here after” everything.
Full Interview on theinertia.com