When I ski, I take both of my legs off and get into a sit ski: a ski with a custom seat that has been molded for me. I use my core and arms to propel myself on snow with help from ski poles.
In 2012, I was invited to a ski event called the Hartford Ski Spectacular to learn how to sit-ski for the first time. I loved it, but it was not pretty - I was not good. I didn't know how to stop, so I kept throwing myself on the ground.
I started going on ski trips at senior school. I can't remember exactly where but we skied in the Tirol in Austria a couple of times and also went to Val d'Isère in France. When I was 15, rugby took over and there wasn't time to ski any more. I didn't ski again until I was 33.
I had to think about ankle torsion, where the screws are on the ski, how that affects the forces going into the ski and how the ski bends, your leverage points. It was a challenge. I was having the greatest time, making the mistakes, crashing.
All my children ski now, they don't have a choice. They have to join mom and dad on the ski hill.
When I travel, I always have about 40 pairs of skis with me, plus a ski technician and a ski coach.
I learned to ski in the Dolomites at the age of five. Ski lifts didn't exist then, so I did everything on foot.
But then I hit my 20s and only made two albums, and now I live in a ski resort as a ski bum basically.
I am not a big skier, but I love apres-ski wear and imagine I would look great in an all-white, fur-trimmed ski suit.
I had no money, no training facilities, no snow, no ski jumps, no trainer, but I still managed to ski jump for my country - and getting there was my gold medal.
There's been times when I've been in really tough shape at the top of the course. Talk about a hard challenge right there. I mean, if you ever tried to ski when you're wasted, it's not easy. Try and ski a slalom when … you hit a gate less than every one a second, so it's risky, you know. You're putting your life at risk there. It's like driving drunk only there's no rules about it in ski racing.
I learned how to ski for 'Eddie the Eagle.' I never skied before. So I had to go out to Germany a couple of weeks early and make sure I could ski.
As a ski bum and someone who came up in a ski bum family, I understand the essence of what Colorado is all about.
We're not necessarily the ski boat, we're the skier. There are countries like Japan and Korea and others who are the ski boat at this point, but we're getting pulled right behind them.
Exactly one day in your life your kid will ski as good as you do. The next day, he'll ski better than you.
I ski fast for me, first and foremost, and I ski fast for my family, and it's always the love that gets me to the podium.