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Steamboat Magazine

Nick Hendrickson

10/29/2013 06:36PM ● By Grant Johnson

Photo courtesy USSA/Tom Kelly


Steamboat Springs, CO - Nordic Combined skier Nick Hendrickson, 22, has been on the U.S. Ski Team for four years. In 2012, he had four straight top-10 finishes and concluded the year with a Continental Cup ranking of 28th.

Q. Do you have a signature article of clothing you wear when competing?
A. I always seem to be wearing Lululemon for travel and training, and I never go anywhere without a really warm winter hat and thick wool socks.

Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
A. “Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Q. How do you like to relax?
A. I do a lot of yoga, both at home and on the road. It's great for flexibility and it gives you some time to yourself. I also always travel with a few good books that I can always get wrapped up in.

Q. Who is your biggest role model?
A. Indiana Jones.

Q. Is there anywhere you consider to be your second home?
A. I certainly feel like Steamboat is a second home for me after living there for a year before I made the national team. My uncle still lives in Steamboat, so it's great to go back to see him. Also, Oslo…I have some awesome friends there.

Q. Do you have any superstitions?
A. Surprisingly, no.

Q. What’s your favorite career moment so far?
A. When I was in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics and I saw my teammates win the silver medal in the team competition. That was a better feeling than any individual result I have ever had.

Q. What does a typical day of training look like for you?
A. A typical day normally involves jumping in the morning and a few of hours of cross-country skiing in the afternoon. In the summer, I spend a lot of time biking and running …and I always try and get out to see live music or spend time with friends.

Q. What’s your favorite thing about your sport?
A. I get to spend almost all day, every day, training and competing outdoors while traveling the world…it's all the unique aspects of Nordic Combined that make me love it.

Q. What’s your favorite junk food?
A. After a hard day of summer training in the heat, ice cream is at the top of my list. Or coffee. Does coffee count?

Q. Describe your perfect day.
A. Some of my favorite days are when I'm at home in the winter and I can ski for hours on great trails straight from my house. Follow that up with a ski jumping session on the k120 in the afternoon and a yoga session in the evening, and that's a pretty awesome day.

Q. What’s the craziest dream you’ve ever had?
A. I don't remember my dreams very often, but I always have dreams of free falling from cliffs in southern Utah. The feeling of falling/flying always wakes me up, but it's pretty amazing!

Q. What is your favorite hangout in Steamboat?
A. The owners at Ciao Gelato are huge fans of Nordic Combined and always make us feel at home when we go for food or coffee.

Q. Which song do you know all the lyrics to?
A. Johnny Cash's “Folsom Prison Blues.”