Kiwi freestyle skier Nico Porteous has revealed the blood, sweat and tears he's endured to achieve a lifelong dream.
The 19-year-old has claimed his first X Games title, taking out the free-ski superpipe in Colorado, but it hasn't been an easy ride.
Porteous made history in more ways than one, becoming the first Kiwi to claim gold in the discipline and the first freeskier to perform back-to-back 1620s.
Those technical tricks were two years in the making.
"It was more of a relief that all that hard work paid off," he says.
That hard work took place on and off the slopes.
"I had a massive mindset change this last year and instead of worrying about results, I'm focussing on me as an actual skier," he says.
Porteous claims this a shift in mentality stemmed from claiming bronze at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
"It kind of gave me this 'Oh, i just want success now', rather than stepping back and realising what comes before success is being a good skier."
He’s maturing at a crucial time in a challenging year for the Wanaka teenager.
"Last night will be the only time I compete in 2021," he says. "We've had all our competitions cancelled."
Almost 12 months out from the Beijing Winter Games, one thing remains the same.
"It drives me an insane amount to keep training the level I'm training," he says. "It shows me, when I do put in the work, I can achieve stuff like this.
"All gas, no brakes for the next year."
Porteous is focussed on fine tuning his moves for more medals like these.
