About
Passionate and driven, that’s probably the best way to describe me, Isabelle Hanssen, born on April 3rd 1994 in The Netherlands. Started Freestyle Skiing in 2009. Since I’ve started skiing my whole life changed. It became a full-on addiction, and I can tell you, that there is no better feeling than landing a new trick successfully for the first time. I fell in love with the playful, creative and progressive side of the sport, and later the competitive scene.
For the last 10 years I traveled the world competing on the highest level in halfpipe. Any competitor will tell you that the feeling of successfully landing a run when it matters most is indescribable. My passion for skiing and competing pushes me to always better myself, and to strive for my full potential.
I recently decided to step back from competitive halfpipe skiing. There were a lot of reasons that led to this decision. I dedicated my life and all I had to get to where I am now, but I made a commitment to myself that if it ever stopped being fun, it stopped being worth it. And this past winter season it reached that point.
I love skiing, every fiber in my body loves halfpipe skiing more than anything else in life. So this doesn’t mean I am done with skiing, far from it! It is just the competition side of the sport that I am saying goodbye to as an athlete.
I will be redefining myself as an athlete and a skier. To find my new place within the skiing industry. I am by nature a person who looks for improvements and solutions, that combined with my passion for skiing I am exploring different paths. Focus more on content creation and exploring the judging and coaching side of the sport with Freeski Global.
Besides this I want to continue to promote freestyle skiing in The Netherlands, to help the community grow and create more support for the skiers here.
“Sometimes skiing is the hardest thing you do in life and sometimes skiing gets you through the hardest times in life.
“Traveling is the only thing you buy that makes you richer”
When I tell people what I do for a living, I usually receive incredulous responses related to “living the dream.” While not a day goes by that I’m not appreciative of the opportunities I have, I also know the behind-the-scenes efforts that go into skiing more than 150 days a year, all over the globe. Accomplishing this lifestyle essentially goes against everything our society has taught us is “normal”. Staying focused is critical.
To truly live as a professional skier, every day has to count and not just once, instead more like three times. What does this mean? Well, simply put: each day must serve multiple purposes. A day in the mountains may start at 6 in the morning and go until four in the afternoon. And when most people head to the bar or the hot tub, I go to the gym. On top of that, I have to constantly be preparing for the following day, as well as months into the future. Detailed plans laid well in advance make for smooth sailing.
I believe this pulse will contribute longevity to my life professionally and personally, physically and mentally. I never really escape winter; it’s always on my mind. On any given day, even in June, it’s likely that I’m planning, preparing, training or recovering. But this is the balance that I hope allows me to stay sharp, motivated, and at the top of my game throughout the year.
Being an elite athlete is more than just training and competing. It's a lifestyle. Choices like what you wear, how you present yourself, how you spend your time, whom you make friends with help shape your individuality and character.
Doing something I love every day doesn’t make my life easier, but I never found happiness by just choosing what would hurt the least. On the other side of my pain, was purpose.
Fitness
I made a promise to myself that I would do anything I can to reach my full potential. Training and nutrition are a big part of that. I started training a long time ago to reduce the risk of injury and to improve my skiing. As years passed by, my love for training grew. It is now an essential part of my lifestyle.
The thing about the gym is that, in a world that constantly frames women's health around our need to get smaller, it's the only place I've found where goals are all about increasing. As women, we are bombarded with the message that we are too big. We need to take up less space, to make the numbers on the scale go down, to measure our waists with fewer inches. We are told to shrink. To me, that is not health.
But at the gym, unless you're focusing on decreasing what you see on the scale, the numbers go up, not down. Your muscles get bigger. The weights you lift get heavier. The time you can hold a plank gets longer. The number of exercises you can master get more numerous.
And most importantly, it all makes me feel good. It's even – dare I say it – fun. It's fun to move in new ways. It's fun to watch your progress. Because at the end of the day, bodies aren't for looking at, they're for living in. So the real measure of how great they are is whether you can do everything you want in them. And the more stuff you can do, the more awesome that is.
“We all have challenges and opportunities on the road of life and it’s within our power to channel them in ways to support our dreams.”
Career Highlights
11 times Dutch Champion ( 4 x Slopestyle 4 x Big Air 3 x Halfpipe ).
Ranked 14th in the World Cup standings 2021.
2022
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18th Place World Cup - Mammoth Mountain, United States of America
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21st Place World Cup - Calgary, Canada
2021
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15th Place World Cup - Calgary, Canada
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1st Place European Cup - Laax, Switzerland
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14th Place World Cup - Aspen, United States of America
2020
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7th Place Nor-Am Cup - Calgary, Canada
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18th Place World Cup - Calgary, Canada
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1st Place European Cup - Crans Montana, Switzerland
2019
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13th Place World Cup - Secret Garden, China
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11th Place Winter Games NZ World Cup - Cardrona, New Zealand
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9th Place Australian New Zealand Cup - Cardrona, New Zealand
2018
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3rd Place European Cup - Laax, Switzerland
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16th Place UE Freestyle Tour World Cup - Tignes, France
Get In Touch
Contact Isabelle Hanssen
KvK # 72183837
