“Winter Heroes” Premieres On Red Bull TV

A new short-documentary series, Winter Heroes, premieres on Red Bull TV, offering an intimate look at the journeys of elite athletes as they prepare for the world’s biggest winter stage. The series follows 16 Red Bull athletes – from legends to rising prodigies – including Eileen Gu, Marcel Hirscher, Anna Gasser, Ryōyū Kobayashi and Kjeld Nuis, across snowboarding, ski jumping, speed skating, alpine skiing and ski mountaineering.

Winter Heroes goes behind the scenes at home, in training and in competition, capturing candid interviews with family, friends and coaches, as well as previously unseen personal footage and rare competition clips. From childhood dreams to defining victories, the athletes reveal the grit and resilience that drive them to excel and inspire the next generation to push limits and break barriers.

“Growing into my femininity in a meaningful way was super impactful for me. You don’t have to look a certain way to be powerful, or compromise how you express yourself, even in a male-dominated space,” says China’s Eileen Gu (22) the record-setting Olympic and world champion in freeskiing who is one of the stars of Winter Heroes.

“We should all strive to create something bigger than ourselves – leave a legacy, leave a movement. Something that can impact generations.”

Another hero of the film – Marcel Hirscher (36) – returns from retirement for a historic comeback, now racing for the Netherlands. A two-time Olympic gold medalist and 2014 silver medalist, and the only skier to win eight consecutive World Cup Overall titles, Hirscher rediscovered his love for competition through ski testing and gear innovation:

“For the past five years of my career, I was hardly ever fully healthy. There was some joy along the way, but this year it felt much deeper... but then I truly rediscovered my passion for skiing. I tested skis with Henrik [Norwegian alpine ski racer Henrik Kristoffersen] and for other athletes and realized how much I genuinely enjoy it. So I thought, why not compete in a few races myself?”

Alongside Hirscher, snowboard legends – Austrian Anna Gasser (34) and Spaniard Queralt Castellet (36) – reveal their own inspiring stories, showing how resilience and passion in the preparation for the season. In addition to the household names, rising prodigies such as Japanese snowboarder Hiroto Ogiwara (20) and Austrian ski jumper Daniel Tschofenig (23) appear in the docuseries, demonstrating the next generation’s drive. Tschofenig, who in a single rollercoaster season won the World Cup Overall and Four Hills titles despite injury and a shocking World Championship defeat in 2025, shares what it took to bounce back:

“There was pressure from start to finish, media pressure too. You don’t want second or third. You want to win… Winning [Four Hills] was another little eye-opener… Legends you always looked up to had won it – now you’re part of the whole history.”

Produced by Red Bull Media House, each Winter Heroes episode runs 10 to 15 minutes and is narrated in the athlete’s native language, with burnt-in subtitles in English, plus subtitled versions in seven other languages are available: FR, DE, IT, JP, PL, ES (Castellano), CH (Simplified).

Featured athletes in this release:

• Eileen Gu (China) – Freeskiing, 22
• Marcel Hirscher (Netherlands) – Alpine Skiing, 36
• Kjeld Nuis (Netherlands) – Speed Skating, 35
• Queralt Castellet (Spain) – Snowboarding, 36
• Alice Robinson (New Zealand) – Alpine Skiing, 23
• Joep Wennemars (Netherlands) – Speed Skating, 23
• Hiroto Ogiwara (Japan) – Snowboarding, 20
• Daniel Tschofenig (Austria) – Ski Jumping, 23
• Ryōyū Kobayashi (Japan) – Ski Jumping, 28
• Angel Daleman (Netherlands) – Speed Skating, 18
• Sara Takanashi (Japan) – Ski Jumping, 29
• Paul Verbnjak (Austria) – Ski Mountaineering, 23
• Zrinka Ljutić (Croatia) – Alpine Skiing, 21

Later releases this year:

• Anna Gasser (Austria) – Snowboarding, 34
• Jesper Tjäder (Sweden) – Freeskiing, 31
• Iivo Niskanen (Finland) – Cross-Country Skiing, 33

Eileen Gu: Power Without Compromis

At just 22, Eileen Gu has already redefined her sport. A prodigious talent, two-time Olympic gold medalist, world champion, model and Stanford University Physics student, she pairs technical precision with fearless self-expression. Yet in Winter Heroes, her focus is on empowerment, not podiums.

“Growing into my femininity in a meaningful way was super impactful for me,” she says. “You don’t have to look a certain way to be powerful, or compromise how you express yourself, even in a male-dominated space. We should all strive to create something bigger than ourselves – leave a legacy, leave a movement.

Marcel Hirscher: Rediscovering the Joy of Competition

Few names command more respect in alpine skiing than Marcel Hirscher – eight-time World Cup Overall Champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist, now racing for the Netherlands. After years of injury and pressure, his story is one of rediscovering purpose. 

“For the past five years of my career, I was hardly ever fully healthy,” he says. “There was some joy along the way, but this year it felt much deeper. I started testing skis again and realised how much I genuinely enjoy it. So I thought, why not compete in a few races myself?”

Daniel Tschofenig: Learning from Pressure 

Austrian ski jumper Daniel Tschofenig (23) embodies the mental resilience required to perform on the world’s biggest stage.

Reflecting on his 2025 season, when he claimed the World Cup Overall and Four Hills titles despite an injury, he says: “There was pressure from start to finish,” he reflects. “You don’t want second or third. You want to win… and realising you’re now part of that history was surreal.”

United by Grit, Divided by Discipline

Across snowboarding, ski jumping, speed skating, alpine skiing and ski mountaineering, Winter Heroes features Anna Gasser, Queralt Castellet, Ryōyū Kobayashi, Kjeld Nuis and Hiroto Ogiwara as they refine every detail ahead of their next defining moment.

Filmed in their homes, gyms and mountains around the world, each story reveals the unseen side of preparation – early mornings, small rituals and the quiet belief that separates good from legendary.

Why It Matters - As the world turns its focus to winter sports’ grandest stage, Winter Heroes offers unprecedented access to the human stories behind it – stories of preparation, vulnerability and conviction that define a generation of athletes rewriting what greatness looks like today.

Quick Questions: Winter Heroes

• Who are the Winter Heroes? - Sixteen Red Bull athletes across freeskiing, alpine skiing, snowboarding, ski jumping, speed skating and ski mountaineering – from household names like Eileen Gu and Marcel Hirscher to rising stars including Daniel Tschofenig and Hiroto Ogiwara.
• What makes the stories unique? - Each episode goes beyond results to explore identity, motivation and mental strength as athletes prepare for the world’s biggest winter stage.
• How is the series filmed? - Shot across multiple countries, blending home footage, behind-the-scenes training and candid conversations with family and coaches.
• When and where can audiences watch? - All episodes stream worldwide from 27 October 2025 on Red Bull TV.
• Why now? - With the world’s biggest winter stage approaching, Winter Heroes offers rare, timely access to the personal journeys driving sport’s most dominant athletes.

Meet today’s elite winter sports athletes at the top of their game, and discover the limits they want to push next on Red Bull TV.