United States legendary skier Alex Ferreira is eyeing a third consecutive medal in the Winter Olympic Games at Milano Cortina 2026.
The 31-year-old has represented Team USA twice at the halfpipe event. He secured a silver medal at the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018 before clinching a bronze at the 2022 Beijing Games.
It was during the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018 that Ferreira came up with the idea of ‘Hotdog Hans’.
It was conceptualized as a comedic alter-ego, where he wore a prosthetic face mask on the slopes of Aspen.
The outlook of the character was aimed at convincing people he’s a washed-up old ski champion that then stuns people with his skills on the halfpipe.
Ferreira told Columbia Sportswear in a Q&A, “He’s this old guy. No one really knows his age.
“He’s an ex hot dogger who loves booze, skiing, and women. He’s just this bad boy who says it how it is.“
Ferreira and his business partner Matt Hobbs had developed the concept with skier amassing one million followers on TikTok.
It then turned out to be several mini-films from ‘Hotdog Hans’ up to ‘Hotdog Hans 5’.
“It’s great. Hans is the antithesis of Alex in a lot of ways, which I love. That inner battle.
“And being able to play an older person, which basically means I can do whatever I want. Everyone’s just thinking, ‘That guy’s old, give him a break’.”
The sixth installment of the franchise movie is set to be released this winter.