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As a Salomon athlete, Drew lives out his passions professionally through skiing and running. Creatively, he does so through the making of ski films.
“Creating the Quality Ski Time tour is kind of an evolution of my day job as an athlete,” Drew tells me. “It allows us to share the ski films [Salomon] makes in the same way that got me most stoked as a kid – Salomon Freeski TV is what I grew up watching!”
While the iconic brand was founded as a saw blade production company in the 40s, Salomon has since mastered the branded content scene. Now one of the biggest names in the industry, the brand has revolutionized the outdoor media landscape by creating platforms for adventure-sport storytelling – the QST tour being one of their latest.
“What we're doing with this tour is unique in that we're creating a platform that was traditionally reserved for just the classic feature-length, ski porn movies by the same three or four companies, and democratized that to be able to show a variety of different films,” Drew says. “This year, we’re featuring some of the newest, latest, and greatest unseen work. We've got more of the same formula as last year, but refined it to make it a more fun and a more memorable night for everyone.”
Kicking off October 3rd in Bend, Oregon, this year’s tour boasts quite the lineup, with features from Josh Daike, The Fifty, Blink Collective, and the godfather of Salomon TV himself, Mike Douglas.
“It's crazy to think how much it's grown. I'm super proud of what we've grown this thing into.”
Through the production of ski films like these, Drew also seeks to honor and reprioritize mental health among the outdoor community, a topic historically undiscussed in sports media.
“A lot of people in our communities define themselves by their outdoor pursuits. We're always seeking these high, vibrant experiences,” Drew tells me. “For myself personally, and for much of the community, there are struggles with substance abuse, and that's because we're trying to maintain those highs. I think that lifestyle, what we call the ‘paradise paradox’, can limit our acceptance of struggle – which I think makes things harder on both a community and individual level.”
Ups and Downs is Drew’s most recent film, and was featured in 2021 during QST’s first tour. A biopic about his own battles with mental health, Ups and Downs tells the story of how the ‘invaluable experience” of a near-death accident allowed Drew to find both solace in his passions and acceptance in himself.
“For a long time, that side of reality was never talked about. I'm trying to change that through films like these, in a way that can help our communities thrive and save lives. I've made a couple films, but Ups and Downs is one where I could make myself both producer and director and be really proud of it.”
You can read Mike’s archived Q&A with Drew here, and find dates, locations, and tickets for Salomon’s QST tour below.
US TOUR INFO 🇺🇸
Mountain Gazette is a sponsor of year three of the QST Tour.
