Northwest Notes Oct. 1, 2025

Pro skier to spearhead mental health outreach event

SANDPOINT — The Ethan Murray Fund is hosting a mental health outreach event at the Panida Theater on Thursday. 

Drew Petersen, an acclaimed professional skier and nationally recognized mental health advocate, will be showing his film "Feel It All," followed by a live discussion about mental health, healing, and hope. 

Petersen, a Colorado native who was raised on the slopes, went pro at 15 and, now at 31, has committed his life to merging his love for skiing with filmmaking and advocating for mental health. 

Doors open at 6 p.m. The film starts at 7.

With the release of his film, Feel It All, Petersen travels from town to town holding discussions in schools and theaters with the intent to reduce stigma, foster understanding, and connect with those who need it most. 

All proceeds from the event will support the Ethan Murray Fund therapy scholarship program which provides therapy scholarships to local youth and adults facing financial or systemic barriers. 

Though Petersen said he has struggled with mental health since a young boy, it wasn’t until 2018 that he voiced having suicidal thoughts. The catalyst was a rockfall incident that occurred during a ski trip to Mount Hood in Oregon where he was hit badly in the head. The accident, combined with another that took place while running 15 months later, was enough for him to confront his lifelong struggle with mental health. 

“I was spiraling and my body was breaking down under the mental trauma,” Petersen said. “I felt that holding all of these suicidal thoughts manifested in injury and stress on my body.” 

Petersen made his first appointment with an eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR) therapist and told his brother to hold him accountable. 

“I didn’t know what I was looking for or what kinds of help there was but, it seemed like I was experiencing PTSD and had read a story about someone who mentioned EMDR helping them,” Petersen said. “So I started looking for a therapist that knew that area.” 

Early on, Petersen felt shame about having suicidal thoughts—that they made him wrong and less of a person in some way.  

“A lot of my unlearning is that it’s completely normal and all that means is that I’m deserving of support, understanding, listening, and professional health” 

Much of his self-worth was based on external validation which created an internal turmoil that he kept bottled up for decades. Since seeking help, a lot of his journey has been reframing identity and building things into life that show value in other ways.  

“To build self worth and build identity has to be an active process,” said Petersen.  

Petersen still skis professionally and runs ultra distances for fun. The shift is that now, with reframing and a set of tools, skiing and running get to be fun again rather than an escape. His tools include: adequate sleep, meditation, journaling, psychiatric medication, sobriety, and talk therapy to name a few. He’s also put an emphasis on showing up for people and being in community. 

“Our journeys are lifelong. There is no finish line for being on this journey.”