Breezy Johnson Comes Out On The Slopes

Breezy Johnson is one of the best downhill skiers in the world. She’s a Stifel U.S. Alpine Team athlete and seven-time World Cup podium finisher. She’s also recently come out as bisexual.

On her personal Instagram, she wrote, “So I’m bisexual. Before this season starts I wanted to be open about who I am. To those [LGBTQ] people out there who feel a little different and want to see people like them at the top I am here to represent that we are out there, we are normal, and we can do whatever we want.”

Breezy’s Journey to the Podium

Breezy is no ordinary skier.

“I was born in Jackson Hole and grew up ripping around the mountain there,” Breezy says. “I learned to ski in my parent’s driveway.”

Breezy’s father was her first coach who introduced her to the sport. Both her parents loved ski racing and were supportive of her goals.

When she turned 18, she qualified for the U.S. Ski Team. Then, at 19, she raced in her first World Cup.

“I qualified for my first Olympic Games at 22 and then after a series of injuries clawed my way to being ranked at the top of the sport,” says Breezy.

Unfortunately, right before her last Games, she got injured and had to withdraw. But this season, she returned to competing and finished 11th in the entire world in downhill skiing.

Breezy’s Journey to Accepting Her Sexuality

“I always really liked the idea of the ’spectrum’ of sexuality and never considered myself ‘100 percent straight,’ but I often just attributed it as ‘every straight girl has some girl crushes, right?’” says Breezy.

She never really recognized these inclinations as bisexuality until she met more bisexual friends and started questioning what her “girl crushes” might mean. Then, during her last injury, she fell into a depression which led her to question a lot about herself.

In that depressed state, she realized she always somehow felt that sexuality was something other people would label you as, rather than something you’d claim for yourself.

“When I questioned my sexuality, it was always ‘Will other people think you like girls or boys enough that they will agree that you are bi?’” says Breezy. This anxiety and fear of judgment kept her from talking about her feelings.

“Then I met my first trans athlete and friend, Jay Riccomini, during my [injury] rehab,” says Breezy. “And seeing him also made me realize that maybe these matters weren’t for other people to decide, they were up to me.”

Her depression began to lift and she returned to skiing. She felt she wanted to explore more but was still fearful about what would happen if people saw her out with someone, regardless of gender.

“I decided that the best way to deal with that anxiety was to just tell the world,” says Breezy.

How Skiing and Sexual Identity Interact

Growing up, Breezy wanted to be a champion more than anything. “I tried to mimic the people I looked up to as much as possible, from working out, to putting my hair in braids like my idols,” says Breezy. “None of my heroes appeared anything other than straight, however, and so I think I just always said ‘you are a champion first and that means straight.’”

For a long time, the only openly gay champion in skiing was Anja Paerson, and she came out after her career was over. So Breezy decided to wait and address her sexuality after her career, too.

She felt she could just ignore the women she was attracted to. She already had a personal rule not to date someone more than 10 years older than her (because she feels it’s very hard to have an equal relationship when someone in the relationship has lived so much more than the other), so saying “no dating women either” seemed easy.

But meeting more people in the LGBTQ community (athletes and otherwise) helped Breezy to realize she could be both a champion and open about her sexuality.

“Knowing [them] made me feel like I had an obligation to support young athletes who desperately wanted to be a champion but didn’t feel like they could be that and be anything other than straight and cis,” says Breezy.

It helps that skiing is a timed sport. “It’s pretty easy to say that the clock doesn’t care who I date or how I identify, and that’s a relief,” says Breezy.

Her athletic life is about being good in a way that has nothing to do with her sexuality, so it’s easy to keep separate. For Breezy, coming out was more about supporting the youth and adults who feel like seeing a champion who’s different means they also have the right to be who they want to be.

The positive workplace at U.S. Ski and Snowboard also potentially contributed to Breezy’s decision. “The USST has an openly gay Chief of Sport, Anouk Patty, who also competed on the U.S. Ski Team,” says Breezy.

The support she saw for Jay and Anouk made her feel like she wouldn’t have to face stigma or explain what a bisexual person is, at least to the USST.

“Also meeting Jay made me feel like if an 18-year-old can face down the stigma around being trans the least I can do is stand beside him and say ‘we come in all shapes and sizes of LGBTQ+ around here,’” says Breezy.

What’s Next for Breezy

Honestly, she’s not sure! She’s been focused on returning from injury and she still really wants to become a World Cup champion.

“I definitely have my sights set firmly on the 2026 Olympic Games,” says Breezy. She’s also thinking about trying to do a ski film showcasing the different skiers in the LGBTQ community. But for now, coming out and continuing to ski is enough.

“I never wanted to change drastically with coming out,” says Breezy. “Because I fundamentally feel like I want to be like everyone else, just also bi.”