Ski film premier moves mountains for mental health

MSU graduate student John Padilla has been skiing since he was four years old. In high school, he was passionate about both skiing and photography. At 16, Padilla saved up for a camera and a car by bussing dishes and stringing lacrosse sticks so he could go do what he loved in the mountains. He competed in freeride and photography competitions, succeeding in both areas.

On Feb. 14, 2019, Padilla lost his brother, Jack, to suicide. Padilla gathered many of Jack's close friends in his brother’s favorite spot, the basement of his home, to discuss what could have been done to help. They hoped to help other people in similar situations and together wrote down 11 ideas. Since that meeting, almost every idea has been seen through.

Padilla has organized school walkouts, created the Jack Padilla Scholarship fund and formed a nonprofit named JackStrong17, which raised $46,000 for suicide prevention. He has also lobbied for Colorado’s “Jack and Cait’s Law” (HB-21-1221), which focuses on bullying prevention.

The last idea on that list was to create an action sports film in the name of mental health awareness. Now, that film is hitting the big screen at the Emerson Center for the Arts and Culture on Friday.

A year ago this October, John was surfing newschoolers.com, an online skiing forum, exploring posts discussing the unfortunate consequences of mental health issues within the skiing community. It was then that he made a plan to use his skill set and help people in need. He posted on the website asking if people would be interested in a ski movie that interviewed skiers on their struggles with mental health. Skiers and companies flooded the post with support. The idea for the film “The Mountain in My Mind” was born.

After earning his undergraduate degrees from MSU, Padilla traveled the “suicide belt” in the rocky mountain region, which includes states like Montana, Idaho and Colorado. Eight of the 10 states with the highest suicide rates are located in this western region. Padilla conducted interviews with professional skiers about their struggles and then filmed their triumphs on the snow. It was important to John, he said, that viewers of the film personally connected to the athletes he was highlighting.

“We made sure that the people we selected represented many of the reasons that cause people to ideate,” John said. The athletes included in the film discuss their experiences with suicide, drug abuse, eating disorders, abusive relationships and other mental health issues. “It will be the first of its kind,” Padilla said.

Padilla spent a total of 160 days skiing last season, many of which were for the film. “Sleep is optional and food is fuel,” he said. Once he had collected the footage he had over 13 terabytes of video stored in hard drives. Padilla originally aimed to take this project on solo, but that became unrealistic as the project took off.

“It took a village, and so will solving the mental health crisis,” he said.

Even though the film discusses heavy topics, “the movie is not a downer, the message is hopeful.” Padilla said. “The goal of ‘The Mountain in My Mind’ is to get the conversation started about mental health and to teach people the power of destigmatizing suicide and metal illness. Hopefully it saves one life.”

Catch “The Mountain in My Mind” premiering Friday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. the Emerson Theatre.

Winter X Games gold medalist Alex Shlopy will be speaking and signing posters at the event. Tickets cost $10 and are available at PhD Skis, at the door or by messaging @MountaininMyMind on Instagram. All proceeds go to suicide prevention.

The ski companies supporting this film include LINE and Flylow. There will be a raffle at the premier with $10,000 worth of prizes given away from companies like Armada, 4FRNT, JSKIS, Pit Viper and many more.

Padilla will be taking this film to multiple states including Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada and California.

He challenges readers and viewers of the film to reach out to two of their friends and ask them if they’ve ever thought about harming themselves.

“That question,” he said, “Can save a life.”

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, you are not alone. Call 911 or 988 if it is an emergency. MSU provides non-emergency services through Counseling and Psychological Services.