You’re gonna flip at this next guest. Well, at least be totally stoked, because we recently spoke with Jamie MoCrazy (she/her), the first woman skier to land a double backflip at the X Games. Jamie’s known for her legendary time on the slopes, but her competitive career was cut short by a traumatic brain injury.

In an instant, her life trajectory was rocked, but now she’s telling us how she overcame the trauma, and how she’s using her experience to help others do the same.

Did you always set out to be at the top of your sport?
During my whole childhood, I was really competitive and ambitious. One of the things I was fortunate about was my mom being a life coach. She raised me to be my personal best. But when I was competing, I associated that with being the best at everything.

Do you still have that mentality?
After my traumatic brain injury, I began to understand the full concept of “be your own personal best,” because it can vary greatly day to day. Before my accident, it was about becoming the first woman in the world to complete a double flip at the X Games. After my accident, that became swallowing water or walking up a flight of stairs.

How did you cope after your injury?
I was in a coma for 10 days, then I had serious amnesia for 6 weeks, so it was roughly 2 months of my life that I don’t have any recollection of. When my mind first started coming back, I actually refused to believe that I was in a hospital. I would tell the nurses that I was in a movie about a hospital, and I could prove it because when they poked me with needles, it didn’t hurt.

That winter, when I relearned every basic motor skill, I knew it was really dangerous for me to try to relearn how to ski, because you fall, and I didn’t want to get any sort of traumatic brain injury again. When I made that choice not to return to competing, I started going to therapy 3 times a week, then weekly, then down to every other week. I went for 3 1/2 years, which was a very challenging time, but now I feel that I’m more mentally healthy than I’ve ever been.

How did you decide what to do next if you weren’t going to compete?
That was a big emotional challenge for me, because I felt like I had lost my identity. I remember crying multiple times on my 23rd birthday because I didn’t have any dreams or passions. One of the things I did was go back to university, which gave me structure. During that time, I realized I had a platform to communicate about brain injury and motivation, so I became a communication major. I’ve used that working on the MoCrazy Strong organization. Our nonprofit work is all about communicating about brain injury. We give consultations to traumatic brain injury survivors and family caregivers on education, habits they can build, and ways to recover.

Has there been a guiding principle that’s helped you navigate these experiences?
“Be your own personal best” is something I stick with. It’s understanding that sometimes your own personal best is not what society thinks is the most successful. Your own personal best could be withdrawing from the Olympics because of mental health challenges or sitting on the couch petting your dog. It’s just what’s best for you at that moment.