Para-Snowboarder Brenna Huckaby Is Bringing Mindfulness to Milano Cortina

Brenna Huckaby's happy place is jumping off a snow-capped mountain. She discovered this love in 2013, just two years after losing her right leg to osteosarcoma. It was then that a fateful ski trip to Utah led her to try snowboarding for the first time. She quickly fell in love with the sport, winning three gold medals at the Paralympics, in addition to five World Championship titles. Now, she's preparing to claim her fourth gold medal at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Games. "I live my life in fours," Huckaby tells Popsugar. "My last Games' theme was self-love. And I think now, it's deep self-worth and knowing that it doesn't matter what happens at the Games. Everything that has led up to it is really where that building of who I am has happened." This year's Paralympic Games are rapidly approaching ("I feel like I'm cramming for a test," Huckaby admits). Still, she's not letting the pressure get to her. "Regardless of where I finish, I want to be able to look back, on this last year especially, and know that I did everything that I could to be successful." "Being present is going to give me that edge." When you picture the prep work for something as major as the Paralympics, you might envision relentless schedules, rigorous workouts, and grueling training. But although the physical work is intense, the prep is also in the quiet moments, the rest days, and the time spent with family. "Physically, it might be better for me to be moving my body for my sport, but mentally, being present is going to give me that edge," Huckaby says. "It's not always about being perfect in our performance, it's also [about] being human and being present." This gentle mentality is a practice that took Huckaby years to develop. She credits "tiny moments" of rest, gratitude, and happiness for helping her stay grounded amid all the pressure from the Games. This perspective seems especially fitting given her recent partnership with Hershey's, in which athletes are sharing how they find happiness beyond the podium. In the spirit of the campaign, Huckaby looks back on her past with kindness and care, reflecting on how far she's come - from small victories to huge milestones. "There are times where I do want to be harder on my younger self, but I remember there was a reason I was the way that I was," she says, explaining there were survival mechanisms she used to get through. "[Now, I tell] myself, 'Thank you for keeping me safe and getting me to where I [am], but I no longer need to do that.'" Honoring her past while cherishing the present is ultimately what allows Huckaby to compete from a place of joy. Even her purple prosthetic leg sparks happiness. "The snowboarding [leg] that I use . . . was actually personally chosen for me. Like, that is the Brenna Huckaby-edition color. Nobody else can have it until I retire," she says with pride. As most walking and running legs only come in black, brown, or gray, hers stands out for all the best reasons. "It's an expression of self in a body part that was taken away from me, and I get to have it back doing what I love, and making it look . . . I don't know, like me." That's a win in and of itself. Related: How Flau'Jae Johnson Learned to Lock In and Find Her "Zen" Chandler Plante (she/her) is a social producer and staff writer for the Health & Fitness team at Popsugar. She has over five years of industry experience, previously working as an editorial assistant for People magazine, a social media manager for Millie magazine, and a contributor for Bustle Digital Group. She has a degree in magazine journalism from Syracuse University and is based in Los Angeles.