Quotes from Gretchen Bleiler

Meditation isn't necessarily this magical experience where we don't ever have thoughts.

My family moved to Aspen, Colorado, where we had 'Avalanche Danger' days that kept us from going to school, climbed 14,000-foot peaks as part of my education, and I learned to snowboard.

Every year, I push myself to do something different - and push the boundaries a little bit more.

It sucks. When you're a woman in sports, people want you to show some skin.

I'm on the road a lot, but I eat healthy whenever I can with foods that don't contain pesticides.

Mission makes athlete-specific products. I always use their sunscreen - it's an anti-sting formula, which is huge for me because it doesn't burn my eyes when I'm snowboarding in warmer temperatures.

I care about the way I look, and I want to look my best. My regime isn't crazy. For my face, it's just sunscreen because foundations and tinted moisturizers rub against my neck warmer. But I do like eyeliner, mascara, and a little color on my lids.

Mt. Hood is still one of my favorites for its sun, warmth, and slushy, forgiving conditions.

I love how snowboarding is like no other sport out there - I mean, some of my best friends are my biggest competitors. And we just cheer each other on. It's a very supportive sport.

I run on the beach, surf, and bike.

I'm so grateful for all the experiences I've had; the life lessons I've learned along the way are just completely invaluable.

Sometimes in life, when we really want something, we can approach it in a way that might actually be closing us off from achieving it.

I'm very competitive.

I'm a competitor, and since I was 2 years old, I have always wanted to be the best at whatever I was doing.

Your money is power, so be aware of the products you're buying and the companies you're supporting to make sure you're helping the companies that are leading the way in sustainability.

Over the course of my 13-year career, I've had a lot of concussions, and yet, because I'm no longer competing or suffering from concussion symptoms, I felt like I was in the clear. The reality, though, is that I get concussions far more easily, and my symptoms last far longer than ever before.

For me, vision is just about the most important thing. So goggles play a huge role in my sport. I come to the competition with a bunch of different goggles and tons of different lenses in multiple tints. The weather can always be changing, and you have to have the right thing to make sure you can see perfectly.

It takes a village to earn a spot representing your country, and I know that every single person who helped me get to the Olympics was also touched by the dream. The web of inspiration is incredible. Because of this, I know that the core principles and spirit of what the Olympics stand for are worth protecting.

I've gotten to work with some amazing brands that, in many cases, market to female consumers.

Core training is so important.

I've had cumulative concussions and realized that's something you carry with you.

The first few years I was competing, I'd ride so well in practice, then choke and fall in competition. Now I take a deep breath and say, 'Look at me. I'm outside. I'm doing what I love.' Still, nothing's matched the pressure I felt standing at the top of the halfpipe for the first time at the Olympics.

If you take minutes a day to take care of your mouth, the odds are you'll take the next steps needed to take care of your whole body, like exercising and eating healthy. It's a building block for other healthy habits.

I'm a two-time Olympian, but on the front and back end of both of those were two Olympics where I narrowly missed making the team.