From the troubles in Norway to the comeback: Braathen, the bird of paradise, is back

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen was born in Norway in 2000, the son of a Brazilian mother and a Norwegian father. And little Lucas is above all something: a globetrotter. His parents separated when he was three years old. First he lives with his mother in Brazil, then with his father in Norway.

“Learned to be myself”

In total he moved more than twenty times in his life. Not always easy for Braathen: “I have never felt at home anywhere – not in a circle of friends, not in a city, not at a school. As soon as I got somewhere, we moved on,” he said in an interview with “The Red Bulletin.”

Braathen explains that he was an outsider everywhere and constantly tried to fit in. It bothered him as a child, but today he is grateful: “That time made me what I am today. I understood that it made no sense for me to constantly adapt. I learned to be myself.”

Skiing instead of football

It is not initially the intention that Braathen would ever earn a living from skiing. The boy’s dream goes in a different direction: he wants – like almost every Brazilian boy – to become a footballer: “I wanted to be just like Ronaldinho,” he remembers.

The decisive decision came after his move to Norway: thanks to his father, Lucas Braathen learned to ski. But what defines his life today is not love at first sight: “I argued that as a half-Brazilian I was not made for the cold,” says Braathen.

In love with skiing

This changed when Braathen, about eight years old, observed a group of drivers on the mountain. Braathen recalls that their speed impressed him, and his father subsequently enrolled him in training. And that’s where everything changes.

“Norwegians from all parts of the country came together in the training group. For the first time, I wasn’t the outsider; everyone was an outsider.” Then it happened at Braathen: “Suddenly it was cool to be different. That’s why I fell in love with this sport. Not because of the blue and red goals.”

Steep climb

Lucas Braathen can finally be himself. To do this, he also buries his dream of becoming a professional footballer. ‘I stopped playing football. I already had the dream of becoming the best in the world. But I wanted to be the best in the world in a sport where I could be myself.”

From now on it’s all uphill with ski talent. He trained at the ski school in Oslo and ran his first FIS race at the age of 16. This was followed by the first victory, medals at the Junior World Championships and the World Cup debut in 2018 in Val d’Isère. In 2020 he will really appear on the big stage with his first World Cup victory, before winning the Slalom World Cup in 2023 and leading the way.

Braathen wants to inspire

Even off the slopes, Braathen always stands out and is different from its competitors. Norwegians paint their fingernails and dress femininely. If he doesn’t like something, he says so. Whether in politics or sports.

Inspiring others and implementing lasting change is more important to him than results. “I want to change this sport – just by being myself. I don’t want to have to limit my personality just because the system expects it of me. And if I can be a little inspiration so that the sport becomes a little more tolerant, more colorful and more diverse, then that makes me much happier than any sporting victory.”

In October 2023, Braathen proves that he lives up to his words: out of nowhere he announces his resignation. The reason for this is a dispute with the Norwegian Ski Association. Braathen feels disrespected and ‘no longer free’. And freedom is the highest priority for the bird of paradise.

Model, DJ, parties

While the ski circus travels around the world to celebrate the battle for the crystal balls, Braathen retreats and tries things out: he walks the catwalk as a model at Copenhagen Fashion Week and DJs at the Hahnenkamm races in Kitzbühel, parties and travels to Brazil. Freedom is back.

But deep in Braathen another competitor lurks. As the season progressed, it became increasingly difficult to watch races and no longer be a part of them. “I no longer woke up every day with the goal of becoming the best,” he explains of his comeback decision.

From next season, Braathen wants to race for victories again in Brazilian racing clothing. This makes the World Cup more exciting – but above all: more colorful and diverse.