Pinheiro Braathen’s parents split when he was young and despite his ‘ski bum’ father getting custody, he spent his childhood criss-crossing the Atlantic and cultures.
Initially, he resented skiing. He felt far more comfortable playing football in Sao Paolo, and wanted to turn professional like his hero Ronaldinho.
He told his father his feet were “made for beaches and not hard-shell boots”.
But aged eight, he started to change his mind, enticed by the high speeds involved in ski racing.
His nomadic lifestyle continued for many years, moving home 21 times before he turned 22.
“I’m a person of cultural duality,” he told Associated Press. “Two perspectives always presented from birth and so for me I always find that I’ve never been living a life where I’m only presented to one reality, one culture or one way of living.
“It’s always been these polar opposites and so I think that has shaped me to become who I am today and how I want to live my life.”
That is as an eccentric, flamboyant character. He loves fashion, has walked the runway in Copenhagen and owns an apartment in Milan, Italy’s fashion capital.
He paints his fingernails and is no stranger to samba dancing in the finish area, wanting to bring more colour to alpine skiing.
“People seeing themselves in a sport they were told wasn’t for them, that stays with me,” he said before the Games began.
“And the messages that say, ‘I’ve never watched skiing before, but now I do’. Kids asking where they can try snow.
“Norway taught me how to be an athlete, how to brave the cold. Brazil taught me how to be myself.”
Pinheiro Braathen won 12 medals on the World Cup circuit for Norway but stunned the skiing world when he retired aged just 23.
“For the first time in my career, I feel free,” he said at the time, before booking a one-way ticket to Brazil.
Twelve months later, he was back with a new flag next to his name. He called it the “biggest project of my life”.
He won his first World Cup in Brazilian colours in November, but speaking after his greatest triump on Saturday, he said: “I’m not even able to grasp reality, as I stand here right now. I am just trying to get some sort of emotion here and translate it into words, even though it’s absolutely impossible.
“I hope I can inspire some kids out there that, despite what they wear, despite how they look, despite where they come from, they can follow their own dreams and be who they really are.
“Because that is the real source of happiness in life.”
