Brenna Huckaby Will Do It Scared

“It’s a peaceful freedom to just be,” Brenna Huckaby says as she imagines snowboarding, the fresh snow crunching beneath her as she glides down the mountain. Two months out from her third Paralympic Games, Huckaby sits on Zoom in her Montana home with her cat, Mouse, curled up beside her. She’s wearing a red knit sweater with her purple hair tied back in a ponytail, but in her mind, she’s out on the slopes in full snowboarding gear.

It’s this ability to let go and embrace the experience that has helped the 30-year-old become the most decorated Paralympic snowboarder in history — a three-time gold medalist with five World Championships to her name. As she gears up for Milano Cortina in March, where she’ll compete in snowboard cross and banked slalom, Huckaby is leaning into calm, collected energy to get her mindset right. “It’s crazy because this is probably the busiest I’ve ever been,” she says. “But I feel more grounded and more present in each moment than ever.”

For the Louisiana native, this perspective has been hard-won. Huckaby first started snowboarding in 2013 when she was 17 years old, three years after having her right leg amputated as a result of bone cancer. As a formerly ranked gymnast, Huckaby was used to competing at an elite level before her life-changing diagnosis. Afterward, she eventually found solace on the slopes.

It was a really special moment of realizing ‘I can do this; I just have to figure out how.

“I wanted to snowboard because it reminded me of a balance beam. I wanted that piece of my life back,” Huckaby says. The first time she rode, she kept falling, but she refused to give up. “I remember that feeling of determination that I don’t think I had since I’d lost my leg. It was a really special moment of realizing ‘I can do this; I just have to figure out how.’”

Two years later, Huckaby would not only move to Utah to pursue snowboarding full time, but she’d also attend (and win) her first world championship. By 2018, she’d find herself a member of Team USA’s Paralympic roster and earn her first two gold medals in Pyeongchang, South Korea. It was a success she planned on replicating at the 2022 Paralympics until her events — Snowboard Cross LL1 and Banked Slalom LL1 — were removed due to insufficient athlete participation. Per Paralympic rules, Huckaby was not eligible to participate in the men’s snowboarding category or the women’s snowboarding category for less impaired athletes (LL2).

Undeterred by the International Paralympic Committee and World Para Snowboard’s decision, Huckaby sued for her right to participate and won. Despite being at a disadvantage competing against opponents with less significant lower limb impairment, she came away from the Beijing Games with her third gold medal and a bronze.

“It would have been comfortable to just move on, but then I thought about my younger self and how much representation in the Paralympics with above-the-knee amputee women competing inspired me,” Huckaby says. “Competing at a disadvantage was more important than not being seen at all.”

In the four years since her major victory in the court and on the slopes, Huckaby has maintained a strict training regimen while raising two children and managing a rapidly growing online presence — more than 600,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram. Leading up to the 2026 Winter Games, her schedule’s even more hectic, with media circuits and sponsorships with brands like Coca-Cola, Honda, and Ralph Lauren. Most recently, she partnered with Hershey’s for the brand’s new campaign, “Hershey’s. It’s Your Happy Place,” featuring limited-edition chocolate medals to celebrate the 2026 games and finding joy in everyday moments.

“Happiness is the true gold, and that’s something I’ve been really trying to work on over the last eight years,” Huckaby says. “I’ve been able to enjoy the process of my journey by slowing down and reflecting on the present moment and knowing there’s always something to be happy about. There's always something to be grateful for.”

If I can just help one person feel a little bit better, then I know that I'm living the life that I want to live.

Inspired by the late Bibian Mentel-Spee, a Dutch Winter Paralympic three-time gold medalist and five-time world champion parasnowboarder, Huckaby says advocating for representation and sharing her story have continued to motivate her as she advances in her career. It’s also one of the reasons she wanted to help co-found Culxtured, a media collective that aims to change the way para sport is viewed in the public eye.

“We wanted to change the narrative around para sport and to be seen as athletes first,” Huckaby says of creating the organization alongside fellow athletes Dani Aravich, Chuck Aoki, and Ryan Neiswender. “There are lots of blind spots around para sports. It gets missed that we are elite athletes, and we want to showcase that. The more that we keep showing up, the more people will become fans of para sports.”

Huckaby’s online presence helps amplify this work. On social media, she shares glimpses into her life, educating her followers about things like altering her prosthetics when she gains or loses muscle, or adapting to the learning curve of using new ones. It’s the side of para sports most people don’t see. “If I didn’t have to do all of that, I could be the most incredible athlete,” she says. “It takes up so much of my mental and physical space. That takes away from me being able to perform in my sport.”

Still, Huckaby doesn’t waver, even on mentally tough days. “As hard as it is and as frustrating as it is [to be a Paralympian], I wouldn’t change it. I want to be a place of hope for people. If I can just help one person feel a little bit better, then I know that I'm living the life that I want to live.”

Often, that means leaning into discomfort and challenging herself to try new things, like appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s 60th anniversary edition in 2024 alongside legends like Martha Stewart and Tyra Banks. Huckaby first posed for the magazine in 2018, becoming the first Paralympic athlete to be featured.

It became an easy yes when I thought about all the girls who could potentially feel better about themselves and in their bodies.

“I did not feel super comfortable at that time in my body and who I was, but I’m someone who always does things scared. I also knew that it was going to be bigger than myself,” she says. “I knew there was a 14-year-old version of myself out there in the world who wanted to see their bald-headed, amputated self, knowing they were worth love and worth being seen as beautiful. It became an easy yes when I thought about all the girls who could potentially feel better about themselves and in their bodies.”

Embracing the uncomfortable is a recurring theme in the snowboarder’s life, and one that’s brought her success. No matter what happens in Milan, Huckaby is proud that her appearance at the Paralympic Games will inspire other people with disabilities. “Life is too short to try and fit into a box you didn’t subscribe to,” she says. “So be your own person because that is the most freeing thing you can do.”