One of the most successful alpine skiers in American history, New Hampshire's Bode Miller has captured the attention of the world with his incredible athletic balance and ability to produce jaw-dropping performances on skis. Raised in an electricity free home, the two-time World Cup overall champion, four-time World Champion and six-time Olympic medalist has risen to become one of the most prolific international athletes.

Miller made a strategic decision to skip the entire 2013 competition season in order to recover completely from knee surgery. That decision paid off in spades during the 2014 season. Case in point: just a few races into the season, he finished second in the Audi Birds of Prey giant slalom. It was his first podium in the discipline since 2007. From there he continued to roll, adding downhill and super G podiums in Kitzbuehel before notching a historic sixth Olympic medal with super G bronze in Sochi. To cap it all off, Miller completed his first full World Cup season (his first since winning the overall in 2008) with a season-ending podium in the Lenzerheide super G.

After making the decision to undergo surgery early in the 2015 season to relieve pain caused by a herniated disc in his lower back. His comeback was steady and strong, and he felt strong enough to forerun at Wengen and then ski training runs at Kitzbuehel—a race that eludes him—before opting to forerun Kitzbuehel instead, buying himself a little more recovery time before World Championships at Vail/Beaver Creek.

His season debut would be the super G at World Championships. In classic Bode style, Miller did not hold back and led all splits behind leader Georg Streitberger of Austria at the World Championships downhill in Beaver Creek. But when he went over Golden Eagle, he got caught in a panel and completely lost control, spinning around before tumbling and suffering from a severed hamstring tendon. Would he go out any other way?

The question everyone's still asking: Will Bode be back?! ”I tried retiring a couple of times, it just didn’t stick,” said Bode after the season-ending injury. “I haven’t [made up my mind] yet, but I’m leaning pretty heavily towards not going out there.” Will he be back? Stay tuned…

A father and married man, Miller spends much of his time off snow with his family in California. His new hobby is horse racing, of which Miller has a stake in a few very competitive horses with top trainer Bob Baffert. Also active in philanthropy, Miller is passionate about the Turtle Ridge Foundation, an organization he started in 2005 with a focus on environmental protection issues and providing opportunities for young people to participate in recreational activities. He hosts two major fundraising events annually: BodeFest, a skiing event in the spring, and BodeBash, a golf and tennis classic later in the summer.

Growing up near Cannon Mountain, Miller was skiing by three. At 13 he entered Maine's Carrabassett Valley Academy to be a ski racer. He made a big impression at the ’96 U.S. Championships at Sugarloaf (up the road from CVA) when, at 18, he was third in the slalom title race. Miller debuted on the World Cup with the ’98 Olympic season, finishing 11th in his first race.