How Olympian Brodie Summers Built a Career Beyond the Snow

For most people, representing Australia at three Olympic Games would be the defining chapter of their life story. For Brodie Summers, it was the foundation for everything that came next.

The Melbourne-raised freestyle skier was selected as part of three Australian Olympic Teams for Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, carving his name into Australian winter sports history as one of the country's most resilient mogul skiers. 

But even at the height of his athletic career, Summers was quietly laying the groundwork for life beyond the snow - studying, interning, and thinking carefully about what came after.

"I always found it important to have other objectives and pursuits outside of my sport as a way to bring more balance to my life as an athlete," he says.

While training at an elite level, Summers completed a Bachelor of Banking and Finance at Monash University and arranged internships in his field of interest during windows in his competition schedule. It wasn't accidental - it was a deliberate, structured approach to building a career in parallel with his sport.  Now, he works for BDO as a Manager,  

Project & Infrastructure Advisory.

"Future career planning began back in high school. I always understood that my athletic career would eventually end, and that I'd need to cultivate other passions and pathways for life after sport." 

It's a mindset he believes shapes everything about how smoothly an athlete transitions and one he hopes more athletes adopt.

For Summers, the shift from competitor to professional wasn't simply about having a qualification in hand. 

"In my opinion, two factors shape an athlete's transition more than anything else: purpose and athlete identity. When retiring, many athletes feel they lose both overnight, leaving them disoriented and unsure of who they are - an experience I felt deeply myself."

“Two things helped me navigate that period.  One was to have objectives outside of sport.  Having goals beyond my athletic life gave me a renewed sense of purpose. They provided something constructive to shift my focus toward, especially during moments when I was grieving the loss of my athlete identity.

“Secondly was to have a strong support network.  My circle of family and friends, both within and beyond sport, gave me stability. Being able to integrate into a community post‑sport was essential in helping me move from who I was as an athlete to who I am today.

The skills forged through more than 15 years of elite competition have also travelled with him into his professional life. 

He points first to collaboration, the ability to work effectively with coaches, teammates and support staff toward a shared goal, and second to the accountability and goal-setting discipline that defines high-performance sport. 

"Elite athletes are inherently goal-driven and adopt a mindset of relentless pursuit. Performance speaks louder than excuses, so athletes learn to take responsibility when things don't go to plan. 

“In a world where accountability is often avoided, this trait becomes one of the most valuable assets an athlete brings to any future career, building trust and helping teams progress."

His advice for anyone mapping out a career path echoes the strategic thinking applied to competition. 

“Be open‑minded in choosing your path. Explore widely and pursue work you genuinely enjoy as your career becomes a major part of your life and identity, so it’s important to choose something that motivates you and makes you want to get out of bed each morning.”

When transitioning out of sport, he spoke with a retired athlete who challenged him to think back to the early days of his career as junior athlete, when he had to map out what it would take and the milestones along the way, to become an Olympian.  To take that process and reverse it. 

“Map your goals backwards. Once you’ve identified the career you want, chart the path from your long‑term goal back to where you are now. 

“Define the milestones you need to hit and the specific actions required to reach them. For most athletes, this structured, goal‑driven approach is second nature, so applying it to a new career is both intuitive and effective,” he said. 

Today, Summers applies that same mindset across multiple roles beyond the slopes. He is Chair of the Australian Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission, recently re-elected for a second four-year term where he leads work spanning athlete connection, advocacy, and representation. 

The Commission's current focus includes supporting preparations for the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, with a longer eye trained on Brisbane 2032. For Summers, bringing an athlete's perspective to that work is what makes it meaningful.

“The AOC Athletes’ Commission focuses its work across four key areas including:

1. Connection – building meaningful relationships and community among athletes

2. Athlete voice – ensuring athletes’ needs and perspectives shape the policies and decisions that affect them

3. Empowering athlete representatives – strengthening the effectiveness of athlete representation across the system

4. Once an Olympian, always an Olympian – supporting athletes beyond performance outcomes so their Olympic journey, from selection through life after the Games, is positive and well‑supported.

“While advising the AOC Executive Board remains our core role, each focus area includes targeted initiatives that guide our work. A major priority right now is supporting preparations for the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar later this year, recognising that many of these athletes may go on to represent Australia at the Brisbane 2032 Games,” he said. 

National Careers Week is a reminder that career journeys rarely follow a straight line and Brodie Summers is proof that the qualities built through one path can be powerful fuel for the next. 

From the steep mogul courses of three Winter Olympics to the boardrooms and commission tables where Australia's sporting future is being shaped, Summers has shown that the transition from athlete to professional isn't an ending. With the right preparation, the right mindset, and the willingness to plan ahead, it's simply the next run down the mountain.