At 4 a.m. on August 17, professional skier, mountain athlete, and public speaker, Drew Petersen will line up alongside 700 other runners, ready to take on his third Leadville Trail 100 Run. At the same time that legendary race founder, Ken Chlouber fires his shotgun to start the iconic 100-mile ultramarathon, Drew’s film Feel It All will officially launch for free online.
The short documentary, over two years in the making, chronicles Drew’s journey from the depths of suicidal depression to finding purpose, strength, and resilience by setting the goal to run the Leadville Trail 100 ultramarathon. The film blends the experience of Drew skiing Colorado’s highest 14,000-foot peaks surrounding the Leadville course with the emotional, immersive story arc of running one of the most iconic ultramarathons on the planet. Having grown up nearby in Silverthorne, Colo., the film chronicles his journey running the “hometown hundred,” and depicts how, within the struggle of living with mental illness lies an opportunity to access an infinite, inexhaustible well of strength to achieve our limitless potential.
The mission of the film is to ultimately create powerful cultural change around mental health awareness and suicide prevention to save lives and help individuals, communities, and societies thrive.
This, too, is Drew Petersen’s personal mission. Drew has focused his efforts on changing the culture of mental health and suicide in the American West, where suicide clusters in mountain towns often drive the highest suicide rates in the United States.
Through his previous film, Ups and Downs, advocacy, public speaking, and transforming his professional skiing career to focus on pursuing this cultural change—particularly in mountain communities—Drew has created a revolutionary space in the outdoor community and industry for this important conversation.
“The communities I’ve been fortunate to connect with have shown me that we don’t just need these conversations around mental health, but that the people want these conversations of mental health and suicide prevention elevated,” said Petersen. “So far, about 500 people have seen Feel It All and I’ve already received numerous messages that it has saved lives and given people the courage to ask for help for the first time or finally follow through. That’s the power in talking about all of this and it’s why I do what do.”
Leading up to the online launch of Feel It All on August 17, the film will go on tour to six locations during a three-week window before Drew toes the start line of this year’s Leadville Trail 100 Run.
Film Tour Dates & Locations:
- Wednesday, July 31: Ketchum, Idaho
- Thursday, August 1: Golden, Colo.
- Tuesday, August 6: Boulder, Colo.
- Thursday, August 8: Basalt, Colo.
- Wednesday, August 14: Denver, Colo.
- TBD date: Leadville, Colo.
Some of these events will combine a film screening with a keynote address by Drew titled, “My story is the story of our community” to further the film’s mission. Other screenings will be preceded by group runs intending to cultivate connections. All of the events surrounding Feel It All are aimed at being community celebrations of mental health.
Additional film screenings will be added to the calendar in the coming weeks.
The film will also be screened in 15 locations across North America as part of the Quality Ski Time Film Tour presented by Salomon.
Feel It All has been submitted to all major film festivals and recently received its first film festival selections to the Breckenridge Film Festival, Wasatch Mountain Film Festival, and Montana International Film Festival, taking place in Breckenridge, Colo., Salt Lake City, Utah, and Billings, Mont., respectively, Sept 19-22.
To support the launch and impact of the film, Drew created ‘I Give a F*** About Mental Health’ hats – complete with a hot pink heart where the “U” would be – made in partnership with Ski Town All-Stars. These athletic five-panel hats are perfect for all activities – whether they’re worn running, ski touring, or casually. Starting today, the hats are officially available for sale online on Drew’s website.
To watch the trailer for Feel It All, purchase a hat, or learn more about the Feel It All events tour, please visit https://drew-petersen.com/feelitall.
Feel It All is supported by UCHealth with additional support from Mountain Gazette and Best Day Brewing. To make this project and mission a reality, Petersen also hosted a crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $40,000 to cover costs incurred while creating the film.