Drew Petersen's New Film About Running, Skiing, And Mental Health, "Feel It All," Releases August 17th

After a successful Kickstarter campaign, professional skier Drew Petersen's new film, Feel It All , is off to the races.

The film drops for free online on August 17th, the same day that Petersen will run Colorado's Leadville 100 Trail Run (more precisely, it will release the moment the race's start gun goes off at 4 a.m. MST).

Not coincidentally, Feel It All features Petersen's previous attempt at the 100-mile slog, alongside his journey to ski several 14,000-foot peaks surrounding the race course.

But epic feats of human endurance are only one part of Feel It All . If you're a fan of Petersen, you know he's an outspoken advocate for mental health.

His previous release, Ups and Downs, was a raw, intense look at his battle with bipolar disorder and suicidal thoughts, alongside telling the story of a rockfall incident on Mt. Hood, which plunged Petersen further into darkness.

"It just got to a point where either I had to face all of this head-on—and that meant asking for help—or I would've killed myself," Petersen said during a voiceover for Feel It All .

Petersen ultimately chose life.

"Skiing and running are still a part of my toolkit for how to take care of myself. But the way that they don't become a band-aid is that I don't use them as an escape," Petersen told me in an interview earlier this summer, explaining his approach to self-care.

"I use them as one element of how I take care of myself in concert with a million other things, including sleep, mindfulness, meditation, journaling, continued talk therapy, and psychiatric medication."

Feel It All is another appeal to our shared mountain communities. By shining a light on tricky mental health conversations, Petersen aims to create powerful cultural change. Like Ups and Downs , the film chronicles Petersen's mental health struggles, combining them with his pursuit to find strength and resilience in the mountains.

" Ups and Downs was, in its core, a ski movie, and it did reach beyond, it did end up reaching beyond the ski community. I don't know if I want to use the word 'just,' but it was just a ski film," Petersen told me. "Feel It All takes that, brings in running, brings in a whole parallel community, broadens it to the outdoor community, and then ultimately having that tangible goal can take this impact, this mission of cultural change on mental health, to the mainstream."

Before Feel It All's online release, Petersen has scheduled several in-person screenings of the film:

● Wednesday, July 31st: Ketchum, Idaho

● Thursday, August 1st: Golden, Colo.

● Tuesday, August 6th: Boulder, Colo.

● Thursday, August 8th: Basalt, Colo.

● Wednesday, August 14th: Denver, Colo.

● TBD date: Leadville, Colo.

Some of these screenings will feature a keynote address from Petersen, where he'll further Feel It All's impact with an address titled My Story Is the Story of Our Community. More screenings are coming, and the movie's already been accepted into numerous film festivals, including the Breckenridge Film Festival, Wasatch Mountain Film Festival, and Montana International Film Festival.

The film will also be screened in 15 locations across North America as part of the Quality Ski Time Film Tour presented by Salomon.

While the Kickstarter for the film has ended, you can still support Petersen's mission by picking up a hat emblazoned with the text "I Give A F*ck About Mental Health," which was produced in collaboration with Ski Town All-Stars.

Feel It All is supported by UCHealth with additional support from Mountain Gazette and Best Day Brewing.

Related: Where's our Ski Train?

Be the first to read breaking ski news with POWDER. Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of skiing. From ski resort news to profiles of the world’s best skiers, we are committed to keeping you informed.

Submit your best clips for a chance to be featured on POWDER. Tune in and watch handpicked, high-quality ski videos streaming all day long on POWDER TV , and subscribe to our YouTube channel .