New Freeskier Star Alex Schlopy in Shock After Big Victory

It's his very first press conference. Alex Schlopy still hasn't taken it all in. He thought his life had changed radically the week before, when he won the X Games gold medal in the Big Air contest. But as he faced a room crowded with cameras and mics just six days after his win, he had no idea how much his life would change the very next day.

That day was showtime for skier's slopestyle at the Freestyle World Ski Championships in Park City, Utah. Both slopestyle and halfpipe are on a fast track for inclusion in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, so there was even more interest from the press and fans. It was the first time the two sports were included in the World Championships.

To everyone's shock, including his own, Schlopy won. The 18-year-old, and youngest rookie to win gold at the X Games, was now the first World Champion in slopestyle.

Climbing onto the number one spot on the podium was a big step. But just to be able to ski was a big step for Alex. Three years ago, at 15, he was starting to make his mark in slopestyle. Then a bad car accident left him with a severe concussion. It took months before he could safely ski again. He began training for freeskiing's U.S. Open when disaster struck. He crashed, blew out his knee and got another concussion. This one left him bedridden with vertigo. Everyone thought he was finished, his bright career over.

Alex knew he'd be back. His vertigo faded, and he worked out on a trampoline to restore the "air awareness" essential for freeskiers, practicing grabs and flips for hours each day. "I finally felt I'd progressed to where I would have been if the crash had never happened," he says.

His comeback blazed in 2010, when he won the Dumont Cup in March, beating the shining list of pro skiers competing in the invitational contest. He was the first rookie to ever win. In December, he took fourth place at the Dew Tour's first stop in Breckenridge, Colo. He'll take a day or two to rest up, then begin training for his next contest, the Dew Tour stop at Utah's Snowbasin Resort.

Meanwhile, he's taking his new stardom in stride. Other than the sudden commotion, the constant press clamor for interviews, and the new interest from athlete groupies, nothing is different in Schlopy's life. He walks into the kitchen of his Park City home and gives his mom, former downhill racer and Olympian Holly Flanders, a hug, as usual. She says, "He's worked really hard. Though his life has radically changed in the past couple of weeks, I think it will give him confidence, but I don't think it will change him."

He hangs with the same friends, who also like it at Schlopy's house, where there's always something good to eat on the stove. While friends kick back, Alex spends hours on the computer, laying down tracks to the videos he creates; he's a computer wizard (check him out on Facebook). He's a big fan of Miley Cyrus -- and, he's romantic, describing his favorite date as a sandy beach with a dinner by candlelight.

He's also one of the best-liked athletes on the circuit. In the photo above, he's with his closest rival, Sammy Carlson. It's a relaxed friendship, with none of the tension found in other competitive sports.

And, a fact most people don't know about the new slopestyle star: In summer, Alex races motocross. He loves riding his dirt bike, and even builds his own jumps. He's already won a few small contests. Maybe there's another shock in store -- for motocross fans -- and for Schlopy in yet another action sport.