Sponsored, Episode 22: Lexi duPont

On this episode of the "Sponsored" podcast, host Mike Powell interviews Lexi duPont, a Sun Valley, Idaho, native, film skiing regular, and a 17th Annual Powder Awards "Best Female Peformance" nominee.

The two discuss growing up the daughter of a K2 Performer mother in Sun Valley—she began ski racing at age 2—and politics.

"Now with all the political bullshit that's happening in the States, it's a better time than ever before to stand up to use our voice to give love and educate ourselves on what is happening out there," duPont says.

Though her family is no longer part of the operations, the company duPont—yes, that one—is a publicly traded company that generates $25 billion in revenue. Lexi duPont discussed how she has learned to use her last name for good.

"For a while, I had this stigma of this last name, and I was kind of embarrassed by it and didn't want anyone to know, and it wasn't until recently that I really owned that last name and used it to go against those principles," she says. "DuPont company did some really terrible stuff to the environment, but I think by having that last name, I'm in a position of power to show that even if you're brought up with that name or those influences, you can still make choices for yourself to better the world instead of taking advantage of it."

DuPont has had to address a lot of haters in skiing—those who think she's only where she is as a result of being born into the duPont family.

"I've had people tell me the only way you've made it in skiing is because you're a duPont," she says, "and you can pay for your own heli time and you've just paid your way to get this far, and that just really strikes a chord with me, because one, I might have this fancy last name, but you don't know anything about me, or where I came from, or how hard I had to work to get to this point ... You know what? This is the sick reality that I'm living right now that I've made for myself, and that comes from a line of choices every single day to pursue happiness and fun no matter what."