Peter Forras started skiing at Mt Buller after his father bought the first hotel on the mountain, the Kooroora, having migrated from Hungary. Growing up at Mt Buller, the young Peter Forras had plenty of opportunities to ski and yet, when it came to competing, he was a late bloomer. He was already 14 when he saw the 1980 Olympic squad selection announced and he started begging his parents to let him join the Mt Buller Race Club.

Ski racing was in the family, of course. Forras’ mother had represented Victoria and Australia in the Fifties and his father was one of Mt Buller’s pioneers, setting up the French Ski school with his brother Ernest. And then there was Aunt Judy, who competed at the Olympic Games in Innsbruck 1964 - the same year that Peter Forras was born.

Getting to go to Steamboat Springs (Colorado, USA) on a junior development team squad was an important milestone in Forras’ growth as an athlete. Each season brought new challenges and a higher level of training, both physically and on snow. Under the guidance of coaches such as John Lefler and Jan Tischhauser, Forras and his teammates pushed each other to get better and better, creating life-long personal bonds in the process. 

Despite a bad crash earlier in the season, on 13 February 1988 in Calgary (Alberta, Canada) Peter Forras walked into the Olympic Stadium with the rest of the Australian team and achieved his career goal to represent his Country at the Olympics. 

Once back home, Forras re-set his ambitions and started working for a company selling headbands for skiers. He later capitalized on a good global network and started his own business, a clothing company which quickly carved out its niche supplying accessories, base layers and snow gear internationally. 

Forras was keen to contribute back to the Australian snow community and established many commercial partnerships within the sport. The brand has long been a major supplier of most Australia’s top winter athletes, has an ongoing association with the Interschools Snowsports Championships and has been the Official Supplier for the Australian Olympic Winter team since 2006. 

Based in Torquay, VIC, Forras keeps running his successful business and enjoys spending time with his family, catching big waves and planning memorable getaways with mates from his ski racing days.