Road to recovery: Snowboarder Kevin Pearce

KUSA - It's a risk snowboarder Kevin Pearce experienced firsthand. On New Year's Eve in 2009, Pearce's life and career in snowboarding changed forever after a crash during practice.

Pearce was known as the one snowboarder who could challenge Shaun White at the Vancouver Olympics. But on that practice run, he suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him in a coma, followed by a long road of adjusting to what would be a lifelong disability away from the sport.

Pearce's story has now been captured in a new HBO documentary called "The Crash Reel. " Directed by two-time Oscar nominee Lucy Walker, the film follows Pearce and his family and friends, using footage that captures the soul of the sport at a time when the stakes - and danger - have never been higher.

The Crash Reel was an official selection at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award at South By Southwest Film Festival.

Pearce's horrific crash was initially captured on film by his buddies who rushed to the scene. After being airlifted to University Hospital in Salt Lake City, Pearce was transferred to Craig Hospital, where he received treatment in the hospital's Brain Injury Program for two-and-a-half months. Now, three-and-a-half years after his crash, Pearce has realized his new passion: Serving as an advocate for brain-trauma patients.

As snowboarders fly higher in the air - with half-pipe walls now standing 22-feet high, and competitors flying 20 feet above them as they perform their flips and spins and attempting tricks that escalate every season in difficulty - the evolution of extreme sports has outpaced conversations about safety. And for those athletes who do suffer a traumatic brain injury, they are six times more likely to suffer another one. Is it worth the risk?

The Crash Reel addresses that very issue. On Tuesday, HBO will premiere The Crash Reel in Denver. Following the screening, Pearce and Alan Weintraub, M.D., medical director of Craig's Brain Injury Program, will take part in a question and answer session with the audience.

Prior to the screening, Pearce will meet with youth snow and skateboarders at the Denver SkatePark at 20th and Little Raven streets at 3 p.m. Pearce will discuss the film and the need for up-and-coming extreme sports stars to better understand the risks and rewards that come with their love of adventure. The first 100 attendees will receive a movie poster autographed by Pearce.

More information about The Crash Reel can be found here: http://www.thecrashreel.com.

(KUSA-TV 2013 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)

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Road to recovery: Snowboarder Kevin Pearce