Born in Lustenau on July 18, 1963, he is a Vorarlberg native and went to BORG in Dornbirn until the age of 14. After that, he was too involved in skiing and was able to complete his A-levels, slightly late, at the age of 22 at the Humboldt correspondence school.
He then single-handedly acquired several languages, which he can now use very well for his business and private activities.
His skiing career was mostly successful with 5 overall World Cup victories, 13 medals and 46 World Cup victories. During his career, he also had to cope with some major setbacks with serious injuries that left him with a 15% disability.
After his skiing career in 1996, he became an entrepreneur.