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Snowboarding, women in action sports, and farming our way to health and black eyes.
Learning to Drown by Jess Kimura
I honestly can’t say enough about this documentary or how excited I am to have learned of Jess Kimura. I’m not a snowboarder, so please forgive me if you are and are shaking your heard. Jess Kimura is a badass in the world of action sports. She is a snowboarder, who trailblazed like a motherfkr. The smooth aerial tricks in films and deep powder glam shots on magazine covers might make you think Jess had a smooth ride to the top of sponsorships, awards, and film features; it was anything but.
Learning to Drown is 40:00 and delivers 10/10 bang for your buck, even if you’ve never been on a snowboard. It documents the seemingly insane drive and commitment it takes to “make it” in male-dominated industries like action sports, the sacrifice and self-belief required to carve out a space for yourself when there isn’t one already there. It explores living with deep loss and depression and finding yourself again. It highlights how even when we achieve the pinnacle, it can become meaningless and how to pivot and renew our fulfillment and purpose.
You don’t have to be a snowboard to appreciate Jess’ story, it inspired the fuck out of me. If you’ve ever wanted something so badly that it consumed every aspect of your being, if you’ve been in such a dark place you don’t know how to reach for the light, if you’ve ever lost a love, if you’ve ever wanted to throw a giant dildo into an audience, you should watch this documentary.
Other resources:
Jess Kimura on InstagramFree Stream on Vimeo - Learning to DrownJess Kimura interview on the Bomb Hole podcastHow Farming Saved my Body Image
Duration: 3 minutes
Rating: 10/10. Authentic. Vulnerable. Relatable. Let’s keep the rad-women content going!
I stumbled across this article by happenstance and could hear so many of my female client’s stories and athlete’s journeys in AC Stilton’s reflection. She explores her transition from professional pursuits in endurance sports like biking, triathlons, and marathons to owning a farm. With the change of vocation, also comes a shift in her relationship to body size, the role of food, and what her body was built to do.
In an age of health, where so many are focused on hacking their way to optimization, obsessed with rules and diets labeling food as “good” or “bad”, and one’s worth balances precipitously on 1 and 2 lb. weight changes according to the scale, this article was a good reminder of the power of immersing ourselves in doing, working, and creating to transform our relationship with our body. Turns out if you’re busy living, you might not have to focus so much on hacking your way to health.
“A year ago, I thought there were good and bad foods. I now think that any food that I can pull from the earth—be it a turnip or a tuber—is a good food. The only bad foods are the things that won’t grow.”
Other resources:
AC Shilton Blog