On Fear, Motherhood, and Mindfulness with Professional Snowboarder Kimmy Fasani - Advocate for Gender Parity in Sports

What happens when you have two very big but different dreams vying for your focus? Do you choose one? Or do you risk pursuing both and in doing so commit to a bigger conversation?

This was the dilemma faced by today’s guest—a woman who knows a thing or two about what it takes to face the odds, execute physical comebacks and establish herself as a legend in the world of snowboarding.

Meet Kimmy Fasani — Snowboarder. Voice for female athletes. Mother. Mountain Baker. Author. Director of Storytelling at @andmother_org and so much more.

Kimmy Fasani has been a pioneer in women’s snowboarding since she became the first female snowboarder to land a double backflip in the park and the powder in 2011. In this episode, Sylvia and Kimmy discuss balancing family life with a busy career. Kimmy shares how she discovered the truth about happiness after having her first child, living life without limits, and how women can show up as their authentic selves in all areas of life.

This is a conversation about the ongoing journey of finding our way through incredible highs and the inevitable lows in career and personal lives. Kimmy is a trailblazer and voice for women walking that tightrope between career and family. We get a candid unfiltered version of what the journey is like connecting with both the desire to have a family and the desire to get deep into adventures. This conversation allows us to not only look at progression and motherhood in a new way but also offers powerful insights into mindset and fear.

About Kimmy

Kimmy Fasani is a legend in the world of snowboarding, and an incredible athlete both on and off the slopes. In 2016, Kimmy earned the women’s Rider of the Year and Video Part of the Year honors. Her cookbook, The Mountain Baker, launched in 2020. Kimmy’s resume also includes a strong social media following and a stack of published photos. She is a vocal ambassador for Boarding For Breast Cancer, Protect Our Winters, LIV Bicycles, and luluemon. Kimmy and her husband, Chris Benchetler- a professional skier married in 2011, are also Co-Owners in Dessert’D Organic Bake Shop, an organic/all natural bakery with a storefront in Mammoth Lakes, CA. They are also co-owners in Juneshine Hard Kombucha, and Marea Coffee.

Topics Include

  • Balancing motherhood and a career

  • Pressure and managing it as a professional athlete

  • Finding connection in the physical world

  • Experiencing loss and processing it

  • Asking for help as a woman

  • Owning your authenticity and being transparent

  • Mentoring the younger generation of pro athletes

  • Mindfulness and the importance of presence in the context of fear

Resources Mentioned

Books Mentioned

The Mountain Baker (cookbook) by Kimmy Fasani

Connect with Kimmy


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