Spotlight on Kimberly Wheatley

BY CARA SCHAEFER

Splashing and singing just might be the key to a more joyous life. We spoke with solo kayaker and explorer Kimberly Wheatley about paddling, self-care, and kayak karaoke.

Photos courtesy of Kimberly Wheatley.

OUT THERE: What got you started on paddling?

KIMBERLY WHEATLEY: I've always had a love for the water. In 2015 I took a trip to Canada to go kayaking with orcas. I didn’t know what I was doing — I hadn't paddled before — but I was like, “Sure I can paddle for six hours straight a day. No problem.” I absolutely loved it, and just did not have a way to start kayaking on my own. I lived in an apartment in Los Angeles, and so there was no place to store a kayak, not to mention I had no one to kayak with. 

It wasn't until about three years later that I bought my Oru Kayak, after seeing it on Shark Tank as I was recovering from foot surgery. And so on a whim I bought this kayak, and almost immediately regretted it. I was like, “Okay, you're not going to go. Who are you going to go with? You don’t even know how to kayak. You’ve never kayaked by yourself.” And then I ended up buying it, and forced myself to use it that first couple of times. I immediately was hooked, and it changed my life.

OT: If you could go back to one moment out on the water, what would it be? 

KW: It would have to be my paddle on Bow Lake in Canada. It was absolutely stunning. I had the entire lake to myself. I just remember kayaking over these ginormous boulders that were under the water, that you couldn't possibly see from the shore. It was such a cool perspective to see what you’re kayaking over. They were sitting there in the Canadian Rockies in this water that's this, not even turquoise blue, but this beautiful hue of blue. I remember thinking to myself, ‘You know, if I were to die today like right now, I would not be upset that this is the last thing that I saw.’

OT: You mentioned that you’ve always been drawn to water. Why do you think that is?

KW: When I was a kid, “The Little Mermaid” was my absolute favorite movie. I saw it when it first came out. I never had the chance to really get on the water, until I had a kayak. And now there's just this calming feeling. I could sit in the middle of the ocean all day, and just stare out.

I don't know if it's just this feeling of being so small, because when you're on the water, even a whale in the water is minuscule. And that's a crazy feeling to me. Your problems seem so big sometimes, but in actuality the water is such a big reminder that you're actually really small. And just to kind of keep that perspective sometimes when I start freaking out about things. I love scuba diving. I love kayaking. There's something about being around water that just puts me at ease, and takes me out of my head.

OT: You mentioned scuba diving, what are the differences for you? From being on top of the water to being under the water?

KW: The thing I like about scuba diving is, like so many things in life, your mind is really good at conjuring up this idea of what's really happening. And so when you're on the water, there's this vulnerability that is there because you're just imagining what's underneath you, like ‘Oh there's probably something scary out there.’ Then you get to scuba dive, and suddenly you can see that ‘Oh, so there aren't just a bunch of sharks down here waiting to eat me.’ It's just opening your mind to a whole different world. And they are two different worlds — what goes on above the water, and what goes on below the water are a different universe.

OT: What's the coolest thing you've seen while scuba diving?

KW: My biggest thing would probably be when I got to scuba dive at night with manta rays. I think that was one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life, to be underwater with these majestic creatures as they just kind of somersaulted through the water at night. Literally their wingspan is about 15 feet. And they're just gliding above you, eating the plankton at night. I just felt so privileged to be able to have witnessed that. When I watch my video from that day, it still gives me chills. And I'm terrified of the ocean at night. I don’t know how I managed to jump in the ocean and descend to the floor, but to scuba dive, I was like, “I'm going to do it.” I faced that fear, and it was one of the most memorable experiences. 

OT: How is paddling a form of self-care for you?

KW: I feel the older you get, the more I have friends that have relied on “Oh, I’m single. Life is so bad.” And all these things that are tied into someone else making you happy, and not enough energy being put out like “Okay, well how do you figure out what makes you happy? Independent of any other human being, what makes you happy?” 

And for me, that's kayaking. I can create my own happiness that's completely independent of anybody else. So if I'm having a bad day, or if I'm feeling stressed out at work, I know that what’s going to reset me is to be on an isolated lake somewhere, paddling for hours. I feel like a completely different person. It's just me, the water, the trees, silence — it literally just reinvigorates my entire existence. It provides a mental clarity, because I can have time to think.There’s a calmness and quietness that I get from being on the water that I haven't found a way to get anywhere else.

Even if I don't want to go out, because kayaking, it is work — packing up my car, and putting my kayak together. It's one of those things where it's almost like going to the gym. No matter how much work it took me mentally to get there, when I'm there I always feel better. There's never a time where kayaking leaves me feeling anything other than fulfilled.

OT: If you got to automatically add two songs to your friend’s kayaking playlist, what would they be?

KW: One of them would definitely be “Way Less Sad” by AJR because I love that song. And then the second song would probably be something from “The Greatest Showman” like “This Is Me”. That’s one where if I’m having a long paddle, and I’m like “Oh goodness, I really got a long way back to go.” I'll just put that on, and paddle and sing along to the beat, and use that as my motivation to keep going. There’s something about that empowering king of song that says “Yeah you got this!”

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

You can find Kimberly on Instagram and online at Duct Tape Diaries.