This Shark-Swimming, Spearfishing Superwoman Might Make You Rethink Your Life
Posted: 10/02/2013 10:07 pm EDT | Updated: 10/04/2013 5:13 pm EDT
This is Kimi Werner.
Kimi lives almost entirely off the land on the North Shore of Oahu.
This is how she grocery shops -- she freedives and spear fishes for her protein.
It sometimes seems like Kimi is more comfortable in the water than on land.
She can hold her breath for 4 minutes and 45 seconds.
She says that relaxation is key to holding your breath, which is a good skill to have when she found herself swimming with a great white shark. "Swimming with that shark," she says, "was the most unreal, unplanned and intense event of my life ... It was beautiful. Everything slowed down. The minute my hand met her fin, I knew so much more than I knew in any moment before that."
By spearfishing, Kimi saves a lot of money on food, but she doesn't do it for the economic benefits. "It's the feeling of resourcefulness," she says. "Its the feeling of sharing. Of being self-sufficient and content. It's so much fun."
Her kitchen looks very different from yours and mine. Living simply and sustainably are priorities. She gets fresh eggs from her friend's chickens, venison from bow hunting friends, and fresh fruit and vegetables from her friends' yards.
Catching her own food makes Kimi happy, especially when it's fresh ahi:
One of her standby recipes is blackened uku with mango salsa. We should mention here that Kimi went to culinary school.
Here's how you make it:
Kimi is also a Patagonia Surf Ambassador, the 2008 National Spearfishing Champion, and an artist. She credits her father for teaching her about the joys of the ocean and living simply. “The moment I took up freediving and spearfishing again,” she says, “I reconnected to the happiness of my childhood.”