Q&A SESSION
By Colleen Bidwill
Shawn Brokemond is not used to staying still. She’s BASE jumped off 3,000-foot cliffs in Europe, snowboarded down mountains she accessed via helicopter, trained and competed in triathlons, skydived and surfed, and explored her “personal playground” of Marin on mountain bike and foot.
But, the 54-year-old Mill Valley resident and certified trainer doesn’t want people to live vicariously through her, she wants them to find their own slice of adventure. After teaching for 25 years and being gifted with a skydive by her husband when she was 39, she founded Sports Adventure (sportadven.com), helping people integrate adventure, fitness and wellness into their life.
Q: You say you want to see more people of color in adventure sports. Why is this important?
A: I was always involved with sports and I was always the only Black person. I am a snowboarder and taking my son to Tahoe when he was a teenager and younger, we rarely saw Black or Brown people. My son sadly stopped snowboarding because he said, “Black people don’t do that,” and I said, “Yes, we do.” I went to Whistler decades ago, and just happened to be there when an organization’s yearly big ski trip had 3,000 people of color. I was blown away. The lack of diversity in outdoor sports is apparent and I wish it not to be true. I know that the reason can be attributed to the limited access, knowledge and representation, some outdoor activities are expensive. The outdoor industry often lacks inclusivity, making people of color feel excluded and unwelcome. I want that narrative to change. I taught a surf camp last summer at Stinson and most were kids of color through Play Marin and there were a lot of firsts, some of them had never been in the ocean and many of them didn’t know how to swim, but once they went in, they didn’t want to get out. It was amazing.
Q: What’s a memorable adventure you’ve had?
A: In Europe, my first time big wall jumping, like 3,000 feet. It’s a different kind of feeling while you’re falling. It’s scarier, it’s different and the first time I did that, I stood on the edge for 30 minutes, waiting to jump. I’m always nervous beforehand, but after I leave, every single time, I am very calm and it feels right and perfect.
Q: Are you an adrenaline junkie?
A: I don’t feel like I am. I love adventure, but I don’t need to have some high adrenaline kick every time I do something. That’s not why I do it. It’s because it’s fun and badass. It takes a lot of courage to do something like that. There are very few women that do that, so I think that’s cool.
Q: How did your transition to fitness begin?
A: My triathlon coach asked me if I would run a boot camp in the Presidio. I did his boot camps for like seven years and I was a triathlete, so he knew I could handle the job. He didn’t get the numbers he wanted and it only lasted a few months. The people we had were so bummed and asked if I would continue to train them. At the time, we had bought a house and had a private gym, so it was perfect.
Q: Would you say in both your careers you helped people, just in different ways?
A: Absolutely. That’s what I love about what I do, working with people and inspiring them to care about their health and fitness and inspire them to be their best self in whatever way they want to do that. I get a lot of people who think because they are older they can’t do what they used to do. So I love helping people learn how to strengthen their body and return to do what they used to do, if that’s what they want. Outdoor activities provide opportunities to boost self esteem, build skills, and fosters a sense of community and belonging. My dream is to work more with people of color in my community to build inclusivity and representation in hopes of building a more diverse welcoming community.