How Snowboarder Kimmy Fasani Had Best Year of Career After Kids and Cancer – ryan

Kimmy Fasani is no stranger to navigating the unknown. A trailblazer in professional snowboarding, she has spent years carving paths through the most unpredictable landscapes.

But in a new documentary, “Butterfly in the Blizzard”, the terrain she faces is far more personal – motherhood, identity and a battle with cancer.

The documentary, filmed over five years, offers an unfiltered look at Fasani’s transition from globe-trotting athlete to mother with her husband, professional skier Chris Benchetler.

The couple has two sons, Koa and Zeppelin, and the film uses raw footage and expert commentary to explore the concept of “matrescence” — the profound transformation women experience when becoming mothers.

“The conversation about matrsescence is really important because it makes us feel less isolated in our journey as we navigate parenthood,” Fasani told Newsweek.

“There’s actually a transformation that we’re going through – mentally and physically –that we have never really had this distinction around. It just made me feel a little more normal.”

Like many new moms, Fasani believed she could do it all. She grew up watching her mother, Judy Fasani, handle everything as a single parent.

“I thought that it was going to be a walk in the park and I thought I was going to do it different than millions of women. That was really a humorous moment to me,” she said.

That identity shift from professional snowboarder to mother was compounded by the pressures of her career. In professional sports, particularly snowboarding, motherhood has long been perceived as a career-ending move.

“When I became pregnant, all my contracts were up… and I had to choose to go to my sponsors and ask for the (language) to change in my contracts,” she said. “In that move, I’m advocating for myself, but I don’t know what it’s going to be like to be a parent. That was a leap of faith.”

Fasani ultimately returned to professional riding, challenging the narrative that women must choose between motherhood and their careers. “The biggest limitation we are shown is that we’re not capable of balancing both,” she said.

“When we have the support from our sponsors and even just the workforce, it makes it so much easier to come back into our jobs, knowing that there’s an understanding around the balance. If anything, we become more valuable as we get older in the sport.”

“Butterfly in the Blizzard” is also about survival. In November 2021, just nine months after welcoming her second son, Zeppelin, Fasani was diagnosed with aggressive stage 3 inflammatory breast cancer.

The diagnosis was a devastating blow to her and Benchetler, particularly given their history of losing loved ones to cancer. With two young children to care for, they faced the battle together.

“When I was diagnosed, it was really scary. There was a lot of fear and you can feel that in the movie,” Fasani said. “Chris and my relationship started because of the loss of our dads and that created this bond to each other. We were both scared (but) I’m just so proud that we were able to work together, stay a team and plug along one day at a time.”

Fasani underwent chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and 30 rounds of radiation, achieving a complete pathological response, meaning that doctors found no detectable cancer cells in the areas that were originally affected.

By working with healthcare professionals, Fasani also worked on core strength and recovery after both pregnancies – each resulting in a C-section.

“And at the end of my pregnancy, I realized that our bodies changed so much and pregnancy is such a short period of our lifetime, so if I had to slow down and take time to take care of my body, that was okay.”

Less than two years later, 2023 became one of the most successful seasons of her career. After completing cancer treatment, Fasani returned to snowboarding and competed in the National Selection Tour, securing a podium finish in third place.

Now, on the other side of her cancer battle, Fasani is redefining what success means to her. “Success is how we can harness the positive energy in life and pay it forward… paving the way for the next generation,” she said.

Looking ahead, she’s eager to step into a mentorship role within snowboarding, helping the next generation of athletes navigate both the mountains and the challenges of life beyond them. “I’m looking forward to kind of turning the chapter over and starting something fresh.”