BRONWEN JEWELRY
Nikki Smith: the most published climbing photographer you've never heard of
The first time she tied into a rope and started up a rock face, says Nikki Smith, “I knew it was what I wanted to do. Nothing else existed when I was there—just the rock, holds, and [the people] with me.” On rock and ice, Nikki is grace and power, strength and strategy. Her expression is relaxed, even carefree, working her way up rock faces and frozen waterfalls that at best look daunting to the average climber—and downright death-defying to those of us whose best days on the sharp end are behind us.
Chelsey Magness: strength & spirit
One look at the radiant mud-spattered face of Bronwen Jewelry's newest Global Ambassador Chelsey Magness and you can see echoes of the little girl she once was, making dirt pies and building tree forts in the Alaska wilderness. But that's who she remains at heart, despite the intervening years, the recent motherhood, and the seminal events that have shaped her adult life. As an athlete and adventurer who has built her life and career around racing and hard-core sports, Chelsey has always been a gal whose heart beats faster and whose mind is sharper when she's pushing her limits, and that began with her early years in Anchorage.
Jill Wheeler: Warrior One
Yogis are familiar with the Warrior One pose; it’s a cornerstone of any yoga practice and represents the spiritual warrior who does battle with the universal enemy—self-ignorance. The Warrior One pose develops the inner qualities necessary to realize one’s greatest personal strengths and spiritual potential.
But Warrior One is also something else. It’s a feature-length documentary film chronicling the inspiring journey of eleven at-risk teens who spend five months on the Wellfit Girls Program—a training and leadership program, including an expedition to Peru, that leads them on the path of personal discovery and emotional growth. The brainchild of Bronwen Global Ambassador Jill Wheeler, Warrior One aims to both tell the story of a small group of girls finding inner strengths and to inspire other girls to become confident and competent leaders.
Kim Havell: hard body, soft heart
For someone with decidedly urban roots, Bronwen Jewelry Global Ambassador Kim Havell spends an extraordinary amount of time in the backcountry. Born in Tehran, Iran, and raised in Hong Kong, Kim moved to New York City with her family at the age of 11. Kim grew up skiing, but it was a school trip to Wildcat Mountain in New Hampshire in the 6th grade that really got her hooked on the backcountry. “The freedom of the experience really struck a chord,” she says. It’s a chord Kim has continued to play–one that has taken her from working as an alpine ski coach in Telluride to becoming one of the world’s pre-eminent ski mountaineers. Kim started making a splash as a powder girl to be watched around 2007, when she began knocking off first female descents in Southwest Colorado, and since then she has been steadily ticking off increasingly more ambitious projects across the globe.