Ignite Interview
Shortly after I returned from Burning Man, I was contacted by a website called Ignite. They had read that I had been to the desert 15-times and they wanted to interview me about the connection between my skipping project and my Burning Man experience. Of course I jumped at the chance.
You can read the whole interview here where I talk about how this year’s Burning Man went, my best playa moments, and share one of my favorite skipping stories. They also did a great job the photos.
I also thought I would share my responses to two of my favorite question…
Most of us skipped when we were kids. It seems almost natural, like it is one of those things you just do. When we get older, we’re too embarrassed to do things like this. How does someone cast off that feeling that people will look at you and think you are crazy?
Kim: Gandhi said that we must be the change we wish to see, and I want to live in a world where we don’t think twice about expressing our joy for fear of being judged or ridiculed by others. So I skip…and encourage others to do so as well. It is a conscious choice to not let negativity and judgment (whether by myself or others) dictate how I live my life and enjoy each moment.
Even after 14-years of skipping in the public eye, I still sometimes have an inner dialogue before I skip that goes something like this — my creative, childlike spirit says, “Skipping is fun. Let’s go!” And my more cautious self that is overly concerned about appearances says, “Don’t even think about skipping here. People are going to think you are crazy,” or “you are going to annoy everyone with your joy.”
In those moments, it is a conscious choice to choose joy over worrying about what others might think … and it makes me a more liberated person every time I am able to make it. Whenever we honor that creative voice within, it grows stronger – and when we’re connected to that voice, anything becomes possible.
It makes sense that a burner started this skipping movement. How did Burning Man change your life and open your mind to possibilities such as skipping and making people happy?
Kim: When I was preparing for my first Burning Man in 1997 shortly after moving to San Francisco from Indiana, I was relatively unfazed by my uncertainty about what the experiment in community I was about to embark on was all about…and I didn’t think twice about all of the warnings about the intense environment and possible dust storms. The thing that completely freaked me out was that the event was clothing optional.
But by the time the man burned that first year, I was topless, body painted, and more liberated, inspired, and creatively turned on than I’d ever known was possible. I discovered a part of myself out there that I had never even realized existed…and the 17 years since have been largely about discovering, nurturing, and finding ways to integrate that creative and self-expressed part of myself into my inner and outer worlds.
Since I never considered myself artistic before discovering Burning Man, I wasn’t sure at first what my creative contribution would be until I stumbled upon the Media Mecca tent at my second burn in 1998. A publicist by day, volunteering for the media team ended up being a perfect way for me to deepen my connection to the larger community and to keep the creative spark alive in between Burning Man events.
I was actively working with the media team in 1999 when I became inspired to try to start a skipping movement. If it weren’t for all of the outrageous, creative souls I was lucky to get to meet with monthly at Burning Man headquarters, I seriously doubt my vision would have ever gotten off the ground.
They didn’t look at me like I was crazy when I shared my idea. They encouraged me! A photographer offered to take head shots and pictures of me skipping for the website; a graphic designer made me a logo; a videographer interviewed me about the idea; and countless people put a skip in their step and attended the skipping events I organized monthly in San Francisco to help spread the word.
Skipping has been my practice of choice for infusing the carefree spirit that comes so easily at Burning Man into my day-to-day existence ever since…and the fact that the skipping movement took off like it did amplified that big time. It continues to be a fun and amazing way to meet and connect with positive, open-minded kindred spirits from all over the world.
– See more at: http://ignite.me/articles/consciousness/skip-way-happiness-interview-skipper-kim-corbin/#sthash.sbRNjKnY.dpuf