We recently had the chance to connect with Kylie Fly and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kylie, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Spending time with my identical triplet sisters. We all three live apart now, and when you go from wombmates to roommates and then go off to live your own independent lives in different states it can feel like you’re missing a huge piece of yourself all the time. Whenever we are together, we have no sense of time. Before we know it, it’s 4 am and we are still standing in the kitchen chatting and laughing while the kids are about to get up for school in a few hours. Whenever we reconnect, we remember who we really are and feel whole.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Kylie Fly, a professional photographer who has been working in the action sports and travel adventure space for 20 years now. I picked up my camera when I moved to China, and haven’t put it down since. I’ve traveled and lived all over the world, spending many of those days with a backpack filled with equipment to not only take photographs but scale granite walls and sheets of ice and cross over glaciated terrain. I live for the adventure, and I fall in love with new hobbies all the time. While climbing and skiing are a constant, I focus energy and time on different hobbies depending on my goals for the year. Right now I’m training for a marathon again, so I’ve been running a lot as well as riding my dirt bike with my fiancé.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I was just a horse girl living in a small country town in Idaho. All I wanted to do was ride horses, collect wildflowers and play outside. My sisters and I spent hours building castles in the dirt, snowmen in the Winter and any creative way to make a fantasy land wherever we were playing. I was carefree and excited and curious about everything, while also highly motivated to preform at a high level which explains all my dorky training plans for basketball tryouts even in grade school.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering teaches you resilience and the need to persevere. There is nothing more humbling than getting beat down, over and over again. The difference is in how we overcome that, and the steps we take to pull ourselves out of the dark places we all inevitably go. It’s no secret that suffering is a huge part of life–the secret is in how you handle it. Success is the best! I love when everything is going as hoped, or even exceeding those aspirations. But when the hard gets harder, it demands we pay special attention to the details and recenter on what matters most.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
It may sound morbid, but I’d say that they genuinely care about people. Everything is a business. Society relies on people to buy their stuff, and in order to buy it they need to see it and know about it. At the end of the day, everything is about money, consumerism, sales and meeting margins. We all do our best to play our impactful role in that, as it is necessary to living in society and essentially the game of life. However, no matter how many talents we possess or how many years of experience we dedicate to a field of work it can all go away. The only way for me to remain optimistic is to take in every experience, every moment, every contact and every job as one of value that I will cherish and nourish and make the most out of. There are no guarantees in life, but we can certainly work hard and do good to others along the way.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
Probably the incessant amount of compliments I give you if you’re behind my lens. I’m all about reflecting back what I see to my clients, and I love to see them shine in front of the lens. Beauty comes in so many shapes and forms, and it has been such an honor to document that for a living. Even if someone has a low self esteem or isn’t feeling their best, if you’re on set with me you’re going to feel the love.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kyliefly.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kylie.fly/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyliefly/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flyproductioninc
Image Credits
Kylie Fly
