Professional snowboarder Kimmy Fasani on cancer, motherhood and rewriting the rules for female athletes
From conquering mountain peaks to battling breast cancer and nearly losing her child, professional snowboarder Kimmy Fasani holds nothing back in her unflinchingly honest new documentary "Butterfly in a Blizzard," now available on Apple TV.
Fasani told "CBS Mornings" that the documentary initially aimed to explore motherhood while navigating her athletic career.
"We wanted to tell a story of motherhood and really this relationship to my own mother, and navigating our careers, how we would balance it, becoming new parents," Fasani said.
The film doesn't shy away from difficult moments, including Fasani's breast cancer diagnosis, her son Koa's health scare, and tensions in her marriage with fellow professional athlete Chris Benchetler.
Fasani also opens up about becoming an advocate for pregnancy protections in her sponsorship contracts, including snowboard manufacturer Burton, which later extended those same protections to all their female athletes.
"I learned that I needed to be able to be an advocate for myself, and I didn't realize how many other people it would help," Fasani said. "I hope that the next generation sees that as an opportunity that they never have to even think about that as a limitation."
Throughout the documentary, Fasani highlights the concept of "matrescence" — the psychological and physical transformation women undergo when becoming mothers, similar to adolescence.
"It makes us feel more normal as parents knowing that this is something we all navigate," she explained. "This transformation isn't just something that one woman navigates, it is something that all of us go through as we become parents."
Despite the challenges documented in the film, Fasani ends on a positive note about her family life and what she's learned through her experiences.
"I learned how important it is to feel like we have a sense of community," she said. "I hope that in making this film, it would make others feel less alone."
