Maria Camille
I've Never Followed a Straight Line.
If you tried to plan my life on paper, very little of it would make sense.
I've been a four-time world champion in extreme sports, a television producer, entrepreneur, author, artist, teacher, retreat creator — and a student of some extraordinary human beings.
There were losses, wrong turns, unexpected teachers and chapters I never could have planned.
Looking back now, I can see something I couldn't always see while I was living them.
Nothing was wasted.
Every chapter was teaching me something about courage, awareness, energy, uncertainty — and the extraordinary human capacity to become more than we imagined possible.
Today, my work is changing again.
After years of personally guiding retreats, I'm stepping into a different role — creating experiences, bringing extraordinary people together, mentoring the next generation and passing forward some of what a lifetime of teachers and adventures has given me.
Perhaps that's what the next chapter is really about.
- Four-time Gold Medalist with the U.S. Parachute Team, competing in Style — aerial gymnastics performed in freefall at roughly 200 mph.
- Three-time National Champion in Para Ski — parachuting onto an icy mountain slope for accuracy, followed by giant slalom racing.
- Produced The Beauty Show, a television series distributed through airline in-flight programming, and worked with more than 400 women whose stories often changed the direction of their lives.
- Joined an all-woman extreme-sports expedition to New Guinea. The team ended up in jail after the producer was caught filming illegally. The movie aired anyway.
- Studied Eastern philosophy, internal martial arts and warrior traditions for decades — eventually discovering that some of the greatest teachers arrive in forms you never expect.
- Author of Chasing Courage and Dragons, Tigers & Lipstick — because eventually people kept telling me, “You should write a book.” So I did. Twice.
Perhaps this is what becoming an elder is really about.
Not withdrawing from the work.
Seeing which parts are yours to carry forward — and which parts are
yours to place into someone else's hands.
I'm still asking, “What if? Why not?”
But these days, I've added another question:
What can I pass on?
Thank you!
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