Hi!
I am Tori.
I grew up in a small, West African village named Savalou, in the country of Benin. There, I had a pet, Mona monkey named Georgie, as well as a dik-dik (miniature deer), tortoise, dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, cameleons and a hedge hog. My days were spent chasing Georgie, exploring my village (always in search of a guava or mango tree to climb that had ripe fruit), homeschooling with my mom and playing along side my brother. While living in Africa, my family had many adventures such as; being chased by elephants, being invaded by army ants (the crazy kind you see in National Geographic), hunting down a green mamba snake that snuck into my bedroom, riding camels in the Sahara desert, seeing the wildebeest migration on the Maasai Mara, and driving across 5 foot deep rivers in Northern Kenya to get to the Turkana Desert (just to name a few). To make things even more interesting, the village where I lived only had electricity for 5 hours each day (7-12 PM). Needless to say, my five years living in Savalou, Benin were instrumental in shaping me into the person I am today.
Once I returned to the USA, at age 8, I slowly tried to figure out what it meant to be an "American girl". Soon, I took up what I thought of as "American girl" activities, ... figure skating, ballet and soccer. They were fun and helped me meet new friends, which was important because my mom was still homeschooling my brother and me. But, when I was 10, I climbed a rock wall in a sporting goods store at our local mall. The minute I started up that wall, I knew I had fallen in love. Rock climbing was what I was born to do.
Six months later I won Jr. nationals in rock climbing; 1 year later, at age 11, I set a national outdoor climbing record; and at age 12, I officially became a professional rock climber. I had sponsors (Oakley, Nike and Red Bull, as well as all kinds of Climbing gear sponsors). I competed against adults in elite, national and international level competitions; and won. I made appearances at industry trade shows and PR events, gave interviews to magazines like ESPN and was featured on talk shows, game shows and radio shows! I even had my own action figure! It was a crazy life for a girl used to living in a small, quiet, African village. AND, it got even crazier when I became the youngest woman to summit El Capitan, just 1 month after I turned 13, and won the X-games two weeks after turning 14 (youngest female gold medalist)!
In addition to climbing, at age 12 I added the sport of pole vaulting to my activities (because I love heights). At age 13, I set the youth national record; and, the next year, I earned a spot on the team to represent the USA at the Youth World Track and Field Championships, where I placed 10th in women's pole vault. During my high school years, I successfully fought to get girls' pole vault accepted as an official event in Indiana high schools by filing a Title IX lawsuit and winning. By my senior year, I accepted a scholarship to pole vault at Florida State University, where I graduated with a degree in fashion design.
Amidst all these exciting achievements, at age 13, I wrote a book called "Life Rocks", and started motivational speaking. I really enjoy speaking to groups of all kinds. Over the years, I have spoken over 300 times to groups of between 10 and 1200 people, all over the world. I was even featured in the video "Natural High", as a spokesperson for the Sundt Foundation, and in a video for Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) featuring athletes who had a "winning edge", which was distributed to every high school and college FCA chapter across the USA.
Today, I live and work in Steamboat Springs, CO, USA. My passions continue to be promoting women in sports, volunteering in my community and being a leader in every way I can.
Thanks for stopping by!
and, ...REACH FOR YOUR DREAMS!!!
(Photo Credits- Greg Epperson)
I am Tori.
I grew up in a small, West African village named Savalou, in the country of Benin. There, I had a pet, Mona monkey named Georgie, as well as a dik-dik (miniature deer), tortoise, dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, cameleons and a hedge hog. My days were spent chasing Georgie, exploring my village (always in search of a guava or mango tree to climb that had ripe fruit), homeschooling with my mom and playing along side my brother. While living in Africa, my family had many adventures such as; being chased by elephants, being invaded by army ants (the crazy kind you see in National Geographic), hunting down a green mamba snake that snuck into my bedroom, riding camels in the Sahara desert, seeing the wildebeest migration on the Maasai Mara, and driving across 5 foot deep rivers in Northern Kenya to get to the Turkana Desert (just to name a few). To make things even more interesting, the village where I lived only had electricity for 5 hours each day (7-12 PM). Needless to say, my five years living in Savalou, Benin were instrumental in shaping me into the person I am today.
Once I returned to the USA, at age 8, I slowly tried to figure out what it meant to be an "American girl". Soon, I took up what I thought of as "American girl" activities, ... figure skating, ballet and soccer. They were fun and helped me meet new friends, which was important because my mom was still homeschooling my brother and me. But, when I was 10, I climbed a rock wall in a sporting goods store at our local mall. The minute I started up that wall, I knew I had fallen in love. Rock climbing was what I was born to do.
Six months later I won Jr. nationals in rock climbing; 1 year later, at age 11, I set a national outdoor climbing record; and at age 12, I officially became a professional rock climber. I had sponsors (Oakley, Nike and Red Bull, as well as all kinds of Climbing gear sponsors). I competed against adults in elite, national and international level competitions; and won. I made appearances at industry trade shows and PR events, gave interviews to magazines like ESPN and was featured on talk shows, game shows and radio shows! I even had my own action figure! It was a crazy life for a girl used to living in a small, quiet, African village. AND, it got even crazier when I became the youngest woman to summit El Capitan, just 1 month after I turned 13, and won the X-games two weeks after turning 14 (youngest female gold medalist)!
In addition to climbing, at age 12 I added the sport of pole vaulting to my activities (because I love heights). At age 13, I set the youth national record; and, the next year, I earned a spot on the team to represent the USA at the Youth World Track and Field Championships, where I placed 10th in women's pole vault. During my high school years, I successfully fought to get girls' pole vault accepted as an official event in Indiana high schools by filing a Title IX lawsuit and winning. By my senior year, I accepted a scholarship to pole vault at Florida State University, where I graduated with a degree in fashion design.
Amidst all these exciting achievements, at age 13, I wrote a book called "Life Rocks", and started motivational speaking. I really enjoy speaking to groups of all kinds. Over the years, I have spoken over 300 times to groups of between 10 and 1200 people, all over the world. I was even featured in the video "Natural High", as a spokesperson for the Sundt Foundation, and in a video for Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) featuring athletes who had a "winning edge", which was distributed to every high school and college FCA chapter across the USA.
Today, I live and work in Steamboat Springs, CO, USA. My passions continue to be promoting women in sports, volunteering in my community and being a leader in every way I can.
Thanks for stopping by!
and, ...REACH FOR YOUR DREAMS!!!
(Photo Credits- Greg Epperson)