Wanderlust Chronicles: Life, Fashion, Travel, and Art as a Professional Figure Skater and Lifestyle Journalist

Success is often credited to timing, but I’ve learned that age is no barrier to achievement. What may seem like overnight success is, in reality, a gradual evolution shaped by resilience and the unwavering support of those who believed in me. Over time, I’ve come to see that the divide between professional and creative pursuits, the one society imposes, is a myth.

As a child, I believed in the magic of dreams, convinced they held the key to a future filled with endless possibilities. But as I grew older, I realized that dreams aren’t fulfilled by wishing alone—they demand perseverance, hard work, and determination. There’s a Japanese proverb that resonates with me: 「石の上にも三年」 (Ishi no ue ni mo san-nen) — "Three years on a rock." It’s a reminder that even the toughest challenges can be overcome with patience and endurance. Life has taught me that setbacks aren’t endings but opportunities to rise stronger. I didn’t always believe that everything happens for a reason, but over time, I’ve realized that we create those reasons through our choices, our resilience, and the way we shape our lives’ direction. Every challenge becomes a stepping stone, and the people we surround ourselves with—those who inspire, support, and believe in us—are essential to making our journey possible. These connections enrich our experiences and push us closer to our goals.




 

Coming from a humble background and a small industrial town in France, I refused to be confined to a single label or a predefined life shaped by where I was from. Just because it was expected that "this is where I should belong" didn’t mean I had to conform, I was determined to forge my own way forward. Society often pressures us to choose a single direction, but I’ve always believed that managing multiple passions is not only possible but deeply fulfilling. Despite being told to prioritize academics over sport, I chose to follow my own course, driven by a powerful blend of passion, dedication, and an insatiable curiosity for adventure. Ten years ago, I became a professional figure skater in the USA, and today I perform on Royal Caribbean cruise ships while continuing to nurture my passion for writing and becoming a journalist.

Blending my love for performance with my passion for exploration has allowed both to flourish.By embracing both skating and writing, and adapting to change, I’ve come to understand that the boundaries we face are often those we set for ourselves. I realized that life or if we can call it this way "success" is about and in priority doing what you love whatever it is, and reject the limits that society tries to impose. In fact, we’re often expected to fit neatly into one role, yet our lives are shaped by the choices we make along the way. By rejecting the notion that I had to choose, I take a path where multiple passions fuel one another, redefining the boundaries of what’s possible.

Growing up in Saint-Nazaire, a city renowned for its shipyards, I was drawn to the grand ocean liners, aware that some very specific and a unique company held ice rinks at sea. My start in skating wasn’t a glamorous one, it was practical. As an asthmatic child, often sick, I took to the ice to build strength and improve my health. Skating soon evolved into a passion, and the thought of performing on a ship became a dream I quietly nurtured. Juggling school and competitive skating through middle school, university, and my master’s degree ingrained a deep appreciation for perseverance and time management. Over the past decade, my career has taken me across five continents and through 29 countries, where each destination expanded my understanding of the world and the particularity of different culture. When I’m in France, I take on the role of a fashion journalist, attending events like Paris Fashion Week. Balancing the worlds of professional skating and lifestyle journalism has been a non stop fun challenge that merges creativity and pragmatism with a dynamic French savoir-faire, which I consider elegantly orchestrated.


Aerial Skating and Reinvention

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought my skating career to a halt, like it did for many performers. But rather than seeing it as a setback, I used the time as an opportunity for growth. I began training as an aerial skater, a completely new discipline, under the guidance of two circus coaches. The experience pushed me both physically and mentally, combining skating with the thrill, and the dangerousness of aerial acrobatics. The long period of intensive training the past five years was and still is very transformative. I discovered a discipline that pushed me to new heights, both literally and figuratively as it led me to perform as an aerialist on ice in Germany, blending two areas I love. Afterward, I was offered the opportunity to join Cruise Ships as a pair skater performer, which brought me back to the dream I had as a child.

Joining ships marks so, the result of 28 years on the ice, including a decade in professional skating. It means maintaining high standards, working alongside some of the world’s best skaters, dancers, artists, seafearer's, all dedicated to creating memorable experiences for guests from around the world. The rhythm of life on a cruise ship is fast-paced, with each day bringing new challenges, new destinations, the drive to continually improve and the responsibilities that come with being part of a larger team effort.

As crew members, our responsibilities go beyond the stage. We’re involved in guest care, safety drills, and maintaining security awareness across the ship. These tasks are essential to ship operations and keeping everyone safe, giving us a broader role than just performing. On the performance side, daily routines include warm-ups, rehearsals, training, and workouts to stay prepared. Skating here might seem privileged as it is "a passion jobs", but it involves hours and hours of off ice and on ice technical adjustment, high-risk tricks that need intense focus, preparation, and an unwavering commitment to safety. What looks effortless on stage comes from hours of practice, precise timing, trust within the team, commitment to deliver, grounded in teamwork and a lot of hard work once again. And of course, more than anything, love and respect for what we are as individual and what do.
 

Wanderlust Chronicles is a collection of stories that blend lifestyle, travel, fashion, art, and the joy of exploration. Each article offers unique insights from my journey as a professional performer, traveler, and journalist. Through the intersection of performance and discovery, I’ll take you behind the scenes of my career—from the thrill of traveling and my love for French fashion to life aboard cruise ships, where I work as both a performer and crew member. Along the way, I’ll share stories from the places I visit and the people I meet, with the hope of inspiring others, especially those facing challenges, to stay curious, connect with diverse individuals, and passionately pursue their dreams.

I believe life is about seeing the world with fresh eyes, nurturing creativity, and embracing the richness of every experience. It’s about following the unexpected paths that open up when you follow your heart, face challenges head-on, and immerse yourself in different cultures. Balancing my roles as a figure skater and a writer requires flexibility, constant learning, resilience, and a clear focus on goals and dreams. Surrounding yourself with those who genuinely support your journey, who believe in you and accept you for who you are, makes all the difference. At the end of the day, love for what you do, paired with a genuine passion and curiosity, fuels everything else. Because ultimately, the goal isn't about finding joy and love around us in each day, embracing new experiences, and following a path shaped by your passions—and by the support of those who believe in you?