Ice Breakers - Ep. 1 | National Geographic Presents: IMPACT With Gal Gadot

GAL: "I want them to feel like they don't have to conceal what they love or who they are to conform." This is Kameryn's wish for the girls she coaches as a figure skater and life role model, as she reminds them to always embrace their beauty, their joy, and their sense of self, on and off the ice. This is 'Kameryn's impact'.

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ALIVYA (off-screen): Why? Why? Why? We had protests, we had speeches, great leaders trying to reach us; there's 1,000 things I can think of, but no. We're still asking the same question. Why? This world seems so hopeless, is what I'm saying so out of focus? Let me break it down. Violence is not the way. It's a shame that an eight-year-old is telling you this, because this should have already been on your list. Let me say it one more time. Violence is not the way. Is it true that I'd be more respected if I were blue? Because I'm still on Chapter One, and I don't know if I wanna go to Two. I don't know why this world can't find their inner peace. Because I just wanna walk down the street, and find a place where happiness and inner peace meet.

KAMERYN: Cassidy, go all the way down that way on the grass. Now you can put your mask in your pocket. Okay. Let's start with this. (laughs).

ALIVYA: And it's cold!

KAMERYN: I know it's cold. That's okay, we're gonna warm up! Keep going!

ALIVYA: What?

KAMERYN: Come on! We're warming up.

ALIVYA: No, we're not! This is colding up!

KAMERYN: Okay. Indiyah, next to Livvie. Karrington, Jessica, go sit down there. You doing okay, Jessica? (grunts).

KAMERYN: You okay?

ALIVYA: Oop.

KAMERYN: Okay. ♪ Maybe it's cold outside! ♪

ALIVYA: Ah, you see, I'm a young one. You tie your skates so perfect, I wanna be perfect like you.

CASSIDY: I'm not perfect.

KAMERYN: So, for these, you need to loop it through. For the ones that don't have a hook. Started skating when I was seven. I was in the first grade, so 13 years. Monday through Friday and every other Saturday, it's either work, school, skating. They're all intertwined together. I think I'm here, maybe, like, five, six days a week. Even if I'm not skating, I'm still here. Good. Good. This is where I work, where I practice and where I coach. Good, good. It feels like, I don't know. Something is released. Something is released when you skate and there's a lot going on. And so when the girls skate, I want them to feel free. To know that, when they're skating, that's their time to release. Your arms need to be rock solid or it's not gonna work. Ooh, Hailey! (laughs). Hang on! Hang on. Anaiya? This is not rock solid! This is not rock solid! (screaming). (laughs). What happened?

GIRL: My hand slipped!

KAMERYN: Okay. We're gonna go through our two-foot spin. Cassidy, you can do a back spin.

NINA (off-screen): Here in Michigan, it is like, the home of figure skating and all around, you see the major skaters, you know, the Tara Lipinskis, the Todd Eldredges and being a Black female in this sport, you can almost feel a little forgotten about or feel as if you don't fit in. I think it's important for kids to be able to see themselves in whatever aspect of life they're inspiring to be, especially in figure skating. Keep it going. Reach. Kameryn is one of those who's gone so far; she's already broke so many barriers. She's been well-established in the sport, and so being able to have girls like Kameryn coaching, they've been able to share their own experiences and say, "Hey, you know, I've been told I didn't belong either." Someone that they can look up to, not only for their skating but their lifestyle, I think, is important.

KAMERYN: When I was young, Nina had a group of girls that, Black girls who skated. Some older than me and some younger than me and some the same age as me. Seeing people who look like me on the ice felt kinda homey to me. And the older girls really made skating look so much fun. And, I think that's important for a younger person to see somebody older actually enjoying what you're doing, you know? It's nice. It gives you something to strive for, like, "Oh, I wanna be like her." I want them to not feel like they have to conceal what they love or who they are to conform.

Five, six, seven, eight and shake it. Good! Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight and circle. And down. Good job!

ALIVYA: You know there's a little thing that I wanna tell you about Miss Kameryn? I remember when I first joined FSD, I didn't like my hair. Remember? I always wished it was straight or, like...

TAHRI: (inaudible).

ALIVYA: Uh-huh. But then, Miss Kameryn, every day, she would love it and she just like, she just pointed to me, "I like that."

Oh, okay, whose is this? Double mac and cheese with beans.

KAMERYN: Just for fun, we did like, skating around the ice rink and helping new kids.

TAHRI: Younger?

ALIVYA: Younger.

TAHRI: Mm.

ALIVYA: Older.

TAHRI: Are you still the baby in the bunch or is there someone younger than you?

ALIVYA: Somebody younger than me.

TAHRI: So now you're not the youngest anymore.

ALIVYA: Mm-mm. And I made a friend today.

TAHRI: Oh, what's her name?

ALIVYA: Hailey.

TAHRI: How old is she?

ALIVYA: I think she's seven?

TAHRI: I wanted to find a community for Alivya, Black women who are, not only encourage her but who are accomplished. And I saw all the love that these women pour into our girls, letting them know, for one, that you're relevant, and for two, I'm doing it, you can do it too. Living in Detroit during the time when I was my kids' age, it was a really dark place. After the '68 riots, there was what's called 'White Flight'; all the white people in the neighborhoods moved, you know, further into the suburbs and just pretty much left the houses. People of color, we lived there; there weren't many resources in our neighborhoods as far as helping us to keep our neighborhoods look as they should. You know, it's sad, because that's the era that I grew up in. So, yeah, we did go through a really dark time, but right now, we're all about restoration. You know, and that's what we're doing.

NINA (off-screen): The world is at a crazy climate right now. All of the protesting, everybody's scared and everybody's worried and everybody's anxious. But some of these things weren't new. Some of us lived it every day and some of us never said a word about it because we didn't think we could. I have had girls go in the bathroom and cry and come back out and their eyes are full of tears and I say, "What's wrong?" and "I don't belong here. I don't, I don't feel like I'm wanted" or "I don't feel like I fit in." And I have to quickly come back to them and say, you belong anywhere that you wanna be. You belong anywhere that you choose to be.

KAMERYN: So many of our girls are overwhelmed, so overwhelmed with their environment and everything external going on. So, for the girls, as their coach, I wanna be bold, and I wanna be strong enough in myself, for them to feel bold as well. My main goal in impacting these girls and their families, and their life outside of skating, their life on ice skating is that you could be the same you, wherever you are. You don't have to flip a switch, "Oh, just because you look like this, you don't fit in," does not apply. You know? You can be yourself. You can express yourself. You be better. You rise above. You don't let anybody tell you that you're not worth it, that you're not strong enough and that you're not supposed to be here. You are supposed to be here.

CASSIDY: It's a place where I'm just so happy all the time and it brings me so much joy. Yeah. I think working on something like, so hard, and it requires so much mental energy but, and then when you accomplish, it's like it's something that is so amazing.

GIRL: And I feel like I can be myself on the ice. It helped me a lot at school 'cause it made me feel a lot better about myself. I used to never wanna talk to anybody at school, but now I used my voice more.

KAMERYN: I really hope I'm giving them something that they can give to somebody else when they get my age and there's a girl, you know what I'm saying? I just want it to keep going. That's what I hope. I hope my impression is lasting.

ALIVYA: I had this one dream, where I was skating to one of my poems.

TAHRI: She woke up so excited that morning. She's like, "I was skating to one of my poems." (laughs). I'm like, "Okay, well, make it happen. You can do it."

ALIVYA (off-screen): 'Hey, you. Yeah, you. That beautiful brown skin girl right there. You're amazing. You're magnificent. You are a queen. I know that you've been through some stuff, but you're still amazing. Here's a little saying to keep you going. Haters gonna hate, but you do not have to retaliate. It's okay, keep your head up. You're absolutely stunning. I can't even put into words all that you are, and there's no limit to how far you're going to make it. Because you are breathtaking, outgoing. You are pure. You are beautiful. Superb. Flawless. Yeah, you, hot cocoa girl. Yeah, you, chocolate girl. Yeah, you, honey girl. Yeah, you, cinnamon girl. Yeah, you, brown sugar girl. Yeah, you, caramel girl. Yeah, you, nutmeg girl. Yeah, you, brown skin girl.'

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Captioned by Cotter Media Group.