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Old 07-08-2013, 01:53 PM   #31
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Re: Kimi Werner Patagonia ??

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Old 07-09-2013, 01:35 PM   #32
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Re: Kimi Werner Patagonia ??

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Originally Posted by seacrecher View Post
Apparently I am, so I'll spell it out for you. The fact that the link to Patagonia wasn't blocked or censored implies that they are in bed with SB.
Or, perhaps, it implies that Patagonia is a huge region of South America that is found in any dictionary or world atlas.
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Old 07-09-2013, 02:31 PM   #33
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Re: Kimi Werner Patagonia ??

The most likely explanation for Patagonia's position is profit. In the most recent issue of Inc magazine there is a blurb about Patagonia getting into the salmon jerky market with sustainably caught fish (a joke if you know anything about salmon stocks) but a lot of corporations are lining up against recreational anglers to protect current and potential profit streams. Follow the money....
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Old 07-09-2013, 09:45 PM   #34
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Lightbulb Re: Kimi Werner Patagonia ??

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Originally Posted by Kelsea View Post
Larry... please let Kimi know this also....

I understand the Original Poster's sentiment about Patagonia. In all honesty, that company also LOST a lot of my respect with their support of the MLPA. I wont presume to know if Kimi is aware of that aspect of the company she is representing... thats her business.

I do not represent Patagonia, nor do I respect their position on fishing.

I also have resigned from many of my Sponsorships this year, to pursue other projects. In all honesty, one reason I chose to end my association with Riffe, was the huge emphasis that many Team members placed on the Patagonia project several years ago during a filming project in Cabo. Riffe as a company, has STRONGLY supported CA fishing rights. I will always respect Riffe for that. However, members of the Riffe marketing team have their own projects, which do not necessarily represent me... and we all know that once you are on board with a name, brand... your actions and their actions become associated. So, for professional reasons, I am now a freelance diver. I will forever love my days with the Riffe company. But I am happy in my new pursuits also.


BUT I will remind ALL of you, that Kimi has supported efforts to fight the MLPA in the past. I strongly feel in my heart that she is NOT in bed with the enemy with any malicious intent. Some of you may remember her beautiful smile in the 2009 Spearfishing Bikini Calender that some of us spearfishing girls worked very hard to produce. The proceeds of that calender went directly to the CFC to help fight the MLPA.

Please, before bashing the reputation of a professional online, you need to keep in mind the good stuff that she has done.

Although she has her own style about her own professional career and who she represents, I will never forget that Kimi DID fight for our rights in California.

I can only hope that her association with Patagonia may sway that company to realize the harm that supporting the MLPA did.

You mess w/ ma girlz, you mess w/ me.

Larry, you can send her my love.
Kimi seems like a good person. Maybe we will hear from her directly.

Watch this:

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Old 07-09-2013, 10:49 PM   #35
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Re: Kimi Werner Patagonia ??

Hi guys,

I was recently sent the link to this thread and just wanted to chime in. There was a lot said here and I'll try to answer and give my own insight to every issue I've seen come up.

I had no idea that Patagonia supported the MLPA. I wasn't associated with Patagonia at the time and didn't follow the status of MLPA closely enough to see which companies supported it or were against it and was unaware until now.

I was against the MLPA. Though California is not my backyard and I'm a bit uneducated on the details of the MLPA, during my short time there in 2009, I left with the desire to fight against it. Speaking from my very limited experience in CA, I felt that the fish populations on certain reefs in the MLPA zones were healthy and the resources were managed quite well. I also met a few CA divers that I became friends with and heard the heartbreak they felt about the possibility of their diving grounds being taken away from them. That had the biggest impact on me, as I would never want that to happen to my own backyard.

I also feel that change should come from the bottom up. I think it should be up to the community, locals, fishermen, people who use and depend on the resources to collectively make decisions on how to manage the resources. I don't like when change comes from the top down and decisions are purely made by government/scientists/agencies, or people whom are personally removed from cultivating and using the resources. From the little I knew about the MLPA it didn't seem truly supported by the local communities and therefore seemed very extreme and unfortunate to me. So I fought against it and we lost.

Fast forward a couple years....I was asked to become a Patagonia ambassador. Though I understand the concerns on this, I don't feel that Patagonia had a hidden agenda of sponsoring me so that they could win over the fishing community. They didn't come looking for me, nor did I go looking for them (I didn't even know what Patagonia was). I became friends with Chris Malloy. He is a great person and I look up to him a lot. He reached out to me saying that although he comes from the world of surf, he is a cattle runner, hunter, and spearfisher at heart and he always urges the companies he works for to reach out and sponsor more than just pro surfers. He wants them to support cowboys, freedivers and others who are just doing their thing. He offered to pitch an ambassadorship to Patagonia for me.

Again, I knew nothing about the company and at first didn't quite feel like I fit into to it. Chris then sent me the book "Let my people go Surfing" by the owner, Yvon Chounard. I read it and felt that I gained an understanding to what Patagonia was about as a company, and I really really liked it. I had never heard of a big company trying so hard to constantly do the right thing. I also loved the fact that Yvon himself wrote about how he loved spearfishing and hunting and I saw this possible relationship as a great opportunity.

When I did join the Patagonia team, I was really grateful. I felt they were taking a chance with me. I felt like a black sheep of sorts. They are obviously known for being a tree hugging company with a huge following of environmentalists and I felt that it was obvious that many of their customers would not be happy to hear that they represent a spearfisher.

As a spearfisher, I already had been receiving angry emails from self proclaimed environmentalists telling me what a horrible person I am for killing innocent animals. I found it so frustrating and hypocritical that they can so easily point fingers at me for hunting for food while they sit around and eat their steaks and lobsters. So many people are so disconnected. I swear, some people think that a mahimahi is just a rectangular piece of meat that comes in a styrofoam tray wrapped in saran wrap. They have no idea what it truly is or what it took to get it to their actual dinner plates. Its so easy to see a person with a spear and jump on the bandwagon and point a finger and say "bad guy".

Anyway, I saw this as a great opportunity to bridge that gap. I felt that Patagonia supporting a spearfisher would make more people wake up and see that we are not wrong or bad for doing what we do. In fact we deserve some respect. We are the true environmentalists. We are the people that care about the resource because we actually know how to use it. I feel that hunters are often misconceived as people who don't care about the environment or animals. That is so silly to me. You need to know your prey in order to hunt you prey. So as I hunter, I know, respect, understand and love my prey more than anyone would ever know...because that's what it takes to hunt them the way that we do. Having Patagonia backing me, made me feel valid and made me feel like spearfishers and hunters could have more of a voice.

Fast forward to the shark ride caught on video. I knew I had golden footage. I knew everyone wanted it. I knew it would go viral. I had no idea what to do with it. I had production companies calling me and pitching me all kinds of shows: shark riding shows, adventure/danger shows, etc. None of it felt right to me. I again saw this as opportunity. I wanted to use the shark footage that would obviously be the main attraction and get a big spotlight, to shine a positive light on other issues that would otherwise get overlooked. So I decided to make video that shows (from my own personal standpoints) that hunters have respect and have a place in the ecosystem. I feel that so many times it's looked at as "man and the ecosystem" or "man trying to save the ecosystem" which is why total bans like the MLPA are made because we separate ourselves. I'm not really into creating aquariums that we aren't allowed to hunt in because by removing ourselves from the ecosystem, it only makes it a fake ecosystem to me. I feel that man is part of the ecosystem and we can be a harmonious part of it as long as we care for our resource.

I asked Patagonia to support the making of my video because I felt I needed to do something with my shark footage rather than just turning it over to a production company. I told them the basic concept of the message I wanted to send. They at first suggested I give it to their editing team but then almost immediately said "why don't you just do what you want with it and turn it into us when you are done, so that your message doesn't get manipulated?" So Patagonia really didn't have much to do with the making of the video. They just became the venue to showcase it and launched it straight into the crowd that I feel needs to hear it the most....the eco friendly, conservationist. Or as I used to call them, the angry vegans.

The video was all me. I made it from scratch and hand wrote the credits myself. So I'm sorry if you didn't like it or thought it was lame or felt that it glamorized anything or didn't show enough blood, etc. I know I won't be able to please everyone. It was simply me being me and trying to do my best at it. Along with trying to be true to who I am, I was hoping to shed a positive light on hunters who live off the ocean and land.

I have since gotten so many apology letters from the same angry people who used to send me hate mail, saying that they now understand that hunting is not evil.

I don't really feel this video is going to get people to jump up and all of sudden try spearfishing, but I do hope that it makes them think twice the next time they want to judge someone who loves it. That at least, was my goal.

I think when it comes to change, we all need to work together. I feel that if we separate ourselves and put conservation on one side and hunting on the other, we will surely lose.

I have already written an email to Patagonia asking about their stance on the MLPA. I know nothing about what they did to support it and will be honest to them about how I feel. I do feel that they are a good company and even if I don't end up agreeing with decisions they've made in the past, I do think they are an open minded and sensible company that really tries to do the right thing.

But I also understand why you guys aren't happy with them and you have every right to feel that way. If there's any information I'm missing on all of this or anything you want to bring up to me, please feel free. (kimiwerner@gmail.com)

Though they weren't all easy to hear, thank you for your honest opinions. I feel it's good that this was brought to my attention.

Aloha,

kimi
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Old 07-09-2013, 11:01 PM   #36
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Re: Kimi Werner Patagonia ??

Wow..
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Old 07-09-2013, 11:24 PM   #37
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Thumbs up Re: Kimi Werner Patagonia ??

Very Well Said Kimi.

Oh and welcome to Spearboard.


Quote:
Originally Posted by kimi werner View Post
Hi guys,

I was recently sent the link to this thread and just wanted to chime in. There was a lot said here and I'll try to answer and give my own insight to every issue I've seen come up.

I had no idea that Patagonia supported the MLPA. I wasn't associated with Patagonia at the time and didn't follow the status of MLPA closely enough to see which companies supported it or were against it and was unaware until now.

I was against the MLPA. Though California is not my backyard and I'm a bit uneducated on the details of the MLPA, during my short time there in 2009, I left with the desire to fight against it. Speaking from my very limited experience in CA, I felt that the fish populations on certain reefs in the MLPA zones were healthy and the resources were managed quite well. I also met a few CA divers that I became friends with and heard the heartbreak they felt about the possibility of their diving grounds being taken away from them. That had the biggest impact on me, as I would never want that to happen to my own backyard.

I also feel that change should come from the bottom up. I think it should be up to the community, locals, fishermen, people who use and depend on the resources to collectively make decisions on how to manage the resources. I don't like when change comes from the top down and decisions are purely made by government/scientists/agencies, or people whom are personally removed from cultivating and using the resources. From the little I knew about the MLPA it didn't seem truly supported by the local communities and therefore seemed very extreme and unfortunate to me. So I fought against it and we lost.

Fast forward a couple years....I was asked to become a Patagonia ambassador. Though I understand the concerns on this, I don't feel that Patagonia had a hidden agenda of sponsoring me so that they could win over the fishing community. They didn't come looking for me, nor did I go looking for them (I didn't even know what Patagonia was). I became friends with Chris Malloy. He is a great person and I look up to him a lot. He reached out to me saying that although he comes from the world of surf, he is a cattle runner, hunter, and spearfisher at heart and he always urges the companies he works for to reach out and sponsor more than just pro surfers. He wants them to support cowboys, freedivers and others who are just doing their thing. He offered to pitch an ambassadorship to Patagonia for me.

Again, I knew nothing about the company and at first didn't quite feel like I fit into to it. Chris then sent me the book "Let my people go Surfing" by the owner, Yvon Chounard. I read it and felt that I gained an understanding to what Patagonia was about as a company, and I really really liked it. I had never heard of a big company trying so hard to constantly do the right thing. I also loved the fact that Yvon himself wrote about how he loved spearfishing and hunting and I saw this possible relationship as a great opportunity.

When I did join the Patagonia team, I was really grateful. I felt they were taking a chance with me. I felt like a black sheep of sorts. They are obviously known for being a tree hugging company with a huge following of environmentalists and I felt that it was obvious that many of their customers would not be happy to hear that they represent a spearfisher.

As a spearfisher, I already had been receiving angry emails from self proclaimed environmentalists telling me what a horrible person I am for killing innocent animals. I found it so frustrating and hypocritical that they can so easily point fingers at me for hunting for food while they sit around and eat their steaks and lobsters. So many people are so disconnected. I swear, some people think that a mahimahi is just a rectangular piece of meat that comes in a styrofoam tray wrapped in saran wrap. They have no idea what it truly is or what it took to get it to their actual dinner plates. Its so easy to see a person with a spear and jump on the bandwagon and point a finger and say "bad guy".

Anyway, I saw this as a great opportunity to bridge that gap. I felt that Patagonia supporting a spearfisher would make more people wake up and see that we are not wrong or bad for doing what we do. In fact we deserve some respect. We are the true environmentalists. We are the people that care about the resource because we actually know how to use it. I feel that hunters are often misconceived as people who don't care about the environment or animals. That is so silly to me. You need to know your prey in order to hunt you prey. So as I hunter, I know, respect, understand and love my prey more than anyone would ever know...because that's what it takes to hunt them the way that we do. Having Patagonia backing me, made me feel valid and made me feel like spearfishers and hunters could have more of a voice.

Fast forward to the shark ride caught on video. I knew I had golden footage. I knew everyone wanted it. I knew it would go viral. I had no idea what to do with it. I had production companies calling me and pitching me all kinds of shows: shark riding shows, adventure/danger shows, etc. None of it felt right to me. I again saw this as opportunity. I wanted to use the shark footage that would obviously be the main attraction and get a big spotlight, to shine a positive light on other issues that would otherwise get overlooked. So I decided to make video that shows (from my own personal standpoints) that hunters have respect and have a place in the ecosystem. I feel that so many times it's looked at as "man and the ecosystem" or "man trying to save the ecosystem" which is why total bans like the MLPA are made because we separate ourselves. I'm not really into creating aquariums that we aren't allowed to hunt in because by removing ourselves from the ecosystem, it only makes it a fake ecosystem to me. I feel that man is part of the ecosystem and we can be a harmonious part of it as long as we care for our resource.

I asked Patagonia to support the making of my video because I felt I needed to do something with my shark footage rather than just turning it over to a production company. I told them the basic concept of the message I wanted to send. They at first suggested I give it to their editing team but then almost immediately said "why don't you just do what you want with it and turn it into us when you are done, so that your message doesn't get manipulated?" So Patagonia really didn't have much to do with the making of the video. They just became the venue to showcase it and launched it straight into the crowd that I feel needs to hear it the most....the eco friendly, conservationist. Or as I used to call them, the angry vegans.

The video was all me. I made it from scratch and hand wrote the credits myself. So I'm sorry if you didn't like it or thought it was lame or felt that it glamorized anything or didn't show enough blood, etc. I know I won't be able to please everyone. It was simply me being me and trying to do my best at it. Along with trying to be true to who I am, I was hoping to shed a positive light on hunters who live off the ocean and land.

I have since gotten so many apology letters from the same angry people who used to send me hate mail, saying that they now understand that hunting is not evil.

I don't really feel this video is going to get people to jump up and all of sudden try spearfishing, but I do hope that it makes them think twice the next time they want to judge someone who loves it. That at least, was my goal.

I think when it comes to change, we all need to work together. I feel that if we separate ourselves and put conservation on one side and hunting on the other, we will surely lose.

I have already written an email to Patagonia asking about their stance on the MLPA. I know nothing about what they did to support it and will be honest to them about how I feel. I do feel that they are a good company and even if I don't end up agreeing with decisions they've made in the past, I do think they are an open minded and sensible company that really tries to do the right thing.

But I also understand why you guys aren't happy with them and you have every right to feel that way. If there's any information I'm missing on all of this or anything you want to bring up to me, please feel free. (kimiwerner@gmail.com)

Though they weren't all easy to hear, thank you for your honest opinions. I feel it's good that this was brought to my attention.

Aloha,

kimi
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Old 07-09-2013, 11:48 PM   #38
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Re: Kimi Werner Patagonia ??

Thanks for taking the time to reply Kimi.
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Old 07-10-2013, 12:02 AM   #39
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Re: Kimi Werner Patagonia ??

As I guessed you had no idea they supported the MLPA. Thanks for the reply.


Do you think you could update us on their response?

If they regret supporting the MLPA I think they should step up big time to try to get back our spearing spots that were closed.


I know it's asking a lot but its worth a shot.
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Old 07-10-2013, 03:05 AM   #40
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Re: Kimi Werner Patagonia ??

Quote:
Originally Posted by kimi werner View Post

I was against the MLPA. Though California is not my backyard and I'm a bit uneducated on the details of the MLPA, during my short time there in 2009, I left with the desire to fight against it.

I have since gotten so many apology letters from the same angry people who used to send me hate mail, saying that they now understand that hunting is not evil.
Thank you, girl, for supporting CA fishing rights. Thank you for listening and building bridges. You are in a very unique position.
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Old 07-10-2013, 12:45 PM   #41
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Re: Kimi Werner Patagonia ??

Quote:
Originally Posted by toptuna View Post
As I guessed you had no idea they supported the MLPA. Thanks for the reply.


Do you think you could update us on their response?

If they regret supporting the MLPA I think they should step up big time to try to get back our spearing spots that were closed.


I know it's asking a lot but its worth a shot.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kelsea View Post
Thank you, girl, for supporting CA fishing rights. Thank you for listening and building bridges. You are in a very unique position.
X2

Good luck to all of you reversing the MLPAs. Hope your fishing grounds reopen soon.
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Old 07-10-2013, 06:22 PM   #42
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Re: Kimi Werner Patagonia ??

Well said Kimi..
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Old 07-10-2013, 06:24 PM   #43
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Re: Kimi Werner Patagonia ??

Thanks for the thoughtful and detailed reply, Kimi. And for not rising to flame-bait.
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Old 07-11-2013, 07:46 PM   #44
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Re: Kimi Werner Patagonia ??

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Originally Posted by arice View Post
Thanks for the thoughtful and detailed reply, Kimi. And for not rising to flame-bait.
x2
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Old 07-13-2013, 01:44 PM   #45
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Re: Kimi Werner Patagonia ??

Very stand up post Kimi.

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