Guides Gone Wild

Dive Into January Joy (and Start Swimming!): Caitlin Hopkins, Mermaid/Ice Swimmer/Oyster Farmer

• Guides Gone Wild

Share episode

Let's kick off 2025 with this joyful conversation with an old pod friend, Caitlin Hopkins!

I first introduced you to Caitlin as one of the Two Maine Mermaids, way back in May 2021. At the time, Caitlin (aka Flow) and Kelsy Hartley (aka Ebb) were spreading the gospel of cold water dipping, which they’d started in earnest at the beginning of the pandemic. Since then, they’ve built a large and dedicated community around them in Portland with their dips, fun events and what’s become a total freaking movement, their International Women’s Day celebration held every March at Willard Beach in South Portland.

We’re going to talk about cold water again today, but for a very different reason - Caitlin is preparing to travel to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco next month to compete in the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA) National Championship!!!

So we are talking about ice swimming, of course, but also oyster farming, lightning bolts, creativity, entrepreneurship, mentorship, joy, intention, alignment…. Caitlin has inspired some new thinking in me for 2025, and I know you’ll get something out of this too.

Give Caitlin a follow in one of her many places:


And of course, I hope you'll join me in supporting Caitlin's National Championship effort on February 8th:
www.spotfundme.com/MaineToMoroccoIceSwim

Finally, it wouldn't be a GGW pod without a few more fun links from our conversation:

Happy New Year! Let me know what you thought of the episode, or let me know who else you'd like to hear from on the pod in 2025!!:

Send us a text

Jen:

Welcome to the Guides Gone Wild podcast. What is Guides Gone Wild, you ask? This is where you'll fill your ears and minds with the stories of everyday, extraordinary women who will inspire you to take your outdoor adventure game to the next level. Whether you're starting your journey from the couch or the trailhead, this is the place for you. So let's get a little wild. Let's get a little wild.

Jen:

Hey all, welcome to God's Gone Wild 2025 edition. This is your host, jen, and I am excited to get back into the metaphorical saddle again. Actually, I'm standing here in the dark in my pod cave, but if you are listening to this, on the day it's released, it is my birthday. I'm not going to tell you which one, but I will tell you that I am celebrating with this joyful conversation with an old pod friend, caitlin Hopkins. I first introduced you to Caitlin as one of the two main mermaids way back in May 2021. At the time, caitlin, aka Flo, and Kelsey Hartley, aka Eb, were spreading the gospel of cold water dipping, which they'd started in earnest at the beginning of the pandemic. Since then, they've built a large and dedicated community around them in South Portland, with their dips, fun events and what's become a total freaking movement their International Women's Day celebration, held every March at Willard Beach in South Portland. We're going to talk about cold water again today, but for a very different reason.

Jen:

I peeled off the doom scrolling long enough a week or so ago to catch a quick glimpse of something so exciting I wanted to share. Caitlin is preparing to travel to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco next month to compete in the International Ice Swimming Association World Championship. I cannot even so. We are talking about ice swimming, of course, but also oyster farming, lightning bolts, creativity, entrepreneurship, mentorship, joy, intention, alignment. Caitlin has inspired some new thinking in me for 2025. And I know you'll get something out of this too and her many Instagram handles, which I've linked in the show notes, along with the donation for her world championship effort on February 8th. Give her a follow and maybe some of that holiday cash you have on hand after returning all that stuff that didn't fit.

Jen:

So let's dive into it with Caitlin Hopkins, with Caitlin Hopkins. Caitlin Hopkins, welcome back to the Guys Gone Wild podcast. It has been too darn long. Yeah, thank you. I am like there's 97,000 reasons that I'm excited to talk to you today, not the least of which being that, if all goes according to plan, exactly one month from now you will be in morocco swimming in a goddamn lake covered by ice, but like with cut out, like lanes or something like that.

Jen:

So caitlin is currently fundraising for a trip to represent the united states and maine, of course, in the let me get this right eighth edition of the International Ice Swimming Association IISA World Championship, taking place February 8th 2025 in Morocco, which is not, I have to tell you honestly, strike me as a place that's super cold at this time of year, but then I realized it's in the goddamn mountains, it's like. So we're gonna start with this because, yeah, you are, you are, you are one of the two main mermaids, you are one of the powerhouse hula hoop decorating crown, wearing leaping and exciting excitement, generating people that host the international women's day dip, which I attended last year for the first time. Finally, it was fantastic, um, which is coming up also march 8th 9th, somewhere around there. Yeah, but in addition to that, you're not you're like now an oyster farmer. You're helping out with the sauna. You're, um, going to freaking morocco to swim in the ice.

Jen:

So let's talk about this. How did you, how do you start from being somebody who, like likes to swim, started to cold dip to? I mean, I saw the video from Vermont last year. They literally cut like lanes into a frozen lake, which is totally different than the ocean. Yeah, I have to stop talking. You start talking. I can't, I can't even.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Yeah than the ocean. Yeah, I have to stop talking. You start talking. I can't. Yeah, the Vermont winter swimming festival I went to in February 2023, um, and I was never like a swim meet person. The going in the ocean was totally different, like dipping was totally different, um, but you weren't like on a swim team, swim meet type person.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

No, no, I just I love swimming, I love being. I was always in the pool, but the one swim meet that I went to, when I was probably seven, I was on the swim team for one season, my first event um, I wouldn't let go of the side of the pool and my parents were like on the edge of the pool, like come on, kid, like you can do it.

Jen:

And I was like no, not my jam.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

No.

Jen:

That's hilarious.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Yeah. So I was never like swim meet person but loved the pool, loved being in the water obviously. So, yeah, my first I was interested like kind of how I got into cold water. Dipping was like starting in swimming a little bit more distance in the shoulder seat, like in the summer, and then fall came around and we're like should we just keep going? So the swims turned into dips and then it's kind of like grown again, like okay, dipping is great, like we've got that down, like how can we level it up? And so the winter swimming festival in Vermont was my first like little meet and that is just like a super fun time.

Jen:

And, just out of curiosity, how many people actually like participate in these things. I mean that's like a lot of time in cold water, like really cold water.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Yeah, yeah, they vary. So the distances are like 25 meter, 50 meter, 100 meter, 250, 500, and then the ice mile and so the fifth. I think the time, like the time limit on the 500 meter is 15 minutes, so that's like the longest you're gonna be in the water for that event, which is like a long time.

Jen:

That is a wicked long time and, like I assume, just from the video, it seemed like there is like, yeah, a couple of lanes of a certain distance that are cut out of the ice, and I don't I assume that that is what happens. It's not like they're cutting a distance for every single distance. Swim you're doing, or are they right? Yeah, for the winter you're like, are you?

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

turning like in the winter swim festival. Yeah, so that one. There are two 25 meter lanes. Morocco is going to be different, so the lake actually isn't frozen and so the longer distances are kind of like more triathlon, like like you're swimming out to a buoy and turning around and coming back, which I'm pretty pumped about, cause it's not like a buoy and turning around and coming back, which I'm pretty pumped about because it's not like you're not doing like a million laps, right. But yeah, in Vermont you swim back and forth in the two and you just touch it and turn around right nobody's trying to like kick turn on ice?

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

yeah, you're not even I don't even think you're allowed like that's part of the rules is like no flip turns, because it's literally just like a platform that you stand on and then you swim from the, from the wooden platform, um, which is like a totally different sensation than walking slowly into the ocean oh, for sure so that was like. The big difference for me is like you walk up to this edge of the frozen pool, you strip down, you get in and you swim.

Jen:

There's no like do they have like a little well, not not a warm-up pool, but like a little cold down, like section where you can kind of acclimate your body before you get in? Or are you just like you're just going in?

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

you're just in, you're not going cold, you're going in warm and cold you're in, you swim, you get out and they do like they take really good care of you, like they put your swim coat on you and then they like escort you back into like their clubhouse where there's um, they put like heated rice packs on you and you put your feet, and so that part is pretty luxury. Like I don't get that when I come out of the ocean.

Jen:

I'm taking like figuring out how to do all that stuff on my own yeah, but most of the time the water is like over 32 degrees when you get, when you're in the ocean, right even yeah, yeah, yeah, not that it really makes a difference after a certain. To me, anything that's below like I don't know 60 feels like it's just abysmally. Yeah, yeah it's.

Jen:

It's definitely different, but the thing is like you're navigating like wind and like getting back to your car and like those, those things which, which are always added, added elements so I still want to poke a little bit more into like, how did you even hear that this was a thing that people did, and why were you like, oh, that sounds awesome, I'm gonna do. I mean, I, you've been level, you're. You're the queen of leveling up. I get that part, but like just even getting started in the whole, like taking it in a different direction, I don't know, and now just getting the opportunity to go to Morocco, which is bonkers yeah, I kind of follow, I've I'm following in the footsteps of my friend, penny Armstrong, who she was the one who initially was like Kaylin, you've got to get back into the water.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

And I I was like yeah, you're right, and like has kind of been my little peer pressure or poker, like do the thing. So she went to Worlds in the Alps, the French Alps, like two years ago I think, and she had a blast and she went to Vermont the year before I did so. Then I went the year after she went to the French Alps and then, like we but we're both going to Morocco this year, so that'll be pretty sweet to like be able to compete together. And yeah, we're going to both try to do the 500 meter Wow Swim together and our so they've had it.

Jen:

Whatever this is going to do the 500 meter um, wow, swim together and our, so they've had it.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Whatever, this is gonna be the eighth time has it been in a location every time where it's not cutting through ice, where it's been like just a very cold lake in the alpine region um, I'm pretty sure that the like where penny went, it was cut in ice and so this is so this is like the morocco one, the world championships. I think there there's a lot of like, different groups and like nuances, and the, the original, like worlds, travels to different places and this one is like the, the Morocco swim, so it's always hosted in Morocco and their, their videos it hasn't. It doesn't look like that. That lake ever freezes.

Jen:

Yeah, so is there? Are there like multiple different organizing groups that hold their own champ, like championships? Is that kind of what you're talking about? So like, oh okay, all right, so so there's. So the international ice swimming association always does their big event in morocco they're, they're I don't quite know like the full.

Jen:

There's probably gonna be somebody who's like she doesn't know what she's talking about, but there's we did have the toboggan, we did talk, we have talked about, like the world toboggan championships in camden and the, you know like the uh, the one in skowhegan, the, you know us, national equestrian ski door. Ski door, like you know, I mean, if it's not happening anywhere else, you can make it.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

If you want, yeah, yeah, so the international as the, if you like, I've looked at their website before. This is like the extent of my knowledge. Like I look at their website and they show all of the different events that are like kind of fall under this thing and so, yeah, this is like morocco. It's kind of like vermont hosting their winter swimming festival every year. Like they host that, that's like their signature event and this is like the Morocco ice swim event Don't.

Jen:

yeah, don't get me wrong. If I got exceptionally into anything, I would be like scrolling to try to find the one that had the event in the best place I wanted to go.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

So I'd be like which association.

Jen:

Do I want to join? Oh my God, that one, I want to go. So I'd be like, yeah, do I want to join? Oh my god, that one, I want to go there. I would totally do that. So yeah, no shade there, I would.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Yeah are you kidding me. What caught my eye was New Zealand, um in July.

Jen:

There I obviously you would go in July but right, because it's winter, then so is it. Um, is there any qualifier to go to that? Or is it mostly like you need to, you know, show that you've swum in the, you know can effectively swim in the ice and do it within the time cutoffs? And then it's just like, yeah, raise funds and come.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Yeah, I used my swims in Vermont to like prove that I can I swim and for the 500, you're technically supposed to have a 250 meter race done. So that's why I'm kind of I'm hoping that they're gonna let me do the 500 meter, because I don't have it. I didn't do 250 in Vermont. 500 meter because I don't have it. I didn't do 250 in Vermont. So I'm like videoing myself in the ocean and like showing my watch afterwards like this is how long is it for this?

Jen:

So if you did the 500, would you scuttle the other two events or would you do like a shorter distance and the 500?

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

I definitely want to do the 50 because it's just nice to like, have a little taste of, like how do they put you in the water, like what is. And Vermont is really fun because they have a hat, a hat swim, a fun hat swim, and that one is like the first thing. It's just 25 meters, so you can kind of get the gist of how the thing is going to work. Yeah, get a feel for it.

Jen:

Yeah, so I I'm gonna keep the 50, no matter what, and then I'll either do the 250 after or the 500 yeah, it's nice that it is more like a tri-swim, I would think, because, like I, just when I was looking at that Vermont thing, I'm like, oh my god, if somebody's like swimming next to you, it's like my worst nightmare of going to like open swim at a Y, where you know when there's somebody in your lane and you're like, oh, my God that would just bum me out so bad.

Jen:

But I am like petrified of swimming, so I I bring my own baggage to all of those thoughts. That's amazing. That's just the coolest. How are you doing on the fundraising?

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

I am over 50 percent of my goal and the funds are all going towards, um, obviously like travel to get there, entry fees and accommodations, and like room and board once we're there. So it's kind of neat. They I'm flying into spain and then we're gonna take the ferry across the street to like just add a little, yeah, additional adventure. And then we've coordinated with a main company actually, um coel travel. She's moroccan, she started a business here and she coordinates with guides in Morocco all women, a women owned business, and then the guides they're women owned, and you stay in Riyadh's, which are like the Moroccan hotels, and the hotel that they've hooked us up with is women owned too, is women-owned too. So it's kind of cool, yeah, it's kind of neat that we're gonna like land there and and have a connection and someone like helping us um navigate and like get to the swim yeah, that's exciting.

Jen:

That's exciting. So, yeah, I'm. I hopefully I'm gonna try to edit this and get it right up so that, because we still have a couple weeks left, spot dot fund slash Maine to Morocco I swim on your it's on your social media so I can link it up. I think that's. I just, I don't know, I just think that's nuts. So like where where does one go after such an event, like what's the next thing that you are? You gonna just like see how it feels and see where that's gonna take you. Yeah, I think I swim aspirations.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

I know, yeah, I might. I might end up putting New Zealand on the calendar for July, oh yeah.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

I think what is intriguing to me is like I've kind of had this thing anyway, of like if, if I'm going to go somewhere, the thing that I love the most is like being near on in water, so then figuring out like maybe a longer swim, kelsey, other half of Two May Mermaids it peaks to Portland over the summer and so I'm peer pressured to doing that this summer, which I'm pumped. I'm really excited about that close to home and we have a friend that moved here from California who is pretty hooked up. She did a bunch of Alcatraz swims so that might be on the docket for early 2026.

Jen:

That's very cool. That's crazy. That's very cool and crazy. So how long are you going to be in Morocco? All told like a week or so, or I will be there, yes, a week, so we have a lake high enough in the mountains that, like you need to acclimate to like altitude or anything like that.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

It's for it's high altitude, but it's not gonna be like wild. I think mostly it's just gonna be recovering from travel and like feeling good situated I was just thinking that.

Jen:

About that, I'm like god, I hyperventilate like at sea level. When I try to swim at all, I can't. Yeah, you know you're from the cold and from. You know you're at 14 000 feet or something and there's no air yeah, I think it'll be.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

I mean, the thing that is tricky about ice swimming or swimming in colder temps is like it's hard to breathe, like all the blood is going to your core and like squeezing your lungs, so it it is harder to breathe, but I don't. I don't think the altitude will really. We'll see.

Jen:

Yeah, do they have like men's and women's events or is it like once you're getting into? Is that the great equalizer, having it be freezing cold?

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

They do, they do have um everybody's together yeah, in vermont everybody's like I swam against a guy, um, but they do have, like men's and women's awards so kind of like a marathon ish yeah when you go, yeah yeah, I guess. Yeah, you're all in it together, and then yeah yeah all right, that's, that's, that's just the coolest.

Jen:

so I gotta get on and donate some money to this cause because it's amazing. But speaking of donating to causes, this is my other segue into the thing that I was also agog about. Even before I knew that you were swinging a 44 pound kettlebell 42, 44 pound kettlebell you were like going crazy at the end of the year last year Kettlebell, kettlebell, kettlebell kettlebell.

Jen:

And you were raising money right.

Jen:

Or how is that working? Tell me about that, Like where did that come from? Oh yeah, so that I guess, maybe it was like, boy, I better train for this ice swim. So I got to start swinging a kettlebell. I'll just pick out the biggest one I can find. That's the size of my upper body.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

The kettlebell fundraising was for the Try for a Cure. So I did my first triathlon in July, the first Try for a Cure I've ever done, which was great. I highly recommend also swim training for that. So I did Kettlebells for a Cure. So I did kettlebells for a career and for every dollar that was donated I did a kettlebell swing and I ended up raising like three thousand dollars um yeah, but that was the thing I was like when I was watching it.

Jen:

At the time I already was super impressed before I even registered with me that, like it wasn't just any kettlebell you're swinging yeah, it was always the 44 pound that's nuts it's the only one I had what? When did you start swinging a 44 pound kettlebell? What was it like doing that the first time?

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

well, I'm so happy I've been, I've been training at the gym and uh. So I mean, like you can, you can deadlift a pretty significant amount of weight.

Jen:

Yeah, but deadlifting is different than like taking and swinging it up and down, like through your legs and then bending down.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

I'm like oh my god, I don't know. Yeah, it's, it's a full body thing and I could definitely tell like it it will like change your body real fast oh yeah, three 000 kettlebell swings in like a month probably. How long were you doing that started? I think I started in May and I've been beyond uh, yeah. So like I had to finish after the, I think I did May through August and then I had I had people help me too, because that was it was a lot to try to like get in.

Jen:

So yeah, that's so impressive. But then meanwhile you're in like smoking, great shape for like everything yeah, yeah, it was.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

It was awesome. I'm just sitting here like looking at it, like I will switch which is taking a little break.

Jen:

That's all. Yeah, it's good. It's good. All good relationships benefit from some time away. Exactly, it's all good. And the other thing I want to hear about, too, though, is the oyster thing. When did you start? And you guys are like I know you have another little Instagram page. The group of you right Are like tiktok dances and stuff.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Oh yeah casco big cuties is freaking hilarious, still big cuties. Yeah, yeah, I started the oyster farming gig. It was like a really cool development in the fall of I guess it was 22, 23 I can't all years run together but I was swimming in the spurwink river and like stood up and like told, I told Penny, I was swimming with Penny and it's like I think I want to try oyster farming. And then two weeks later I was chatting with a friend and she mentioned going camping and they're like out on a lake with their boat and I was like oh a, oh, a boat, cool. She's like oh, it's no big deal, it's like my husband's oyster farm skiff. And I was like oyster farm Tell me more.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Does he need help, and so I started making bags like oyster bags in their garage.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

And I had never driven a boat before, but I wanted to get out on the water and so he was like great, let's go. So I took like it was like one summer I was working at the store in Portland and then on my days off I would go out to the farm and he has a day job too. So it was like the two of us put in a few hours together on the boat so I could learn how to drive the boat and be safe, and then so I was full-time oyster farm manager this summer. Wow, that's cool. Yeah, it's great. It was a cool community. The aquaculture community here is phenomenal.

Jen:

And growing like. There's all kinds of cool stuff going on up there yeah. That's awesome and a lot of women involved in it, which is also fun.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Yes, A lot of bad-ass women. And now I'm getting I'm working on my captain's license.

Jen:

Nice.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

So by my birthday in March I'll have that application.

Jen:

Yeah, is there? Is there like, are there things to do over the winter? I mean, is it mostly just like maintaining your equipment and stuff? I mean you're not like what's the seasonality of that? Like what are you doing when?

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Yeah, it pretty much ramps down. We were done with like daily stuff mid-November and then now we have a few more market oysters that we're going to harvest for the next couple weeks and then it'll just be going to like check on our gear in the water on the farm, and then it'll be a lot of like shore work. So we have a lease application that needs to be submitted and then like making all the making more bags for next summer.

Jen:

So it's so exciting, though, getting at the ground level.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Basically, this is like one of the things I just love about pretty much all these people that I talk to is like they just stay open to new opportunities and then just stuff happens, and it's like pretty sweet yeah, yeah, I think it's an interesting thing of like just kind of not holding yourself, like not pinning yourself into one thing and like for a while I was like okay, caitlin, like you have to have a desk job because you have to have a style, like you have to do this, you have to do this, and I was like this isn't for me, like I think I'm gonna and I've really I've really tried to lean into like a more seasonal lifestyle, like summer is go time, it's go time on the farm, like it's go time in nature, and working on the farm has kind of definitely like it's.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

It's different, like being okay with being a little bit slower in the, in the winter. Well, because, because now you know, it's like like being okay with being a little bit slower in the in the winter well, because, because now you know, it's like your ice swimming training season.

Jen:

So exactly you got to be touring the world ice swimming at this time of year yeah, it's two main mermaids time right now.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

That's really exactly.

Jen:

It's like international women's day wednesday hype um, so yeah, exactly, I, uh, it's awesome, I'm I'm so excited for you, thanks, and you know I'm sure you're excited for you too. So, and then, how's the? Um, how's even kill going? You're also an amazing artist. You forget you know we forget to talk about that too. It supports all these other things.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

You're just like constantly doing creative things yeah, yeah, I have to keep it interesting. Um, the cards are in flux. I'm trying to figure out what to do with them. Um, I'm getting excited about valentine's and like, do I make valentine's cards? I don't know I'll probably decide three days before I need to do something.

Jen:

I'm in Morocco, oh what I can't get these printed and sell them now. The holiday's like in two days. Come on now. Yeah, yeah. No, you got other things to worry about right now. That's like just something that you're lucky enough to be a creative mastermind and you can come back to it anytime, so you just make that fit around all the other fun, creative things you're doing.

Jen:

So I love it all right.

Jen:

Well, since I've are oh, you know what I do want to ask you just specific to gear what do you wear on your head when you are ice swimming, like um dipping is like you know, mittens and hat and shoes and a hat and you're not going under, but obviously you're swimming, so yeah, the rules are you can only wear a silicone like swim cap.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Oh damn, really. Yeah, the trick is like getting um, it's almost like a scuba mask or like a snorkel mask, but it doesn't. It has an open nose, so like I wear, huge goggles that keeps the water help with the brain freeze part yeah, they keep the water a little bit away from your eyeball like eye sockets that seems, oh my god, but I can't even.

Jen:

And do you wear like anything on your hands, anything on your feet?

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

you're not allowed to wear no just like a bathing suit just a bathing suit, silicone cap and goggles. Holy crap, that's yeah, um, that's.

Jen:

That's the hilarious opposite of like tries, when they're like everybody's wearing every everything they own until it gets like too hot and then they outlaw it for that reason. But yeah.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

I had a hard time at the try. I was like I'm not putting on a wetsuit.

Jen:

I'm sorry Like I'm not Well and you know you, but, but, but you're an actually an amazing swimmer and I think most people wear wetsuits for the flotation Cause they the swim is the part they dread the most. Anyone who can swim is like I'm not wearing a wetsuit, I'm a wetsuit, like that's stupid yeah.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Yeah, I feel I have a. It's mostly just putting them on, Like I hate putting a wetsuit on. Yeah, it's going to be something really awesome to put a wetsuit on.

Jen:

Yeah Well, I don't know. Taking them off when they're all kind of gross is not no trick, no fun thing either. So, um, oh, that's fascinating. Only a silicone. I assume you train that way too, because you gotta get used to it, right, or do you?

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

yeah, I, I.

Jen:

I will wear booties and gloves for training because I just because you don't have somebody taking you out of the water and shushing you over to the luxury suite where they're gonna, like, put the blood back into your hands and give you hot liquids right away.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Yeah, that makes sense yeah, I don't want to die, so I'm gonna wear yeah, and it's just so hard, like for for like a regular thing. It's like okay, I'm just gonna wear the booties and gloves, like I'll know I can do it without them. Yeah, but for regular training I'm just, it's, the pain is yeah.

Jen:

Not to dissuade anybody from trying it. You can be good at something too, if you want. Yeah, sounds like it really sucks to me. I don't know. All right, so instead of asking about gear, give me three words, adjectives, whatever to describe what you want your 2025 to be all about? Oh, okay I am um. I almost pulled my wire out there three words for 2025 um definitely joy nice that one just like always hangs out with me.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

uh and okay, can I give you an emoji? Can I describe it? Okay, of course, I was thinking about this on my uh something. I was like I want an emoji for the year. So last, last year was a little sparkle, the three little sparkles, and I've noticed I've started using the lightning bolt this year. Yeah, so the lightning bolt is my emoji. Nice and um plus, which?

Jen:

AI stole the stars anyway. So it's like you gotta.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

I saw that. Like what is up with that?

Jen:

I don't know Cause it's not magic. It sucks, but whatever.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Yeah, I like the lightning bolt. I that shazam okay, yeah, lightning bolt and then a third word would be um alignment.

Jen:

Hmm, interesting, anything specific that you are trying to align, or you just want to continue the fact that you feel like you're in alignment now?

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Yeah, I think it's interesting. I'm really loving the direction that like all these things are moving and like moving me and I just want to be a little bit more intentional about my yeses and like is this, is this the direction? Cause I I'm like a little people pleaser in me and I just like have to keep that in check.

Jen:

Yeah Well, and you've got a lot of balls in the air right now, so I think that's fair. But I'm uh, I'm honored that I either coerced you into people pleasing me today by talking to me or that this was something that you saw was in alignment with what else you're doing.

Jen:

So I'm loving that. This is alignment. This is very aligned. I checked my compass but yes, and it didn't start going flying around in a circle. All right, that's good, caitlin, you're such a joy, so I'm super duper looking forward to seeing you and Kelsey again. I hope that I can make it up.

Jen:

Last year I got lucky because I couldn't go on Saturday but I could go on Sunday and because the weather was so fricktastically awful yeah, reminds me of like right now actually wind watching my garbage barrels fly across the street like, um, yeah, no, it was like it's. So I I, you know I was already getting verklempt when I would watch your videos of the other years. But like being there in person with a friend of mine and just seeing other people that I, you know, had met before and whatever it just, or even just going by yourself, like there's no way you can go and participate in that and not be moved. I think my husband was just like kind of jealous as he watched and like, but he was also not a good shusher. Back to the nice warm car that you know. Yeah, nice warm car that you know. I'm not sure why he wanted to watch, but he wasn't, like you know, waiting there with our, our velour robes.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

And you know he wasn't. He wasn't ready and waiting. He was like, wow, that was really cool. Why'd?

Jen:

you get out so soon. I'm like it was cold. I was not one of the lingerers, my friend, so she was around for a while. She loved it. So, yeah, I am, uh, I'm looking forward to it and I'm really looking forward to seeing all of your. I want you to become like the Alona Mar of the International Ice Swimming.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Association. Oh my God, I would love that.

Jen:

What a superstar. Yeah, exactly, all right, cool. Well, thank you so much, caitlin. It's been so good to talk to you and I'm looking forward to seeing you yeah, like a little walrus on the ice soon.

Caitlin Hopkins, Ice Swimmer:

Yes, can't wait Jen, Thank you.

Jen:

Awesome. If you, like me, believe that Caitlin should become the next Elona Mar with her end-to-end social coverage of the upcoming Ice Swimming World Championships. Make sure to follow her at Caitlin underscore, virginia on Instagram. Also at Two Maine Mermaids for the most up-to-date info on the March International Women's Day event At Casco Bay Cuties for the best waiter-wop routines. And for even more fun, check her out at even keel card co as well and see where her merch dreams might take her this year. And don't forget to support caitlin's ice swim effort over at wwwspotfundmecom. Slash main to moroc, morocco, ice swim All one word. Of course, you will also find that link in the show notes, which makes it way easier. That is it, shazam. I have captured Caitlin's joyful lightning in a bottle, so tune in again next time to hear me start doling it out for the rest of 2025. Until then, stay a little bit wild.