Embracing Health & Happiness with Christine Yu

By Christine on June 19, 2023
4 min read

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Christine is a freelance writer, yoga teacher, runner and wannabe surfer. She shares stories about life, fitness and wellness on her blog Love, Life, Surf (yes, she started a blog after falling hard in love with surfing in Costa Rica!) and inspires others to embrace their choices to be happy and healthy. She lives in New York City with her husband and two sons. What makes you a KÜHL Kid? How do you live the Mountain Culture? I grew up in a fairly traditional home with immigrant parents who focused on working hard and studying hard. But they always found opportunities for us to be active. Every winter, they drove us up to Vermont to ski. They would sit in the lodge while my brother, sister and I spent the whole day on the mountain. While I’m always torn between the mountains and the ocean, I live the mountain culture by relishing the time that I can spend outside and appreciating the vast beauty and enormity of everything that Mother Nature has to offer. It’s about being open to the lessons we learn from getting outside, often outside of our comfort zone. Christine_Beach If you could adventure anywhere in the world for a week or two, where would you go? Trekking in New Zealand or exploring Norway – hopefully one day! What’s your most memorable adventure? Hiking around Cotopaxi National Park in Ecuador with my then-boyfriend/now-husband. It was the first time that I really spent time at high altitude. We hiked up to the edge of the glacier at 4800 meters and our guide led us on some questionable trails! Let’s just say that we were climbing up on a ridge when we probably shouldn’t have. There was a storm brewing and I realized that my suspected fear of heights was in fact real! Cotopaxi_Christine What’s your worst habit? I’m a champion procrastinator! What song makes you most stoked to play hard? We Found Love – Rihanna and Calvin Harris What’s your favorite food and drink after an adventure? There’s nothing like a good pizza and beer after an adventure. It may be cliché, but it hits the spot! What's your favorite piece of gear? My running shoes, currently Hoka One One Cliftons. Not only do they give me the means to get outside and explore wherever I am, but they also allow me to run which is when I feel the most in tune with myself and free. What’s hot/what’s not? What’s hot: Gratitude. What’s not: Lack of compassion for others What's the worst injury you sustained from adventuring and how did you recover? My worst, and most memorable, injury occurred while skiing in Switzerland during a semester abroad in college (I was studying in Italy.). Since the ski patrol didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak German, we had to piece together a conversation through Italian. It ended with him soaking a sugar cube in brandy and shoving it in my mouth before strapping me into the sled for the ride down the mountain. I had my ACL and meniscus repaired when I returned home a few months later. Since I was young, I healed quickly and continued to pursue all my active loves. I’ve run marathons and half marathons, surfed, completed a triathlon and continue to ski as much as I can. The injury taught me to truly be grateful for this body I have and all that it allows me to do. Who inspires you? My kids. I want to experience life with them – to run alongside them, see their eyes widen at the top of a mountain, do cartwheels in the grass, and watch them grow up. It’s amazing to see the world through their eyes. They inspire me to be active, to be healthy, to seek out adventures and to be a better person and parent. Yu_Family Genie gives you three wishes and you have five minutes to decide all three. What are they?

  1. Long, healthy and happy lives for my family and friends.
  2. That my kids inherit a clean and safe planet to explore.
  3. More love, laughs and adventure.
What’s your favorite thing about KÜHL? One of things that I love most about KÜHL is the sense of community and family that the company creates with and among its customers. It’s something that you don’t often feel from other brands. I also love KÜHL’s passion for getting outdoors, having fun and creating the best product: gear that can go from the trails and mountains to the streets. What’s your favorite piece of KÜHL clothing? What do you use it for? I’m in love with my Kamryn Pullover. Seriously, I’ve worn it non-stop since receiving it! It’s the perfect warm and cozy thing to throw on after a day’s adventure.
Christine
Christine

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