Meet Tori Kubick

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tori Kubick. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Tori, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Confidence and self-esteem were definitely not innate, it was not something I was born with. It was one for the most difficult things for my to develop as a show woman and entrepreneur. That is because I find it immensely challenging to balance absolute narcissism and crippling self doubt… and to really go in for the kill. When I was a kid, controlling my breath and cultivating confidence were things I grappled with heavily. Whenever I had to slate for an audition or had one measly little line I had to mutter on stage, it struck me with the biggest bout of stage fright. I felt if I spoke my voice would shatter the glass mirror of the rehearsal studio. If I were to mutter a peep it would feel like I was the only person chomping on potato chips in the dead silence while everyone stared with gaping bulldog eyes at me, I would be the alien. Especially when I was a kid, I was so shy, when my dance teachers asked me a question, I would have to whisper it to my best friend Michelle, then she would translate the message out loud. Even in my early twenties, my not so nice ex-boyfriend told me to stay silent, he said my voice was better off un-utilized.

I didn’t really gain my confidence until I delivered my TEDx talk a few years ago. That is when, I discovered a whole new world, and found out that I actually enjoy speaking onstage and selling my own show. I was kinda thrown off balance when I had people come up to me and say, “Yeah your contortion/talent is cool … but I was really impressed by the story behind it, your voice, and about what you had to say. That was a compliment I NEVER received… I didn’t have to stay silent anymore? Was it a back hand compliment? Was it a diss in disguise? For years I swallowed my voice and prayed it wouldn’t bubble to the surface… My voice wasn’t wretched after all? I didn’t know how to respond. For almost a decade I was hard wired and conditioned to respond to the same boiled down comments I heard after a performance. Wow you’re to flexible! Does that hurt? Were you born like that? How long do you stretch?” It was that broken record skipping over and over again. But when I received a totally different response, how was I supposed to respond? … Who would have thought that the mindset behind contortion could be so potent to everyday people?

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Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Tori Kubick aka conTORItion is a Guinness world record holding contortionist, aerialist, paddle boarder, and writer. Growing up as an dancer, she later found her true love, the antiquated art form of Mongolian contortion. Many would tell her it as too late and doubted her dreams, she shirked them and hopped on a plane and then later a horseback to make it all the way to the remote birthplace of contortion, Mongolia. Her full-grown womanly body was morphed and congealed day after day as she studied with the dedicated class of five year olds. She kept pushing, and pushing the odds, and now she tours the world and performs contortion in various theatres, cruise ships, and the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil! Tori gave a TEDx talk on contortion and cultivating calmness. She was featured on RHONY, NYFW, 60 Secs, Telemundo, Jordan Matter’s YouTube channel, Jimmy Fallon’s the Tonight Show, and she even opened for Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke. Tori perfromed for TEAM USA and was featured in Ripley’s Believe it or Not.

Check out her website and her Instagram for more info.

In the future Tori would love to develop a flexibility course for all levels and walks of life, as well as write a book.

@con_tori_tion
Contorition.com

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Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Curious

Calm

Courageous

Age does not matter, external forces do not matter. Let that all rot, and turn within to harness tour true power.

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To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

When I was a kid I begged my parents to sign me up for the local dance team. It was very expensive, but I knew that’s what my soul craved and I knew it would somehow be an investment, despite how difficult and competitive the dance industry is/was, They did not approve.

I begged, I pleaded. I put together an entire presentation detailing the monthly costs, and how I could help fundraiser for it. I even posted millions of sticky notes around the house asking if I could please join the dance team.

They did not HAND it to me on a silver platter. They made sure I was extremely committed before even entertaining the idea,
I leaned the art of commitment and going after what you want. When there is a will there is a way.

I trained really hard form VHS tapes, and proved to the dance team coaches that even though I was a novice, that I could have a partial scholarship, because I would add value to the team. This helped me parents financially and me spiritually ( even though I was only a kid.

I am so glad my parents resisted, they taught me the value of grit, determination, and not taking things for granted.

Contact Info:

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Image Credits

David Tfino

Patrick Jansen

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