Meet 5 Teens with Totally Insane Talents, from Shark Diving to Monster Truck Driving
Ever wanted to train in a combat sport or swim with sharks? We've tracked down five girls who indulged their nontraditional interests and honed their skills at a professional level—all before graduating high school. Though their passions vary, their drive, commitment, and love for what they do is what makes them truly stand out.
Click on through to read their stories, and get inspired to think outside the box next time you consider taking up a new hobby.
1/6Navey Baker, 17, Mascot
Some girls dream of being Olympians, while others want to be competitive cheerleaders—but Navey Baker has always been focused on the sidelines. "In sixth grade, I got to be the mascot for my elementary school," she says. "I absolutely loved it for that moment forward."
Years later, she had the opportunity to don a tiger costume for her high school in Mesa, Arizona. She saved the $1,000 to buy the suit herself; doing jobs around the house and babysitting netted her the hard-earned cash. She’s become a bona fide crowd fave and considers being a mascot her life’s calling (she plans on working for a professional sports team one day), though having such an unorthodox talent has never fazed her. "Don’t give up, never give up," Navey advises. "No matter what people say, just be you and you only."
Photo by Dennis Webb
2/6These girls are doing seriously cool stuff.
3/6Rosalee Ramer, 16, Monster Truck Driver
Like most 16-year-olds, Rosalee Ramer likes to drive, but unlike pretty much every other teen you know, Rosalee is a professional monster truck driver. "My family has been involved with monster trucks for a long time—we've had our own since I was 7," she says. "I really love anything on four wheels. If given the opportunity, I'd drag race too!"
Though the actual driving is tons of fun, Rosalee particularly values the people she's met through her job. "It's given me the opportunity to spend time with people with special needs and Make-A-Wish kids who love monster trucks as much as I do." She wants to study mechatronics engineering in college, which will allow her to "integrate computer science into mechanical automotive technology." Impressive, right? And in case you were wondering, when she's off-duty she drives a much smaller Jeep Wrangler, which she says she'll soon be tricking out.
Photo by Kelsey Churchill
4/6Madison Stewart, 20, Shark Diver
"Everyone else was scared of them," shark diver Madison Stewart says about why she was first drawn to the fear-inducing sea creatures. The subject of the upcoming Smithsonian Channel documentary Shark Girl has dedicated herself to protecting the Great Barrier Reef—home to many endangered sharks—and hopes to continue her work as long as she can. "There’s so much information that people just don’t know," she says. "Like the fact they’re only responsible for the deaths of 12 people a year, while humans kill more than 100 million sharks in the same time. Even marine biologists who have studied sharks their entire lives have something to learn when they actually get in the water with them."
She’s so committed to her cause that she opted to become homeschooled at age 14 to devote more time to diving. "I want to see the end of certain practices in my lifetime, like shark fisheries in the Great Barrier Reef, over-fishing, and factory farming," she says. Yes, her future is certainly in the sea: "It would be a dream to be an underwater cinematographer or a safety diver."
Photo by Ernst Stewart
5/6McKenna Hutchison, 14, Martial Artist
Starting Jiu-Jitsu training when she was just 5 years old, McKenna Hutchinson's love of martial arts has been apparent for nearly a decade. She graduated to Judo and kickboxing before finally discovering Pankration, which is "like MMA, except it has far more extensive rules to ensure the safety of its participants—for example, there are no head strikes."
But don't let her downplay just how hardcore the sport is. "Pankration is the ultimate test of skill," she says. "Also, it shows how well I would be able to defend myself in a real self-defense situation." She hopes to eventually compete professionally in the Ultimate Fighting Championship as an MMA fighter, get her black belts in Jiu-Jitsu and Judo, and open her own martial arts school. As for anyone who questions if girls should participate in combat sports? "Not to be cliche," she says, "but girls can do anything that guys can, and most of the time we're better at it."
Photo by Richard Viveros
6/6Jess Dawson, 18, Pastry Chef
How do you spend your weekends? A little homework, a movie, and a whole lot of hang time? Jess Dawson’s involve whipping up elaborate desserts at Grace, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Chicago. Jess was first hired as a pastry chef at age 16 (at Spiaggia, another fancy spot in her hometown), and at the very end of her first summer there, she finally picked up her paychecks—she had never had a job before and couldn’t figure out where to find them.
"That night I skipped down Michigan Avenue, waving my checks in the air, telling everyone who would listen that I, Jessica Dawson, was getting paid to bake," she says. "It was validation that I belonged in the industry." She plans to keep working for chefs (like Gale Gand, who she interned for at Spiaggia) who inspire her and to focus on creating delicious food. Her favorite things to make right now are French pastries: "It’s not a complete Saturday morning until the smell of croissants fills the kitchen."
Photo by Darcy Dawson
