Kim Kessler has what I would describe as a dream life. She’s built a fabulous career in the niche world of luxury travel PR, travels regularly, and lives on the sun-splashed Pacific coast of Mexico with access to fresh tropical fruit and beautiful beaches. We share a love of yoga, acai bowls, and cacao, and you can often find her at sacred cacao and sound healing ceremonies as part of her wellness routine. Her zest for life and strategy for living her dreams never ceases to amaze me. It was a joy to interview her!
12 questions with Kim Kessler
- How long have you been vegan?
34 years, most of my life! - What do you love most about your vegan life?
I love having so much energy from plant-based foods, and helping thousands of animals around the world from this lifestyle. I feel the most vibrant when eating fresh mangoes, pineapples, coconuts, blueberries, acai bowls, and green smoothies. - What does your morning routine look like?
I wake up and take a shower, make a matcha latte with homemade almond milk or ceremonial hot cacao, and answer some work emails. I’ll then go to a vinyasa yoga class led by a top teacher such as fellow vegan yogi Andrew Sealy, who is part of the new visiting practitioner program in Careyes, Mexico that I created. I then settle back down to my patio to work for the remainder of the morning, and make either a green smoothie or an avocado toast with fresh housemade sprouts, lime juice, olive oil, and Himalayan salt. - What is your evening routine?
I typically have friends over to watch the sunset from my patio, and then either cook dinner or go to one of the vegan-friendly restaurants in Careyes such as La Duna at El Careyes Club & Residences, which has the best jackfruit tacos, and nopales sopes, or La Coscolina in the Careyes Pueblo, which offers incredible carrot tostadas, Vietnamese summer rolls, and roasted cauliflower with a red beet hummus. My favorite dishes to make at home are gluten-free pasta with pesto, mushrooms, and zucchini, and cashew nacho dip with flax crackers, made in my dehydrator, along with raw chocolate fudge truffles. - What are some tips for productivity that you swear by?
It is very important to write down your goals, and focus on manifesting them, through working, connecting with people and aligning your life to your visions. I also believe it is important to set aside the necessary time to work alone without any distractions, and I also feel more productive after doing yoga or jumping in the ocean to clear my head daily. - What's your go-to breakfast each morning?
Every morning, I make either an acai bowl with homemade almond milk, bananas, mangoes, and blueberries; coconut yogurt with cacao nibs and fruit; or an avocado toast with homemade sprouts, lime juice, olive oil, Himalayan salt, and pumpkin seeds. - What are your must-have healthy vegan meals?
I love making a vegan bowl with quinoa, lentils, and roasted broccoli, sweet potatoes, and avocado. I also make arugula salads from the local Careyes garden, with hemp seeds, basil, and tofu with a miso dressing. - How important is a healthy lifestyle to your quality of life?
I feel a healthy lifestyle is crucial to my quality of life, with a combination of high-nutrient plant-based foods, daily yoga, swimming in the ocean, sleeping at least eight hours, and meditating daily. This all helps me to maintain my center balance, no matter what is going on in my life. Moving to Mexico has been the best decision, as I´m surrounded by turquoise ocean, the green jungle, butterflies, and birds. Being in nature truly helps me to stay grounded and keeps my vibration high. - Please share some ways you unwind and create a work/life balance.
I enjoy swimming in the ocean daily, enjoying sunsets with friends on my balcony, having dinner parties with close friends, dancing, and going to cacao ceremonies and sound healings. - What are some tips you'd like to share with entrepreneurs in the making?
I created my boutique PR agency KIPR Global six years ago after working in luxury hotel PR for more than 15 years for brands like the Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Auberge Resorts, and The Peninsula. The Ï in KIPR represents that I will only take on clients that ntuitively feel right, have integrity, and are international. This really creates checks and balances for me, when presented with various client opportunities, and has led me to only take on dream clients such as ORIGINS Lodge in Costa Rica, Access Italy, Careyes Mexico, and Uluwatu Surf Villas on Bali, and turn away other opportunities that are not perfectly aligned. - What advice would you give to your younger self?
I would tell my younger self to be more free and not care as much what others think, have more confidence, and trust myself earlier to create a successful company, although I believe that we are meant to go through all of the experiences to evolve and grow, so I have no regrets. - Who inspires you?
I am inspired daily by so many friends, including you, Colleen, for truly honoring your values and promoting a vegan lifestyle to so many people around the world, as well as friends in the wellness space who live a bohemian life of freedom around the world such as best-selling author and vegan nutrition expert Kimberly Snyder and plant-based chef Leslie Durso. I love them so much!