Conversations with the Inspiring Alexis Hinkley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexis Hinkley.

Alexis, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a 23-year-old nurse, photographer, storyteller, cat mom and avid hiker from Issaquah, Washington. I grew up in the forests of the Pacific Northwest and remember coming home every day soaked in rain, drenched in mud, and happy as a clam. My love for the outdoors started early. I began skiing at the age of two years old and as I grew so did my love for any and all outdoor sports.

After graduating high school, my love for the mountains brought me to Colorado and I traded in rainy skies for 300 days of sunshine. I attended the University of Northern Colorado and have lived in Northern Colorado for five years. I graduated from nursing school this past Spring and am now working at a level one trauma center in Denver.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My life has been anything but easy. I am very open about my experiences and am not afraid to tell my story, but I must warn readers that it is not an easy story by any means. If you have a hard time reading stories regarding sexual assault and self-harm, please skip this next part.

My introduction to girlhood was violent, dark, and terrifying. I was sexually, physically, and psychologically abused starting at the age of 12 by a much older boy. The problems escalated until I eventually saw suicide as my only way out of my situation. I was 13 at the time. Thankfully, my parents were able to get me the help I needed and remove me from the situation while they handled getting a protection order put into place. Going through all of this as a young girl gave me a strong resilience that I held onto as I grew up.

Unfortunately, that was not my last experience with abuse. In 2017, I found myself in an extremely abusive relationship that had me fearing for my life. I got out, thank god, and began the road to recovery. The woman he dated after I reached out to me after only three weeks of being with him with a shattered eye socket and criminal charges. She led a court case against him and I did my best to support it. I sent in written testimony, along with hers and the testimony of another ex-girlfriend of his. He had threatened all of our lives and physically attacked all of us. He got 90 days in the Aspen jail and was let out after 30 for good behavior.

I have a very detailed “Me Too” blog article that I wrote that details the men that have assaulted me. That movement meant the world to me because it put power behind the trauma that I have carried for 10 years now. I have struggled with PTSD for over a decade now and I think that there came a day where I consciously decided I was done being a victim of my circumstance. I started channeling the pain and anxiety that my trauma gave me into undying energy to instigate change and to help protect and speak up for women and girls who had experienced these things too. That was when my activism really took off. I am extremely thankful for the community on Instagram and my followers- without their constant support this process of healing would have been a lot more lonely. I’ve been blessed with a platform and I’ve seen the potential to help others in real time. Since coming out about my abuse, I’ve had a total of six women come forward to me asking for help out of their situations. Being able to give these women a hand in the darkness is the single most beautiful thing that can come out of trauma. I suffered alone, but because of this platform, other women don’t have to. I cannot write how much that single fact means to me. I’m eternally grateful and very proud of every female who has had the courage to tell their story.

Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I think the two things that take up the majority of my energy are activism and photography. I loved using my photography to help inspire others to get outside, and hope that maybe seeing how beautiful our earth is might motivate people to start caring more about our planet. In 2017, I rescued a kitten and named her Tuna. Since taking her home, she has visited over 20 national parks with me. Her page is @TunaTheAdventureCat, and she is what I photograph the most. Our adventures together have made up the happiest times of my life.

My activism is extremely important to me as well, though. I have been on 3 medical volunteering/activism trips (Standing Rock, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico) and I know it is something I will continue to go into old age. The main issues I focus on are healthcare access (especially mental health), women’s rights and protections, and protecting the planet. I’ve done my best to partner with brands who are also active in the fight for these three issues. I am a strong believer that it is the duty of anyone who is blessed enough to have an online platform to use it properly and responsibly- and for me, that means providing education and starting dialogues about the issues facing us today.

What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
Women are expected to be perfect in order to be taken seriously or given respect. While men can get away with an amplitude of things, women in leadership roles are highly scrutinized and held under a fine microscope. It is a total double standard and blatantly obvious in both the mainstream media as well as social media.

I have friends who have spoken up about issues online- only to be told their pages are “too sexual” to be taken seriously. It is ridiculous that a woman’s expressed sexuality or lack thereof would play any part in deciding how worthy her opinion is. And me personally? I have heard all of it- I’ve been called a skank for discussing my history of sexual abuse, I’ve been told my activism is fake for attending music festivals, I’ve had the body I’ve struggled to love and accept publicly shamed when I posted an opinion, I’ve even had predominant male photographers say that me speaking up was just for “attention.” I had an entire fraternity (DTD at UNCO) posting sexist comments, death threats, and much, much more about me online because they hated the causes I stood behind. The University took very minimal action against them for it, which only goes to prove my point. Men get away with everything and they know it.

What I’ve learned is this: weak-minded men cannot handle a woman with drive. It terrifies them. And it should- because those women are the ones who are going to change the status quo. The barriers they have put forth to prevent women from rising to greatness have only served to make us stronger. They’ve bred warriors out of us and we will not be silenced or stopped. This next generation of girls know just how loud their voices can be, and they are screaming for change.

Contact Info:

• Website: alexishinkley.com
• Email: alexishinkley@gmail.com
• Instagram: @Wanderrlex
• Facebook: facebook.com/TunaTheAdventureCat

Image Credit:
personal photo: Marvin Boyd

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