A legend of the WNBA and the New York Liberty, Kym played in the league’s inaugural game and was the first player in the team’s history to score a basket. Kym started in every game of the Liberty’s first three seasons and was a first-round pick in the WNBA Elite Draft in 1997. Prior to joining the Liberty, Kym also played basketball professionally in Spain, Italy, France and Japan.
Off the court, Kym has modeled for Cover Girl cosmetics and acted on television and in film. Kym is currently the Fan Development Leader for the New York Liberty. Music is another passion of Kym’s and she is pursuing a career as a singer. In fact, Kym closes out each regular Liberty season with her beautiful rendition of the National Anthem on Fan Appreciation Day. Let’s peek inside the Little Black Travel Diary of the inimitable Kym Hampton!
My first memory of traveling is going to California on an airplane when I was 8 (apart from the car road trips).
I never travel without Vaseline. It has been used by my family before I was born. It was used for everything - the body after a bath (lotion would fade after a few hours), lip gloss, if we were out of hair grease. I’ve been blessed with incredible skin so my cleansing routine consist of soap water and Vaseline. I know I’m making a lot of people cringe by saying this because that goes against what a lot of people in the skincare industry would say but, you know what they say…….”If it isn’t broke don’t fix it.”
My favorite destinations are Spain and Italy.
The taste of great olive oil reminds me of Italy.
My favorite traveling companion is my boyfriend Fred.
Traveling alone is relaxing, but sometimes boring.
I dream of visiting Tahiti and Bali.
A film, book, or song that awakens my wanderlust is How Stella Got Her Groove Back by Terry McMillan and the song La Costa by Natalie Cole.
My favorite traveling outfit is a velour sweat suit.
My most unforgettable traveling experience was when I was playing professional basketball in Spain- the team I played for only allowed us to have four days off for the Christmas holiday. I had to get a flight leaving on the 24th because we played a game on the 23rd. When I got to Chicago the flight I was scheduled to be on was oversold and I was told I had to be placed on a waiting list. We were also informed that the hotels in the area were full so unless we wanted to stay really far away our option was the airport. Needless to say I was heartbroken…until my name was called and I was the last to make the flight.
When I have been away from home for a long time, the thing I miss the most is my own space.
If I could travel back in time, I would go to Africa to see how the ancient Kings and Queens lived.
My travel icons are Melissa Abbe and Maureen Coyle.
My must have beauty product when traveling is Vaseline.
My words of travel wisdom are go, see, taste and experience the beautiful world!
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