Denisa Krásná – Flow, Fear, and Female Adventure: Redefining Women’s Stories in Extreme Sports

2026-01-06

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What does it mean to challenge the limits of both body and mind—and to redefine what success looks like along the way? Denisa Krásná, scholar, author, and adventurer from the Czech Republic, takes us on a journey into the world of women in extreme sports. From her early days trekking with her parents to highlining hundreds of meters above the ground, Denisa has always been drawn to adventure, isolation, and pushing herself beyond comfort. She co-edited Flow: Women's Counternarratives from Rivers, Rock, and Sky, an inspiring anthology celebrating dive...

From her early days trekking with her parents to highlining hundreds of meters above the ground, Denisa has always been drawn to adventure, isolation, and pushing herself beyond comfort. She co-edited Flow: Women's Counternarratives from Rivers, Rock, and Sky, an inspiring anthology celebrating diverse women's voices in adventure sports—whitewater kayaking, climbing, mountaineering, and highlining—challenging stereotypes and redefining what it means to be successful in the outdoors.

In this episode, we explore:

Denisa's path from scholar to adventurer and author
How fear, frustration, and failure can become tools for growth
The mental game behind highlining and extreme sports
Stories of resilience, creativity, and empowerment from women across the globe
Why inclusivity, mentorship, and community are key to thriving in adventure sports

Whether you're an outdoor enthusiast, a woman seeking inspiration, or simply curious about the stories behind extreme adventure, Denisa's insights will leave you reflecting on your own limits—and inspired to push past them.

Tune in for a conversation about courage, flow, and the power of women redefining adventure on their own terms.

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Show notes

Who is Denisa
Growing up and living in the Czech Republic
Working as a scholar at university
Loving research and writing about her adventure
Writing books and academic articles
Her early years growing up
Travelling with her parents all the time
Going on trekking adventures around the world from places like lapland to Nepal
Her love for being outdoors and being isolated
Being introverted
Wanting to talk to adults and discuss ideas
Her passion for reading, researching and academics
Being active every single day
New Book: Flow: Women's Counternarratives from Rivers, Rock, and Sky
How the book came about with her friend Alena Rainsberry
Getting a grant to work on outdoor counternarratives
Being do-ers and getting things done
Reaching out to potential authors
The gap in the literature
What does counternarratives mean?
What the typical story of success currently is in outdoor sports
Wanting to show that success is something that should be defined by the individual - it should be fluid.
Including stories from professional athletes who define success in the more conventional way
Representation of women in adventure stories
The stories that resonated and made her think in a different way
Why every story can make you think
The unique view of Rae Raptor aka Cheryll Glotfelty
The advantages that her age gives her from money and time
Talking about fear and how fear manifests in so many different ways
Rocky Mountain Books
Denisa view on fear and how she experiences it
Why her view on fear is very rational and being able to distinguish between the objective and subjective fear
Highlining and slacklining
Her journey into highlining
Buying a slackline during covid
Why the improvements were related to the frequency of training
Having quick initial progress
Being introduced to the local slacklining community and getting a mentor
The state of flow
Why flow is also a word game and why it has multiple meanings
The photo on the cover of FLOW - with Brenda Gor
What free style highlining is and how it is different from walkers
The mental side of highlining - zoning out
The importance of preparing before you even get on the line
Using rituals to get mentally into the right state of mind
The number one cause of death in highlining
Human mistakes and how it can happen to experienced professionals
Why it's good to be slightly afraid
Always respect that you are doing an extreme sport
Why the mental game is different for everybody
Needing to take a few steps to get into the mental zone
Specific training needed for the sport
Frustration with slacking and not seeing progress
Why you should't give up when you first start
Why the start can be very painful
Why you need to trust the process
Focus on the positive things
Don't lean into the frustration
Needing to work on the mental side of highlining
Walking 200m lines and falling once at the end on the seemingly easy part
The struggle at the end
Fighting the doubts in her mind
Why these sports are like a mirror into our inner selves
Flow, Fear, Frustration, Falling - dealing with a sense of Failure
The lessons learned from failure - Dorothea Hamilton
Women being framed as too ambitious and that being seen as a negative
Climbing half dome with Alena Rainsberry
Why it was amazing and traumatic!
How to connect with Denisa
Final words of advice for other women who want to take on more adventure sports
Why it's important to find people to do the activity with, people who support you and people who motivate you.
Reading memoirs written by other women