Imogen Blue: Skipping with Grace Through Motherhood and Teaching (Ep. 7)

Dizzy Skips (00:34)
Imogen, thank you so much for joining me on Skip Squad Chronicles. Can you tell me where you are?

Imogen Whatmore (00:41)
Well, I live in Middlesbrough and I’m just laughing because of what you said last time. I said I was in the kitchen. I live in Middlesbrough. It’s northeast of England, a little small town in the northeast of England.

Dizzy Skips (00:51)
Right, right.

you’re close to Aaron.

Imogen Whatmore (01:02)
close to Aaron, yeah. Well, I think I am. I think it’s about a couple of hours away. Yeah.

Dizzy Skips (01:05)
Yeah. Okay.

All right, you’re a lot closer than I am. When did you start jumping rope?

Imogen Whatmore (01:13)
So I started jumping eight months ago. It was April of this year. Yeah.

So I did want to start in 2020. Like I seen Lauren Jumps as everyone else did. And I thought she was amazing. Like I’ve got to try this. Tried it. Jumped for like five seconds and hit the deck. Thought this isn’t for me. No, like literally I was so unfit. It was a joke.

Dizzy Skips (01:38)
Like literally?

Yeah.

Imogen Whatmore (01:44)
So I stopped and then fast forward to now and I’m jumping. It was Polly Jumps who inspired me. Is it Polly Skips or Polly Jumps? Yeah, she’s like, I think she’s 45. She’s got three kids and she just skips in a garden. I thought if she can do it, I’m gonna do it. So, and here we are. So I’m still doing it.

Dizzy Skips (02:13)
So did you identify with her because she was a mother with three kids and you are as well?

Imogen Whatmore (02:20)
Yeah, and like, it’s just fitting in time to exercise. I thought, if she can do it with three kids, surely I can still do it with three kids.

Dizzy Skips (02:31)
Yeah.

So you do a lot of your skipping like in your garden or in your driveway, is that right?

Imogen Whatmore (02:36)
most of the time. I sometimes go to the park but I think it’s easier to do it in my garden because I’ve got more time. If I spend some of my time travelling somewhere I haven’t got enough time to skip so I’ll get in the garden straight away or if I’ve got a spare 10 minutes here or 20 minutes there I’ll just quickly go out and have a little skip. But it’s just as and when I can.

Dizzy Skips (02:56)
Yeah. Do you have a warm-up routine when you go skip?

Imogen Whatmore (03:00)
I’m not gonna lie, don’t. Basically I’ll just boxers skip, because I do have bad knees. So I’ll start off like lighter I suppose, and then once I’m warmed up I’ll start with the heavier stuff. So I could say I’ve got a warm up, it’s not a good warm up.

Dizzy Skips (03:03)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

I mean, I think a lot of people warm up with just sort of casual jumping. I know my coach does that, just some basic bounce kind of stuff.

Imogen Whatmore (03:32)
Yeah, yeah that’s how I warm up just to get my knees like used to it because they’ll be like I’ll get flare ups

Dizzy Skips (03:39)
I, so.

no, I have the same thing with my knees. My knees are terrible and I’ll have flare ups, especially when I go hard on, like now that it gets dark so early, which is like super depressing here, it gets dark at like 4 or 45 or something. On the weekends, I will go out and just go hard, you know, while it’s light out. And then Monday is usually a rest day anymore because I’ve gone too hard on the weekends and it’s often my knees that feel it, you know?

Imogen Whatmore (03:50)
Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Like, you don’t feel it while you’re skipping, it’s just afterwards, isn’t it? Well, for me, it’s just afterwards. Like, while you’re skipping, you think you’re fine. But then I wake up in the morning and I feel like an old lady.

Dizzy Skips (04:16)
Yeah. Yeah, usually. Yeah. Yeah. So.

Right, no, I do the same thing. Like get out of bed and walk really slow, like, my gosh. But then by the afternoon, usually I’m warmed up and once I decide I’m gonna go out and skip, then I sort of loosen up a bit. And I do have a warmup routine that I do that always helps. So your skipping sessions are like 20 or 30 minutes usually? Is that what?

Imogen Whatmore (04:45)
usually 30 minutes, but there has been times where I’ve gone over just because I’m excited, but I try to just do 30 minutes, which is, which works for me.

Dizzy Skips (04:54)
And is that because of your mom duties or is it because you’re trying to limit the amount of damage to your knees?

Imogen Whatmore (04:58)
and

a bit of both I think more mum duties but yeah I just like quick intense exercise and then it’s done and I can carry on with my day but with jump rope it’s slowly getting longer because I like it that much.

Dizzy Skips (05:07)
Yeah.

Yeah, it’s so fun, right? So fun. So I mentioned that you and I are both music nerds. Like we have traded several songs and stuff like that. You always jump into music.

Imogen Whatmore (05:33)
always like I hate not jumping to music like there’s been one time where my little boy put my earphones in the washing machine and I washed them

Dizzy Skips (05:39)
Yeah.

Hahaha

Imogen Whatmore (05:46)
So yeah, I had to jump that day with no earphones and it was terrible. I couldn’t jump. I couldn’t get any.

Dizzy Skips (05:52)
Could you talk him into coming out and singing for you? Like, rapping for you?

Imogen Whatmore (05:55)
I could try. But he’s American. He speaks American. So he’d probably do it, would you?

Dizzy Skips (06:02)
and he speaks American.

He probably sounds just like Eminem, right? Like when he busts it out.

Imogen Whatmore (06:08)
No, it sounds like you, honestly. It’s like, mom. Mom. Mommy.

Dizzy Skips (06:11)
Hahaha

Is this because he watches so much American TV?

Imogen Whatmore (06:18)
I think so, Yeah.

Dizzy Skips (06:20)
That is so hilarious. my goodness. I’ve seen him in several of your videos and he always just cracks me up. I think one of the videos, he’s just like slowly wandering himself like right to the phone and then he like reaches for the phone and then I think the video cuts. And I think your comment was something like you wanted to watch movies or something on it.

Imogen Whatmore (06:31)
you

It’s like…

Yeah, he’s like, who is that in the screen? Like, I wanted, he loves watching himself on the camera. So yeah.

Dizzy Skips (06:48)
He’s like, look at that handsome guy.

Imogen Whatmore (06:51)
Yeah, who is it?

Dizzy Skips (06:53)
Yeah. So can you describe like your jumping? Like how would you describe the type of jumping you do or what you enjoy doing?

Imogen Whatmore (07:03)
I usually don’t have a plan of what I’m going to do. I just go out and jump in and think, I’ll try that, or I’ll try this. But I’m more of a cross and TS. I’m more of trick person than a footwork person. But I am starting to learn a bit more footwork. I like to learn a few tricks, but I also like to get my workout done. So I don’t want to spend too much time stood still.

trying to learn something.

Dizzy Skips (07:32)
Sure.

Imogen Whatmore (07:33)
But like, so I think like the crosses and like the running man is like the shuffling forward and back. That’s like a really good workout. And when I couldn’t do that for ages, and I remember getting it in the garden, I was like showing everyone, like no one’s that like bothered. I’m like, look what I can do now. It’s so good.

Dizzy Skips (07:49)
You

It’s so sad when your family doesn’t respond like you do. You’re like, look what I can do. And they’re like, that’s great, mom.

Imogen Whatmore (07:58)
I But honestly, honestly, like, it doesn’t look that hard when you’re watching someone do it, though, does it? But it is. It’s hard.

Dizzy Skips (08:06)
yeah. I mean, I think I started in maybe a month before you did. And I remember just trying to do the basic shuffle, like, you know, just really basic. And I felt like a toddler, like my feet don’t work the way my brain wants them to work. What am I doing wrong? And and it does take time to sort of get that.

Imogen Whatmore (08:28)
I’ve got some really funny videos of me when I very first attempted to jump. I keep them just to laugh at myself and to see how far I’ve come. It’s funny. But it’s good to see that’s how was and this is how I am now. And I’ve still got way, way, to go. Yeah.

Dizzy Skips (08:46)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Right. Yeah. It’s cool that there’s always something more to learn. Speaking of which, how do you learn or how have you learned? Have you used an app or you just watching people or?

Imogen Whatmore (09:00)
And

I did download the Fancy Feet app but I’ve literally, I don’t think I’ve hardly used it. I’m more of a, I watch someone do it and then I’ll try it. Like I’m more of a doer than a watcher. Like I don’t know, I like to practice it myself to see if I can get it. Like I’ll just watch someone. It’s mainly like I’ll just watch other people on Instagram.

Dizzy Skips (09:19)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Imogen Whatmore (09:30)
and think, right, that looks good. I’m going to try that.

Dizzy Skips (09:30)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Imogen Whatmore (09:33)
But I’m coming to a point now where it’s like, what do I try next? And I don’t know what combo to do. And I don’t even know if I’m doing it right anymore. But I keep going.

Dizzy Skips (09:34)
Yeah, well you’ve definitely got a.

Yeah. So I was going to ask, like, do you have goals? Like you mentioned that you want to get your workout in so you don’t like standing around, but do you have like, like, Hey, I’m going to learn this specific move this week

Imogen Whatmore (10:03)
yeah, yeah, like I’ll learn one and I’ll do it for a few weeks and then I’ll be like, right, I’ll do another one now. And then when I learn it, I like to learn it just by jumping and then I’ll progress to doing it whilst running, instead of just jumping and then I’ll then I’ll try and learn it while shuffling. So if I can’t do a new trick, I’ll learn an old trick, but doing like

and like some footwork with it as well.

So like, this is always something to learn.

Dizzy Skips (10:33)
Yeah, there is. I downloaded that fancy feats app as well and I do use it. I use it for my warmup and I’ve learned several things through it. think Lauren is a fantastic teacher and that app is really well laid out. But.

Imogen Whatmore (10:48)
Yeah, I mean, I have that couple of tricks off this. It’s like what I feel like I’m with.

Dizzy Skips (10:51)
Yeah. So what type of ropes do you use?

Imogen Whatmore (10:56)
mainly Dope Ropes but I do have my Wate Rope I’ve got well I if you can see them there’s a couple there

Dizzy Skips (11:00)
Did I lose you?

Imogen Whatmore (11:06)
That was my first one, my little beaded Dope Rope

so I’ll keep that, like I don’t use it but I’ll keep it to say that’s my first but I prefer PVC if I’m being honest I quite like that but I am getting used to my Mira rope Mira rope the heavy one but I need to try another beaded I think but that Dope Rope’s too light now I don’t know if I’ve wore it out or yeah

Dizzy Skips (11:36)
what type of ropes do you use?

Imogen Whatmore (11:39)
So I’ve got a beaded Dope Rope I’ve got two PVC ropes from Dope Rope and I’ve got my heavy weight rope. So they’re the only ones I’ve, well I’ve actually had four PVC’s but I keep snapping them.

Dizzy Skips (11:57)
Yeah. Do you, is it because you’re jumping in the cold or why are they snapping?

Imogen Whatmore (12:04)
I think, well, two of them snapped whilst I was practising double unders. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong with them. But they snap at the handle and then the rope’s too short. So I’ve still got them but they’re really short.

Dizzy Skips (12:19)
Yeah.

Yeah, you have to like adjust them and give them to your kids, right?

Imogen Whatmore (12:19)
I need to practice keeping my hands.

That’s a good idea actually. Yeah.

You

Dizzy Skips (12:25)
I had one that I broke at the handle as well from Timeless and that’s exactly what I did. I just made it shorter and gave it to my nephew.

Imogen Whatmore (12:33)
that’s a good idea. I’ve kept all the ropes I’ve got it’s just I’ll probably be able to use it when I’m better but it is really short now.

Dizzy Skips (12:43)
Yeah. How do you size your ropes, Imogen?

Imogen Whatmore (12:44)
Yeah.

I usually I like them pretty long but I don’t know like

like just above my belly button maybe. And then obviously.

Dizzy Skips (12:52)
Okay. So the, like, when you say that, it the end of the handle that’s above your belly button? Or are you like, when I do it, I hold the, okay. Yeah.

Imogen Whatmore (13:01)
The end of the rope

and then I’ve got the handle as well.

Dizzy Skips (13:06)
Okay, that’s what I do. Like I hold the handles out like perpendicular to my, and I aim sort of from my belly button. That’s kind of my sweet spot.

Imogen Whatmore (13:12)
yeah yeah but when I first get them new I keep them long and then I’ll adjust it see if it’s alright but I won’t cut it until it’s perfect yeah

Dizzy Skips (13:25)
Yeah. Yeah. Once. So once you had a couple that were right for you, did you just like, measure the other ones against the ropes that already work for you?

Imogen Whatmore (13:37)
Yeah, well, the one that was perfect for me is the one that broke. So I’ve never got used to the next ones as much as I like that one. But I’m getting there.

Dizzy Skips (13:42)
Okay.

Yeah.

You mentioned a Wate Rope and I think people might think that you’re talking about just a weighted rope, but I think you and I have the same Wate Rope from Mira over at Mira or Mira Wate It’s a blue weight or it’s supposed to be the heaviest beaded rope around, I think. Yeah. Yeah.

Imogen Whatmore (13:58)
Other

Yeah.

in the world, in the world yeah. And I don’t know why I thought I could choose it. It’s really good, it definitely works your arms out.

Dizzy Skips (14:18)
Yeah, it does. And we were talking earlier about the wooden handles on the Wate Rope, which I think is really cool. I actually liked the handles, but they can be brutal.

Imogen Whatmore (14:28)
They’re da- yeah. Very dangerous. I’ve had a- I’ve had a few knocks to the head and a few knocks to the hand. And I wouldn’t rec- Like if you’re not confident, don’t try it with the wooden handles.

Dizzy Skips (14:37)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, totally. Yeah, I did a stupid thing and cut one of my fingers yesterday on my way to going, skipping. And so I had it all wrapped up and inside of a glove and I was skipping with a weighted rope and I knocked it a couple of times and swore, said some bad words.

Imogen Whatmore (15:00)
really painful it’s like swot lump in your throat pain isn’t it when you do it

Dizzy Skips (15:06)
Yeah. But I think one thing that, I’ve observed, and I think you mentioned as well is that the weighted rope, that heavier rope seems to make it a little bit easier to learn some tricks.

Imogen Whatmore (15:19)
definitely, I think the weight of it, you can feel it going round, it just seems to be easier to get the trick maybe, I don’t know. But then you go back to a light rope and you feel like you’re invincible. I think my skills have improved just by practicing with that and then going back to my other rope.

Dizzy Skips (15:33)
I know, right?

Totally, totally. I love that feeling. Like I will scale down. I will start with the weighted beaded rope and then, you know, jump for, I don’t know, 20 minutes or whatever I can stand. And then I’ll switch to one of my lesser beaded ropes and more normal beaded rope and feel like half of Superman and then switch to a speed rope. And you’re right. It’s invincible. Like I can go so fast. It’s fun.

Imogen Whatmore (15:44)
Yeah?

Yeah, I’m going to continue to do it like that because it’s good and you’re getting a proper workout as well.

Dizzy Skips (16:10)
Yeah. Yeah, no kidding. Do you have days when you have trouble being motivated to go jump? Or I know you’ve got a really busy life, so your probably windows for jumping are less than mine.

Imogen Whatmore (16:26)
I mean, it’s definitely hard and now it’s cold and dark. And like, if I’ve been to work and I come home and it’s dark and cold, I’m like, I don’t want to do this. So I do prefer doing it during the day.

Dizzy Skips (16:40)
Yeah, it is harder to be motivated on those days, right?

Imogen Whatmore (16:44)
Yeah, but you do it in all weathers, you’re good.

Dizzy Skips (16:47)
Yeah, I’m not that smart though, Imogen. Not that smart. So speaking of being a mother, you have three kids and you have three kids with special needs.

Imogen Whatmore (17:00)
I do, yeah. They all have autism, is like a neurodivergent disability, should I say? I don’t like saying disability because they are able, but they just find other things challenging what we would find not so challenging. Yeah, so.

Dizzy Skips (17:18)
Right. that autism seems to be a little bit of a spectrum, right? Like you have different levels of intensity or maybe different symptoms depending upon the person.

Imogen Whatmore (17:29)
Yeah, yeah. I mean, yeah, so like, no, no two people with autism are the same. They’ll always be. They have similarities, but they also are like totally different. Like one might one person might suffer with sound like they don’t like this loud noises like it’s painful in their ears or another tech like textures of food. Like no two persons are same, so it’s

Every day is a school day with autism. I’ve lived with it now. My eldest is nine and I’m still learning loads about it. Yeah, it’s… They’ve definitely taught me a lot.

Dizzy Skips (18:06)
Yeah, that’s gotta be such a challenge. Yeah, I bet. And so your two older children are non-verbal, is that right?

Imogen Whatmore (18:17)
right yeah so the the way they communicate is is just by like pictures symbols point it like taking me to things they want but like because I’m with them every day I sort of already know what they want anyway but it’s like I’m trying to teach them to like point out words so then words become words like my eldest

Dizzy Skips (18:34)
Right.

Imogen Whatmore (18:44)
he’ll randomly say a word but he will never say it again so when he says it I’m like woohoo! but then he won’t do it again and then another week will pass and he’ll say another word and I’m like it’s just it’s all there it just doesn’t come out so he knows it just doesn’t come out

Dizzy Skips (19:00)
So interesting. That’s gotta be such a challenge.

Is it common for people that are non-verbal with autism to learn sign language?

Imogen Whatmore (19:05)
It is.

It just depends, because my children have learning disabilities as well, but some other people with autism might be non-verbal, but be really brainy and be able to write and read and spell and everything, just they can’t speak. So it all depends on the individual person.

Dizzy Skips (19:30)
Interesting.

That is so fascinating.

Imogen Whatmore (19:31)
Like, yeah, there’s a book called The Reason I Jump. And if you read that, that’s pretty interesting. It’s about a boy who was nonverbal. And he became verbal when he was older, like in his teens. And he told you what it was like to live nonverbal. He told you exactly how he felt. And it’s amazing. It’s a good read if you’re interested in it.

Dizzy Skips (19:53)
Wow.

That is amazing. That sounds fascinating. So your experience with your autistic children has also sort of influenced your career, or at least you work with autistic people as well, correct?

Imogen Whatmore (20:12)
I do, yeah. So I started off as a hairdresser. I worked in salons for quite a number of years. And then I had my children, took a work break. Because I had like, obviously, when they were getting diagnosed, I had hospital after hospital appointments. So it wasn’t practical for me to go to work anymore. And then once they were a little bit older and I could go back to work,

I decided to go and work in the school with, a little, it was like they’ve built a salon in the school and I teach 16 to 19 year olds to cut hair and to live in the big bad world. Yeah.

Dizzy Skips (20:55)
That’s amazing. So are all of the students learning how to cut hair? Or are some of them learning other skills within the salon?

Imogen Whatmore (21:02)
It just depends what level they’re at. I’ll give everyone the opportunity to learn but some of them will be learning their communication skills just by answering the phone and making appointments. Some will be wanting to do the hair. Some will just be sweeping up, making tea. It’s all about life skills really and preparing them to be independent as possible.

But a lot of the girls do enjoy, and the boys, doing their hair.

Dizzy Skips (21:34)
Yeah, that’s so cool. That must be very rewarding. I know you’ve told me a few funny stories about special, funny things that have happened in the salon as a result of the challenges of autism. And I would love to hear some of those again.

Imogen Whatmore (21:47)
Yeah.

Yeah, a lot of people with autism are quite literal people. So like the sky is blue, like it’s nothing else. So we were doing the headteacher’s hair my first week of work may I add. And we bleached it and it was pure white from from black, like from this colour. And instead of saying,

do you love your hair? It’s like beautiful though like miss your hair’s absolute mess what have we done to you? I was like you don’t say that you don’t say that stop she’s like don’t you like it? yeah

Dizzy Skips (22:34)
Was, so, did you do this lady’s hair and then you got a review from one of the students or the student did the hair?

Imogen Whatmore (22:38)
Well, the truth…

Well, the students did the hair, but like, it was a big change for the head teacher at half. So I was just like, just say you like it. Even if you don’t like it, you just say you like it because she’s gonna cry. She’s like, miss your hair’s a mess. What have we done to you?

Dizzy Skips (23:00)
my gosh, did you fear for your job?

Imogen Whatmore (23:03)
Yeah, I was like, this isn’t going to work, is it? But luckily she’s quite down to earth, so she lets off.

Dizzy Skips (23:11)
my gosh. Yeah. She knew where she was going, right?

Imogen Whatmore (23:15)
Yeah.

Dizzy Skips (23:16)
So can you talk a little bit about the jump rope community and how it’s affected you and how it’s affected your jumping or learning?

Imogen Whatmore (23:23)
I just think, well, to start off, didn’t even know there was a jump rope community. When I started jumping, I was jumping for about six weeks without an Instagram account. And then I thought, I want to progress and I want to watch my progression. my friend was like, make an Instagram, you’ll be famous. was like, all right. So she made my name, Skippy Immy for me.

And then once I made that, like I noticed all these skippers out there. I didn’t know it was that popular. Yeah, and just the like support they give you is unbelievable, isn’t it? I I don’t think I’d be doing it this much or this long without it, to be honest. It’s like. Everyone’s like, yeah, look, look, you’re doing so good and you’re like, I’m going to do it again.

Dizzy Skips (24:13)
Right. Yeah, it is really motivating. Right.

Yeah, yeah, that is amazing. I’ve said before that I have had the same feeling, like just the pats on the back that I’ve got, even when I know my skipping was, you know, pants, has been very encouraging and it makes me want to show up again and again and get better.

Imogen Whatmore (24:32)
Yeah.

Yeah, and I mean, I’ve made so many friends that you’d never meet all around the world. And like before before this Instagram account, I would I’ve never been like a social media person. I never like uploaded things on like Instagram or. And now I’m just like a little whiz making these little reels. I love it.

Dizzy Skips (24:47)
Right?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. How long does it take you to make a reel usually?

Imogen Whatmore (25:07)
It depends. Not like maybe like 20 minutes. don’t know. Sometimes shorter. Just depends. If it’s like if I’ve got the moves in one clip, I’m like it’s done. That’s all I need. But then like there’s been ones where I’ve made like a little story out of it where like you want to show people your fails and your good parts. So that might take a bit longer. And then the hardest part.

Dizzy Skips (25:30)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Imogen Whatmore (25:34)
Like now I don’t do it but before I used to be like what song can I choose? What song can I choose for this? But now I’ll just usually put the song that I’ve listened to the whole time I was skipping I’ll just use that one.

Yeah!

Dizzy Skips (25:46)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Do you try to sync your jumping with the music? Or do you just kind of listen to have something to jump to?

Imogen Whatmore (25:56)
Well, I usually play the same song on repeat while I’m practicing a move and then once I get it, like if I change the song during in the middle of practicing something, I can’t get it no more the trick. So I’ve got to use the same song for some reason. I don’t know if anyone else does that, I keep using the same song until I get the trick down and then then I can do it to others. But if I think, I’m bored of that song now, I’ll try something else.

Dizzy Skips (26:02)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Imogen Whatmore (26:24)
I can’t do the trick anymore. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the speed of the song.

Dizzy Skips (26:27)
Yeah.

So do you unlock the skill and then have trouble moving on to a different song or like once you unlock it, you can move on to a different song and still pull it off?

Imogen Whatmore (26:39)
Like it’s just while I’m practicing it mainly. like sometimes I like do a few skills in a row.

and they don’t match and songs that have to do it to this song or it won’t or I can’t do it. But then after like for the next session, it will be fine. I’ll be able to do it with other songs. But while I’m practicing it, has to be the same song.

Dizzy Skips (27:01)
Okay. No, I have, I guess I haven’t thought of specific skills being tied to songs as much, but definitely paces. know, like some fast songs lend themselves to learning skills that you pull off when you’re jumping faster, I guess.

Imogen Whatmore (27:03)
I’m weird.

Yeah.

I like how you just let loose and just go with the flow. Like, if I do that, I just look stupid. But yours goes with the music, is what I’m saying. Like every little beat you do and every move you make, goes with the song, which is amazing.

Dizzy Skips (27:24)
Yeah. thanks.

I’m sure I look stupid. I have no doubt I look stupid. But I don’t care.

Yeah. I have a, I’ve learned that over time, in fact, it used to make me wonder if I had a mild autism, like if there is music going on, my body will move to the music without me thinking about it. So if I’ve got earphones in, like the main beat, I will walk through the park and my feet just fall in step with it. I don’t even think about it.

Imogen Whatmore (28:09)
Well, it’s kind of funny that you said that because like since my children’s autism diagnosis, like I always often wonder, is it something with me? Like, I definitely think I’m neurodivergent, might not be autism, but could be ADHD. I don’t know, but like I’ve got a lot, a lot of traits my children have as well. And I notice it in other people and I noticed it.

Dizzy Skips (28:26)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Interesting.

Mm-hmm.

Imogen Whatmore (28:39)
a little bit in you but I don’t know I might be wrong but like it’s the music it’s like the hype like you love music just as much as I love music.

Dizzy Skips (28:42)
Yeah, no.

Yeah. Yeah, I feel like I feel it. you know, some people listen to it, but I feel it.

Imogen Whatmore (28:51)
and like.

Yeah, like you feel it.

Yeah, I feel it. Every song likes sad, happy, make you feel it.

Dizzy Skips (28:59)
Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, I think I posted a video, was it last night or the night before, me jumping in the park to that song, Lose You Now. And the first time I jumped to that song, I mean, I don’t know about you. Do you ever have it happen while you’re jumping and you’re listening to a song, you get a really intense emotion or like you really feel something extra?

Imogen Whatmore (29:07)
E?

Well, only dance, I only skip to like upbeat songs so I wouldn’t get sad while I’m But when you put that song I was like, my God, I’m crying. I’ve never even heard the song before. And I kept watching it and thinking, it’s so good.

Dizzy Skips (29:34)
Okay. Not the depressing shit that I listen to.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Imogen Whatmore (29:50)
Even like the backdrop you put in it’s like a music video. Like that video you put on, it yesterday? It’s like, it’s like, it’s like a movie. The silhouette and the song.

Dizzy Skips (29:55)
Yeah.

Yeah. Someone said that in the comments was like, I thought this was a movie. That was a very nice comment.

Imogen Whatmore (30:05)
Honestly, it does- that’s what it looks like.

Dizzy Skips (30:08)
Yeah. Yeah, I’ve had that happen a bunch of times. it’s like, I had a friend or I have a friend who is a massage therapist and he also did Reiki work and energy work kind of stuff. And one time when I went to get a massage from him, he said, you know, it’s okay if you cry or if you have strong emotions that come up during this, cause that’s…

Imogen Whatmore (30:09)
Yeah.

Dizzy Skips (30:32)
part of releasing tension and stuff in your body. And so I’ve wondered if maybe that’s what happens to me when I’m jumping sometimes, but it’s not uncommon for me to be listening to a song like that. And then I think of my father or I think of some other situation and it just gets intense. And the one video I have of me actually throwing my rope was me listening to that song and feeling like, you

Imogen Whatmore (30:40)
It’s like a release.

Yeah.

That’s me.

And yeah, and it’s funny because I knew straight away that you were upset when I saw that video. I was like, I just knew because I would be as well. Like, yeah, sometimes like you can feel this is this might be weird, but sometimes if I’m feeling sad, I’ll put sad music on to get my cry out. Then I’m all right.

Dizzy Skips (31:07)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I have done that myself. Like, all right, I gotta vent this shit. I gotta get it out.

Imogen Whatmore (31:25)
Yeah.

Dizzy Skips (31:27)
So what are these skills or tricks? Yeah, right. Then you totally have to put the black eyed peas on and get moving.

Imogen Whatmore (31:27)
but then you’ve got a possum.

Yeah, yeah, and then you’re all right.

Dizzy Skips (31:38)
Yeah, that’s right. Pick me back up. I’m curious, Imogen, what are the skills or tricks that you’ve learned that you’re most proud of?

Imogen Whatmore (31:45)
Well, probably most proud of the crossover because if it wasn’t for the crossover, the first trick I ever learnt, I wouldn’t keep going. That was the first trick I learnt and I thought, wow, look how good this is. And I was showing everyone and then it just progressed from there. But I would also like the double under is a hard one. Once you get that, you feel like, what? Like this is so good.

Dizzy Skips (32:10)
Yeah.

Imogen Whatmore (32:10)
But it’s so hard to get again. I’m still not that like.

Dizzy Skips (32:12)
Yeah, I’ve had it happen a few times where I’ve been jumping and I’ve just like, all right, I’m gonna try it and pull it off and then try it again on the next song and whack myself in the shins till I lose my breath.

Imogen Whatmore (32:23)
Yeah.

When I skip on my driveway, the neighbours always see me, because I’ve got these on, I can’t hear them. And I’m like, do do, do do, on my knee, trying to practise the two beats, like do do. And I take these, I’m like, what am I doing? And I look around, there’s people walking by. What is she doing?

Dizzy Skips (32:35)
Yeah.

Yeah, I totally do that too. And sometimes like I know I will hum. know sometimes I like mouth words and sometimes I will purposefully like sing a verse because I want to be able to watch the video later and go, yeah, I was listening to that song because I don’t always mark it or don’t always remember. But yeah, I’ve had it happen several times where

Imogen Whatmore (33:03)
Yeah, at that time.

Dizzy Skips (33:10)
I go back and watch a video and realize, I was actually quite loud there. Like I was singing like I was on stage.

Imogen Whatmore (33:17)
Yeah, I do it all the time. Yeah, I think my neighbours are used to it now though.

Dizzy Skips (33:21)
I, yeah, the one that made me laugh so hard was I went to the Mall of America and I had my earphones in and I was listening to the Soundgarden song and there’s a line in it that’s like, drop the blade, watch the rolling heads and I was singing along to it and I didn’t realize I was singing along and this mother who is with her child walking through the door in front of me stopped and looked back at me and I was, maybe.

Imogen Whatmore (33:49)
Like,

Dizzy Skips (33:51)
Yeah, sorry I didn’t mean the violent stuff around your children.

Imogen Whatmore (33:55)
I did that before, I started running, it didn’t last long because I broke two toenails and busted my knee. But I remember when I was running and my knee gave way and I was like, I swore, was like, f***. And then I looked up and this man was cleaning his car and was like, are you alright? I was like, ehh. I did not hear myself say that. Look at my leg.

Dizzy Skips (34:10)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. I’ve, I have done that several times where I’ve sworn and then looked up and seen people that.

Imogen Whatmore (34:28)
But he was like, keep going. So luckily he was all right.

Dizzy Skips (34:34)
So how do you break toenails running? I’ve never heard of that.

Imogen Whatmore (34:37)
honest I’m not really I’m not really a runner I must have had the wrong trainers but I was running like 20 minutes or so come back I was like my toe is sore so come come like took my shoe off I was like my god the black and like my toenail whole toenail was black and then a month later they fell off yeah running’s not good

Dizzy Skips (34:43)
Hahaha.

my gosh. That’s no fun. Jump rope is way more fun.

Imogen Whatmore (35:06)
It is, yeah.

Dizzy Skips (35:08)
No.

It’s funny, there’s a guy I run into sometimes when I’m jumping at the park on this limestone bench named Nathan and he and his dog run through the park. Super nice guy and he stopped and talked to me before.

And at one point he was walking through the park with his wife and they stop and talk to me and she asked if I was dizzy skips. And I said, yeah. And she said, well, I saw your sticker on your car. I’m going to follow you. And so I saw later that day they both followed me and liked one video and it was a video where he was in it. He and his dog are running by and I can’t, I think it was like a Jay Z or a Beyonce song. was jumping too, but in the background he runs by and he

waves to me and then I throw up the horns to him.

Imogen Whatmore (35:54)
I remember that one. Yeah. That’s good that they recognised you as well.

Dizzy Skips (35:58)
funny.

I know it’s funny. So what advice do you have for people who are just starting out or thinking of jumping?

Imogen Whatmore (36:07)
I would say be patient because it doesn’t happen overnight. Well, it for some people, it doesn’t really happen overnight. And just to keep going and do it little and often to start off with. Because I remember when I first started, because you’re that excited, like you just want to go out there and do it every day. And for hours, I sprained my foot and that put me out for about four to five weeks.

I was gutted so I definitely take it easy and if you think you’ve overdone it you probably have overdone it so yeah.

Dizzy Skips (36:46)
Yeah, I think that’s great advice. I totally did the same thing.

Imogen Whatmore (36:47)
But yeah, the most important thing is to have fun with it and don’t let it stress you out.

Dizzy Skips (36:57)
Yeah, right. Yeah, I totally agree. I don’t know, I’ve got another reel or not real, but another B-side of a podcast to release with Aaron, and I think it was during that one where we talked about his angry skipping, like how he, like when he’s skipping, he’s so very serious and he uses anger to motivate himself, and I thought that was so funny to me because I,

I’m the opposite of that. Like, I don’t want to be angry while I’m skipping. I want to be having fun, you know.

Imogen Whatmore (37:30)
I mean I have got angry a couple of times but I try I try not to. It’s like it’s it’s supposed to be fun so make it fun and it’s not a competition either like if you see someone online doing something way better than you like they’ve probably spent ages practicing that so it’s like you’ll get there eventually.

Dizzy Skips (37:35)
Sure. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, I think that’s good advice. I noticed that…

You know, my self-talk isn’t always positive. And sometimes when I’ve watched videos of people on Instagram that are doing something so well, there’s like this lady I watch who does releases like magic. And actually there’s a bunch of people I watch that do releases like magic. But when I see that, my brain says, you’ll never get like that. What they’re doing is magic. It is separate. It is special. And what I’ve learned is that that stuff isn’t really magic. It’s just, it takes time and practice.

All right, so when you work out hard, do you have cravings at all? Do you have guilty pleasures? Like food-wise, I’m…

Imogen Whatmore (38:35)
chocolate. I’m a chocoholic. I need a packet in.

Dizzy Skips (38:37)
Chocolate.

You are.

Any specific type of chocolate? Like are you a dark chocolate girl?

Imogen Whatmore (38:48)
I do like any chocolate to be honest but probably dark and galaxy anything like that but I do eat quite healthy it’s just I probably eat chocolate every day at least a little bit yeah yeah do a lot I follow

Dizzy Skips (38:55)
Yeah? Nice.

Do you cook a lot?

What are your favorite things to cook?

Imogen Whatmore (39:13)
I do a lot in the slow cooker, obviously it saves a lot of time so I follow this man called Bored of Lunch and he’s got loads of I think I’ve done nearly all of his recipes but yeah I follow a lot of food accounts on Instagram.

Dizzy Skips (39:29)
Cool.

Imogen Whatmore (39:30)
Yeah.

Dizzy Skips (39:32)
I love cooking. slow cooker stuff like stews, soups, chili, stuff like that.

Imogen Whatmore (39:37)
Yeah, he does stuff that you wouldn’t even think to put in the slow cooker like pasta dishes, spaghetti bolognaise, that’s one of my favorites. What else? There’s like a Christmas stew he does and it’s got cranberries in it and stuff and it’s really nice.

Dizzy Skips (39:45)
Okay.

I love spaghetti.

All right, now I’m hungry. Yeah, I wrote it down.

Imogen Whatmore (40:01)
You need to check him out. Bored of lunch. It does air fryer meals as well. Yeah.

Dizzy Skips (40:07)
Board of lunch. I will look up. I have an air fryer and that’s been really, it’s great for like, you know, being single and putting in just enough for one person works really well. One of my guilty pleasures is those. Go ahead, sorry.

Imogen Whatmore (40:22)
My kids, they all eat.

Yeah, my, my, like my kids eat different, like every one of them will want a different meal every night. So like it’s dead hard to find a meal that they all will eat. So like I’ll do. Yeah, they definitely are like my youngest will only eat dry, cold stuff like you eat fruit and veg, just it has to be cold. But you won’t, wouldn’t eat like a lasagna or.

Dizzy Skips (40:39)
Are they picky eaters?

you

Imogen Whatmore (40:55)
hot meal. Yeah so they’re all but then my other two would so it’s hard to like find some I bet most parents are in the same boat with that though because kids are fussy.

Dizzy Skips (40:57)
Interesting.

Yeah, I have three nephews that are, they amaze me with how…

I was gonna say fussy, they’re very particular about their food. Especially my youngest nephew, if the crust is cut off his peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the wrong way, he won’t touch it. Yeah.

Imogen Whatmore (41:25)
Yeah, that’s my kids.

But like, my youngest, if I give him a biscuit and it’s broke, he won’t eat it. He has to have it whole.

Dizzy Skips (41:32)
Yeah. Yeah, that’s totally my nephew too. Like if, if you have to watch what you say around him too, like the other day.

He, I think he was over at my stepmom’s house, his grandma’s house, and he wanted a cracker, a, know, cinnamon cracker or something. And so his mom went to get him out of the cabinet and noticed that they were older. They were expired or something like that and said, mom, these are older. And shh, don’t say that. Like he won’t eat them. It’s funny. I, when I was a kid, that was just not an option to be that fussy. Like, you know.

Imogen Whatmore (42:09)
I suppose no, but I’m quite like that. But like I’ll get a food I like and then that’s all I’ll eat for like a week until I’m sick of it and then I’ll move on to something else.

Dizzy Skips (42:20)
Yeah. Yeah. So what’s, what was your latest food obsession? Like the last time you did that, what was it?

Imogen Whatmore (42:26)
Like, I keep making this sandwich and it’s cheese with chilli jam and lettuce. Like cheese and chilli. Yeah, I like a bit of spice. So, yeah, you need to try a cheese and chilli jam with salad sandwich.

Dizzy Skips (42:34)
Chili jam sounds wonderful. Is it spicy?

Nice. Me too. my gosh, I love spice.

Chili Jam. Wow, that sounds fantastic. So, Imogen, I really appreciate you coming on and talking to me. This has been so fun. I just think the world of you and I love watching you skip. You’re an amazing skipper. I think you have to take beginner off of your tagline on Instagram. It says Jump Rope Beginner, but I am, I just think you’re a rock star. And so.

Imogen Whatmore (43:12)
Thank you.

Dizzy Skips (43:14)
Yeah, you should put expert in there.

Imogen Whatmore (43:17)
I’ll think of something. Thanks for having me anyway, thanks for having me. It’s been good. I’ve never did anything like this before.

Dizzy Skips (43:20)
Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, well, this is my first time running a podcast and it’s been a lot of fun. And I’ve had such good feedback from people in the community who, like me, love to learn about other people in the community and get a little bit more of a glimpse into their lives.

Imogen Whatmore (43:40)
I’ve listened to all of your podcasts, I like them, they are good. It’s good being nosy.

Dizzy Skips (43:47)
Well, thank you so much.

Yeah, yeah, well, it’s just, it is tough on Instagram where you’ve got such little time in your interactions with people to learn. It takes time to get to know people. So I just think it’s fun to be able to talk to folks like you and.

Imogen Whatmore (43:49)
Thank you.

Yeah.

this.

Well, I hope I’ve done all right.

Dizzy Skips (44:06)
I really appreciate your time and you’ve done perfectly. Yeah, this is wonderful. And you’ll have to come back on. We’ll have to, I think I’ve joked, but we’ll have to do this. We’ll have to have like a British panel here. There’s so many great skippers in your area and I, so many friends we can have a like panel jump or something.

Imogen Whatmore (44:21)
See you.

Yeah, I’ve yet to find anyone where I live, but I know there’s a lot in the UK. Yeah. There’s no.

Dizzy Skips (44:33)
Yeah. Yeah. I haven’t found anyone yet. I’ve made, I make jump ropes and I’ve given several away to local people in hopes that they would like come jump with me, but they they’re like, yeah, this is really cool. And

Imogen Whatmore (44:43)
Yeah. When I’m jumping, I’m like, there’s somewhere, someone in the world jumping around like me. But they’re not here.

Dizzy Skips (44:52)
Yep, yeah, that’s right. Yeah, there’s people all over the place. can’t, in fact, I was looking at the stats on this podcast on the Spotify for Creators app, and it’s interesting to see all of the different countries that people are listening from. I think UK is number three, US is number one, I think UK is number three, and…

Imogen Whatmore (45:12)
Yeah.

Dizzy Skips (45:18)
but like places in Africa and India and all over the place. It’s just so cool to have this insanely widespread jump rope community that’s all about making each other better.

Imogen Whatmore (45:26)
Yeah.

Well, I feel privileged to be a part of it. Thanks for having me.

Dizzy Skips (45:35)
Yeah, yeah. Thank you so much Imogen.