Having had a long, successful career as a professional indoor volleyball player, Alix Klineman is now taking the beach volleyball world by storm. We sat down with the athlete and artist to talk new routines, taking calculated risks, and her love of photography. Join us as she walks us through changing her path instead of changing her dreams.
How this athlete pivoted without losing sight of her dreams.
Alix Klineman is from Manhattan Beach, California, and has traveled the world playing indoor and beach volleyball. “It’s almost this therapeutic thing. Everywhere we go, the sand is different. It feels very much a part of, like, where I’m from and where I live and where I train.” We caught up with her in Hermosa Beach, not far from her childhood home, nor the sand.
Klineman had an incredibly successful indoor volleyball career before switching to beach volleyball in 2017, which provided her with new goals along with new challenges. “I was just injured right and left… I found myself super beat up, I was really injured and at a point where I was like ‘I need to figure something else out.” So she switched up her training and began working with a new team. A team that understood that at 6’5” and with “a lot of miles on her body” at age 31, she needed more specialized attention. The results? “I probably feel healthier than I’ve felt in years.”
"I’m a very Capricorn Capricorn,” she tells us. A natural leader, Alix says she's known to dominate group projects, act responsibly, take little to no risks, and rarely allows her emotions to come to the surface. In following her career, one can see how all of these attributes have played a crucial role to Alix’s success in her sport. Her ability to pivot when things weren’t going her way wasn’t out of weakness, but careful planning and taking steps to achieve her goals.
I’m not just looking forward to being on the podium… I love the day to day and the struggles. When I think of winning, it’s not just that final moment at the end; it’s everything leading up to that.
When asked if those goals always mean winning, Alix responds, “I’m not just looking forward to being on the podium… I love the day to day and the struggles. When I think of winning, it’s not just that final moment at the end; it’s everything leading up to that.” How else have sports impacted Alix? They were a safe haven for her as a young girl, “I was younger than everybody but I was taller than everybody. I was for sure insecure about it.” On the court, Alix tells us she excelled and was able to forget about not fitting in. “I’ve grown to appreciate [my height], but it’s not my favorite thing when that’s what [people] make the conversation about… I’m so much more than my height.”
Alix’s other interests include cooking, traveling, and photography, which she majored in in college. “Initially at Stanford I started studying political science but I was cramming in art classes.” With her father’s blessing, she switched her major. “As I started traveling more, it seemed really natural to just take my camera with me and capture things in the way that I see these places.” She credits being invested in these non-athletic hobbies for making her a stronger athlete. “When I feel that joy from things outside of volleyball, the better I end up being when I show up to the court.”
When I feel that joy from things outside of volleyball, the better I end up being when I show up to the court.
When asked what her message would be to her younger self, Alix tells us she struggled with not being able to see the bigger picture because she was so focused on being a fierce competitor. “Now I have more self-confidence and I know what works for me and what I like, so it doesn’t have to be what works for someone else.” Throughout the twists and turns of her career, Alix has learned that the key is to follow her own path and do what feels true to herself. This includes navigating failures, which she often associates with her indoor volleyball career. After taking a step back and taking a creative risk in the face of this hardship, Alix switched to beach volleyball. Where she really started to succeed. “I’m really grateful because I feel like I’ve been able to start my athletic journey over and rewrite it the way I want it to turn out.”
Her motto? “Don’t let anybody tell you no. If you have conviction, that’s so much stronger than what anybody else thinks. I have found this path where I feel like I have so much belief and I feel like that’s carried me so far… If you believe you can do something, don’t let anybody else tell you not to or tell you that you can’t do it.”
‘Taking 5 With’ is an all-new video series profiling athletes redefining what it means to be a woman in sport. The episodes curate intimate portraits of athletes who have found their flow state by being true to themselves.