Olympic-Level Styling x Monica Aksamit

After winning the bronze medal in fencing at the 2016 Olympics, I'm now exploring the role of content creation. I am also a dog mom of 2! I rescue dogs in my spare time, particularly, during my travels. In total, I’ve visited 42 countries.

Fencing was kind of an accident, to be honest. My first fencing coach was a client at the bank where my mom worked. He told her that fencing could offer great scholarship opportunities for me. My mom, being an immigrant in this country, became interested. I was introduced, and I fell in love instantly. I was allowed to hit kids, something that everyone else gets in trouble for!

Being a medalist was never my primary goal, but it was certainly something I always dreamed of. The Olympics became my goal in 2004 when I watched the Olympics in Athens, Greece. Watching my Rio teammate Mariel Zagunis winning the first-ever gold medal for Women’s Sabre inspired me. That was when I declared to my grandparents that I, too, wanted to compete in the Olympics.

Education is very important to me because I believe understanding our history is crucial to avoid repeating it. Additionally, I love learning new languages. I am already fluent in Polish and English, and I used to be nearly fluent in Spanish when I used it regularly. I intend to re-learn Spanish and perhaps even pick up a new language.

Qualifying for the Olympics was absolutely my hardest challenge. There were so many obstacles, with finances being the biggest one. I had to fundraise in order to afford traveling, visas, equipment, and training. I was working as a fencing coach, refereeing, and doing small modeling gigs to make ends meet. Additionally, there are a lot of politics in the sport that make qualifying tougher than necessary. The major achievement, I believe, is officially qualifying. It was something I had been working towards since the age of 14. I made a lot of sacrifices for it to happen. There were many moments when I thought about quitting. Despite all the ups and downs, I kept pushing. I dedicated myself entirely.

I have always loved traveling and experiencing different cultures and cuisines. I think it changes your outlook and gives you a different perspective. As mentioned previously, I have also started rescuing dogs on my travels, which kind of just started by accident when I rescued and adopted my dog, Oro, in Peru.

I was born in New York City, so it has had an impact on me from day one. It’s a city that's simultaneously overwhelming and inspiring…I do believe it has spoiled me, as the variety of restaurants we have in NYC is incredible.

This is such a tough question because I think my style is all over the place! At times I like to dress edgy, and other times I love a classic look. Fun fact—I was struggling with this question, so I asked my Instagram followers how they see my style. The answers I got most were “sculptural” and “elegant.” I can’t say that I’m mad about that description though I don’t think I would have picked these adjectives myself!

A pair of white sneakers! I love walking, especially in New York City, where walking everywhere is an essential part of your day-to-day life. At the same time, I want to stay stylish while always being on the move. A pair of white sneakers can be worn in so many different ways and is so timeless and classic that I can’t live without them.

This is honestly very tough as I obviously love a lot of my Marcella pieces. If I really have to pick one, I would have to say the Cara Top. It's a nice spin on the classic turtleneck. It's a little sexier with the mesh and I'm just a sucker for turtlenecks.