Kim Meylemans
Founder, Travel Atelier
“I spent my career going to places most people only dream about. I decided to take people with me.”
- 2011
Discovering Skeleton
At just 13 years old, a young Kim from Belgium discovers the sport of skeleton — and is immediately captivated. With almost no infrastructure for the sport in her country, she decides to pursue it anyway.
- 2014
Representing Belgium
Kim chooses to race for Belgium, becoming the driving force behind building a skeleton programme from nothing.
- 2018
Pyeongchang Olympics
First Belgian skeleton athlete ever to compete at the Olympic Games. A historic result for a nation with no skeleton tradition.
- 2022
Beijing — The Fight
Placed in quarantine isolation, separated from her team, equipment, and coach. No support system. She competed anyway. This is the story that defines Travel Atelier.
- 2024
European Champion
First Belgian skeleton athlete to win the European Championship title.
- 2024
World Championship Silver
First Belgian World Championship medallist in skeleton history. Winterberg.
- 2025
#1 in the World
World Cup Overall Winner — the sport's highest season honour. Kim becomes the #1 ranked skeleton athlete on the planet.
- 2026
Milano-Cortina Olympics · Travel Atelier
Representing Belgium at her third Olympic Games, and founding Travel Atelier — bringing the same passion, discipline, and global perspective to luxury travel.
- 2011
Discovering Skeleton
At just 13 years old, a young Kim from Belgium discovers the sport of skeleton — and is immediately captivated. With almost no infrastructure for the sport in her country, she decides to pursue it anyway.
- 2014
Representing Belgium
Kim chooses to race for Belgium, becoming the driving force behind building a skeleton programme from nothing.
- 2018
Pyeongchang Olympics
First Belgian skeleton athlete ever to compete at the Olympic Games. A historic result for a nation with no skeleton tradition.
- 2022
Beijing — The Fight
Placed in quarantine isolation, separated from her team, equipment, and coach. No support system. She competed anyway. This is the story that defines Travel Atelier.
- 2024
European Champion
First Belgian skeleton athlete to win the European Championship title.
- 2024
World Championship Silver
First Belgian World Championship medallist in skeleton history. Winterberg.
- 2025
#1 in the World
World Cup Overall Winner — the sport's highest season honour. Kim becomes the #1 ranked skeleton athlete on the planet.
- 2026
Milano-Cortina Olympics · Travel Atelier
Representing Belgium at her third Olympic Games, and founding Travel Atelier — bringing the same passion, discipline, and global perspective to luxury travel.
In January 2022, three weeks before the Beijing Winter Olympics, Kim Meylemans tested positive for COVID-19. She was immediately transferred to a government isolation facility — not the Olympic Village, not her team hotel. A concrete room with a bed, a phone, and no way out.
For days, she had no contact with her coach, no access to her equipment, no support from the national federation. The Olympic bureaucracy had placed her in a facility that no other athlete was using. She was, by every measure, alone. So she did what champions do: she documented everything, posted it publicly, and refused to accept the situation as final.
“When they took me past the Olympic Village, I refused to give up. I found a way. I always do.”
Within 48 hours of her videos going viral, the IOC intervened. She was transferred to the Olympic Village. She had a day to acclimatise. She strapped on her helmet, lay down on her sled, and pushed. She didn't medal — but she raced. And she raced knowing she had fought for the right to be there.
That quality — the refusal to accept an unacceptable situation, the willingness to advocate loudly and clearly for what is right — is not incidental to Travel Atelier. It is the entire point. When something goes wrong with your journey, which it sometimes will, you want someone in your corner who has proven, on the world stage, that they don't give up.
That's the promise I bring to every journey I build for you.
Precision
There is no second place on ice. There are none in travel either. Every detail of your journey is held to the standard that wins championships.
Authenticity
Being true to myself improved my performance on ice. The same principle applies to every journey I design — built around who you are, not a template of who we think you should be.
Advocacy
If something goes wrong, I don't accept it. I fight until it's right. Every client of Travel Atelier has a champion in their corner.
Beyond the sport.
Kim lives in Calgary, Alberta, a city she first moved to for her wife Nicole, a nurse at the Alberta Children's Hospital. Over time, Calgary has truly become home — not only because of the incredible access to the mountains, but also because of its vibrant community of athletes who understand what it means to fully commit to a passion.
Outside of travel and sport, Kim values community and giving back. She volunteers whenever she can with organizations such as Brown Bagging for Calgary's Kids and KidSport Calgary, supporting initiatives that help children and families access the opportunities they deserve.
She is also an advocate. As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, Kim has spoken publicly about authenticity and performance — the belief that being fully yourself isn't a distraction from excellence, but often the source of it. That same philosophy shapes The Travel Atelier, where every journey is designed with intention, openness, and a deep appreciation for meaningful experiences.
