Now here’s something you don’t see every day — a Sports Illustrated cover model trading her runway heels for waterproof boots and hauling lobster traps at dawn. But that’s exactly what Kathy Ireland is doing, and she’s not dipping her toe in the water. She’s all in.
At 62, Ireland is showing everyone that reinvention isn’t just possible — it’s powerful. In a world where so many cling to titles from decades ago, she’s charging into uncharted territory with a commercial fishing license in hand and a spot on the crew of the 4th Watch, a vessel captained by none other than her husband, Dr. Greg Olsen. That’s right — a former ER doctor turned full-time fisherman. And now, he’s got his wife pulling traps and working the rails with him.
What started as a curiosity turned into a full-on lifestyle pivot. “I’ve always wanted to go out with him,” she said, and when the opportunity finally lined up, she jumped at it.
It’s not some novelty Instagram moment — she’s out there learning knots, lifting 360-pound traps, scraping kelp, and getting bruised, sore, and salt-soaked. The job is grueling, and she’ll be the first to tell you it’s nothing like the glamor of photoshoots.
But this isn’t a departure from who she is — it’s more like a return to her roots. She grew up fishing and camping, and now she’s back in that world, trading conference rooms for the wide open sea, where the lessons hit harder and the stakes are real.
And somehow, through all the grit and backbreaking work, she’s found new insight into the business world she’s been conquering since launching kiWW in 1993 — a brand that, by the way, brought in over $3 billion in retail sales just a few years ago.
What’s fascinating is how seamlessly she connects both worlds. Business? It’s about precision, alertness, and pivoting when the tides shift. Fishing? Same rules apply.
Miss a detail and you lose your trap. Lose focus and the ocean reminds you why it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s not just a physical job — it’s mental, emotional, and deeply humbling. Ireland even joked that she prefers ocean sharks over corporate ones — and after decades in the boardroom, she’s earned that comparison.
And then there’s the teamwork. She and Olsen, married since 1988, are working together for the first time — and by all accounts, they’ve found their rhythm. Early mornings, late nights, cleaning gear, and running the operation with that kind of synced-up, unspoken coordination that only comes from years of shared experience. “It feels like a dance,” she said. And you can just imagine them, side by side, moving trap to trap in a kind of quiet choreography forged by time and tide.
The runway might have introduced the world to Kathy Ireland, but the ocean is giving us a new version — one that’s tougher, wiser, and completely unafraid to get her hands dirty. And honestly? It suits her.
