22. Fit & Abel's Dan Abel on building trust, water confidence, and swim adventures

Dan Abel is a former competitive swimmer, an ultra-marathon swimmer (including the English Channel and Cook Strait), and the founder of swim company Fit & Abel , which offers pool and open water swim coaching, swim safety and accessibility advice, and 'RealSwim Adventures' in NZ's South Island. With a lifelong history of swimming Dan brings a lot of passion and dedication to his role, with a strong belief in giving people not just technical swim skills but also "environmental confidence" – the ability to enjoy swimming outdoors in nature. In this episode we talk about: Dan's career path including working in the RNZ Air Force, his association with SwimTrek, coaching in a London lido (an unheated outdoor pool), and founding Fit & Abel in 2011. The importance of encouragement, communication, and understanding people's reasons for wanting to swim (or why they might be afraid to swim). Giving people the ability to swim outdoors, connect with nature, form friendships, and have fun. Putting the focus on health and wellbeing – looking after ourselves and other people. Avoiding the 'what next?' swim checklist and enjoying the journey. The power of the language we use when it comes to swimming. Creating a more positive and consistent framework around safe swimming in NZ. Advocating for clean waterways. The books mentioned by Dan: Lynne Cox’s 'Swimming to Antarctica', Terry Laughlin’s 'Total Immersion', 'Plastic Ocean' by Charles Moore, 'A History of Open-Water Marathon Swimming' by Timothy M Johnson, 'Swim Smooth' by Paul Newsome. * Support the podcast via Patreon.com/SwimChats Follow Swim Chats on Instagram Hit 'Follow' so you don't miss an episode. Thanks for listening!