Social Kick • Swim Culture & Stories

Over 300,000 people a year die from drowning globally, mostly in developing countries. 3500 Americans a year die from drowning, mostly from low to middle income and black and brown communities. Contributors factors: access to pools and other bodies of water, fear of water, cost of learn to swim programs. Our guest in this episode, is on a mission to change those stats, and by the way, leave it to...

Tudo Bem to Brazilian swimming royalty, with 4-time Olympic medalist, World, and NCAA champion Gustavo Borges and his son, University of Michigan sprinter Gus Borges. For those who may not have followed swimming in the early 90s, Gustavo Borges was one of the best swimmers in the world. In his first Olympics he came 2nd to Popov in 92 in the 100free, and backed it up 4yrs later in Atlanta with a b...

Do you ever watch a really fast swimmer and think “wow, how do they do that?” In this episode, we get to talk to one of them. Coleman Stewart. He’s one of the best underwater kickers in the world, proven as an NCAA champion in the 100 backstroke, and from recently stacking up backstroke wins this past season in the International Swim League. It’s no wonder Jason Lezak texted him the night the NCAA...

Triple World Champion Marco Koch tore up Season 2 of the ISL. He is a favorite to win the 200 Breast Olympic Gold Medal based on his recent form. Or is he? This is a packed event, but also an event waiting for that break through. What is Marco doing to be that star in Tokyo?

Swimming has a diversity problem, so we spent some time getting Giles's perspective on how to bring the black and brown communities into swimming, addressing pool access and water safety, while also hearing about the historical swimmers of color that have inspired Giles and countless others to dream. Giles is proof that sports don’t have to define you – he works in real estate, but he’s found the...

The Queen B herself, our guest today is LA Current Superstar and French National Teamer Beryl Gastaldello. You know her as one of the most versatile swimmers on the planet. After bursting onto the world scene with her breakthrough 2019 season in the International Swim League, Beryl came back in 2020 to one up herself and put the world on notice with a dominant season culminating with a 4th place o...

Pure speed with the masters of sprinting: Gary Hall Jr. and Ato Boldon. ‘The Godfather’ of swimming, Gary Hall Jr. is a ten-time Olympic medalist and former world record holder. Known for his performative techniques on deck, he considers what it takes to be a sprinter and his views on how to enjoy time as a professional athlete. Ato Boldon is a four-time Olympic medal winner and former Athletics W...

2021 kicks off with youth and speed. We can’t wait to share how this young man is growing our sport, encouraging kids younger and kids of lower rankings to keep at it despite what is thrown at them. We talk about the struggle with Covid and maintaining confidence throughout, and about his race and how it contributes to swimming. Nathan Adrian, Cullen Jones- better be following David as he is about...

Caroline Burckle reached the highest levels in swimming: NCAA champion, Olympic bronze medalist (2008 – 800free relay). But it’s what she’s building outside the pool that may outshine her swimming career. Together with fellow Olympian Rebecca Soni, Burckle runs Rise-Athletes, a mentorship platform where professional athletes work 1:1 with young athletes on mindset development and mental health ski...

While James Gibson is currently known for his leadership of the Energy Standard professional swim team, he’s also a former World Champion (2003 – 50BR) and Olympic Finalist (2004 – 100BR). His training squad is not only one of the very few elite teams of professional swimmers in the world, they do something no other pro team does: they practice and compete together as one team. Sounds simple, but...

2x World Champion and Olympic Bronze medalist Kylie Masse joins us from her base in Toronto as she gets back into Olympic training following her second ISL season and first as team captain of the expansion squad, Toronto Titans. Is the 100 backstroke the deepest, most competitive event in women's swimming? What does it take to win back to back world titles, and prep for the Olympics with a target...

DC Trident coach and Olympic multi-medalist Kaitlin Sandeno joins us for a virtual hangout. How much would she give up to get Dressel on her team? "Everyone." Kaitlin gives us the inside scoop on how the idea of a league was kicked around in swimming circles before finally coming to fruition, how she got involved as a GM, and what life is like at the helm of a professional swimming team. Kaitlin s...

Longtime UCLA Women’s Head Coach and DC Trident Head Coach Cyndi Gallagher joins the guys fresh on the heels of ISL Season 2 to give her take on the impact of the rules changes and how the timing of the ISL league releasing these changes impacted teams (it was AFTER rosters were finalized!). We get into all sorts of ISL topics: recruiting and a potential draft, lineup strategy, free agency losses...

The Social Kick guys are joined by swim nerds from around the globe to discuss the Grand Final of ISL Season 2 and reflect on the the league overall after two full seasons in the books. No punches are pulled. We prefer laughs aplenty and opinions raw. You don’t want to miss this one!

This is a guy you want to sit next to on the pool deck to listen to him talk. Olympic bronze medalist as a swimmer who went on to develop multiple Olympic gold medalists as a coach. He's worked with or swam for some of the biggest names in swimming history, and when it's all said and done, his may outshine them all. Sergio has a story about everything, and we were lucky to share a conversation wit...

Fresh off his stellar 2nd season with the DC Trident, Zach Apple joins us and gives his take on season 2, the bubble, how much money he made, feelings about knocking our 45-second 100 freestyles, playing poker with Chad le Clos, and how to make the ISL more exciting for the average sports fan. 'Zapple' then brings us through his incredible rise as he only started swimming consistently while in hig...

After 2 matches and 4 great days of racing in Budapest, we get together to discuss a few things that stood out. Jackpots. Who faded the worst. Standout swims. Disappointing swims. Best Performance. Lose the 400s? Lose a relay? Diversity. Money.  Finally, we look at Latin American swimming with two guests on Instagram Live. One is Lane Four Podcast and the other a former Mexican swimmer.

Legendary coach and former World Class swimmer Byron MacDonald joins the show. We talk about his swimming, his long reign as University of Toronto coach, give a lovely recap of the History of Canadian swimming and then we jump into the ISL and Toronto Titans as he serves as the Head Coach?  We run through the roster and look forward to the month of training, racing and circumstances the athletes w...

Hall of Fame swimmer and 3-time Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines joins the show! We talk about how COVID is affecting student-athletes who have trained their entire lives to play a sport only to now be sidelined and/or lose out on scholarships? We address the financial, professional and mental health repercussions, as well as the long-term effects on sports in general. We also get into the delay...

Scottsdale Aquatic Club and ISL team DC Trident's Bob Platt joins the show to talk about the 2020 edition of the International Swimming League.   Bob talks about the upcoming camp and meets in Budapest, his team's philosophy and the make up of the roster and coaching staff.  Check it out for a wonderful and humorous insight to the ISL and DC trident in particular!

Former USA National team swimmer turned record breaking marathon swimmer Catherine Breed attempts to swim across Monterey Bay, California. A 25 mile crossing, in 56 F water known for Orcas, Great Whites and Jelly Fish. She decided to leave at 9pm with no moonlight. Why? What goes into her preparation? What is it like to be there with her before? As she stands at the start? The guys are on location...

Bitten by a shark and kept swimming? For 11 more hours, then found the tooth in your hip?! Swam the Ice Mile, voluntarily?! All these stories and more by legendary Kiwi Marathon Swimmer Charlotte Brynn.  She joins the show to talk about her experiences training and racing open water endurance events.  Listen for for some great knowledge drop son best practices for racing as well as the toughest st...

18 time Ironman and Participant in the 2020 Eco Challenge and World's Toughest Race Sonja Wieck joins the show. Sonja talks about preparing for the race with her Ironman background, learning to swim at age 27 and 7 years, almost becoming the Ironman World Champion at Kona. We dive into the physical and mental challenges of endurance and elite sport and offer guidance on overcoming both. Watch Sonj...

In this episode, Cal backstroke stud Daniel Carr joins the show and we get into the mindset of the Cal men’s college team, some of the key workouts they do, and how Dave Durden structures season plans to peak at the right time. Daniel was a dual-sport athlete during high school and only went full time as a swimmer after his sophomore year, but he was still a highly touted recruit in the pool. Now...

In this episode, we are joined by Margaret Hoelzer. Margaret is an Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Hoelzer competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Olympic Games. Hoelzer grew up in Huntsville, Alabama and swam for the Auburn Tigers swimming and diving team while attending Auburn University. In 2007, Hoelzer moved to Charlotte, NC to train with Coach David Marsh. In 2008...