Afleveringen
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Pete Abell grew up in Gloucestershire. No coastline, no surf breaks, no obvious reason to end up where he did. But when his dad took him to Mawgan Porth at the age of eight with a borrowed foam board, something clicked. He never really left. Over two decades on, he's still there - running King Surf, raising a family in the water, and quietly building something that goes well beyond a surf school.
What's fascinating about Pete is his philosophy. He's not chasing performance or competing for the best wave. He rides old-school twin fins and single fins. He lets other people have the set. He'll watch someone catch their first wave and get just as much out of it as if he'd caught it himself. In a world that's always pushing harder and faster, there's something really refreshing about that.
In this episode, Salim and Pete explore:
How a childhood spent swimming and skating led Pete to surfing, and why a back injury at 15 became a turning point.The connection between swimming ability and surf safety, including what speed standards lifeguards and surf coaches are actually expected to meet.The River Severn proposal: how Pete caught a wave at 7am on a freezing January morning, produced a ring from his armpit and created one of the most-watched videos on the BBC website that week.The crossover between open-water swimming and surfing: why Salim can spot a surfer within two lengths, and whether swimmers should all have a goWhat changes as you get older, not just physically, but in what you want from the water and what brings you back to it every morning.Useful links
Pete Abell and King Surf: kingsurf.co.ukPete on LinkedIN: linkedin.com/in/peter-abell-9b688231/Outdoor Swimmer Magazine: outdoorswimmer.comShepperton Open Water Swim: sheppertonopenwaterswim.co.ukSwim with Salim
SwimLab — Learn to swim with SalimFollow Salim on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salimswimlab/Be a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...
Email us: [email protected] the get in touch form HERE - https://inatthedeepend.transistor.fm/be-a-part-of-the-showSend us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/InAtTheDeepEnd
Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk -
In 2011, there was no magazine for people who swam outdoors. No shared home for the stories, the training, the destinations, the growing community of people quietly falling in love with open water. So Simon Griffiths made one. As the founder and publisher of Outdoor Swimmer, he helped give a movement a voice, and in doing so built one of the most quietly influential publications in UK sport. But the story behind the magazine is more personal, and more compelling, than the cover lines suggest. Simon started Outdoor Swimmer in the aftermath of the worst thing that had ever happened to him, driven by a need to keep moving, to build something and to stay afloat. More than a decade on, he is still doing exactly that, now turning 60 with a personal best 100m time, training across every stroke and distance, and launching the Renaissance Swimmer Project, a new venture that asks what swimming might unlock in the rest of your life.
Together, Salim and Simon explore:
How a grief-driven idea became a landmark publication, and what it actually took to launch a magazine with no funding and a Google search.Why the open water swimming community felt different from the start, and the names and early believers who helped the magazine find its feet.What it means to get faster as you age, and how Simon broke a lifetime personal best in the pool on his 59th birthday.The training principles that actually matter as you get older, including why sprint work is more important for long-distance swimmers than they think.The case for swimming everything: why mixing strokes, distances, and environments makes you a better swimmer in all of them.The Renaissance Swimmer Project, what it is, what it is not, and why Simon believes swimming is just the beginning of a bigger conversation about how we live.Whether technology belongs in open water, from GPS goggles to coaching headsets, and where the line between useful and reductive sits.Useful links
Outdoor Swimmer Magazine: outdoorswimmer.comThe Renaissance Swimmer Project: renaissanceswimmer.comSimon's book, Swim Wild and Free: Available from all good book resellers nowShepperton Open Water Swim: sheppertonopenwaterswim.co.ukSwim with Salim
SwimLab — Learn to swim with SalimBe a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...
Email us: [email protected] the get in touch form HERE - https://inatthedeepend.transistor.fm/be-a-part-of-the-showSend us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/InAtTheDeepEnd
Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk -
Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Olympian. Marathon swimmer. History-maker.
In this episode of In At The Deep End, Salim sits down with Alice Dearing, the first black woman to represent Team GB in Olympic swimming.
But this conversation goes far beyond medals and Olympic qualification. Alice opens up about the emotional reality of elite sport: the burnout, the self-doubt, the pressure of representation and the strange tension between making history while simply wanting to perform well as an athlete.
Together, Salim and Alice explore:
Alice’s journey from Birmingham swimming clubs to the Tokyo Olympics Why she nearly walked away from swimming several times The hidden mental toll of high-performance sport The myths and stereotypes surrounding black people and swimming The work of the Black Swimming Association The Soul Cap controversy before Tokyo 2020 Identity, belonging and what it means to represent Britain today Life after retirement and Alice’s ambitions to shape the future of sport in the UKIt’s an honest, thoughtful and timely conversation about water, identity, resilience and breaking down barriers.
If you enjoy the episode, please follow In At The Deep End, leave a rating or review and share it with someone who’d love it too.
Useful Links
Alice Dearing
Alice's website: http://www.alicedearing.com/ Team GB Profile: https://www.teamgb.com/athlete/alice-dearing/53rk1dw8eJYpYKnylE5rvDThe Black Swimming Association: https://thebsa.co.uk/LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-dearing-oly-5ab64517b/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicedearingx/Swim with Salim
SwimLab — Learn to swim with SalimSwimming & Open Water
Shepperton Open Water Swim: sheppertonopenwaterswim.co.ukOutdoor Swimmer Magazine
Email us: [email protected] the get in touch form HERE - https://inatthedeepend.transistor.fm/be-a-part-of-the-showSend us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/InAtTheDeepEnd
Be a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...
Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk -
Lorraine Candy is one of Britain's most recognisable media voices. She is the former editor of Cosmopolitan, Elle and The Sunday Times Style, she's also a Sunday Times bestselling author and co-host of the hugely popular Postcards from Midlife podcast. But in this episode, it's not the magazine covers or the bestseller lists that take centre stage. It's the water.
Lorraine came to open water swimming at 47, after a panic attack during a sprint triathlon left her terrified and determined never to feel that way again. What followed was a decade-long journey that she describes, without exaggeration, as the single thing that has most improved her life. In this episode Salim and Lorraine talk about what cold water actually gave her during the hardest years of perimenopause, why community is the most underreported benefit of open water swimming, and how the two of them ended up working together on something many swimmers avoid facing: going faster.
It's a rich, honest conversation about bravery, belonging, and what it means to find a sport that will carry you through the rest of your life.
In this episode:
How a panic attack in a triathlon lake became the start of Lorraine's real swimming journeyCold water swimming and perimenopause - the mental, physical, and community benefits Why the open water swimming community is one of the most inclusive and body-positive spaces Lorraine has ever foundThe moment she realised she'd been "plodding forever" and the mindful approach to speed that actually workedFavourite swims: Lake Geneva at sunrise, the Scilly Isles, swimming through a shoal of mackerel in CornwallFantasy swims on the horizon: the Strait of Gibraltar and AlcatrazAdvice for midlife women and teenage girls - why getting in the water might be the best thing you can do for both of themUseful Links
Lorraine Candy
Postcards From Midlife podcast: https://www.postcardsfrommidlife.com/What's Wrong With Me? 101 Things Midlife Women Need to KnowLorraine's Substack newsletter, The Candy Club: https://substack.com/@lorrainecandyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorrainecandy/Swimming & Open Water
Shepperton Open Water Swim: sheppertonopenwaterswim.co.ukHampton PoolOutdoor Swimmer MagazineWatergate Bay Hotel - where Salim holds his swimming retreatsSwim with Salim
SwimLab — Learn to swim with SalimBe a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...
Email us: [email protected] the get in touch form HERE - https://inatthedeepend.transistor.fm/be-a-part-of-the-showSend us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/InAtTheDeepEnd
Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk -
What does a life fully lived in the water look like? For Jane Asher, it looks like five world records broken in a single weekend, at the age of 95. A South London swimming legend and great-grandmother, Jane didn't even begin her competitive career until she was 55. Since then, she has become one of Masters swimming's most remarkable figures, currently holding world records in the 95–99 age group across the 50m, 100m, 200m, individual medley, and 50m backstroke.
In this conversation, Salim sits down with Jane to trace the extraordinary arc of her life, from clandestine boarding school pool sessions in 1940s Johannesburg and witnessing apartheid at close quarters, to coaching the next generation and returning to competition in her late 50s. Jane reflects on the joy that has kept her in the water for over eight decades, the friendships swimming has given her across the world, and why she still does tumble turns.
Growing up on Zambia's Copperbelt and swimming at a Johannesburg boarding school in the 1940sHow apartheid shaped and troubled Jane's early life, and the moment swimming offered something differentTeaching herself to swim competitively at 40, then discovering the Masters swimming worldBuilding clubs and communities, from Jane's Extra Training sessions to the King's Cormorants in WimbledonBreaking five World Records at the recent Guernsey Masters meetThe meditative quality of swimming and why counting strokes keeps her presentHer advice to anyone over 60 thinking about getting in the water for the first timeWhy Jane still gets up for a 9am swim three times a week.
What's in this episodeUseful Links
Swimming & Open Water
Shepperton Open Water Swim: sheppertonopenwaterswim.co.ukHampton Pool Kings Cormorants Masters Swimming Club - Jane's local swimming clubEast Anglian Swallow Tails - the club Jane set up with her friends Seymour Banning and Carol BuykxKingfishers Swimming Club - set up by Jane in NorwichSwim England Masters - the national body for adult competitive swimming in EnglandOutdoor Swimmer MagazineSwim with Salim
SwimLab — Learn to swim with SalimJane's record breaking achievements
BBC article on Jane's five world records in April, 2026Be a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...
Email us: [email protected] the get in touch form HERE - https://inatthedeepend.transistor.fm/be-a-part-of-the-showSend us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/InAtTheDeepEnd
Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk -
In Episode 3, Salim is joined by Adam Filby - technology professional, fundraiser, triathlete and dad.
In May 2017, on the same day the WannaCry cyberattack was tearing through NHS systems across the country, Adam was on an operating table donating part of his liver to his seven-year-old daughter Florence, who had been born with a life-threatening liver condition. He came round from the anaesthetic not in intensive care, but in a makeshift room in a hospital corridor, and within 24 hours had signed up for an Ironman.
Adam's relationship with swimming began years earlier, quietly shaped by the knowledge that one day his daughter might need him to be in the best possible shape. What followed was a journey from a man who could barely swim 50 metres, through triathlons, half Ironmans and four full Ironmans, to someone for whom the open water has become the place he finds the same peace he once found running through a forest the night before the operation. This is a story about love, purpose, the human body's extraordinary capacity to heal and what happens when you refuse to set a limit on what you might be capable of.
Key themes in this episode:
Biliary atresia, the rare liver condition Florence was born with, and what it means for families waiting for a transplantTraining for a triathlon in your early 30s with a quiet, deeper motivation behind itWhat it's like to be on the transplant list - the waiting, the restrictions, the fearThe day of the operation - two theatres, a cyberattack, and a photo taken over a surgeon's shoulderGoing from lying in a hospital bed to completing an Ironman in five and a half monthsHow swimming and exercise became a vehicle for processing an enormous experienceThe calm that open water gives and why Adam can no longer train in a poolThe case for living organ donation, and why fitness is no barrier to recoveryFinding purpose through sport: from proving something to simply thrivingUseful Links
Swimming & Open Water
Shepperton Open Water Swim: sheppertonopenwaterswim.co.ukHampton Pool — where Mei-Ling rediscovered swimming during the pandemicSwim Serpentine — open-water event completed during her recoveryKingfisher Triathletes - Triathlon clubBritish TriathlonOutdoor Swimmer MagazineSwim with Salim
SwimLab — Learn to swim with SalimOrgan Donation
NHS Organ Donation — register as an organ donorChildren's Liver Disease Foundation — supporting families affected by childhood liver diseaseAdam Filby
Follow Adam on InstagramBe a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...
Email us: [email protected] the get in touch form HERE - https://inatthedeepend.transistor.fm/be-a-part-of-the-showSend us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/InAtTheDeepEnd
Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk -
In Episode 2 of In At The Deep End, Salim is joined by Dr Mei-Ling Lancashire - GP, cancer survivor, single mum and swimmer. At the peak of her fitness, Mei-Ling discovered a breast lump and, as a GP with a background in breast cancer research, knew instantly what it meant. What followed was an aggressive diagnosis, gruelling chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and the challenge of holding everything together for her two young daughters.
Swimming became her lifeline. From a childhood passion, cut short by societal misconceptions, to a primal fear of deep water and, eventually, open-water sessions at Shepperton Lake, her relationship with the water has been anything but simple. And that's exactly what makes her story so powerful.
Key themes in this episode:
Childhood swimming talent ended by 1980s attitudes towards women athletesBreast cancer diagnosis at peak fitness, and the shock of knowing immediately what it wasStaying active through chemotherapy and surgery as a single parentFundraising for Cancer Research UK and becoming the face of a national campaignOvercoming a deep-rooted fear of open waterNerve damage from surgery and chemo, and learning to reconnect with key swimming musclesThe role of Pilates in unlocking a better swim strokeSwimming as the last sport standing when injury takes everything else awayWhat it truly means to thrive, not just surviveUseful Links
Swimming & Open Water
Shepperton Open Water Swim: sheppertonopenwaterswim.co.ukHampton Pool — where Mei-Ling rediscovered swimming during the pandemicSwim Serpentine — open-water event completed during her recoverySwim with Salim
SwimLab — Learn to swim with SalimCancer Awareness
Cancer Research UK — the charity Mei-Ling has fundraised for throughout her recoveryBreast Cancer Now — helpline: 0808 800 6000Dr Mei-Ling Lancashire
Follow Mei-Ling on InstagramDonate to Dr Mei Ling's Cancer Research UK fundraising page here: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/unite/mei-lings-giving-pageBe a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...
Email us: [email protected] the get in touch form HERE - https://inatthedeepend.transistor.fm/be-a-part-of-the-showSend us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/InAtTheDeepEnd
Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk -
In this debut episode of In At The Deep End, host and swim coach Salim Ahmed welcomes his first guest, Dr Victoria Rose - or 'Rosie' as he knows her - a consultant plastic surgeon whose life is defined by two remarkable worlds: the operating theatres of London hospitals and the war-torn hospitals of Gaza.
Rosie shares her journey from dedicated runner to passionate swimmer, how a serious knee injury changed everything and why swimming has become a lifeline - not just physically, but mentally and emotionally - as she processes the harrowing work of treating children with blast, burn, and bullet injuries in one of the world's most dangerous conflict zones.
Key themes in this episode:
What plastic surgery really involves and why it has such an unfair reputationThe IDEALS charity and its decades of work supporting surgeons in conflict zonesLife in Gaza before and after October 2023 - the contrast between restaurants and rubbleThe friendship and responsibility that drives humanitarian volunteers back into dangerThe physiological magic of cold water and the body's response to immersionSwimming as community, fitness and mental health supportOpen-water swimming at Shepperton Lake, and the eureka momentSwimming for body, mind and soul: resilience, mindfulness and showing up
Useful LinksSwimming & Open Water
Shepperton Open Water Swim: sheppertonopenwaterswim.co.ukSwim England — Find a Club — find a Masters club near youBritish Masters SwimmingOutdoor Swimming Society — open-water locations and resourcesSwim with Salim
SwimLab - Learn to swim with SalimOrganisations Mentioned
IDEALS Charity — supporting surgeons in conflict zonesDr Victoria Rose
Follow Rosie on InstagramBe a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...
Email us: [email protected] the get in touch form HERE - https://inatthedeepend.transistor.fm/be-a-part-of-the-showSend us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/InAtTheDeepEnd
Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk -
Welcome to In at the Deep End, a new podcast hosted by swim coach Salim Ahmed.
In this trailer you'll get a glimpse into the kinds of stories featured on the show: honest conversations with people whose lives have been shaped by swimming in ways that go far beyond the pool. Stories about resilience, identity, loss, ambition and the moments when the water became a place to think, heal, push on or start again.
If swimming has ever meant more to you than just lengths and times, this is where it begins.
Email us: [email protected] the get in touch form HERE - https://inatthedeepend.transistor.fm/be-a-part-of-the-showSend us a voice message HERE- https://www.speakpipe.com/InAtTheDeepEnd
Be a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch...
Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk
