The Swimpreneur Diaries
The Swimpreneur Diaries is a podcast for aquatic professionals who are building something real, from swim schools and curriculums to teams and businesses that go far beyond the pool deck. Hosted by survival swim instructor and industry mentor Londy Johnson, each episode pulls back the curtain on the real conversations shaping the aquatic industry, covering everything from teaching philosophy and business strategy to leadership, grief, and the moments no one else is talking about.
Why Some Swim Lessons Fall Apart (and it’s not your technique).
Water doesn’t care how confident you feel, and that’s exactly why swim instruction matters. We’re talking with Tammy, a Montessori-trained educator and lifelong aquatics pro, about what actually helps kids (and adults) become safer, calmer swimmers without forcing, bribing, or rushing the process.
We unpack her core teaching philosophy that “the water is teaching them,” and how that changes the role of a swim instructor from controller to skilled facilitator. Tammy shares how she builds trust fast, why natural consequences can be the most effective teacher, and how to explain risk in a way that keeps...
Stop Teaching The Checklist And Start Teaching The Child
A child learns to blow his nose in three swim lessons and his mom breaks down in tears. That story sets the tone for a conversation that challenges what many of us think “progress” looks like in the pool, especially in adaptive swim lessons and special needs swim instruction. I’m joined by Daniel Jacobson, founder of Cascade Swim School in Washington and a longtime leader in adaptive aquatics with a master’s background in special education.
We get specific about what adaptive swimming actually means beyond generic tips: building skills around the swimmer’s strengths, abandoning rigid leve...
Gatekeeping Hurts Kids When Access Shrinks
Survival swim can save a child’s life and still be wrapped in drama, gatekeeping, and “my method is the only method” energy. We sit down with Kara, founder of Olaloa Swim Academy in Hawaii, to talk honestly about what happens when water safety turns into territory and why that mindset hurts instructors, parents, and the kids who need access most.
Kara shares how she built her coaching style by blending multiple swim lesson certifications including survival swim, adaptive tools, and Australian philosophies and how she kept the best parts without getting trapped by a cookie-cutter approach. We dig...
What If Every Swim Pro Shared More?
You can’t make up what happens in an emergency room and that reality changes how you see risk forever. We’re joined by Miss Julie, founder of Water Safe Swim and a former ER professional and EMT, for a candid conversation about drowning prevention, what parents don’t know until it’s too late, and why the phrase “it won’t happen to me” doesn’t belong anywhere near water.
We talk through Julie’s 26 seasons teaching infants and toddlers, how sensory motor learning and muscle memory shape her method, and why water safety programs are fundamentally diff...
