March 20, 2017

Meet Nadyne Brown of SwimKids of Georgia in Cumming

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadyne Brown.

Nadyne, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
30 years ago, watching my then 18-month-old son during his survival swim lessons with fascination, trepidation and total pride for what he was achieving, my journey began. I watched his instructor 5 days a week for 6 weeks teach him with patience, love and determination and it was incredible and I was hooked. I knew this was my calling that was 30 years ago and I’m still totally in love with teaching children the lifesaving skills of survival swim and rescuing themselves in the event of an aquatic accident.

7 years ago, that same son passed away and I lost both my pools; what saved my sanity and my life was my amazing puppy, who nurtured me, my loving community of swimming families who knew Jacob and loved him and wrapped me in their love and knowing I could smile a few hours a day doing what I loved to do, teach. There are few places to rent pool space so I threw myself into raising money and building my own swim school. SwimKids of Georgia was opened May of 2012 in Cumming Georgia, in the last 5 year we have taught over 1,000 kids the lifesaving skills of swim~float~survive. Knowing that I could save one parent the grief of losing a child has been my motivation as well as being able to teach and bond with some of the most adorable children in Georgia!

Learning to swim is a life skill and learning to survive a possible fall into the water is a gift every parent should give their children.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was a smooth road until my son died and I lost both my rental pool within 6 months of each other and his death; then the paved road ended and it was rocky. that’s when I decided to build a swim school, I had absolutely 0 funds so first I had to raise the money to buildout the space I rented; I thought I would be able to start with a commercial above ground pool but the Georgia Dept. of Health as well as local zoning was not having it! It was a 17-month nightmare after which I decided to put in an in ground pool which was three times my original budget. It took almost 2 years but, I finally opened and although small business ownership is not what it’s cracked up to be, the doors have been open for 5 years in May, it’s a month to month challenge, but I personally think we provide a life-saving service and people are finally starting to recognize the importance of swim lessons for infants, toddlers and young children as well as for themselves.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about SwimKids of Georgia – what should we know?
SwimKids of Georgia is a learn to swim facility. Our focus is on teaching children as young as 6 months the lifesaving skill of floating to breathe. This is a pretty quick process, so once the child master this skill they move on to learning how to take those lifesaving skills and have fun with them… We teach stroke progression with as much success as we do survival. I think I am most proud of our dedication to the success of our students. What sets us apart is that each child’s individual needs are met. We recognize that each child is different and so are their needs.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I define success, one student at a time. Turning an apprehensive student into a successful confident swimmer.

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