Ambassador Hightlight: Johnny Strickland

 

We want to introduce you to Johnny and share a little bit about his swimming journey. 

Johnny wasn’t always a swimmer and in fact he says he wasn’t really that good at swimming. 

He says, “I did not grow up swimming but mostly played tennis. Over the years I have tried different things, P-90X, HIIT training, biking and gym workouts.”

He basically tried everything for exercise BUT swimming. That all changed when he injured his back and shoulder later in life and wanted to do exercises that helped strengthen his back & shoulder but also didn’t put too much strain on them either.

So he started lifting weights for strength and did that for a while.

“I got pretty bulked up [lifting weights] and I wanted to do something with more cardio and also keep my fitness up.”

So he thought about running... but he didn't like that too much. Then thought he would try biking but he felt it would be too dangerous on the roads. Ultimately, he wasn’t sure what to do. 

“The guy I rode to work with had swam competitively and I [told him] I wasn't a very good swimmer. So he told me about some swimming videos that I could look at to improve my swimming skills.” 

Johnny took the advice of his friend and started watching swimming videos and using the local pool at his gym. He really saw improvements in his swim and started to enjoy swimming for exercise. 

One day Johnny noticed another man swimming at the pool was using a snorkel. The man seemed to be having an easier time in the water than Johnny was, so he gave it a try.

“I didn't have a good shoulder turn, so I started using a snorkel and that really helped me”

Then Johnny noticed his legs would sink in the water sometimes and he would have trouble flipping. So he looked into some different products that may help his legs float better.

“I got fins and my feet floated better and my efficiency in the water became really good.”

By now, Johnny was just cruising in the pool with his snorkel and fins. 

He was enjoying all of the benefits of exercising in the pool without putting too much strain on his injuries. The only thing was... swimming gets boring after a little while. 

So he started looking for something to help him stay entertained in the water.

“I looked at adding music to my fitness in the water and I turned to Underwater Audio and I got the SYRYN MP3 player, which I used and still use and have used for years.”

Johnny uses the SYRYN MP3 player with Swimbuds Sport headphones and has been enjoying swimming even more since he got them. 

Now with a snorkel, fins, and music Johnny is fully equipped to have great workouts in the pool. 

To conclude his story, he recommends swimming to everyone, no matter their age.

“[I started] late in life. So I know that if I can do it, a lot of other people can do it.”

He recommends looking at videos on how to start swimming like he did and go from there. He started this journey a little later in life and if he can do it, so can you!

That’s Johnny’s story! If you want to use what Johnny uses in the pool (music wise that is) shop here!

Have you ever swam in the pool with fins or a snorkel?