IWD Sea Swim Mini Series - Ep 1 - Nicky Chisholm, Founder of the Brighton IWD Sea Swim

Nicky Chisholm is the founder of the International Women's Day Sea Swim Brighton and creator of the PinkNicky Blog.  Owner of Daisy the camper van and mother of two, she is a self-confessed adventurer who thrives on challenge (particularly if it involves the cold) and is constantly looking for ways to to squeeze adventure into her daily life. Her passion is to encourage that adventurous spirit in women over 50 and on 9th March 2024, she is aiming to host the UK South Coast's biggest sea swim, with over 500 women taking part.

This episode explores Nicky's penchant for late night ideas and her motivation for organising this event for International Women's Day 2024.  She shares her own love of adventure and the benefits this has brought her as well as information on how to get involved in the event. Nicky's enthusiasm is infectious and even if you are not based on the south coast of the UK, you cannot fail to be inspired to embark on adventures of your own!

This episode is part of a 6 part mini series in collaboration with PinkNicky Blog in support of the IWD Sea Swim 2024. Each episode is approximately 15 minutes long and shines a light on one of the women supporting the event, their reasons for being involved and the benefits they have personally experienced from living life  adventurously.

To find out more about PinkNicky Blog and register for the IWD Sea Swim, please click here

Check out PinkNicky's Blog - A Blog for Empty Nesters and those ready to write a new life chapter: It's time to create your story One Adventure At a Time!

I hope you have enjoyed this episode of The Everyday Adventure Podcast! To keep up to date with the latest news, follow us:
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Transcript

The Everyday Adventure Podcast, hosted by Nikki Bass, is launching a mini-series of interviews to support the International Women's Day C Swim event taking place on March 9th in Brighton. The event, founded by Nikki Chisholm, aligns with the podcast's ethos of encouraging everyday adventure and celebrating women's progress and diversity. The mini-series will feature six 15-minute interviews with women participating in the C Swim. Chisholm explains that the event aims to bring women together for sea swimming and celebration, and to encourage women going through life transitions to embrace adventure. She also emphasizes the importance of community and support, with a buddy system in place for those attending alone. The event is open to all, including those new to sea swimming, and aims to create a fun, inclusive atmosphere.

Nicki (00:00):

Hello and welcome to the Everyday Adventure Podcast. My name is Nicki Bass and I'll be bringing you thoughts, ideas, and stories from some incredible guests to hopefully inspire you to live more adventurously in your everyday lives.

(00:23):

So welcome to the Everyday Adventure Podcast mini series, and I am so thrilled to be bringing you these series of interviews which are here to support a wonderful event, which is taking place on the 9th of March at 3:00 PM in Brighton. At it is the International Women's Day Sea Swim, and it's such a brilliant idea and so in line with the whole ethos of the Everyday Adventure podcast that when it's founder, the wonderful Nicky Chisholm approached me and said, do you want to collaborate on this? I just could not possibly say no. It was just such a perfect alignment with everything that we're trying to encourage. And also International Women's Day is an event very close to my heart. I think it's really important that we take the time to celebrate as well as accept and understand the progress that still needs to be made in terms of women's equality, development, equity, whatever you want to call it, diversity in the workplace and beyond.

(01:27):

But I think it's also really important just to celebrate the brilliance of all these incredible inspiring women that I have had the greatest pleasure to speak to since I've set up this podcast as well. So yes. So today to kick off this miniseries, I'm going to be bringing you six short interviews. They're going to be 15 minutes long. They're going to be with some of the wonderful personalities that women who are taking part in the C Swim. But today, just to kick us off, I'm very excited to have Nikki herself here. So she's going to tell us a little bit more about the invent, what inspired her to get started with it, where the ideas come from, and hopefully encourage a few of you listening to maybe want to come and take part as well. So Nicky, welcome to the show. Welcome to Every Adventure Podcast. Hello. Hello. It is such a pleasure to have you here. Thank you. And I would love you just to tell everyone listening just a little bit more about the cwi, where the idea came from, what you are trying to achieve with it, and why they should get involved.

Nicky (02:32):

Okay. A few questions I

Nicki (02:33):

Know all at the same time, all at

Nicky (02:35):

The same time. All my ideas, all my ideas come to me in the middle of the night and I've had some random ones over the years and they have led me into all sorts of shenanigans. Machu Picchu, Buckingham Palace, the NatWest Towers, all sorts. So I knew if it popped in the middle of the night, it's got legs on it, I just needed to make it work. So last year I decided International Women's Day, wanted to celebrate it, get women together and celebrate International Women's Day. And it worked. We had 250 people turn up. It was really good fun. So this year I wanted to make it a little bit more official, get some bells on whistles, sponsors, partners, and more people on board. So I'm aiming for 500 people to celebrate International Women's Day, and the idea behind it really is to do all the things that I love.

(03:23):

It's bringing women together. It's sea swimming, it's a celebration. There's sparkles. The dress code is sparkles and sort of like shenanigans. That's it. We want to create a spectacle on the beach. So it is combining all those things. And we have such an active sea swimming community down here on the south coast. I swim every week and it was just a really good opportunity to get everyone together. I've just started writing a blog this year called PinkNicky Blog, and it really is all about opening the doors for women that are going through a new chapter in their life. The kids have gone to university, they're getting older, they're hitting their teens rather than sitting at home and feeling a little bereft. It's all about opening those doors to adventure. So all those women there at that C Swim will be there for multiple reasons. Health, physical, mental, friendship, community, fun, maybe they're feeling a bit lonely. I always think events, they work on so many levels and you're never going to walk away not feeling good, not in a million years. So it is only going to be a good thing if you turn up.

Nicki (04:37):

I love it. I've loved that point you made about opening up and this idea that, because I think like you said, I think depending on any stage in life, actually, I think as we hit adulthood, we immediately start feeling as if in some ways there's that initial sort of rush. I think often for people in their late teens, early twenties and the wellsy oyster, once you start in the workplace, it starts to feel things narrow down in some ways. And I think that can exacerbate if you have a family, if you have kids, whatever caring responsibilities you might have, or even just as you see friends and family going off and doing other things and feelings if you're left behind. So I love the emphasis you put on, actually this is, it's maybe a time of transition or it might be that people have changed or things are going on in their lives, but that actually there is that possibility for their worlds to still expand and to grow.

Nicky (05:34):

Absolutely. For me, adventures always been sort of like a guiding force. Whenever I've been with the kids, I'd always do loads with the kids. When I was a young teenager myself, I did say in canoeing, then I had the kids and took them on adventures. Now they're getting older, they're teenagers, they don't want to hang around with mom, but I still want to do adventures. It's always been my res on Detra, my calling. It's just guided me through ups and downs and highs and lows, all the nutty things that happen in your life. If I can walk and I can get out, I've maintained some sort of balance, some sort of calm, some sort of always see it like a snow globe, and then it sort of settles if you can walk or you can run or you can get outside with your friends. So yeah, I can't even remember what the beginning of the question was now because I know I threw too many

Nicki (06:23):

Questions at you, isn't it? There's terrible podcasting. Etiquette. Etiquette get you to answer 15 at once.

Nicky (06:30):

I got it. So it's a way to, if you're feeling lonely, you're feeling bereft, you're going through a change, which as your teens grow older way, it is the way the world should be. They need to grow up and move away. So fill it with adventure, big and small. I'm not asking you to go to Everest or Kilimanjaro or jump up an aeroplane. I'm just saying do a 5K, do a C swim, do a solar and a c swim. Do a walk, get your mates out, go to the park. It is there for you. And I think that's what my passion is and that's what I'm all about and that's where I'm trying to go with the blog in the future. So this is just a good way of getting people together and drawing attention to the blog. Really

Nicki (07:09):

Love it. And I can absolutely relate to your point about adventures, that sort of constant friend that sort of sits there and nudges you and maybe forgotten for over times sometimes as well. And then you just sort of come back to go, oh yeah, there is a thing that helps me connect with who I am as well as who am I to all of these other people and other things in my life. I know that one of the barriers that for people often if they're wanting to get started on adventures, whether they're big or small, is often that sort of sense of, I think there's one, not knowing how to get started, but I think there's also this sense of coming to it on your own. And I suspect there might well be people listening to this that would be brilliant to get involved in, but I won't know anyone, or I might have the wrong kit or I might not, I'm going to look stupid or I've got to turn up in my swimming costume in March, which might be cold a lot, but there is a number of barriers that can prevent us from doing something, even though sort of the seed of the idea sounds quite exciting.

(08:16):

What advice would you give to someone listening to this and who thinks, actually I'd love to come along, but I'm holding that fear.

Nicky (08:25):

I would hate somebody that wanted to come along and didn't. So last year we did, we had a buddy system, so we had an allocated person. If you came on your own, you go and see the lady in the yellow coat with a pineapple on her head so that you make a beeline on the beach. We'll say you're on your own, so you're looking for the buddy. So all the people that are on their own are with a buddy so they can help them sort of connect. So we'll do the same thing again this year.

(08:51):

The women are so good when they get together and I say it on the things to do on the day, bring cake to share, bring tea to share. Women are so good, you put them in the right environment and I'll tell you what, they flourish. They chat, they pass on information, they network. They say, have you seen this? Have you seen that? This is a good place to swim. That's a good place to swim. Then naturally, really they're embracing and I think if you are in that environment, there's a filter mechanism there Anyway, you love sea swimming, you're outdoorsy, you're fun, you're friendly. It is kind of like it's a self-fulfilling prophecy if you are there. If you're there, you are there for the bright reasons. So I wouldn't say don't come. I would definitely do come and just meet with one of our buddies.

(09:35):

But also if you're new to sea swimming, I would say going to Sea Swim in March is nutty. It is freezing cold and I think it could put you off for life rather than introducing you to something that could potentially change your life. So come along on the day, take photographs, write a blog, cheer everyone on, be part of a big group photo, just being part of the shenanigans and embrace that energy that naturally comes from all those women on the beach. Honestly, it's a spectacle. It's so noisy and so colourful. It's such good fun. Honestly, it makes my heart sing

Nicki (10:09):

Amazing. I think I want to come along and see the lady with the pineapple on it, let's alone anything else. I'm like sold at the pineapple. No, it sounds brilliant and I think that I love that idea of a buddy as well because I think often that is the intimidating part, is that literal, what is it like to step out of your car or step onto that seafront and be confronted with a load of people you don't know and thinking, how do I even get started? Where's my place here? So I love the fact that you've given so much thought to that too. Yeah,

Nicky (10:42):

It it's for sea swimmers and maybe people want to get into the sea swimming community and also those that want to celebrate International Women's Day. So you can just turn up and enjoy. We've got teas that will be given out, there'll be volunteers, there's lifeguards, super safe, there's meets and greeters. So as soon as you come in, someone say, hello, welcome. Come and join the swim. Join the swim. Yeah, so everybody's welcome. We say all sorts.

Nicki (11:11):

Amazing. I'm waiting for the person with all sorts on their heads too. Anyway, right on that note, if someone's listening to this and they'd like to find out more about you or about the event work, and they go,

Nicky (11:24):

So you can find that, look up Pink Nicky, so www.pink nick.com, all the information will be on there. The event goes live January the 29th. So from then on, we've got a six week social media campaign. So get involved, get online and introduce yourself. You must book onto it because we want to make sure that we've got enough lifeguards for the day and make sure everyone's super safe. So we need to manage the numbers on the beach. So do book and we shall see you for International Women's Day on March the ninth at 3:00 PM just before low tide with all your sparkles, environmentally friendly, obviously all your sparkles, your tea, and get ready to embrace your neighbours, your friends, and all the women on the beach that day.

Nicki (12:10):

Amazing. And it takes place at Brighton. That's correct. Is it?

Nicky (12:13):

Oh, yes. We forgot to mention the location.

Nicki (12:18):

We could have a whole host of people. Would they be spread out along the South coast? So I probably should just,

Nicky (12:23):

Okay, so yes, thank you for that. That's really obvious. So it's 3:00 PM It's in Brighton's on Madeira Drive, and if you head towards the banjo groin, which is next to Beach Box sauna, you well know where you are. Look out for a red camper van called Daisy. She's the reception for the morning, for the afternoon rather. And there'll be flags, so you'll see lots of people congregating. So park on Madeira Drive, download, there's an app, or bring some money with you for the parking.

Nicki (12:50):

Amazing. Thank you so much, Nikki, and absolutely go and check out all of the various links and we'll pop those all in the show notes too so that people can find it and find you easily. Just wishing you all the very best for the event. It sounds absolutely incredible and I'm really looking forward to also speaking to some of the women that you've got lined up over the next few weeks as well. What

Nicky (13:11):

We've got, I've got for you, a triathlete, a wellbeing coach, a sa and lover, a retreat runner for sea swimming, and a lady that makes sustainable gym to swim with. I have got some good podcast guests for you.

Nicki (13:27):

How amazing. I'm really excited. I love the range as well. I think that's something too, is just often when we talk about a particular sport or activity or something that people love to do, we focus very much on that activity. And then sometimes what we can forget is that every single person taking part in it has their own incredible and unique story too, and that they're so varied. So I'm really excited, although it's under the umbrella of sea swimming, even if you don't, you've never swam in the sea before. It's not something that you aspire to do, especially in March. Not saying that you shouldn't really should, but hopefully there will be stories that will relate that people, regardless of your background, what activities you're into, you'll be able to relate to those stories and learn something and inspiring too. So yeah, really looking forward to sharing them all with you. Nikki, it's been an absolute pleasure as always to speak to you. And yeah, looking forward to March the ninth.

Nicky (14:25):

Thank you.

Nicki (14:26):

Thank you. Take care. Bye.