Swimmers Have A Superpower That Is Rocket Fuel For Business

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we are discussing national and international meets that saw a plethora of fast swims

In this episode of the SwimSwam Podcast, we sits down with Nimrod Shapira, a man who embodies what it means to take the discipline of swimming and turn it into entrepreneurial rocket fuel. From NCAA champion and two-time Olympian to the CEO of Florida’s largest learn-to-swim business, Fintastic Swim Academy, Nimrod shares his journey from having $482 to building, scaling, and ultimately selling his company to private equity—while never truly leaving the sport he loves.

Sean Kao was a swimmer at Arizona State, where he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in exercise science. In 2019, he started Aquatic Sports Performance out of his parents' garage in hopes of being able to help athletes with their out-of-water training. Over the last 6 years, it has developed into helping over 150 athletes in and out of the water reach their potential. Last month, one of ASP's athletes, Santo Condorelli, qualified for the US World Championship team in the 50 free. Sean discusses his humble beginnings, lifelong learning mentality, and his journey in helping Santo get to Singapore.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we are discussing World Trials for the USA, Australia, and Canada.

Emma McKeon is an Olympic icon, an Australian swimming legend, and now a Swammer. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, McKeon became one of only 2 women in swimming to ever win 14 Olympic medals over her career, joining Katie Ledecky who accomplished the same feat at the same meet. SwimSwam caught up with McKeon after she had enjoyed some well-earned rest, recovery, and travel since Paris. The Aussie shared what her life has looked like since stepping away from swimming but also reflected on the leadup to her final meet. McKeon revealed that just 2-3 weeks out from Paris, she was contemplating not even going due to the severity of pain she was having in her shoulders. However, she was able to manage her injury through the Games and walk away with a gold, silver, and bronze, securing her legacy as one of the greatest Olympians ever.

What if we told you that the biggest business opportunity in swimming isn’t a tech suit, a sponsorship deal, or a world record — it’s the lane next to the one you grew up training in? In this episode of the SwimSwam Podcast, we dive into one of the most overlooked and underestimated business models in sport: learn-to-swim. Our guest? Two-time Olympian, NCAA Champion, and now CEO of Fintastic Swim Academy & Fintastic Brands — Nimrod Shapira. He launched his swim school with just $482 and zero outside investment. Today? It’s a multi-million dollar business that just exited to private equity — and he’s not done.

When we talk about performance breakthroughs in swimming, we usually focus on athletes, suits, or training methods. But sometimes the real game-changers are the things right beneath our goggles—like the lane lines. In this episode of the SwimSwam Podcast, we’re joined by Simon Percy, Vice President of Malmsten Inc. and a former Olympian, to dig into one of the most underrated pieces of race-day tech: the lane line. It might sound simple—but it’s not.

A3 Performance is making a bold leap forward this summer with the upcoming launch of its most advanced tech suit yet: PRANA. Founder and CEO Dan Meinholz shared the big picture in an exclusive conversation with SwimSwam, walking us through the inspiration, innovation, and athlete-focused engineering behind this world-class race suit.

Dara Torres drops in on the SwimSwam Podcast to recap her first-year experience as head coach of Boston College. If you followed swimming at any point between the late 1980s and the 2000s, the name Dara Torres likely meant one thing: dominance. The 12-time Olympic medalist was a generational athlete whose longevity and speed redefined what was possible in the sport. Now, Torres is proving that greatness doesn’t stop at the water’s edge. In her first year as head coach at Boston College, Torres brought the same energy, excellence, and relentless drive to the Eagles' program that defined her Olympic career. While the men’s team went 2-4 and the women posted a 2-3 dual meet record, Torres’ inaugural season wasn’t about win-loss columns—it was about laying the foundation for the future, and that foundation looks rock solid.

In this marathon podcast, we go through the entire 2025 US Trials psych sheet and give an event-by-event preview of every upcoming race in Indianapolis.