Past, Present and the Future of Befriend Water Project

"Where I've been, where I am and where I'm going" - This is a framework I've learned from my business mentor. It helps me organise my mind and clarify my vision.

I'm going to tell you a little bit about everything that's still to come and update you here on this page every time I hit a major milestone. Are you ready? Let's go!

Where I have been:

It's been two years since I came up with the idea for Befriend Water project and although the progress is slow, everything is going well.

In the last 24 months, I've gained two qualifications.

The RLSS National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) and the Level 2 STA Award in Swimming Teaching.

I've created over 140 YouTube videos related to gaining those qualifications, water safety and learning to swim, reaching almost 300 subscribers. 

I applied for couple of jobs in the leisure industry but after noticing some worrisome issues, I decided to focus on freelancing on my own instead. I will talk about the problems of the swimming and leisure industry in another post.

In the past few months I've designed this website, business cards, flyers, merchandise and much more. I created a solid business plan. Now is the time to execute on the next phase. Even though some people in my social circle are doubting my ability to succeed, I'm convinced I will because…

This isn't my first attempt at business.

Where am I now?

I'm currently freelancing as a videographer.

It's a business I've been in for over six years. Everything I've learned here (marketing, sales, customer service, hiring, accounting etc.) and all the mistakes I've made, will prove to be a valuable stepping stone on my path to building this one.

Why am I switching industries?

Because I find teaching a life saving skill of swimming and water safety education, much more important mission to pursue.

It is also much more aligned with the future I envisioned for myself and my family. But about that a little bit later.

At this point, I have one client.

He is a 42 year old man, who grew up in the rural part of Poland and never had an opportunity to learn to swim. It was something that bothered him for a long time and he has pretty much given up on the idea that it is possible to change this.

After just three sessions, he was not only able to put his face in the water with correct breathing technique but also move around the swimming pool freely with a smile on his face.

At this current moment we are past the initial water confidence exercises and onto the strokes. We practice breaststroke and lay the foundation to learn front crawl.

He told me that what we did in just a couple of hours, unlocked some new potential in him.

For the first time in his life, he was able to picture himself swimming one day. He could see the future…

Where I'm going?

Peter and I have still a lot of work to do.

He will be practicing with and without me to become a strong swimmer. We will work on his freestyle (front crawl), breastroke and backstroke consistently focusing on technique and endurance rather than speed.

Our goal is to make him strong enough and confident enough so that he can go to the deep water. Whether that's in a swimming pool or in the sea on his vacations.

I on the other hand will be working on gaining further qualifications like the STA Open Water Coaching Qualification, Open Water Lifeguard Qualification and few others, which I will keep a secret for now.

For the long term future, I plan to use AI tools to create world class water safety education reaching millions of people around the world. 

I will be delivering hundreds of tutorials online and building physical swimming schools in poorest of countries. I will promote swimming to parents with kids and hopefully save countless of lives as a result.

During those months or years, I will be documenting everything on my YouTube channel. Make sure you subscribe to witness all this in real time alongside us.

You can also add yourself to my email list below to get notified when I create a new post or hit a major milestone.

Thank you for being here and supporting me on this very exciting adventure.

If you would like to contribute to my mission of teaching about water safety around the world, you can purchase something from my merch or buy me a coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/alancie

Until next time

Your friend in water

Alan Cie