059 From Sinker to Swimmer with Kerry King

In this week's episode, I am joined by Kerry King. Join us as we discuss Kerry's journey from a novice swimmer to a full charity sea swim and the benefits she got from It. How it changed her life and mental wellbeing during menopause.

Join us as we discuss:

• Hormonal fluctuations and exercise during menstruation and menopause. 
• Self-acceptance and ageing, with a focus on body positivity and natural beauty.

About Kerry King:

Kerry teaches sports injury, mental well-being, and Pilates workshops to fitness and sports professionals who want to expand their businesses.  She started her fitness career in the 1990s as an exercise to music teacher and then added salsa/Zumba disciplines and worked in private clubs and leisure facilities for 20 years. 

Following a few major injuries, she decided to retrain in Pilates in 2012, and then after moving to Cornwall, she set up her own business. Kerry is now training to work with women going through menopause to help with both physical and mental health.

In her spare time, Kerry loves sea swimming, paddleboarding, exploring the southwest coast and live music and is planning her podcast channel combining these loves with her experience of life.

Waveshealthandwellbeing.uk

About Sarah Bolitho:

Sarah Bolitho helps fitness and health professionals develop their careers and grow their businesses by providing specialist training in teaching, assessing, and internal quality assurance, together with qualifications in exercise referral and disability.   

With over 30 years in the health-related fitness and physical activity fields, Sarah has a wealth of experience and knowledge.  She has worked in most roles in the industry from group exercise to personal training but specialised in working with specialist populations.  For over 25 years Sarah has trained fitness and health professionals to work with clients with long-term conditions, mental health issues, disabilities, older adults and pre/post-natal women.  

She has a post-graduate diploma in exercise and health behaviour and extensive training in supporting behaviour change.  She has worked with awarding organisations to develop qualifications and training and with accreditation bodies to endorse high-quality non-regulated training. 

For more about the training and support Sarah offers, visit www.sarahbolitho.com or contact her at admin@sarahbolitho.com.

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fitnesscareer mentor
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahbolitho

Transcript

Sarah (00:02.796)

Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Creating Active Lives with me, Sarah Bolitho and my guest, Kerry King. And as this is going to be going out mid to late spring, it's actually a timely one because we're talking about all things sea swimming and paddle boarding and things like that. So hopefully it will inspire you to get out there. Just briefly introducing my guest, Kerry teaches sports injury, mental wellbeing and Pilates workshops to fitness and sports professionals who want to expand their businesses. She started her fitness career in the 1990s, a bit like me, and started off as an exercise to music teacher and then started doing things like salsa and zumba. She's worked in private clubs, leisure facilities for most of that time. But what we're focusing on today is her journey from being a novice swimmer to a full sea swimmer, doing a charity sea swim and the benefits that she got from doing that and why she's gone from no I'm not getting out there on the sea to get me on the sea as much as possible so Kerry do you want to do a little bit of an introduction of yourself and then we'll talk about your journey.

kerry (01:10.86)

Yeah, thank you for having me, Sarah. I'm super excited to be here and talk a little bit about my experience with the water. So, yeah, I live in Cornwall. I moved to Cornwall in 2014. And obviously that's kind of where my swimming journey began, really. I can swim, you know, I can swim, I could swim in a pool, but I'd never really, well, I hadn't actually ever been in the sea to swim apart from going to the beach and having a little paddle, you know. So it was completely new to me. And yeah, basically my journey kind of started on the back of something quite sad as I actually, my relation, my marriage broke down and I was kind of a bit miserable and I was kind of new to Cornwall and some friends had invited me to sea swim. And I just thought that was just an absolutely impossible thing to do.

I'd never done it before but I'd started paddling in the water and not necessarily swimming and just getting cold and that was a shock to the system especially when you're only used to going to the beach in the summer and I think this was kind of I don't know like late October November time when I started swimming so yeah it was kind of I mean I don't know if anyone knows about the temperatures but March is the coldest time of the year to swim and definitely this time of year is freezing and as the summer comes and ends actually October is quite nice. So it was a nice little thing to do and yeah and then someone sort of said you know you should come to join the loose sea swimmers club which I'd never heard of and so I was just amazed on how many people went down there on a weekend so it's just incredible.

Sarah (03:04.4)

It kind of sounds a bit like me at the moment because I'm the sort of person that I'm not a strong swimmer, I'm not a good swimmer, but I can poodle along for quite a while. But I'm fine in a pool. Great. But out in the... I love swimming in the sea, don't get me wrong, I love it, but I need to be able to touch the ground and I'm not confident about being in the sea, particularly when it's very, very cold. So it sounds like you were kind of where I was.

kerry (03:13.991)

Yeah.

Sarah (03:32.912)

How did you move from there to full -on sea swimmer?

kerry (03:38.652)

So basically, I mean, Loo, I don't know if anyone's been to Loo in Cornwall, it's a very nice place, but Loo is actually an amazing beach to swim because you've got rocks, it's quite shallow, you can actually not go out of your depth if you don't want to, which is really nice. So it's really good for beginners. It's still overwhelming, but what we tend to do in our group, and again, it's just a social group, you can just turn up whenever you want on a weekend, but you swim between a rock and the pier. So you've got two points basically. So it's a bit like doing a width of a pool and you can just stand in a shallow water. And basically that's how I started. I just started swimming in the shallows, kind of going from A to B. And I remember someone saying to me, oh, the Loo Island Sea Swim's coming up in September, if you want to give it a go. And I just laughed. I can't even swim one width. And at that time,  a width is one eighth of a mile. So I couldn't actually swim one eighth of a mile at that point. But I still kept going in and what I loved about swimming in the sea is just, it's just so nice for stress and just being out in the elements. I absolutely love blue and having the sky. It's not always blue sky, but having the sky and the sea and those two contrasts of colours for me is just the most beautiful thing. And we've had some amazing summers and days out there. And it's just something so therapeutic. I can't really explain it. I mean, obviously, there's a lot of science behind cold water therapy now. But it does exactly what it says. Within five minutes of kind of shock, that initial getting in, you just feel great. And so I started just building up my lengths slowly.

And I don't know, before I knew it, I was kind of doing four wits across the bay. And I think it's because of the surroundings of socializing and having other people to talk to while you're swimming. It started off kind of a bit of breaststroke, you know, just chatting around and getting used to it. And then before I knew it, I was doing front crawl and building up my front crawl. And I bought a swimming hat and a pair of swimming goggles and I was swimming wits. 

And basically I'd mentioned to my father that I was maybe going to do the LooeIsland Sea Swim and at that time it was just a thought of, oh I'm never going to be able to do that, it's it's just, it's way out beyond my means and he actually said, you'll never be able to do that, that is absolutely ridiculous, it's too far and you're just basically, you know, you're not, you're not good enough kind of thing, you know, it was that kind of really negative spin on, well you just won't do it, it's just ridiculous and it's stupid idea and he was really quite opinionated about it and that just fueled me beyond anything I've ever known. He's like, right, I'm going to do it. And I just said to him, how much will you sponsor me if I do it? Because it was for prostate cancer. And he said 50 pounds. I was like, right, OK. So I actually started my little journey in March of that year when it was at its coldest. And I would just get getting in. And slowly, it just got easier. And I wouldn't say my technique was very good. I didn't know how to swim front crawl in the sea. I didn't have any idea of how to make it easier for me but it just felt like it was really hard work. So I actually had some swimming lessons. I had a couple of private swimming lessons with a local girl and that just changed everything for me. She helped me with my breathing and how to kind of enjoy it and I definitely would recommend having lessons, even if you have one, just to kind of... there's some tweaks that you can do.

Sarah (07:25.264)

It's interesting isn't it because in so many other areas of life we don't hesitate to have lessons or have a coach or get somebody to support us and doing something you know you wouldn't just you know a Pilates instructor like me but you wouldn't just sit down one day and give Pilates a go, you'd go to classes, you'd have somebody show you, you might even have somebody one -to -one show you their technique and things like that. It's the same for a lot of things isn't it, we're quite happy to say right I need somebody to give me that coaching, yet somehow for swimming there's almost this well I learned to swim as a child so I don't need further lessons but from what you're saying it made the difference really between just pootling along and actually swimming.

kerry (08:01.995)

Yeah It made, do you know what Sarah, it actually made such a difference that within about, I think it was a few months, I wouldn't say I'm the best swimmer in the world, but within a few months I was addicted to this swimming. And do you know what? I found it incredibly easy compared to something like running or cycling or whatever. And I remember being in the bay one day and this man was on the pier and said, you were a triathlete. I just like laughed. I was like no, no I'm not and he said your strokes are phenomenal and I just thought it was hilarious because I'd only had you know one private swimming lesson and I obviously just had this natural nap which I didn't even know I had and anyway yeah the long and short of it is I kept swimming and obviously did my first event and I just, I did find it quite hard, I won't lie. I did get halfway across Lew Island and think, oh my God, I can't see the beach and have a slight panic. And it's always what's beneath the water that panicked me more than actually finishing the event is the fear of jellyfish, sharks, anything. And you know what, it was the most incredible experience. I didn't see a fish. I didn't see a fish for the whole entire time and I was just absolutely in my element of feeling the water, feeling how it felt. We tend to wear wetsuits when we do events just to kind of protect you a little bit more. But actually it feels incredibly different wearing a wetsuit for swimming than what it does in the pool. It actually lifts you so you don't really feel like you're dragging, you feel actually more so on top of the water. It's actually a nice feeling. So I'd recommend it to anybody and would say, you know, find a beach that's kind of safe and shallow and just get in and recommend a swimming coach just to have a lesson and maybe help enjoy such an amazing thing that's free. You know, it's free to swim in the water.

Sarah (10:17.36)

There are so many swimming groups out there now that, like you say, it's not only having the opportunity to get down to the sea and swim. Obviously a lot of people might be inland, but there's quite a lot of lake swimming for people who are inland. But it's the social element, isn't it? It's that kind of being with other people that keeps you going. And I think it's something that I talk about a lot when I'm doing courses and things like that. But I think sometimes we underestimate the social, the power of the social element of exercise and activity because it's, it's that often is what keeps you going. It's all when you, I don't really feel in the mood for it today, but I want to see everybody. I want to catch up with everybody and things like that. And I think that is one of the benefits that we undersell. Those of us who are in the industry, we almost undersell that social benefit, that social network.

kerry (10:57.691)

Yeah.

I totally agree. I mean, I wouldn't say it saved me. There was lots of things that during that time that I did to help myself. But I think during that time, I was having a tough time and still trying to run a business and new to the area as well. I'd only just moved to the area and I didn't know anyone. And so for me, it was finding those connections. We all know that laughing and mucking around and it was so good for our hormones and producing good oxytocin and all that kind of stuff. But just laughing and even in the winter months when we can't actually swim, when it's too cold to swim, we just used to go down with a wooly hat on and a cup of hot chocolate and just literally just jump in the waves and act like children. And we used to get taken out by some waves and we'd end up upside down around the wrong way. And honestly, the laughter, you could hear us from the shops. It was just an amazing feeling.

And again, it gets a lot of people out of a lot of, you know, situations that, you know, life's difficult. And I think sometimes with social media and, you know, just working, especially after COVID, because it wasn't long after COVID. And I'm it was before COVID that this happened. And, you know, we could actually still swim in the sea.

And that's the thing, is we were getting together when we were allowed. Our small groups, our little pockets of groups, that was the best thing because it was quiet, but there was just enough of you to get your social fix and we would all make sure we swam far away. And I think that saved us during lockdown. It was an amazing time. And obviously I've still got those friendships now and guaranteed if you go down to the beach on a Saturday, you know, any day, there'll be people in the water. So even if you don't know anyone. I think it's just a naturally social thing to do.

Sarah (13:04.366)

And we talked about social benefit, what other benefits did you get from sea swimming?

kerry (13:11.739)

I think obviously from an exercise perspective, it was amazing. I've always had asthma and funnily enough, I don't have it anymore. So that's a big one is actually my breathing because and again, because I had a lesson and got taught how to breathe more efficiently, I actually didn't realize my asthma had even stopped. It was just one of those things that I thought, oh, I haven't had my inhaler for seven months. So, for me, asthma, it was one of the biggest things. Obviously stress, not I'm particularly stressy, but I think it really helps just make you feel so calm. Being perimenopausal, for me, obviously I don't sometimes have the symptoms of not sleeping well. So for me, exercising to that extent and having a good amount of low impact exercise for me really improved my sleep.

And I think it's just that, you know, general mental wellbeing really. We do know that cold water shock is like low dose levels of shock and cortisol is really good for mental health. So, so many benefits. I just can't, I mean, there's just so many benefits, but I think the main one for me is my breathing capacity and improve my, you know, obviously making new friends and, you know, just, it actually made me more productive in my business because I had such another time.

When I got home, I was almost more productive to think, I'm in such a good mood. Oh, I know what I'm going to do tomorrow. I'm going to make a lesson plan for this. So actually, from a business perspective, it made me happier and come up with almost new ideas that I hadn't thought of because my brain was clear. There wasn't that brain fog that you sometimes get when you've got too many ideas and you procrastinate. And I'm a procrastinator. I'm indecisive as a person and it really clears your mind so you can actually focus and that's another real benefit for swimming I think.

Sarah (15:10.576)

There are links with any kind of outdoor activity and creativity about how just that connection with nature, that time spent in nature really has this powerful impact on your brain, but also on your nervous system, which means that, you know, that creativity just seems to flow naturally afterwards. And I think it's something how many of us have ever said, oh, I need to go for a walk. I need to go and do something. I need to get some fresh air and clear my mind. There's an instinctive awareness that being outside, being out in the fresh air clears our minds, helps us. And yet so many of us don't do it. And I think it's an important habit, isn't it? Because once you start doing something regularly, it becomes a habit. And you don't think, oh, what do I need to go for? You just go for a walk because that's your habit. And I think that's really important. Do you think it, I mean, you mentioned about sort of sleep with menopause. Are there any other symptoms that you felt were helped going through the perimenopause?

kerry (16:12.727)

I'm not sure really, I think there's lots of benefits, so underlying benefits, I think it just helps your overall perspective of things. I just think that it's such an amazing thing to do. Like I say, the cold and getting cold is really important for calming your nervous system. I think it just, obviously it's really good for your digestion as well. You know, that's another thing, swimming's so good for your digestion. So I know a lot of women, because I teach women, generally struggle with bloating and having tummy ache and just feeling a bit horrible. And it's really difficult because our hormones are changing. We eat the wrong things sometimes because we're just lacking in those hormones. And I just find swimming particularly over anything else really helps the digestion. So I just think it just makes you feel less sluggish. And I just wanted to also touch on one of the things that I also found really important is the social aspect is actually having a chat, I mean obviously you can't always chat when your face is in the water, but we chat getting dressed and we muck around and it depends what mood we're in. Sometimes we're in the mood to train and other days we just want to chat. And I think it's just so nice to be able to not feel pressured to swimming 20 lengths. You know, if you want to get in and swim one or even some people don't feel great and they just turn up and want to just see other people, is you get to learn about their lives and off the back of that I started doing macrame and knitting and started to want to knit beanies and things because someone else was saying, oh, I've just made this and this was really good. And so you, you, you learn skills from other people as well. And you just get to share a bit about other people's lives, which is also so good for your mental wellbeing as well. So I think certainly during that time I was single and it was just nice to be around other people.

Sarah (18:11.92)

Yeah, and it's that social connection that we've talked about. Something else you do is paddle boarding. I have talked to another Cornishman, although he's based on the South Coast now rather than the South West. So in one of my previous episodes, I talked to Wilber Henner, who's actually involved in inclusive paddle boarding. He's got spinal cord injury, so he does a of inclusive paddle boarding. But paddle boarding is something I think that a lot of people want to try, but again, are nervous particularly as a lot of it happens on open water. It's not something you can really do in a pool. So I think that's something that I think a lot of people want to do, but like I say, they're a bit nervous because it tends to be on open water or on the sea. So tell us about your experiences of paddle boarding and did being able to see swim help with your confidence for that?

kerry (19:05.043)

I'm not sure actually about that. I I started paddleboarding because it was the in thing to do. I think certainly living in Cornwall you tend to be drawn to things like surfing, swimming, paddleboarding, kayaking because of the beaches around you. And when I was living in Lew, my house, my kitchen window was actually overlooking an estuary. So every weekend I used to see all these paddleboarders just paddling up and down the estuary and I just thought what an amazing thing that looks, it looks so cool. And actually, as I said, it was another thing and lockdown, another lockdown purchase, I'm sure paddleboard sales rocketed during lockdown, because obviously it's generally a singular activity. And I bought my paddleboard with my daughter, we went halves on this paddleboard during lockdown, never done it before. And I've got one of those inflatable ones. And I just literally took it down to the estuary. So it's, it is on open water, but it's shallow, there's a very, very mild current. So it kind of felt not as overwhelming as, say, being out in the open water. And I just initially just was on my knees. I just knelt on the paddleboard. And to be honest, I felt really stable. There's lots of different size boards you can get depending on your weight and things. And I went for a super deluxe paddleboard.

So, I mean, you know, it's very hard to fall off to be fair. And eventually just kind of played around while I was in shallow water and managed to stand up. And actually, I actually went to Wales and paddle boarded for a few hours. I actually went from beach to beach for the first time a few years ago, and that was an amazing experience. But yeah, I don't know. I think the thing is with paddle boarding is you've got a life jacket on.

Sarah (21:00.176)

Right.

kerry (21:00.656)

So if you did fall in, even if you couldn't swim, obviously I probably wouldn't advise it if you definitely are a complete non -swimmer. I'd maybe think about that. But I don't think you have to be a good swimmer to be able to be a paddle boarder at all. It's a completely different thing. And as I said, if somebody just wanted to enjoy paddling, they could kneel on the board. But it's just something I do for fun. That's one thing I don't, I do swim compared to competitively but I don't paddleboard competitively. It's something that I just love to do with my daughter and just we actually have one where we can both get on it together and just go from beach to beach get a hot chocolate and you know and just enjoy the summer and being out you know being outdoors is my favourite thing to do so anything outdoors I will give it a go.

Sarah (21:48.752)

I'm just, anyone who knows me, anyone who listens to me will know that the outdoors is my favorite place to be, you know, even in the bad weather, it's still, you know, bundle up and get out there because it's just something isn't there about the fresh air. Now you're, you're training to work with women or you have trained to work with women going through the menopause to improve physical and mental health. And you've got a range of qualifications, a range of disciplines that you can teach within exercise and things like that. So tell us a little bit more about that. Why did you decide to train so that you can support women going through menopause and what sort of things do you do?

kerry (22:17.886)

So basically I've been in the industry, as you said at the beginning, since about 1998. Obviously I was young then. I was in my youth and I'm 50 soon and I've obviously been through my own fitness career with, you know, sometimes not feeling my best. I've noticed as I, you know, the last sort of maybe four or five years, I've started to notice that, you know, when you've got to get up and actually teach, regardless whether you're a school teacher or, you know, some kind of presenter or even just going to work, when you, when the menopause symptoms come in, which obviously are different for everybody, sometimes you just feel absolutely terrible. And what I did start to notice, especially because of the range of ages that I teach are generally people over 45, is that sometimes they would come to class and you could just see that their energy was really low and you know, how are you today? Oh, I'm feeling terrible. I haven't slept last night. I've had hot flushes. And it just seemed that...

That was never a conversation that I would have when I was in my 20s and 30s. Now it's pretty much every week. And certainly because I teach quite a few classes a week, there's at least maybe 10 out of every kind of week that I get the conversation that they're not feeling great. And so I just wanted to help. It's one of the reasons why we went into Pilates in the first place is I just had this desperate need to want to help others and make them feel better. 

So I went on you know, a few courses, I've done a few different ones and kind of, you know, work my way around how I can support them, found out a little bit more about nutrition. I don't have a degree. That's not something that I've never done. But I feel like I've got enough knowledge with all of the courses that I've done to kind of support people and understand a little bit about the hormone imbalances that we generally go through in one month. And understanding that men have this one hormone that they get every day and we have this cycle that goes up and down for a whole month. So sometimes you feel absolutely amazing. And other days you just feel like awful and they don't want to get out of bed and actually understanding that that's really normal. And so that yeah, that's why I wanted to do it really.

Sarah (24:47.6)

It's really interesting, isn't it? And I think there's so much more research now and there's so much more knowledge around both menstrual cycles, but also menopause. And I know I talked to a menstrual cycle expert a few weeks back on the podcast and she was saying, you know, there is a reason why some days you can lift every single weight in the gym. And there are other days where picking out your bag hurts. And it's all to do with those hormonal fluctuations. And of course, when we come into menopause, they're not so much fluctuations, it's just whirling dervishes of hormones. And this is where I think it's so important to have instructors who are aware and who can give advice and say, do you know what, if you're not feeling it today, drop the level right down. You know, progression, in fitness, we're very big on progression. We're very big on, you know, faster, stronger, more, more, more. But actually, for a lot of us, it isn't the progression, it's understanding that, yeah, I can run on these days, but it's not going to happen on these days. I can lift on these days, not going to happen on those days. So I think it's that helping women accept and understand that their bodies need different approaches to exercise and activity on different days and weeks, don't they?

kerry (25:45.624)

Yeah, 100%, 100%. And I think that's another thing that I feel really passionate about is we just give ourselves such a hard time. Such a hard time.

And I don't actually do social media that well. I am on Instagram and Facebook for my business, but I don't actually, I don't listen to the news. I get sick and tired of looking at things about Botox and looking younger. And I'm trying to embrace, as you can see, my hair is very gray and naturally gray as I actually got to that stage where I'm I'm so done with trying to be the best business person and actually be a role model and look my best at all times. And it's terrible when you feel like crap and you've had no sleep and you've done all the right things and some, you just don't have these answers. And then you've got to think, oh my God, my tummy's bloated. I need to go to the gym. And I have so many women that I, which is where I'm kind of moving onto now with my workshops, is they are pounding the streets with their running, doing long distance running when their hormones are sometimes at their lowest and then they pick up injuries. So I started, that's how I started, I started noticing there was a real trend between long distance running with women and injuries and obviously we know our joints get worse as we get older through the lack of hormones. So I started trying to support more women with stretching and more mindful classes and doing more stretch techniques and meditation to understand why is it that you want to run 50 miles for fun? And they'll say, well, I don't like running, I hate it. So why do you do it? And I think it's because, you know, they're stressed. And the bottom line is, the bottom line is when you really sit down and ask them what the issue is, is actually they're miserable, you know, they are stressed about getting older, they're stressed at work, their marriage is breaking down, all those other factors and they're running away from, not saying everybody because some people love running, but often what I found is a lot of people didn't particularly like it, but they were trying to do it to lose weight. And so what I try to educate them is if you look at what you're eating at certain times of the month, then maybe track your cycle if you're still having one. 

Actually, there are times when you do feel amazing and those are the days when you can train hard. But when you're feeling rubbish, just be kind, do some Pilates. It's low impact. It makes you feel amazing. And that's why I was so passionate about it. And there is so much to be done still with it. But again, I've read some amazing books that I found have really helped me. And of course I'm on my journey with it too. I'm at that age where I'm struggling sometimes.

Sarah (28:28.976)

And it's so important, isn't it? Yeah. But it's like, you know, you can get all sorts of trackers these days on the online stores and things, and you can just sort of see what foods you crave, how your body reacts. Spend two, three months tracking yourself and see what it is. You know, went for a run, felt really good, could run for miles. Went for a run this day, could barely get to the end of the road.

kerry (28:47.244)

Trying to be the best teacher to support other people while you're feeling rubbish is hard work.

Sarah (29:15.352)

Once you know that that's how your body responds at different times of the month you can really start to kind of plan your activity around that and I think it's like you say there's Social media there's a lot of pressure on us to look certain ways I'm I'm you know, I'm not someone who's ever gone down the cosmetic surgery route mainly because I'm terrified something go wrong to be perfectly honest I'm convinced I'm the person that go horribly wrong for yeah, but for me it's not about looking young but good!

kerry (29:35.972)

Oh, and me, and me, and me, yeah. I have my nose on back to front.

Sarah (29:43.952)

Do you think that we're sort of coming around to a phase where it's not about looking younger anymore, it's about looking good? And there's a difference, isn't there? You can look good whatever age you're at, rather than thinking, I've got to look 40, I've got to look 30, I've got to look 20 years younger because you don't, you can't, you never will. But it's about looking good at the stage you're at.

kerry (29:51.784)

Yeah, I think it's all about self -belief and confidence within yourself and I think at some point you've got to learn to love yourself because it's the only body that you've got and I think that especially being a mother, you know, I've got a daughter, it was really, really important to me that especially growing up in the fitness industry, from a very young age that we were always around mirrors. And I remember someone telling me I was fat when I was about 21 and I was eight stone. And it was a boyfriend at the time, it was a bodybuilder or whatever, you know, and it ruined my confidence. And I was from then on constantly on the scales. And when I had my daughter, I literally just got rid of the scales. I'm not having them in the house. I don't want her to see me constantly on the scales, measuring myself, it's ridiculous. And again, when my hair went grey in lockdown, I decided to just grow it out. And I mean, so many people were negative about it. They were like, oh my God, you're going to look so old. Don't do it. If you can't afford to wash, dye your hair, I can do it for you. And I was like, I want to be, I want to dye, I don't want to dye my hair. I want to be grey. And I'm so pleased I done because I get lots of, not bigging myself up here, but I get lots of comments on my hair, and people still do not realize it's my actual hair. And this was what was underneath all that awful hair dye. And my hair was almost falling out because I was dying it every three weeks and paying a hundred pounds a time. And I know that it's not for everybody. And I'm not saying people should be naturally grey if they don't want to, but for me, it was a choice. And I feel like being really pale skinned, it was better for my complexion.

And then I started looking at, again, all the chemicals that I was putting in my body, deodorants and face creams when I did my menopause course. And I started just being a little bit more mindful about, you know, now I just put coconut oil on my face, organic stuff, I don't wear a lot of makeup. And I'm just more, I'm happier in my own skin than what I've ever been. And I'm older and I try not to be brought into these large cosmetic companies saying they're going to do this, this and this and just and actually enjoy getting older because we're not going to be younger. We've got to enjoy being the age that we are. I don't want to look 21. I want to look my age.

Sarah (32:17.648)

Yes, embrace freedom. It's embracing the freedom that comes with age as well, isn't it? There are pure expectations and things. And I think you can get away with more as well because you're older. And that's the kind of message we want from people. So do you feel that things like mastering the swimming, the sea swimming and doing that, has that really helped you to kind of accept yourself a lot more?

kerry (32:40.972)

Oh, 100%. I think that, I mean, even from a young age, because I obviously used to swim in the pool and things like that, I think I was always one of those girls that was into sport. So, I did athletics when I was young, so you didn't wear makeup for athletics. You just turn up in your kind of nakedness, if you like. So I've never been one for wearing a lot of makeup, but people see you at your absolute worst when you're down the beach at half seven. You do not do your hair. And people might think I'm an absolute slob now, because I'll be honest, but I don't have a shower before I go swimming. You're getting in the sea. You just literally get out of bed, your hair is upside down around the wrong way. I take a coffee on the way down and I literally just put my dry robe on and get in. And people see the full you when you're half past seven on a Saturday morning or whatever time it is you go. And when you've gone under the water, you might have a bit of smoke coming out of you. It's not a glamorous activity. I mean, I'm underselling it, but.

I'm one of those people that really gets my head in. I have to get my head in because if you don't do front crawl, you tend to get neck ache. So it was one of those things that I started doing breaststroke and I realized that you can't do breaststroke very well in a wetsuit. You need to do, it's better to do front crawl, but it certainly was for me. So people see you at your worst. And yeah, I honestly think that you're used to being around, there's that thing that's saying, isn't it? Find your tribe.

Sarah (33:57.904)

Yes.

kerry (34:22.653)

And I really do feel like I have. I really feel like I moved to Cornwall for a reason and I didn't know what that reason was. And I really have found my tribe. They're the same kind of people. They're non -judgmental. Our little group, I'm just going to have a little shout out to them in with seals. There's a group of about eight of us that go in, although I'm one of the irregular ones now. And we just chit chat and we never judge. They're all different ages, sizes. We never judge on each other at all and it just makes you feel amazing. I think it's when you're in the wrong crowd sometimes and forced into that environment that I think things can go a bit wrong and you do start judging yourself and I certainly don't feel judged at all here.

Sarah (34:56.782)

Yes. brilliant so tell us a little bit then just before we wrap up about Waves Health and Wellbeing because that's your company isn't it? 

kerry (35:12.86)

It is. So waves, health and well-being. Yeah. So obviously waves is the sea. It's my passion. But what I started as a Pilates teacher back in 2010 and I was just teaching Pilates classes in and around the community. And then sort of, like I said, found this kind of avenue where there's lots of sports people in Cornwall that are doing triathlons and swimming events. And I noticed a lot of them were having injuries. So I started doing workshops for sports injuries and specific ones for swimming, triathlons, cycling and they just became really popular. So I do teach classes in the community. I do teach private lessons for rehab and I have got some people that, you know, unfortunately I've got cancer and they've had chemo and, you know, getting back after that. So I look after them so they can come back to classes and the workshops are just something I do, you know, a few times a year just to educate people on learning to enjoy their sport because a lot of people will give up their sport way beyond, you know, before they need to because they've picked up injuries. So I just educate them and if you do this stretch, this stretch and this stretch and you just put that into your programme, you're not going to get injured and hopefully you're not get injured and actually you can enjoy your sport for a lot longer.

Sarah (36:24.526)

And that's the thing, isn't it? For people who really enjoy a sport, to not be able to do it is really disheartening. Really disheartening. So things as simple as the right stretches, the right strengthening exercises can really reduce your risk of injury and keep you going for much longer and improve your performance as well, which is really, really good.

kerry (36:57.602)Yeah, and I think the thing is with Pilates is again the word Pilates is a really difficult one for me because a lot of people still don't know what it is, especially where I live as well. It's not as well known as it is in sort of areas like London. People have, they don't understand what it is at all. So, you know, I have to kind of explain that one, but I'm certainly for me, I'm super excited because this month is the first month in my whole life of teaching Pilates where I've got half 50, 50 men to women split.

Sarah (37:07.588)

Oh brilliant! 

kerry (37:29.049)

So that's always nice as well, is actually there's a lot more men that are doing swimming events and training and they want to stay fit and they've seen the benefits of Pilates. Obviously it's very regimented, you know, from Joseph Pilate. So it's quite a nice thing for men to do as well as women. And I just love what I do. And yeah, I absolutely adore it. So that's it really. It's huge.  Well, funnily enough, the weather's been particularly bad here at the moment. And if I can't swim in the sea, I actually belong to a gym and there's an outdoor pool. And I just crave, I don't know about you, but we've talked about this outdoors, is I crave the color blue. I absolutely crave it. So if I can't get in the sea, I've been swimming twice this week already, I get in the pool. And if I can't do that, I'll have a cold shower.

And I never get in when it's cold, I get in when it's warm and I slowly turn it down. And it's really funny. I don't know if you know Hugh Foley Whitting still, but I remember him saying that he'd done cold water therapy for so many months and he was dreading the summer because he was worried that he wasn't going to get the same benefit from the cold water because he got so used to being cold. And I totally understand him because I find it really hard to swim in the swimming pool now after a few lengths I'm too hot. So it's already changed my makeup. And even though I might scream and say a few swear words when I get in the cold water within a few minutes, it is very addictive. It's very beautiful.

Sarah (38:54.832)

Really?

So the message from Kerry for everybody out there is if you can get into the sea and swim, do it. If you can't get into the sea, find an outdoor pool and a lot of them will be opening up from now on as well. A lot of outdoor pools and places. There's bound to be somewhere that you can go, but give it a go and see what happens. And thank you so much for coming along to talk to us. Any final message for everybody other than get into the sea and swim if you can. Yes.

Kerry 39:27.955)

Yeah.

I've got one final message is actually as far as the beaches is concerned, obviously, if you're not sure, there's a surface with sewage app, which is really good. It tells you all the safe beaches in the areas because sometimes if it's been raining, it's not always ideal conditions. And obviously go with someone else, drag a friend along or find a local group that you can go with if you're not sure. And because we are all super friendly. And the other tip, big one is if you're really worried, wear some wetsuit boots and gloves because it really takes the coldness off. So rather than going in in bare feet and bare hands, especially at this time of year, I would say, you know, go get some gloves and some boots and, or maybe wait till it gets a bit warmer. But I still wear gloves and boots now because I do get really cold. For some reason, like I say, it's the feet. I like to have my feet nice and warm.

And yeah, that's my tip, top tip is boots and gloves if you're not sure and go with a friend.

Sarah (40:38.384)

Brilliant, thank you so much Kerry and thank you everybody for listening. Let me know how you get on with sea swimming. You've been listening to me, Sarah Bolitho, and my guest this week, Kerry King. Thank you very much and we will see you soon.