Check in with Julia next month to see how she is progressing or follow her on Instagram
@black.freestyler
Julia Mansi, also known as the Black Freestyler, is a 30-year-old black woman learning how to swim with the goal of swimming unaided in the ocean by 2021. Outdoor Swimmer is following her journey…
Big change for Julia since we last spoke, despite only four lessons into her journey, she decided to get over her fear of open water with a swim in the sea at Brighton. “I haven’t really worked out how I am going to transition from the pool to the sea, or when the right time to do it will be, but I thought I would just give it a go,” she says. “My friend Sally works for Swim Trek and has recently qualified as an outdoor swimming instructor, so she encouraged me to do it. Once I was in it was beautiful and I understood why people rave about the mental health benefits of being in open water. It was a really peaceful moment.”