Beard is the co-founder of a learn to swim school, Beard Swim Co., which located in Washington State, and they have aspirations to expand across the country. It is owned by Beard, a former world champion and seven-time Olympic medalist and it operates in a private facility that was designed and built for teaching their swimming curricula. “It has been awesome,” she said. “We have almost been open for four years, and now we are in the groove of things. We have a business that is open and running, and we are having fun with it.”
“It was pretty darn cool to win all of those Olympic medals,” she admitted. “You are trying to savor it and take it all in.”
On her daily motivations in her competitive swimming days, she said, “I am really competitive, so a lot of my motivation comes from me trying to always be better.” “Swimming is a team sport but it’s also a very individual sport,” she said. “I did a lot of goal-setting. A lot of people are born self-motivated or they have people around them that are motivated, and I feel that I am both. I was self-motivated and I have awesome people around me, so it was a perfect storm.”
She is an advocate for water safety and drowning prevention and serves on the board of the Hope Floats Foundation, a national nonprofit dedicated to providing free swim lessons to children in need. Accidental drowning remains the leading cause of death for children under the age of four. “I am on the board of Hope Floats and I have been working with water safety and drowning prevention since I was really little,” she said. “I am super passionate about this because I am a swimmer and a mom with two kids, so this takes on a whole new level of meaning.”
For young and aspiring swimmers, she encouraged them to love the sport, enjoy it, but have other things. “Balance is really important,” she said. “You need to have a balance in your life and have other loves and passions that compliment your love for your sport.”
Regarding the title of the current chapter of her life, she said “Taxi Mom,” where she is driving her kids to all of their sports. “That’s a dream for me,” she said. “To be a spectator and a supporter for them is pretty darn cool.”
Beard listed the breaststroke as her personal favorite stroke in swimming. “It is one of those strokes that you either love or hate,” she said.
She also recalled being a part of Josh Davis’ Breakout Swim Clinic. “I have done a couple of swim clinics with Josh. I enjoy working with him because he always inspires me. He is so cool, especially hearing him talk to the kids. I love Josh Davis,” she said.
Beard defined the word success as “feeling comfortable with yourself and the things that you have accomplished but not feeling completely satisfied and continuing to push yourself.” “Success can be in so many different dimensions and areas of your life such as sports, school, relationships, and family. Success is the little mini-victories that you accomplish along the road,” she said.
She concluded about the Beard Swim Co., “I turned my love for swimming in a competitive way into my life now. It’s my business and my passion, and it’s really cool. I still get to be in a pool around little swimmers and pass on the love for swimming while helping make more water-safe kids out there.”
To learn more about Olympian Amanda Beard, check out her official website.
