The Big Swim for IWD and Cold Adventures 021: Nicky Chisholm

Show Notes

 

The Big Swim: 1,000 Women, One Epic Wild Swim!

 

In this episode of HeadRightOut, I chat with Nicky Chisholm, adventurer, blogger, and founder of The Big Swim—an empowering International Women’s Day event bringing together 1,000 women for a sea swim in Brighton & Dorset.

 

We dive into the power of adventure, resilience, and community, plus why Surfers Against Sewage needs our support now more than ever. Whether you're a seasoned swimmer or just wild-swim curious, this conversation will inspire you to take the plunge—literally or figuratively!

 

🔗 Full show notes below!

 

The Big Swim for IWD & Cold Adventures 021: Nicky Chisholm

 

In this episode of HeadRightOut, I chat with Nicky Chisholm, an adventurer, blogger, and founder of The Big Swim—a wild swim event bringing 1,000 women together on International Women’s Day. 🌊🏊‍♀️

 

We 'dive' into (pun intended):

~ The power of adventure for resilience & mental health
~ How wild swimming creates an uplifting, supportive community
~ The Big Swim—what it’s about & how you can get involved
~ Surfers Against Sewage – Why clean water matters now more than ever
~ Why taking small actions can create huge ripple effects

 

Resources & Links Mentioned:
- The Big Swim – Sign up or learn more: IWD 2025 - #PinkNicky
- International Women’s Day – Find events near you: https://www.internationalwomensday.com
- Surfers Against Sewage – Help protect our seas: https://www.sas.org.uk
- Adventure Stories Exeter – Get tickets: Travel Stories of Adventure Tickets, Mon, Feb 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite
- HeadRightOut Newsletter – Stay updated & support my book launch: www.headrightout.com

 

Want to help with my book launch?

• Become an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) reviewer
• Join my Street Team to help spread the word!
• Sign up via my newsletter above on headrightout.com

 

Correction: I mistakenly said Bantham Sploosh instead of Bantham Swoosh! Sorry ... my bad.

 

Tag us & share your takeaways!

#TheBigSwim #WildSwimming #HeadRightOut @headrightout @pinknicky1

 

 

If you'd like to read through the transcription of this episode, please see below:

 

Transcription

 

Nicky Chisholm The Big Swim

 

Nicky Chisholm The Big Swim

[00:00:00] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Well, welcome back everybody to the Head Right Out podcast. This is the podcast where we are trying to encourage as many midlife women as possible to head out of their comfort zone in the outdoors doing things that they wouldn't normally do. Now, it has been a while since I have recorded. My name is Zoe Langley Watson and I have been Caught up, caught up in all sorts of life stuff.

[00:00:39] Zoe Langley-Wathen We moved from our boat and we're now in a house, in Somerset and loving life and yeah, we have been caught up with all sorts of adventures and family things and yeah, personal circumstances with family that [00:01:00] needed more attention than I could possibly give if I was working and podcasting and writing.

[00:01:05] Zoe Langley-Wathen: And yeah. Trying to get a book out into the world as well. So what have I got here to tell you? Yeah, there is lots of exciting news to share with you over the coming weeks. I'm hoping to record another couple of episodes, um, where I will include more stuff about my upcoming book, ways that you can be involved in the launch of that.

[00:01:27] Zoe Langley-Wathen: And my adventure plans for 2025. So today we have a really fascinating guest and. I met Nicky at the Adventure Mind Conference 2023 and met up with her again in 2024 and we knew, in fact at 2023, we knew that we had to do a recording for the podcast but It just didn't eventuate, as I said, because I had all sorts of these family things going on.

[00:01:57] Zoe Langley-Wathen: But, we have finally got it together [00:02:00] and I'm going to not chat anymore now. I'm going to get straight into the interview with Nicky Chisholm.

[00:02:10] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Okay, welcome back everybody, I am so delighted that we have a much long awaited episode of the Head Right Out podcast. And I am here to welcome Nicky Chisholm. Good. Hello,

[00:02:25] Nicky Chisholm: Nicky.

[00:02:25] Nicky Chisholm: Hello, Luffy. Thank you so much for having me.

[00:02:27] Zoe Langley-Wathen: You're very welcome. So Nicky is an experienced project manager. She is a blogger, also in the adventure industry, and she has been exploring since she was 18.

[00:02:37] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So I am going to lead into a few questions where Nicky is going to explain all about who she is, what she's been doing, and what she's got coming up, because it's terribly exciting. So Nicky, could you explain where your love for adventure started?

[00:02:53] Nicky Chisholm: Oh, that's a good one. I definitely remember I was 18 years old.

[00:02:58] Nicky Chisholm: Um, I think just finished [00:03:00] a levels and I got invited to go along and attend a talk to be a crew on a tall ship. So it was the first time I think I've been away from home for any period of time. There were 36 girls on the ship. So it is learning about seamanship, learning about being away from home and homesickness and all You know, working and being with other people and in really cramped spaces and really wet and really windy and really seasick.

[00:03:25] Nicky Chisholm: Um, it was a baptism of fire, but I really loved it. I remember going into St. Marlow Harbour in France and we'd basically manned the rigging. So we had all 36 of us up, up the three masts saluting as he went into St. Marlow. And I wish she'd had a photograph of that. Cause I, I feel really proud now. And that's like 30 years ago.

[00:03:45] Nicky Chisholm: I just remember that moment, but it was before we all had. Cameras and drones and photos, but it just would have been a cracking, cracking shot. And I think that's. Although I was really homesick and I was really seasick, it sort of definitely [00:04:00] whetted my appetite for adventure and mum and dad were always into adventures as well when we were little, so I think it's their legacy to me and that's what I want to pass on as a legacy to my children to know that adventure and being outside is a way of navigating the many ups.

[00:04:17] Nicky Chisholm: And downs and curve balls that life throws at you. It's a way of meeting people, new challenges, testing yourself, putting yourself, even in adventures, you have adventures in adventures, don't you? So if you go on an adventure, you're bound to have 10 adventures with inside one adventure. And it's all like a big puzzle that planes left.

[00:04:35] Nicky Chisholm: I haven't got any money or that that's shut or that's closed. I'm not feeling very well. It's just like a massive puzzle all the time. So yeah, 18 years ago, still going strong now at 30 and yeah, loving it.

[00:04:47] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Amazing. So, just hearing you talking about that tour ship adventure, I would have absolutely loved to have done something like that.

[00:04:54] Zoe Langley-Wathen: When I was 18, I can imagine all of the emotions going on there, you know, the fear, [00:05:00] the adrenaline rush, climbing that rigging, the connection that you're making with one another, potentially the, the fractions as well, you know, the things going on, like the teamwork and how to work through things. So what do you think that experience taught you that you then brought through into later adventures and later life?

[00:05:20] Nicky Chisholm: I think every experience has very similar pattern in terms. It's a resilience building is confidence building. It's problem solving. It's managing conflict. It's finding new opportunities. It's finding new people. They would be applicable to every one of us on every adventure that we've probably ever been on.

[00:05:38] Nicky Chisholm: I definitely have a terrible habit of jumping in with both feet. I remember a few years ago for my 50th, I went to Greenland and ran a half marathon. I know I do it. I read the title, Half Marathon in Greenland. I just literally read a few words and I just signed up. And I always do that. I just sign up for something.

[00:05:55] Nicky Chisholm: I don't read any of it. I just think I'm going to make it happen. I like the title. I like [00:06:00] the picture. I'm going to make it happen. So I do that. And I'm getting worse. I saw something yesterday. I thought, right, I'm going to do that. A hundred kilometers in a cross country ski in Sweden. Yep. I'm going to do that.

[00:06:10] Nicky Chisholm: And then I just make it happen. I sort of work backwards. So I like jumping in with both feet. I don't know why. I think I'm not very good at reading manuals and I just jump in. Let me see if I can swim. Let me see if I can do it. And now over 30 years, I've done that so many times that the transferable skills have always been, okay, well, I can't do this, but I can do that.

[00:06:31] Nicky Chisholm: And I think they've definitely transferred, transferred, transferred. And now I'm actually quite good at jumping in with both feet and not drowning.

[00:06:37] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Yeah, no, that's, that's great. That's a bonus. What resilience and confidence to have carried through all of those 30 years since that experience. I was actually going to ask you about your next big adventure, which you've just touched on there.

[00:06:51] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So I love the fact that you dive in head first, you grab it. That's not the way I can do it. I have to read through every tiny bit of small [00:07:00] print first before I, I'll commit myself. So it's funny how we're all so different. But yeah, so you said you've done this, was it a half marathon in Greenland? Is that what you said?

[00:07:10] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Yes. Yes.

[00:07:11] Nicky Chisholm: Yeah, yeah. So that, that was for my 50th. That was a couple of years ago. Yes. And I wanted to do something for my 50th, I thought. And I really like cold places. I like cold adventures because I always run really hot. I'm in cold places. I feel like I'm at a normal temperature. So I think that's why I really love wrapping up and getting out in the snow and in the cold.

[00:07:26] Nicky Chisholm: So Greenland was for my 50th. That was a half marathon. So I trained for that. Um, I'm not a runner. I'm a terrible runner. And I run like a snail. But I run. And I like the adventure bit. So yeah, Greenland was a couple of years ago. Okay.

[00:07:39] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Okay. Right. Just rewind. So you're not a runner. I mean, oh my gosh. So there's that whole thing of, we are what we think we are.

[00:07:48] Zoe Langley-Wathen: We do something, you know, I write things down. So I call myself a writer. I might jog up the road so I can call myself a runner, but, but you're saying you're, you're not a runner, but you still signed up for this half marathon.

[00:07:59] Nicky Chisholm: Yeah, [00:08:00] because I wanted to go to Greenland and I wanted to do something punchy and powerful for my 50th to mark me being me at 50.

[00:08:07] Nicky Chisholm: And I just thought, well, I'll just do the training. So I started with a couch to 5K, then you did a 5K, then an 8K, then a 10K. Then I did a half marathon in Brighton to see if I could do the distance. And then I thought, well, I can definitely do the distance. Now I need some power and some sort of gas in the tank.

[00:08:23] Nicky Chisholm: So. When you're out in Greenland, it takes much longer. You're running on snow. You're running in spikes. You're running at minus 10. It's all very different. So you can do the distance, but you kind of need more of a sort of a superpower inside, so you need to be stronger. And I knew that if I could do the distance here, it was like building your comfort zone.

[00:08:40] Nicky Chisholm: So building, building, building, building. And I knew, knew that I could do it. So I know I did love Greenland and I'd definitely go back there. That is, is

[00:08:46] Zoe Langley-Wathen: just so empowering. Yeah, there are times where I think, Oh, I would love to go back to running, but I don't because I keep getting injuries. But now I'm thinking, Oh,

[00:08:55] Nicky Chisholm: I really did enjoy running.

[00:08:56] Nicky Chisholm: Yeah, running is good. I think some people love it, really love it, and they get up and [00:09:00] think, I've got to go for a run. I never think that. I always think, I have to go to run because my training schedule today, which is stuck to my fridge, says I've got to do four miles. So I will follow it, but I'm not a kind of a natural runner.

[00:09:10] Nicky Chisholm: I'm a natural at being outdoors and loving being outside, but that was the particular medium. For Greenland. So the next adventure that I'm doing is actually coming up in a couple of weeks. We're going as a team of eight to cross country ski a hundred kilometers in Finland. So yeah, we'll be pulling our pulks.

[00:09:27] Nicky Chisholm: It's self, um, well, I can't think of the word, self supported, self contained, self supported, that's the word. It's all self supported. So we need to travel as light as possible. And I'm a terrible bag lady. I carry spares. I carry barbecues. I carry umbrellas. I carry boots and flip flops. I carry everything.

[00:09:44] Nicky Chisholm: So this is like, I'm. It's been spread over my bed and floor for weeks. I just cannot get it down to really light because I've got to pull it. I'm a bit rubbish at that. So I'm going to need some help with my crew, which I'll meet out in Finland. And then they'll say, Nicky, you can't have that. You can't have that.

[00:09:59] Nicky Chisholm: [00:10:00] And you can't have that. I can imagine it. And so how long have you been training for this then, Nicky? So, I've basically been going for the last couple of months, so I always give myself a three or four month lead in to make sure I'm strong enough. And one of the things I found really hard last time I did it, is every time you fall over, you've got a rucksack on, and your pulk is attached to you, and you've got two skis attached to you.

[00:10:22] Nicky Chisholm: Getting up was just, sometimes I couldn't do it. I had to take the rucksack off, then take the pulk off, then stand up and then do it all again. And every time you use that uses up tons and tons of energy and it's quite demoralizing. So one of the things I have been doing in my kitchen every morning and my boys think I'm mad, I sort of fall over and get up.

[00:10:39] Nicky Chisholm: So I'm doing that 30 times I fall over and get up. So it's just a way of trying to replicate that weird sort of movement to get myself up and down. Because one time I just couldn't get up and the girls had to literally lift me off the ground. So I just needed to be stronger. Yeah. So it's muscle

[00:10:55] Zoe Langley-Wathen: memory and strength, core strength.

[00:10:57] Nicky Chisholm: Yeah, strong, really, yeah, core strength. So I'm doing [00:11:00] lunges back and forward in the kitchen and across the front room. And yeah, my son's a personal trainer. So he's been saying, Mom, you've got to do this. You've got to carry these weights. So he's been helping me. Oh, that is just amazing. Really,

[00:11:11] Zoe Langley-Wathen: really inspiring.

[00:11:12] Zoe Langley-Wathen: And so there's so many things that are happening for you. And this is, I guess, this is your superpower because you are a project manager. You can have lots of things happening at any given time. And you know, which direction to take them, you know, how to follow them through, you know, how to see them to a conclusion, but there's something big happening in March, isn't there?

[00:11:34] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Would you like to share with us about that? I

[00:11:38] Nicky Chisholm: would love to. Um, so yeah, project manager is my day job. So I project manager for products, services, websites in the adventure industry. But that's what I do for bread and butter. But my passion project, which I've been running for the last three years, is called The Big Swim.

[00:11:53] Nicky Chisholm: So it is a wild swim for women in Brighton to celebrate [00:12:00] International Women's Day. International Women's Day is a worldwide, it's a global day. Um, on Saturday, March the 8th, which basically marks a special day for women. So women all over across the world, they want all sorts of activities, workshops, conferences, activities, online and offline.

[00:12:18] Nicky Chisholm: And it's a way of one day for uniting and drawing attention. To women, where we've come from, where we need to go in terms of politics, education, medicine, um, law, um, social community, all sorts. So wherever you are in the world, there is definitely something there for you. Now, what I want to do is I'm a massive supporter of women.

[00:12:39] Nicky Chisholm: I'm really good at getting women together, uniting them and getting them doing stuff. So I wanted to do something and get women together. So we use the medium of swimming. We've all been swimming like lunatics since during lockdown and afterwards and loving it. I've been for my dip this morning, you'll be very proud.

[00:12:55] Nicky Chisholm: Freezing. Gosh, yes, it would have been, what, about [00:13:00] minus one today? I was too busy screaming. I'm a horrible, like, go and scream and yelp and then get out again. I'm rubbish. That would be me. I'm not sophisticated or quiet. Yeah, I'm properly rubbish. So the swim is, we've done for the last few years. The first year we had 250 swimmers, second year we had 500, and I thought we'd set ourselves a little goal of getting a thousand this year.

[00:13:23] Nicky Chisholm: So, um, we're going to do 500 swimmers in Brighton and 500 swimmers in Dorset. And what we want to do is have a thousand swimmers on that day. They've been sold out the last couple of years and I know they'll sell out again. The day is It's only a couple of hours, because obviously it's March, it's a dip in the sea, it is freezing.

[00:13:42] Nicky Chisholm: But the energy, and the spectacle, and the noise of 500 women, and their supporters, and their kids, and their parents, and dogs, and cousins, and aunties. There is hats, and bobble hats, and picnics, and champagne, and cups of tea. It's just brilliant. Honestly, I can feel [00:14:00] my heart filling, literally, I can feel it.

[00:14:02] Nicky Chisholm: If I could just bottle that. Honestly, we'd be millionaires. If you could bottle that feeling, it's almost like you can feel it. You could feel the energy. I can feel it here. It's palpable just hearing you talk. It's so lovely and then it's really brilliant. We've got drone footage of everyone going in the sea.

[00:14:21] Nicky Chisholm: So then you hear 500 women all going in the sea, going screaming and weeping and laughing. And everyone makes a real effort with like sparkles and headdresses and colourful outfits. You know, there's. Sequins and we've got one. She's a professional mermaid SJ. She comes. She has the whole mermaid outfit and she looks amazing and there's 500 women on that beach and for the first year I was so involved in it.

[00:14:47] Nicky Chisholm: I didn't really get to chat to loads of people, but last year it was so lovely. People were saying, you know, I've been looking forward to this all year. I'm struggling with my mental health. I wanted to come down and do something. I met a grandma and then her daughter and [00:15:00] her granddaughter. So there was Three generations of them swimming.

[00:15:03] Nicky Chisholm: There's people celebrating birthdays. There's people celebrating milestones in their lives. And I just thought this is, I was really proud and women are so good. They've their natural connectors, put them in the right place. They are natural connectors and you just hear the noise and they're sharing cake and chatting saying, where have you come from?

[00:15:22] Nicky Chisholm: You know, how long have you been swimming? They really good. They just blossom, put them in the right place and you can literally see them flourishing. That's beautiful because then

[00:15:33] Zoe Langley-Wathen: they're supporting other women who are perhaps more novice swimmers. Yeah. I would be like that. Just not everybody has the confidence to go and do that.

[00:15:42] Zoe Langley-Wathen: And so having a group, a community of women who are supporting one another, and they're not just supporting one another in the swimming, I'm guessing. There's possibly conversations going on about things that are going on outside of their swimming life, you know, things at home, things in the family, things at work.

[00:15:58] Zoe Langley-Wathen: It just has a knock on [00:16:00] effect, doesn't it? For you, what does that mean to you being part of that swimming community?

[00:16:04] Nicky Chisholm: For me, I love it. I love, like, my swimming group is the, this morning. So we meet, we chat, and we chat in the sauna, and we go in, swim in the sea, and It's your kind of your hour to decompress, you're not, you know, you're not mom, you're not daughter, you're not business woman, author, writer, whatever, you're just you and it's lovely and you go in there and you just chat and it's really refreshing.

[00:16:29] Nicky Chisholm: One of the things that I want to do with the swim, I wanted to make it a sexy 1000 is a big number and I thought when if all those women come and they register, I want to make sure that they all do something. So on the registration form. We have asked me saying, look, you're part of this swim. You're also part of the solution.

[00:16:46] Nicky Chisholm: You can take action. You can help, you can support, you can elevate, you can amplify other women. What can you do? So we're asking those 1, 000 women to take one action. So I know that not just on the day, I've drawn attention to International Women's [00:17:00] Day. I've drawn attention to Brighton Sea Swimming. I've drawn attention to the blog.

[00:17:03] Nicky Chisholm: So people, if they want resources on swimming, being safe, comfort zone. I know. They have a place to find resources. I wanted them to have a slightly longer term effect. So I'm saying if you've joined up and you've signed, you've got a ticket, what are you going to do to help somebody in your environment?

[00:17:19] Nicky Chisholm: Can you support a charity? Can you be a volunteer? Can you be a mentor? Can you run a workshop just to do something? So I want from that day a thousand. Actions to be taken from those 1000 women to help other women in that community. And then there'll be the ripple effect from not only a 500 women were going in the sea, which is proper ripples, but then like a ripple effect afterwards, you know, for the next six months or a year from the actions that people take.

[00:17:47] Nicky Chisholm: So I want it to be fun and frivolous, but then I'm a real person. Take action, do something. What can you do? Play to your strengths. Yeah. And

[00:17:54] Zoe Langley-Wathen: having that mission behind it means, yes, you can have fun, but you have got something perhaps a bit [00:18:00] deeper or a bit more serious behind it where it's serving a purpose.

[00:18:03] Nicky Chisholm: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Because I'm really good at the front of the frivolous and the nonsense, but there needs to be some sort of like, um, raison d'etre. Normally I'd be raising money. Now we are raising money for Surface Against Sewage. That's our chosen charity. So 1 for every ticket goes to Surface Against Sewage.

[00:18:22] Nicky Chisholm: They'll also be there doing their collecting as well. And everybody that's involved in seaswimming, whether you'll be a paddleboarder, kayaker, seaswimmer, fisherman, they would have Felt the effects of the sewage issues over the last couple of years. Most people have felt the effects firsthand and they will understand the need for surface against sewage because not only do they do beach litter picks, but they do have policy and then they're working with the central government as well to get these policies through for clean water.

[00:18:54] Zoe Langley-Wathen: That's so important, isn't it? Yeah, get that message across. Fabulous. So, looking further [00:19:00] on, how do you see, or what would you like to see women who are listening to this today? What do you want to see them do? How can they take part? How can they find out more? Yeah, what would you like to say to them?

[00:19:13] Nicky Chisholm: I think obviously if you come along to the swim, it's in Brighton, it's in Dorset on Saturday, the 8th of March coming up as the tickets go live on January the 20th.

[00:19:22] Nicky Chisholm: I appreciate that that's South Coast based and it's not all over the country. I would say if you go for a swim yourself and let us know, use the hashtag the big swim and let us know what you're doing. So do something on that day. You know, if you want to swim. Do your swim and then use the hashtag at the big swim and then we can follow what you're doing.

[00:19:40] Nicky Chisholm: Do something in your own community. So go onto the International Women's Day website. Look at the events. You can filter by events or you can filter by location or dates and pick something and go along to it. So you are part of the activity. You're part of conversations that are taking place and then, you know, you can be part of it.[00:20:00]

[00:20:00] Nicky Chisholm: Don't underestimate what you can do because if you do something, your friend or your neighbor will go, she's doing something. I'm going to do that. And then somebody else might do that. You know, don't underestimate people. Let's just think, Oh, if I only give a pound, it's a pound. But if a hundred people give a pound, that's a hundred quid.

[00:20:15] Nicky Chisholm: You know, I've done enough fundraising to know, just, just get involved. If people say I've only got a fiver, but I think Mate, you've just given me a fiver. Fabulous. And then somebody else sees a fiver and then they give a fiver. It's, it's the cumulative effect of people doing stuff. So just make an effort to get involved.

[00:20:31] Nicky Chisholm: International Women's Day. Um, look at their website, if you're going to do a swim, then tag, hashtag the big swim, sign up to the new, my newsletter. We've got eight blogs going out over the course of the next couple of weeks. And that's things like getting outside of my comfort zone, why I should get involved, you know, things a little bit more generic, just do something.

[00:20:50] Nicky Chisholm: You know, when you find women in the right place. It's so brilliant and so empowering and you can walk away having started your day badly and [00:21:00] you can think, I'm okay, this is good and maybe, maybe I'm finding my tribe and that's what everyone wants. Find your people and you can flourish.

[00:21:08] Zoe Langley-Wathen: God, yes,

[00:21:08] Nicky Chisholm: definitely.

[00:21:09] Nicky Chisholm: And

[00:21:10] Zoe Langley-Wathen: that thing of don't underestimate what you can do. That is so important for people to hear. So if there are women that are thinking, well, I'd really love to take part in that. That. And I, maybe I live in Dorset or I live near Brighton and I could attend, but I'm not very confident about being in the water.

[00:21:26] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Is there, is there a level of technique or what's the, what's their level? What's that need to be? No,

[00:21:33] Nicky Chisholm: I would, I would say. If you're brand new to sea swimming, do not in a million years come down in March and get in the sea because it is so cold, but come down, paddle your feet in the sea, which will last about five seconds and then come out, but come down and be part of the event, paddle your feet in the sea and be involved.

[00:21:55] Nicky Chisholm: Do not swim because it will put you off for life. You might give yourself a terrible shock and you [00:22:00] won't. be able to do it again. But most of the swimmers that will come down, we do have swimmers that it's called skin. So you're just in your swimming costume. Or if you're me, I have the wetsuit, I have the boots, I have the gloves, I have the bubble hats because I get so cold in the water.

[00:22:15] Nicky Chisholm: So, um, yeah, everybody's welcome. It is, um, it is a community event. So it's non profit making. We do have lifeguards there. We have On the beach lifeguards and in the sea lifeguards. We also have first aid to make sure everyone's safe. We've got health and safety and risk assessments and all the rest of it.

[00:22:32] Nicky Chisholm: Cause I want to make sure all my swimmers are safe, but it is, you know, you do do it under your own, um, what's the word, your own steam and you have to be responsible for yourself. So we say no drinking, no drugs. Obviously.

[00:22:44] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Yes. That's

[00:22:44] Nicky Chisholm: great.

[00:22:45] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Okay. So many exciting things going on there. In terms of the swimming community and what you get up to, what you wear, what you talk about, I mean, are there things around that that are fun and things that we don't know?[00:23:00]

[00:23:00] Zoe Langley-Wathen: I know of swimmers who swim not too far away from here at the Marine Lake in Clevedon. And I know they say that they have such an amazing time there. But yeah, they always seem to be like there with their bubble hats and banging on about having to have cake afterwards, which sounds wonderful. That is appealing to me in itself.

[00:23:17] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So yeah, what are some of the fun things that you chat about and that you wear and that you

[00:23:22] Nicky Chisholm: do? I think There's a kind of elevation. So you start in your group, you go along as one person and you think, Oh, I'm a bit nervous. And then you meet your group and then you do a swim, then you do another swim. And currently my group, we, in January, it's fancy dress.

[00:23:36] Nicky Chisholm: So this morning it was mermaids. And pirates. So you go along, not only are you freezing cold and you've got your wetsuit on, but you're dressed as a really weird pirate and a really weird mermaid. And of course you look completely nuts. But then that's the whole principle and the whole point of it. Um, so there's a bit of silliness and then there's also when you're getting changed, you know, people start talking.

[00:23:53] Nicky Chisholm: It can be more serious, how's your week? How's your mom? How are you doing? That kind of thing. But then there. I found with a lot of groups [00:24:00] there's an elevation so sometimes people might meet for lunch or it's somebody's birthday or they think look there's a 5k in another county, should we go and do that?

[00:24:07] Nicky Chisholm: Or um, there's a swim in Turkey, should we go and do that? Or look does anyone fancy saving up and going to Jersey to do a swim? So it seems to be when I'm listening to the conversations, there is a sort of a pathway you start really nervous and you never know in a couple of years time you might end up in a boat.

[00:24:25] Nicky Chisholm: in the Galapagos Islands doing a swim, which is what I've seen in one of my group. Now that's obviously extreme, but a group of us last summer, we went down to Bantham and we did an 8k swim there together all through the river. And it was lovely. So I had a little community because I asked my friends and my family, do they want to go?

[00:24:43] Nicky Chisholm: And they say, no. So I need to find. My swim tribe so that I can do the swims that I want. So there's sort of like an elevation and a pathway. So you just never know where you're going to go. You've just got to be open to those opportunities. If somebody says, look, do you want to do a 5k think, okay, I'll do it, but I'm going to [00:25:00] train, I'm going to swim, you know, it takes me like three hours.

[00:25:03] Nicky Chisholm: I'm really slow, but I do it. And laugh and chat and eat food along the way and shovel jelly babies in, we all need fuel. I let me tell you a little story because you're like this. So I was in the Bantham Swoosh. We'd been in the water for a couple of hours and there was kind of like, um, a muddy island in the middle of this river.

[00:25:22] Nicky Chisholm: And I stopped and I looked behind and there was a lady and she was looking really worried. And I said, I shouted out, are you all right? Can I help you? And then we were in the middle of a river and um, I was looking at this woman thinking, I know this woman, I know this woman, who is she? And I just looked at her, she was so, so beautiful, even though she had a wetsuit on and goggles and a hat, I could just see she's just beautiful.

[00:25:45] Nicky Chisholm: And I was looking at her skin thinking, I know this woman, Anyway, it turned out to be a Hollywood superstar. I can't say any more than that.

[00:25:52] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Oh, I've got goosebumps. I mean, that is just amazing.

[00:25:55] Nicky Chisholm: How weird is that? In a river, in the middle of nowhere, and it [00:26:00] was a Hollywood superstar, and I was like, oh my god, this is so weird.

[00:26:03] Nicky Chisholm: And she was freezing cold, and I fed her jelly babies, so I always have jelly babies in my wetsuit here. So we're in this river, it was all freezing cold, we're really white, and I gave, I was feeding her jelly babies, because she had not an ounce of fat on her, and she was freezing cold, and I was like, mate, I've got to get you somewhere safe.

[00:26:20] Nicky Chisholm: So I was shoving the jelly babies in, and then we got her home. I know! Hollywood superstar. I'm not allowed to say who. No, that's fine. But

[00:26:27] Zoe Langley-Wathen: that's so incredible that she is being a part of that and that she is, well, she's a woman. She's, she's taking part in, that wasn't for International Women's Day. I've just realized.

[00:26:39] Zoe Langley-Wathen: That was Bantham. That was the sploosh. Yeah. But yeah, the Bantham

[00:26:42] Nicky Chisholm: sploosh. No, it was, that was just swim. There, there, there is so many now brilliant events, isn't there? Across the country for swimming or hiking or whatever, but she just happened to be there in that one. And I think with the sea or swimming, it's a great leveler.

[00:26:55] Isn't

[00:26:55] Nicky Chisholm: it? Everyone's welcome to do it. Yeah, yeah, definitely.

[00:26:58] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So there's so much [00:27:00] that we haven't yet talked about that I would have loved to have talked about with you because you have done so many other interesting and exciting adventures and expeditions and challenges. Um, But I guess, Nicky, I'm coming to the end where I normally ask all of my guests the question that is, do you have a head right out moment?

[00:27:20] Zoe Langley-Wathen: It's a moment where you've pushed yourself out of your comfort zone and done something that you never really thought you were able to do. So out of your mammoth amount of adventures, is there one thing where you can say, yes, I really push myself out my comfort zone and I push through and I do. It's easy.

[00:27:36] Nicky Chisholm: It's, it's so easy. It just popped into my head straight away. So on the start line of the Greenland half marathon, I was shaking. I always do that. I get so overexcited, like a small child. And then my adrenaline is. Going mad. I'm half panicking. I'm half my adrenaline. I'm half excited and I'm half terrified and I just, I just can't control it.

[00:27:55] Nicky Chisholm: And I just stream like that. So I remember standing on the start line thinking, [00:28:00] just get your shit together. Just get your shit together. And there was a guy with a gun on one side of me to keep away the polar bears. And then there was the guy with the starting pistol on the other side. And I was like, Nicky, what are you doing?

[00:28:11] Nicky Chisholm: Why would you ever be anywhere where there's a man on a gun on the start line? This is not good. And as soon as the gun went off, I just ran. I'm not good at standing still in that sort of moment. I like just need to move and I knew if I put one step, then there was another step and that's it, I was off.

[00:28:27] Nicky Chisholm: So as soon as I could go, it was really horrible being held in like a holding pen and just shaking. And not being able to put the energy somewhere and streaming like that. And of course it's like minus five. So these are beginning to, you can't see out of your eyes and your contact lenses feel funny and you're streaming down here and your nose is like dripping.

[00:28:46] Nicky Chisholm: It was like, Jesus, could you just let me run? And I was off the gun, the gun went off. And I said, I was like, Nicky, this is your moment. You've been training for like. 18 months for this. This is your moment. I had no headphones, nothing. I just [00:29:00] ran and I bloody loved it. I was in the middle of nowhere, the most remote I've ever been, the coldest I've ever been, never run on a glacier, never run on spikes.

[00:29:08] Nicky Chisholm: So it was all those things I've never done, never done, never done, never done. And do you know what? I bloody loved it. Every minute of it, weirdly enough.

[00:29:16] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Epic. Well done. Everything you say, it just shines. It just has a way of making me feel like, Oh my gosh, that sounds like it's going to be incredible. But thank you.

[00:29:27] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Thank you so much, Nicky. Yay! Is there, is there anything else that you would like to share that you feel that we haven't talked about that you would have liked to have had the opportunity

[00:29:37] Nicky Chisholm: to talk about? Oh my God, probably millions. But do you know what? Let's save it for another day. I think we'll save it for another day because all I would say is I just want to say thank you for having me.

[00:29:46] Nicky Chisholm: I love listening to podcasts. I love listening to your podcast and I'm looking forward to my community listening to us and getting your podcast out into the wider world. So anyone that wants to join the, the big swim www. [00:30:00] pinknicki. com Come along and join us. And yeah, that's it.

[00:30:03] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So thank you. Great. Thank you so much, Nicky.

[00:30:05] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Nicky Chisholm. This has been an absolute pleasure. Thank you. Thanks, Zoe.

[00:30:17] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Wow. Wasn't that an amazing conversation with Nicky? I really wish I had had longer to chat with her, but I was watching the clock all the time and it's that whole thing with the platform that begins with Z. For a while there, during COVID, we had unlimited time and, you know, I used to go up to an hour or just over and yeah, 40 minutes just never seems quite long enough.

[00:30:41] Zoe Langley-Wathen: But yeah, so much. That could be unpacked from that conversation. I mean, something that I've written down here to include in this summary at the end was a thousand actions. This is what Nicky is aiming for. Or, you know, would dearly love to see happen a thousand actions [00:31:00] to be taken from those thousand women to help other women in that community and the ripple effects as a result of that would just be incredible.

[00:31:10] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So, you know, if you think about it. What Nicky's doing, she's uniting all of these women together across the South Coast in a bid to encourage them to swim more, try world swimming if they haven't done before, get together in a community of like minded women, and it's not all about the swimming as you heard Nicky say.

[00:31:31] Zoe Langley-Wathen: They are a vibrant community, they're fun loving, they will try things, they're supportive. That's, I mean, that's the thing about women, when you get them together in groups, they are supportive. And it's about raising awareness for International Women's Day, and the focus aligns with International Women's Day 2025, hashtag, Accelerate Action Campaign, which is helping to amplify its message and take one action from that day to accelerate [00:32:00] positive change.

[00:32:00] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So that's what the whole thousand actions to be taken from those thousand women to help other women in the community is all about. And then supporting, the charity they're supporting is Surface Against Sewage, which obviously is a massive cause that really needs support, those people who are advocating for change in, in our rivers and seas.

[00:32:21] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So, Nicky sent me some information earlier and it talks about how the South Coast. Faces significant challenges with sewage pollution and plastic waste. It's affecting our beaches, it's affecting our marine ecosystem, that affects our food chain and our health. There's so much about the ecosystem underwater that actually really impacts on us as human beings and I think it's very short sighted for the government's, um, the people in power to not realize this.

[00:32:53] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So I don't want to get too political, but there are certain things that do need to be said. So something that [00:33:00] Nicky sent me previously about wild swimming were the health benefits. And she says here that some of the health benefits that are included are the fact that it can help with multiple aches and pains, the weight of family.

[00:33:15] Zoe Langley-Wathen: And I think what she means by that is that it can help reduce the weight of all of the family issues that might be going on for you. So if you're having troubles, you can share those problems with other people. But also just being in the water can help reduce those problems and in a few mental health as well.

[00:33:34] Zoe Langley-Wathen: And it can help with illnesses. Blue health, it says here. Sea swimming is known to stimulate the parasympathetic system, which is responsible for rest and repair, and can trigger the release of dopamine and serotonin. We all need a little extra dopamine hit every now and again. Sea water is rich in magnesium.

[00:33:51] Zoe Langley-Wathen: It can help us relax, relieve stress, and promote sleep. For the spiritually minded, it is a place to tune in and tap into the experience on [00:34:00] another level. I love it. I love it, and yet I've never really got into swimming in a big way, and I would love to be able to do it. But it's just, you know, we've all got our thing, haven't we?

[00:34:10] Zoe Langley-Wathen: It's, you know, what is our thing that we connect with? Yeah, she just makes it sound so inviting. So, other things I wanted to mention about this. So yes, 1 for every ticket that is sold for the big swim goes to Surfers Against Sewage. And what was the other thing I made a note of? Oh yes, I did notice that I made a little boo boo and it just made me chuckle, I left it in.

[00:34:37] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So I was talking about the Bantham sploosh and of course it's not. Those people who know all about the Bantham sploosh would have been screaming at their phones, or at their platforms, or at their Alexas, or wherever they're listening to this podcast. Um, going, it's not sploosh, it's swoosh. So yes, apologies for that.

[00:34:56] Zoe Langley-Wathen: But yeah, love the story about the Hollywood superstar needing a little bit [00:35:00] of jelly baby assistance from Nicky. I thought that was great. And it's the Bantham swoosh. So apologies there. So yes, get yourselves over to pinknicki. com and get yourself a ticket. And the last time I checked, which was probably five or six days ago, I think seven or 800 tickets had been sold already.

[00:35:19] Zoe Langley-Wathen: There's only, what would it be? About three weeks left. So I think she's going to make it. She's going to get those thousand tickets sold and really make an impact.

[00:35:34] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So exciting stuff with my book. So the book. Long awaited, it's been four and a bit years in the making, all being well, I've got my fingers tightly crossed here, all being well, it will launch on the 15th of April. I say all being well because it has been a really steep learning curve with time management.

[00:35:56] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So much to do and it's just me. I [00:36:00] haven't got somebody else there saying, right, you've got to do this next. You've got to do this next. I've never done it before. And I'm just gradually working my way through each of these processes, but the book is finished, complete, it's been professionally edited by an amazing editor, also Nicky.

[00:36:18] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Seems to be a popular name in this episode. So yes, it's been professionally edited and I am doing the artwork. I'm doing a front cover, which is using the reduction lino cut process. Any of you who are printmakers will know that that takes time. It'd been 25 years since I'd done any printmaking. I did do a degree in fine art, so, you know, I've got some experience there, but yeah, it'd been a while.

[00:36:44] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So. I'm working on that still. I should have had it done probably a month ago. Yeah, I'm, I just want it to be right. And I'm trying not to get into that situation where I'm trying to make it perfect. I [00:37:00] realize it's better to have it done and not perfect than Not done and perfect, if you know what I mean.

[00:37:07] Zoe Langley-Wathen: But yeah, it is a massive learning curve. I am going to take this through into the second book when I begin writing that. But yes, watch this space. If you would like to be notified about The book and any other information to do with Head Right Out, please, please go to the website www. headrightout. com and click subscribe.

[00:37:31] Zoe Langley-Wathen: There will be a pop up that comes up. I also possibly need to go on to the. Website actually make sure there is a subscribe button as well, but you can subscribe via that pop up and you will be notified via a newsletter when the book is released and all the other information to do with it. It will also give me the opportunity to email people who have subscribed the opportunity to help me with the launch.

[00:37:58] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So it might [00:38:00] be that you want to be an arc reader. So that's an advanced reader copy reader. It might be that you want to be part of my street team, which would involve you posting regularly on social media for a couple of weeks. Yeah, there's, there's all sorts of little jobs that if we've got a lot of people doing it, it just.

[00:38:20] Zoe Langley-Wathen: breaks it up and just helps us to support one another and you'll be supporting me as well and for which I will be eternally grateful. Okay, in other news, I've got another solo adventure coming up in April of this year and this is actually going to be almost a mirror of what I did last year so some of you won't I don't actually know what I did last year because I wasn't podcasting at that point.

[00:38:47] Zoe Langley-Wathen: I was posting it on social media, however. So I walked to Carnglaze Caverns in Cornwall from Somerset and That was to go and see the opening night of Salt [00:39:00] Lines, which was a performance between the Gig Spanner Big Band and Rainer Wynne, Salt Path. I walked from my home in Somerset to Cornwall. It was about 125 miles.

[00:39:10] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Brutal weather in May, would you believe? Dartmoor nearly killed me. That's a whole other episode. But it was such a powerful experience because I hadn't actually done a solo walk like that in probably 10 years. And I hadn't realized it had been so long. So yeah, it really, really pushed me out of my comfort zone and stretched me beyond what I thought I was capable of at 53.

[00:39:36] Zoe Langley-Wathen: And Hey, I did it. I'm here and it really did give me a boost of resilience and confidence for a long time afterwards. And actually, I'm going to be talking about that particular walk at the Adventure Stories in Exeter at the end of this month. So if any of you are in the South or Southwest and you fancy coming along [00:40:00] to Gosh, I've forgotten the name of the place, but I will put a link in the show notes.

[00:40:05] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So there'll be a link in the show notes for the adventure stories, tickets are 6. 50 and there's going to be me and another speaker and a lovely community of like minded people talking and wanting to hear more about getting out there and adventuring.

[00:40:27] Zoe Langley-Wathen: There's also going to be another adventure for me and Mike towards the end of the year. Now, I'm not going to say anything about that just yet because it hasn't been announced officially anyway. But yes, we're in the planning stages of that still, and it's very exciting. And I'm sure we'll probably end up having a whole episode on its own just for that.

[00:40:49] Zoe Langley-Wathen: So yeah, there's all sorts of exciting things going on. And this is where I now need to finish with a Head Right Out moment. Okay, so I posted in my Head Right Out [00:41:00] hub, last week, I think it was, a photograph of me at the starter marker of the South West Coast Path 14 years ago. Gosh, I can't believe it was 14 years ago.

[00:41:09] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Where's that time gone? It was the night before I was starting my big walk, and I posted about how I was feeling, and about what my future plans are likely to be, and yeah, kind of what's been happening really for me over the last few weeks, and this lovely lady who's been part of the hub for quite a long time now, she posted a comment.

[00:41:31] Zoe Langley-Wathen: And the photograph too, which really resonated with me and made me feel like I am, I don't know, I'm really looking forward to my older years. It gave me hope, you know, when in your 50s, and you start getting a few aches and pains and you start thinking, Oh, gosh, you know, am I still going to carry on doing these really active things?

[00:41:54] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Well. Seriously, this is great. This is really inspiring. So Joe says, I'm well beyond [00:42:00] midlife now, 70 in a couple of years. In my 50s, I started cycling for leisure, which became a passion, not fast or furious or technical, rather getting out into nature, focusing on the journey. I always wanted to cycle camp, so I did on my own at first, as then I hadn't met others who wanted to.

[00:42:20] Zoe Langley-Wathen: I did not do mega journeys, one night away to start, and then a couple. I learned you don't have to go far or fast, or for long, to have an adventure. I gradually found a small group of friends who share my passion, and we head off together, still wandering slowly on wheels and camping along the way.

[00:42:39] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Unfortunately, public transport with bikes, especially in a group, can be challenging, but we have braved it occasionally. My overthinking, overplanning, and worrying about what could go wrong. My aim ahead is to focus on what could, and usually does, go right and relax more. There are more kind people than [00:43:00] dangerous ones.

[00:43:01] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Oh, oh yes, definitely. And that's what I found when I've been walking. And there's a gorgeous photo of Jo sat there. She's got her bike loaded up with dry bags strapped to her bike. It looks like she's taking a selfie with a sarnie. A cute, it looks like a cucumber sandwich in her hand. And I, I just spotted, I never spotted this before.

[00:43:22] Zoe Langley-Wathen: She's got a mascot sticking out of her rucksack. I think that's a rucksack. Or a bike. No, it's not. It's her bike. It's a bag that's on the front of her bike. Of course, she sat in front of it. And there's this cute little doll with kind of wild hair and big eyes. You know, like the manga style eyes. Great little doll that is, and that must be her little travelling companion.

[00:43:48] Zoe Langley-Wathen: I replied to Jo about this, and let's see what she said. I said, I love everybody. I love everybody. I do. I really do love everybody. Wow, Jo, I love [00:44:00] everything about this. You started something new at a time when a lot of women retreat to safety. There are always challenges, but looking back, I'll bet you'll see how that shaped the adventure.

[00:44:12] Zoe Langley-Wathen: I'm interested to know how you found your little group of friends, your tribe. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. And she replied, I found my little group through cycling with Breeze and chatting while out on rides. I trained as a Breeze leader and led rides for a few years, encouraging more women to overcome barriers to cycling.

[00:44:30] Zoe Langley-Wathen: I'm not fast enough, won't keep up, or I don't feel safe. You know those things. And she now volunteers on the National Cycle Network with Sustrans. I'm thankful I have a supportive husband. We both have our different cycling loves and follow our own paths and trails. Isn't that great? So Even now, her and her husband, they go off their own separate ways because they have their own things that they want to get from cycling.

[00:44:55] Zoe Langley-Wathen: And I just think that's fantastic. And that's kind of what Mike and I do. You know, we [00:45:00] love to go off and do our own thing, but we also love going off and doing stuff together too. When the fancy takes us, I guess. Right. Well, that's all for now. I hope to be back now I've got this all set up, I've got my little studio set up in here with curtain rails around the ceilings and lights and the mic and yeah, it's, it's a bit different from the boat, but it works.

[00:45:26] Zoe Langley-Wathen: Perhaps I can team it up with a blog post and an Instagram post, because I'm sure there'll be people who will want to see what it looks like and how it all got fixed together. Okay, everybody, I hope you are all having a good start to the year. I hope you've had a good 2024. If you haven't, I hope you're coming through the other side and starting to piece things back together again and thinking about how you can redirect your life.

[00:45:52] Zoe Langley-Wathen: There's all sorts of things that go on for people. You know, every time of our life, it's never perfect, is it? And so please, [00:46:00] please don't see, you know, my posts on Instagram or other people's posts on Instagram thinking, Oh gosh, it all looks just beautiful and idyllic and wonderful because trust me behind it all, it never is.

[00:46:12] Zoe Langley-Wathen: There's always other stuff going on. Remember that and there's ways and means of getting through it. So find your tribe, find a support group, get outside in nature, go and stretch your resilience or stretch your comfort zone to build your resilience. And yeah, I think I should leave it there, but head right, head.

[00:46:33] Zoe Langley-Wathen: I couldn't get that one out. Let's try it again. HeadRightOut Hugs to you all. Lots of love. Speak to you soon. Take [00:47:00] care. Mwah.