SwimSwam Podcast Hits 1,000,000 All-Time Audio Downloads

Audio is only one way fans listen to the podcast. Across Instagram and Youtube our reach is just over 17 million and it’s climbing fast.

In March of 2020, I planned a 2-week road trip, including filming practice at the Olympic Training Center, covering both men’s and women’s NCAA championships, and even a little downtime to recover from everything else. My job was primarily video production – I never listened to podcasts and rarely even gave them a 2nd thought. Then the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the big question for my job became how: how could I, and in turn SwimSwam, keep making content to keep people engaged when everyone was stuck at home?

I started doing zoom interviews, which served a dual purpose. They facilitated for our swimming audience to consume, but they also gave the assurance that the athletes making up our sport were making it through, even if their training looked drastically different than it has just a few weeks or months prior. Since the interviews were running longer than the normal 5-minute chats I was used to when covering competitions, we decided to make the audio piece of the interviews available on podcast platforms as well. Thus, the SwimSwam Podcast was born.

I was skeptical at first, but I also didn’t really have a choice. It was do the podcast, or sit at home and do nothing. Mel and Braden were encouraging, telling me if we build it the right way, it could be something we look back on in years to come. I remember Mel specifically telling me “just try to get to one million downloads. If we have a podcast that hits one million downloads, then we know we’re really making a difference.”

From that moment on, it was a goal I always kept in the back of my mind. By chasing this goal, we certainly gained a lot more than just views, clicks, and downloads. Over the course of 600+ episodes, we’ve gained insight, perspective, and raw emotional release from our sports’ best and brightest minds. Athletes, coaches, and experts of all kinds have come on the SwimSwam podcast and poured their hearts out over their ups and downs in and out of the pool. Especially through the pandemic, it felt like this was a platform for our sport to be honest and give a different version of themselves than they could in the pool. The thing I’m most grateful for was the constant reminder that as we were going through this global crisis, swimmer or swammer, we are all human and we are all in this together.

If you listen to the podcast, you know I’m not the only one involved in this heavy lift. SwimSwam Co-founders Mel and Braden hop on and host constantly. We have numerous contributors come on and help with the SwimSwam Breakdown, including Loretta Race, Michael Hamann, Ben Dornan, Torrey Hart, and many more. We even dragged SwimSwam Co-Founder Garrett McCaffrey back into the mix to speak with coaches from around the world. This wouldn’t be possible without the work that they all put in to give this platform life and personality.

Lastly, a special thanks to anyone who has ever been a guest on the podcast. You make this what it is: an informative and fun environment for all things chlorinated.

Here’s to many more episodes. Thank you SwimSwam Family!

Listen to the 10 Most Downloaded Episodes of the SwimSwam Podcast Here:

1. Kyle Chalmers Discusses Titanic Battle with Caeleb Dressel in the 100 Free
2. Bobby Finke Talks Stellar Closing Speed that Netted him Double Olympic Gold
3. Lydia Jacoby Breaks Down First-Ever Double Taper for the 2020 Olympic Games
4. Elizabeth Beisel Gives In-Depth Look at the Olympic Games as an NBC Broadcaster
5. Cesar Cielo Analyzes Olympic Schedules of Sprinters Caeleb Dressel, Emma McKeon
6. Emily Seebohm Discusses Gold Medal Presentation to McKeown, Aussie Team Culture
7. Erica Sullivan Explains Let Down of US Trials, Fulfillment of Olympic Medal
8. How David Popovici Evolved into the Fastest 16-year-old in History
9. Breaking Down the Biggest Races of the 2021 US Olympic Trials
10. Olympic Champion Tom Dolan on Swimming the Perfect 400 IM

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