Entering our third year: how a simple idea became a community
September is the perfect time to start getting ready for the colder swims ahead.
September always carries a “back to work” feeling, almost a second beginning to the year, when routines return after the summer break.
As the Commodities Swimming Club proudly enters its third year, I cannot help reflecting on how rich the journey has been so far. When Mathilde and I launched the club two years ago, we did not anticipate how strongly the idea would resonate with our contacts, or that our swims would become a topic of conversation in London, Singapore and Houston.
The growth of the club to more than a hundred members has been amazing, but what I personally find most gratifying are the conversations and the strength of the new connections. There was the lunch discussion that started with photographs from a road trip to Samarkand and ended with a full-blown analysis of uranium production in Uzbekistan and French nuclear policy. There is the trader who arrived in Geneva knowing nobody and has now found new friends. And there is the broker who joins us every time he is in town. These are just a few examples.
Looking back, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when this heterogeneous group of swimmers, working across energy, agriculture, metals and shipping, became a community. The community emerged gradually, built on the shared gasp of entering the cold water and the post-swim sense of accomplishment, one swim at a time.
What I find interesting is how different our relationships with cold water can be. Some of our swimmers grew up in Siberia and are well accustomed to the cold. Others, like me, come from the south and arrive for their first swim unsure whether they will be able to do it. Mathilde and I reassure them that they are in good company and that they can.
Having grown up by the sea, I thought I knew water well. But cold-water swimming is different. There is the inner voice that grows louder the closer you get to the water, asking why on earth you are doing this. There is the cold biting at your feet the moment you touch the surface. Or the apparent eternity of those first thirty seconds until you finally manage to regulate your breath.
Then, almost unexpectedly, and despite all the mental resistance, the experience becomes enjoyable and you find yourself looking forward to dipping into the water. Most members describe something similar, and challenge is rarely the cold itself: it is finding the courage to resist every instinct telling us not to go in, take that first step and discover that we are all capable of more than what we assume.
This is why I recently brought together some of the lessons I learned during our first two years of swimming on the First-Time Swimmers page, hoping to make those initial moments feel a little less daunting.
As our third year begins, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to making the club what it is today. This includes the people who show up regularly, those who encourage newcomers and the members who have helped create the atmosphere that keeps everybody coming back.
The mornings will soon become darker and the water colder. If you have been thinking about joining us, give it a go. It is a rewarding experience, shared with a welcoming group of people, in one of the most beautiful settings imaginable.
You can apply to join the crew here.