Ep 1: Ed Accura: Tackling his fears and the myths over race and swimming Artwork

Brilliant Resilient Club Podcast

The Brilliant Resilient Club is a podcast dedicated to people who push past their physical comfort zone to gain mental resilience. Host Bhavani Vadde speaks to some amazing individuals who’re dealing with some big challenges - trauma, loss, illness - but rather than be defeated, challenged themselves something physical and as a result now feel better than ever. She came up with the idea when she took up up cold water swimming after having to stop work as a TV reporter during the pandemic because of an auto-immune condition. And despite hating exercise all her life, this helped her not only cope but thrive during some difficult times. In this podcast, she explores why and how other people take to the physical to deal with what life throws up.

All Episodes

Brilliant Resilient Club Podcast

Ep 1: Ed Accura: Tackling his fears and the myths over race and swimming

July 31, 2021 • Ed Accura • Season 1 • Episode 1

This is the debut episode of the Brilliant Resilient Club Podcast!

And we kick off with an appropriately brilliant guest. Ed Accura overcame his lifelong fear of water to learn to swim at the age 53. He was held back by myths about black people and swimming.

Ed documented his swimming journey in his first film Blacks Can’t Swim and in his sequel, explores the sport’s prejudice, stereotyping and cultural exclusion through the eyes of young people.

These are timely discussions with Alice Dearing being Britain’s first black female swimmer at these Olympics. A cause for celebration but also a reminder that unless these barriers to swimming are removed, the sport will not be fully representative.

Ed illuminates these issues with humour and great insight. His story shows how his resilience has not only helped him overcome his own fears but also challenge the very misconceptions that held him back.