Hello and welcome to the first ever Scorpia blog! Aaaahhh!

I’m so, so excited to bring this section to the website. For a while I’ve wanted a place where I can document the Scorpia journey (hopefully it’ll be a good one!) as well as an area for swimming tips, recommendations and other people’s swimming journeys. But first I thought I’d kick things off in here with a little bit about why I started Scorpia…

I started thinking seriously about this business during lockdown. Like many people, when the pandemic hit, it forced me to slow down and, after a really difficult few years struggling with depression and anxiety (which you can read more about on my about page), I began to re-assess the balance I had in my life and the importance of putting my health first. 

So as the world opened back up in the summer of 2021, I took deliberate steps to consciously re-build the lifestyle I wanted, which eventually brought me back to the pool, a place I frequented growing up as a member of my local swimming club, but had taken more than just a back-seat in recent years as I prioritised my career. 

And that first swim I had was an utter game changer.

The feeling of comfort and calm was incredible and I felt completely at home in the water. I realised this is my happy place. 

Over the next few weeks, I started swimming more and more and decided it was time to dust off my (very) old swim kit and bring it with me to the pool. It dawned on me then, that in the eight years since my kit had been relegated to the depths of the attic, that swimming gear really hadn’t changed at all. Often plain and functional, even at 15 I’d made fruitless attempts to jazz up my swim gear to make it unique (See Exhibit A below – my old kickboard featuring the scrawlings of permanent marker!)

Clearly graphic design was not my forte but using most of the ink in a permanent marker was representative of what I wanted to do back then…to make a dull product a bit more appealing. And then I realised I could do this now, with a few more resources than just a marker pen.

So I started researching, brainstorming and designing (which was really fun) and then I spent my life savings (which was not so fun) and quit my career (which was really scary) and decided to take the plunge. 

(Exhibit B above– the evolution of the kickboard design process!) 

My mantra during this time was very much “what’s the worst that can happen?” and there were many nights waking up in a cold sweat absolutely terrified of what could happen, before having motivational talks from my ultra-supportive family and boyfriend who have been my absolute rocks.

My stock finally arrived on 31st December 2021, which seemed perfectly fitting for this new beginning, and on 7th January 2022 Scorpia was officially launched.

It’s been a crazy journey so far (there’s been ups, downs, tears and tantrums as well as a lot of laughter and fun). I’ve been completely overwhelmed by the kindness and support of customers who are inspiring me every day to keep going and love what I’m doing. 

I’m making new friends, learning every day and falling more and more in love with swimming. I can’t wait to see what the future holds and ride the Scorpia wave with you all!

If we haven’t had the chance to say hello yet, pop a comment below and let’s get talking! I’m always delighted to hear from fellow swimmers and hear your swim stories.

Happy Swimming

Rachel x