Model Shareefa J, 31, has been inspiring youngsters to take up fitness challenges for many years, having faced several barriers accessing exercise opportunities growing up. As Swim Serpentine approaches, she describes the long and difficult road to becoming a confident swimmer and shares her love for the open water.
Swim Serpentine will be Shareefa’s final challenge in the London Classics trio on Saturday 16 September, having successfully completed the London Marathon and RideLondon 100. In many ways it will be her most important and hardest feat, through which she hopes to spread her message of body positivity and become a role model to young women from ethnic minorities, particularly the Black community.
She said: “We live in a society unfortunately that sees larger bodies as less capable at sport, or to represent fitness. I love helping to change the idea we have of what fit and healthy bodies look like. In September I’ll achieve my London Classics medal and it will be the ultimate way to show that while I might not look like what the media tells us is fit, I can do these challenges. I just hope that inspires and empowers other people to know they can too.
“I believe when you take on challenges that you don’t think you’re going to achieve you unlock something very special that helps you then overcome other barriers too.”
Her passion to make a difference stems from a childhood full of negative swimming experiences, from not being able to afford a swimming costume that fit properly, to not being able to find an appropriate swim cap for her afro hair, which left her dreading lessons at school.
She said: “I remember teachers trying to pull swimming caps over my hair and it ripping my baby hairs – it was a horrible experience. I was also always quite big as a child, and we didn’t have a lot of money, so I didn’t have a swimming costume that fit me properly. I just never had any pleasant memories of being in the pool, which was mostly caused by the kit."
Shareefa’s relationship with swimming changed at the age of 24 when she gained access to a private pool, which offered her a safe place to learn the basics without any judgement. But she still found public pools intimidating as she wasn’t confident in her body or swimming ability. Despite these anxieties, she didn’t quit and pushed herself out of her comfort zone with her ‘feel fear and do it anyway’ attitude, eventually overcoming these mental hurdles and growing in confidence in the water.
She said: “You’ve got to overcome what I think is a very big barrier to many people which is to have the confidence to get essentially half naked and step outside in public in your little, unflattering swimmers – because I don’t think most of us have the most flattering costumes – and put that little rubber thing on your head and the goggles and everyone just looks a little bit silly. It's not just exercise but the social side of body confidence and your relationship with yourself and how you feel about your body in a public space.”
It wasn’t long before she discovered a deep love for swimming, finding it both fun and empowering and then began to enjoy the freedom and relaxed atmosphere of the open water.
She adds: “I love swimming, it’s unlike any other activity you’ll do because you feel so free. You can literally step out of the everyday stresses of life and come into a whole new world. I find it so calming and de-stressing to be in the water and feel weightless, so I'm really happy I was able to get myself to a place where I feel confident enough to take on the two-mile Swim Serpentine challenge and to get into the pool.”
She adds: “It’s just quite free so you can take open water swimming at your own pace which I really like.”
Although she still feels moments of swim-related anxiety, her motivation to be a positive role model helps her overcome those doubts. She believes people need to “see it to be it” and hopes to encourage Black youngsters to engage with swimming – not just for exercise and fun but as an important life skill too.
There’s a lot of work to be done in the area and she stresses that there are still many issues disproportionately affecting minority and marginalised people. Paired with a lack of representation of Black swimmers, even following the Olympic success of Alice Deering, she believes the sport is still off-putting to many people.
For now, she’s trying to do her best to change perceptions and offers this advice to any reluctant swimmers starting out: “Take as much time as you need to get yourself to a place where you feel confident: there is no shame in going slowly! All that matters is you get in the water and you get out of it safely: what happens in between is between you and the water.”
And for any young girls who have faced struggles like her own, she has these wise words: “I would say to little me: ‘nobody is looking at you. The more time you spend focusing on ‘I can’t do this because my body looks like this’ the less time you spend serving your body and giving your body what it actually needs. So, I would say: tell yourself a little mantra ‘nobody cares what I look like; I'm going to do it anyway’.”
