Our Mission
To provide the Eastside with high-quality swim lessons. Our team is dedicated to ensuring that every swimmer has a positive experience, leaving them feeling confident in their swimming skills, and empowered to learn more in the water. Our instructors can work with swimmers from 6 months to adults, at any level, so we have you covered! We believe in tailoring our time together to meet every individual swimmer's needs, meeting you where you are.
Get to know us and discover the joy of Swimming With us!
Talor
Co-Owner
Swim instructor since 2011
Current Certifications:
American Red Cross-certified lifeguard (LG)
Prior Certifications:
American Red Cross-certified lifeguard Instructor (LGI)
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
Age Groups:
Children 6 months + through adulthood and Water-tot classes
Background:
Talor's aquatic journey began at age 4, when he first learned to swim in lessons. Years later, while serving in the Marine Corps Reserves, he qualified at the top level for combat swimming in 2007. He soon began working as a lifeguard alongside his service in the Marines, and found himself drawn to the families he saw week after week, often coaching swimmers on small improvements long before he ever became an instructor.
Talor didn't yet know that his love for sharing the gift of swimming would become his life's work. That changed after a life-saving CPR event in late 2010, which sparked his passion for teaching swimming skills to people of all ages. With his goofy attitude and unwavering confidence in people's ability to do hard things, Talor has a gift for making anyone feel at ease in the water.
Jackie
Swim instructor since 2017
Current Certifications:
American Red Cross-certified lifeguard (LG)
Nationally Accredited Early Childhood Educator
Prior Certifications:
YMCA Lifeguard Certification
Age Groups:
Children 12 months + through adulthood and Water-tot classes
Background:
Swimming is more than a sport, it's a life skill, especially here in the Pacific Northwest. That's why making everyone water safe is Jackie's passion.
Jackie's own journey started at age 6 at the Redmond pool with Wave Aquatics. She swam competitively for 10 years, first with Wave and then PRO Sports Club, and spent 4 years as a Varsity athlete on her high school team.
Since 2017, Jackie has lifeguarded and taught lessons with the YMCA. Throughout the years since, Jackie has worked with every age, from infants taking their first dip to adults learning to swim for the first time, and every skill level, from absolute beginners to competitive athletes chasing personal bests. She meets each swimmer exactly where they are, adjusting her approach for the success of the swimmer. Jackie strongly believes that everyone can swim, and there's nothing she loves more than watching a swimmer break through a barrier and do something they never thought possible.
Paul
Swim instructor since 2008
Current Certifications:
—
Prior Certifications:
American Red Cross-certified lifeguard (LG)
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
Age Groups:
Children 3 years + through adulthood
Background:
Paul began his aquatic career on his high school swim team, then became a lifeguard at sixteen, where he built a strong foundation in water safety and awareness. He soon transitioned into swim instruction at the YMCA, teaching lessons and coaching a youth swim team for two seasons. Continuing his passion for teaching, Paul moved on to the Seattle Athletic Club, where he provided both group and private swim lessons and led weekly swim conditioning workouts for adults. His experience across a wide range of ages and skill levels allows him to meet swimmers where they are and help them progress toward their goals.
Beyond his aquatics background, Paul worked as a Washington State EMT and served alongside Talor in the Marine Corps Reserves. He loves helping swimmers feel comfortable in the water while building both technique and water safety skills.
About the owners
Learn why we, Talor and April, started Swimming With
After teaching together at another facility for 10 and 6 years, we decided to embark on the journey of teaching swim lessons on our own. Starting in October 2022, we slowly began building our program, with a simple goal: to teach swim lessons for anyone wanting to improve a water skill, without being locked into a rigid lesson structure.
Before 2022, we explored various career paths, but it became clear that teaching swimming skills and empowering people's confidence in the water was a life-long journey we wanted to take together. We'd both found great joy in sharing our love of swimming with others, and realized we could build a business serving our community by doing just that. After reconnecting with a former colleague, we felt empowered to set out on our own.
We landed on the name Swimming With because it reflects our core values: we are with you during your swimming journey. We work with you to figure out what it will take to reach your goals, and we're with you in the water, even for more advanced swimmers, showing you the technique you're working on so we can support you best.
Growing this business has been a learning curve, and still is! There are so many supportive people in our lives who've helped make this a continued possibility, including you! Now here we are, a family-owned business giving amazing people the opportunity to learn what we, and our team of instructors, are passionate about, which is, if you can’t tell by now, swimming!
In May 2025, we welcomed our son, Nekoda, into the world. These days you'll find April home with him instead of in the water teaching, while our incredible team of instructors carries the Swimming With mission