Meet Kalyea Terrell | Owner & Founder
We had the good fortune of connecting with Kalyea Terrell and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Kalyea, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
If you met anyone who knew me between the age of 16 to my current age now everyone will agree that I’ve always aspire to have my own swim school. Even though my swim career ended in my freshmen year of college I always been aware of the racial disparity in the pool, and I felt that there was a need to address it but I always assumed I’m only one person I don’t have a team to delegate the huge workload that I knew would come with starting a business that would make a significant social impact on the community. The fear and anxiety of accepting such a huge responsibility was soon to wither away after meeting this young girl while I was on duty as a lifeguard at a community pool, she was crying expressing to me that she felt like she wasn’t welcomed at the pool because there was nobody of color in the pool or on staff except for me. so, after consoling her I made a revelation that history repeated itself because I saw myself in her. confused and upset because I always felt I didn’t belong and never having anyone to relate to. So, I made a promise to take on the responsibility and to start the journey of diversifying the pool, as well as be the representation for my community that whatever considered the “norm” isn’t normal.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Big Wave Swim Academy is more than just swim lessons for the community. We are encouraging our community to start their aquatic journey through aquatic wellness activities such as water yoga and aquatic sound baths. while educating others on why the stereotype “black people can’t swim” exists. I’m excited for all of our plans and ideas to come into fruition to better engage and connect everyone in the community nothing is impossible at Big Wave Swim Academy. even though we are only in our startup stage of our lifecycle we have already faced numerous challenges that shook the faith that I had in my business. from struggling finding an appropriate pool to rent to host lessons, to having business deals being retracted 2 weeks before summer starts after making preparations that required a lot of funding out of pocket. It was very nerve racking and discouraging. But after reassessing every obstacle we’ve came across so far and coming up with solutions on how to prevent these issues to occur again it makes us even more excited for next year. Always stay calm cool and collected because there is always something to gain from any problem. We aren’t exclusive to the minority communities we are striving for all communities to take this incredible journey with us. But we are putting an emphasis on the huge gap there is in the African American community. We aren’t leaving anytime soon.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Sadly, I’m an extreme introvert so I honestly don’t go out into the city often. I find the fun in being at home. But I really love nature so if you do find me outside with friends, I’m always excited to spend the day at Whiterock lake, painting, occasionally jogging/ walking. Next place I would drag someone is the Dallas Arboretum to enjoy the flowers and special events they host for attendees.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My grandmother is my number one supporter, And the reason why I started swimming. My grandmother raised me in my adolescents. Every summer she enrolled me in swim lessons and encouraged me to pursue a career in swimming competitively and as a career. After starting my business, I realize what everybody says about being an entrepreneur isn’t exaggerated. in the beginning, nobody going to see your vision and believe in it, which makes doing this very discouraging, but my grandmother has been my cheerleader by just being present, being my cameraman, speaking for me in rooms that I’m not in. I love her even more because she is keeping that flame of passion in my heart ignited,
Website: https://www.bigwaveswimacademy.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bws.academy/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095424998387
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