RAWW Podcast

How Aerin Bowers Turned A Paused Dream into an English Channel Success

Sarah Freeman Season 3 Episode 3

What keeps a swimmer moving when the shore won’t get closer? We sit down with endurance swimmer Aerin Bowers to chart the raw, funny, and fiercely honest path from a weather-canceled dream in (2024) Dover to a 2025 English Channel crossing powered by grit, smart training, and a crew that knew exactly how to support this journey.

You’ll feel the pace of a night start—the rush to kit up, the fear of doing anything illegal at the pebbled shore, and the first hour’s logistics of staying near the boat in pitch dark. From there, the Channel teaches: a smack of jellyfish, a stubborn swimsuit, and hours where rhythm replaces thought. Aerin surges for three hours, fighting the treadmill feeling until the water finally shifts and the French coast starts to move toward her.

We get specific on the unsexy or maybe sexy foundations that made it possible. Erin’s training blends drills, intervals, and long back-to-back swims with added strength sessions, physio, and massage to stay injury-free.  Her “coach as mentor” model supports the social-emotional side, because performance isn’t just pace; it’s belief held over time. Aerin also names the channel blues—how motivation can crash after a big goal.

Most of all, keep asking why you swim; the answer becomes fuel when the tide turns. If this story moved you, tap follow, share it with a water-loving friend, and drop a review to tell us what part hit home.