Welcome back to Incorporating SuperPowers. My name is Justin Recla. I am your host today and folks we’re in for a treat today because I am going to get the opportunity to share just a really, really magical story with you about the power of consistency. Something that I experienced, I don’t know how long ago it was now. I think it was probably, well we’re in 2021, so probably four years ago now. Chanelle, was it four years ago or was it five?
Four or five? Something like that.
Just to lay the backstory for those of you who know us and follow us you know that we’re friends and we’re close with Greg Reid and part of the Secret Knock-Community. We were out at Secret Knock in San Diego probably four or five years ago. Neva was there. She was speaking from the stage. We had a great time, met a lot of great people. And on the last day the event was being held at a convention center. And at this convention center, there’s a whole church that meets and Chanelle happened to go to the church and showed up one afternoon on one of the days of events to check in, to see what was going on and happened to bump into me and asked what was going on. And the next thing a conversation ensued and I got to learn a little bit about Chanelle and her dreams and what she was wanting to do.
And she just happened to be standing amongst a group of dreamers, a group of entrepreneurs, a group of people that make magic happen in the world. And we just connected in that space. We’ve stayed connected since. And what I love about this story and the fact that you are on the show today, Chanelle is that from that point you didn’t get scared. You dove in, you started to learn, you read books, you took action. And the story that Chanelle shared with me folks was one that she had a passion for surfing. She had a passion for working with kids and she wanted to make a business out of it. She knew that there was a way for her to do that. And five years later, we’re going to begin the journey. The journey has been long.
You are now living in Puerto Rico. Using surfing and swimming as therapy for helping kids evolve through mental health. I’m going to bring Chanelle on here in a second to talk about the power of consistency.
 I do want to acknowledge that we do have Wesley Stewart on as well. He’s the founder of Every Kid Swims, which is the organization that Chanelle works for. We’re going to talk to him. We’re going to talk to Wesley here in just a minute. But Chanelle, it is an honor to have you on the show because you are living proof that if you walk the path, you stay connected to God, anything is possible. Thank you for coming on today.
Thanks so much for having me. I do have to confess that when I first went to that event, I was dead afraid. Because I didn’t know how serious it was and how many people were there. And I had FaceTime with my sister beforehand. I was like, “I can’t walk in here. I didn’t know that this was so serious.” And she was like, “Dude, just walk up.” And I walked up and I said hi to some people. And they were like, “Hi.” And then I saw you and I was like, “Hi, I’m Chanelle.” And I just started talking and you were so nice. Thank you.
Absolutely. And thank you for entrusting me in the role that I’ve had the honor of playing from time to time over the last four or five years. Chanelle has checked in and just asked for advice and guidance and how to do this and how to do that. And she gives us time to bring her onto the show and see the work that she’s doing with Every Kid Swims. I just think it’s a testament to walking the path of faith and just putting one foot in front of the other where you’re at today. So before we bring Wesley on, tell me a little bit about your journey with Every Kid Swims.
Even before Every Kid Swims, it’s just been a long, much prayer filled journey. I think one of the biggest quotes, if you know who wrote it, please tell me. It says, “I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow.” I think especially everyone last year, we don’t know what’s going on. Everything changes from day to day. And I think the last few years I’ve just known, I’m in school. Should I be in school? Should I move? Where should I go? And I think I just have never know the steps necessarily, but I just knew that goal. I just knew, “Okay God, I know you’ve given me these passions and these hopes to do this.” But I just didn’t know how to do it necessarily.
You’ve been a huge, huge help with the years is just consistency. It’s what’s been there, but it’s definitely been up and down. There have been different opportunities to come and to go. Before Every Kid Swims, Wes had found Urban Surf 4 Kids. And I started volunteering there and it’s this incredible program in San Diego where they have a day of surfing about once a month. And I had volunteered and I had so much fun with hosting these foster kids. Right. And we get to go surfing with them and spend a whole day playing volleyball, whatever they want. And it was just so impactful. And one day a guy tells me, “Hey I think I want to do something in Puerto Rico, but he doesn’t have anyone to help him.”
And I went, “What? Well I’m Puerto Rican. I have a family. I can come help.” And so Wes and I got in touch. And then he was just telling me more about this program and what I really appreciate about Every Kid Swims is that very intentional mentoring with these kids and right now we’re doing it via zoom and it’s been incredible and there’s just consistency and it’s not just a day surfing. Yeah, we’ll take you surfing. That’s super important. But also we have this relationship to be with you. It’s been really great. It’s been probably, I don’t know, almost a year, maybe less than a year with Every Kid Swims. But I think the last time you and I talked, you were like “So you’re telling me you’re living in Puerto Rico and you’re actually living the dream?” And I was like, “Yeah.” And it’s been, it’s been so incredible.
I love the fact that you are living the dream. You held the vision in your mind that you wanted a place where you could be on the water, surf, do and help other people doing that passion. And along the way, folks. Chanelle, I just want to highlight this: how old are you again?
25.
25 folks. Five years ago when I mentioned that she was 20 years old. 20 years old, she had a vision, she had a dream, she had a focus and here we are five years later. Right. And you are living the dream that you set out to create that you envision. Folks, that is the power of consistency.
I think that’s what we’re going to call the show today. The power of consistency. I love that. Absolutely love that. I want to talk a little bit about Every Kid Swims and I want to bring Wesley into the conversation here before we go on break. Just to loop all of this into how does this come into play? How does this come about? What is Every Kid Swims all about? I’ve got this amazing journal that you gifted us with as a thank you. I absolutely love it. It’s full of just amazing content organization structures, remembering things to do, the breath of having literally the meaning of the breath of life. Just things that kids, they’re not going to get anywhere else.
And the beauty of how it all ties into surfing. I mean, surfing in itself, those of you that surf, I grew up in California. I wasn’t much of a surfer. I was more of a body boarder. The concept of surfing and body for that. It’s all just a metaphor for life. And I love how you’ve tied that in here and are using the visuals, the Hawaiian scenes, the low hop planner in of itself to really bring about change in the world and help kids that are underprivileged that may be dealing with some mental health issues and so forth. So Wesley, you are the founder of Every Kid Swims. You work day in, day out with Chanelle. Welcome to the show. Tell me a little bit more about you and your mission and purpose with Every Kid Swims?
Absolutely. Justin, thanks so much for having us. Super grateful to be here. Before I dive in, I got kind of a God story with Chanelle. Honestly. It’s super wild. It’s a super wild man. So as Chanelle loosely alluded to, we started the program back in 2009 in San Diego. James 1:27, pure religion to look after orphans. And so the program was pretty straightforward, just really taking our love and passion for the ocean and then intentionally providing those services to foster kids or at risk youth.
In 2016, my family, we moved from San Diego, handing that program off to our board in San Diego, and then went to Florida to start another program, which is Every Kid Swims. So last year, maybe about a year, year and a half ago, I got an email from a volunteer from Urban Circuit, San Diego saying, “Hey, I’m moving to Puerto Rico. I hear some things that you might want to do something there.” It was Chanelle and we kind of had this back and forth. And the wild part for a lot of us now was, “okay, who is this person”? You go look up LinkedIn, you look at their Facebook profile. And Justin, I couldn’t believe it. We had never met, but we were literally a part of the same church.
And we knew all the same people. Chanelle and I officially met in the summer of last year in Puerto Rico, of course. We just had an opportunity to develop just an incredible friendship. She is an incredible girl, a heart after God and just loves to serve so that’s the God story with Chanelle. As part of the program what we’re really trying to do is just take our most vulnerable youth, children that are harassed and helpless. They’re having situations, whether their parents have left or some type of hardship. And then connecting a group of people who have a connection to water and providing that outlet. And it being therapeutic, not just physically, but even spiritually. I would say that the shortest straight to the point answer as to what we’re doing.
Well, I’ll tell you what. I want to dive in a little bit more about the details of exactly what it is you’re doing about the power of consistency right after this break. Before we go on break, where can people go find more about you?
everykidswims.org and then alohalifejournal.com.
Fantastic. Folks, go take a look at the Aloha Journal, take a look at what Wesley are up to in the world, the impact that they’re having. It’s going to cause ripples for years to come. Stay tuned. We’ll be right back.
To listen to the entire show click on the player above or go to the SuperPower Up! podcast on iTunes.
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