Peter Ford Founder & CEO, Swimphi
I've spent 45 years in the water and the last twenty teaching people how to be safe in it. I've personally taught several thousand children and adults to swim in Los Angeles. Swimphi, the company I founded, has now taught more than 10,000.
What Swimphi does
Swimphi is one of the largest private swim schools in Los Angeles, running more than 10 locations and delivering thousands of lessons every year. We teach children and adults to swim, but what sets us apart is how quickly we do it.
Most swim programs are built to keep students enrolled. Ours is built to make them competent and send them on their way. My mission is to minimize the time and the money it takes to learn to swim. That means a curriculum built around measurable milestones instead of open-ended enrollment, instructors trained on one consistent method, and parents who know exactly what their child is working toward and roughly how long it will take.
Drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death for young children. Every family that finds lessons too slow or too expensive is a family that may not finish them. Closing that gap is the entire point of the company.
My swimming background
I grew up swimming in England and competed at a national level, ranking among the top 20 swimmers in Great Britain in the 50 meter freestyle. I swam for Loughborough University and competed at the British Olympic Trials in 2000.
As a Masters swimmer:
Masters World record holder, 4x50 freestyle relay, 120 to 159 age group (2009)
Scottish National gold medalist, 4x50 freestyle relay
Multiple gold medals at the US Masters National Championships
I've also served as a training partner to elite swimmers preparing for major competition, including Cody Simpson ahead of the Australian Olympic Trials and Vladimir Morozov ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
My path here
I swam competitively in England through university, graduated from Loughborough, and moved to the United States in 2002. I started teaching lessons as a way to stay close to the sport and give something back to the swim community. That became the British Swim Academy, and in 2014 I founded the business that is now Swimphi.
Who I teach
I still teach personally. My students have included children and adults from families across Los Angeles, among them professional athletes and entertainers. I've taught players from the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, and taught actor Mark McKenna, who starred in the film An Autumn Summer.
Where we're going
Swimphi is expanding by three to five locations a year across Los Angeles and the surrounding counties. Some of that growth is new sites. Some of it is partnering with swim schools that already exist.
Get in touch
If you know a location that needs a learn-to-swim program, send it to me here https://www.swimphi.com/contact
Follow me on Instagram @thepeterford and X@thepeterford.