Who are we?

Swim Culture NOLA is a Year Round learn-to-swim academy in New Orleans, established November 2020 by Gabriel Henderson that specializes in teaching swimming skills to individuals of all ages, including children with autism. The academy offers tailored lessons that focus on water safety, building confidence, and improving swimming techniques in a calm, supportive environment. With a deep understanding of the unique needs of autistic children, Swim Culture NOLA ensures that each lesson is personalized to help students thrive in the water while fostering essential life skills.

Our Mission

Our mission is to make swimming more accessible within the community, and provide an increase of the range of opportunities for all members of the New Orleans community & across the globe. Our goal is to make sure people in the Southern region overcome the generational fears of water, but thrive as we take lead in empowering the next generation of leaders through aquatics.

Community Impact

Launched during the global pandemic in 2020, Swim Culture Nola has worked with over hundreds of individuals from the start. Of the hundreds that we work with over 60% of those participants are yearly active members of the program as to date, and 10% of them are individuals with disabilities. We have worked with individuals ranging in ages as young as 6 months to age seniors. Additionally, we have worked with individuals of all races and abilities, including those on the autism spectrum, and those with other disabilities. Our work in the community has raised awareness, provided guidance, and has given our people a go to source for information that they learn the tools they need to be a strong swimmer. We’ve helped many individuals overcome their fear of the water, and now they’ve embraced a love for the water, and even some of them have hopes of swimming competitively. This opens up more scholarship opportunities for black student athletes. Our programs are beneficial to the human stress levels and those who suffer with anxiety disorder; this is just the beginning. of something special for the Nola community.

Facts & Stats

Our community has suffered a great deal when it comes to all the traumatic experiences with water. This trauma is even more significant here in the city of New Orleans, where we are a city surrounded by water, regular experiences of storms, heavy flooding and extremely hot southern temperatures that make water apart of our lifestyle. Teaching water skills and building a strong amount of confidence in the water is of the utmost importance. Drowning is the single leading cause of death for children ages 1-14. According to the Louisiana department of Health, Louisiana experienced a 60% increase in the number of drownings ages 0-14. According to the CDC, pool drowning among blacks 5-19 years old is 5.5 times higher than it is for whites in the same age range . Among those numbers black kids ages 11-12 drown at 10 times the rate than whites, and any child under the age of 5 is at risk. The fact that 71% of the Earth is surrounded by water, swimming be as natural as folks walking. However, for many people of the Black community knowing how to swim isn’t common, and for adults saving a child from drowning requires you to be strong in aquatics.