OUR AMBASSADORS

Our brilliant and ore inspiring Ambassadors are really keen to help promote the natural restorative effects of being active in, on and around water. They want to help spread the message that regular visits to blue spaces improve health, mental health and overall wellbeing.

We are proud our Ambassadors have come forward to volunteer their time in order :

to champion the charity's activity and key messages
to network and build a community of interest where people meet online and in real life to share ideas and experiences

Juliet Turnbull

Juliet Turnbull (The Thames Mermaid) is a brilliant Textiles artist who uses her time being in, on and around water as her inspiration. Her work includes using her sewing machine to create beautiful pieces influenced by water.

She lives on the water in her boat which is moored on the River Thames. Often she swims in the river near her mooring and plays a big part of running Surrey Outdoor Swimmers group.

Juliet has made amazing life choices that have led to her being surrounded and constantly inspired by water. This has helped her overcome health related conditions improving her health and wellbeing. One adventure has seen her swim the entire length of the non tidal River Thames and she has captured this on her YouTube channel you can find out more about Juliet by clicking on the following links:

https://www.juliet-turnbull.com/

https://www.facebook.com/JulietTurnbullTextileArtist/videos/?ref=page_internal

Kathleen Wotton

Kathleen lives close to the sea in the North East of England and has always been drawn to be in, on and around water. She suffered severe bulling at school which caused her to become more withdrawn and contributed to her struggling with social anxiety and isolation in later life.

Suffering with lipoedema and fibromyalgia left Kathleen got to a point where she felt her life would soon be over. During the initial 2020 pandemic Kathleen got back into the water and feels this saved her life. Being in, on and around water lifted the pain, allowed her to be more active and to reconnect with people and nature. Her story continues to inspire via her brilliant presence on social media and via national and international media outlets.

Find out more about Kathleen here:

https://www.facebook.com/mermaidSeahamSlope/

https://youtube.com/channel/UCWPnGGDjpnGcFeJO9ZBaa3g

https://www.swimmingatdawn.com/blog/entry/the-ocean-calls-freeing-me-from-the-weights-of-life-by-kathleen-wotton

Juliet Turnbull

She lives on the water in her boat which is moored on the River Thames. Often she swims in the river near her mooring and plays a big part of running Surrey Outdoor Swimmers group.

https://www.juliet-turnbull.com/

https://linktr.ee/julietturnbull

Juliet Turnbull

She lives on the water in her boat which is moored on the River Thames. Often she swims in the river near her mooring and plays a big part of running Surrey Outdoor Swimmers group.

https://www.juliet-turnbull.com/

https://linktr.ee/julietturnbull

Paul Flynn

Paul is a conservation fundraiser who fell in love with open water whilst growing up on the Isle of Wight. He is a year-round wild swimmer, most often at the Cotswold Lakes where he now lives.

In his day job, he secures funding for biodiversity improvements to rivers and lakes, and also designs projects that provide access to wild water for disadvantaged people.

Along with his wife, Jo, Paul is the co- founder of diptribe®, the award-winning sustainable fashion brand for people who love rivers, lakes and seas.

He is also founder of Blue Bloods Wild Swim Club, a group that aims to get more men to experience the mental health benefits of outdoor swimming and socialising.

As a huge fan of the Wallace J. Nichols book Blue Mind, Paul believes wholeheartedly in the aims and ambitions of Bluetonic and hopes to help the charity develop a presence nationwide.

You can see what Paul is up to on Instagram @bluespacefan

Rachel Hazell

Rachel aka "the Travelling Bookbinder". Is a big fan of everything related to the Blue Mind. Spending her time teaching people all over the world the art of book binding, swimming in the cold crystal blue water on the Scottish Island of Iona became a wonderful release during the Covid 19 outbreak.

In lock down Rachel created the book "Today's Changing Room".

The book records her year-round swims in Hebridean waters and introduces the idea that every rock is potentially a hook to hang clothes on.

Rachel kindly donated all profits from her book sales to Bluetonic which

has funded an initial 6 month prototype of a project designed to bring women together and raise awareness in relation to the menopause. The project has been a massive success engaging over 20 women already to come forward with a plan developing to help inspire similar activity across the UK.

To find out more about Rachel please check out her incredible website www.thetravellingbookbinder.com

Rachel Andrews

Jo Gifford - July 2021 - 003_websize.jpg

Jo Gifford is an advocate for the magic of water, and is mainly to be found swimming in the rivers around Cambridgeshire. Having discovered the profound healing of blue space for grief and chronic illness, she became an advocate for wild swimming and cold water immersion.

Jo has written widely on the benefits of blue mind, and is also the author of 'Wild Currents: Poems on the Transformative Power of Water In Turbulent Times'. Jo is a writer and content marketer, and lives near Cambridge with her family.

Jo has a podcast at The Human Connection Experience

and her brilliant work as a columnist can be seen here Brainz Magazine

Her book Brilliance Unboxed here on Amazon or here on Barnes and Noble. As well as poetry, 'Wild Currents: Poems On The Transformative Power of Water in Turbulent Times' is available for pre-order now here.

Sujatha Menon

Sujatha Menon is a writer and musician who originally trained as a visual artist. She is currently Poet in Residence at the University of Warwick and the author of two water themed poetry books The Glass Puddle (Vole 2022) and Night Swan to Nigg (Cromarty Arts Trust 2022). Her poems have been published internationally and her songs with the band Satsangi have been broadcast on the BBC, MTV and featured in magazines such as Rolling Stone.

Alongside her creative work, Sujatha has worked for many years in the health and fitness industry. She now teaches yoga and swimming and is exploring ways to combine both practices in relation to open water. To learn more about Sujatha’s projects and work as a writer, musician and aquaholic you can visit: www.sujathamenon.com

Rachel is a YouTuber known as Everyday Athlete she shares an amazing amount of knowledge via her channel. Her content is warm, friendly and is about supporting people to swim in the outdoors.

She covers topics water safety, swimming kit / equipment as well as promoting the amazing benefits people get from being in, on, and around water. She is determined to provide content that busts myths, helps connect people and supports people's choices when looking to swim safely in open water.
You can find out more about Rachel here:

http://www.youtube.com/c/everydayathleterach