Every Tuesday, Aghogho could be found sitting in the gallery at his local pool, watching his children take part in their swimming lessons.

His son, Arnold, has progressed from Stage 2 to Stage 5, while his daughter Michelle, who has been swimming for three years, is now thriving in Stage 8 and already looking ahead to the future. Like many parents, Aghogho spent his time cheering from the sidelines, encouraging his children to develop a vital life skill.

But one day, he began to ask himself a simple question… why should he only watch? Although Aghogho loved being around water, he had never learned to swim himself.

"I always pushed them," he explains. "And I thought it’s not fair pushing them to do this thing when I sit back and not be an example to them."

So, at the age of 42, he decided it was time to take on a new challenge and join adult swimming lessons himself.

As part of the research in the latest #LoveSwimming campaign, it revealed more than half of parents say watching their child learn inspired them to learn to swim themselves, while seven in 10 adults who learned to swim later in life describe it as one of their proudest achievements. For Aghogho, stepping onto poolside wasn't just about learning a new skill, it was about leading by example and showing that it's never too late to start.

Aghogho attended his first adult beginner lesson in November 2025. While many adults might feel nervous about starting something new, he approached the experience with enthusiasm.

"I love the water naturally. I love playing in the water but I couldn't swim. I was just excited more to take up the challenge."

His positive attitude helped him embrace every stage of the learning process.

"I wasn't pushing myself too much but I was happy enjoying the process and learning from when I was in Stage 1 to Stage 2."

Swimming has become much more than an individual achievement for Aghogho. It's something the whole family shares together. When he first told Michelle and Arnold that he was starting lessons, their reactions were mixed.

"I think Michelle said 'Dad you can do it you can do it!' and Arnold said, ‘you can do it dad'."

Before long, though, his children became some of his biggest supporters.

"Sometimes they watch me swim and after we go in the pool and I show them what I've learnt. I'm learning from my teacher and learning from my kids as well which is interesting."

Michelle particularly enjoys sharing experiences with her dad.

"When he's done swimming and then we are exchanging things that we did in lessons and we're like 'oh what did you do' 'oh I did this' 'oh that's really cool' and then I say what I did, that's really fun like just telling each other what we did."

Arnold agrees: "We get to review what each of us are doing. We also get to watch him on his lessons so we can tell him how to improve."

Looking back, Aghogho wishes he had learned to swim when he was younger. But he hopes his story will inspire other adults who may be wondering whether they've left it too late.

"I wish I learnt how to swim earlier at their age, it's never too late."

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