In 2019, eight men from a Revesby Mosque had to be rescued from a rip by off-duty lifesavers while on a father-son camping weekend at Seven Mile Beach near Forster.
The incident was the catalyst for Illawong’s Omar Mahmoud and Revesby’s Feroz Sattar to form Swim Brothers, which undertook a two-week pool and surf training program at the Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre in Lidcombe before hitting North Cronulla Beach over the Australia Day weekend.
Also inspired by the success of the similar Swim Sisters program, Mr Sattar said there were challenges with men from their communities accessing “surf and beach safety programs in a culturally sensitive format”.
“Swim Brothers specifically tailors all aspects to address this and make this important skill accessible to all,” Mr Sattar said.
Mr Mahmoud said it was interesting that when they developed the program, they also quickly realised they were part of the target market.
“I had started this program with Feroz and immediately learned that I was not as good a swimmer as I thought,” he said.
“And the importance of beach and surf safety was further reinforced.”
Making up 88 per cent of fatalities during the 2019/20 season, men are over-represented in coastal drowning deaths and Surf Life Saving NSW has thrown their support behind Swim Brothers, with CEO Steven Pearce explaining that people from Western Sydney, particularly from diverse communities, are also identified as an at-risk group.
