Today we’d like to introduce you to Manuel Monsante.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Manuel. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My passion for swimming began at an early age; and though I never competed, I was always enjoying the beach and the pool as a child. The summer of my junior year of high school, I got a summer job teaching at a local city pool and that year I discovered that I had the talent and the patience to connect with my students in the water. I was still wet behind the ears myself, but I was happy and confident teaching pre-school age, parents with their babies, children with special needs and even adults.
High school ends, college came and went and still, I continued teaching. I taught for the Red Cross, YMCA, for ClubCorp, and then, in 2005 my other career took me to New York City. There I juggled the life of a striving filmmaker and actor along with working for a very special swim school in Manhattan called SwimJim. Here is where my talent, my passion and my skills in the water truly developed. They grew and evolved into a deeper understanding of not only the importance of swimming as drowning prevention, the concepts and methods of teaching, positive language and verbal cues; I also got to see how a swim school develops as a business and a brand.
I’ve always wanted to be self-employed and MannySwims gives me the freedom to continue with my passion for swimming education and drowning prevention. Now, the goal is to continue growing in North Dallas, finding an indoor pool to teach year-round and to recruit instructors with a passion and the natural talents to polish to help spread the love for swimming.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
One of the biggest struggles in growing and expanding this business has been location. Though we have a very successful program, it’s seasonal. The cost of building a facility with an indoor pool is way too much for us to handle. Another reasonable option we are exploring is partnering with a small, privately owned hotel with an indoor pool where we can offer classes year-round.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with MannySwims – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Our business is simple, we teach people to swim. The model is basic for now, we have a program that runs from late May through mid-September. We specialize in individualized swim lessons with a small ratio and special attention for care and fun.
Our motto is: “Swim for fun. Swim for life.” We think that if you create an atmosphere where the student develops love and joy for the activity, they’ll want to practice and participate, thus increasing their ability level and skill in a positive way.
What sets us apart from other local swim schools is we provide lessons in the convenience and privacy of your home in the summer.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We plan to have a very successful summer. We are working to streamline our registration and scheduling process. We would also like to hire and train a second instructor to offer more class time availability.
Further in the future would be a partnership with a small hotel to expand our season indoors.
As, we grow, we would eventually like to have our own indoor facility in Carrollton, Coppell, Frisco, or Plano.
Pricing:
- We have several packages for the summer, including Private 6 Week Sessions for under $300
- Our Baby Class is also open to groups starting at $15 per class
- Adult Swim Lessons are also offered at your pool or ours for 1 Hour Lessons
Contact Info:
- Address: 2006 Lorient Dr.
Carrollton, TX - Website: www.mannyswims.com
- Phone: 214-380-4665
- Email: mannyswim@gmail.com
- Instagram: @MannySwims
- Facebook: facebook.com/mannyswims
- Twitter: @MannySwims
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
