from James Fike, Founder and CEO of Fike Swim
Fike Swim is excited to announce NCAA and US National Champion Austin Surhoff as the newest member of its growing team of brand ambassadors. After a three-year retirement Austin is quickly making headlines, having placed 2nd in the 50 free and 3rd in the 100 free at the first Pro Swim Series in the run up to Olympic Trials. Previously a 200 and 400IMer, he has quietly positioned himself as a contender for a spot on this year’s Olympic Team with a unique workout regimen and reduced amount of training that emphasizes creativity, innovation, diversity, and quality.
“I love what Austin is doing and the energy he brings to Fike Swim. He rediscovered his love for the sport and is coming back with a fresh, innovative mindset. He had enormous success in college and his first pro career by training a certain way, a more traditional way. It would be hard not to fall back on that and hope it will work again. But he’s a different kind of swimmer now, an older sprinter, and he recognized the need to rethink things and to chart a new path. That’s very courageous and inspiring.” said Fike Swim founder, James Fike.
“I joined the FIKE SWIM team because I’m doing something different with my career these days — more intentionality, more focus, more commitment — and Fike Swim is a company that has that same mindset. It’s right there in the motto — “Swim Different.” I’m excited to join the team and be a part of pushing the sport further into the future!” said Austin.
Every Fike Swim ambassador designs their own line of suits, from which they earn 20% on each one sold, and Austin’s line is as unique as he is.
“I chose a bandana for inspiration on my Fike Swim Signature Suit because I walk the path of the rogue as a professional swimmer, and the bandana is the eternal symbol of the American outlaw. From cowboys, to Teddy Roosevelt, to rock stars, the bandana has been worn as a badge by those who refuse to settle for what they are “supposed” to do in life. I forge past what I’m supposed to do every day:
You’re not supposed to keep getting faster in your 30s.
You’re not supposed to coach yourself.
You’re not supposed to transform from a 400 IMer into a sprinter.
But I do those things anyway — because I refuse to settle. I proudly wear the bandana design on my Signature Suit as a reminder that sometimes what you’re supposed to do, isn’t always what you are meant to do. So if you’ve got an outlaw side, or ever felt like an outsider, or have the urge to explore everything life has to offer, I designed this suit for you. Never stop exploring, never stop forging your own path.” -Austin
Fike Swim will introduce the full line up of his suits next week.
Austin joins an impressive Fike Swim ambassador team that includes:
American Record Holder Maddy Banic
Former World Record Holder Ali DeLoof
National Teamer Emily Escobedo
National Teamer Aly Tetzloff
Check out all of their awesome signature suits here.
You can support Austin on his journey to Tokyo by following him on social:
FACEBOOK Austin Surhoff
INSTAGRAM @austinsurhoff
And get all the latest from Fike Swim:
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Q&A with Austin Surhoff
Here’s a short Q&A with Austin. The complete Q&A with post-workout meals, season and practice goals, and more can be found by visiting Fike Swim’s ambassador page.
Q: What are your practice goals to help you reach your race goals?
A: “To always WANT to be at practice. I spent my entire career – high school, college, my first run as a pro – pushing through workouts I didn’t want to do. ….read more”
Q: How many yards per week do you usually swim?
A: “2000-2500. A lot of what I do is work with power racks, towers, or vertical kick. Stuff that you can’t even track yardage for. So I don’t count my yards. Instead, I focus on making every stroke, every kick, every lap, every turn…perfect.”
Q: What is one of your favorite sets?
A: “I train the 2nd 50 of my 100 LCM freestyle weekly on Tuesday mornings. The exact details vary as I progress through my training cycle, but the main set is generally 12 to 16…read more”
Q: How did you get into swimming?
A: “Like many swimmers, I don’t remember why I started swimming – my parents just sort of started driving me to practice when I was 9. I do know why I stayed: my friends. I didn’t really have a lot of friends at school when I was younger, so when I started making close friends at swim practice, I never wanted to leave the sport. My college coach, Eddie Reese, always used to say, “You don’t choose the sport, the sport chooses you.” I like to think my story is one that fits that description.”
Q: What is something most people probably don’t know about you?
A: “When I travel, I always try to find a natural body of water to swim in. I love swimming for fun, and especially love being in the water in nature. After finding Wim Hof’s teachings, I now try to find the coldest body of water I can get to. To start off 2021, the first thing I did New Years morning was a plunge, in my training brief, into the frigid Chesapeake Bay. My goal is to do one cold plunge per week throughout the rest of the winter, each time spending more time in the water. I’ve done two so far and the second one was even more fun!”
About Fike Swim
“We design products exclusively for the toughest athletes in the world. We unapologetically place swimmers on a pedestal. The rigors they embrace on a daily basis can only be understood by another swimmer and they deserve a company focused 100% on helping them succeed. Whether you’re just starting out or training for Tokyo, we stand behind you.”
-James Fike, Founder
Fike Swim Products was born when founder James Fike put a brick on top of a kickboard and transformed just another legs-only kick set into a total body workout felt into the next day. Since then it’s been our mission to create unique swim equipment with the single-minded goal of making you faster. We don’t sell toys. We create tools to help you reach your potential.
Fike Swim is a SwimSwam partner.
self-coaching is an interesting thing. I think more collegiate athletes should be encouraged to think for themselves and always question everything (in a polite way). My coach had a certain approach to tapering, for example, that undoubtedly worked for some swimmers, but I felt like my taper was a failure 4/4 years there, and I never really pushed back on it. I think I always just trusted it out of a mixture of inertia and just a sense of wanting to shell out the responsibility on someone else. It would have been a very unfamiliar convo to say to the coach: I want to devise my own taper plan and be on a different track than my teammates. However, if… Read more »
Yyo
I now know what the Hopkins swim team will now be wearing for the foreseeable future.
#pleaserecruitmescott
… what is the rear coverage like for the masters swimmers? My umm friend says the leading brands don’t do the best job in coverage.
#applebottomManJeans
More like mom jeans for men
lol, no complaints from masters swimmers on coverage. Our suits cut similar to others but the fabric does a good job of stretching and compressing to conform to your body. We’ve got some cool jammers too if you’re worried about the briefs.
Very cool. Hope he does well!
But this 2000-2500 yards per week is BS. 300 yards a day?
Actually a lot of weeks it’s even less. I’ve only been doing two swims a week, and generally get to 1200-1500 in my Tuesday practices, and maybe 500 in my 2nd practice of the week. But you’re right – going to 7 practices a week to only do 300 yards would be pretty dumb!
This is terrific – we need more stories like this right now!
Great photos! Whoever took them did a great job.
my wife Molly is a gifted photographer!
I would love to see his entire training regiment. If I can do 2000-2500 a week plus towers and racks and go 22 and 49 I’ll see you all in Omaha!
Hi Sumo, we share our ambassadors’ training regimens, from workouts to recovery, in our digital magazine. We’ll share Austin’s soon. You can subscribe on our website FikeSwim.com (and we won’t spam you with junk)
Sumo – I should note that I also haven’t had access to racks and towers since march of ’20. So I’ve had to replace that creatively with other exercises like vertical kick.
I would love to hear more! Genuinely intrigued by your story. Love seeing people come back to the sport and swim fast.