“The power to make a difference comes in believing in something greater than yourself.”
“I swim to remind people of what we need to protect.”
Geography can mould you. Lewis was born in Plymouth. Situated in the South West of England, it’s the gateway to the North Atlantic. As a result, the city has produced some of the greatest explorers and pioneers of all time. When he was ten, the Pugh family moved to South Africa, eventually settling in Cape Town, the city where the Atlantic, Indian and Southern Oceans meet.
It was a tumultuous era for South Africa. A new nation was taking shape as Lewis began his legal studies at the University of Cape Town. He was greatly influenced by his time there and privileged to be taught by some of the finest legal minds of the era; some were the authors of South Africa’s new constitution. Dialogue and finding common ground, new ways to work together – even whilst disagreeing – were how great things were achieved. Lewis has used those skills in his career as a maritime lawyer and in his role as the UN Patron of the Oceans.
Every swim is a call for leaders and citizens to summon the courage to change the way we do things and to protect our oceans.
As an endurance swimmer, Lewis is unparalleled. The swim that started it all was from Robben Island to Cape Town in 1987. A series of record-breaking swims soon followed, culminating in his first polar swim, around the North Cape. Then came the swim along the length of the River Thames, another first. In 2007 he captured the attention of the global media with his swim across the North Pole which was only possible because the sea ice had melted. Swimming the 32km width of the English Channel is daunting. In 2018 Lewis became the first person to swim the 528km length.
It would be understandable, if after decades pioneering the sport, Lewis decided to retire. But he believes that some of his greatest swims still lie ahead of him. Despite the freezing water, the daunting physical and mental toll the sport demands, Lewis is determined to continue to set new records. Training happens every day, 51 weeks a year.
