CreateFit Swim Coaching Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1QS

"Having been a non-swimmer all my life ( now in my 50’s), many times over the years, especially family holidays as I sat beside the pool, I promised myself, one day I would finally learn to swim. Years passed by, I put It off. Finally, early 2022, I became determined to “take the plunge” & as one does, I searched on line available options & read reviews. I was drawn to Create Fitness reading excellent reviews of non / poor swimmers, & their lessons & achievements with Mark. I block booked 10 lessons, to fully commit, wary if only 1 lesson, all too easy to have found an excuse to not progress. Mid January, I arrived for 1st lesson, apprehensive & with genuine dislike & distrust of putting my head in the pool. Mark immediately helps to put long-standing apprehensions at ease, one by one. Through Mark’s experience, skill, professionalism & engaging approach to all, Mark has taught, encouraged & empowered me through weekly lessons, to progress from someone who at best swam a few metres, head out of water, inefficiently, to now comfortably swimming & enjoying the sensation of being in the water - even swimming underwater - where 400 metres now the very achievable goal for my next lesson with Mark & with a true belief in my newly achieved abilities & sense of achievement - at last ! I now look forward to each lesson with Mark & how I can achieve more each lesson - something prior to these lessons with Mark & Create Fitness I couldn’t have for a moment envisaged saying - all those years, family holidays, etc, avoiding the pool - why didn’t I do this sooner ? Thanks Mark - really grateful."

"I came to Mark hoping to improve my backstroke speed and couldn’t have been happier with the progress made in the space of one session. Mark taught technique adjustments in a very clear way and at no point did I feel overwhelmed by the new information he was teaching. This was my first private 1to1 swimming lesson and the improvements were significant. Would highly recommend to swimmers of all abilities."

"It was a really enjoyable first swimming lesson. I came away inspired, encouraged and looking forward to using all the new techniques Mark, the instructor, showed me. Lots to now embed into my swim! I hesitated to book a lesson for far too long and needn’t have been nervous as the style of coaching made me feel really comfortable from the word go. The analogies Mark used were useful in helping to make things clear, plus they made complete sense! A really inspiring session! He was clearly passionate about improving swimming. I’ll be sure to book another session once I’ve embedded what I learnt in this first one!"

"Why not celebrate the opening of sport venues with swimming. No matter how old you are, whether you are a swimmer, or always wanted to learn to swim, even if you are afraid of water as I was. Mark Durnford is the most incredible teacher who has given me confidence and taught me to swim. He is very patient, has a sense of humour, is dedicated, kind and persuasive at encouraging you to do what you want to achieve. My friend George and I simply love Mark. We would highly recommend Mark to anyone. If you are looking for an excellent and amazing swimming coach at any level, Mark is always the one to contact, every time. If you are not sure, try for yourself and see, you are guaranteed to not be disappointed. Margaret Duncan Bristol UK March 2021"

"I am in my 50s and rehabbing from a serious knee injury. Deciding that this might be an ideal time to learn to swim properly I contacted Mark at Create Fitness. I had never previously had a swimming lesson and could only do a few lengths of something approximating breaststroke. After only a few weeks I have breaststroke technique nailed (well - you know what I mean!) and am now learning the front crawl. I have had many trainers, coaches and teachers for many things over the years and I can honestly say that Mark is one of the very best. He is the absolute master of positive encouragement. His enthusiasm for swimming and training others to swim is obvious. He makes great use of technology by videoing sessions, providing material on the web and using an excellent online booking system that makes it easy to fit lessons around a varied and busy schedule. I can't recommend Mark highly enough - he is just awesomely good at what he does."