In 2021, two friends, Ross and Tom started Blue Balls Cornwall. Partly inspired by groups like Wild Swimming Cornwall and the Bluetits but also driven by their own positive experiences in cold water.

In what is a female dominated space, they wanted to set up a group to encourage men across the county to join them and discover the benefits that cold water swimming can have on health and wellbeing. The duo are very open about their own ongoing battles with mental health and support anything that provides the mind some kind of release from the busy lives that we all lead.

Ross, who is also a co-founder of Man Down Cornwall, a Cornish men’s mental health support group tells us: “I’m a massive advocate of cold water swimming because I believe that it provides me with a positive coping mechanism and contributes positively towards my wellbeing and mental health. After being diagnosed with ADHD as a teenager I found my younger years very difficult to manage, the racing mind, the intrusive thoughts, the impulsive behaviour and my addictive nature ruled my world. I abused alcohol for many years and used that as my coping mechanism when the anxiety would raise its ugly head. So I fully appreciate how much better cold water swimming is as a coping mechanism and I want to help introduce more men to it so that they can benefit from it as well.”

Tom agreed: “For a number of years my behaviour was very self destructive. It caused the people around me a lot of pain but without realising, I was also causing myself a lot of pain. At the time I was too self-obsessed and selfish to realise any of it. Ultimately it took getting arrested and subsequently banned from driving for me to recognise I was on a downward spiral of self-sabotage. Thankfully my life is back on track and cold water swimming has been a great way for me to channel my excess energy into something proactive and healthy rather than turning to the destructive behaviour patterns that I once relied on.”

So, at the start of 2021, Blue Balls was set up as a cold water swimming group specifically for gentlemen in Cornwall. “Setting up Blue Balls and the feedback we have received has been very humbling and makes us very grateful to share something that we love doing and find so rewarding. Even if only one bloke saw one of our posts and felt inspired to get in the water, then that would make our day” Tom says.

The group has some big plans for the rest of the year and is closely aligned with Man Down. Man Down, already offers safe, non-judgemental support groups for men in 20 locations across Cornwall from Bude to Penzance, Fowey to Falmouth with a further dozen on the radar and plans to cross the border into Devon in the not too distant future. It is Ross and Tom’s hope that by introducing more men to cold water swimming it will help to build strength within their community that is based around a challenging and incredibly invigorating activity.

Unfortunately, suicide rates are skyrocketing. 75% of all suicides are male, 12 men a day kill themselves as a result of mental illness and Cornwall has the third highest suicide rate in the UK. Throughout the pandemic, Man Down has continued to do everything they can to give men an environment to talk during these extremely difficult times. Blue Balls offer an additional support network and encourages men to utilise cold water swimming as a positive coping mechanism. “We use cold water swimming ourselves to rest our minds so we know only too well the benefits it can have.”

Cold water swimming helps to relieve stress, anxiety and depression. It also enables us to practice mindfulness and experience a massive sense of achievement just by stepping into the ocean. On a physical level it boosts our immune systems, improve circulation, burns calories and enables us to have a laugh with some like minded chaps. If it sounds like your cup of tea then get in touch with Tom and Ross. They can be found on Facebook and Instagram under @BlueBallsCornwall.

Bright blue swimming trunks aren’t mandatory but welcomed!

If you are interested in joining Man Down Cornwall they can also be found on Facebook & Instagram and have lots of information on their website http://www.mandown-cornwall.co.uk

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