Kate Rew

Background

About Kate Rew

I have recently returned to my first love - writing, and am writing two books for Penguin, one out May 26 2022. Alongside this I run The Outdoor Swimming Society, a free international network for swimmers, that aims to inspire and inform free swimming, and be the same restful quiet space that people get from a nice long swim. I take travel commissions when I can. A long-term freelancer and self-starter, I graduated from Oxford in 1992, and spent a year in Qualitative Research (pubs & human behaviour) before starting a career as a magazine journalist. As a writer I have specialised in health, alternative health, mental health, fitness and adventure travel. I went freelance as one of the first dedicated health writers in the late 90s, contributing to Times2, Observer, the Evening Standard, Grazia, Elle etc, with stints as Health Editor on a variety of titles and NHS Choices. In 2006 I set off to write a book 'Wild Swim' about swimming around Britain (published Guardian Books, 2008), and slightly inadvertently created a society and movement alongside: The Outdoor Swimming Society. The OSS is now a thriving community which I continue to run, alongside many like-minded volunteers, with over followers across our channels (e-news, insta, facebook, twitter). We remain free to join and free to access, our main purpose being to share the swim love (and the information on where and how to swim) with people across the globe. Since 2006 I have also set up wildswim.com, a free crowd-sourced worldwide swim map, and three iconic open water swims to date (the Dart10k, the Bantham Swoosh & the Hurly Burly). I am currently continuing to run The OSS while writing some books, and taking travel commissions when I can. Proudest moments? Rowing in the OSS Blue Boat, receiving an award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame for my 'stalwart' contributions to recreational swimming, and setting up and running an organisation that is not like any others - but has set a lot of people free, and created a huge web of connections and friendships which have changed people's lives. I work 9-3 so I can still get to the river, and spend a lot of time with my two boys (8 and 10).