Fredrik Bengtsson, Creator of Frank Paddle

Welcome to episode fifty of the Low Tide Boyz - A Swimrun Podcast!We’re dubbing this show our carbon fiber episode. Today we have the founder of Frank Paddle, Fredrik Bengtsson. As most, if not all, triathletes (current or former) would, we geek out a lot in this interview about carbon fiber, the design process, and the future of swim paddles for Swimrun. We can’t wait to share this interview with you! More on this later in the show.ShoutoutsThis week we’re shouting out to our listeners in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Looks like they have a burgeoning Swimrun scene in Southeastern Brazil and we’re grateful for you all tuning in to the show. Muito Obrigado!This Week in Swimrun (Powered by Raceid.com)A cool race took place this past weekend in Cape Town South Africa. The #GetWrecked Cape Experience Swimrun put on by Torpedo Swimrun looked like a lot of fun. On their website they refer to the sport of Swimrun as “wildly cool” and we obviously agree. The photos of the event looked amazing with beach runs, rough ocean swims, and a lot of smiling faces. As a bonus programming alert: we’re already looking to get their race director Richard on the show to chat about the Swimrun scene in South Africa.Our friends Fanny and Desirée’s Champions Christmas Challenge is on its third week. The social media photo theme for this week is Christmas trees so post up your workout pics wearing Christmasy stuff for a chance to win some awesome prizes…even a coveted Löw Tide Böyz t-shirt.Finally, ÖTILLÖ has opened its World Championship Registration window. Go to their press release to get all the details on how to enter. Registration is open until January 20, 2021 so make sure that your race results are up to date, and may the odds be forever in your favor.That’s it for this week. Feel free to email us to tip us off to any events or Swimrun news that you’d like for us to share on the show.UpdatesWe’ve got shirts and stickers shipping out so head over to our website if you want to show your Low Tide pride. We’re also thinking of getting some hats made so let us know if you think that’s a good idea or not.This Week’s InterviewAs mentioned at the start of the show, we have the Founder of Frank Paddle, Fredrik Bengtsson. He has a super interesting background and an early love for all things carbon fiber from his pro windsurfer days led circuitously to triathlon and ultimately to Swimrun. In this interview, we chatted with Fredrik about his windsurfing days traveling the world, how he found triathlon and became a certified coach, and how he did his first Swimrun race on a whim. We also talked about all things carbon fiber, how he came up with the idea for carbon fiber swim paddles, and eventually to go all in and start Frank Paddle. We talked about his design process and what he thinks makes for great swim paddles.You can learn more about Frank Paddle on their website and follow them on Instagram.That’s it for this week’s show. If you are enjoying the Löw Tide Böyz, please be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast player and leave us a five-star review. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Google Podcast. You can also follow our meme page on Instagram. Email us at [email protected] with any feedback and/or suggestions. Finally, you can support us on Patreon…if you feel so inclined.