Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassie Curtin.
Hi Cassie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
After becoming a mother I decided to set my interior design business aside due to the extreme time commitments and focus on being a stay at home mom. 6 months postpartum after my second child was born I found myself in a deepening postpartum depression and knew I needed to make a change to better myself and my family. I was feeling lost and hopeless until I decided in one instant that I was going to commit my life to saving other young lives. In the next four months I sold my home and purchased one with a pool in central South Austin so I could have a fulfilling career while also having the bonus of being able to work from home and the flexibility to still spend time with my family. It was hard work growing my self rescue swim business and now 6 years later I still could not be happier with my decision!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There were many struggles in the beginning. Preparing my home to sell, touring 40+ homes in the height of COVID with a baby and a toddler at home with me – all to find the perfect environment to launch my new career. It was also a large investment upfront due to updating the pool to the safest and most current standards, purchasing a giant pool heater and having to install a large propane tank since my new neighborhood has no natural gas as well as growing a new career from the ground up. I flew in a master instructor from Argentina which provided me with the meticulous and thorough training I knew I needed to be able to perform at the highest level. After 5 months of rigorous in water training and book work I graduated my instructor training and was ready to go!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I skill children aged 10 months to 6 years in the water and equip them with the skills to self rescue, swim and have a healthy respect for the water. Being a mother of now 3 has helped me grow strong relationships with my swim families and teach children with a firm and loving approach. I specialize in all children but have a strong pull toward teaching children on the autism spectrum as well as children with down syndrome. Drowning is the leading cause of death in children under 5 years of age and children on the autism spectrum are 160 times more likely to be involved in a drowning accident. To this day I know of 5 lives that have been saved due to my passionate training of all of my students. ISR South Austin has been rated the #1 ranked swim instructor in Austin in both 2024 and 2026!
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I look forward to continuing to skill our most precious humans with the invaluable skills to self rescue and save more lives! Many of my students go on to be competitive swimmers and it makes me proud to know that confidence all started in my pool and under my teaching. I have become more involved on social media to raise awareness of the dangers of water and my most popular awareness video has reached over 25 million people and is the most viewed water awareness social media video to date. I feel proud knowing that not only am I saving lives here in Austin, Texas but possibly all around the world!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ISRSouthAustin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isrsouthaustin
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/isrsouthaustin
