Self-Described 'Sinker' Can Now Float on Water
When it comes to swimming, there are floaters, sinkers, and the rest of us. Most of us can float on water with a varying degree of ease. However, for a small percentage of people, floating can be hard work. These people tend to sink under the water no matter how they position their body or what strokes they use.
Jay Montemayor, a 47-year-old Engineer Technician from Sheboygan, Wisconsin is a sinker. “I took swimming lessons for years in high school, but still couldn’t float. My legs would always sink. If I made it across the narrow end of the pool, it was an achievement.” But even that achievement took a great deal of effort.
Due to his sinking, Montemayor never became a fan of water activities. “I limited my water activities. And if I did do something in the water, like canoeing, I always wore a life jacket.”
Not All Swim Aids Are Equal
Montemayor used to avoid water activities until he started using a life vest as a swim aid. While the vest kept him above water, it wasn’t great for swimming. “The problem with a life jacket is that it rides up and it’s not comfortable for swimming,” said Montemayor. “So one day I searched for a suit to keep an adult above the water. I didn’t find anything until I decided to search for wetsuits. Then I found the Floater.”The Floater Wetsuit Helps Sinkers Enjoy the Water
Montemayor was amazed at what he discovered about the Floater wetsuit. “I watched the videos and the success stories sold me on the suit. So I reached out to Ruth [Wishengrad] and Mark [Okrusko] and ended up ordering a wetsuit.”
Once Montemayor put on the Floater to swim in his friend’s giant swimming hole, his life as a sinker had changed. “All of a sudden, I could float. I didn’t have to worry about sinking. The first time I wore the suit, I swam for about four hours. Using the suit allowed me to enjoy the water with my entire family for the first time in my life.”
The suit really helped him stay on the surface. When jumping into the water, Montemayor said. “I popped right back up.”
Montemayor’s now has a whole new relationship to water activities. “I never understood how people could just float so easily. But now I can too. So far, I’ve only used it for swimming at my friend’s swimming hole. But I plan to try it out in Lake Michigan or maybe jet skiing.”
If you’re interested in learning more about the Floater wetsuit, reach out on AirtimeWatertime.com.
Why Some People Sink and Others Float
Scientific research on personal buoyancy (or floating) explains the ability to float on water can be affected by your bone density, muscle mass, body fat, and the shape of your body. Floaters tend to be people with a higher percentage of body fat while sinkers tend to have a higher bone density or more muscle mass. Sometimes the shape of the body, such as having a top-heavy torso or bottom-heavy legs, can make it difficult to float.
These buoyancy challenged swimmers, known as sinkers, often need to exert more effort to keep from sinking beneath the surface or to tread water. Some sinkers can’t float or tread water at all. Due to their sinking, they either avoid water activities altogether or use swim aids to stay afloat.