For this issue of #peopleofcardinia, we chatted to Vadim Butov, a regular swimmer here at Cardinia Life.
Vadim humbly describes himself as an ordinary man, who enjoys coming to swim 7 times a week. Vadim is a Pakenham Lakeside SDA church pastor and also enjoys long distance open water swimming. Vadim started coming to Cardinia Life with his kids as they swam with the Cardinia Pirahna’s squad team. While they swam, Vadim would also swim laps to kill time, then decided to join on an Aquatics membership to come more regularly. When our centre was opened just briefly over June/July last year, Vadim came to swim every day. In fact, out of the 39 days we were open in that period, Vadim came to swim an impressive 40 times!
When asked what he likes most about Cardinia Life, Vadim says “The water is nice and warm, the staff are all friendly and charming, the prices are reasonable, the place is nice and clean.”
As well as his dedication to swimming, Vadim has a lot of other achievements to be proud of. He won the Queensland International Judo open, and served on the NSW Judo State team for a few years. He has achieved the rank of brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitzu, has learned to speak 14 foreign languages so far.
Not only has Vadim achieved a lot in the past, he also has big goals for the future too. He is planning to complete a 10 km marathon in open water. He also hopes to continue learning foreign languages. Vadim’s secret for staying motivated is to have the health and brain power to work.
If you see Vadim around the centre, make sure you have a chat. Vadim says “In the pool, you will find a 44 year old man who likes to give compliments. I genuinely love people and will try to give them a bit of my heart even in the water”
