“We didn’t hesitate for a moment to dive into the Swim Stars adventure.”

Sébastien and Florent Talabard, two brothers sharing the Swim Stars adventure and the love of swimming for several years, have launched a franchise in Val d’Europe (77)! With two swimming schools located respectively in Chanteloup-en-Brie and Quincy-Voisins, our two franchisees are actively involved in the fight against drowning.

Mutual love of swimming

Swim Stars : Hello Sébastien, hello Florent and thank you for your time. Can you tell us who you are, where you come from? What is your background?

Sébastien & Florent: Hello, we are Sébastien (30 years old) and Florent (33 years old) and we are the director of Swim Stars Val d’Europe !

Two paths that come together:

Sébastien: I passed my baccalaureate ES before continuing my studies in STAPS. I obtained a bachelor’s degree in APAS (Adapted Physical Activity and Health); I stopped these studies at the master’s level in order to concentrate on my lifeguard diploma!

I have been a lifeguard for 5 years now, I have worked in many different structures (municipal pool, spa, 5 star hotel, water park…), nevertheless I have always wanted to become an entrepreneur. With my brother, we decided to open our first swimming school with Swim Stars!

Florent : As for me, I passed my baccalaureate S in order to obtain the BEESAN diploma at the Creps Est, Île-de-France, with the objective of becoming a lifeguard! Today, I have been in the business for almost 10 years. I also worked with several structures (municipal swimming pools, the French army swimming pool, high-end sports clubs…). Like my brother, I was attracted to entrepreneurship, so starting up together was a natural fit!

Both lifeguards and entrepreneurs, the franchise was an obvious choice.

What made you want to join the Swim Stars adventure?

We have known Swim Stars and its founder for several years: we did not hesitate for a moment before diving into the adventure! We wanted to launch together in an entrepreneurial project and we are fulfilled.

Being both lifeguards, it’s an environment that we master. We were convinced that this activity would be very fulfilling! The fight against drowning is an extremely important cause, being able to actively support this project allows us to feel useful.

A business with solid foundations

What did you like or find interesting about the Swim Stars franchise model?

First of all, Swim Stars has a large network, some of the places where swimming lessons are taught are very prestigious. Swim Stars also has many partnerships. We know that this activity works very well with a lot of demand on its market, you can see it by going to any pool; it is very complicated to register your child for swimming lessons due to the lack of space.

The digital aspect, mainly for the booking of courses, offers a great flexibility to the customers. What we also like is the quality of the lessons taught, in small groups with the swimming instructor in the water, which is rarely found in municipal pools or at school.

Finally, we are very well accompanied! Since we opened our first swimming school, we have been able to benefit from their follow-up and advice, which is not negligible when diving into the franchise!

Is it incompatible to undertake and keep time for your passions, your family, your loved ones?

It is completely compatible to open a swimming school while keeping its activities on the side. You just have to be rigorous and organized. In the beginning, it is necessary to work hard in order to launch your business on a solid basis. We should not be afraid of failure, we have never thought of it!

We embarked on the Swim Stars adventure as a couple and we have the possibility to divide the tasks, which reduces our individual workload. We have also built a great team, of which we are very proud, and with whom we share wonderful times on the poolside and in the water.

Both of us have outgoing personalities and we try to have as much fun as possible in our activity!

After all, we are in a swimming school! What aquatic species would you be?

Sebastien: I would be an octopus. I find this animal fascinating because of its intelligence, its adaptability and especially its composition: eight arms, three hearts, nine brains!

Florent: I would be a swordfish. It is a large fish, which swims very quickly and which I find original!

A final word?

Sébastien : I’m very happy to have joined the Swim Stars family with my brother, we bloom a lot in this activity. Thanks to Swim Stars for accompanying us and advising us. Thank you to all our customers who trust us to learn such an essential activity.

Florent : I am also very happy to be part of the Swim Stars adventure, we learn every day and this is what gives us the motivation to go further. A big thank you to the team that accompanies us, as well as to all our customers and partners who trust us.

For all information on Swim Stars swimming lessons in Val d’Europe (2 schools), go to the Swim Stars pool page. And to discover the other portraits of franchisees, go to the Swim Stars Blog.