The Origin of our Name

The Origin of our Name

The Origin of our Name

By Alexandra Rabbitte

Why Prairie Swim?

(pronounced prayer-ee)

The manifesto when I first started Prairie Swim (before my co-founder helped me bring the business to life and we became partners) has evolved, but the ethos of the word, why we started and why we called it Prairie Swim remains the same.

Prairie means grassland, and comes from the French word for "meadow." It is known in North America as the countryside, or a large open area of grassland.

Being from the prairies

Being from the prairies is something I take a lot of pride in. Prairie people are known to be hard working, resilient, and good people. It also to me represents how a large part of North Americans live, those who are land locked and have gotten creative over the years in how we summer and enjoy the warmer months that we’ve worked hard for all year to enjoy. We take long road trips to the most beautiful, cold freshwater lakes. We have secret swimming creeks and ropes that we use to swing into them as kids. We treasure a good swimming pool. We grew up running through sprinklers and kiddie pools filled up with water from the hose. We also travel, a lot. We love escaping the cold, and we love the adventure of travel.

Prairie to me means, the lifestyle of working hard complemented by that freedom and joy of jumping in a lake or getting on a plane to go somewhere warm.

Being from the Prairies means you aren’t entitled to the ocean, that you have to put in some effort to get there.

I wanted Prairie Swim to cater to these people, the travellers, the mid westerners, the city dwellers, the lake go-ers. I want the word “Prairie” to be associated with hard work, determination and the pursuit of adventure and happiness. Those who have a different appreciation for sunny days and warmer weather.  

And so, here we are.

PS, wish you were here.

Alexandra is the co-founder of Prairie Swim. She's a true Leo, who loves country music, running and her dog Louise.

Read next

5 At Home Workouts

5 Ways to re energize at home

Positano Cuts Deep

Back to blog

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.