Photographer, Director and co-founder of Original Shift & LastPick, Tayler Prince Fraser has been on a journey to change the way we look at exercise and fitness - using this as a catalyst to inspire social change and get more diverse audiences into sports.

Tayler Prince Fraser

Photographer, Director and co-founder of Original Shift, Shift Productions & LastPick, Tayler Prince Fraser has been on a journey to change the way we look at exercise and fitness - using this as a catalyst to inspire social change and get more diverse audiences into sports.

“People are inspired by individuals that look like them, sound like them and live like them.” This ethos is the driving force behind his recent project ‘Deep is the Water’, tackling the underrepresentation of Black Communities in the swim space. Check out his guide for water side places that have been a part of Tayler’s journey to help people connect with water.

Brought to you in partnership with Nike Swim & Open Waters, helping people from all backgrounds navigate the water.

London

Nike Swim

I have a ton of fond memories visiting my Gran down in Bridport, and we’d often spend days by the beach eating rock candy and pasties. Fast forward 15 years and it’s now the spot that my mum lives in, and when I go to visit, she often invites me for open water swims with her and a group of friends. 

Similar to West Bay, this place is full of happy memories spent with family. We also used to go digging for fossils around the beach too, but never actually found anything other than some shells and rocks. 

We took a group of friends down for surfing and paddle boarding lessons a few years ago, for which we shot a small stills and video campaigin around. I have a distinctive memory of being on the beach at sunrise and it was one of the most incredible sights. After we wrapped, it only made sense to go for a celebratory swim.

The location of another film we did! I wanted to visit the Lake District for the longest time and finally had a reason to do so. It was the height of summer and lockdown restrictions had loosened, so myself and a couple of friends headed up for a location scout/break from the monotony of solitude. Swimming in the lake was one of the most surreal feelings, given the context of the moment. 

The location for our stills campaign, ‘Deep is the water’, Botany bay is a location synonymous with the British summer holiday. It doesn’t get more quintessentially British than this, perhaps, say for somewhere like Brighton. It’s incredibly beautiful and the waters are shallow for a considerable distance from the beach too, making it a more suitable location for those less confident in open water. 