The 2nd Monaco edition of “Maman Va Danser” is happening this Thursday, September 18, at Neptune Plage in Monaco.
Inspired by a Berlin concept, the unique aspect of “Maman Va Danser” lies in its 100% female focus, creating a safe and energetic space where women can dance, socialize, and reclaim a part of themselves away from their daily responsibilities.
The event has quickly gained momentum across France since early 2025 as an alternative to conventional nightlife.
“We’re excited about this upcoming edition and have already sold over 120 tickets,” says Johanna Damar Flores, president and co-founder of entreparents. “The first ‘Maman Va Danser’ took place in May and was a resounding success. It brought together a vibrant community of more than 100 mothers and women who were eager to unwind and enjoy a night out.”
From 7pm to midnight, the beach party with a serious emphasis on dancing, drinks, DJs, and fun, can be accessed at an affordable entry fee.
And mark your calendar for the 4th edition of “Let’s Play Halloween” which will take place on Friday, October 17, again on the Larvotto Promenade at beach level.”
Although Johanna remains tight-lipped about this year’s theme – “It will be revealed soon!” – the celebration will feature the famous candy hunt, in partnership with the shops and restaurants along Larvotto, a mini-Halloween dance party, a cooking workshop, games, a baby-friendly area, a face painting station, and, of course, the presence of Halloween mascots. “Ticket sales will open very soon, so stay tuned!”
Johanna co-founded entreparents with Émilie Sabatié, Anna Campbell, and Clémence Perrin back in May 2021. There has been a significant evolution since it became an official association, with an expanding member base (their Instagram community is approaching 2,500 followers) and enhanced offerings, like the “Family Friendly Wednesdays” gatherings to better meet parents’ needs in spaces designed for them to connect.
“We still believe strongly in the power of collaboration,” says Johanna, “and we had the pleasure of co-organising the ‘Let’s Play, Carnaval’ event this year with the Mairie de Monaco – a first – that brought together numerous families at the Place d’Armes.
“Additionally, we co-organised a conference on digital parenting with the British School, Action Innocence Monaco, and the Digital Services Department of the Government. This is an important topic that we will continue to address alongside the mentioned entities.”
Looking ahead to 2026, entreparents plan to extend the their network beyond the age of three (details to come). “We also want to offer more get-togethers for the English-speaking communities. And, furthermore, we are working on the Parenting Support Committee and are in the process of creating a wonderful event for our 5th anniversary in June 2026.”
Johanna admits the entreparents app, still in “Version 1”, needs to evolve to meet the changing needs of the parents in our community since the network’s creation. “We are considering conducting a testing phase with users to introduce new features and optimise usability. Currently, users can find live discussion groups, an event calendar, and a step-by-step guide covering the journey from baby to three years old, complete with key information.”
Johanna, Émilie, Anna and Clémence remain a dedicated team, and continue to work collaboratively to best support the families in our community. “We’ve also brought together some amazing mums who have initiated wonderful projects for the network, such as the Pre-loved Clothing Swap and Sharing Circles.”
Johanna adds, “One might think that the size of the Principality facilitates mutual support and the creation of networks for expectant and young parents. However, with over 180 nationalities coexisting at different social levels, we find that feelings of isolation are very real in every parent’s story at some point.
“This is where we come in: we strive to ensure that no parent feels alone. Our mission is to foster connections within our community, value everyone’s role, restore confidence, listen, inform, support, and harmonize the existing ecosystem. Our ultimate goal is to make parenting support a priority topic.”
An entreparents membership is a one-time payment of €50 per family. Email hello@entreparents.mc for more.
Taylor Viale passed away yesterday on Wednesday, August 20, surrounded by family, including mom Juanita, dad Nicolas, big sister Isabella, grandma Sonia, and her grand aunt Helene.
The family is enormously grateful to the Lenval Hospital Reanimation team in Nice, who did everything possible for a peaceful transition.
They also extend their gratitude and thanks to the Fondation Lenval’s EEAP Henri Germain (Establishment for Children and Adolescents with Multiple Disabilities), under the direction of Mme Drigny, for the years of tender care they gave Taylor. Some of the nurses and caregivers came to the hospital say goodbye to Taylor.
As Juanita posted: “Taylor blessed our lives for 18 years, always smiling, even with a mountain of challenges. She touched so many lives with her pure presence and joy of being.”
The religious ceremony takes place on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, at 10 am at the Eglise du Voeux in Nice (2 rue Alfred Mortier). “All those who knew her, loved her, or simply crossed paths are welcome to say their farewells with kindness and light.”
Flowers can be placed on Wednesday morning starting at 8 am at the Athanée de Nice, or directly at the church before 10 am. At the end of the ceremony, a offering box will be circulated. All of its contents will be donated to the Lenval Foundation, to benefit children with disabilities. For messages on Taylor’s tribute space: https://www.espace-hommage.fr/mon-espace/4102b9a0
With the family’s permission, I am resharing the mother and daughter’s inspirational story, which was first published during the Covid pandemic.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: We have spent the better part of this year staring at Covid figures and graphs, and hearing about how care homes have been particularly vulnerable to the virus. It is easy to forget that it is not just the elderly living in assisted accommodation. The story of Juanita Viale and her disabled daughter Taylor is one of hope.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Juanita Viale was working for a Stanford-funded startup in San Francisco when her dad passed away. She decided to relocate to Costa Rica and settled in Tamarindo on the Pacific Coast, known for surfing thanks to the 1966 Robert August documentary classic, Endless Summer.
By 2007, she was living in San José when her youngest daughter Taylor suffered a brain hemorrhage at birth leaving her permanently disabled. Juanita and her husband decided to move Taylor and her older sister Isabella to France the following year. “My now ex-husband’s grandfather welcomed us with open arms to his 30-hectare vineyard, Coteaux de Bellet, behind Nice, and I stayed there for the next nine years.”
Taking care of the girls, especially with Taylor’s needs, was a full-time job but after a four-year hiatus from the work force, Juanita managed to land a gig in her field of communications and marketing. “On my second day of work I was already in Monaco on the air at Riviera Radio giving weekly property reports, a vast contrast to being a stay-at-home-mom.”
While her marketing consulting and coaching business grew, her marriage, unfortunately, did not. By the autumn of 2019, Taylor moved into a center for severely disabled children in Saint Antoine Ginestiere, in Nice, operated by the Lenval Foundation, coming home on the weekends. During this same period, Juanita moved around 40 kilometers behind Nice to live in a forest.
“I found my French version of Costa Rica! As I live on a 7-hectare forest my lifestyle is pretty isolated, so when the first lockdown happened, nothing really changed for me since I live and run my business Marketing & Mindset Coaching from home anyway.
“However, the challenge was with Taylor. Under strict confinement restrictions she was not allowed to leave the center since they were all vulnerable. I didn’t see Taylor for two months with the exception of daily Facetime calls. She held out fine for the first month, but showed signs of depression the second month, which is when Facetime calls became a lifesaver.”
While this weighed enormously on Juanita’s heart, the good news was that it was clear that her daughter Taylor was more aware of her surroundings than the family realized.
A few days prior to France’s second lockdown announcement, Taylor was hospitalized during the weekend for fatigue and no appetite. She was tested immediately for Covid with a negative result.
Juanita wasn’t allowed to visit because she hadn’t had a Covid test. Rapid testing is reserved for the patients only so when the hospital offered to give her a regular test, the results wouldn’t be ready before 48 hours. By that time Taylor would already be out of the hospital.
While Juanita “completely understood” the situation, this was the first time Taylor had to be alone in the hospital. “Even though I have full confidence in the nurses to be with her, knowing she was alone did not sit well with me. However I had no other choice but to surrender that worrying thought and replace it with the gratitude I have for all those doctors and nurses who take such great care of the children at Lenval.”
With this second lockdown that took effect October 30, Taylor is able to come home on the weekends. “Such relief! But for Isabella, 18, who is going to school and doing her internship in Nice, it will be her first lockdown alone. Facetime it is!”
If there is any lesson Juanita Viale has learned from “The Year of Staying at Home” it is to be adaptable.
“The more willing we are to live out of our comfort zone, we strengthen our adaptability skills. It is imperative to keep working on ourselves, challenging ourselves, checking in with ourselves, loving ourselves and developing a positive mindset that will serve as your anchor in a sea of uncertainty.”
Article first published November 3, 2020. Photos courtesy of Juanita Viale.
I first met Keah Lan in person on a hot sunny day in the summer of 2020, in between France’s two lockdowns. I picked her up from the train station and brought her back to my home for a warm “live” conversation over coffee and a couple of slices of a carrot cake that my little girl and her friends had made the day before.
Keah moved near the seaside in lovely Cros-de-Cagnes after the birth of her son Matisse. She and her husband, who is from the South of France, had been living in London and decided to chose a quieter and simpler life with more sun.
In 2018, the couple learned their son had sensory difficulties – sounds, sights, smells, textures and tastes can create a feeling of “sensory overload” – which meant that they had to relearn everything they knew from scratch to support him. “Intuitively I knew,” Keah admits, “but it wasn’t until we saw the French doctor that it became real. A period of mourning followed. I think fathers process it much differently as my husband only came to accept the diagnosis one year later.”
In her new life on the French Riviera, Keah, who grew up in South Africa, started spending a great deal of time outdoors and discovered that nature is indeed our greatest healer.
In London, she had set up “Keah Lan Mobile Healing,” a platform to bring health and wellness to busy, stressed and time constrained-city folk. Nearly twenty years later on the French Riviera, she has rebranded the business as SENSES and recently held a reflexology workshop at the International School of Monaco’s wellbeing day.
“I luckily did not have to change my business much but I did have to navigate myself. Immersing into the French community is very important, not just learning the language but also supporting and working alongside other local businesses is key to opening doors.”
Some women leave their full-time job to start their own business to have more time to spend with their children. The reality is that a home business can also turn into a full-time gig and that work-family balance is harder to manage than anticipated. For Keah, being a mom has definitely made her better at being an entrepreneur.
In the year of Covid and confinements, she has learned to prioritise her mental health and wellbeing as a mom. “Far too often we put the needs of our family before our own. We becomeso absorbed by the responsibilities of being a joyful wife, mother, and homemaker that we neglect to adequately tend to our own personal health and wellbeing.”
2020 came with its load of challenges, more than any normal time, and Keah bravely admits that she had a near mental breakdown.
“Have you ever had a panic or anxiety attack? Multiply that by ten!” is how she describes the experience. “Suddenly, out of the blue, it hits you. Recognising the body’s warning signs early on is important but once you reach the point of breakdown, by falling very ill, remember that this is the body’s way of trying to jumpstart the healing process. I work a lot with this now in my offerings to clients and provide tools to help them.”
The global pandemic has not been kind to small businesses, and Senses has had to completely restructure the business, moving from providing at home and outdoor wellbeing to live Zoom classes online. Keah had to adapt and learn quickly. She created a library of classes online (including a Women’s Circle, €8), where workouts and wellbeing help to bring the five senses into harmony to heal the mind, body, and spirit. The classes provide a transformative and sustainable approach that nurtures and, most importantly, leads to lasting change. A lot of her private clients have decided not to proceed with online and will wait until classes are resumed in person. A few still join our mat classes which provide them with a sense of community .
About “failures” and “wrong paths,” Keah talks about trying to do too many things at once, putting too much on her plate, pouring from an empty cup, always saying “yes” and having become completely run down emotionally and mentally. Ring any bells ? A big lesson she learned and is still learning is to ask for help, to reach out to the community.
Keah’s nugget to take away from all of this is that it’s about progress not perfection: to take it one day at a time, to find time to breathe and be grounded.
As researcher and author Brené Brown would say, “We can be courageous through discomfort.”
There are less than 400 people on the planet with a coveted “Masters of Wine” certification. Considered the highest wine achievement in the world, Elizabeth Gabay is one of two people in the Alpes-Maritimes with the accreditation.
As a Provence specialist for the Wine Scholar Guild (formerly the French Wine Society), she is also the main South of France wine writer for Decanter magazine. Her second book, Rosés of Southern France, was published earlier this month.
“I passed the Master of Wine exam in 1998 after four years of intensive study, three after the birth of my son Ben,” says Elizabeth. “The exams involve understanding and being able to analyse viticulture, vinification, commercial business, the role of wine in society and, of course, being able to taste and evaluate wine. The pass rate is low – around 10% – and we do have an amazing global network.”
Back in 2018, Elizabeth wrote the definitive book on rosé, Rosé: Understanding the Pink Wine Revolution. “I had originally thought of a book on the region of Provence, but with over 80% of production being rosé, it made sense to focus on rosé. As I studied the market, history and different styles the book grew into being a global reach and a realisation that there really was a global revolution happening as rosés were growing in volume – now well over 10% of global consumption.”
When Elizabeth started researching for the book in late 2016, the level of quality rosé around the world was “erratic”. And while quality has improved in the past six years … “a lot of regional styles have disappeared as commercial competitiveness has pushed producers to make ‘Provence-style rosé’. Quality is improving but at the price of losing tradition and individuality,”says the Saint-Martin-Vésubie resident.
Rosés of Southern France is a collaborative cowrite with her son Ben Bernheim, who “has spent his entire life in wine. As part of the wine tasting team at Edinburgh university he won the prize for the best white wine taster competing against Oxford, Cambridge and French students.” After graduating in 2017, Ben helped his mom finish the original rosé book and he worked in vineyards and as a sommelier.
“Working with a 25-year-old is exhausting. He has so much energy,” Elizabeth shares. “I was in my comfy niche of writing and lecturing and he has pushed the boundaries.” In addition to last year’s e-guide and this year’s book really, the mother-son duo also found the time to create their own rosé, Sen, made with a winemaker in Slovakia.
Their book Rosés of Southern France clearly establishes patterns for regionality and what makes the wines stand out, which is of interest to both buyers and consumers. “Last year Ben and I did an e-guide tasting 1000 Southern French rosés and we realised that the best wines showed originality and we wanted to write more about these wines and estates.”
Elizabeth and Ben sampled over 2,000 rosés during the past year. “Including rosés from elsewhere – it is important to keep an international perspective.”
The book aims to be a classic wine book. “If you love rosé, you can read it and understand the different styles, and how to look for other wines.” At the same time, at the end of August, they are launching their website pink.wine which will be a modern and innovative approach to rosé,” the New Yorker explains.
“Most existing books on rosé either give a list of wines or list estates to visit or are coffee table books with lovely photos. We wanted to treat rosé as a serious wine. We have included maps showing the geology and geography, photos of the soils, grapes, regions. We have tried to show how and why the styles of wine have different styles. The elegance of Sainte Victoire, the robustness of Gigondas, the complexity of Tavel …”
Rosés of Southern France is for professionals, sommeliers, buyers and anyone who likes rosé. “Hopefully it will help consumers when they go into a shop and want to choose a wine. Recently someone mentioned they liked fuller bodied Les Baux rosés and we were able to suggest which regions and appellations had similar styles.”
Elizabeth has three recommendations to look out for this summer.
Les Schistes, Les Maîtres Vignerons de Gonfaron, Côtes de Provence (€7.80): a delicate charming white peach, fresh citrus acidity and a lovely balance of restrained fruit and acidity.
Pierre Amadieu, Romane Machotte, Gigondas AOP 2021 (€17): a juicy, slightly weightier rosé with real Gigondas character filled with fresh cherries, strawberries and raspberry fruit – but also a serious gastronomic wine.
Chateau de Selle, Domaine Ott (€26): red fruit, floral, perfumed, orange blossom. Gorgeous citrus acidity, crisp, citrussy, vibrant well-made, elegant, direct, hint of leafiness on the Rather lovely.
And for those like me who know nothing about wine, Elizabeth says look for rosé in a dark bottle. “I know that is counter-intuitive but colour is not important. Pale does not make it good. The bright sunlight can damage the wine and give it off vegetal flavours. I’ve seen people say they don’t like rosé and then discover they are tasting wine which has been in the sun. An hour on the table in summer is enough to harm the wine.
“Look at the back label. If it says serve at 6°C you know it is best drunk chilled by the pool. Serve at 10°C and above with maybe some detail of the grapes suggests the producer is more serious.”
Warning: Excessive consumption of alcohol is harmful to your health
Born in Madrid, christened in Paris, and having grown up in London, Catherine Loewe had a very European outlook from day one. “My mother was Viennese and took me to see Gustav Klimt in the Belvedere which started my life-long love of art.”
“She was my greatest influence, as a follower of Jung and Buddhism, and she was obsessed with Gustav Mahler – my father even resembled the composer!” In fact, the Adagietto from Mahler’s 5th Symphony, famously used by Lucino Visconti in his 1971 adaptation of Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice, is the piece of music most associated with her childhood.
The independent curator studied Art History when, as she says, it was not really considered an academic subject. “The Courtauld Institute of Art was the only place, but I wanted to leave my family home in London so went to the then ‘Lefty’ progressive University of East Anglia where the emphasis was on radical feminist theory.”
The newly-opened Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts designed by Lord Norman Foster (the architect of the Monaco Yacht Club) was hugely inspiring – combining African, Contemporary and Renaissance under one roof. After university she went straight to work at Waddington Galleries. “I couldn’t believe I was suddenly working with artists like Barry Flanagan, Mimmo Paladino, Elisabeth Frink, John Hoyland and Michael Craig-Martin, who introduced many of the Young British Artist’s from Goldsmiths like Ian Davenport and Fiona Rae.”
Today, she’s an international name in the world of art curators. “An art curator used to be the custodian of a museum collection, but today curators work in a variety of roles – running private or corporate collections or organising exhibitions for museums and galleries. There is a great deal of competition, but each curator has a particular focus and style – they can relate to artists in that respect and at best it is this dialogue that forms the basis of exhibitions.”
Since the pandemic, the art advisor has seen a paradigm shift towards women, African Diaspora artists and global indigenous people. “Hence the big show at Tate opening in July of renowned artist Emily Kam Kngwarray, c.1914–1996, whose powerful works reflects her extraordinary life as an Anmatyerr woman in the Northern Territory of Australia.”
She adds, “The last two Venice Biennales summed up the mood and pushed forward historically overlooked media such as textiles heavily associated with women and domestic work and therefore not deserving of high art status – this is dramatically changing now – Olga de Amaral and Sheila Hicks are superstars. It is a subject that fascinates me, and I put together an exhibition called ‘The Fabric of Life’ on this theme.”
Women closing the art investment gap Catherine shines a positive light on female artists and the future. “There’s evidence of a closing gap between prices fetched for contemporary male and female artists, and some predict women artists may soon outpace men in overall auction value. Recent years have seen record-breaking sales for women artists – both contemporary and historical. Many have reached the global Top 50, often soaring ten times above high estimates proving that work by women can perform at the top of the market. Marlene Dumas, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Cecily Brown, Julie Mehretu have all achieved multi-million-dollar sales.”
The cofounder of The Eye of the Huntress says despite the suffragettes and feminists it has taken a long time for the male-dominated art world to get here. She points out how Vasari, known for his biography Lives of the Artists on the “great male” artists of the Italian Renaissance, only named four women in his book” Most of whom were lost in the dust,” says Catherine.
Today progress is “incredible”, Catherine shares, with women running major institutions, galleries and collections. “When I started at Christie’s there were very few female directors, and no auctioneers or women artists let alone living ones. Women artists in the 20th century have been famously overshadowed by their male counterparts, only now receiving lavish posthumous retrospectives like Lee Krasner, the wife of Jackson Pollock, or Picasso and Françoise Gilot, and Leonora Carrington and Max Ernst. Many of these women are in the book Ninth Street Women by Mary Gabriel.”
Institutional shows have had a huge impact on women, like Joan Mitchell at the Whitney 2022 and Fondation Vuitton. Since the Zwirner Gallery has taken control of her estate, no less than 13 out of 14 lots have exceeded $10 million at auction. The artist now holds 12th place in the world, ahead of Mark Rothko and Cy Twombly.
“I am keen supporter of women artists, particularly emerging ones which does not necessarily mean young women. This is what the textile exhibition The Fabric of Life was about, many of the women who were overlooked as they worked quietly in the background for years before social media and influencers came along, like Isabella Ducrot who is 94.”
Catherine was invited to speak at the Breaking Boundaries conference at One Monte-Carlo Monaco (5pm; €40) by Alessia Corsini, who runs Maison d’Art and created the One Masters event, and Valentina Colman of the Monaco Women Forum.
“Inclusive means all women from all socio-economic backgrounds, all nationalities, religions, gender and ages,” says Catherine. Now we see women supporting other women, like Tracey Emin and her Margate studios.”
One Masters Monaco takes places at One Monte-Carlo: July 9 (2-10pm) and July 10 & 11 (2-8pm).Photos: Good News Monaco.
Anyone who knows the benevolent Gabrielle Crump will not be surprised to learn that her childhood in Oundle, Northamptonshire, was a happy one with a “fantastic group” of school friends. “My parents sent me to a school that I loved and bought a house in the centre of town, enabling me to walk to all my lessons with my books under my arm and have an incredible level of freedom,” she says.
Gabrielle – affectionately Gabby to her friends – remembers how her mother prided herself on having a big garden full of vegetables and beautiful flowers. “She used to garden in the dark with very strong lamps. It was her way of managing the stress of running a food manufacturing business with 50 staff and loads of responsibility.”
From a young age, her mother would encourage Gabrielle to find joy in whatever she chose to do with her life. “If that meant scrubbing toilets, then Mum would be happy for me. I never felt as though I had to fit into a box.”
Clearly, she did not, as her eclectic life story shows. Bilingual Gabrielle was born in Grasse, grew up in the UK and met her husband, Russell, at the Monaco Yacht Show in 2000. He was showing the smallest boat at the show; she had just started in the industry. This was the beginning of a long journey guided by the desire to help others. Later this year they will be celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the non-profit Chances 4 Children Foundation, created by the couple back in August 2014. “This is a huge moment for us considering where we started from,” Gabrielle voices. “Russell had always wanted to run aid to Africa on a truck but was unable to due to his Type 1 diabetes. When an opportunity came along, we saw it as a sign.”
Opportunity came knocking in 2013. The stepbrother of a close friend of Gabrielle’s (“and my first love at the age of 14!”) spent two weeks of his gap year volunteering in Uganda at what was then called His Mercy’s Outreach Centre. “Uganda is the world’s third poorest country and during this time James’ mother appealed for funds and we stepped in to help,” explains Gabrielle.
Chances 4 Children with Martin Male and Russell and Gabrielle Crump.
The centre was run by Martin Male, an AIDS orphan who had saved 60 children from the slums in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, and it was Martin’s story that tugged at the Crumps’ emotional chords. Martin’s promiscuous father died having contracted HIV AIDS, and his mom was selling her body to ensure that Martin would be fed and attend school. After her death, young Martin hitched a ride on the back of a coal truck from his village to the city in search of an aunt. Unsuccessful, he wound up on the streets for years living and sleeping in unimaginable conditions. One day, a local businesswoman, Jayne, asked how she could help and he said he didn’t want money, but rather to attend school to honour his mother and be able to stand on his own two feet. “Mummy Jayne” – who had three daughters – took Martin in for the night and he never looked back. “Fast forward and Jayne has been behind Chances 4 Children each step of the way helping everyone find their way in life.
Martin’s humbling story – single-handedly determined to giving kids an education, hope, safety and a sense of belonging to the Chances 4 Children family (with Gabrielle and Russell’s support) – led to the Sponsor a Child Program, which has been running since 2016. “Our sponsors provide a literal lifeline for these children who went from having no hope – or underpants! – let alone speaking English, to going to school, eating three square meals a day and stepping onto a stage in front of hundreds to sing, dance and speak their truth with passion and integrity. We now have seven youths in higher education and our first ‘daughter’ will start university in January. As well, four youths are currently in Saudi Arabia for three months dancing in the Disney production of The Lion King. We are beyond proud as this is our first major step towards self-sustainability. Paying for an entire year of education with these funds allows these four young people a chance to open a bank account and save for their future.”
Gabrielle adds that six children are currently in need of a sponsor. She shares the story of a lady she came across in the slums of Kampala, the country’s largest with some 20,000 people. “She reached out to me and tried to give me her child. Clearly, she was hoping I could give this little person a better life. Walking away from them was heart-wrenching. I never knew her name but this image will stay with me until the end. I would love to hear from anyone who is interested in stepping in to give these children a chance in life.”
Mother in Kampala slums offering her child to Gabrielle.
Uganda’s mud and brick homes are a world away from the pristine life in the Principality. “My biggest personal challenge living in Monaco is the way that so many people put on a brave face when the chips are down, be it financially or for family reasons. I truly feel that living in ‘Tinseltown’ it is important for those who are facing tough times to have someone to turn to and not be expected to ‘keep calm and carry on!’
“Especially on a mental wellness level, I think there is a lot of work yet to be done in Monaco especially among the thousands of expats that struggle without family support. As a coach – and as a friend – I have witnessed this first hand.”
Gabrielle recently pivoted and became a certified integrative health coach, specializing in emotional eating, nutrition and holistic stress management. “Like many during Covid lockdown, I did a little soul searching. I always dreamt of becoming an actress but as my parents had their own business while I was growing up, being an entrepreneur was very familiar to me. I had spent years involved in sales and marketing, starting my own property business when I was 21.
“When I discovered the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, I instantly knew it was for me. It connected everything I was passionate about into one career –helping people and my passion for food but not as a chef.”
The Institute for Integrative Nutrition was started by Joshua Rosenthal, who first came up with the idea of health coaching 30 years ago. It combines nutrition with psychotherapy-based coaching techniques and with a functional medicine approach – identifying and treating the underlying cause of a person’s condition with a particular emphasis on the gut-brain connection. “We also studied nutritional psychiatry, the emerging field about the effect what you eat has on your mental wellbeing. I am continuing to read more on this as I am fascinated by the subject. I love understanding how people tick and helping them to overcome obstacles.”
Gabrielle admits that as a kid she was the student that was a pleasure to teach but never top of the class. She laughs, “From the get-go I was a communicator and as a small kid I would chat to strangers on the bus in London!” So, choosing to go back to school and study at Institute for Integrative Nutrition was a big decision but not a difficult one.
“Every Monday morning, opening my laptop to see what we were going to learn, it was like Christmas. I absolutely loved every minute.” The “tough part” – as she outlines – was having to work three part-time jobs – managing a large villa renovation for a Monaco family office, tutoring English, and running the admin and newsletter for the British Association, as well as running Chances 4 Children – which meant Friday afternoons and weekends were taken over with study. “I had almost no time to rest. You see the irony!
“I rarely came up for air. My husband was very tolerant and cooked most nights, as well as helping me to revise for my tests. He helped me study so much that he could have passed the course himself. My mother, in a big way, also stepped in to take the pressure off the day-to-day charity operations, which was a big task and for which I will be eternally grateful.”
Yet managing all of these things taught Gabrielle that “I am extremely focused and that with discipline and consistency, I can achieve whatever I set my mind to.” Still, her moves on the dance floor and passion for the outdoors (“Mad fact – my favourite hiking buddy is my husband’s ex-wife!”) had to take a back seat to her studies. “My social life went out of the window entirely but I accepted that it wasn’t forever.”
In February 2023, she launched Gabrielle’s Zest 4 Life under her maiden name Gabrielle Achilleos. “It has taken me to get to my early forties to know exactly what I want to do with my career but I am very proud.”
She describes herself as an integrative health coach specialised in emotional eating, nutrition, holistic stress management, but what exactly does this mean? “Emotional eating is when someone leans on food to fill an emotional void that they are not ready to face, similar to using any substance, be it alcohol or drugs. It is a way to numb or suppress negative emotions – such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness and loneliness – to avoid leaning in to what’s really going on and unpacking it. This can be very uncomfortable as for many people it is a lifetime’s habit.”
Her holistic stress management approach helps develop habits that regulate the nervous system, taking it from Fight or Flight mode to Rest and Recover. “So many people wait until a big holiday or a spa weekend to finally wind down … by which time all the cumulative stress has built up that they often get sick as the body has stopped running on adrenaline. New habits can be something as simple as locking ourselves in the toilet for 10 minutes for some peace – if you have young kids! – to committing to regularly getting out into nature, exercise, journaling or doing a short meditation.”
Gabrielle’s Zest 4 Life focusses on small daily lifestyle changes combined with complementary therapies for a holistic approach to well-being. “I look at the entire person – mind, body, and spirit – by addressing underlying factors as opposed to fixating on the symptoms. I focus a lot on blood sugar management to keep energy levels stable throughout the day instead of falling into the caffeine, sugar or alcohol rollercoaster.”
She works 1-on-1 with a limited number of clients who decide what they want to achieve and the pace that suits them. “I am there to ‘hold the torch’ and help them to stay focused and committed.”
This involves an hour coaching session every seven to 14 days, either online or in person. “In between, however, is where the magic happens! I check in every day so they have constant accountability and a cheerleader. I also do pantry purges, helping clients swap out foods that may not be supporting their health, as well as meal planning for those with food intolerances. And food prep is also a big hurdle for some people so I have a bunch of tips to help make that less time consuming and more fun!”
“Since then, we sold 200 menus in six weeks and the feedback has been super. There is a new starter and main five days a week, and all ingredients are both local and seasonal. I have to be creative when it comes to using the same ingredients in a variety of different ways but Didier is very strict about this and I respect the fact that he is really walking his talk with the ethos of the place.”
Somehow, in addition to her non-profit and starting a new business, Gabrielle has found time to run “Disconnect to Reconnect” hikes. “I have partnered up with Anne Fabienne Raven for these ‘Zest and Zen’ outdoor events. The concept is that twice a month, we take a group of up to 10 people on an easy hike with no phones so that we can reconnect with nature, and each other. During the walk, we enjoy a yoga class al fresco by Anne Fabienne, as well as some breathwork and a mindfulness practice. I provide a healthy picnic and also do a wellness talk. We will be mainly focusing on tips and tools to reduce stress and ‘find our Zen’ again. It will be a safe place for people to share their challenges and support each other. What goes on the hike, stays on the hike, as they say.”
The road to here has taken sacrifice and commitment on Gabrielle’s part but she wouldn’t have it any other way. “Although I enjoy lunches and going to exercise classes, this would never be enough for me. I could never imagine not working, but I would rather work crazy hours for myself and be my own boss then go to a 9-5 job that pays the same wage every month for the sake of security.
“It’s the most exciting empowering journey but you need to expect a transition period from your old life to your new one. And starting a business on your own can be a lonely journey so surround yourself with a ‘board’ of friends and like-minded people on a similar journey.”
Her tip to other women looking to rebrand themselves and start something new is not to give up your “day job” until the income from the new business can just about support you. “’If you aren’t reliant on the income in the beginning then don’t hold back. The worst that can happen is that it doesn’t work and you stop… but as my mum always says, “It’s only life!’
Gabrielle lays bare her truth. “I have had to dig deep many times to maintain my mental wellness, and I am not ashamed to share that as I think it’s important, it becomes less taboo.
“If I could give my younger self a piece of advice it would be that instead of thinking Why me?, think Why not me? It’s amazing what we can achieve when we believe in ourselves.”
If you look back on any month this year, what would you say is your biggest accomplishment? For the ever-colourful Alicia Sedgwick, the answer would be writing her second book, BEING. It was penned in less than 3 weeks.
The idea came to the best-selling author in early January at the popular Fraise et Chocolat café in Roquebrune Village. Sitting in the sunshine, Alicia and her visiting friends from England were sharing their “word for the year”. Of course, in the warmth of the winter sun, gratitude popped to mind but one in the group said: “rest”, admitting she couldn’t find a better word to convey “not feeling compelled to be doing”.
WATCH INTERVIEW ABOVE: Interview with Alicia Sedgwick on launch of BEING.
This led to a discussion on human Beings versus human Doings, which prompted Alicia to fill the first page of her 2025 diary with all the “beings” for the year, starting with gratitude and restful. “This inspired me to write the book BEING, to help everyone, young and older, to go through the weeks and months ahead with simple lessons of being. To find calm, purpose, hope, and perspective in the busyness of life. To get back to being and not doing,” the communications coach explains.
“This is not a big book because people do not have time to read a large book. It is simple and straightforward reminders of being, and how to be,” the well-known figure in Monaco says.
BEING seeks to offer guidance in all the ways that can enrich your life and quieten your mind. “It is full of my personal anecdotes and real-life experiences to give you practical help to be. There are uplifting affirmations and life lessons to support you as you find your way to being and no longer feel compelled to be doing. You can find your raison d’être through the guidance contained in every chapter.”
Chapters include BEING: Kind; Loved; Confident; Well; Grateful; and Playful. For the chapter about BEING Brave, Alicia writes about a time when she lost her work as a lawyer. “My Partner let me down considerably, and in deciding whether to set up my own firm I had to ask myself the one question we should all ask when facing the unknown – ‘What do I have to lose?’ ”
Alicia, who makes up a third of the Lib Day Darlings trio, starts each chapter with a song title and singer “to set the tone and reinforce the message and theme.” For example, in that Brave chapter, the song is Fight Song by Rachel Platten. “Music is really important to me, and I am inspired by it, and it helps me and my students to feel less self-conscious.”
WATCH VIDEO BELOW: The confidence of music.
BEING was edited by Wendy Yorke and published by Parul Agrawal at Serapis Bey, the same team Alicia worked with for her first book, Communicating Through Change: Lessons Learned From Real Life. “It all took less than 6 weeks, including the writing process. It was clearly meant to be. I just felt that, like my first book, I want to extend my support of everyone to a global audience.”
Reflecting on life since the 2021 launch of Communicating Through Change, Alicia says she’s become more aware of how time disappears having lost relatives and friends. “It has become even more important not to waste time on things that take us away from our priorities and pull us down or demotivate. I do not want to be around people who do not uplift and inspire! Life is too short!”
The host of three TEDxMonteCarlo events believes, “In order to be real, and to truly give of ourselves for others to learn from us, we must express our truth, including our vulnerability.”
Alicia is a champion at helping others express their truth. During Covid, she ramped up her coaching and training in effective communication skills by developing her online courses and even managed and hold the first TEDxYouth Event at ISM online. These days, she is one of the hardest working women in town, juggling her time between public speaking training at the International School of Monaco and International University of Monaco, teaching communication skills at the corporate level (Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals, Monaco Economic Board) and hosting events. Of course, she also writes.
“Personally, I want to do more TV work – to develop the message of both books, and to help readers via that form of media – and maybe even a podcast, or radio.”
BEING is available in paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon from May 15, 2025. Don’t miss out on the special launch price.
The English Osteopath was 28 when she broke her back while playing tennis, an accident that resulted in temporary paralysis in both legs for six months. It was thanks to an osteopath that she began to walk again and found herself on a life-changing road to recovery.
“Lying in bed thinking I’d never walk, work, or love again, I had to make a decision to thrive. I turned off my emotions and got on with it,” Rachael describes.
She quit her job with the Daily Mail Group, where she was the youngest commercial publisher at the time, and spent the next five years training at the British School of Osteopathy.
Speaking French since the age of 7 and having studied at the Institut de Français in Villefranche, Rachael moved to Antibes in 2001 and set up her first English Osteopath clinic at 4 rue Vauban. She has since become the only clinic in Antibes to be approved by the Norwegian Government to issue Seafarer Medical certificates required by all yacht crew.
With a large portion of clients driving from Monaco, the ever-energetic brunette opened a second clinic in 2010 at 11 bis avenue Generale de Gaulle in bordering Beausoleil. She then initiated the Frozen Shoulder and Chronic Fatigue clinics and set up an association for those with limited income to have access to free osteo healthcare for their children and babies (all her osteopaths are trained in paediatric osteopathy).
With a bilingual team of 16 between the two locations, Rachael was heavy-hearted having to shut down the two locations during the first Covid confinement that began in March. “It was tough on my business and tough on the patients having their treatment programmes disrupted. I spent a lot of time on Zoom walking patients through their pain, which worked surprisingly well, and some were even cracking their own backs! Luckily the pharmacists were open and I could arrange with our clinic doctor to get them the right medication.”
In round two of confinement in France, which started October 30, the clinics are allowed to remain open. Thy are busier now than ever and are seeing a type of pain that the therapists describe as a physical manifestation of constant low-grade stress and anxiety, the result of poor at home office work stations or the result of looking at screens more than usual, as all other healthy physical activities have been curtailed.
In Monaco, with people travelling less, patient frequency has increased while in Antibes, where the yachting industry is at a standstill, there has been a slight drop in appointments.
Still, across the board, the intuitive Rachael has noticed a change in recent weeks. “I see a rise in stress. You know, the expat community is already isolated and I think the reality has just sunk in that people can’t go home for Christmas to see their families. Our ability to cope with pain is different when we are sympathetically aroused, like we are now. This means we are gearing up to face an attacker, and Covid is one that we can’t see, so it’s fight-or-flight.”
In Antibes, where cafés and restaurants are closed, Rachael has opened the Waiting Room Café at the clinic. “People need to connect so while a patient is waiting, there’s a Nespresso machine, cookies and even beer, and a table for one – we are hoping for TripAdvisor reviews! – and if someone needs to talk, we’ll sit and have a chat and a coffee.”
In addition to running to the two English Osteopath clinics and doing call outs (even on weekends), Rachael is the lead medic for Supporting Wounded Veterans, a U.K. charity that supports 26 veterans a year through Skiing with Heroes – a “skibilitation” week – and also providing each veteran with a mentor and treatment at the only Wounded Veterans’ Pain Management Programme in Britain. “This program gives veterans confidence and a chance to start new lives,” she says, something she knows first hand.
Over the last five years, she has raised €100,000 for Supporting Wounded Veterans through a 5-day “Mountains to Monaco” bike ride and two quiz nights in Monaco, one held at Stars’n’Bars where Gilly Norton, founder of the founder charity, told me, “Some 87% of those who participate in our Pain Clinic and/or Skiing with Heroes programme return to work or training.”
Rachael says that the charity is currently fundraising “to take part in very exciting research” using psychedelic drugs, such as MDMA, as part of a therapeutic approach to treat PTSD. “If this trial continues to produce results, it will be a game-changing breakthrough in helping those suffering with this terrible mental health condition and who haven’t responded to other Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapies currently available.”
Article first published July 2024. Photos: Nancy Heslin
Valerie Closier may have grown up in Lésigny, some 50 kilometres southeast of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne department, yet she could not be more deeply rooted in Monaco’s car culture.
Valerie Closier with Prince Albert February 6, 2024. Photo: Facebook Automobile Club de Monaco
A model child in school who was “a bit of a tomboy”, Valerie played on the tennis team and was coached by the first trainer of Guy Forget (he helped France win the Davis Cup in both 1991 and 1996). Her dark hair and eyes earned her the nickname Gabriella as she resembled Gabriella Sabatini, the former world No. 3 who played from the mid-80s to mid-90s.
Yet it was her love of dance – classical, modern jazz and tap – that earned Valerie her first win at a national level with her dance class in 1989.
It was thirteen years before she won another French national title, but this time it would be as a rally co-driver.
“I first became interested in rallies with my dad, Michel. He drove an Alpine A110 Berlinette co-piloted by a childhood friend. I would take photos and videos because I was passionate about video editing at the time,” recalls Valerie, Director of the Prince’s Car Collection since December 2019.
One day, as she explains, a friend of her father, none other than Jean Charles Rédélé – son of Jean, the creator of the Alpine automotive brand – was racing in the French Véhicule Historique de Compétition (VHC) when he put a helmet on young Valerie’s head and snapped a picture. “A few weeks later, my dad received the photo in the mail with a note on the back scribbled, ‘She’s ready.’ My dad asked if I wanted to try a rally and off I went to co-drive with him in the Berlinette. We did this for about 10 years.”
Valerie’s first rally memory is the Grand Caunet, a special stage of the Sainte Baume Rallycircuit in Marseille, where, unfortunately, at the arrival check point the head gasket prevented the daughter-dad duo from continuing.
“I was left hungry. Motor racing and speed provide adrenaline and such exceptional and exhilarating emotions. That’s when I finally understood the expression voir la route par les portières [seeing the road through the doors].”
The year after the Rallycircuit, in 2002, Valerie and her dad took part in the VHC rally championship and she became the French national VHC co-driver champion. “When the car works well, and the pace notes for speed and distance fall into place and the driver is confident, it is though the car is flying, and it is an extraordinary feeling. A total osmosis between the driver, the co-driver and the car.
“And teaming up with my dad in the car and my mom at the refuelling station was great. It was a fabulous few weeks of racing but returning to reality on Sunday evening was much less exciting.”
The accomplished rally competitor was also co-driver for Jean-Claude Andruet in a Porsche 3l in the 2010 VHC rally cup final in La Rochelle. The pair made all the scratches and won the rally ahead of Dominique Depons and Jean Ragnotti. They teamed up again at the 2023 Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique in an Alpine A110 Group 4 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Andruet’s 1973 victory in Monte-Carlo with Alpine.
This year, Valerie will be participating in a special capacity for ACM’s 2024 Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique, which officially kicks off February 1. Unlike last week’s 2024 Rallye Monte-Carlo, the historic version features cars driven in the Monte Carlo Rally between 1911 and 1983.
“The historic rally is for the fastest but, above all, it’s about a passion for cars, conviviality, helping each other, good humour and meeting like-minded people. I like the whole atmosphere.”
For Valerie, this passion for automobiles “has contributed to Monaco’s international prestige” as proven by the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo created in 1911 by Prince Albert I. “At the time, it was a way to attract the European jet-set to Monaco. This was followed by the Monaco Grand Prix in 1929 inaugurated by Prince Louis II.”
She adds, “At the beginning of the 1970s, the rally took place according to a schedule that would endure nearly 25 years: first a course of concentration where crews would drive day and night to arrive towards the city of Monaco before then leaving for a second course, which was timed and used by all drivers in the regions of Isère, Drôme and Alpes-Maritimes.
“Nowadays, the historic rally starts in cities like Reims, Bad Homburg, Milan or Glasgow, and competitors converge towards Monaco and then head onto mountain roads, often snow-covered, where they have to know how to control the climb to stay on the road to get back to the Principality on the finishing podium.”
Although the rally runs until February 7, Valerie will co-pilot a special car on February 6 at 8 pm. “HSH Prince Albert II will have the honour of taking the wheel of a Deutsch-Bonnet Frua Coupe during the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique . And I will have the privilege of being beside the Prince to take a tour of the Principality. We will then return to the closed rally car park so that the Sovereign can give the start to official competitors of the 2024 historic’s last stage: the night of Turini.”
This exceptional event is part of the commemorations for Prince Rainier III’s centenary of his birth. In 1953, and under his real name “Louis Carladès,” Prince Rainier and his mechanic Mr. Benit entered the Tour de France automobile at the wheel of a Deutsch-Bonnet Frua Coupe. A few years ago, the Car Collection acquired an old Deutsch-Bonnet to restore for the occasion.
Valerie Closier with Prince Albert February 6, 2024. Photo: Facebook Automobile Club de Monaco
“Prince Rainier built up a large personal collection of vintage cars, depending on opportunities and his favourites,” informs Valerie. “He collected and restored some 100 vehicles, a large sample of models built by the most famous European and American carmakers. He said, and I quote, ‘It’s not a car museum but a personal collection of cars of all ages and from all countries. Popular or prestigious, they marked their era and I liked them.’”
In July 2022, the Prince’s Car Collection moved from Fontvieille to its new home at 54 route de la Piscine along Port Hercules. The space offers “an unforgettable historical journey” of the princely family through private and unpublished photos and videos. The relocation gave “a new lease of life and a more modern scenography” and Valerie’s goal is to bring “this magnificent place to life and make it shine not only in Monaco but also in France and abroad.” Last year visitors numbers increased by more than 80% compared to 2022.
The first Monegasque Formula One driver for Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, donated his single-seater in which he won Spa and Monza in 2019 to the Collection. It is in pole position on the mezzanine’s F1 zone. Valerie shares, “It’s the ‘WOW! factor for visitors when they first enter and are surprised to see Formula One single-seaters on the wall. People are fascinated by the incredible size of these F1 cars when they see them up close.”
In 2023, the Car Collection held several exhibitions, from cars (the 75th anniversary of Porsche and a mini Bugatti expo) to art (by former rugby player Jean-Pierre Rives), and served as a runway for Monte Carlo Fashion Week in May.
The cars are also lent out for charity rallies (Child CARE Monacovintage rally), or on display at concours d’elegance competitions and car shows, like Top Marques Monaco or Rétromobile in Paris. Valerie also develops the Collection’s private capacity, with exclusive dinners and cocktail receptions, such as the launch of The Monegasque magazine last December.
Valerie, who can be found sipping un café or deux at the Café de Paris in the winter months (or at Larvotto’s La Note Bleue when warmer), is known by everyone for her positive, dynamic and enthusiastic personality. “When I have an idea, a desire, a proposal, I go for it, with audacity and determination. And often it pays off.”
She draws her motto “nothing attempted, nothing gained” from her family. Her parents lived in Monaco (“My mom worked at Radio Monte-Carlo as an assistant to Bernard Spindler and my dad was a diver in Cousteau’s team. He was even the diver on duty during the F1 Grand Prix in 1959 at the tobacconist”) and her aunt owned the Monte-Carlo Bar at Place d’Armes.
“Without passion, life has no flavour,” she insists. “And it is thanks to this drive for motorsport that I meet incredible people. These are genuine emotions and precious moments of sharing and joy.”
The Aquarius talks about how in recent years there have been more and more initiatives to support women and girls to get a foot in motorsport. “It’s not easy to move the lines because it’s a very male-dominated field. I am delighted that women like Susie Wolff with the F1 Academy and Deborah Mayer at the head of Iron Dames are raising their voices to open new paths for women in this field.”
Then there is the More Than Equal initiative co-founded by 13-time F1 winner David Coulthard and entrepreneur Karel Komarek to finance an ambitious program aimed at giving women drivers the means to access Formula One. “This is real progress which, I hope, will gradually succeed in changing the somewhat archaic mentalities of motorsport.
“I’d like to think we are on the right track but there are still a few turns and speed bumps to cross.”
Carina Bruwer admits she has always been a dreamer and will break the mould whenever she has the chance. In her world, nothing is impossible. “Coming from a musical family, I wasn’t heavily involved in sports growing up because perfecting a musical instrument requires a huge commitment and investment, and I sacrificed a lot for it.”
And yet Carina’s dream was to swim across the bay she often visited as a kid in her native South Africa. It was considered impossible – 35 km of rough, shark infested waters. It wasn’t until she finished school that she began swimming seriously and decided to pursue this “crazy” childhood vision. “I was self-trained and spent almost five years building up my mileage and courage to attempt the crossing. My first attempt nearly ended in disaster due to hypothermia, but I eventually succeeded.”
At 44, Carina has been swimming almost every day for nearly 25 years, and estimates she’s covered close to 40,000 km of open water in her lifetime. “I continue to race competitively and take on extreme solo challenges to support various charities.”
As she explains it, “I love the meditative nature of distance swimming; it feels like I enter a different mental wavelength a few kilometres into a long swim. There’s an incredible sense of freedom – almost like flying.” It doesn’t hurt that she is gifted with a naturally efficient swim stroke, which is ideal for endurance distances, like the 21km “Triple Country” France–Monaco–Italy swim and crossing the English Channel.
Carina trained by swimming between 6 to 8 km daily. “It’s not natural to swim for hours on end. The body instinctively wants to get out of the water after a relatively short time, especially when it’s cold. You must be over-prepared to have enough strength to face the mental challenges that are an intrinsic part of endurance swimming. It requires incredible dedication, similar to mastering a musical instrument.”
On August 1, 2005 she swam from England to France in 15°C water temps in a time of 12h03. As the Capetonian describes, there are various mental techniques to help endure the discomfort: detaching from it, negotiating with the voice of fear that tells you to stop and turn back, reframing the challenge into smaller, more manageable chunks, and reminding yourself that you can always do “just one more thing” – one more stroke, another 100 meters, another feed, another kilometre. “If you repeat that process a few times, you might just find yourself on the other side.”
Nutrition also plays a part in endurance swimming. Staying hydrated and consuming the right balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and electrolytes is critical to prevent fatigue and maintain strength. “Your support team is your eyes and ears because, as a swimmer, you’re very isolated. When the going gets tough – which it inevitably does – your team often keeps you motivated and focused.”
For Carina, it’s often inspiration pushes her beyond her boundaries. “When you’re swimming for a purpose greater than yourself, a cause, it gives you that extra strength to keep going, even when every part of you wants to quit.”
When she started a family, the new mom stuck to swimming in the safety of a pool. “I felt it was selfish to dedicate so much time and take risks in such an extreme sport when I had a young child at home.” But the pull of the ocean was strong, and Carina started missing her time in the water. “I became more aware of how fortunate I was to have my gifts, skills, and a healthy family while recognizing the immense need and suffering around us.
“I decided to return to open water swimming, but only if I could use my passion and abilities to make a positive impact – even if it meant changing just one person’s life. That’s when I started Swim For Hope in 2012, shortly after my second daughter was born. The initiative began in support of a child cancer foundation, and since then, I’ve completed numerous swims for various charities, including Muzukidz, which provides intensive violin tuition to disadvantaged children, and Tribuo, which supported musicians and performers who lost their income during the Covid pandemic.”
The mom of three is now planning her most ambitious Swim For Hope to date. The details are still under wraps, but the swim is scheduled for next August or September and “will challenge me physically and mentally in ways I’ve never experienced before.” The next step is securing sponsorship, but Carina is excited about the far-reaching impact the challenge could have.
Endurance swimmer Carina Bruwer and Swimrun Monaco founder Matteo Testa with Princess Charlene at Water Safety Day in Monaco in 2023. Photo: Matteo Testa.
Carina met fellow South African Princess Charlene in 2023 at a Water Safety Day in Monaco organised by her Foundation. It was swim instructor Matteo Testa, founder of Swimrun Monaco and ActivExplorer, who made the introduction. Matteo was Carina’s boat support for her 2018 Italy to Monaco swim. “I am very impressed by Princess Charlene’s efforts and would love to become more involved. Swimming promotes physical health, builds confidence, and teaches children how to stay safe in and around water, which is crucial, especially in areas with easy access to bodies of water.”
With Matteo, Carina is co-hosting a “Beyond Boundaries: Empowering Open Water Swim Retreat” from September 13-16 in Noli, Italy, a 75-minute drive from Monaco.
The 4-day retreat is for anyone who want to experience the magic of open water swimming. “Participants can expect a lot of swimming – whether it’s 500m or 10km – and an opportunity to learn new skills, all while challenging themselves to go beyond their self-imposed limitations.”
In addition to open water swims and basic stroke analysis, the retreat will include inspirational workshops and one-on-one sessions focused on breaking down life barriers, plus gourmet meals, nature hikes, and down time in a beautiful setting. (See here for more info and rates, which include companion and a 1-day options.)
Carina, who is also an acclaimed musician, says swimming in the ocean is empowering and teaches us many valuable lessons. “It forces us to confront our fears and develop resilience. It teaches us to be patient and persistent, to trust our instincts, and to respect the natural world around us.
“It reminds us to accept the ebb and flow of life – sometimes we feel like we’re moving backward, sometimes we’re propelled forward, and other times we seem to be simply treading water. But as long as we keep moving, we make progress, and over time, we make a difference.”
Article first published September 3, 2024.Feature image of Carina Brewer by Carel Kuschke.
