We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Diana Care a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Diana, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I was working as a performer in Los Angeles and had done competitive synchronized swimming growing up and in college. I saw that there were limited styles of synchronized swimming for entertainment. It was either Old Hollywood or Cirque du Soleil. Being from Las Vegas I always admired the original Vegas showgirl and thought there could be a water show but with showgirls! Synchronized swimming had never been performed with different campy themes or had been shown as sexy. I wanted to change the game and provide different styles of synchronized swimming from Hip Hop to EDM and more! There are so many events in Las Vegas that take place by a pool, we also have world renowned Dayclubs. I thought these venues would be perfect for the shows I wanted to produce. I wanted to give clients the option to book entertainment that would work best with their theme and provide something that was highly entertaining and not just your Grandmas water ballet.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I was born and raised in Las Vegas. I grew up dancing and was always swimming because it was so hot. My mom signed me up for a summer rec synchronized swimming program and I fell in love with it. I joined a competitive team when I was 13 and continued to swim in college at The Ohio State University. We won nationals my junior year so I’m a NCAA champion. I also got my degree in theater. Combining my knowledge and love of theater and being a D1 champion is what made me the business owner I am today and really shaped my career and taught me self discipline.
Wet Swim Show is a synchronized swimming entertainment company that performs shows for corporate and private events. We offer everything from convention after parties, experiential marketing, birthday parties, bachelor parties, weddings, and kids shows! We do any style from conservative to sexy nightlife, and if you’re feeling really wild we also offer topless shows! We’re also looking for a residency!
I’m proud of creating something on my own and pitching a new concept that didn’t exist. I had to produce videos to have a visual for my idea so people would get it. I’m proud that its come to life and isn’t just a vision in my head anymore. I want my clients to know that we can do the same for them, bring their aquatic vision to life!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I worked as an actor (still kinda do) in LA for 7 years. It’s a tough profession and you have to be ready get rejected all the time, even if you’ve put in a lot of work into your audition or project. In the entertainment industry there is no guarantee of a job. But I do believe in law of motion. Being rejected, being overlooked and being let down made me a really strong person. Also being a competitive athlete made me resilient. I’ve learned that if you persevere, and truly believe in the depths of your core that what you’re doing is meant to be, then something will eventually stick.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
I booked a national commercial in 2014 that paid me around $16,000. I saved half of it and didn’t touch it and knew that I’d use it for something big one day. I put that money into producing a sizzle reel. I bought costumes, a website, sound system, lights, props, licenses and registered my LLC. My business is truly self funded. I’d also work a ton of jobs, doing doubles and triples and would just stash it away to use on my business. It paid off. I never used an investor or took out a loan.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wetswimshow.com
- Instagram: @wetswimshow
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wetswimshow/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-care/
- Twitter: @wetswimshow
- Other: https://vimeo.com/wetswimshow
Image Credits
Higo Images, Carla Durante