The Swimmer Within: How Zygo Helped Santa Fe Woman Discover Love of Swimming
While most people are still sound asleep, Heidi York de Gomez, a 66-year-old business owner and mother of three adult children from Santa Fe, New Mexico gets up at 3:00 am every day and heads to her local pool. There, in the pitch black of the night, she swims more than a mile alongside a committed group of local swimmers. The key to her early morning motivation? Zygo.
With this sort of dedication, it would be reasonable to assume that Heidi has been a lifelong swimmer. While she has always been an active person, including a 30-year stint as a ski instructor and raising three athletic children, swimming wasn’t a part of her regular routine until recently.
Heidi’s journey began when she started doing water aerobics during the summer months, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted her routine. Day-to-day, Heidi manages the family business which specializes in handmade tile, lighting and hardware. The nature of the work demands strength and endurance so staying fit was always important. It was an invitation from a SilverSneakers friend to join her in the early morning for a swim that changed everything.
“I grew up in Maine where there are a lot of lakes, so I know how to swim, but I was never a swimmer,” she explains. “When I went to the pool with my friend, I just did my usual water aerobics, but as time went on and I started watching people swim, I was getting bored. There was just too much in my head. A few people got Mp3 players but I’m not a technical person, so I just didn’t want to deal with downloading music. So, I started searching for something else.”
A search for “top non-MP3 headphones for swimming” led her to Zygo, and with her birthday coming up, it presented the perfect opportunity for a gift. While her kids thought it was “a bit too much technology” for her, they went for it anyway.
"I got my first Zygo and whoa! It was magic. I was listening to my favorite music and 45 minutes went by before I even looked at the clock,” she said.
Heidi began listening to music and podcasts with Zygo, finding it a perfect companion for her swimming sessions.
"I’m so used to having this device when I swim that when I’m without it, the difference is major – it’s such a fabulous way to spend my time, and before I know it, I’ve swum 1.5 miles or more!"
Joined by a group of early morning swimmers, including her SilverSneaker friend Thelma, Heidi found her place as a swimmer, stating, "I just feel like, I’m a swimmer now! Zygo helped me become a swimmer."
Describing her morning routine, Heidi explained, "I have my little setup – plug in Zygo, roll out of bed, let the dogs out, get dressed, get to the pool at 3:30, and then everyone starts showing up. We chat. Then we swim. It’s so fun to have this device that makes exercise so enjoyable. Zygo is absolutely a game-changer for swimmers."
For Heidi, the best feature of Zygo is its high-quality sound that allows her to enjoy her favorite music and even catch up on the news during her early morning swims. She returns home before most people have even started their day having completed her exercise, caught up on the news and socialized with her friends.
For Heidi, swimming has become a vital part of her life, and she has no plans of quitting. She emphasized the importance of staying active as she admires the dedication of her swimming group.
“The little group I swim with is so inspirational,” she said. “They get there so early. They’re motivated. They are all in their late 60s to early 80s. I want to be like them when I grow up.”
“I’ve been around a lot of incredible athletes my whole life,” she adds. “But many of them aren’t moving anymore and getting sedentary is scary. These days, I might wake up and feel a little creaky, but after I’m in the pool for an hour, everything just feels better.”
Heidi credits Zygo for giving her the drive and motivation to continue swimming and increasing her distance. Even when she needed technical support, Zygo was there to help her.
"This invention, their perseverance, their customer service – all of it is such a rare commodity these days. You go to places that have been around forever and you can’t even find someone who knows what’s going on, especially with tech products. It’s so gratifying to get a response quickly from someone who’s professional and knows exactly what to do. I’m just so impressed. Zygo is the gift that keeps on giving! This product stands up to its name and quality – there's a lot of stuff out there with big claims and nice marketing, but Zygo is the real game changer."
Heidi’s story is a reminder that life’s most fulfilling transformations often begin when we least expect them. Her story shows how technology like Zygo can be the key to discovering new activities that not only bring us joy but pave the way for lifelong health and wellness.
