Co-founder · Swiss open water swimmer
Meet Nolan
Swiss open water swimmer and co-founder of Black Line Swim, splitting time between Switzerland and the Sunshine Coast.
A little bit about Nolan
I’m Nolan Carrel, a Swiss swimmer who splits time between Switzerland and the Sunshine Coast, trying to keep improving each season. I race on the World Cup circuit, but at the end of the day I’m just someone who loves long sessions, steady work, and the feeling of slowly getting better.
My path hasn’t been perfect. I’ve trained the wrong way, muscled through sets I shouldn’t have, hit plateaus that made me question what I was doing, and had open-water sessions where nothing felt under control. Those moments taught me a lot, mostly that technique and efficiency matter far more than I once believed.
I’m still learning. Still trying to understand my stroke. Still trying to become a smarter swimmer, not just a harder-working one.
Outside the pool, I spend a lot of time building Black Line Swim, sitting in cafés, or heading down to the beach. I’m not trying to be anything special, I just enjoy the work, both in training and in the business. They both challenge me in ways I need.
I’m aiming for the World Championships and maybe one day the Olympics for Switzerland, but I’m taking it one season at a time. Everything I create with Black Line Swim comes from the same place: trying to get a little better and hoping what I learn can help someone else do the same.
Why did you start Black Line Swim?
I started Black Line Swim because I needed a way to support my swimming. I’m not at the stage yet where I get funding to live off the sport or cover international racing, so I had to build something that allowed me to stay in it.
My brother and I created this together after years of training around professional athletes and constantly testing gear. The paddle we designed ended up being the best one we’d ever used, simple, strong, and actually useful, and it felt wrong to keep it to ourselves.
What started as something practical became something we genuinely wanted to share with other swimmers.
My favourite part of Black Line Swim
My favourite thing about Black Line Swim is the learning. I enjoy figuring out how to grow the business, improve what we offer, and get a little better at it every day. It’s new, it’s challenging, and it pushes me in the same way training does.
But the best part by far is seeing other swimmers actually using the paddles. Knowing something we built is helping people in their own sessions, that’s what makes the whole thing feel real.
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If my work helps you get a little faster or a little more confident in the water, that’s the biggest win.
Nolan Carrel, co-founder
Train with Nolan’s gear
The Vélocité paddles are the ones Nolan trains with every week.