A single body gliding along, cutting cleanly through the water like a knife. That’s how we tend to think of swimming, right – as a solo pursuit? But, up and down the country, teenagers get a sense of camaraderie and identity from joining a swim team. In a campaign for Speedo, Will Douglas taps into that community feel to boost the sport’s attraction among young people.

The shoot commissioned by Pentland Brands, which took place pre-pandemic, saw swimmers aged between 10 and 20 converge on the Olympic-sized pool at Harvey Hadden Sports Village in Nottingham. Each club was from a different part of the UK and had a distinct identity, with its own team colours and superhero style names like “Sonic Stealth” emblazoned on athletes’ limbs like warpaint.

Will’s job was to photograph groups of swimmers with the same raw energy as he has football players. Swimmers huddled together for a pep talk from their captain or pouring out of changing rooms in robes, chanting their own team song as it blasts out of speakers – they resemble boxers entering the ring. Rowdy, social – this is a side of swimming we don’t normally see.