Backyard Lifeguards & BYLG Sport

A little mid-week feel good story for ya!

When Chris Hemsworth was 8 years old, a surf instructor named Dev pulled him out of a rip current and saved his life.

Dev spent the next 29 years doing the same thing for hundreds of other kids, building a small coaching business out of it along the way.

In 2018, a back injury ended all of it — and left Dev at 61 with $212,000 in debt and nothing to show for three decades of work.

Chris flew to Melbourne and paid off every cent. Then he bought Dev a beachfront bungalow in Byron Bay.

When Dev told him it was too much, Chris told him he had pulled him out of a rip at 8 years old and he had owed him a lifetime ever since.

When Dev said he had just been doing his job, Chris told him he had been teaching him how not to drown — and still was.

Dev now runs free surf lessons for local kids every Saturday. Chris shows up when he can. Barefoot. No cameras.

A shocking statistic that is unfortunately true.

Keeping your pool secured during non-swim hours is one of the best drowning preventions.

Always swim supervised. Remove toys and rafts. And be prepared.

Our first Lifeguards at the Library was a success! Four of our very own open water certified lifeguards headed to the Barr Branch Library here in St. Louis last friday for storytime and playtime. We really enjoyed seeing the families and reading water safety themed books to their kiddos!

With pools opening nationwide this weekend it’s very important that we spread the good word of water safety. Remember, water safety is everyone’s responsibility. You never know when your knowledge and skills will intervene and prevent a drowning. Even something as quick and simple as checking a young child’s life jacket before jumping in a pool can make a huge impact.

We are nearing the end of water safety month, but we still want to encourage everyone to stay safe around the water and remain vigilant!

Podcaster Katie Crysdale Lakeview Aquatic Consultants Ltd. chats with guests of ASSET (Aquatic Swim Safety Event Training) team members: Katie Cleasby, AJ Miller, and our very own Stephane Rebeck about the tragic Ironman drowning in Woodland, TX. Each brought up some very good points as to what changes need to be made to prevent drownings during triathlons.

What do you think? Which systemic changes need to be made to curb this problem?

Preventing Drownings in Triathlons: Lessons from Ironman Texas Katie Crysdale, Katie Cleasby, Stephane Rebeck & AJ Miller discuss the tragic drowning fatality of Mara Flávia Souza Araujo at Ironman Texas (The Woodlands) ...

The 2nd annual Lake Lou Yaeger Triathlon was a success! Eight of our open water lifeguards along with support by 4 Litchfield City lifeguards kept hundreds of triathletes safe in the water. The wind was a bit of a challenge, but everyone stayed on course and finished strong!

Thank you to for capturing the picture of our captain surveying the water before the course opened.

Today is the first day of National Water Safety Month! And as we all know, water safety education is everyone’s responsibility.

Check out this 5 min video from the NDPA to learn the 5 layers of protection. Which one do you think is the most important?

5 Layers of Protection This is "5 Layers of Protection" by NDPA on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

We are all set up at the Splash and Bash! This will be our last table display event of the year. Come say hi, grab some lifesavers gummies and play on our Playmobil set!

Thanks British Swim School - St. Louis for having us!