Off The Clock: Water Therapy

Swimming invigorates Stonewood Grills Doug Sullivan in and out of the pool.

By Charles Bernstein, Editor-at-Large -- Chain Leader, 4/1/2006

Doug Sullivan, president and CEO of Ormond Beach, Fla.-based Stonewood Holdings, which operates 17 Stonewood Grill & Taverns, loves nothing more than swimming in his spare time. “I’ve learned that when I’m swimming back and forth in a lane early in the morning, I am truly by myself and in my own world,” he says. “Swimming totally assumes my thinking.”

Watershed Moments
The 47-year-old executive started swimming recreationally as a youngster. He took up the sport seriously, though not competitively, just a year ago when he joined a masters swimming class at the local YMCA. He learned the freestyle backstroke as well as the butterfly and breast strokes at the YMCA classes.

And as soon as he learned that swimming is more than “just flailing your arms and legs” in the water, Sullivan signed up a coach, Kristen Lochte, whose brother is Ryan Lochte, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist swimmer.

Sullivan swims three times a week from 6 a.m. to 7:15 a.m., and he tries to find a pool when he is on the road. During his 3,000- to 3,500-yard workouts, he is totally focused on counting his breaths and strokes, making sure that his toes are pointed correctly and that his legs are kicking efficiently.

“Swimming is the only sport I have done that requires total concentration,” he declares. “You can’t think of anything else while doing it.”

Sullivan’s 12-year-old daughter often joins him in the pool, and his two other daughters swim with him occasionally.

Positive Energy
Since he began swimming last year, Sullivan has lost 25 pounds and sees the change in every part of his body. “My endurance and stamina have increased dramatically, not only in the pool but out of it as well,” he asserts. “I don’t feel exhausted at the end of a long workday, even on those days when I may be working in one of our restaurants until midnight.”

Swimming also helps Sullivan relieve stress by focusing on the big picture. “In helping to focus on the things that are important in business and life, trivial matters tend to fall away,” he says. “I wonder if swimming not only makes people healthier but also kinder.”