If you’ve followed my journey for a while, you’ll know that my relationship with social media has been… complicated, to put it politely. What should have been a simple tool to share my work has, at times, felt like a battle that’s lasted nearly five years.
Back when my business was called Pathfinder UK, we were supplying gyms and running clubs across the country with ethical, eco-friendly sportswear. Things were going well - until my Facebook account was hacked, taken down, and with it, thousands of followers on both Facebook and Instagram disappeared overnight.
It was demoralising. After countless failed appeals and hours wasted in mobile phone shops trying to “fix” what I thought was a technical problem, I shut the business down. The energy, the drive, the spark… all gone.
Fortunately, in recent years, I've discovered that the water has a way of calling me back to myself. When we re-located to South Wales, I found myself in the sea - and it was the re-set I needed. I restructured, rebranded, and reopened as Waves & Wild Water - a brand that wasn’t just about clothing, but about connection. Connection to the sea, to wild swimming, to that sense of freedom you only get when you’re salty-haired and sandy-toed!
It was during this time that I also rekindled my love of drawing, and the first designs for the Mermaid’s Serenade collection were put together - the lifting of the fog finally allowed me to create designs that felt like me, like my passion, like my home.
But unfortunately, behind the scenes, the same social media nightmare continued. I seemed to be banned for life from Facebook, every attempt to open new accounts failed, and each dead end pulled me deeper down that hole of social media despair. The irony of being a small business owner now, is that while you’re trying to build something heartfelt and authentic, you’re constantly being told that survival depends on your “social media presence" and mine was limited.
One again I was getting ready to throw in the towel, and yet…
This week something shifted. With the help of my new AI 'friend', we found enough workarounds to get me back online. For the first time in months, I can finally share the things I’ve been creating in the background silence.
But here’s the part that matters most: “Let the tech just be the boring raft that carries your message – not the thing that decides if you swim.”
That’s it. That’s the truth I lost sight of. Waves & Wild Water was never supposed to be a glossy machine, curated for likes and algorithms. It was always supposed to be about adventure, freedom, community, and the stories that happen along the way. And the hoodies, the tees, the designs - they all serve as reminders of the journey, not as products for the influencer worthy grid.
So yes, I’ll keep showing up on social media now that I can again. But I’ll also keep reminding myself - and you, if you’re another small business owner feeling weighed down by the pressure to perform online - that it’s just the raft. The swim, the magic, the meaning… that is, and always will be, ours and our reason why.
Until the next tide... love Claire 💙🌊
Do you have a story about tech vs passion? Or maybe you've just had enough of social media and want to vent! Share it with us in the comments - we would love to hear it!
