Andrew Glatt and Nicole Novotny | Chicagoans of the Year 2023

It started with a simple idea: Let’s jump in the lake. At Nicole Novotny’s urging, she and a small group of friends, including Andrew Glatt, would get together on Thursday nights in 2021 near Belmont Harbor to swim and socialize. Soon enough, Glatt started swimming on Friday mornings at the ledge near Montrose Harbor. Novotny joined him, bringing coffee for their post-dip hangs, followed by a few more friends, a group of eight swimmers that quickly turned into 500. By this summer, Friday Morning Swim Club was attracting as many as 3,000 people, who would plunge into Lake Michigan together at 7 a.m., splash around with their favorite floaties, and then line up for coffee. What began as a lark had become something far more meaningful - a tradition that fostered a sense of community and a moment of ebullience in the city.
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Video by Ross Feighery