by Laura Garber
On the morning of the May 1 Flower Moon, a small group of people trickled onto the sand, sat circled together and babbled quietly in anticipation of their weekly ocean dunk.
This Friday morning ritual is a new kind of social club in the vibrant ecosystem of Los Angeles meetups, promoting community through cold plunges and coffee.
Swim & Social, one of the many California coastal club locations, meets Fridays at 6:45 a.m., weather and swell permitting, at the 22nd Street lifeguard tower in Hermosa Beach.
The founder, Manhattan Beach-raised Evy Gallagher, returned home with a fresh idea to meet new people after working four months at a cafe in Noosaville, a sleepy Australian surf town north of Brisbane.
“I lived in a town where most of the population was much older than me,” she said. “And I stumbled upon this group that would meet for sunrise swims on Wednesday mornings on Instagram.”
The group, Generation SPF, was a collective of other younger, like-minded travelers who wanted to put health, wellness and community into their weekly routines by dipping into early morning waters at a nearby beach in Noosa, the bustling counter-city to Noosaville.
“It was immediate friendship because I think everyone was in a similar situation where they don’t know anyone, they’re also on the other side of the world,” Gallagher said. “Then it was just the time of my life after that.”
Gallagher started Swim & Social in the fall of 2023, initially in her hometown of Manhattan Beach, inviting just a few of her friends and in the hopes of meeting more.
By her own admission, Gallagher has always identified as an introvert. She found that traditional social clubs failed to resonate with her, and the prospect of meeting new people in late-night bar settings was equally unappealing.
“[Swim & Social] is just another way to meet people that you don’t feel this dread of, ‘Okay, I have to get a drink at the bar to be able to talk to people,’ or feel this pressure of having to act or be a certain way,” she said.
The club’s slogan, “Something other than the bar — friends you will remember tomorrow,” often appears as a caption for TikTok videos and Instagram posts of chilly ocean dips and coffee restoration. The message has resonated with online audiences, particularly among a demographic that has shifted dramatically away from alcohol. According to Gallup, the Gen Z generation drinks 20% less on average than Millennials and Boomers. Health consciousness is a driving force.
While the group tends to lean into the Gen Z demographic, Gallagher encourages all age-groups to join the morning meetups.
Although Gallagher has moved to Birmingham, Alabama, to pursue a career as an assistant editor for a statewide publication, she keeps busy running meetup logistics, brand partnerships and a new Swim & Social merchandise line for the club.
“I wanted something that would continue even when I wasn’t physically there,” she said.
The closest body of water to her new home is an hour away yet, Gallagher is open to starting another chapter in Alabama. But the movement she started in California is still growing.
Only a few months into starting Swim & Social, demand for additional meetups across coastal Californian cities grew online. Gallagher, with the help of volunteer local directors of the club, helped organize meetups elsewhere in Santa Monica, San Diego at La Jolla Shores, Santa Cruz and as of last month, Newport Beach.
Each location has at least one local director who helps greet people, start conversations and foster the community.
Alex Lopez, a local director for the Hermosa Beach location, initially found the meetup through TikTok in 2025.
“We make sure everyone is safe, follows the ethos of Swim & Social,” he said. “And that everyone feels good and accepted.”
Gallagher isn’t surprised the popularity of the club has spread. The meet-ups just create a special dynamic.
“I think people just wanted to meet people in a wholesome environment where it was 6:45 in the morning, you’re sort of vulnerable,” Gallagher said. “Then you run in the ocean together and it’s this bonding experience, because it’s freezing cold and you’re all doing it together.”
Gallagher moved the Swim & Social gatherings to Hermosa Beach in 2025, where it seemed like a central place for younger demographics from Redondo and Torrance to join.
The small circle in Hermosa Beach on May 1, was a collection of returning plungers, some coming for almost a year, and some coming for the first time, but they were all seeking more community, friendships and sunrise motivations.
“I think it’s just a great way to start the day,” said Chase Lang, who recently moved to Hermosa Beach from Manhattan, New York. “People who are willing to get up and go in the ocean with strangers, generally, seem to be good people, and fun people to grab coffee with.”
Isabella Aventura, from Paramount, strives for an early morning start.
“I just love sunrises. They’re so special because you don’t see them as often unless you have a motive,” Aventura said. “I’ve been too much of a wuss to go swimming at sunrise because it’s so cold and maybe with someone else or a lot of people I’ll actually do it.”
Brown pelicans coasted in ribbony formation breaths above the water before the fleet of twenty-somethings (plus) ran into the salty, 61 degree waves. Just south by the pier, a bump in the northwest swell brought a lineup of eager surfers clad in full-body wetsuits.
The plunge lasted long enough to check the box before the group dried off and made their way to Gitana Cafe, a local favorite coffee shop, to continue socializing, holding to the promise of the club’s name.
“I wanted people to be able to continue conversing if they met somebody that they liked. I like the two-part event so that there is that flexibility,” Gallagher said. “It fosters a deeper connection rather than just jumping into the ocean with people because sometimes there’s not a whole lot of time for talking if it’s freezing.”
Friends Tessa Koga and Courtney Sam from Torrance became plunge-curious when they learned of friends joining the club for a chilly morning start. Koga and Sam learned about the Hermosa Beach Swim & Social location through social media.
“My friends used to drive from Altadena all the way to Santa Monica for it, and I never really understood why,” Koga said. “Now I know.”
The group of 10, salty, wet and refreshed, spent the later half of the early morning learning more about one another over their Gitana cafe drink orders.
Not every swim has gone smoothly. In the club’s early days, a large winter swell knocked a group of college friends flat on the sand. There is video evidence.
“It was very funny and also very educational,” Gallagher said. “Now if there’s ever a winter swell, we just do coffee instead.”
“My goal has always been to have it touch as many people as possible and expand as locally as possible,” Gallagher said.
She credits the local directors and those who come that make the Swim & Social community what she hoped it would be.
“I think it’s just such a testament to how incredible these people are that come to these swims,” she said. “Because they’ve created their own communities.”
A major lesson Gallagher took away from Generation SPF, the Australian swim meetups where this all began for her, was the club’s welcoming demeanor to everyone.
“Being bold in kindness,” she said. “People hosting and people going to the event were just so welcoming. I took that away and thought, ‘I can do that too.’” ER
