Jason Dean: From Chandler to Writing Songs for Swimmers
Jason began his swimming journey as a kid, training in Lawrie Lawrence’s squad back in the 80s at Chandler and swimming each year for his school at the super competitive GPS swimming carnivals, also at Chandler. “It’s weird to still be swimming here after 40 years. I was so burnt out from swimming when I was younger and used to have nightmares about Chandler but I appreciate still being able to swim well here in my 50s.”
During his hiatus from swimming in his 20s, he focused on singing and playing guitar, travelling to Europe and the US to hone his craft as an entertainer. “I also started running a bit more but ended up having a total hip replacement at 39. I began rehabbing in the pool, and slowly began to enjoy swimming again. Helped me through some tough times in my life.”
After literally getting back on his feet he changed his career to become a psychologist in Brisbane, where he now consults and works in two private practices. Discovering Masters at aged 50, Jason soon discovered a love for swimming again by training smarter not harder with his beloved Barbarians. “I love the vibe we have and our focus on fun, friendship and improving technique and achieving green times. PBs don’t always happen of course but it’s a thrill to get faster as I’m getting older. I improved 4 seconds over 100m breaststroke in just one year. Hopefully more to come!”
Jason has been a singer and guitarist for most of his life, playing hundreds of gigs as a professional musician in public venues, private functions, and corporate events in Australia and in many other parts of the world. An avid and talented songwriter, when asked to play at the Qld State Championships in 2024 he combined his love of swimming with songwriting to feature insightful and relatable parodies “The Ballad of the 200 fly” based on the 1991 Julian Lennon hit Saltwater and “I Hit My Head on the Wall” fusing Oasis’s Wonderwall with the 50m backstroke.
“I remember swimming so much butterfly when I was younger and will never forget the shoulder pain and denial so couldn’t help capture those feelings again in a song. As for the 50m backstroke, well we’ve all embarrassed ourselves by misjudging the finish!”
We will be hearing more of Jason this Saturday from 5pm when he plays live for us all at the official MSA function at the Convention Centre, including debut performances of two new swimming songs with original music and lyrics at the offical presentations. “Rather than complete the full medley set of parody songs at this stage, I’ve decided to write my own compositions specifically for this meet.” Jason is currently working on a project to record his work for all to hear. Stay tuned!
For more of Jason’s music or to book him for your next party or event for his acoustic versions of everything, you’ll find him on social media @jasondeanmusician or on his website www.jasondeanmusician.com.
