Ben Tuff approaches the finish line off Fort Wetherill in August 2019 during his 23-mile circumnavigation of Conanicut Island to raise money for Clean Ocean Access. A movie documenting his marathon swims is set to premiere.
A documentary from a lifelong summer resident whose passion for swimming helped him overcome alcoholism has been completed.
Ben Tuff’s story, “Swim Tuff: How I Swam My Way Out of the Bottle,” will premiere throughout the spring and summer in Atlanta, Newport and Vermont. The documentary aims to inspire “anyone to take action,” according to Tuff.
“The essential question is how can I continue to improve my social, emotional and physical growth in my life while trying something new?” he said.
Tuff, 42, despite spending his summers on a 10-square-mile island, never really learned how to swim until he quit drinking at 32 years old when his sponsor suggested he try competing in a triathlon to add “challenge, discipline, structure and accountability into his routine.” Day by day, Ben learned how to swim and how to incorporate the fundamental principles of character that would define his sober life. He began excelling in triathlons while teaching middle school in Connecticut, but discovered the swimming part was his true passion. It also was a way for him to protect the body of water he had known all his life.
As “Swim Tuff” recounts, Tuff first decided to raise money for Clean Ocean Access by swimming around Jamestown, a 23-mile effort that raised $54,094 in 2019. The following summer, Ben braved the open shark-infested waters of the Atlantic Ocean by making the 19-mile crossing from Block Island to Jamestown in nine hours, 19 minutes, raising $104,136 for Clean Ocean Access.
Tuff’s 2022 swim, from Providence to Jamestown, is the setting of “Swim Tuff,” which was filmed by Matthew Corliss (“The Social Dilemma,” “Chasing Coral,” “Chasing Ice”).
“Making ‘Swim Tuff’ was unlike making any other film I’ve made,” he said. “The sheer scale of one person swimming as far as Ben swam, the people surrounding Ben and the preparation for such a day were nothing short of incredible. People are capable of so much, and it’s especially inspiring to see those capabilities manifest after such a long battle with alcoholism.”
More than a story of a swim, the movie is the story of courage, family, friendship, and limitless possibilities that arise when a person finds the true freedom of a sober life. Part of Tuff’s mission for sharing “Swim Tuff” is to destigmatize addiction. He also wants to encourage people to make the changes they need to improve their lives.
“It can be a huge change; it can be deciding to swim 26 miles. Or it can be a small change; it can be changing your routine so you get to spend more time with your child. All of us have the capacity for change and dedication.”
The vulnerability and the mindset of a man swimming for just under 15 hours against the tide and against the wind is amplified by insightful and playful interludes with his family and his support team, including coach Dave Martin, wife, Gretchen, captain Alex Perkins and Jake Linley, a standup paddleboarder who accompanies Tuff with every stroke.
Tuff, however, also admits that transformation often comes from being selfish.
“For me, that selfishness comes every afternoon when I jump in the pool for three hours, and I’m stuck in my head, and I process,” he said. “And the journey of sobriety, as I say in this movie, is also selfish, because alcoholism is a selfish disease. But through the selfishness of finding yourself, you can give more to those around you when you are healed and when you are truly present.”
The parallels between Tuff’s recovery and marathon swims provide “Swim Tuff” with a unique message. Guided by Linley’s mantra, “Try a little harder,” Tuff overcomes seemingly impossible conditions by focusing on the moment and his support crew.
“It’s a very similar relationship in my reliance and trust and understanding of the people leading me through these two very separate, but very similar, adventures,” he said. “And it’s progress, not perfections. Just like in recovery, you’re going to hit some walls; you’re going to go backwards sometimes. I often introduce myself as ‘Ben Tuff, the happiest alcoholic alive,’ because if it weren’t for my alcoholism, I wouldn’t have what I have today.”
