Australia’s favourite lifeguard and firefighter, Trent ‘Maxi’ Maxwell of Bondi Rescue fame is set to launch a world-first global online community platform to teach kids vital surf, water and fire safety, rescue and life skills.
Maxi’s Rescue Squad is the brainchild of Maxi and his business partner, Leigh Mason who met in 2014, and founded social enterprise, Live Learn Survive in 2018 after discovering a mutual passion for water safety education and the desire “to give every child and young adult, no matter their location or background, the opportunity to learn key lifesaving skills”.
Drowning is a global epidemic with 42 people drowning globally every hour of every day.
In Australia, drownings have increased by 10 per cent in the last year.
In the 18 months prior to Covid, Maxi and Leigh presented to over 11,000 children, in four countries across 30 cities working with over 50 schools, libraries, lifesaving clubs and children’s groups in their mission to educate future generations about water and fire safety, as well as integral life skills.
A highlight of their work to date was the Burnie and Penguin Surf Lifesaving Club receiving the Innovation of the Year Award by Surf Life Saving Tasmania for the Beach Safety Awareness project the duo ran with them.
“A Royal Life Saving report found that less than nine per cent of children in Australia are learning a rescue skill – we aim to change that,” Maxi said.
Covid was not enough to slow down the tireless duo, who used the pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions as an opportunity to take their educational program online, as well as producing literature for younger kids, after having released the award winning Maxi the Lifeguard fictional, children’s book series for children aged 8-12 in 2018.
The Maxi’s Rescue Squad online community promises to be a safe, moderated space where parents can trust their kids will be in good hands for less than the cost of a cup of coffee each week.
“Maxi’s Rescue Squad is a global online community designed for kids five years and older, so they can learn alongside their parents,” Maxi. said.
“The community is accessed by an app, not a browser, so parents can be assured their kids are safe.”
Maxi or ‘Lifeguard Maxi’, as he is more commonly known, has been an Australian household name since his debut as a young 16-year-old trainee lifeguard, with his 14-year career well-documented on the award-winning TV series, Bondi Rescue, airing in over 100 countries globally.
In 2016, ‘Maxi’ became a firefighter for New South Wales Fire and Rescue and in 2018, he became a qualified Rescue Operator as part of the Heavy Rescue team based at the City of Sydney Fire Station.
This unique career combination, coupled with his down-to-earth and affable nature has positioned ‘Maxi’ as a much-needed young, positive, male role model – a responsibility he has embraced with open arms.
“In a society that is screaming out for young, positive, male role models, ‘Maxi’ is a breath of fresh air and is totally committed to playing his part in shaping the young minds of our future generations, not only about surf, water and fire safety but also really important life skills that they may not be taught at school,” Leigh said.
No stranger to the water herself, as a teenager, Leigh volunteered as a qualified student swimming teacher alongside her mother, Gillian, who had a career as a professional pool lifeguard and swimming teacher in Nottingham, England. Today, Leigh runs the day-to-day management of Live Learn Survive.
Maxi’s Rescue Squad will launch on Wednesday 17 March with the first of the Maxi’s Beach Rescue series of children’s picture books released to the public on Friday 26 March.
