NAC Masters: Getting to Know Amanda Khouri

How did you find NAC Masters? Give us the 411 on your amazing self.

I grew up in Louisville, KY and swam for Lakeside. A lot of our sectional/regional meets were here in Nashville, so I've been aware of NAC for as long as I can remember. My husband and I moved to Nashville in March of 2020 after living in Washington DC for about nine years. We arrived right as Covid was heating up, so we didn't meet many new people for the first eight-ish months here! I swam for UVA in college but hadn't really been in the water at all since I graduated in 2011. Once we moved here, something about the nostalgia of competing at this pool made me want to try out a masters practice and think about easing back into swimming. I've never really found a form of exercise that "did it" for me like swimming does. It definitely took me a while to come back to it, but I'm so glad to have found NAC. I've met a bunch of fun and interesting people and have really enjoyed being back in the water.

What was it like swimming at UVA?

I loved swimming at UVA - really, I loved everything about UVA. I feel very lucky to have had a team and a coach who were (and are!) like family to me. When I was being recruited, UVA was not the powerhouse it is today! I remember feeling tempted to try and swim for some of the schools that were at the top of the NCAA at the time, but ultimately, I wanted to go somewhere I could contribute and get a great education, and that was UVA for me (added bonus that it was one of the most beautiful places I'd ever seen). My first-year class ended up being really large - there were 12 of us who signed that year, and we all came in with that same desire to help build the program. The first year we were a long shot to win ACCs, but did it, and then won the next three, which was really special, because we were the first class in program history to win four in a row. We also rose through the ranks at NCAAs - UVA was 39th the year before our class arrived, and ultimately our highest team finish was 9th in 2010. It was so rewarding to be a part of that and has been incredible to see UVA now in an absolutely dominant position within the NCAA and on the world stage.

Tell us about your swimming history?

I started swimming competitively at 9. It was such a huge part of my life through high school and college, and I remember wishing for a more "normal" existence from time to time, but looking back, I'm really glad to have stuck with it. I loved competing and the camaraderie that comes with a sport requiring so much dedication from a young age. I was an IMer and mid distance back/breaststroker with some mid-distance free thrown in from time to time. The high points in my swimming career were competing in the 2008 Olympic Trials in Omaha, winning an individual ACC title in the 200 IM in 2010, and competing at NCAAs. Olympic trials did not go well for me, which was devastating at the time, but I'm so grateful to have been able to experience that meet. 

What do you do now? How does it relate to your swimming history?

I am a residential interior designer now! I own a business (Murray Khouri Interior Design) with a partner, who still lives in Washington DC. This is actually a second career for me - I worked on Capitol Hill out of college and was a lobbyist for Twitter and then for Google. Those years were formative, and it was really interesting to be in the middle of the national political conversation, but ultimately it turned out not to be what I really wanted to do for the rest of my career. In 2018 I became enthralled with interiors while renovating my apartment in DC, and I can't really explain it other than to say I was hooked. Historically I wouldn't call myself a big risk taker, but I knew I needed to take a chance on a career change to pursue design. I knew I would be "starting over", but I was so driven to make a career in design work that I decided to just go for it and haven't looked back. My business partner is also a former politico - we worked on Capitol Hill together and stayed in touch over the years. She had taken the leap into design a couple of years before I did, and we decided to start a business together in March of 2019. I would say it relates to my swimming history in that owning a small business, like any swimming career, is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes a lot of perseverance, the ability to endure ups and downs, and constant work, but it is so rewarding to be able to have a business and career that I love.

Why are you swimming again? What’s the hardest part about being back in the water? Any surprises about how you feel in the water?

I mentioned earlier that I have never really been able to find a form of exercise that worked for me in the ways swimming does. I am big on mental health and have never been able to catch those endorphins from running - my knees and I are just not cut out for it! I also like a routine, someone telling me what to do (thank you, Ashley!) and I am rarely motivated to work out after a workday. I was very burned out on swimming post-college, so I just needed a brief 10-year break from it, and it now checks a lot of boxes for me. Without question, the hardest part has been reminding myself that it's okay that I'm not as speedy as I once was and shifting to a mindset of swimming for health rather than competition. That said, I have been shocked at how quickly and (relatively) easily my feel for the water came back. It has brought fresh new joy to experience and appreciate swimming with the perspective of years away from it.

How did COVID affect your life?

Substantially! The timing of it was so odd with our move to Nashville - my husband and I attended our going away party in DC with about a hundred of our closest friends in a crowded bar on Friday evening, and by the time we arrived in Nashville on Sunday night to close on our house here on Monday, the lockdown had begun. Having a business where you really must be generating leads all the time, I was preparing to arrive in Nashville and meet as many new people as I could to try and build out a client base here. That clearly did not happen for several months. We were fortunate that our DC clients kept moving forward on their projects, but it took time for me to connect with our first few clients here in Nashville. As challenging a time as that was, I'm amazed at how quickly the time has passed - we're now coming up on two years here and have an amazing group of friends, work that we both love, and it really feels like home.  

How special is NAC Masters?

So special!  I was very surprised at the size of the group when I first started coming to practice. That motivated me to keep coming back. Everyone I've met has been so welcoming, and I love that the bond that forms when you're swimming with people before you're really awake … exists in masters just as it did in age group and college swimming. I also don't take for granted what an amazing and dedicated coach we have in Ashley - she is so positive and motivating. I had not heard the saying "Master of your own destiny" in the swimming context before joining NAC Masters, and I really am here for that motto :)

What else do you two do for fun?

Outside of my new-found love for swimming, my main hobbies include going to estate sales and antique shops around town. There is really nothing I love more than hunting for unusual treasures to use in my decorating projects and in my own home. I have quite an inventory (thank goodness for our basement) and hope to have a beautifully curated antique shop of my own at some point in the future. I also love trying new restaurants with my husband, Ben, and our friends, and hanging out with my cute mini-labradoodle, Charley.