John Makinson is an open water swimmer from Long Beach, California. The 71-year-old member of the Long Beach Grunions Masters Swim Team has a love of the water that inspired him to get personalized license plate to represent his passion, nicknaming himself “John Rufwater“.

“I grew up in Ocean Beach. I have been in the water all of my life. I was always surfing, scuba diving, body boarding, swimming, and was in the Navy for 20 years. Eventually I will get into paddle boarding but I will save that for my old age. I never competed in pools but I swim 3/4 to 1 mile every day.”

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