WEBVTT - How Can I Become a Mermaid? 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:06.640 Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 0:00:06.680 --> 0:00:10.159 brain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam Here. If you're fascinated by 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:13.480 mythological creatures, love to swim, and know the entire score 0:00:13.560 --> 0:00:17.640 to The Little Mermaid, your time has officially come. Mermaid 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:20.360 Ing is an honest to goodness hobby and even career, 0:00:20.680 --> 0:00:23.480 and it's poised to explode at a mermaid school or 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:26.640 birthday party near you. All you need is a tale 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:29.800 and more on that in a minute. A while. It 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:31.920 may seem like this is popping up out of nowhere, 0:00:32.200 --> 0:00:34.720 mermaids and mer men have actually been at it for 0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:38.720 years now. We spoke via email with Sheila Kaiser, lead 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:42.720 mermaid instructor at Aqua Mermaid in Austin, Texas. She said, 0:00:43.120 --> 0:00:45.559 Mermaiding has been around for twenty plus years and I 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:48.480 think will only continue to grow in popularity. We teach 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:51.040 ages seven to eighty and I have all different reasons 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:55.880 for wanting to come than experience being a mermaid or merman. Yes, 0:00:55.960 --> 0:00:59.280 the typical mermaid school has classes for both adults and children, 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:03.880 and how special events like bachelorette parties. We also spoke 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:07.160 by email with Kala Marama, a mermaid instructor and professional 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:10.920 belly dancer in the Northern Virginia area. She said, I 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:13.560 personally have loved mermaids since I was young, and I've 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:16.480 also loved the water. For children, when they have the 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:19.120 chance to meet a real mermaid and learned from one, 0:01:19.360 --> 0:01:22.000 they often are very excited to do so. Adults that 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:23.960 are interested in mermaiding tend to do so for a 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:26.960 few different reasons, to live at a childhood fantasy, or 0:01:27.000 --> 0:01:30.240 to do something different and interesting, But she notes it's 0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:34.039 a lot harder that it sounds. Indeed, mermaiding is definitely 0:01:34.120 --> 0:01:38.679 best done by confident swimmers. Marama explains, we know that 0:01:38.720 --> 0:01:41.479 swimming in any capacity can be a tough workout, so 0:01:41.680 --> 0:01:44.280 one must be a strong swimmer before putting on a tail, 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:47.559 as a tail adds a new level of difficulty. Tails 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:50.080 may weigh between fifteen and thirty five pounds that's about 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:54.880 seven to sixteen kilo's. Many mermaid schools require participants to 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:57.760 be able to pass basic swim tests, being able to 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:00.360 swim at least twenty five meters that's around eighty eat, 0:02:00.480 --> 0:02:02.760 tread water for a minute, and float on your front 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:06.000 and your back. In a class, you'll learn the basics 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:08.120 of how to swim with a tail, plus things like 0:02:08.160 --> 0:02:10.800 the mermaid high five and how to do handstands, which 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:14.720 soon translate into synchronized mermaid swimming skills. Some classes also 0:02:14.760 --> 0:02:18.919 teach kids about caring for the oceans, and indeed, mermaid 0:02:19.000 --> 0:02:21.880 swimming is a killer way to get or stay in shape. 0:02:22.480 --> 0:02:25.639 We also spoke by email with cohed mermaid Rachel Roddick 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:29.720 with Aqua Mermaid Chicago. She said it offers a total 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:33.120 body workout from toning your glut, squads and abs, combined 0:02:33.120 --> 0:02:36.840 with great cardio exercises working on breath control underwater. It's 0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:39.320 a low impact sport. The benefits from the buoyant effect 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:42.040 of the water that takes pressure off joints, alleviating pain 0:02:42.160 --> 0:02:46.399 and discomfort. At your first class, you usually just need 0:02:46.400 --> 0:02:49.240 to wear a swimsuit. The school will normally supply the 0:02:49.240 --> 0:02:52.639 monofin and the tail skin. The monophin is a piece 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:55.079 of equipment with foot pockets that allows you to propel 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:57.640 forward in the water, while the tail skin is a 0:02:57.680 --> 0:03:01.639 complete tail that's pulled on over the monof in. If 0:03:01.680 --> 0:03:03.600 you plan to stick with this, you may want to 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:06.360 buy your own. Models run from about a hundred bucks 0:03:06.360 --> 0:03:08.760 for something basic, all the way to five hundred dollars 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:13.240 or even three thousand for realistic, professional grade mermaid tales. 0:03:14.400 --> 0:03:17.240 But wait, you say you can be a professional mermaid? 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:20.600 You bet. Although some people take the classes just for 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:24.000 fun and exercise, there's a growing contingent of professional mermaids 0:03:24.040 --> 0:03:26.840 around the world. Aqua Mermaid estimates that there are about 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:29.680 a thousand professional mermaids currently working in the United States. 0:03:30.120 --> 0:03:33.760 There's presently no standard certification program that all mere people 0:03:33.840 --> 0:03:36.880 must pass, but there are a number of mermaid conferences 0:03:36.920 --> 0:03:40.520 held around the world every year. So how does one 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:45.160 pursue a mer career? Many pros become mermaids, swim instructors, 0:03:45.160 --> 0:03:48.600 mermaid entertainers at birthday parties, events and the like, mermaid 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:52.680 influencers on social media, and even custom mermaid tale makers. 0:03:53.280 --> 0:03:56.440 There are also mermaid modeling opportunities to be had for 0:03:56.560 --> 0:03:59.240 photo shoots or on film. A friend of mine was 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:01.600 a Mermaid x ra in a recent episode of Hawaii 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:05.840 five Oh. Much like any career, there's some investment required 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:09.400 on the front end to become a professional mer person. First, 0:04:09.440 --> 0:04:11.560 a potential pro must be a strong swimmer and have 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:14.440 a background teaching swimming or synchronized swimming if they plan 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:17.560 to be an instructor, and other classes can help, like 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:20.640 early childhood education courses if you plan on working with kids, 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:29.920 and business courses Mermaiding is a business after all. Today's 0:04:29.960 --> 0:04:32.000 episode was written by Ali A. Hoyt and produced by 0:04:32.040 --> 0:04:34.480 Tyler Clain. Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:36.920 Radio's How Stuff Works. For wineness and lots of other 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:40.280 splashy topics, visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com, 0:04:40.279 --> 0:04:42.520 and for more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit that 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:45.200 I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:46.159 to your favorite shows.