Disney’s new “Little Mermaid” drives a wave of business for the mermaid industry
Disney’s new “Little Mermaid” drives a wave of business for the mermaid industry
The live-action version of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” opened in theaters on Friday and is expected to pull in more than $100 million at the box office over the holiday weekend. But Disney isn’t the only company that stands to benefit from a fresh round of interest in all things mermaid. A rapidly growing “mermaiding” industry is preparing for more attention and more revenue.
To enable children and adults to live out their mermaid dreams, dozens of companies offer themed swimming suits, crowns, hair accessories and swimmable tails. For those who really want to get into it, several groups offer formal mermaid training, teaching people how to swim underwater with their feet bound up in a monofin and their legs in a mermaid tail — something that can be a challenge, even for experienced divers.
“People look at mermaids and think, ‘Oh, they’re just holding their breath underwater and smiling at you,'” said Jonas Furberg, co-owner of Blue Planet Scuba in Washington, D.C. But, as he learned after completing the training himself, “it is exceedingly hard when you see these photos of people with their eyes open and smiling. That is really hard. You essentially have to just allow the water into your nose and your sinuses and be totally OK with it.”
![Merman Del smiles at the camera. He is lying down on his stomach with his hands together at the edge of the pool. His legs/fin are kicked back up.]()
“Merman Del” Scott estimates that he’s spent around $5,000 on gear, from masks, goggles, tails to monofins since joining the mer-community last summer. “It’s an expensive type of lifestyle,” says the fourth grade Spanish and college ESL teacher. “Everybody has their things.” (Kimberly Adams/Marketplace) ![Erika Ruble sits at the edge of a pool smiling with one arm out, the other supporting her. She is partially lying down and wearing a zipped up jacket that resembles blue scales and a blue mermaid tail.]()
Erika Ruble, a.k.a. “Mermaid Eureka,” received her mermaid certification in February. She says she’s racked up around $1,000 on gear so far, including two used tails purchased on Facebook Marketplace, and around $500 on classes. (Kimberly Adams/Marketplace) ![Merman Del Scott lies at the edge of the pool smiling at the camera. Merman Andy also lies at the edge of the pool and is smiling at Merman Del. Both are wearing their merman tails.]()
“Merman Del” Scott, pictured left with Merman Andy, doesn’t currently make money from mermaiding. But he was recently invited to join a performance group which will lead to paid gigs and says he’ll have to invest in a silicone tail soon, which can cost thousands of dollars. (Kimberly Adams/Marketplace) ![Alya Almee reclines on a rock with her mermaid blue and green tail splashing out of the water behind her. She is in a woodland setting in a stream. She is wearing a green wig, the color of moss, and has a flower crown on. She is smiling and looking upward.]()
Alya Almee points out there’s a number of expenses that come with mermaiding beyond fins and tails. There’s insurance, photography and even “the right underwater or above water makeup.” (Courtesy Ayla Almee, The Mermaid Maid and Merfolk Monarch International/Joe Pecora) ![Alya Almee sits on a rock near the edge of the water. She has long brown hair and is smiling at the camera. She is wearing a multicolored mermaid tale, a green top, multicolored jewelry and a rainbow crown.]()
“I have gone the route that I do not make any money off of mermaiding,” says Alya Almee who works as a civil servant for the federal government. When Almee does have professional gigs, the merperson says she donates the proceeds to charity. (Courtesy Ayla Almee, The Mermaid Maid and Merfolk Monarch International/Kanamera23) ![Merman Andy Vargas pulls up his tail near the edge of an indoor swimming pool while Merman Dell smiles at him in the water.]()
Since starting out two years ago, Merman Andy Vargas, pictured on land with Merman Dell in the water, said that he’s invested around $18,000 on all things mermaiding (the tail pictured here is sponsored by Mertailor). While he’s considered a mer-celebrity, Andy says he has yet to make a profit from his merman career. (Kimberly Adams/Marketplace) ![In a glamorous shot, Chè Monique wears a red top and grown and mermaid fin. She looks directly at the camera, has impeccable makeup and is lying atop a red carpet.]()
Chè Monique says her biggest mermaiding expenses are legal fees, which she says can cost around $8,000 per year. That’s where DIY-ing can help. The crown pictured here is made with jewelry from her mom and grandma. (Chè Monique/Your Rouge Photography) ![Chè Monique wears a blue, orange and pink mermaid tail, a pink and shell/faux seaweed-covered swimsuit top, shell earrings, pearls and a blue scarf. She is in blue water, near the surface.]()
“Relationship building has done a huge part to make up for the gap for me, where the actual capital isn’t there,” Chè Monique says, who DIYs and borrows gear to curb mermaiding costs. The coral top pictured here was a collaboration between Monique, her mother and sister. (Chè Monique/Your Rouge Photography) ![]()
Chè Monique is the founder of the Society of Fat Mermaids and works as a professional mermaid and massage therapist. “Fortunately, for me personally, I don’t feel like I need every tail that comes out,” Monique says, who wears a MagicTail here that costs around $500. “So I kind of decided what my look was a few years ago and stuck with that.” (Courtesy Chè Monique/DiveSarge/CreateWell) ![]()
Senior Correspondent Kimberly Adams takes a dip in the tank in her own fin at Finfolk Productions in Lincolnton, North Carolina. Adams, a certified mermaid, says she’s invested about $1,000 in gear and classes. (Courtesy Kimberly Adams)
Blue Planet has two mermaid instructors on staff, and Furberg said they’re training more ahead of an anticipated surge in interest because of “The Little Mermaid” — especially among kids.
“And so we’re already looking into figuring out how we can stock up on smaller monofins and smaller tails to rent to any kids who want to go ahead and do the certification,” he said.
That mermaid certification comes from the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, commonly known as PADI. It’s one of several groups that offer formal mermaid training, although such training isn’t required to engage in the activity. While mermaiding as a sport has been popular in China since about 2019, PADI starting offering the certification here in the U.S. in 2021.
Julie Andersen, the global director of brand for PADI and a certified mermaid herself, said the courses have been even more popular than anticipated.
“We can’t keep up with demand, we are making instructors as fast as possible. We’re making instructor trainers, so they can train instructors as fast as possible,” Andersen said. “We’ve seen over a 400% increase in the last year alone from mermaiding.”
Andersen said many people in the diving community started out skeptical of what’s effectively underwater cosplay, but they quickly realized that people will spend tons of money to become their own version of Ariel, with estimates that the mermaid tail industry alone is currently worth almost $150 million a year.
In addition to the tails, there is the cost of classes, travel for “mermaid experiences” and underwater cameras that help professional mermaids catch the perfect photos of their dives.
Andy Vargas, 24, aka Merman Andy, is a professional merman and social media influencer. He won the 2022 King of the Seas competition and is featured in a new Netflix docuseries about mermaiding. Vargas has a day job as a professor of vocal music but also performs as a merman —often highlighting tails from his partnership with Mertailor, a mermaid tail company.
But Vargas said it can be challenging to turn the hobby into a business.
“I think I’ve accumulated just in total about $18,000 between all the gigs, all of the commissions that I’ve gotten from selling these tails,” he said, adding that he’s probably spent that much on gear and trips to get where he is today. “So I’ve probably just about broken even where I’m at right now.”
While Vargas has only been active in the space for a few years, professional mermaid Brandee Anthony started her mermaid business back in 2013.
“Definitely, the mermaid world hasn’t been taken as serious[ly] as a lot of the other industries,” said Anthony, also known as the Vero Beach Mermaid. She said that is starting to change as more people and businesses make money in the industry. She’s been so successful that she split off her training business from her performance and social media operations.
“And I’ve doubled my revenue every single year since 2013,” Anthony said. “And I’m a six-figure company now, just the one mermaid company by itself. Just training people is a six-figure company.”
The vast majority of merpeople, though, are hobbyists who don’t make money off the sport. They meet up in local groups they call pods to take pictures and just have fun.
Erika Ruble, 26, who achieved her mermaid certification in February, drove two hours from West Virginia to attend a mermaid meetup in Washington. Ruble, who uses the mermaid name Eureka, said she’s spent about $1,000 so far on her mermaiding classes and gear, including two secondhand tails.
“So both of these I got, I think, for like $600,” Ruble said, adding that that is a lot cheaper than buying new. “And they are nice because it has a little dorsal fin, hip fins, all that cool stuff. And then since I have a monofin, I can change out the skin so I can have different looks.”
But even casual mermaids can often spend thousands of dollars on classes, accessories like crowns and faux seashell tops — and, of course, those tails, which can easily cost $5,000 to $10,000 or more.
Trina Mannino contributed to the slideshow of photos.
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