Who Is Mermaid Pearl?

Well, I’ve done it! I’ve made my very first podcast episode about being a professional mermaid, something I’ve been doing for about 10 years now!
Hi, I’m Mermaid Pearl! I’m a freshwater mermaid from the mountains of Virginia, and a proud professional mermaid. Pearl as a character is a bubbly, bright, and happy mermaid who is interested in humans, and the human world. She loves to travel and to encourage little humans to chase their dreams. She also has a bit of a sassy side, and loves proving to little ones that magic does exist and mermaids are real!

As a performer, I’ve been doing this for a while, and I’ve participated in events such as private swims, birthday parties, modeling gigs, and even classroom appearances! I started mermaiding when I was young. I discovered mermaiding by Googling ‘real mermaids’ and discovering the artistry of Eric Ducharme, otherwise known as The Mertailor. It was an interview where he discussed making his silicone mermaid tails, and it was the first time I ever realized it was possible to own a realistic mermaid tail. I immediately dove into the world of mermaiding. 
I made it my mission to own a mermaid tail. But the problem is that mermaid tails are very expensive! My first tail was silver, and created by my grandmother using swim fabric and a Finis foil monofin that was slightly too big for me. (Photo is below) She’s made me at least three tails at this point, but now I can sew well enough that I can make my own!​

My current tail has been with me through all my growing pains, both as a person and a mermaid. I began mermaiding in 2012, but my professional mermaiding business grew immensely in 2013 when I got my first silicone tail. It was a Mertailor basic silicone tail, which are actually no longer sold by the mertailor. The tail has lasted me ten years, and is a testament to the Mertailor’s craftsmanship. Before my Mertailor tail, I swam with homemade tails made for me by my grandmother. At this point, my sister was also into mermaiding, and I have included a picture below of us swimming in our tails!
(This was actually my very first swim in my new silicone mermaid tail, the lighter blue fabric tail was made by my grandmother)

I mermaided throughout high school, and I was definitely more interested in the professional side of mermaiding, doing gigs semi-regularly. I toyed with the idea of starting a mermaid YouTube channel, but I never did. Even then, I wanted to share mermaiding, and everything that I learned on my journey, with the world. I still gained a lot of experience during this time. I met the amazing Mermaid Hales and she taught me some mermaid tips and tricks I still use to this day! I did birthday parties and modeling gigs regularly, and I started making my own mermaid tops to swim in, because all the ones I pined after online were much too expensive for a fifteen year old mermaid. I even made a few tops for some beginner mermaid friends! I have included some photos below of what I was up to at the time.

However, college saw my dedication to my hobby and business suffer. Mermaiding was instead something I did for fun, with the occasional summer gig thrown in. So now, after graduating, I have decided to dive headfirst back into mermaiding, and build my business back up to hopefully surpass the level I was at previously. And now, I have a medium with which to share my knowledge too! 

    My new podcast Making of a Mermaid will allow you to follow along with me as I tackle the travails of mermaidhood, as I build up my business starting from the beginning with all the knowledge of an expert. I want to answer questions and inspire any aspiring professional mermaids to chase your dreams, and maybe provide some tips or even just some relatable content for my fellow merfolk out there. (Foot cramps, anyone?) I also want my podcast and corresponding blog, well, this blog right here really, to be a resource for other mermaids out there building up their professional skills. Recording this first episode made me a little nervous originally, but I like the medium of a podcast because of the adaptability of it; you can listen and learn while doing other things! Plus, it feels a bit more personal, like we’re just sitting down and having a conversation. 
    While this episode was mostly introductions, I would encourage you to check out my podcast Making of a Mermaid wherever you get your podcasts to learn more about the world of professional mermaids! I’m excited to share how far I’ve come and how far I’ll go! 

To check out the Mertailor, check out the link below:
https://www.themertailor.com