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An unexpected trend in the job market has been gathering steam for the past few years. Women have been tying their legs together, strapping 45-pound fish tails onto them and swimming in glass tanks for the viewing pleasure of paying patrons.
They’re mermaids-for-hire, and approximately 1,000 people in the US make a living this way, according to an estimate by Fast Company. That’s not a huge number, but the jobs are definitely there, despite a volatile economy’s best efforts to shake them off.
Investigating this phenomenon does not require passage on a seafaring vessel. Plenty of opportunities exist on dry land. There are companies that produce the mermaid tails, mermaid gym classes and mermaid conferences, such as the North Carolina Merfest. Next scheduled for September 2016, it’s an annual gathering of mermaids, mermen and members of “the pirate community,” who help the mer-folk deal with logistical concerns, according to festival organizer Chris Chandler.
“When mermaids perform in their tails, they can’t move their legs, so they need assistants to help pick them up and move them around,” he told Fortune. “Usually, a couple that perform will have ‘mer-tenders’ dressed as pirates. They use the pirate genre to keep illusion intact.”
He said that the gathering normally draws a modest but dedicated number of attendees.
“The last one we had in January, we had about 650 people, mostly professionals in the field,” he said. “We had a couple of folks from France, Italy, Australia… mostly the domestic U.S., but a good group from all over the world.”
While an undersea life, free from the pressures of the workaday world, certainly sounds tempting, there are points to consider before you to tender your resignation to your current employer and strap on a monofin. For example, the custom silicone mermaid tail alone can set you back over $2,700. Once you have that, an investment in some classes, such as those given at LA Mermaid School for $40 is probably wise.
Fortune spoke with three women who have found work as mermaids and asked them about their experiences. They described a lot of physical toil and, in some cases, some real challenges making ends meet. However, it was clear that none of them would trade the experience for anything.
They’re mermaids-for-hire, and approximately 1,000 people in the US make a living this way, according to an estimate by Fast Company. That’s not a huge number, but the jobs are definitely there, despite a volatile economy’s best efforts to shake them off.
Investigating this phenomenon does not require passage on a seafaring vessel. Plenty of opportunities exist on dry land. There are companies that produce the mermaid tails, mermaid gym classes and mermaid conferences, such as the North Carolina Merfest. Next scheduled for September 2016, it’s an annual gathering of mermaids, mermen and members of “the pirate community,” who help the mer-folk deal with logistical concerns, according to festival organizer Chris Chandler.
“When mermaids perform in their tails, they can’t move their legs, so they need assistants to help pick them up and move them around,” he told Fortune. “Usually, a couple that perform will have ‘mer-tenders’ dressed as pirates. They use the pirate genre to keep illusion intact.”
He said that the gathering normally draws a modest but dedicated number of attendees.
“The last one we had in January, we had about 650 people, mostly professionals in the field,” he said. “We had a couple of folks from France, Italy, Australia… mostly the domestic U.S., but a good group from all over the world.”
While an undersea life, free from the pressures of the workaday world, certainly sounds tempting, there are points to consider before you to tender your resignation to your current employer and strap on a monofin. For example, the custom silicone mermaid tail alone can set you back over $2,700. Once you have that, an investment in some classes, such as those given at LA Mermaid School for $40 is probably wise.
Fortune spoke with three women who have found work as mermaids and asked them about their experiences. They described a lot of physical toil and, in some cases, some real challenges making ends meet. However, it was clear that none of them would trade the experience for anything.
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