My Life with Monika Nagelo: I realised my dream of becoming a professional mermaid
Monica Nagelo of Mermazing Mermaids interacting with Carla Ledwith from Kilmessan, Co Meath who celebrated her 8th birthday. Photo: Barry Cronin
Getting kicked out of eight different swimming pools is a rite of passage for any aspiring mermaid trying to navigate her way through the world.
At 14 years old, it was a disheartening experience, but I was still finding my feet. Or, on this occasion, my tail.
My love for mermaiding started with a classic Disney film. Of all the movies I watched, I adored Ariel from .
While she desperately longed for a pair of legs, I wondered what it would be like to swim with a tail.
As someone who has been swimming since they were a baby, I was really taken by the concept of mermaiding, which is a skill that involves swimming in a costume mermaid tail.
From the first moment I stumbled on mermaiding on YouTube I was captivated. I told my mum that I wanted to try it out and she said, “Why not?”
At €800, the monofin, top, matching bottoms and postage, was pricey, but Mum has always been really supportive of everything I do.
Between her and my uncle, we were able to put enough money together to make what would be a very worthwhile investment. I think I cried when I received my first mermaid tail in the post. That was such a special moment for me.
The only issue now was finding a place where I could practise mermaiding. The consensus was always that it wasn’t safe to have someone swimming with their legs bound.
You have to do a certain amount of practise with the monofin — which is like two flippers fused together — before you get into the tail. I
must have tried about eight different pools. The reactions from the swimmers who spotted me were always so nice.
Children’s faces lit up as soon as they saw my tail. A lot of them believed they were in the presence of a real-life mermaid.
When other people my age found out about what I was doing, they had one of either two reactions.
Half of them would say, “Oh my god, what you’re doing is so cool.” The remainder were not so positive, asking, “Isn’t that just dress up?”
I must admit I found the latter response frustrating. There is so much training that goes into mermaiding. My limit now for holding my breath underwater is two minutes.
It requires a lot more skill than people realise. When you put the tail on with the monofin it’s different, because there is literally no way of getting out of the tail unless you are out of the water.
You have to be good at swimming, because it something goes wrong it’s not safe.
I continued going from swimming pool to swimming pool with my tail. After getting kicked out of all of them, there was nowhere left to turn… or so I thought.
My mum’s friend had heard of a place in Meath called MerMazing that did mermaid shows in giant tanks.
“You guys should come and see them,” she suggested. We did and I loved it. During the show I asked if there was a possibility of me working there.
My mum contacted the boss, Lynn Harvey, and she said I could come in. I did a few trials and got in, and now it’s like a second home to me.
I no longer have to get kicked out of swimming pools because I have my own mermaid tank to swim in.
I mainly do shows, birthdays, and private swims. When I first got into the tank I was very disorientated. While the tank is big, it’s still smaller than the swimming pools that I was used to, so I have to know my surroundings very well.
When I first started doing mermaid shows I kept swimming into the side of the tank. Now, I literally know it like the back of my hand.
When I’m doing tricks I’m aware of where to avoid. If we have new mermaids I’ll be giving them tips on how to avoid this pole or that wall.
There have been times where three mermaids have crashed into each other, but it generally runs smoothly.
Backflips, front flips, handstand rotations, and bubble hearts are just some of the tricks I can do.
I’m really grateful that Lynn at MerMazing has given me the chance to live out my dream of becoming a professional mermaid.
Returning to school after a weekend of mermaiding can be difficult — that is, until I meet my friends and they ask me about my life as a mermaid and what new tricks I learned.
They, for me, keep the magic going even on dry land.
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