Models: Naiia Lajoie & Quinn Smith
possible opportunity: underwater modeling, performing at par- ties, tank shows, traveling jobs. They’re required to be lifeguard certified, which Hankins also guides them through, but each mermaid has an unteachable spark in their personality that al- lows them to connect to the audiences they perform for. They must be prepared to prove themselves to skeptical children, have scholarly knowledge of sea-life, and the core strength to maneuver a 30-pound tail with a smile on their face and whimsy in their voice. “We’re acting, we’re improvising, and we’re being athletic at the same time,” says Carolina Gutierrez. “The magic happens after, but people don’t see everything that goes on be- hind closed doors.” Mermaiding requires a firm grip on adventure and imagina- tion, and their honest dedication to the role might be a symptom of their commitment to something bigger than themselves. “As a mermaid,” says mermaid Quintessence, “you can have a spe- cial connection with kids that you can’t have as an adult or an outsider perspective, because kids… you’re right in there, you’re
right in their imagination, you live right there all the time in the forefront of their head. Getting to play off of their own imagina- tion and add to it, and then fuel that into something even more beautiful is my favorite part.” Then, there are times when kids remind the mermaids what it means to be human. “I really like kids, there’s very rarely, if ever, a kid that I don’t like,” adds mermaid Elizabeth Champion. “I think kids and people are inherently good, and sometimes it gets lost a little bit along the way, but working with huge groups of five year-olds will remind you of that—that we’re inherently good.” We live in a modern world, one that no longer requires us to blame mystical forces for our fortunes and misfortunes. Our collective circumstances may vary, but people are arguably the same: the same desires, fears, needs, and dreams. Perhaps these stories are not echoes of the unknown, but mirrors of our natural imagination and inspirations—and perhaps it may be beneficial to pull inspiration from generations of cultural lore to pilot the surmounting seas of change.
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