Mermaids, for me growing up were very important.
Mermaids were real. that was it.
Of course they're real. No matter what the government says. Mermaids are real.
My name is Lauren Freeman, and I'm a real life Mermaid.
I'm Erin Gallager and I am a real life Mermaid.
My name is Katie Shultz and I'm a real life Mermaid.
I've always loved the water. I've been a swimmer for as long as I can remember.
And growing up in Florida. You went to the beach and played Mermaids.
So, I've done it for years as a kid. Growing up I thought it was the greatest thing.
Always loved the water. Definitely a fish growing up and have always really enjoyed it.
Oh, I remember when Lauren first came to me and asked if I wanted to help create the mermaid program here at the Florida Aquarium.
And I immediately called my Mom and said, "You are not going to believe this."
"I told you I was going to be a Mermaid when I grew up and now I'm going to get to be one."
I actually have a very different story from the other girls. I was born and raised in Arizona.
So, I was always in the water kind of playing around. I've been diving since I was 12.
But I don't think even as a kid I ever told my parents, "I'm going to be a Mermaid"
So, I was telling my Mom about this and she was like, "Why, why do you do this?" and I said, "it's something new. Something just to try."
It pays well. I kind of told her about the aspetosdjfhioshri. "Huh, well that'a pretty good."
"And you don't even have to be a hooker." So, I guess that was my family's take on it. *Laughing*
People initially are definitely a little confused. They want to know, "Well what do you mean you're a Mermaid?"
So when I describe what I do. That I literally get in the water and I am a Mermaid.
They have lots of questions. We are all professional divers here at the Aquarium.
We do guest diving programs where we'll take guests in to do dives with our sharks.
We also do a lot of the grunt work. We'll get in and clean the exhibits and that's not such a pretty Mermaid task.
But we do it anyway.
So it's about 3:30 right now. None of us will be touching our face.
Being the dive masters of the Aquarium, no one over sees us in makeup. So, it's really a transformation.
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We are definitely not the make-up pretty girls at the Aquarium.
99% of the time... so, to have our co-workers see us like this was a shocking change for them.
Ready? Ready!
It does take a lot to get ready. The tails are so custom-fit that it's actually really to get into them.
So, takes a good 10 minutes to actually put the tail on.
Swimming with a tail on and having your feet bound is a lot different than wearing fins and being on scuba.
So, for us to learn to do it. And on top of that try to look pretty while doing it.
That was the biggest challenge.
These are the hoses that we breath from. Just like scuba diving.
I think people think it's easy. They see the finished product. They see us in there with our makeup done.
And these gorgeous tail that we have. Gracefully swimming around. Doing choreograph routines to music.
Takes a long time to get there.
To look comfortable while holding your breath underwater, and not look like you're in pain or the salt water is in your eyes and theres fish everywhere.
It's very difficult.
To be a Mermaid everyday is something I never thought that I would get to do.
But to be able to come to work and do something that I've always loved...
Something that I've always wanted to do with people that are my friends, is fantastic. It's really a dream come true.
*Twinkling orchestra music*