Meet the mermaids of Benoni
Mermaid Storm believes in empowering women, as she feels women rely too much on men complimenting them to feel good about themselves.
Morehill resident Candice Baker started mermaiding two years ago.
According to Wikipedia, mermaiding (also referred to as artistic mermaiding, mermaidry or artistic mermaid performance) is the practice of wearing and often swimming in a costume mermaid tail.
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“I have my own company called Anti-Gravity Pole & Aerial Dance & Zero Gravity Yoga. We have two studios, 13 years’ experience and competition-grade poles,” said Baker.
“Two years ago I was on Instagram and came across some videos on mermaiding and I was hooked.
“Not only because it builds your self-esteem by making you feel beautiful but it is also easy to combine with aerial dance and yoga as this can be done as well in the mermaid tail, providing exercise while feeling beautiful.
“I integrated the mermaiding into my day-to-day work and also do it as a hobby with some other friends and their children, planning outings where we dress in our tails and swim in a pool, have lunch and just feel beautiful.”
Baker even started an entertainment company where she will go to birthday parties for young children and swim in the pool with her tail, answering all the questions they might have for a mermaid.
“The children’s parties are the best. Some of the questions I get are too funny, such as what I eat, where I respond to them ‘I eat seaweed and my boyfriend smokes it’. I have also been asked if I eat sushi,” she chuckled.
Mermaid Storm, being her mermaid name, really believes in empowering women, as she feels women rely too much on men complimenting them to feel good about themselves.
“My whole journey since I was 20 has been about learning to love myself,” she said.
“All the things I do empower women to see themselves in a better light. Life doesn’t have to be so serious.
“When you put on that tail and start swimming through the water, you feel a floating feeling, almost weightless, relaxing as well as beautiful, providing a goddess-like energy.”
This local also hosts retreats for women, where they will do yoga and photoshoots in and out of the mermaid tails.
“This is to help women see themselves differently,” she said.
“We will also take poles and put them up at the beach, doing some pole work in tails and some aerial yoga.
“Everything I do is all about building up women and their feelings about themselves.”
A few outings Mermaid Storm and her fellow mermaids have taken to indulge in their feelings about themselves, float, exercise and just feel beautiful are:
• Swimming together in heated swimming pools
• Dive centre trips
• Mermaid pods in the North
• Pool parties
• Picnic trips to waterfalls
“We obviously weren’t able to do much during lockdown but before lockdown, we all took a trip to Mozambique where we swam in our tails with wild dolphins. It was incredible,” she said.
Baker also wants to start a mer school on the East Rand as they only have one in the North.
“Being a mermaid is not easy. Some think it’s a joke and just something to do for fun but it can be very hard. It’s not just a pretty hobby,” she explained.
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Here is what Baker has learnt about mermaiding so far:
• It’s hard.
• You need to be super fit (the tails are heavy).
• You need to be a strong swimmer.
• It requires a lot of endurance as you can’t stand on your tail.
• Swimming with a monofin requires you to learn a completely new swimming style.
• You need to practise holding your breath, as swimming uses up a lot of your oxygen really fast.
• Your ankles will be bruised and stiff from using a monofin.
• It’s dangerous to swim with inferior equipment.
• The tails and fins are expensive, as is any sporting equipment.
“Mermaiding is a pretty form of freediving, which is an Olympic sport,” she concluded.
Aqua Mermaid – aquamermaid.com: What is a monofin?
A monofin is a type of flipper that holds both feet together and provides extra power with each kick. As part of a mermaid tail, it also provides some or all of the shape and structure of the mermaid fin.
What does a monofin do?
The monofin is the biggest/most significant difference between the mermaid tails. All swimmable mermaid tails have a monofin. Non-swimmable mermaid tails usually don’t have a monofin or are made of materials that will not hold up in the water. The fabric part of the mermaid tail is mainly only for aesthetics.
What is the best monofin for mermaids?
There are so many factors that can affect your choice. Swimmable mermaid tails with monofins come with a variety of monofin types and sizes. The type of monofin should be a major factor to consider when choosing a mermaid tail.
Main parts of a monofin
The monofin is made of two main parts: the foot pocket and the blade. The blade is what makes you look like a mermaid and provides resistance to allow you to swim through the water. The foot pocket is the area where your feet go, and the blade is the rest of the monofin. The foot pocket does the important job of attaching your feet to the blade.
