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our trash is ending up in the
with all the glitz and glam.
everything! To me, seeing that
was amazing. I want to be that:
80 years old and in my mermaid
tail. Like, how cool is that?
Regarding the community, I
love the fact that it doesn’t
matter what age you are. You
can be a fin flipping merfolk,
and it doesn’t matter how big
you are, how small you are,
what color you are, sexual
orientation, or gender identity.
If you’re a mermaid or merfolk,
all those things don’t matter.
I like you, and that’s it. No
judgment.
And there is obviously the
magic that it creates. But,
it’s not just creating magic
for other people. It is also the
magic you feel as a mermaid.
I know I feel magical when I
throw on my tail.
I can surely guarantee those
80-YEAR-OLD MERMAIDS
felt magical in their tails!
who knows how to free dive. So
It’s the magic and the inclusivity,
the fact that everyone can be
a mermaid and experience the
magic.
PP:
Who has most inspired you on
your journey as a mermaid?
And what is it that has inspired
you about them?
MC:
The Florida Springs Institute
(FSI) and the Florida Springs
Council (FSC). Their knowledge
and perseverance in the fight
for our springs and for the
water in our aquifer ignited my
activism and fueled it. All the
organizations that I work with
are amazing, with amazing
people diligently raising
awareness and continuing
their activism for years.
Ariel from The Little Mermaid
also inspired me. Everybody
knows it, and it’s a magical
story. I always go back to it.
I don’t know if they did it
on purpose or not, but her
layer of treasures shows how
It’s more accessible to be a
oceans. That’s an inspiration in
and of itself. Ariel already was
an inspiration because she’s
half-human, half-mermaid.
Her treasures are things that
humans are littering in our
oceans. Whether it’s forks or
single-use plastics, they don’t
belong there!
PP:
You introduced me to
freediving mermaids, and I
had never heard of a freediving
mermaid before. What is a
freediving mermaid versus a
mermaid that you would see at
a birthday party performing in
a pool?
MC:
Freediving mermaid has nothing
to do with being a mermaid
entertainer. Freediving mermaids
are mermaids that are freedivers.
And what that means is that we
don’t use scuba gear, tanks, or
other aids for diving down deeper
in water than a pool or tank. It also
means that we have more sense
of safety and know how to swim
in the water safely. In becoming
a freediver, you are taught the
safety pieces you need to know
when diving. That’s huge because
a lot of people don’t know those
things.
I started my freediving without
knowing that I could burst my
eardrums or I could burst my
lungs or that there are shallow
water blackouts. Things that
I would have never even
known about that can happen
and happen often. That
[knowledge] makes us more
able to help save someone and
ourselves.
If you’re a mermaid who wants
to explore the oceans and dive,
I strongly suggest getting a
freediving certification.
Before mermaids were a thing,
you couldn’t get a freediving
mermaid certification. Freediving
has been around for a really long
time. In my opinion, it is a sport
that is enlightening. It allows the
person to practice knowing their
body on a completely different
level and push their limits as
humans. When you add a tail to
that, you’re a fish in the water
PP:
yeah, we’re qualified to be a fish
for a long time.
The biggest thing is the safety
you get with a freediving
certification. With either a
regular freediver certification
or freediving mermaid, you are
learning a lot of safety involved
with being in the water. And
let’s be honest, in any body of
water, whether you’re in a two-
foot pool or you’re out in the
ocean, you have to be aware of
safety in the water.
It’s important. Water’s not our
natural element. We’re not
naturally equipped to be in the
water like that. We don’t know
how to save someone from a
shallow water blackout. We
don’t know how to equalize.
We can bust our eardrums.
As a trained freediver and
freediving mermaid, I can see
the signs when somebody may
need to be saved. It gives you
a qualification you can’t get in
any other kind of way. You can
get a CPR certification all you
want, but that’s completely
different than being able to
save somebody in the water
if you need to. Now, diver
education organizations like
PADI and SSI are offering
freediving certifications with a
mermaid focus.
fins-magazine.com
freediving mermaid. Safety is
huge. Swimming in the water,
with or without a monofin,
there’s a lot that can go wrong. paying off!
PP:
There’s so much you are doing
alongside being Guardian of
the Springs. Is there something
that else that you wanted to
share?
MC:
So I do have one big thing that’s
going to happen that nobody
knows yet. But I guess once
you put it out, we can make the
announcement that way.
Okay….ready?
I am o-fish-ally the first National
Football League mermaid mascot
for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
PP:
That is some AMAZING news.
Congratulations Michi! That’s
SUPER HUGE! I’m not a football
fan, but didn’t they win the
Super Bowl last year?
MC:
SHELL YEAH! My first game
isn’t until August. They have
Bucs Beach, where everybody
has to go through that to get
into the stadium, and that’s
where I will be.
Wow! That’s a huge sign of
growth for your business and
proof that your hard work is
During COVID-19, it was a very
big challenge for the mermaid
community. Is this part of
the awakening you spoke of
earlier?
MC:
Thank you so much. I’m still in
awe and I and honestly, a lot of
it is you guys. Helping me keep
going, believing in me, and not
letting me feel like I’m doing
this for no reason. The Key
West Mermaid Festival says the
takeover is “reel.”
PP:
The mermaids are awakening;
it’s really happening!
*******
FOLLOW GUARDIAN OF THE
SPRINGS on TIKTok, Instagram,
or Facebook at Guardian of The
Springs to see all that she has
going on!
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