Mermaiding: the underwater subculture on the rise

At the edge of suburban swimming pools and tropical beaches, "mermaiding" enthusiasts are donning mono-fin tails and wiggling towards the water. What began as a novelty at fantasy conventions in the 1980s has now spawned active communities around the world, as well as courses and qualifications, focusing on a tail-propelled dolphin kick and breath-holding techniques.

For the love of pod

Like wild swimming but with added sparkle, mermaiding is a new way to escape life's stresses and channel your free spirit. Taking to the water in multi-coloured mermaid tails and "seashell crowns" offers aficionados a "refuge from the stressors of work and other aspects of everyday life", said The Washington Post. It's about "finding a place where you can let your guard down and actually get in touch with your inner child and play", part-time mermaid Colleen McCartney told the paper. "That's not a space that exists very often."

Some "merfolk" describe their "pods" as similar to the close-knit circles of drag-ball culture, and the online mermaiding scene has a lot of overlap with fantasy, LGBT and body positivity communities, said i-D magazine. Every swim is documented with group "shellfies", and professional mermaids stage elaborate underwater photo shoots with rainbow wigs and glittering costumes.

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Kaila Yu, a certified free diver and scuba diver, was sceptical before she took lessons at the Four Seasons hotel in Bora Bora. "I'd first encountered professional mermaiding on my Instagram feed. I thought it was performative, pretentious, and girly," she said in Business Insider. Yu was soon won over by the challenge and the joy of feeling like a "real-life mermaid", swimming among schools of shimmering tropical fish, "each flutter" of pelvis and hips "awakening my feminine energy".

'Aquatic joy'

Margaux Caillier, a French artistic swimmer who competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, offers mermaiding lessons in the sea near Biarritz. "In the swimming pool, what I hate" is doing length after length, she told Olympics.com. Mermaiding is "like a dream", by contrast. "It's accessible to everyone" because "there is no synochronisation between arms and legs. It's just the body going with the water, that's all." Caillier's lessons are increasingly in demand at bridal showers and, on at least one occasion, a stag party.

Mermaiding is not an official Olympic sport – yet – but the Merlympics promise "less pressure, more aquatic joy". Categories at this year's event in Wolfsburg, Germany, included the 50m Speed Challenge, Underwater Rescue Drill, Best Underwater Picture (which is all about form, pose and bubble control) and Performance, a creative choreography category.

Flitting through the sea doesn't come cheap, however: custom silicone tails "usually weigh about 10kg to 15kg and cost upward of £1,500", said i-D magazine. Fabric and neoprene are cheaper but make swimming more difficult. And not every swimming pool welcomes mermaid tails.