Mermaiding with Arielle!

Hey, Friends! I want to introduce you to my friend, Arielle! She's a fellow mermaid and had a lot of insight in to mermaiding with some great tips for fellow mermaids and new mermaids!

What is your mermaid name?

My mermaid name is Queen Arielle of the Realm- or Mermaid Arielle works, too!

What is your pod, if any?

I don't have a real life pod, but I'm active in a few virtual pods on Facebook like the Mertailor Pod and the FinFun Mermaid Pod.

What inspired you to become a mermaid?

Back when I was 8 years old I saw The Little Mermaid for the first time in the movie theater and was absolutely enchanted.  It quickly became my all time favorite movie- after all, Ariel and I basically share a name and according to my mom I could swim before I could walk!  From that point on, every time we went to the beach I'd build myself a tail out of sand, and my friends and I were forever playing mermaids in the pool.  I even refused to eat any seafood as a kid because I was convinced they were my ocean friends!  We didn't have anything but our imagination back then, but as an adult when I discovered you can buy fabric tails and monofins I dove in head first!  I now own 7 tails, 3 monofins and create digital mermaid content for social media as well as do the occasional mermaid or princess event.

What is your favorite mermaid story?

My favorite mermaid story is the original The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen.  His writing is so beautiful and he describes everything in amazing detail- it truly brings you right under the sea!

What is your favorite technique as a mermaid?

My favorite technique is just swimming as a mer- I feel like it's just so graceful and ethereal.  I also really love wall turns and barrel rolls- especially with your fluke in the camera!  They look so pretty!  Oh and fluke slaps are also really fun!  

Is there a mermaid, or any non-mermaid individual that particularly inspires you?

Mermaid Luna (@mslunamarie on Instagram) is probably the most enchanting mer I follow online.  She just has such a natural underwater look- you completely believe she's real!  I also really love Mermaid Zelda, Courtney Mermaid, and Nerdmaid Faith- their mermaiding videos are all so fun and they have SO many great instructional videos too!

What is your favorite thing about the mermaid community?

My favorite thing about the mermaid community is that even though we're adults, we haven't lost our sense of imagination and play.  I feel like that's a really rare thing in this world, especially with the stresses and responsibilities of adult life.

Do you have any advice for new or aspiring mermaids?

If you are an aspiring mermaid first and foremost know how to swim- like really well!  Make sure you can swim like 50 meters or so in a pool and also tread water for at least a minute.  If you can do that, I recommend getting a monofin and practicing with that first, then once you have the hang of it add a tail skin (you can buy both at the same time, but practice with the monofin first).  The FinFun Pro is great for beginners (it's really comfortable, has great get up and go and is crazy easy to get off if you get tired) and they have a ton of fairly affordable tail skins to choose from that go with it! 

Do you make your own costumes, purchase them or a combination?

I purchase my tails and monofins (FinFun is a perfect starting point like I mentioned above, but Mertailor and Fin Folk both make BEAUTIFUL tails if you're ready to spend a bit more money), but I have been known to DIY a few things!  I've made a mermaid crown out of real shells, mermaid "ears", added fabric fins to the fluke and waist of one of my tails, and added vinyl inserts to a few of my tails that didn't come with them.  I actually made my very first tail back when I was pregnant with our youngest son- I wanted to do a mermaid maternity shoot so I busted out the sewing machine and got to work!  It wasn't swimmable, but it was really pretty!

Do you have a favorite mermaid prop or costume accessory?

I would have to say my tails are my favorite accessory!  There are SO many pretty ones out there- it's so hard to choose!  After my tails, my mermaid crowns are definitely my favorite!  I partner with a crown company called SweetV and they're releasing a mermaid inspired crown line in June that I'm helping promote- I can't WAIT to see them all! (use the code arielle15 at checkout at sweetv.com to get 15% off your purchase!)

What is your favorite mermaid gathering?

I actually haven't attended a mermaid gathering (I'm a mom of 2, homeschool my preschooler and run the kids ministry at my church so I'm kind of busy!) but MerMagic Con looks SO FUN!  I would love to go one day!

Do you have a dream location that you’d love to mermaid?

I would loooove to mermaid in Bora Bora and stay in one of those over the ocean bungalows- oh MER gosh would that be a dream come true!  The warm turquoise water just calls to me! (I'm definitely a tropical mer!)

What advice would you offer to someone who wants to live this magical life?

Advice- expect to spend a lot of money!  hahaha  Like I said, there are SO many pretty tails out there, and once you have one you're going to want more (or need more when your first one wears out)  Tails typically run from $30 for an on sale FinFun to $5,000 for a full custom silicone tail.  Even the nicer fabric tails by Mertailor and Fin Folk will set you back around $800 with a monofin.

Do you have any specific mermaid goals?

My current mermaid goal is to get better at swimming in a large fluke.  They have more drag than the smaller ones and it is so much harder to get through the water- but they're SO PRETTY!  LoL I also really want to perfect my mermaid tricks underwater (like blowing bubble rings and doing a mid swim back flip) and also learn new ones.  And I would love to save enough money to get a Mertailor Pixie Lagoon Whimsy tail and Fantasea Fin 3. It's my dream tail!  #goals

How can other mermaids find you?

If you'd like to follow my mermaid journey, check out Queen Arielle of the Realm on TikTok and Instagram, Queen Arielle on YouTube, or Arielle Funk on Facebook.  I don't only post mermaid content but also love anything Disney and throwbacks to the 90s (just be forewarned!  LoL)