My name is Mermaid Deepblue and this is my story.
When I was little I had always dreamed to become a mermaid, however life went on and I did what I was told to do: find a “real” job.
One day I became passionate about sharks thanks to an experience diving with these impressive animals. Following this I discovered mermaiding and started training to become a mermaid. I had not been swimming for over 10 years as I was not comfortable in water when I was young and thought I was just not “made for it”. However I pushed my psychological barriers and managed to get to confidence levels I never expected in different water disciplines. I then decided that my activities would be used to raise awareness for the defense of sharks. With a very talented photographer, Pia Venegas, we started getting myself used to working with sharks in the open water. It requires to respect very specific safety rules and especially stay really calm at all times ! The first times went amazingly well, and I have since been involved in many more underwater photography projects. This activity enabled me to combine all my favorites things: dancing, modelling, ocean conservation and extreme sports.
I hope these pictures will help improve the way people view the ocean and especially sharks – these animals are an important part of the ecosystem and deserve respect. 100 million of them are killed every year for different reasons (culling, medicine creation, over fishing for restaurant dishes) and I am doing every picture for it to change.
Every time we dive down, I need to stay calm knowing that I will not see anything around me (not even the sharks although I can distinguish grey shadows passing by), hold my breath for moments during pictures, fight with a status close to hypothermia as I come out of the water (we stay in average 30 minutes long at 10, 15 or 18 meters depth and I do not wear any wet suit) and above everything: rely heavily on my team to know if there is any issue.
I hope this will inspire more and more people to challenge their fears, but also respect and love the ocean and sharks!
If you want to support my activities you can find me on instagram (@mermaid_deepblue) or on Facebook (Mermaid Deepblue).
More info: Instagram
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