- Mermaid name: Golden Isles Mermaid
- Land name: Mermaid Jessica
- Sea of origin: Golden Isles, Georgia, Atlantic Ocean (USA)
- Using a mermaid tail: since 2012
Originally from Philadelphia, Golden Isles mermaid has fought restlessly to reach the Atlantic Ocean dream. She currently lives on the Golden Islands in Georgia, where she now lives as a full-time mermaid life with her family.
There she enjoys Georgian cultural elements, songs, stories, dances, food, architectural styles and folklore inherited from plantations, which define the area. But without doubt the main element is the sea, being on the edge of the ocean has meant for our protagonist a new lifestyle, through which she follows the path of personal fulfillment.
Do you want to know the story of a strong and dynamic mersona who keeps fighting to live life in her own way?
How did you the Golden Isles Mermaid start mermaiding?
I truly think I was born a mermaid! The sea has always been my happy place! I grew up landlocked in the suburbs of Philadelphia and literally always dreamt about one day living by the sea.
As a kid whenever I was in any body of water I would use my imagination and instantly transform into a mermaid. Honestly, even out of the water I would pretend I was a mermaid. We had blue carpeting in the basement in the house I grew up in. This carpet was my very own mermaid lagoon and my sleeping bag was my mermaid tail. I would “splash” around the floor living my best life.
Years later, in my early 20s I saw mermaids on TV. They explained how they use the “lure” of the mermaid to bring attention to ocean conservation and other marine matters. They also talked about athleticism associated with mermaiding, and the mermaiding performing industry. My mind was blown! As soon as I realized “this is a thing” I was hooked! I dove head first into the mermaid lifestyle and made my first tail.
This all happened at the best time for me. I was recovering from an eating disorder and had trouble figuring out my purpose in life. Although I felt lost, mermaiding brought me so much joy, and I welcomed it with open arms and my life transformed for the better. I gave myself permission to be happy, no matter how absurd it seemed to others.
I took this handmade tail with me on a trip to Israel. Even though there was a language barrier with the locals, I was able to bring happiness to others because happiness is universal! From there, I knew this was exactly who I wanted to be.
Right after my trip to Israel, my husband and I moved to a beach town known as The Golden Isles, a cluster of islands off the coast of Georgia, which is how I got the name The Golden Isles Mermaid. All my dreams started to come true! I was a mermaid living on the beach with my husband! I then started to focus on my mersona and created drawings of what and who my mersona was. I created her story, got involved with ocean conservation, and started to change my lifestyle in ways that help reduce waste and pollution.
After getting my silicone tail (which took a while to save up for) I decided I wanted to make mermaiding my job! Shortly after launching my business this past April, I was hired as a resident mermaid performing weekly at a resort! Aside from mermaiding I spend most of my days taking care of our 10 month old merbaby.
Why do you love mermaids so much? What does mermaiding represent to you?
We live in a world full of people who influence us to be a certain way…go to school, get a job, have babies, complain about work, complain about being too busy, complain about being broke. My biggest fear is being that person. I was never able to fit into the mold of what is considered normal. I am silly, weird, and creative. I love mermaids because to me mermaids represent that moment in my life where I decided to let go of my desire to be fit in with everyone else and gave myself permission to accept myself, love myself, and live my very best life. I love mermaids because this mermaid life brings me so much happiness!
How is the Golden isles mermaid community in your sea of origin?
The Golden Isles is nestled between Savannah GA, and Jacksonville, FL. With an hour drive between each city. Both of those cities have quite a few mermaids. I am also about 2.5 hours away from the Florida Springs and have been to several meet ups with mermaids there. Florida has a ton of mermaids and is home to a lot of other mermaid related artists like photographers and designers.
What events, conventions or mermaid gatherings have you been to or wish to go to?
I have been a Florida Springs Mermaid since the beginning. My first meet up at the springs was just a handful of mermaids, including the Mertailor himself, Eric Ducharme. I went to a Florida Springs Meet up at least once a month for an entire year. These meetups fueled so much mermaid energy, it was exactly what my soul needed!
Do you support any ocean conservation efforts?
Yes! My beach community has a few organizations that I support the best I can. Aside from that, I focus on lifestyle changes that I have made to reduce waste. I always try my best to pick up trash and throw it away whenever possible, which is great but by focusing on how to eliminate, the trash from the start is where the real super hero magic is!
We cloth diaper our baby, use reusable bags, reusable straws and cutlery, cloth towels, bamboo toothbrushes, we buy cleaning products in biodegradable bottles, or DIY our own cleaning products in glass spray bottles. I also eat a plant based diet which helps our planet in many ways like reducing food related greenhouse gas emissions which can help with climate change, plus saves animals lives, and conserves water since growing plants uses less water than it does for the animals.
Which is your favorite item or clothing? Your tail/s is it handmade?
I love so many mermaid clothes! My favorite top is from Adorkable Apparel and my favorite leggings are from The Mertailor. My current tail is custom made by The Mertailor.
When I was saving for my tail I actually had my eye on a tail by another company (not silicone and not custom made). But then Mertailor released the first Spellbound tail line at the perfect time.
For readers who are unfamiliar, the Spellbound line became a game changer to the mermaid community. They are fully silicone tails lined inside with neoprene and the monofin is also fully silicone making the fluke floppy and even more realistic…oh and super comfy! Before the spellbound line, silicone tails had hard plastic monofins which comes with a few problems like damage to the silicone, mold problems, and they are super uncomfortable.
Anyway, I was patient and saved just a little bit more and got the tail of my dreams. I sent him a drawing of my mersona and he brought it to life!
We know that you offer entertainment services, could you tell us what it is, how they develop and what makes them unique.
I start with a story, followed by ocean themed sing-a-longs, water games, and some mermaid tricks like blowing mermaid kisses and a tail flip, which makes quite a splash, and photo time before I make my exit back to the sea. I would say what makes my performance unique is how well I captivate my audience.
My target audience is children between the ages of 3-7. Children have a very short attention span so I take a lot of pride in keeping them engaged during the entire performance! I am a very lucky fish living in an area with upscale resorts and hotels so most of my experience is performing poolside at these resorts but I do also get hired for private parties, charities, festivals, meet and greets, photography sessions, and modeling. When I am not mermaiding I am at home doing DIY projects for our house with the current focus childproofing hahah.