Phoenix Mermaid of Mesa on Life, Lessons & Legacy

Phoenix Mermaid shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Phoenix, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
Some of my favorite recent moments have been at our Dive-in Movie Appearances around the valley. We bring our mermaids to swim and play with the kids in the pool before the movie starts, creating a magical, splash-filled experience. Sometimes we even stay to watch the dive-in movie with them, and the kids are just so excited. Their faces light up at the opportunity to watch and explain the concept of a movie to a mermaid. I felt so proud to see my team bring that joy to life. It’s a reminder of why I started this business 13 years ago: to create unforgettable moments that spark the imagination and last a lifetime!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Phoenix Mermaid. I’m an aquatic performer as a professional mermaid based right here in Arizona and I run a troup of performers. I’ve been in the business for 13 years, and what started as a solo mermaid business has now grown into a big fun-filled interactive experience. We provide magical experiences with a team of certified professional swimming mermaids, pirate handlers, and crafty bubble fairies. We also have elaborate prop sets for events and photoshoots. It’s a truly unique business that’s all about bringing fantasy to life, making memories, and putting smiles on faces. We perform at a variety of events, big or small, private or corporate. We do public appearances and aquarium performances. We do many children’s events like pool parties, book readings, birthday parties, mermaid swim school and much more. Putting smiles on faces, creating magical events to experience, and making memories that last a lifetime is what we’re all about!

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
The relationship that has most shaped how I see myself is the one I have with my team. Watching this group of talented mermaids, pirates, and fairies come together to create pure magic has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. We’re a family, and their support has been instrumental in helping me become the person and business owner I am today.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I would say that, progress can be slow. But slow progress is still progress. It took years before I even made enough to pay off my equipment. It took years before I started receiving regular bookings. And it took years before I got to start working with businesses.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
I would say that the biggest lie is that this is easy. It’s not easy. It’s a lot more work, and a lot less play. Sure it’s fun to swim and perform, but that is a very small part of the business. You spend more time working on bookings, prepping your equipment, getting yourself ready, traveling, and hauling your heavy equipment. While performing, you swim in a 30+pound prosthetic tail that is tight and restricts some of your movement. You have to stay in character the entire time as well. After performing, you haul your equipment home, spend hours cleaning it and make repairs before your next appearance. And the equipment is not indestructible. It takes on wear and gets a beating every time it’s worn. Getting new equipment or replacing old equipment is not easy, fast or cheap.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days. 
I had 2 extremely exciting points in my career just last year! I was able to travel to Las Vegas to perform as a mermaid in the Las Vegas Age of Chilvary Renaissance Festival. It was such a blast! And the 2nd point was having my company perform at the first ever Unicorn World Phoenix Event. It was great putting little smiles on all the little faces.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.PhoenixMermaid.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/phoenixmermaid
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhoenixMermaid
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/phoenixmermaid