Want to be a mermaid? One woman can help you with that
WAKE COUNTY (WTVD) -- Most people know the story in Disney's "The Little Mermaid" of Ariel who wanted to be human all her life. One Wake County woman wants just the opposite -- she's always wanted to be a mermaid.
"A mermaid life is just swimming carefree through the water, just something about it makes you have a clear mind. It's so peaceful. It's like an escape," said Tracey O'Dell.
So she did a Google search and found swimmable mermaid fins. They have a hard fin at the bottom of the suit. You put your feet in, then roll the suit up over your legs.
"Usually everybody that sees us at the pool they're like - 'where did you get the fins, how do we do this?'" she said.
So she started a business, and a swim club of sorts, called "My Mermaid Adventure."
The club meets once a week. And she comes to parties too.
"We do makeovers, we do photo shoots, we do aquatic games, we dress up the part."
SAFETY
But if you or if you want your little one in a swimmable fin -- everyone must be a strong swimmer.
The kids that ABC11 met with told us the fins are heavy and take a lot of power to move through the water. O'Dell makes sure everyone can handle the fin before they are free to mermaid through the pool.
"We do a step-by-step progression where they hold on to the side and they do a dolphin kick and then they hold on to a pool noodle and then they swim by themselves," she explained.
However, the fins aren't welcomed by everyone. Australia has publicly said the fins are not safe. Some public pools don't allow them.
O'Dell is a registered nurse and was once a lifeguard. She and parents at the club or at parties stay poolside as long as mermaids are in the water.
"At first, they kind of flounder but then afterwards, they get a graceful movement going and it's very easy once you get used to it," she said.
Here's a link to O'Dell's "My Mermaid Adventure"
