A woman has ditched her career as an English teacher to become a full-time professional mermaid. Moss Green, 33, moved to Sicily in 2016 to teach English, and was looking for a new hobby in the pandemic.
After seeing a man dressed as a merman coming out of the sea on her local beach in Sicily, she decided to take up mermaiding. Moss encourages everyone to “give (mermaiding) a go” as the first time she tried it, it felt “exhilarating and exciting”.
After two years of mermaiding Moss was offered a job as a professional mermaid through one of her Instagram followers. To qualify, she was taught how to hold her breath underwater, dive, and perform tricks.
In the summer months, Moss works about 12 hours a day as a professional mermaid. The pay is lower than her teaching salary but “enough to live on”.
Day to day Moss hosts boat trips and teaches people how to swim like a mermaid – her oldest and most memorable customer has been a man in his seventies, who she thought was “pretty good at it”. Moss, who is originally from Torquay, Devon, said: “One day, all of a sudden, I saw this magical merman come out of the water, and then he dived in again, but what came out, it wasn’t legs, it was actually a tail – I was old enough to understand, just having turned 30, that it was a human with human legs wearing a tail.
“It was really magical to see on the secluded beach – at that moment it became really clear to me that mermaiding was what I wanted as a new hobby – it was a bit different and I could do it alone. In the pandemic, like everyone else I was looking for something else to do because all of my other hobbies ended, which included dancing, game nights or going to see live music.
“But we could go to the beach and I’ve always loved the water – the water stimulates many of our senses. Growing up by the sea, you get used to that horizontal way of life and it’s so relaxing and comforting, and whenever I moved away I missed the sea – I really wanted a hobby that reminded me of home.”
Moss explained how she felt the first time she tried mermaiding: “When I tried it properly for the first time I was in Scotland and it was completely freezing but I was so excited that I didn’t even feel how cold the water was compared to the Mediterranean. I was in there longer than I normally am – it just felt exhilarating and exciting and people were smiling at me on the beach.
“It just felt like the natural way to swim, and everyone should definitely give it a go, it keeps you more in contact with nature and the sea.” In the summer months, Moss works about 12 hours a day, and the salary is “much lower” than her teaching wage.
She said: “It’s enough to live on, and I’m doing something I love at the end of the day – that’s all that matters at the moment. Who knows what could happen in the future – for now, I’m getting my feet in the door of the mermaiding world and it’s an art form so I know it’s not going to pay a lot to begin with.”
Moss has eight tails, which have cost her between £20 and £150. “I have different coloured tails made from fabric and one silicone tail – those tails aren’t so comfortable to swim in but more for show and they’re very expensive.
"I love it though because it does a fantastic tail flip when the tail comes out of the water, and I also have a plastic one which is good for diving and exploring the rocks.” Whenever Moss has a spare afternoon when she is not working, she goes to her local beach to go mermaiding.
She said: “When I go into the water people always have questions for me and ask for photos – it’s really nice to talk to people. I get people of all ages asking me questions or are a bit shocked, but I’m happy about that too, especially after lockdown I think people need some happiness.”
Moss cannot see herself giving up her hobby for the foreseeable future, she said: “I can’t see myself stopping mermaiding any time soon, or having a career change – I just absolutely love the freedom of mermaiding.”
