How I Make $120K as a Mermaid For a Living | Refinery29

Today on For a Living, Mermaid Elle gives us a deep dive into her life as a Professional Mermaid. From performing at events to instructing free diving courses to collaborating on tails with Cape Cali, @MermaidElle wears a lot of hats in her career. Watch to learn more about her mer-mazing career.
Check out Cape Cali tails at @CapeCali
And Mermaid Elle's mermaid courses at www.themermaidelle.com/mermai...
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For A Living documents extraordinary women thriving within unique careers. From the salary they earn to the most unexpected task they perform at work, we learn the ins and outs of life for these women dominating in their field.
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[@MermaidElle]

Thank you for putting together such a beautiful piece on my mermaid work! Love you all! 💫

[@NativeVsColonial]

Best wishes for your life and career 🧜‍♀️

[@Uppereastsidecatnap]

✨so good 💯💜💚👍🏾

[@AlejandraCamposGua]

Thank you for sharing your world!

[@zoeankomah2327]

❤

[@Rosearh28]

Love you Elle you’ve inspired me to be a mermaid

[@itsbrandonboyd]

It's definitely a skill to perform at that level. It's more than just a performance too. It takes a lot of training and coordination to come off so effortlessly. Kudos to you for pursuing a fantastic career. 👏🏾

[@JudyCZ]

I remember Elle from a video she did with Allure. The scale of her work is genuinely so wide! 😮

[@dabneyscholler8495]

Yes! I love that series too!

[@muhlaynee]

Look at this unique life she's created for herself!! She's amazing.

[@relavelmakeupbags]

You showcase your creativity and talent so well in every video. Keep up the fantastic work!

[@bossladyplanner]

What a wonderful job! I like your philosophy of life 💫 I hope your message will allow more people to dare doing what they like and act towards making their big dreams come to life (despite of external judgements).

[@vinniechan]

I think in someway, it's not different from clowns at parties (people are who are good at it can earn quite a decent income) Mermaid is just another niche she tapped into

[@melindahmkhwanazi]

Reason number 1023 why I wasted money going to University!

[@yowhattupitzbigchungus4971]

Same. And it aged me lmao

[@aegmn7327]

She is such a sweetheart and smart woman. Heartwarming video.

[@CapeCali]

MERMAZING!! thank you 🙏🏼🧜🏼‍♀️🩷🩷🩷

[@leopardspotsmusic]

Love it!

[@AlejandraCamposGua]

What a beautiful video! She is so passionate!

[@1bush053]

what an amazing woman !!!

[@trishaarabie956]

My daughter has lover mermaid ell since the blue wild spearfishing convention. Glad to see all your Success

[@skarletpowers3016]

Without the makeup, she would look like a true mermaid, I appreciate that fact that mermaids wouldn't worry about makeup or hair or their weight. Just be beautiful how you are naturally. I appreciate the work you do keeping mermaids alive in people's minds and hearts. Tysm

[@HaleyTheMermaid]

I don’t make nearly that much but I absolutely love being a professional mermaid I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

[@GoodMusicManiac999]

Wow!

[@takishaedwards273]

My dream job

[@Yourdawnreader]

❤❤❤

[@maxine9321]

i wanted to do this sooo bad as a kid

[@treetopper91]

Accidentally took a photo

[@AKbaby89]

I wonder if most of her work is for kids parties or adult parties...and I wonder how much she gets paid. I've always loved the water😂

[@samanthaschaefer7853]

🧜‍♀️

[@taraleaks1895]

can you teach how to swim like a mermaid i need to learn how to plsssssssssss/dolphin kick

[@canadavatar]

How can I be a professional merman if I have thalassophobia (fear of the deep and dark water)?

[@adrii_dream8098]

❤️‍🔥

[@petersulak6059]

😊😊😊❤❤❤🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍

[@tiffanywong1585]

Good for her but i sure wish i could pay rent with my job

[@mercedeskim6364]

With so many shark attacks taking place even in shallow waters, I would stay in pools if I were you.

[@MermaidElle]

Check out my new episode on my channel 🫢

[@skypaver989]

you're more likely to die on your way to the beach in a car crash than to a shark. Also many shark attacks are on inexperienced swimmers and surfers who splash around like a dying seal. Get some balls and get your priorities straight

[@divinecare9122]

I know she is doing it for fun and also to make money but we need to look beyond the physical guys. In the spiritual realm this actually exists as goddess of the water. It is called the olokun in the Yoruba language (Nigeria). These spirits ( Marine spirits, spirit wife and spirit husband are responsible for every form of sexual perversion that we see in our world today. Beware and follow Christ Jesus the Lord. My grandmother was the priestess of these water deities so I know what I am talking about. Only Jesus is the True holy Lord, all other gods are the works of men and unholy.

[@xxacantheaxx7756]

Sorry but... "[I started using more gold in my pallett to represent a mermaid princess who] Earns her crown for protecting the ocean... tell the humans to clean up after themselves. Not pollute the beaches..." while using chemicals and cosmetics in water to be pretty. Beauty of the ocean lies within nature. No need to use some fancy products to put on a veil or crown of false understanding. Not to be mistaken: I am sure being a professional mermaid for a living is hard. Organizing it all IS HARD. But dang. WTF. No need to be a such an angel about it.

[@skypaver989]

I asked her herself on her blog how to tell which makeups are reef safe and she says that since none of them seem to indicate being reef safe, she doesn't use makeup for ocean dives and only for pool events. The cosmetics used in the video are for pool parties.