Meet Elaina Garcia | Business Owner & Professional Mermaid

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elaina Garcia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elaina, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
When I started my business, doing Mermaid Photoshoots, I expected my main clientele to be children who wanted to become mermaids. Much to my surprise my biggest demographic is actually plus size women. There is something truly special about slipping into a mermaid tail that gives people the freedom to be comfortable in the skin they are in. Women who might not typically feel comfortable in their bikinis on the beach feel sexy, empowered, and are reminded of the beauty they had all along. There truly is magic to mermaiding, and I think that magic is body positivity.

My business gives people a space to feel confident, and see themselves in the best light. As a photographer, having clients in mermaid tails makes it easy to capture genuine smiles, laughter, and excitement. It just comes naturally when you are wearing a tail!

When we do photoshoots in the ocean, I start by teaching a PADI Mermaid Class to the model. This helps the model learn how to swim in the mermaid tail, poses, and safety techniques. After that we are ready for an underwater photoshoot! Becoming a mermaid in the kelp forest is just incredible.

What should our readers know about your business?
I own Catalina Island Mermaids. We teach PADI Mermaid Classes and offer Mermaid Photoshoots as well as Scuba Classes and Retreats. I am most proud of being size-inclusive. With over 100 mermaid tails in my rental collection, I offer sizes up to 4XL or size 28.

When I first started my business I was working alone, with me as the entire business. I now have 2 part time photographers and 2 freelance PADI Mermaid Instructors on my team. With their help we have more than doubled the company’s sales from last year and plan to expand more in the future.

I quickly realized I needed to be size inclusive and create a space to celebrate all bodies after I experienced the fat-phobia first hand. Last year, with the help of Mermaid Elle and free-dive instructor Great Chin Burger, I rescued an unconscious scuba diver while wearing my mermaid tail and saved his life. And while this made international news and was celebrated globally, I received hundreds of hateful comments about my size. If I am getting hateful comments at a size 16, having just saved a life, I can’t even imagine what other women are going through daily. When your accomplishments are overshadowed by the size of your body, there is definitely a problem.

This encouraged me, and fueled my fire, to create a space where ALL bodies are welcome, normalized, and celebrated just as they are, at any size.

At Catalina Island Mermaids, you are welcome here!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend visited me on Catalina for a week long trip we would eat dinner at the Buffalo Nickel Restaurant, have a pitcher of Margaritas at the Sand Trap Restaurant and then go scuba diving. We would camp at Little Harbor Campground and BBQ on the beach!

One of the coolest things to check out is IMMERSED: Ocean Wonders, which is an immersive projection dome theater that is taking people on virtual scuba dives through our worlds oceans!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I would like to give a shoutout to my Mom and my Aunt Beth. My mom has spent countless hours brainstorming business solutions and encouraging me to never quit. My Aunt Beth is a self-made business woman who I have looked up to my whole life. Seeing how she built a successful business, on her own, from the ground up has inspired me to have the grit and work ethic necessary to keep going when things are tough. Thank you both for being my inspiration and support!

I would also like to give a shout out to my Dad, who always encouraged me to chase my dreams.

Website: www.catalinaislandmermaids.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catalinaislandmermaids/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catalinaislandmermaids/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/catalina-island-mermaids-avalon?osq=catalina+island+mermaids

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@catalinaislandmermaids

Other: I also am the host of the Casino Point Divers Group on Facebook and instagram as well. @casinopointdivers