EPISODE 081 | Super Human Abilities: Hannah Mermaid on Being Human, Being Mermaid, Fantasy, and Activism
Season 3 Finale
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Welcome to the season 3 finale of the Human Amplified podcast. Thank you so much for hanging out with us this season, which has been an amazing and heartfelt journey of inspired storytelling within the human condition.
Today, world-famous Hannah Mermaid joins us, in a down-to-Earth, get-to-know her-on-a-deeper-level discussion that was truly impactful in my life, and I know it will positively impact yours. She’s an underwater model and performance artist, speaker, teacher, and servant of the sea. Hannah brings so many interesting perspectives to help you open your mind to everything from going with the flow and how that helps her underwater to new ways of approaching activism.
We start out talking about Hannah Fraser’s life, her childhood, her supportive mom, where she’s from, and how she started making her own mermaid tails at an early age. Then we transition into how she transitioned into Hannah Mermaid - the first professional mermaid that paved the way for so many others, which is now a thriving and recognized career.
Hannah Mermaid gives you all the details about some of the most terrifying moments she’s experienced underwater, but also some of the most beautiful moments of embracing her femininity and self empowerment through art, fantasy, and iconography.
We dive deep into the differences between masculine and feminine power and Hannah’s history with activism. She describes how powerful the mermaid icon is and her lived experience of that power - from successful protests to transformation in other people’s lives who’ve reached out to her. Hannah Mermaid also describes how the oceans have evolved since she’s started her career and what that says about the state of humanity.
Although we were having this conversation on opposite ends of the country over a sometimes crackling internet connection at the height of COVID infections where Hannah was in L.A, I felt like we were old friends picking up where we left off, balancing laughter with seriousness and the give and take in between.
After listening, you’ll be inspired. And you’ll have food for thought on how to reach your own self empowerment in a way that works for you while enacting change. While you’re thinking about it, follow in Hannah Mermaid’s example - remember to take care of yourself and the importance of breathing.
EPISODE Highlights
Getting to know Hannah Fraser, known as Hannah Mermaid, the first professional freelance mermaid performance artist starting 20 years ago
How long Hannah Mermaid can hold her breath and her breath work and yoga practice
The deepest Hannah has gone in the ocean
Hannah Mermaid’s favorite animal
Favorite place she’s swam in
Hannah’s love of mermaids started early as a child
What Hannah made her first mermaid tail out of when she was nine
The importance of her mom’s creative support
How Hannah was able to hang onto her childhood love of mermaids and turn it into a career in adulthood
Fitting artwork into a box to make the most money wasn’t working for her
Her first underwater shoot audition
How Hannah made her first mermaid tail as an adult
How long it takes to design and make a mermaid tail now plus
Hannah’s focus on eco-conservation awareness helped her be seen as a mermaid - she explains the give and take of being of service and getting jobs
What it feels like looking back at social barriers broken and seeing how many other people have become career mermaids
Hannah immerses us in a vivid experience she had to illustrate the physical challenges that come with being a mermaid
How Hannah takes care of her body through yoga, breath work, dancing and movement, and her plant-based diet
Are medics on board when Hannah Mermaid dives?
When something goes awry
Putting trust in safety divers
Hannah Mermaid’s first experience of using scuba equipment
The scariest close calls Hannah Mermaid has ever had while swimming in the ocean
Fighting off a great white shark
Running out of oxygen
Getting trapped in fabric
Why you’d choose to do an underwater photoshoot at night
Hannah Mermaid’s tricks for waterproofing makeup and hair
How to move hair underwater - “You have to learn how to flow with it. It’s like a dance.”
The embodiment and surrender of gentle feminine power and the difference between masculine energy and feminine energy
Strength in femininity
The impact of the sensual yet chaste mermaid icon - taking control of passions, connecting to water, expressing beauty
How the oceans have changed since Hannah Mermaid started as a professional mermaid
How Hannah Mermaid started her career with a protest and has continued in activism
Ocean conservation - swimming into dolphin blood an being attacked by fishermen, which was a scene in The Cove, a documentary that won best documentary at the Oscars in 2010
The ocean is a reflection of the state of humanity
The activism before becoming a mermaid - using the fairy icon to stop bulldozers from cutting down ancient trees
Why fantasy minimizes guilt and inspires others to take action (expansion versus contraction)
What’s coming up for Hannah mermaid in the summer of 2021
The importance of breath
About Hannah Fraser A.K.A. Hannah Mermaid
Hannah Fraser created the vocation of ‘Freelance Mermaid’ in 2003. She has been hailed as ‘Queen of the Mermaids,’ featured worldwide for her ocean conservation and underwater performance art, creating spectacular mermaid tails, performing for film, music videos, photo campaigns, public speaking, events, and environmental actions. She trains mermaids for live stage acts and underwater performances, curating alluring groups of sirens to delight audiences worldwide.
Hannah dances with sharks, whales, dolphins, seals, turtles, rays and more in the open ocean, capturing breathtaking imagery of human and animal encounters, as an advocate for ocean protection, female empowerment, animal conservation, and universal love!
Find Hannah Mermaid at hannahmermaid.com or on socials @HannahMermaid.
Links
Breath by James Nestor
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