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A professional merman has revealed what it’s like to work in a female-dominated field and admitted there’s plenty of hard work that goes into creating the magic you see in the tank
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‘Merman’ blows a kiss to spectators from inside water tank
As far as careers go, there are perhaps few quite as unusual as being a professional merman, especially given the field is so dominated by mermaids. I spoke with Oliver Gregory, 26, one of the ‘mermisters’ at Sea Life, Manchester about what it’s really like to work as a mythical creature, and whether or not the sharks ever give him any bother.
Having originally trained as a dancer, Oliver primarily works on cruise ships. However, he found his passion for performance take a magical new turn after finding a renewed love for swimming during lockdown. Oliver found he greatly enjoyed being in the water, so much so he began pursuing free diving, which ultimately led him to the world of real-life merpeople.
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Oliver Gregory)
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Oliver, from Rotherham, has always wanted a job related to performing, but the idea of being a merman didn’t even cross his mind until he learned more about it.
Speaking with the Mirror, Oliver said: “I just knew that it was something I wanted to do. There weren’t many guys, I don’t think there were any guys doing it in the Sea Life tanks obviously at the time.
“Now that I’m there, I love the whole creativity of it all, you know, the acting and persona of it all. It’s great!”
According to Oliver, who has always had a fascination with old Hollywood, his mermister dreams were inspired by various films and books he devoured during lockdown.
This included Million Dollar Mermaid, a 1952 biographical movie starring Esther Williams as famed Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman.
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Oliver Gregory)
Creative Oliver finds his job to be very “rewarding”, and puts his all into it, even designing and sewing his own tails.
His favourite is a peach with teal coloured tail fashioned from iridescent holographic lycra, which he says shimmers beautifully beneath the water.
However, there’s plenty of hard work that goes hand in hand with the glamour, not to mention the uncomfortably cold temperatures, and Oliver says there’s plenty that goes on behind the scenes that most people have no clue about.
Oliver revealed: “We have to be used to, not only performing underwater but performing underwater without masks on and having our eyes open to the water, which is a completely strange sensation to get used to and to make it look like you can obviously see what you’re doing.
“Whereas I don’t know if you’re trying to look in the water, but when you open your eyes, it’s like you’re not wearing glasses if you can’t see.
“So it’s quite strange to try and adapt to it. But there’s definitely some really nice things about it because it’s almost like a challenge of seeing what you can put your body through.”
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Oliver Gregory)
Explaining what a typical shift looks like, Oliver says the merpeople will have to carry weights on them to ensure they’re buoyant in the water. He tends to carry his around his neck, while others prefer the waist.
The merpeople will usually go into the tank either in pairs or with someone else, with dives lasting anywhere between one minute and one minute and twenty seconds.
They’ll take turns diving for around twenty minutes to thirty minutes each time, usually around three times a night.
Oliver explained: “So in a session, we’ll be doing 20 singular dives, so it’s obviously a lot of endurance and the stamina that goes into it, that’s needed for it.
“But that’s why it’s important to get the training and to make sure that you’re well within your limits of what you can do and there’s no risk of anything happening.”
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Oliver Gregory)
According to Oliver, the sharks in the tanks don’t tend to bother them, but they do have to watch out for turtles Ernie and Cammy, who will sometimes come up and have a bit of a nibble on their tails.
Although Oliver believes “they’re probably just being playful”, he says “it’s just something that you’re kind of aware of”, adding: “If they do come up to you, it’s hand either side of their shell and just guide them to somewhere else and they’ll just swim off.”
Oliver and his fellow merpeople have to also take care when getting out of the tank, making sure to clean their eyes and ears out thoroughly with saline solution post-shift.
He continued: “We are in the tank with no fish, there’s obviously a lot of bacteria and obviously fish food that’s flying around, so it’s obviously easy to cause infections.
“So we need to be careful to not go in with any scrapes or open wounds and make sure that we really clean all of our sinuses.”
Advising other men considering giving being a mermister a go, Oliver says they should go about it properly, making sure to get the necessary training.
Oliver recommends the AIDA 2 qualification in freediving, which will ensure you’re qualified enough to breathe underwater and cope with equalising pressure.
He added: “I’d say just get in water, do it safe but just be in water, and get comfortable with being in water. […] So I’d say, if you love just being in water, just make it so you know you feel comfortable in water because it really does show.”
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