Meet Mermaid Rei

Mermaid Rei is a member of AMS and as such, to hire Rei for your event/party, please reach out to the AMS team.

Mermaid Rei’s current home base is along the Potomac River within the Washington, DC Metropolitan area.

Mermaid Rei will travel to your location, provided it is within a certain distance of her home base. Anything further than that distance can be arranged, but additional transportation fees may be added to your contract. Please reach out to AMS for details.

No. Submitting a form simply means that you have sent an inquiry. Clients should not consider Rei hired until a contract has been signed and a deposit has been submitted.

Please wait one week before reaching out again regarding any event request form submitted.

Mermaid Rei can be hired to perform as an entertainer at a variety of event types. However, the most popular events Mermaid Rei has performed at are at private events, such as birthday parties, and festivals.

A “Wet” event is defined as any event in which a client requests to have Rei swim in a body of water. For every hour of performance time during a “Wet” event, clients are required to permit Rei 15 minutes of rest or “Dry” time.

A “Dry” event is defined as any event in which Rei will not be swimming.

No. The cost of hiring Rei (listed above), does not include Rei or her Mer-Wrangler bringing a pool or tank. If a client would like Rei to swim for their event, it is their responsibility to secure an appropriate location/environment.

In such a scenario, it is the responsibility of the client to confirm with the pool management that their pool:

1. Accepts the use of monofins and mermaid tails in the pool.
2. Has properly maintained the pool, regarding safety and cleanliness.
3. Will be aware of the fact that a Mermaid Performer will be swimming in the pool at the designated time.

Clients are also responsible for covering any fees pools may charge for bringing in a Mermaid and a Mer-Wrangler, whether that be in the form of guest passes or special permits. (These fees are not covered by the prices listed above).

As a helpful tip, pool management is often more likely to approve for a Mermaid performer to swim in their pool if they are aware that a Mermaid Performer is a PADI Certified Mermaid Freediver (which Rei is!) and will be accompanied by a “Safety” (their Mer-Wrangler). (We advise using the term “Safety” when describing a Mer-Wrangler, as the term “Safety” is more commonly used in swimming, free-diving, and scuba diving.)

No.

Yes, so long as the pool is properly maintained.

Yes, with stipulations. Tanks must be large enough to allow for Rei to fit in comfortably, be properly maintained, heated, must not have lids, and have safe entry and exit methods.

Yes.

Yes.

No.

A Mer-Wrangler is an individual who’s primary job is to keep a mermaid safe, both on land and in the sea. Sometimes, they are known as a “Safety”, a “Mer-Safety”, simply a “Wrangler”, or “Mer-Security,” but all of these titles refer to the same job and responsibilities.

The job of a Mer-Wrangler encompasses many attributes. For example, on land, Mer-Wranglers are responsible for the transport of a Mermaid and maintaining a watch on a Mermaid’s health and stamina (especially in more extreme temperatures, whether hot or cold and during longer performances).

Similarly, in the water, Mer-Wranglers maintain watch over a Mermaid for safety purposes. Primarily, this means they focus on making sure that a Mermaid is not having trouble swimming or surfacing for air. In the event of an emergency, a Mer-Wrangler will be responsible for bringing a Mermaid to the surface.

Finally, both on land and in the sea, a Mer-Wrangler acts as a Mermaid’s advocate and representative. As such, Mer-Wranglers will instruct individuals on how to properly interact with a Mermaid. This may mean making sure individuals do not grab or touch a Mermaid without permission, making sure other swimmers give a Mermaid and her tail an appropriate amount of space in the water (both for the safety of the Mermaid and the swimmers), and kindly requesting anyone acting inappropriately to stop or leave the presence of a Mermaid.

They are also the primary point of contact during an event between the Mermaid and the client, as often, Mermaids are busy interacting with and entertaining guests.

Mer-Wranglers act as a Mermaid’s “Safety” while a Mermaid is in the water. A Safety differs from a lifeguard in that a Safety’s job is to care for and watch out for the safety of a Mermaid performer exclusively while they are in the water and bring them to the surface in the event of an emergency. Meanwhile, lifeguards monitor all who are in the water to keep everyone safe, not just one individual person or “merson”.

As a result, the eyes of a Mer-Wrangler are ONLY going to be on/around their Mermaid. As such, clients CANNOT and SHOULD NOT consider a Mer-Wrangler as a replacement for a lifeguard as the closest a Mer-Wrangler interacts with others in the water (aside from their Mermaid) is to make sure others are giving their Mermaid enough space.

In short, Mer-Wranglers are not responsible for or required to keep an eye on or keep anyone safe other than a Mermaid performer under their watch and are NOT lifeguards.

Mermaid Rei’s primary Mer-Wrangler is Mer-Wrangler Shelby! Shelby is one of Mermaid Rei’s best friends and is a highly qualified Mer-Wrangler. She is CPR and First Aid Certified (for both children and adults), has over a decade of experience caring for infants and young children in a professional setting, and most importantly, can interrupt Mermaid Rei’s brain when human words fail her.

Mermaid Rei also works with a number of other fintastic Mer-Wranglers through AMS. For example, if Mer-Wrangler Shelby is unavailable, Mermaid Rei will often work with the Mer-Wranglers Levi and Sariel.

No. For any event, a Mer-Wrangler is required to be onsite with Mermaid Rei for her safety and care. Thus, having a Mer-Wrangler present is NOT optional.

Scales! 😉

And fibers. Lots of fibers!

Rei primarily performs in Fabric Tails made by FinFolk Productions. But through the AMS, you may put in a special request for Rei to perform in a Custom Silicone Tail or in a Mertailor Tail.

Mermaid Rei incorporates a variety of materials into her tops including fabric, various fibers, netting, silicone, shells, beads, and clips, depending on what is safe for the environment in which she performs or entertains and based on her tail’s colors for the day.

Rei can do a variety of things while swimming, including but not limited to:

• Perform bubble tricks
• Race others in the water
• Dive for objects
• Pose for pictures

If you wish for Rei to do any of these things, please let Rei know in advance.

Yes, Rei can do a variety of things, including taking appropriate pictures with individuals, make up and hair, and reading books, among other things subject to her approval.

Yes! Rei’s merchandise can be purchased through AMS and on the AMS website.

Rei has a sea-mail address (e-mail address) by which those who see her perform or have met her at events may contact her. However, for privacy reasons, she does not share it online publicly. Rather, she shares it at events via special cards at the request of guests during her time at events and at her comfort/discretion. If your child wishes to contact Rei but did not receive a card (perhaps because the opportunity didn’t present itself), please reach out to Rei’s pod leader at AMS here, sharing details of when you or your child met Rei to confirm when and where you met her along for your purpose for contacting Rei. Once confirmed and approved, AMS will send you Rei’s sea-mail address. (Please note that this information is requested by the AMS team to protect the privacy and safety of all of its members/performers.)