The tail in the photo is Maggie's collection piece "Aurora," a composite semi-silicone mermaid tail Photography: Jammi Chen
But I am a fish — I cannot fall for you In my world there is no oxygen for you to breathe
But I am a fish — I cannot fall for you So let me swim and swim, and then forget about you
Recommended listening: 怕胖樂團 《魚》
Encountering the Freediving Mermaid
For many people, the ocean may be a world they have never set foot in — but for Maggie, the ocean helped her find another version of herself. The first time our Editor met Maggie was at the Songyun deep-water pool. That day she was wearing a white lace monofin, practicing freediving. The white lace swayed with the ripples of the water, and the fluid movement between the monofin and her body looked just like a real mermaid's tail, gliding and playing freely through the water. Everyone who saw her lace monofin found it incredibly unique, and upon asking, they discovered that Maggie had made it herself — and that sparked the Editor's curiosity about her.
On a rainy Saturday afternoon, the Editor visited Maggie's rental apartment. Walking through the door, scuba tanks and all manner of scuba gear were scattered everywhere, giving the place the feel of a small dive shop office. Maggie's roommate is a scuba instructor, while Maggie herself had been scuba diving for over ten years before she began exploring freediving. More than two years ago, Maggie enrolled in a mermaid experience course, and that was how her mermaid journey began.
Stepping into the storage area, one could see a multitude of mermaid accessories and tails of all shapes and sizes — these are Maggie's treasured collection, some ordered from overseas and some handcrafted by herself from materials she sourced on her own.
Mermaid Accessories
Maggie introduced the Editor to the anatomy of a mermaid tail: it consists of a tail skin and a tail fin, and the materials range from hyper-realistic full silicone to composite semi-silicone, as well as tails sewn from plastic scale fabric — plus the more widely accessible fabric tail.
Maggie also recommends Mahina as a great entry-level tail for beginners, suggesting fabric tails for practice. In addition to ordering tails from overseas, she also cut a large tail shape out of a transparent table mat, mounted it onto a monofin, and dressed it up with beautiful white lace. Maggie says that swimming with this tail feels very similar to swimming in a full silicone tail, making it excellent practice for eventually transitioning to one.
Pictured is the Mahina, a tail highly suitable for beginner practice
Maggie spoke about her collection with the enthusiasm of someone describing their most prized possessions. She explained that each tail has its own name: the composite semi-silicone tail is called Aurora, meaning the light of dawn — a symbol of hope; the white lace fabric tail is named Sorrow, a phonetic play on the English word; and the black Mahina is named Anger, likewise a phonetic echo of the English word.
Because of humanity's disregard for the environment, the ocean has suffered severe pollution and destruction. Whether performing or shooting, Maggie hopes to use these mermaid tails to express emotion and to promote environmental awareness in the form of a mermaid.
Pictured is Maggie's customized white lace mermaid tail — photo courtesy of 潛立方旅館
Maggie says that even as a child learning to swim in a pool, she always felt she was a mermaid — and that feeling eventually led her to the ocean as she grew older. Naturally introverted and not fond of crowds, she feels completely at ease in the water. Whenever she is in the water, she can forget all the worries of daily life. "Because all you need to think about is breathing," she said with a smile.
In the water, she seems to become a different person from her land-dwelling self. Maggie says that in the water she can move in every direction, and she even enjoys the sensation of removing her mask mid-dive — everything blurring before her eyes — as if the whole world has shrunk down to just herself alone, free in body, savoring the quiet of listening inward and simply being with herself.
After hearing Maggie's story, the Editor felt deeply moved and could wholeheartedly relate. Since learning freediving, truly connecting with the ocean, and forming a bond with the sea, she has felt a profound shift within herself — a sense of greater freedom in mind, body, and spirit.
In the hustle of our everyday lives on land, we seem to have forgotten this pure and simple feeling of freedom. It is our hope that everyone can find another version of themselves in the ocean, and create their own personal connection with the sea.
