SAY WHAT?? A MERMAID SCHOOL??
YAS! We are a full-on Mermaid School! Ina's Mermaid School provides dream-worthy interactive mermaid classes, experiences, events, and retreats in sunny Florida! Our Mission is to provide healthy movement while inspiring and empowering our mermaids through play and imagination!
Located on the U.S.'s #1 ranked family-friendly beach, and only 90 minutes from Disney, Ina's Mermaid School is the first official mobile mermaid school in Florida! Currenly serving 5 pool-based locations, our goal is to provide more classes and events at local resorts, targeting more of the huge tourism economy in Clearwater/Tampa/St Petersburg!
What exactly do you do at Mermaid School?
We make mermaid dreams come true! Our most popular services are Mermaid 101 Classes for kids, and Mermaiden 101 Classes for adults. Believe it or not, our adult classes ALWAYS sell out and have a waiting list! These 1.5 hour classes provide all you need to learn how to swim like a real mermaid! Using real, swimmable mermaid tails, we teach safety, technique, swimming skills, and tricks! Of course, this class has the option to purchase a tail of your own. Our other popular services include mermaid makeovers with professional photo shoots, as well as mermaid appearances at parties and events.
The Truth About Mermaids
Since I started this Mermaid project, Ina's Mermaid School, we have grown in waves and dunes! Mermaids are a thing, and the industry is responding! This Mermazing adventure has taken me, and my SUV full of tails, all over the Tampa Bay region, providing mermaid classes and birthday parties all over the place! From starting at a small country club-based pool once a month, Ina's Mermaid School now offers Mermaid programming through 3 City recreation departments (including about 10 pool locations), as well as 2 country clubs. In addtion, we serve private clientele, as well, providing our services to many private parties and pools. In addtion to the services we offer, we also retail mermaid tails, goggles, mermaid crowns, apparel and more - all out of the back of my Toyota SUV.
It's time to take the DIVE with this mermaid business! Though I have thought deeply about a brick-and-mortar store, my mermaid dream would be to have a MERMAID SCHOOL BUS that would serve many purposes to Ina's Mermaid School.
Can you even iMERgine!? How finstastic would it be to have a mobile mermaid boutique, that hauls our tails and equipment, and serves as a drivable billboard for the business! In additon, this vehicle will take us to all of our class "gigs" as well as drive us to teacher-training events! This Mermaid School Bus will turn heads and gain attention for our business.
With the money that I raise from this campaign, I'll purchase a van (ideally, a Ford Transit), get it custom wrapped with a design from my graphic artist, and purchase some inventory to fill the van for events and festivals!
So, You're, like, a Mermaid?
I get that question all the time - as well as the look that goes along with it. Believe it or not, I'm actually a certified Mermaid Instructor, AND Mermaid Instructor Trainer. It's totally a thing... but let me start from the beginning...
My name is Karen Tickner, and I'm your typical Florida girl. I grew up on the beach, swimming with manatees, picking scallops. As a child, I became completely obsessed with the world-famous Weeki Wachee Mermaids (who are only an hour north of the School), and, thus, my PE Teacher mom signed me up for synchronized swimming. I swam as a competitive mermaid until I aged out, and then found myself launched into surf sports. Eventually, I became a professional athlete, as well as a freediving instructor. After being a successful, self-employeed fitness and Pilates instructor for 20 years, I opened the mermaid school when I personally had a magical mermaid experience in Hawaii. After returning from my trip, I quickly opened Ina's Mermaid School, became an affiliate of FinFun Mermaid University, and became a SCUBA Schools International Mermaid Instructor Trainer, where I train mermaid instructors how to teach based upon international accreditation and safety standards. Yes, mermaids are a thing, and I'm on the edge of where this movement is going!
Oh, by the way, my mermaid name (my mersona) is "Ina" - which means "to illuminate", because my mermaid experience illuminated my life.
How Can We Say Thanks?
Asking for help and support is always difficult. I can't thank you enough for your help and support as I grow this business. Not only are you helping other's dreams come true, you are helping mine come true, too. You'll see that I have some MERfect rewards lined up to say thanks for your incredible support. From stickers, to tails, to incredible mermaid experiences, we have it all! Thank you so much for your FINomenal support!
