This professional mermaid built a career by refusing to outgrow play

Néa Dune's career as a mermaid blends artistry with activism and community engagement.
Mermaiding offers physical and mental benefits, attracting a diverse and global community.
Néa Dune's Toyota RAV4 Limited enables her mermaiding career across Los Angeles.

Growing up in Croatia, Néa Dune may not have imagined a career as a professional mermaid and free diver, but her dreams weren't far off.

"I always wanted to do a lot of stuff: be an astronaut, a detective, a horse rider, a dancer," said Dune, who now lives in LA. "I had so many different hobbies."

The hobby that stuck began with a curtain. In 2012, Dune prepared for a seaside photoshoot by pulling down a curtain and making a mermaid tail. The whimsical idea was a hit: Dune's photos ended up in the popular Mermaids & Mythology magazine and changed the course of her life.

Today, Dune's day-to-day alternates between teaching mermaiding to "mer-cation" retreat participants, meticulously caring for her elaborate tails, maintaining her advanced free-diving skills, advocating for marine life in her beloved Adriatic Sea, and more.

"Being an adult doesn't just mean being a serious person with routines and nothing else," she said. "We live in a world that is at times very harsh. It's really important to remember to just play."

That mindset helped Dune turn play into a successful career that challenges the idea of what it means to "adult."

The dawn of a mermaiding career

Mermaids were ever-present in Dune's childhood. The native Croatian was born in Karlovac, a city with mermaids on its crest.

"I grew up with Slavic legends and myths about mermaids," she said.

As a gifted child who went on to learn nine languages and serve in the European Youth Parliament for almost a decade, Dune had the skills for any career. But when she moved to the US a decade ago, it was her mermaid-themed magazine spread that opened her first professional door.

"I got booked for a drowning prevention volunteer event as a mermaid and realized, 'Wow, there's a whole world of mermaids in the US,'" she said.

Dune knew an opportunity when she saw one. So, she grabbed it.

A mermaid's 9-to-5 is anything but

The live mermaid performances at theme parks and other events are only the tip of the pro mermaiding tail, so to speak. Dune is a trained free diver, certified to dive up to 52 feet without breathing support. She is an athlete, a businesswoman, an advocate, a teacher, and a role model.

Underwater swimmer wearing a mermaid tail costume moves through turquoise water near rock formations.

"One of the biggest misconceptions about mermaiding is that it's just for kids," she said. "The benefits are amazing, and it can be done by anybody, regardless of body shape, abilities, age, race, gender, anything." Dune has witnessed a student who uses a wheelchair successfully learn to mermaid. "I think that's pretty amazing," she said.

Dune also spends countless hours caring for her collection of tails and costumes. Carting them around to gigs is a job in and of itself.

"If it wasn't for my Toyota RAV4, I'm not sure how I would be able to transport all my tails and all my gear," Dune said. "The cargo space really comes in handy because my tails are sometimes 40 pounds and are literally the size of a human."

Toyota SUV drives along a winding hillside road with headlights on and a driver visible through the windshield.

A playful career with a full-grown mission

Perhaps it's appropriate that, in certain English-speaking circles, "adult" and "mermaid" evolved from nouns into verbs around the same time. Professional mermaiding may not seem like adulting to some, but Dune's career is not just thriving; it's also impactful.

"Mermaiding is incredible for your health, both for your body and soul," she said. "It's exercise without really feeling like an exercise. And also for the mind: I feel zen underwater when I'm just gliding and looking at fish and enjoying the silence of the ocean."

A growing number of mermaids agree. What began as a niche hobby has grown into a thriving global community that includes conventions, pageants, competitions, and retreats. The world's first mermaid school, founded in 2012, has attracted more than 12,000 students to its classes and workshops.

Costumed mermaid performers lounge on a sandy beach near the ocean, wearing colorful tails and ornate accessories.

Dune is unsurprised by mermaiding's global appeal. "With all the heavy stuff that has happened in the world, people really need some whimsy in their lives. They just need to get lost a little bit in a fantasy land."

As it turns out, healthy adulting can mean taking the time to play. Whether it's zooming around LA with a Toyota RAV4 Limited packed to the gills with glamorous tails or teaching a class of new mer-students about ocean ecology, adulting for Dune means bringing joy into people's lives by helping them reconnect with their inner child. That's about as grown-up a service as anyone could provide. It's pretty fun for Dune, too.