Water and the ocean have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I’ve always felt at home beneath the surface. There’s something about being underwater that gives me a sense of freedom, curiosity, adventure and peace that I don’t experience in quite the same way on land.

As a teenager, I played underwater hockey and enjoyed scuba diving. Years later, I discovered freediving. My instructor, Janet Rudman from Freediving Johannesburg, introduced me to mermaiding — and that opened the door to something completely magical.

The first time I put on a mermaid tail was at Marico Oog, a beautiful natural spring with crystal-clear water and water lilies that seem to hover beneath the surface. I slipped into the water, looked down at myself and had this extraordinary feeling — I had become a mermaid.

It was playful, freeing and almost dreamlike, and it awakened something I had loved as a child.

Since then, mermaiding has become part of the way I experience the underwater world. I love the feeling of taking off my mask, opening my eyes underwater and simply being in the ocean — even when everything becomes a little blurry. There’s a sensuality and freedom in moving with the water and playing in the kelp forests, and that’s something I’d love other people to experience.

I’ve worked as a massage therapist since my early twenties, and through that work I’ve developed a deep appreciation for the human body — not for what it looks like, but for what it can feel, express and experience.

I see how easily we can become restricted in our bodies as adults, how self-conscious we can feel, and how often we hold ourselves back from real play.

One of my favourite things is watching women rediscover that playfulness — swimming, laughing, moving and becoming completely absorbed in the moment. For a little while, it doesn’t matter what their bodies look like or what anyone else may think of them. They’re simply playing. They’re strong, sensual, curious and alive.

Creating an environment where people feel safe enough to experience that freedom is incredibly important to me.

Being a qualified lifeguard and NAUI Skin Diving Instructor, safety to me is about more than qualifications. It’s about paying attention. Noticing when someone is uncomfortable. Giving people permission to go at their own pace. And creating an environment where they feel supported rather than pressured.

Through Submerge Cape Town, I want to invite people into another way of experiencing themselves and the ocean.

To feel beautiful without needing to be perfect.
To feel sensual without performing.
To be adventurous and childlike.
To discover what their bodies can do.
And above all, to feel safe enough to play, explore and be free.

That is what being underwater gives me. And it is what I hope to share with every person who comes to Submerge.

Your experience. Your pace. Your depth.

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