The Sailing Siren

If you look closely in Episode 1, you’ll see this photo of me in my very first mermaid tail flash across the screen! This tail has traveled with me around the world as I’ve performed, worked in the diving industry, or worked as sailing crew on various boats. It has been to Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines, and in sailboats, ship wrecks, swimming with wild baby sea lions, lakes, open oceans with sardines so numerous that they blacked out the sky, and gigs with DMX and the Seattle Mariners. Through it all, this resilient tail has made it with barely a scratch. Thanks to Erin and the team at for being a fundamental part of my mermaiding journey. I’m so glad that the showcased your work! Photos featured here are from fantastic photographers I’ve worked with throughout the years including , , .banerjee.photography and

Who has seen MerPeople on yet? If so, what do you think? To be ab-shell-utely honest, I still haven’t gotten to watch it yet, but I definitely hope to! The last 26 hours has been spent traveling on plans, buses, and on foot with my mermaid tails and freediving gear in tow, and I’m headed to the beautiful underwater world found in the cenotes of Mexico! More info to come on dive sites, experienced freediving instructors to learn freediving or explore the cenotes with, and updates on what I’m working on. I love being able to share the underwater world through art, and here’s an example, shot by my friend . Chris is an awesome instructor and an incredible underwater photographer. Keep an eye out for his work in the documentary! Thanks to and .usa for bringing me into this project, and thanks to , , .quinlan , and for your hard work on the documentary. Also, thank you to , , , , , , , for your hard work in the King and Queen of the Seas competition. What a super fun experience!

Hi, I’m Rachel, and I enjoy long runs on the beach. Especially when they look like this!

I’m so excited that I finally got photos in this tail! It reminds me of Elsa from Frozen, and the irony isn’t lost on me as a brown-skinned mermaid preparing for the heat of the Las Vegas summers. Thank you to for this lovely photo of me being a desert mermaid. This tail is fully swimmable, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it moves in the water for upcoming gigs this summer. On that note, I’ve revamped all of my mermaid performance and course promotional materials. Feel free to reach out if you want to book a mermaid or become one yourself!

“Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, the successful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground.” – Wilfred Peterson

I cannot speak highly enough of the people I got to meet on the days leading up to and on the night of my run. Pretty much every single one of my fellow ninjas running the course had more experience than me, but never once did I feel unwelcome. Instead, I found a group of friends willing to do 1 am acro, nerd out on health and fitness, swing on the rings at Muscle Beach despite the pouring rain, and share their experiences with courses in previous competitions in order to help me grow. I am so thankful for each and every one of you guys and gals! This experience gave me a baseline, as well as fitness and competition goals for the future. I’m definitely hooked and will definitely be applying for future seasons.

Wow, what a roller coaster ride this has been! If you had asked me at the end of 2022 if I had plans to compete for American Ninja Warrior I would have replied with a solid and resolute “no”. However, at the end of January I got the call, and it started me off on a six week journey of training my heart out like my life depended on it! It was mind-blowing to come out onto the course that I’ve only ever seen on a screen, except this time I could experience the audience cheers and the obstacles ahead in the best surround sound and high definition ever - real life! I was filled with so much joy that I couldn’t stop laughing, dancing, and grinning at the surreal experience! When the official count down started, just as in a freediving competition, it was time to shut out the outside world and focus on the task ahead of me. While I can’t say how I did on my run until Season 15 comes out, I can say that I learned some amazing lessons from the people I’ve met and have a first-hand knowledge of the effort and hard work that it takes to excel at this sport. I can say that I left it all on the course, and that I was limited by a lack of experience rather than by fear or self doubt. I came out of this experience inspired to continue in this sport, and I think that my background in running, competitive freediving, and performing gave me a mental leg up as I’ve trained myself to push through the nerves and unknown to focus on the task ahead. This experience gave me a baseline for my strengths and weaknesses in ninja, and it’s only onward and upward from here!






PS: I am a bit behind on posting my training updates, but now I have a bit more time to edit and share videos of my training journey. Stay tuned!

Ok, so speaking of super awesome communities other than the Ninja and Freediving communities, I’m so thankful that my quest for fun cardio got me connected with the weekly ultimate frisbee crew here in Las Vegas! It’s always an amazing work out, and it’s fun clocking in many miles of sprinting back and forth with a fun crew of people! Las Saturday, I ran over 7 miles while chasing a plastic disc, and I’m looking forward to many more! Another update regarding my American Ninja Warrior journey: they’ll be filming my run on March 21st! If you want to attend the live show at Universal Studios in California, go to my story and use the sign up link to RSVP!

Hi friends! Week 2 training update for American Ninja Warrior is up on YouTube! The goal this week was to get a baseline level of fitness and aptitude for the different obstacles found on the show, and I did that by heading to a ninja gym in Las Vegas called Camp Rhino. It was fun meeting everyone and having mentors who have competed on the show, but dang do I have work to do!
Link to the video in the first comment.

American Ninja Warrior training update: I’m excited because my blisters are starting to heal and I can work on upper body strength again! The downside is that my muscles and tendons aren’t quite able to take the beating I’m giving them yet. , thanks for leaving the ice pops when you moved out. Thanks to you, I don’t have to use frozen chicken to ice my wrist, and I get a tasty snack after! 😂

Week on training in the Ninja Gym down! Training today was about 7 miles of runs and sprints while playing ultimate frisbee, and then apparently I made it through a rite of passage towards the end of two hours of training rings and grip strength! I ripped the blisters on both hands (normal blister on the left and blood blister on the right), but I learned how to tape them so I could keep training! This has been such a fun week at ! I’ve seen progress in my grip strength and training new movements, but the biggest improvement has been in slowly training my mind to get out of the way of overcoming an obstacle. I think it’s a good skill that applies to everyday life! “Stop overthinking. Just send it.”

I’m so happy to be making new connections in the Vegas ninja community! Just like I’m freediving, you have a welcoming crew of people working towards a common goal of self improvement. Thanks to , , , , , and for all of your tips and suggestions! I had so much fun and can’t wait for next week!

What an amazing week getting to pick the brains of some amazing people in the diving industry! Jennifer Morgan of had the vision to create the first freediving-specific conference in North America to bring together some of the leaders in the community. I left the almost week-long event with warm feelings, more knowledge, inspiration, and new friendships and connections. I’ll be sharing photos and videos soon, but right now it’s time for some action in the Florida springs with and . Looking forward to 2024!

ℍ𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕪 𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕕𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣! 🎄🎅 Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, wherever you may be! Photo by














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