Las Vegas mermaids make a splash at Lake Mead
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LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Some of the recent discoveries at Lake Mead might make people cringe. For two Las Vegas women, their goal was to bring a smile when thinking about Lake Mead while using a now well-known landmark as a picturesque backdrop.
Meet the mermaids of Lake Mead, Amy Smith, and Kristin Janise.
Smith recently posted a couple of photographs on social media showing herself and fellow aquanaut dressed as mermaids in front of the now famous up-right speedboat on the newly exposed shoreline of Lake Mead.
“We grow up chasing rainbows and riding unicorns, or at least the idea, Smith told 8 News Now. “So for me, it kind of takes me away from the everyday struggle of the things we see on the news.”
When asked how Smith and Janise, the mermaids, came to be posing in a now dry cove near Government Wash Smith said they were actually at the lake for a night swim and had some extra time. So they held an impromptu photoshoot as the sun set behind them.
Both women are certified PADI mermaids. It’s a real certification earned by training not only to Scuba dive but to also swim with a tail.
For Janise, the transition to the deep waters of Lake Mead was simple because being a mermaid is also her job. “I’m actually mainly employed with the Silverton, which has their mermaids,” Janise told 8 News Now. “And then PADI, which is a big Scuba organization, came out with their mermaid program and it just fit hand in hand. And now we can have many, many people become mermaids and play around.”
Smith was inspired to become mermaid certified when she saw Janise perform at the Silverton Hotel and Casino where she is the mermaid safety manager. “I saw Kristen perform in the mermaid show,” Smith said. “I thought, wow, I mean you could actually get paid to swim around all day in a mermaid tail and pretend like you’re a mermaid.”
The pair don’t just pose on the rocky shores of Lake Mead, they get their fins wet and dive right in. So don’t be too surprised if a mermaid or two swim by.
For anyone interested in becoming a certified mermaid, Janise is in the early stages of organizing monthly meetups. She has an Instagram page called LV Dive Adventures where people can contact her for more information.
