User:CarrieWata/sandbox

Melanee Schneider (born July 30th, 1991) better known as Carrie Wata, is a professional Mermaid, businesswoman and the founder of Afro Mermaid Corp. She is an advocate for ocean conservation, and diversity in aquatics.

As a little girl, she loved Ariel from Disney’s The Little Mermaid. When she was at Bethune Cookman in Daytona for college, she bought herself her first fabric mermaid tail. She would only wear it for simple pictures in her dorm room, that was until she graduated and moved back to Miami. Her love for mermaiding grew and after a trip to a mermaid store in the Keys, the idea for Afro Mermaid sparked!

Alter Ego Carrie was dubbed “Seayoncé” by her fans in 2023 because they claim she is the Beyoncé of the oceans.

Personal Life Carrie Wata was born and raised in Miami, Fl. After graduating college, most of her work life was in childcare and teaching. That was until she decided to throw the first mermaid convention in Florida in 2020. She quit her job right before the event to focus all her attention on the project ahead and has not looked back!