It seems that Catalina Island’s newest sea creature didn’t just wander into the Avalon Bay by accident. Mermaid Madison had a specific reason to make Catalina her summer home. Mermaid Madison, more commonly known as Madison Feldman has been visiting the island much of her life and over the past three years, she has been a Junior Lifeguard instructor for the Catalina program.
A native of Huntington Beach, Madison’s mom signed her up for Junior Lifeguards as a child. She admits that her first venture into the program was a little scary, but once she got comfortable with the other junior guards and the challenges the program presented, she seemed to find a calling.
“My mom put me in junior guards when I was a kid and that really changed my life,” Madison said.
What she found was that challenging and difficult things could be done when a group of people worked together. She said the camaraderie among the group brought a sense of pride to their accomplishments. Now, her life is helping youngsters find a similar sense of pride in their accomplishments.
Not only has she worked as a lifeguard and junior guard instructor, she also competes in lifesaving competitions and even travels to South Africa in the winter to train with South African competitors. She competed in rowing competitions at Long Beach City College and UCLA and has also competed in the Catalina Channel Outrigger Canoe Crossing three times.
Recently, Madison teamed up with a partner, Dempsey Haynosch, to create the Avalon Ocean Club, a non-profit dedicated to teaching kids water and ocean safety. The ocean is a powerful force and those who venture into it must be mindful and respectful of that power.
However, with proper training and preparation, the ocean can be enjoyed that has become a life’s ambition for Madison. It’s what she’s learned since that first scary introduction to the junior guards.
“Feeling the power of the ocean and feeling comfortable due to training was empowering,” Madison said.
She said the Avalon Junior Guard program usually has about 30 kids for a five-week program. However, after that there was not much else available to help kids continue swimming and ocean safety training. That was the impetus for the Avalon Ocean Club. Recently a group of 10 participants traveled to a swim clinic in Long Beach. For most of the kids it was their first competitive swim technique clinic that taught them freestyle and other competitive strokes. They even offer outrigger canoe instruction.
She eventually made ocean training and safety her occupation. And she has found ways to make it fun as well. She created the Mermaid Madison business as a way to help people engage with the ocean. Her services include swimming with a mermaid, to simple play with small children on the shore, where they get to meet a mermaid.
“Playing in the sand is still a part of getting kids comfortable with the ocean,” Madison said.
Whether as a mermaid, a junior guard instructor or a lifeguard, Madison “Mermaid” Feldman has found a home in the ocean. And a home on Catalina at least for three of the four seasons.
For more on Madison, visit madisonthemermaid.com.
