Zandile Ndhlovu

Zandile Ndhlovu is South Africa’s first Black female free diving instructor. After looking beneath the surface of the ocean for the first time in her life at age twenty-eight, she felt at home and decided she needed to help make the seas more accessible and diverse. Realizing it needed to start with young people, Ndhlovu set up the Black Mermaid Foundation, which works to create diverse representation in ocean spaces—in sports, in careers, and recreationally. In 2022 she was named one of the Global Top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent. Follow the author on TikTok and Instagram @ZanditheMermaid.