SJ Porreca Talks Salty Mermaid’s Rise, Designing for Miss USA and the Wild Story Behind its Miami Swim Week Runway Show

By Authority Magazine Editorial Staff

…Put your computer down. We often measure success by how stressed we are, and that isn’t healthy. I make sure that at a certain time, I put the computer away to spend time with my husband, my animals, or at the gym. You have to know when to shut it down…

Wehad the pleasure of talking with Sarah Jon Porreca. Before she was outfitting Miss USA contestants or sending 60 looks down the runway at Miami Swim Week, she was just a kid in Tampa, Florida, navigating the local wildlife. “In Florida, we have the swamp, four-wheelers, and alligators,” she says.

Today, Porreca — who goes by SJ — navigates a different kind of ecosystem entirely. As the founder and designer of the direct-to-consumer swimwear brand Salty Mermaid, she has traded the swamps for the high-stakes world of fashion, bringing a gritty, boots-on-the-ground work ethic to an industry often built on illusion.

Her father, a businessman, was her hero and early blueprint. “I knew business would be my future, but I wasn’t sure which one,” she recalls. After a brief detour into a pet-sitting business (“I just wanted to keep all the pets!”), she found her footing in retail with Lending Luxury. Launched right as Facebook was taking off, the company allowed women to rent designer outfits so they wouldn’t be caught in the same look twice online.

But it was her subsequent time in fitness modeling that revealed a glaring gap in the apparel market. She noticed a distinct lack of community in the swimwear space. “It is very intimidating for a woman to walk down the beach in a two-piece bikini,” she notes. “To have women support you and make you feel powerful yet feminine was something we were lacking.”

The brand’s identity was born the way many great rock-and-roll ideas are: late at night, over a glass of wine with friends. Realizing no swim brand had claimed the word “mermaid,” they needed a modifier. A friend shouted out the missing piece. “We realized ‘salty’ coincides with ocean life, but it also coincides with feelings — being a ‘salty’ girl or a ‘sweet’ girl,” SJ explains.

Building an independent brand rarely goes smoothly. When SJ wanted to launch a matching “His and Hers” swimwear line, the industry pushed back hard. “Other designers didn’t want to do it, my facilities didn’t want to do it, and even my employees fought me on it,” she says. She briefly second-guessed herself before doubling down. “I realized I shouldn’t stop because of other people.” Today, that rebellious choice has become one of the brand’s signature offerings.

That same stubborn drive was tested during Miami Swim Week 2025. SJ envisioned a massive 60-look runway show, but behind the curtain, it was a logistical nightmare. “Our swimsuits were not ready until the day before the show,” she admits. Desperate, she flew a friend’s husband to her manufacturing facilities in Colombia just to physically carry the suits back to Florida. “If we had shipped them, they wouldn’t have arrived in Miami in time… It was a major learning challenge — like being thrown into the water and learning how to swim on your own.”

Her ability to pull off the impossible under pressure caught the eye of the Miss USA organization. In 2025, Salty Mermaid became the pageant’s official swimwear partner, with SJ designing and delivering custom suits for the national contestants in just a single week.

Despite the high-profile partnerships and an upcoming collaboration with Maxim to find their next cover girl, SJ keeps a tight grip on reality and her company’s bottom line. When facing the pressure to lower costs by moving production overseas to China, she tested the waters but ultimately pulled the plug. “The quality came back and it just wasn’t ‘Salty Mermaid,’” she says.

By staying strictly direct-to-consumer, she maintains control. The brand even offers a “Try Before You Buy” program where women can test the fit of tops and bottoms at home. Furthermore, by pre-purchasing fabrics from Spain and keeping production in Colombia, she has managed to avoid raising prices despite global tariffs.

She also maintains a strict boundary between her work and her sanity. “We often measure success by how stressed we are, and that isn’t healthy,” she points out. Her version of self-care doesn’t look like a typical fashion executive’s routine. Instead, she unplugs on her farm. “I live on a farm with donkeys, horses, mini cows, and chickens. For me, animals absorb stress.”

When she’s not walking her property or sticking to her non-negotiable gym time, her mind is on the bigger picture. If given the chance to start a massive cultural movement, she wouldn’t choose something in the fashion space. Instead, she’d focus on the psychological toll of combat. “Building awareness for the veterans of our generation is something I am very passionate about,” she says, noting that the public rarely understands the reality of PTSD.

For SJ, the true metric of success isn’t just surviving the fashion industry’s chaotic currents — it’s seeing the impact of her work out in the wild. She still remembers the first time she saw a stranger wearing her design at an outdoor country music concert.

“I ran up to her and couldn’t even get the words out; I was just pointing at her swimsuit saying, ‘I’m Salty Mermaid! I made that suit!’” SJ recalls. “When you see someone choose Salty Mermaid out of so many options — and choose to wear it in front of thousands of people because they feel good in it — that is something you feel great about as a designer and business owner.”

SJ, it’s a delight to meet you. Before we dive in deep, our readers would love to learn about Sarah John’s personal origin story. Can you share the story of your childhood, how you grew up, and particularly the seeds for all the amazing work that has come since then?

SJ: It’s a delight to meet you too. I was born in Tampa, Florida, and I was raised a bit of a country girl. In Florida, we have the swamp, four-wheelers, and alligators. Throughout my life, I was always into fashion. My first company was actually called Lending Luxury. It launched with the idea that, as Facebook started, we didn’t want to be seen in the same outfit twice. For women, it was a way for us to experiment with fashion: rent an outfit, return it, and get another one. That was really successful. From there, I started doing some fitness modeling, and there was such an amazing group of women who all supported each other. Fashion organically moved into bikini fashion. I started talking to women and realized there was nothing like Salty Mermaid, where women supported other women. It is very intimidating for a woman to walk down the beach in a two-piece bikini. To have women support you and make you feel powerful yet feminine was something we were lacking. That is why I wanted to start Salty Mermaid; that’s the origin of how things started.

Going back to the beginning, you started your career in fashion and retail. Where did you get your “chops” for both?

SJ: I’ve always been more of a businesswoman first. My father has always been my hero and he was very much into business, so I learned a lot from him. I knew business would be my future, but I wasn’t sure which one. I tried a pet-sitting business, but I just wanted to keep all the pets! Then I realized I truly adored fashion. I wasn’t ready to be a designer at the time, so Lending Luxury allowed me to purchase all sorts of fashion at wholesale. I would go to New York and buy designers that weren’t common yet to allow women to experience fashion. Years ago, when Facebook started, big brands were the way to go; everyone went to Nordstrom or Macy’s. There were so many smaller brands trying to emerge, and those were the ones I focused on in my shop to help them grow and help women fall in love with them.

You probably have some amazing stories from the different parts of your career. I’d like to focus on Salty Mermaid. This might be hard to single out, but can you share one or two stories that stand out in your mind from your leadership of the brand?

SJ: I have one story I’d love to share. This was my first time seeing Salty Mermaid “out in the wild,” as I like to call it. I remember being at an outdoor beach country concert with some of my closest friends. We were talking and having a great time when suddenly one of my friends shook me and said, “Oh my gosh, it’s a Salty Mermaid suit!” I turned around and saw it. I ran up to her and couldn’t even get the words out; I was just pointing at her swimsuit saying, “I’m Salty Mermaid! I made that suit!” Finally, when she understood what was happening, she hugged me. It was such a moment for her friends and my friends to understand what a big milestone this was for the brand. To this day, I still contact her and send her free swimsuits. That was about four and a half years ago and we are still very close. It’s an inspirational story because you work really hard, and when you see someone choose Salty Mermaid out of so many options — and choose to wear it in front of thousands of people because they feel good in it — that is something you feel great about as a designer and business owner.

Can you share the story behind the name Salty Mermaid itself?

SJ: I would love to. Once I realized I wanted to create this brand, the name had to follow. It needed to be strong and powerful. I did a lot of research and realized there wasn’t a swim brand that had “Mermaid” in it, which I found odd because the ocean, mermaids, and swimming all coincide. I knew I wanted “Mermaid,” but I wasn’t sure what to put in front of it. My friends and I sat around with a glass of wine, and I have to give credit to one of my very dear friends. She shouted out, “Salty! Why wouldn’t we think of the word salty?” It steamrolled from there. We realized “salty” coincides with ocean life, but it also coincides with feelings — being a “salty” girl or a “sweet” girl. There was such a great response to the name because it could be used for so much more than swimwear. It could be used on apparel, and it explains that a Salty Mermaid doesn’t have to be in salt; she can be in a lake. It really made us feel good about using the term overall.

Do you model your own line?

SJ: No, I don’t. I have in the past during emergencies — like when a hurricane canceled all our models’ flights — but it’s not something I enjoy. I’d rather focus on the design aspect.

There’s a saying that “no” is not rejection but redirection. Do you have a story like that from when you started — perhaps a “no” from a distributor — that led to an unexpected blessing?

SJ: A few come to mind, but one that stands out was starting the “His and Hers” collection. At the time, there was nothing like that, especially in swimwear. I wanted to create a matching men’s line with the women’s, but it was really frowned upon. Other designers didn’t want to do it, my facilities didn’t want to do it, and even my employees fought me on it. It made me second-guess myself, so I put it on the back burner for a while. Then I realized that Salty Mermaid is a part of me, my husband is a huge part of me, and we would end up matching all the time. I realized I shouldn’t stop because of other people. We created the “His and Hers” line and now it is huge. We are the signature brand for that, and many other brands have followed in our footsteps, but we are the originators. I am extremely proud of that. From there, we’ve had fun with matching dog bandanas and other things that help people focus on family, fun, and love. Especially with social media, those matching visuals go beyond words.

What’s been the most challenging project or role you’ve taken on so far, and why?

SJ: Miami Swim Week 2025 was the most challenging. I had a vision of this “boss babe” and I had it all clear in my head. I had about 60 looks, which is an insane amount for a runway. I had very specific music, and we had never been part of a runway show of this size. I was thrown into this with the models and the suits. I will tell you this: our swimsuits were not ready until the day before the show. I had to fly my friend’s husband to Colombia to pick up the suits and fly them back. If we had shipped them, they wouldn’t have arrived in Miami in time. That’s how close we were to missing the whole thing. It was a major learning challenge — like being thrown into the water and learning how to swim on your own. I learned so many things through that, and I’m excited to do Miami Swim Week again being better prepared. I feel like we did really well, even though there were things happening on the back end that nobody saw, like that flight to Colombia.

Are the suits sewn in Colombia?

SJ: Yes. Everything is designed here, most of our fabric comes from Spain, and then our production facilities are in Colombia.

We’d love to hear more about the exciting opportunities coming up now and what we should expect in the near future.

SJ: I love this. Regarding trends, things are leaning into a revival of the ’70s, which is really fun. We haven’t seen this in a while, as a lot of trends have been very ’90s with high hips and bright colors. The ’70s style lets you experiment more with hardware and low-rise cuts. It’s fun because we can be more artistic and functional, using lace elements or flower embellishments rather than just typical high-rise bright prints. That’s what we are excited to develop this year. We are also expanding “His and Hers” with more men’s items, matching button-down shirts, and lots of cover-ups. In prior years, we only offered kaftans, so this year we are experimenting with different cover-ups and some apparel.

We are currently working with Maxim to find the next “Cover Girl” model, which is so exciting. These women are amazing and beautiful. It’s going to be hard to narrow it down to one, but we are excited to work with the winner and watch her grow. Being a part of someone’s career influence is not easy, so we are excited about that too. What we won’t be doing is any kids’ lines in the near future. Finally, we are opening a loyalty program for Salty Mermaid. It’s important to us that our repeat customers get rewarded. We have a very high repeat customer base, and when they choose us over all the other swimsuit lines, it means a lot.

Is your company direct-to-consumer or wholesale? What business model do you have?

SJ: It’s direct-to-consumer. We have had opportunities to go wholesale, but we chose to decline. Being direct-to-consumer allows us to keep our prices lower and maintain one-on-one communication with the customer. Often with wholesale, you have to listen to what the retailers want and you lose who you are. Focusing on what our customers want was our number one goal. We don’t plan on opening brick-and-mortar stores because that makes the swimsuits more expensive, and it’s just not necessary. We do offer a unique “Try Before You Buy” program. For five or ten dollars, women can have tops and bottoms sent to them to see how they fit. They send them back, and that fee gets used toward a future suit. It also allows us to talk to them about different fits and styles, like advising them to size up on a particular bottom. It’s a really nice feature.

The whole retail industry is in flux. One of the biggest challenges in direct-to-consumer is competition from overseas — places like China where they have super low margins. How does your company deal with that?

SJ: That’s a great question. We sat down and had some hard discussions about whether to move production to China. We even made a sample there just to see what we were dealing with. The quality came back and it just wasn’t “Salty Mermaid.” We realized we didn’t have to do it. Because we don’t have brick-and-mortar stores, we can still offer lower prices while keeping production elsewhere. Yes, we deal with additional charges and tariffs, but it doesn’t add up to moving our facility. We stay loyal to our customers, and our prices have not increased, which we are very excited about. We plan on growing through Colombia. Our fabrics will always come from Spain because they are the best in the world. We will continue to grow by offering what we’ve always offered.

It’s incredible that even with tariffs, you haven’t raised prices. How did you manage that?

SJ: We were able to pre-purchase what’s called “print-to-dye” or “ready-to-dye” fabric. A lot of that was pre-purchased and sent to Colombia, so we have it in stock. We are prepared and will be good for at least a few more years with the fabric we have. Hopefully, by then, things will calm down. For the time being, we’re in a safe position. We have a great third party for exports and imports, and I feel very blessed for that. We made the right decisions and moves. We have a great team in Colombia and I trust the people I work with.

This is our signature question. Based on your experiences, can you share five things needed to create a highly successful fashion brand?

SJ: Yes.

1. Make time for yourself. When you have time for yourself, your best ideas come to mind. Creating a safe, quiet environment allows you to build yourself, which builds your brand.
2. Keep close family and friends nearby and listen to them. You don’t always have to follow their advice, but listen to them because they are your biggest supporters. Sometimes the smallest piece of advice makes the biggest difference.
3. Pay attention to the details. Sometimes we get stuck on the “big” things, like having tons of social media followers. Focus on the small details, like a customer who has bought three things from you. Write them a handwritten thank-you letter; it goes so far because nobody does it anymore.
4. Put your computer down. We often measure success by how stressed we are, and that isn’t healthy. I make sure that at a certain time, I put the computer away to spend time with my husband, my animals, or at the gym. You have to know when to shut it down.
5. Be yourself. If your brand represents you, just be yourself. When you’re marketing or meeting people, don’t try to be something you’re not. People are intuitive and can see through it.

Can you share some of the self-care routines you use to help your body, mind, and heart thrive?

SJ: This might sound funny, but I live on a farm with donkeys, horses, mini cows, and chickens. For me, animals absorb stress. My self-care involves walking on the property and being with the animals. I also make sure that at night, I close my computer and for 30 minutes I don’t watch TV or text. I am completely in my own mindset. So many of us lay in bed scrolling, so I try to avoid that. Finally, I’ve always been a bit of a gym rat. No matter how busy my day is, my gym time is non-negotiable. My family and employees know that during that time, I am out of touch. If you set that rule, you have to stick to it.

I also take very good care of my skin. Being a swim brand, you are out in the sun a lot. I look back at my days as a lifeguard and want to shake myself for using baby oil and iodine to tan. Now, I focus on aging gracefully. I don’t want to look younger than I am; I want to look my age and present myself in a way that people feel comfortable with.

If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would it be?

SJ: I often sit with this thought. It could go many ways, like female empowerment or an animal foundation. But at the end of the day, a movement I would make is awareness for PTSD. I know this is out of left field, but I have had the opportunity to meet with veterans and I think people are under-educated on what our soldiers have done for us. We pat them on the back and say “good job,” but we don’t realize the reality of what they’ve been through. Building awareness for the veterans of our generation is something I am very passionate about.

SJ, it’s been an honor to meet you. How can our readers follow your work and purchase your swimwear?

SJ: They can go to saltymermaid.com to shop. We also have a beautiful ambassadors page and a women’s support group on Facebook. You can also follow us on social media @saltymermaidswim. I often jump onto stories to show sneak peeks of what’s going on behind the scenes, and sometimes I post my mini cows — though not in swimsuits!

Well, SJ, it’s been a delight. I wish you continued success and good health.

SJ: This was amazing, thank you so much. It was quite fun.