Kristina Makushenko | The Aqua Queen on Heels
Underneath the water and underneath perfectly choreographed sequences, Kristina Makushenko has the mind of a creative and a natural love of the water that combine to make nothing short of a mesmerizing and fun mix of sport and art.
Born and raised in Russia and the United States, Makushenko took to the world of water at the young age of six. Her natural flexibility and love of the water had her easily excel in synchronized swimming (now known as ¨artistic swimming¨) and quickly Makushenko started to compete. Going on to compete at an international level, Makushenko won two gold medals at the European Junior Championships and no less than four World Championship titles during her professional career. Afterwards, she turned her focus to coaching, helping other elite artistic swimmers reach national teams and compete on the world stage.
What came next wasn’t planned, rather it was viral. Rising to social media stardom wasn’t something Makushenko planned but when a video of her walking in a 360° circle underwater in heels went viral, 28 million people were telling her something.
Further encouraged by her mother, Makushenko started to make more videos and her TikTok following continued to grow and gain the attention of mainstream media across the globe.
Now based in Miami, Florida, Makushenko continues to entertain her following of over 800,000 in her free time. As well as being an influencer on social media, Makushenko primarily works as a commercial and lifestyle model, as well as offering private coaching in artistic swimming. Ultimately, she hopes to bring her work to her natural habitat and work as an underwater model in film and television. Until then, the “Aqua Queen on Heels” has the world excited about what she’ll do underwater next.
