Merman on my crazy obsession!

[Mermaid Momo]

I'm watching TLC right now and a commercial just came on about a man who is in love with mermaids and has a bunch of tails! I couldn't tell exactly if he's a part of the community because I was washing dishes and I missed the airing date for the new episode too :( hopefully they'll play it again.

[MermaidBrittany]

Oh yeah!! Eric posted something about this on his page, i was interested to see it.

https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-snc7/373162_130816216935969_572720733_q.jpg (http://www.facebook.com/mertailor)The Mertailor Eric Ducharme (http://www.facebook.com/mertailor)

March 11 (https://www.facebook.com/mertailor/posts/617732498244336)


HEY!!!! Facebook followes, likers, and Mertailor fans! Check it out and mark your calendars for a "Merman" to Make a Splash on TLC's Second Season of "My Crazy Obsession". The show's sophomore run rolls out Wednesday, April 3 at 10:00/9:00c on the cable channel.

[FreshWaterMermaid]

Definitely gonna see this!

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

[Mermaid_Aurora]

Oh!! I wanna see! I'll definitely have to see that!

[Aino Revontuletar]

Ooh yay I love that show I definitely won't miss this! I bet I will be really jealous of all his tails, hahaha

[Blondie]

Must watch!

[Ariel-Starfish]

Oh can't wait! I hope it hits youtube soon So i'll be able to watch ^^

[Kanti]

Wow that actually sounds cool!
I wonder if the guy whos going to be on the show is anyone we'd recognize? Heheh

[SeaGlass Siren]

Oh man!! When is the air date?

[MermaidBrittany]

ITS ERIC!!!!! ITS THE MERTAILOR!!!

[NerineArcticMermaid]

yeah.. hes on a a show with a woman who eats deoderant, another woman who drinks animal blood and yet another who eats tape.
Hmmm

I think Ill skip that.

[Kanti]

Well liking mermaids is considered strange to the majority of people, so of course it's going to be on a show like that. I'm sure it won't be considered so extreme when people see that Eric is a normal guy (if it is really him on the show) and that he just likes mermaids.
There's nothing wrong with that, nor is there anything wrong with eating deodirent or drinking blood. Normal is only what the "majority" accepts or deems proper. For those people we consider "strange", they believe what they do is normal, just as we think dressing up like a mermaid and going swimming is normal.

Unless the show outright starts making fun of him or any of the other guests, I don't see the harm. At least he's getting mermaiding out there to the public. Maybe more people will get into it!

[Mermaidmechanic]

yeah.. hes on a a show with a woman who eats deoderant, another woman who drinks animal blood and yet another who eats tape.
Hmmm

I think Ill skip that.

Ooohhh... thats um... fantastic?

[MermaidBrittany]

I saw that it was with the lady who loves rats....

But I don't see how its really an obsession. Especially compared to the other people featured. I'd say its just his career.

[NerineArcticMermaid]

oh its definetly Eric. I saw the commercial wher he actually said something. And since I have unforunetly met him in person ..yeah its him...

(sarcasm) Yeah!

[Kanti]

I'm definitely going to watch it!
And I'm going to see if I can catch my mom nearby so she can watch too xD

[Mermaidmechanic]

How does someone get obsessed with eating deoderant? WTF childhood???

[Aino Revontuletar]

It's called pica, it's like a compulsion to eat things that aren't actually food. It's normal in childhood, like the kids who eat grass, glue or crayons, for instance, but for some people it can carry on into adulthood or even begin in adulthood

[Aino Revontuletar]

I love this show there are so many awesome people on it. Did anyone see the lady who was obsessed with carrots, ate carrot based meals three times a day, decorated her whole house with carrot themed furniture and ornaments, and even the clothes she wore had carrots all over them. She even had dangly carrot earrings. I thought she was so awesome, I want to meet her, hehehe :D

[Ashe]

It's normal in childhood, like the kids who eat grass Haha I was a grass-eater,and convinced I was part horse :lol:
Anyways, I think it is pretty cool that a mer is being recognized on television, but I just hope it doesn't give us a bad rep. Whoever it is probably won't say anything weird enough for that to happen, but these shows always use editing to make anyone on that show look insane. That is all I am worried about... :/

[Mermaid_Aurora]

Yeah, it would be a shame if they edited the episode so that even a mermaid could look completely insane. That would be rather heartbreaking, or even insulting, to watch. Personally I think the unedited truth is more interesting than the skewed information programs put on TV.

I guess the only way to see how it turns out is to watch it. Not too crazy about watching people eat weird things but I suppose I could just sit and draw until I hear the mermaid part come on xD

Speaking of eating weird things I think I'm the only person I know that never ate anything weird as a child. I think drinking the coffee creamer they have on restaurant tables was as weird as I got.

[Aino Revontuletar]

I never ate anything weird as a child either, but my brother had a very particular taste for sand XD

And isn't there two different shows: My strange addiction, which focuses on people with unusual addictions like eating deodorant and visiting tanning salons three times a day, which makes out that these people have a problem and need help; and My crazy obsession, which focuses on people with intense and unusual obsessions, like there was a kid who collected vacuum cleaners (his house was full of them) and a lady who's entire house and everything she owned was pink. I have watched both shows quite a lot, and I don't think that my crazy obsession makes them out to look insane, it just shows what they like doing, and what their daily lives are like, and how they spend their time etc. Most of the people on the crazy obsession show looked like really awesome and interesting people to me, but then again I tend to always be prone to having crazy obsessions of my own, and quite often identify with these types of people a lot, even though most on this show are more extreme than I am (or at least have more money to spend on all their stuff, hahaha)

[MermaidBrittany]

I never ate anything weird as a child either, but my brother had a very particular taste for sand XD


I ate sand! xD Especially when we went to beaches and I had to take a nap. I remember it tasting strangely well.....

[Aino Revontuletar]

Hehehe one day when we had gone to the beach with my Dad, he said to my brother "well you won't need any lunch then, you just ate a great big bowl full of sand!"

[MermaidBrittany]

Aha Thats funny :P

[Mermaid Stark]

Haha! I think my sister ate sand when she was little...
The weirdest thing is that my brother would pick up a stick of chap stick, roll it up all the way, and take a huge bite out of it. XD

[Nate Walis]

Before someone identified the subject of the series, I was actually wondering when I had been persuaded to make such a show and how I had managed to forget about it as well.

[Kanti]

Haha wow eating sand seems.. actually hard to do. Sand seems like it'd be gross and crunchy xD
But yea, most of the time people eat weird things like that it's not usually their fault, they just feel like they want to. I really hope the show doesn't spin off and make everyone look crazy.

@Nate - what do you mean??

[Nate Walis]

@Nate - what do you mean??
Just making a daft comment about how much the brief description given of the programme and the man who was the subject of it reminded me of my own self; obsessed with mermaids and having bought more than one mermaid tail in my time.

[MermaidBrittany]

Yeah this show always takes an obviously negative light on whatever their obsession is. There are definitely so.. shall we say interesting. But I honestly think its pretty normal. Its basically just like cosplaying, which is widely being "accepted" so I don't think people will think its that weird. They did one on a furry girl one time.

[Nate Walis]

They did one on a furry girl one time.
The local furries actually came out and got involved with a local festival that was happening in the centre of my home city last year, and I had to explain what they were to my in-laws.

They had a massive crowd interested in them and it was heartening to see how many kids thought they were the best thing in the world.

[erin910]

I really hope they don't edit it to seem that way. They came and filmed with us (mermaids) at the Florida Aquarium and he swam in one of our tanks. We did a MOCK audition for him and he was a pleasure to work with. To be honest, we were worried they would edit it to seem like we were all crazy! haha. but i'm sure that it will be good either way for "mermaiding" to become more mainstream, and for people to see that it can be a career :)

[Aino Revontuletar]

Yeah this show always takes an obviously negative light on whatever their obsession is. There are definitely so.. shall we say interesting. But I honestly think its pretty normal. Its basically just like cosplaying, which is widely being "accepted" so I don't think people will think its that weird. They did one on a furry girl one time.

I saw the one with the furry girl. She was on the "addiction" show, not the "obsession" show, where they make out that whatever it is is an addiction, like eating weird stuff for instance. They made it look like she was unhealthily obsessed with it, and that it was consuming her life, and that her family and friends were worried about her, etc. To me she just looked like someone with a huge love for furries, nothing wrong with her at all. The obsession show is different in that it doesn't focus on saying that the person has a problem and needs help, so it just depends which version of the show he is on

[SeaGlass Siren]

I seriously hope that they don't make us all out like we are crazy.or else I'm gonna be angry enough to punch a rabid shark.

[Aino Revontuletar]

Yeah they had better not. That would be rather unfortunate

[MermaidBrittany]

I saw the one with the furry girl. She was on the "addiction" show, not the "obsession" show, where they make out that whatever it is is an addiction, like eating weird stuff for instance. They made it look like she was unhealthily obsessed with it, and that it was consuming her life, and that her family and friends were worried about her, etc. To me she just looked like someone with a huge love for furries, nothing wrong with her at all. The obsession show is different in that it doesn't focus on saying that the person has a problem and needs help, so it just depends which version of the show he is on

Ah sorry my bad! :P And yeah I know, they make it seam terrible when its just different. And when things are different ​ it scares the hell out of people cuz they don't understand or don't want to understand.

[Mermaid Saphira]

I just saw the commerical for it! It is Eric, the Mertailor.
So far it doesn't seem as if anything is going to come out "crazy" sounding, but I suppose we will have to wait and see.

[Mermaid Momo]

yeah.. hes on a a show with a woman who eats deoderant, another woman who drinks animal blood and yet another who eats tape.
Hmmm

I think Ill skip that.
theshow you're thinking of us my stance addiction not my strange obsession :)

[Thalassa]

Given that the TV Guide description says: "A man in love with mermaids tries to live his life as a merman," I'm guessing they're not going to be complimentary. The question is to what degree of weird they make this look. :-S I hope to heaven my mom doesn't watch this.

[Mermaid Momo]

What time does it air? I've been so busy I haven't had the time to watch t.v that often to catch the comercial again

[Thalassa]

Erm, my computer says 10:30 PM and 12:30 AM, but then I'm not sure what time zone it's going from.

[jvry8c]

i'll have to record this. It sounds similar to my obsession with all things half human and half animal from the waist down (mermaids, centaurs, fauns, lamias, etc.). TLC is know for having odd shows though so i'm concerned it might paint eric and the mermaid community in a negative light.

[Mermaid Jewel]

I don't think it'll be quite complimentary, considering the way the commercials were worded...it's good exposure but it might not be good press for mers :/

[Aino Revontuletar]

I hope someone records this and puts it online, I really DON'T want to have to wait aeons before they decide to air it here :/

[Mermaid Momo]

I also hope that they don't paint this as a "I'm the only one " or twist his words to sound like there isn't a community or that he started it (as t.v shows are pretty known to do)

[Kanti]

I have a feeling everything will be alright.
Eric may not be the nicest to some of you, but he is really good at public speaking and getting himself out there. So far he's done lots of public things: news interviews, commercials, photoshoots; and I've never heard of him making a mockery out of mermaiding. If anything, he's good at making it look cool. I don't think he'd be a sellout and have let make fun of him, because when it comes down to it, that's a move that could hurt his business. I also think he'll be a good example of a mer, man in this case, which is great and shows that even guys can be mers too!
I'm sure if they had chosen Raven she'd have been the same way. She'd probably just try to do a great job and hope that everyone gets out there and does their best to make mermaiding look appealing. Also to show that you can be a mermaid without being immature or weird xD

[Morticia Mermaid]

I have a feeling everything will be alright.
Eric may not be the nicest to some of you, but he is really good at public speaking and getting himself out there. So far he's done lots of public things: news interviews, commercials, photoshoots; and I've never heard of him making a mockery out of mermaiding. If anything, he's good at making it look cool. I don't think he'd be a sellout and have let make fun of him, because when it comes down to it, that's a move that could hurt his business. I also think he'll be a good example of a mer, man in this case, which is great and shows that even guys can be mers too!
I'm sure if they had chosen Raven she'd have been the same way. She'd probably just try to do a great job and hope that everyone gets out there and does their best to make mermaiding look appealing. Also to show that you can be a mermaid without being immature or weird xD


Well said

[Mermaid Caspiana]

I have a feeling everything will be alright.
Eric may not be the nicest to some of you, but he is really good at public speaking and getting himself out there. So far he's done lots of public things: news interviews, commercials, photoshoots; and I've never heard of him making a mockery out of mermaiding. If anything, he's good at making it look cool. I don't think he'd be a sellout and have let make fun of him, because when it comes down to it, that's a move that could hurt his business. I also think he'll be a good example of a mer, man in this case, which is great and shows that even guys can be mers too!
I'm sure if they had chosen Raven she'd have been the same way. She'd probably just try to do a great job and hope that everyone gets out there and does their best to make mermaiding look appealing. Also to show that you can be a mermaid without being immature or weird xD


Couldn't have saidit better. :)

[Thalassa]

I have no doubt that Eric will have tried to make mermaiding sound okay, and I'm sure he's good at explaining it. But I also know how editing can make even the most normal footage look like the subject is a raging weirdo. I hope they don't, but for all we know they could have taken out everything he says about it being a hobby and a job and just kept where he swims, shows his tails and talks about how much he likes being a merman. (Not sure what he actually said, just an example.) Thus it comes off less as "This is a legitimate business venture/hobby" and more "IM A MERMAID! Wheeee!" And with these shows...they tend to do that. :-S I HOPE it's okay, but I don't hold out much expectations of it.

[Dacora]

Haha I was a grass-eater,and convinced I was part horse :lol:
Anyways, I think it is pretty cool that a mer is being recognized on television, but I just hope it doesn't give us a bad rep. Whoever it is probably won't say anything weird enough for that to happen, but these shows always use editing to make anyone on that show look insane. That is all I am worried about... :/

I ate grass too, clovers where my favorite and my friends started calling me a rabbit.

Here is a page about it on TLC, it has some pictures. The ones about Eric start on image 5.
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/my-crazy-obsession/my-crazy-obsession-season-2-pictures4.htm

[Kanti]

I have no doubt that Eric will have tried to make mermaiding sound okay, and I'm sure he's good at explaining it. But I also know how editing can make even the most normal footage look like the subject is a raging weirdo. I hope they don't, but for all we know they could have taken out everything he says about it being a hobby and a job and just kept where he swims, shows his tails and talks about how much he likes being a merman. (Not sure what he actually said, just an example.) Thus it comes off less as "This is a legitimate business venture/hobby" and more "IM A MERMAID! Wheeee!" And with these shows...they tend to do that. :-S I HOPE it's okay, but I don't hold out much expectations of it.
Yea that's true!
I hope there was enough said about it before Eric agreed to it so that it's like "alright, you're not going to make me look crazy or anything are you?" xD


Has anyone ever watched this show before? Do they often make the people look crazy?? o_o

[sunrise]

Aino Revontuletar:


I hope for the same. I don't have cable, so I won't get to see this unless it's online.

[Mermaid Caspiana]

I have no doubt that Eric will have tried to make mermaiding sound okay, and I'm sure he's good at explaining it. But I also know how editing can make even the most normal footage look like the subject is a raging weirdo. I hope they don't, but for all we know they could have taken out everything he says about it being a hobby and a job and just kept where he swims, shows his tails and talks about how much he likes being a merman. (Not sure what he actually said, just an example.) Thus it comes off less as "This is a legitimate business venture/hobby" and more "IM A MERMAID! Wheeee!" And with these shows...they tend to do that. :-S I HOPE it's okay, but I don't hold out much expectations of it.

I hope they don't do that.

[Mer_Adella]

I read straight from the TLC site for the show that they have had the deodorant eating woman and other people on there. And everyone is right in saying that editing takes a lot of context out. As someone quoted earlier the tag line of his part of the show "A man in love with mermaids tries to live his life as a merman" does not sound like someone who owns a tail making business. I'm sorry but these shows NEVER show the good side of things. To me reality tv is nothing more than a show for people to watch to either A pity the people or B feel superior to them or C you just can't believe what's going on so you HAVE to watch it. Horders is a perfect example. Yes sometimes people get carried away and hoard things. My great great aunt was like that. She saved everything from all the vacations from around the world. Do I need to watch a show about a 200lb lady that has tons and tons of clothing in her house to the point of that she cant live there anymore? No!
I hope it works out the best for Eric and that it doesn't make it look like all of us meds are nuts. But that is what tv does now a days

[Kanti]

Urg.. that is a good point, but I honestly hope its just something they're doing to grab the audience's attention rather than to actually base the show off.
I know animal planet has those reality shows about ANIMAL HOARDING or MY WEIRD PHOBIA where people are usually scared of kittens or something like that, and there IS somewhat of a "making fun of" factor in the beginning but then they usually bring in a professional or someone to say "you guys, this isn't their fault" and stuff.
I hope/think the episode might start off with "ERIC THE MERMAN HAHAHA" but then he might get into all the famous stuff hes done and people might be more impressed?

I'm reallllyyy hoping for the best at this point.

[Mermaid Caspiana]

I agree with both Adella a Kanti... Because I hate most tv now because of that and I really hope they don't make us out to e some freak show... I hope they don't but if they do u hope people don't judge a book by its cover. And they rob ably will because its modern day people and tv! Gr

[Dacora]

"Eric has been obsessed with Mermaids since he was a young kid."
"Eric has made hundreds of merman suits but is still trying to make the perfect fins."
"Eric is a certified scuba diver but chooses to free dive. He can hold is breath for over four minutes under water."

Are the captions on the photos on TLC. It could go either way I think. Most of the "my crazy obsession" episodes I have watched usually make fun of the person but I have not watched an episode in a long time. So they could have gotten better for all I know.

[ButterflyVision]

Merman suits?

[Mermaid Kelda]

Seems like an odd way of putting it, doesn't it? Especially since the majority of the community is female.

[MermaidBrittany]

Well, those not associated with the community could find many different odd names for something they don't understand I suppose :/ But in a lot of his interviews he talks about his tail being "full body prosthetics." You would think that they would coin that term, but then again, "merman suits" sounds rather negative, at least to me :/

[Mermaid Kelda]

Even before I knew there were mer communities, I would have called them "mermaid tails". But, it's not me on TLC's marketing team; I guess everyone has had different exposure to this sort of thing.

[Mermaid Caspiana]

hahaha...very true. ;)

[Kanti]

Haha yea that sounds weird as shit. A "mermaid suit"?
When you call it that I half expect it to come with a dress shirt and tie.

[MermaidBrittany]

Haha yea that sounds weird as shit. A "mermaid suit"?
When you call it that I half expect it to come with a dress shirt and tie.


xD Yuuuup

[malinghi]

My money is totally on them trying to make him look like he's crazy, cause I have rule about news coverage for this community. The rule is, there's only two good angles to the story:

-If the subject is young thin and female, make them look sexy and say they're awesome for "inventing" this.
-For everyone else, make them look crazy and laugh at what a loser they are.

[Nate Walis]

My money is totally on them trying to make him look like he's crazy, cause I have rule about news coverage for this community. The rule is, there's only two good angles to the story:

-If the subject is young thin and female, make them look sexy and say they're awesome for "inventing" this.
-For everyone else, make them look crazy and laugh at what a loser they are.

What he said.

[Arella]

I saw that on his fb but I'm worried about being misrepresented.

[Mermaid Momo]

Okay! So it's supposed to come on Wednesday at 10pm!

[spottedcatfish]

I think they are trying to advertise them as "swimsuits" thus the term "mermaid suit".

[ButterflyVision]

Pffft. But mermaid tails are waaaay better than swimsuits!

[Angel the Little Merman]

Eric had already audition for the show Face Off on Syfy and now this? I don't know... He's not one of my favorite mers in the community. :no-no: But you know what, I'll still see this. Maybe he'll support us a little more, despite of his ego attitude.

[MermaidNerenia]

I have a feeling everything will be alright.
Eric may not be the nicest to some of you, but he is really good at public speaking and getting himself out there. So far he's done lots of public things: news interviews, commercials, photoshoots; and I've never heard of him making a mockery out of mermaiding. If anything, he's good at making it look cool. I don't think he'd be a sellout and have let make fun of him, because when it comes down to it, that's a move that could hurt his business. I also think he'll be a good example of a mer, man in this case, which is great and shows that even guys can be mers too!
I'm sure if they had chosen Raven she'd have been the same way. She'd probably just try to do a great job and hope that everyone gets out there and does their best to make mermaiding look appealing. Also to show that you can be a mermaid without being immature or weird xD


Well said indeed! My biggest worry will be that they'll paint us all as crazies but I don't think Eric would let this happen. I'm not his biggest fan either but NO ONE out there can deny that A. Thay boy knows how to promote himself like no other and he's been incredibly successful B. He is always POSITIVE about us and our industry and C. He can swim. I personally belive that Eric has done everything in his power to paint us in a positive light and empower us. While he can't control the editing room, he can control what he says and does. I think this is going to be excellent publicity for us and I can't WAIT to watch it!

Nerenia

p.s. I didn't find out about it till last night when my mother called me about the commercial and goes "Wait, there are mer-MEN to? How cool!" go mom lol

[Kanti]

My money is totally on them trying to make him look like he's crazy, cause I have rule about news coverage for this community. The rule is, there's only two good angles to the story:

-If the subject is young thin and female, make them look sexy and say they're awesome for "inventing" this.
-For everyone else, make them look crazy and laugh at what a loser they are.

Haha xD
I think so too. People are very sexist, especially when it comes to mers.
It really pisses me off when mermen are always considered SOOO UNUSUAL and people always greet the idea of a merman like "MerMAID, well no he's a MERMAN! OHH HOW WEIRD". It's bad enough we call them mermaids all the damn time instead of something more general like "merfolk" that includes both genders, so guys are naturally pushed out.
That is sort of why I'm really glad it's Eric on the show, but I am a bit disappointed about it (and I REALLY don't mean this in a bad way) because he's gay.
I can almost completely predict that that's going to make people reinforce the whole "OH well he's gay, so duh NORMAL guys shouldn't be into mermaids!" stereotype because I've heard that one a million damn times.

I sort of hate how mers are perceived sometimes -__-

[Kanti]

Well said indeed! My biggest worry will be that they'll paint us all as crazies but I don't think Eric would let this happen. I'm not his biggest fan either but NO ONE out there can deny that A. Thay boy knows how to promote himself like no other and he's been incredibly successful B. He is always POSITIVE about us and our industry and C. He can swim. I personally belive that Eric has done everything in his power to paint us in a positive light and empower us. While he can't control the editing room, he can control what he says and does. I think this is going to be excellent publicity for us and I can't WAIT to watch it!

Nerenia

p.s. I didn't find out about it till last night when my mother called me about the commercial and goes "Wait, there are mer-MEN to? How cool!" go mom lol

Yea that's another thing I like about Eric, he swims REALLY well and coordinates underwater well with his models. He usually doesn't focus on kids either, which I LOVE. Mers aren't just for kids.. If you're over 16 and still like mermaids you're not crazy or immature..

[Toxotes]

I can almost completely predict that that's going to make people reinforce the whole "OH well he's gay, so duh NORMAL guys shouldn't be into mermaids!" stereotype because I've heard that one a million damn times.
And that's why i keep a very low profile about my mer-hobby. Most uninvolved people don't get it. It is hard enough to be a "dangerous gun-nut".

[Nate Walis]

Yea that's another thing I like about Eric, he swims REALLY well and coordinates underwater well with his models. He usually doesn't focus on kids either, which I LOVE. Mers aren't just for kids.. If you're over 16 and still like mermaids you're not crazy or immature..

I hate the idea of any man's mermaid infatuation being linked to his sexual orientation.

I think I count as being as straight as they come, and I'm constantly fascinated and infatuated with mermaids.

Wonderful as well that others agree that they're not just for kids either.

[Kanti]

@Nate - yea, I always sort of dislike that most of all the mers that get on television are usually girls who do kid's parties and hang out with kids. Don't get me wrong, it's nice that they do that and I like that some mers enjoy it, but aside from Eric I literally don't know other people who actually get publicity and don't do kid's parties.
Well, I know Raven does the renaissance fairs too which is cool! But I guess those can still be linked towards kids? I feel like renaissance fairs are the same in the sense that you either go to take your kids or you're a "nerd" who likes DnD or something. At least that's sort of how it was treated in my highschool. I just feel like it's refreshing when Eric doesn't have ANY contact with kids or doing anything for kids. I feel like people can just take it much more seriously.

@ Toxotes - Bahahaa. People are so stupid sometimes xD
I think guns are fine, people get their panties in a knot way too much over bullshit things. Driving a car is way more dangerous than owning a gun.

[Nate Walis]

@Nate - yea, I always sort of dislike that most of all the mers that get on television are usually girls who do kid's parties and hang out with kids. Don't get me wrong, it's nice that they do that and I like that some mers enjoy it, but aside from Eric I literally don't know other people who actually get publicity and don't do kid's parties.
Well, I know Raven does the renaissance fairs too which is cool! But I guess those can still be linked towards kids? I feel like renaissance fairs are the same in the sense that you either go to take your kids or you're a "nerd" who likes DnD or something. At least that's sort of how it was treated in my highschool. I just feel like it's refreshing when Eric doesn't have ANY contact with kids or doing anything for kids. I feel like people can just take it much more seriously.

We have very little in the mode of Renaissance Fairs in the UK, but the always look interesting when I see photos posted online, kind of like a historical and fantastical free-for-all.

You tend to find that's one of the factors with some gay men, they have little need or want to connect with younger audiences thanks to their own lifestyle and they can also tend to be very passionate about their interests at the same time.

I'm always at a loss to understand why people think that mermaids are solely the preserve of hyperactive little girls who absorb nutrition directly from pink glittery objects in the same manner as a plant absorbs the light of the sun.

Mermaids lured sailors to their doom with their voices and beauty, they didn't do each other's nails, want a pony or listen to One Direction.

Is a film like Splash! really made in that vein?

If it was then you'd have replaced Daryl Hannah with some genderless waif that mooned after teenage boys with floppy haircuts.

[Toxotes]

Thanks for your understanding, Kanti.

Regarding Mr Ducharme, i appreciate his engagement for a more adult dealing with mers. I don't know if his orientation is known to the public. But I hope if yes, it doesn't matter.

[greenman692003]

Yeah The Mer Tailor.....Why would you want too be on this TLC series??? With people who really Have Strange behaviors!?!?!? Just for the free Advertisement???? I wouldn't want my obsession to be Considered Freakish!?!?!

[Kanti]

@Nate - hahaha xD
Yea if anything I wish mers were put into more of a "greek mythology" type of category rather than a "prepubescent girl" category. Every other mermaid show is about some 16 year olds running around throwing water magically at people and sprouting legs like it's nothing.

@Toxotes - I don't think it's too hard to guess, honestly. He doesn't act completely flamboyant but I had a feeling about it when I watched his videos so I'm sure some people will speculate on that.

[SeaGlass Siren]

Despite the hate going around.. we should probably support him and back him.. cuz atm he's representing the community. whether TLC will reflect our community in a positive/negative light, thats a whole 'nother issue. if it does come down to it where they do make us look crazy based on ONE person, we should all riot and support the guy.

yknow? (k i dont make sense, i apologize)

[Traveling Merman]

Despite the hate going around.. we should probably support him and back him.. cuz atm he's representing the community. whether TLC will reflect our community in a positive/negative light, thats a whole 'nother issue. if it does come down to it where they do make us look crazy based on ONE person, we should all riot and support the guy.

yknow? (k i dont make sense, i apologize)

You're right! There's too much mertailor hate on these forums, ok he messed up tail orders and really put the Douche in Ducharme, but he's changed as far as I can see an we should band together behind him!...... We all have our differences but we're a small enough community as it is!

[MermaidBrittany]

You're right! There's too much mertailor hate on these forums, ok he messed up tail orders and really put the Douche in Ducharme, but he's changed as far as I can see an we should band together behind him!...... We all have our differences but we're a small enough community as it is!

Very well said :)

[lynsea]

So did anyone watch it?

[Kanti]

I think it's at 10:30 at night xD

[SeaGlass Siren]

is it not this wednesday upcoming? o.0

[Kanti]

Oh wait derp.
April fools.
I think it is this wednesday xD
Its the 3rd?? Someone check the Mertailor page

[Kanti]

Oh yeah!! Eric posted something about this on his page, i was interested to see it.

https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-snc7/373162_130816216935969_572720733_q.jpg (http://www.facebook.com/mertailor)The Mertailor Eric Ducharme (http://www.facebook.com/mertailor)

March 11 (https://www.facebook.com/mertailor/posts/617732498244336)


HEY!!!! Facebook followes, likers, and Mertailor fans! Check it out and mark your calendars for a "Merman" to Make a Splash on TLC's Second Season of "My Crazy Obsession". The show's sophomore run rolls out Wednesday, April 3 at 10:00/9:00c on the cable channel.





Nvm here it is xD
This wednesday!
So who's going to tune in after all?

[Thalassa]

I want to watch, if only to see how they treat it. But I don't get TLC, and I have no idea where to find it online. :-(

[Tasha Mermaid]

@Nate - hahaha xD
Yea if anything I wish mers were put into more of a "greek mythology" type of category rather than a "prepubescent girl" category. Every other mermaid show is about some 16 year olds running around throwing water magically at people and sprouting legs like it's nothing.


unfortunately they will not do that because original tales of mermaids (and all over the world were the same) had the Merfolk as being dangerous and undesirable.....the females were more known because they tempted sailors with song to lure them to death, where as to see a merman was bad omen, they said merman predicted death of a loved one, so to see a merman frightened people. That being said, neither merman nor mermaid was described as being beautiful either.

I agree that making out that only gay men are mermen is just crazy, original tales tell of strong powerful merman and always warrior like so it makes no sense.


on a completely different note, i was a dirt eater as a kid, mum used to say "atleast its got vitamins and minerals in it" hahahahaha, oh i wet to school with a guy who would literally eat anything, glue, chalk, and the what really odded me out....staples out of his stapler ......im pretty sure his was for attention and not an addiction, he was always into the whole shock thing.

[Tasha Mermaid]

I wonder, i have foxtel (pay tv) we get ALOT of those channels and we DO get TLC with the my strange addiction and the my crazy obsession but i would not have a clue if it will air over here as well, i would love to watch it also.......i do agree these shows make people out to be complete loony bin cases but i am sure that Eric would not be the cause of that, i hope the spin they put on it isn't to damaging to our community, because even Eric would be devastated about that, its his life too after all.
Hey we never know it may turn out to be good and if we DO look crazy, who is to say that there are not people who are watching and see beyond the spun lies to join us :)

[Tasha Mermaid]

hahaha i have to laugh, on the site one is the doll collector with the reborn babies (dolls that look alive) i collect them xD im a doll collector, mainly cabbage patch kids (originals) and reborns, mind you i dont take mine out.....oh and i have those krypt kiddies dolls (the ones that look dead with the horns, the blue one is Blitz) soooo two of my obsessions are on the show....yep i must be crazy :P

[Kanti]

@Thalassa - they might play it online! I assume every tv network does that by now xD
If not you can scour youtube, I'm sure someone will have recorded it?

@Lunali - Ohhh that's pretty cool I actually didn't know half the things you said xD I remember reading some Greek stories when I was in highschool and I remember in at least maybe one or two they said mermaids were pretty? And I mean, they wouldnt have to follow it exactly, they could tweak it up a bit! I really like how PoTC had dangerous and evil mermaids it was cool!

[Thalassa]

@Kanti: I hope so! I looked on the TLC site and I saw clips, but I didn't see episodes. I'm hoping they put the segments up, at least. XP I don't know why I want to see this so much...lol, I guess it's the same curiosity that makes people want to gawk at a train wreck. ;-)

[Kanti]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/whitneyjefferson/guy-is-obsessed-with-becoming-a-mermaid

Here is a sneak preview of the episode
At first I was a little scared because they did make it seem like they were going to be making fun of him, but I'm pretty sure it shifted to a more positive tone later one. I mean, I guess we'll have to see the episode to be sure! Here's hoping.

[MerEmma]

The comments sound like they don't like it though that's for sure, lol.

[Kanti]

Urg yea I CRINNGGEEDD really hard at his mom and his boyfriend because they just sort of made it seem so EEEESSSHHHHHH. BAD.
But with the ending note of "haters gonna hate" I think maybe they're going up the slope and making it more positive. They didn't introduce the fact that he has a very successful business where he has made tails for commercials and stuff like that, so I mean, I imagine that'll be a positive thing to mention xD

I think they're just trying to lure people in by giving them a "WOW LOOK HOW CRAZY THIS IS HURHUR WE SHOULD WATCH" because with shows, usually the beginning is the part that has to be either great enough to get people interested, or in this case, perhaps crazy enough.

[spottedcatfish]

Yeeaahh... I think at best this may be more like a "hey look there's a merman, and it's weird" episode, rather than "hey look there's a tail maker, isn't he Cooool!" :doh: Thanks TLC!

[Kanti]

Yea it's not looking too good right now, but I REALLY hope the show turns around at some point D:

[spottedcatfish]

I'm sure it will. TLC loved to dramatize their shows though. Anyways, Is there a way we can view this online? I don't have TLC. :p

[Kanti]

You know actually now that I think of it, TLC made me lose all hope in humanity once they decided to air Honey Booboo.
I'm unsure of the future of this show now :l

[Mermaid Star]

Though Eric doesn't want to make him self look bad and I dont think he would intentionally make the community look bad, he at one point wanted to get onto a reality tv show. So much so that when several girls including myself and several friends of mine where rehearsing for his mermaid show (that he canceled), he would try and stage fake fights and over dramatize any issues we had and filmed it to send off to a reality show in hopes that they would pick us up. I remember him having me talk to a photographer and havea little mini fight with them over the phone and on speaker so that they could film it. So he really isn't beyond saying and doing things that may be a little exaggerated to get onto a TV show. Though I am interested in seeing how they will paint this. Either way, I am sure he wlil get a boat ton of business from this.

[Kanti]

O: wow really? That sounds pretty intense and a bit crazy o_O
Hmm maybe he was just iching to get on a TV show then? I reallyyy hope he didn't sign anything away or try to make it look too crazy. Urg.. Suddenly hope has slid downhill xD

Also, hey Star haven't seen you in forever!

[Aquatarian]

Oh lord, did you guys see him in Buzzfeed. They have a little commercial too. It actually doesn't make him out to be a psycho (at least in the commercial). But he's already getting attention on tumblr.

There are people and blogs now posting his stuff. They mention his boyfriend so there have been a couple lgbt news blogs that have picked his story up.

There are also blogs saying stuff like "Oh my gosh this guy wants to be a mermaid! This is the greatest thing I've heard in my entire my life!"

Just a little taste of whats gonna be going on after it airs. :P

A lot of people are gonna freak, think Eric is the best and only tailmaker (which will be great for his business), and they'll think mermaiding is a totally original thing like they're the only ones who have ever wanted to own a mermaid tail... yada yada yada...

Annoying? Yes but if we get a few new faces here then I'll be fine with that. At the end of the day, the more the merrier.

[Kanti]

O: Really?
Thats good at least! I saw the facebook comments under the buzzfeed article and a lot of them were pretty positive (at least when I looked).

Urgggg I just want to watch the episode already >__<

[Tasha Mermaid]

@Thalassa - they might play it online! I assume every tv network does that by now xD
If not you can scour youtube, I'm sure someone will have recorded it?

@Lunali - Ohhh that's pretty cool I actually didn't know half the things you said xD I remember reading some Greek stories when I was in highschool and I remember in at least maybe one or two they said mermaids were pretty? And I mean, they wouldnt have to follow it exactly, they could tweak it up a bit! I really like how PoTC had dangerous and evil mermaids it was cool!



I study cryptozoology, im obsessed with that kind of thing, its the reason i know alot :P .....plus i also love greek, norse and ancient egyptian mythology.......i read ALOT it is kind of my addiction xD

[Tasha Mermaid]

O: Really?
Thats good at least! I saw the facebook comments under the buzzfeed article and a lot of them were pretty positive (at least when I looked).

Urgggg I just want to watch the episode already >__<



I couldnt help it, i just HAD to reply to that article, it annoyed me, they made us seem odd and crazy in the way it was written, i can have a temper at times lol......one gay guy commented basically along the lines of that its ruining his image because the "merman was gay" drove me nuts, one compared us to wanting to be donkeys.......if you want to go read my remark it is under "Anythya" :)

[MerGrrl]

I'm always amazed when I see people say things like, "...but why?" And I'm like, "Why NOT?!" For me, it's hard to imagine not being interested in having a fully-functional prosthetic mermaid tail. If he had invented even semi-functional wings, no one would ask why. ;)

[Kanti]

I study cryptozoology, im obsessed with that kind of thing, its the reason i know alot :P .....plus i also love greek, norse and ancient egyptian mythology.......i read ALOT it is kind of my addiction xD

Cool!
I love greek mythology but I'll admit I don't know the stories too personally xD
I remember the story of Scylla, but I think she was supposed to be a monster, right? Or did they say she was a mermaid?? o.O

And bleh, the article I didn't read I only really saw the video, well I guess it wasn't so much an article as it was a bunch of images and then words under them. I didn't like how the video unfolded but I'm still hoping everything will be alright.
Haha the comments I saw were alright! Maybe a few new ones got added? :/

[Thalassa]

Yeah, from what I've read, Scylla was a sea-monster. I mean, she was partly human, but she was also (by some accounts) supposed to have 6 heads, 4 eyes, and multiple tails.

Some associate mermaids with the Sirens, but those were originally bird-people (or at least winged). As far as I can tell, the myths of mermaids originated in Assyria, with a myth about a goddess who cast herself into the sea to become a fish, but became half-fish because of her beauty. Some cultures have mermaids as benevolent creatures who guide the souls of drowned sailors towards salvation (whereas mermen are depicted as drowning men because of their jealousy), some are neutral (such as the story of Melusine and other mermaid bride tales). As far as I can tell, the mermaids as actually dark, fish-tailed entities that lure sailors onto the rocks originated in the British Isles.

I like this stuff, too. ;-) Please correct me if I'm wrong or if there's a tale I've missed. I'd LOVE to read it!

[AnnaAbyss]

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod I have to see it :D

[Kanti]

*shrug shrug shrug*
I haven't read much about it aside from inclass things so I really only know a handfull
Everything you both said sounds cool enough. But yea, Thalassa, I actually have heard that sirens are more bird oriented than mer oriented. But I guess it can go whichever way you want depending on which story suits your fancy.

[Thalassa]

It's true. That's the great thing about mermaids. Since nobody really KNOWS, you can make them whatever you want them to be!

Back on the thread topic...that article has made what little hope I had plummet. :-S *really nervous*

[Kanti]

Yea I think me too xD
I'm actually beginning to worry

[inactive account]

Eric is really smart, he is getting free publicity, and that means more business. I do think that the boyfriend and the mum came across negative but that might just be because the editors took what they said out of context because these shows always do that. They ask questions and pick out all the negative (entertaining) stuff. I do think he is portrayed in this trailer as pretty normal - when he speaks he is sure of himself, and confident in the fact that he is comfortable in what he does, despite some peoples reaction...

[MermaidNerenia]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/whitneyjefferson/guy-is-obsessed-with-becoming-a-mermaid

Here's teh buzzfeed article. Almost ALL of the comments are POSITIVE!!!!! I have high hopes for this and can't wait to watch it tonight.

I stuck my fins in though and commented anyway (under Jackie Steinert)

[MermaidNerenia]

p.s. the jaws music in the clip made me laugh

[Mermaid Cascada]

I cant wait!!!

[Traveling Merman]

I agree that making out that only gay men are mermen is just crazy, original tales tell of strong powerful merman and always warrior like so it makes no sense.

Gay men can't be warriors? I think this was a very sweeping comment, strong and powerful? Are all gay men weak? Vin diesel doesn't look weak to me? And Alexander the Great was a conqueror and destroyer of empires.

RE: TLC? I'm preparing for the worst, they can edit it however they like, and make Eric look like a fool, remember they're selling a product with this tv show it has to meet certain criteria.

I just hope we all don't start slagging off a fellow mer (which is and has been rife in this forum) I hope we see the positive in that he's brought it into the publics peripheral, we should support him in this and we shouldn't desert him regardless of how he presents the mer community and its facets....... His sexual orientation shouldn't even be our business as we aren't in a relationship with him.

[halesloveswhales]

I think that it's marvelous that Eric is working so hard to expose the world to mermaids! I wish him the best of success from this endeavor!
It's important to remember that we all have a bit of crazy in us. We are all pretty serious about mermaiding, but we also have to have a sense of humor about it. What we do isn't normal, and we can't expect everyone to understand it. I think it's great that Eric is embracing the quirk that we all share and unabashedly exposing the world to it!

[SeaGlass Siren]

I'll be missing it tonight as i gotta sleep early.. morning flight to winnipeg..

tell me what happens/put the link of the episode in here once its out!

[MermaidBrittany]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdrwgn_ABrk
Hmm not likin the tone...
What do you think?

[Mermaid Arianna]

its not an obsession, its a life style thank you very much.

[Ashe]

I don't want any drama when I say this!
Truthfully... I'm scared. I have to be totally 100% honest here, but if I had never become a mer or experienced how great it is, If I were to see this episode I would think mers were freaks. And it kills me to say that, but it's true. Now, I am not bashing Eric in any way! I think he is a great artist and an awesome merman, but I really don't like how this is going so far. :/

Edit: I mean that I would still think that mers were cool if I had seen them portrayed in a positive and fun way (Hannah Mermaid as an example) But If I were to judge mers based off of the show/trailer I wouldn't think highly of them. (just to clear that up)

[MerEmma]

I'd still think they were cool ahaha but that's me (and I can understand why you feel this way). I feel like they are being negatively portrayed in the trailer so far and we can easily see from the comments. I mean...perhaps it's all right in a way. We're getting...attention to where those who do think it's cool will be really cool and google it and probably join the community. But they'd be really serious about it and not feel like it was a trend. Was this phrased wrong? I'm bad with phrasing...

[MermaidBrittany]

Well if not a lifestyle, its a CAREER!! -_-
@Kalani: I know i think I would too :( They just portray him as a looney!
They even have him say "Im obsessed with mermaids" Ok yeah, I know thats the show, but at least make people understand its a career!

[Mermaid Saphira]

It comes on at 10, right? I must be missing something...I've got the rat lady >.>

[Blondie]

Yeah I see a rat lady and a raggity anne. Eh?

[MermaidBrittany]

Yeah, hes comin! I am waiting with baited breath lol. I hate this show...

[Mermaid Saphira]

Yeah I see a rat lady and a raggity anne. Eh?
Oh, you to? I just thought I missed it >.>
WAIT! It's next -_-

[Blondie]

Just saw the preview!!! He's coming!!!

[MermaidBrittany]

Me too!

[MermaidBrittany]

AHHHH hes last! >:(

[Mermaidmechanic]

Too... much... exposure. @_@ Maaaaan, now I'm going to look like a poser when I get to Florida. I can imagine "Oh look, she must have started doing it after that MTV show..."

[Winged Mermaid]

All the articles I've seen covering this, the readers reacted badly :( The comments were very negative, criticizing, homophobic, saying the whole thing is for freaks and crazy/mentally ill people. Very rejecting of the whole idea. I guess I don't know what I expected.. I mean people look down on clowns, magicians, party princesses, ren faires, the SCA, and cosplayers.. and mermaids are far more of a stretch than that. I guess expecting people to be accepting is too much to ask.

[MermaidBrittany]

He spend 50 hours a week on it because its his job!! ahhhh!:headwall: Sometimes ya gotta hate media!! Not all publicity is good publicity...

[Usagi]

Oh man, I didn't even think about that... (MermaidMechanic)

[Kanti]

I didn't get to see it!
I had a stupid lab!
How was it everyone!?!?!?!!!!!!

[MermaidBrittany]

It wasen't very good.. very skewed perspective.

Did anyone else know he was trying out for the aquarium??

[Mermaid Julianne]

He didn't even seem obsessed. Just the fact he's a merman and not a mermaid. If he had collected over 5000 mermaid figurines or something like that, then that's a different story. But he is most certainly not obsessed. Also, was anyone else weirded out by his aquarium audition? Idk, it was just really awkward...

[Kanti]

Damn!
Did they at least stop making it seem SO AWKWARD whenever his friends/relatives talked about him?

[Thalassa]

Wish I'd seen it! Anybody record? I'll keep looking...

Sounds about how I expected it to be. :-S

[Mermaid Julianne]

They were supportive and kept talking about how people hate on the fact that he's merman and have to continually correct people that "No, he's not a mermaid." But it didn't seem like he fit in the show's oddness at all. At least not like the celebrity stalker girl before him. Idk, I watched the whole marathon before the season premiere, and let me tell you, you can't compare him to people who own a warehouse full of cabbage patch kids, a guy who recreated a Pan am 747 airplane in his garage, or a lady who only wears pink, eats pink food, and lives in a pink house. No way.

[Dacora]

I recored it but I dont know how too get it from my DVR to the web. If anyone can link me a tut on how to do that I will gladly upload it.

[MermaidBrittany]

I know! So awkward! >:/

And aha mermaid figurines.... aha .... well not even close to 1000 but... :P

[Mermaid Julianne]

I'm sure that some website, like putlocker, sockshare, or curica will have it online by tomorrow.

[Patches]

Kinda pisses me off, really. Now that this was on TLC everyone on the face of the planet will know about it. It dumbs it down a bit and makes it seem less special. Next time someone sees me and they say "Omg gurl I saw dat shit on TLC" I am going to fucking burst into tears. >_>

[Prince Calypso]

Kinda pisses me off, really. Now that this was on TLC everyone on the face of the planet will know about it. It dumbs it down a bit and makes it seem less special. Next time someone sees me and they say "Omg gurl I saw dat shit on TLC" I am going to fucking burst into tears. >_>

I feel the same way. i mean the awkward stares and whispers were odd enough as it was but now people are going to automatically think we are crazy or something. I mean for mers who live close together they can have each other for support and form their own little community within our community but for mermaids and mermen like myself who are pretty much the only ones in our towns it makes us as the weird crazy people.

[Patches]

I feel the same way. i mean the awkward stares and whispers were odd enough as it was but now people are going to automatically think we are crazy or something. I mean for mers who live close together they can have each other for support and form their own little community within our community but for mermaids and mermen like myself who are pretty much the only ones in our towns it makes us as the weird crazy people.

I thought the same thing!!! I was thinking about how it would be if I visited my mom in the hill country in Texas and brought my tail.
Those cowfolk would scratch their heads and probably try to burn me at the stake thinking I was some Satanical abomination.
Some of THOSE people are a lot more nuts than I am lol

[Ashe]

I just wasn't happy with the outcome. At all. I mean, if Eric is all good and stuff with it, then cool! Good for him! But I really wouldn't want to be on a show that is created virtually to make fun of the subject. My hope is that people won't think too much of it, and it will be forgotten in the next few weeks or so. But yeah. It was... um... awkward.

[Mermaid Kelda]

I'd still think they were cool ahaha but that's me (and I can understand why you feel this way). I feel like they are being negatively portrayed in the trailer so far and we can easily see from the comments. I mean...perhaps it's all right in a way. We're getting...attention to where those who do think it's cool will be really cool and google it and probably join the community. But they'd be really serious about it and not feel like it was a trend. Was this phrased wrong? I'm bad with phrasing...

I think I agree with Emma here. People who think it's cool will get into it and enjoy it. People who think it's weird would still have thought so without the TV segment. And if the whole thing makes mermaiding really popular, then all the better! We can always do with more interested people.

My only concern would be for mers whose families are iffy about mermaiding. Seeing it portrayed in a negative light might make them even less likely to accept their mer family member.

[Mermaid Momo]

It hasn't come on here yet, but I think Eric posted a YouTube link of the episode on the mertailor FB page. Also, you can look at some of the comments on his page

[Dacora]

I thought the same thing!!! I was thinking about how it would be if I visited my mom in the hill country in Texas and brought my tail.
Those cowfolk would scratch their heads and probably try to burn me at the stake thinking I was some Satanical abomination.
Some of THOSE people are a lot more nuts than I am lol

~Off topic I know but I live in the hill country in Texas and I can totally vouch for this. I am a crazy person to them and I have not even gone out in my tail yet. XD~

I dont think it was too bad compared to the girl before him. I wish they would have mentioned he sales the tails though.
And the part during his audition where he got all flirty was awkward.
Then to make matters worse my mom comes in and goes "wow what a hot merman". x.x

[Mermaid Julianne]

My only concern would be for mers whose families are iffy about mermaiding. Seeing it portrayed in a negative light might make them even less likely to accept their mer family member.

That's exactly like my family. My mom is supportive of me, but is still iffy about me being a mermaid. Luckily, after I watched the episode with her and explained things she was confused about or wasn't shown, she seems to understand the community more as well as how serious I am about being in it. My sister on the other hand thinks its a joke, as well as my dad and my grandma. I'm just worried that after seeing this, they will be even more critical.

[Ashe]

I wish they would have mentioned he sales the tails though.
And the part during his audition where he got all flirty was awkward.
Then to make matters worse my mom comes in and goes "wow what a hot merman". x.x
Wooooaaaah there. That's awkward. O_o And yeah, they really should have mentioned that he sells tails as his business, it made him sound like he kept the hundreds of tails for himself. :P

[Mermaid Momo]

*just now watching it* this show is just... I'm watching it with my patents and when he walked into the studio and they said something about the number of tails her had and the amount of time he spends "trying to create the perfect fins" my mom and dad both did one of those obnoxious disapproving laughs. The show said nothing about it being his job or that e makes them for a living and made them for some celebrities. I have to admit that I was/still am because the episode isn't over yet ,very nervous watching it with my parents/someone who isn't into mermaiding because I'm sure now that they're rethinking my obsession with mermaids

[Mermaid Momo]

Also it kinda annoyed me at how much my mom focused on the point that he was gay and everything he did had to be relation to his sexual orientation.

[Prince Calypso]

I mean all congrats fro Eric for having the balls to do the show in the first place and lets all face it. if the boy didn't look so damn good it could have been a complete disaster its just that for the rest of us it makes us seem a bit extrinsic if not down right crazy to other people. I mean i am also part of the furry community and people in my town think the few of us that are out and proud are weirdos.
i love being a weirdo and will fight over it if i must but
as a gay guy and a feminine one at that. as pretty as i look in my tail its hard to get out and just swim in it in public and this might have made it harder
but i do believe that Eric doing this may work for not only the negative but the positive as well. people can't understand us unless we expose ourselves.

[Prince Calypso]

Also it kinda annoyed me at how much my mom focused on the point that he was gay and everything he did had to be relation to his sexual orientation.

yeah i have had the same thing happen with my grandmothers. they seem to think that every little weird think i am into has to be connected to my sexual orientation.
ive like mermaid since before i knew what gay even was or what a penis was for that matter lol
I'm sure Eric was the same way.
although the fact that it was a gay man to be the first in our cammunity to expose himself to the world does give me a mixed feelings of great overwhelming pride and make me want to punch him lol

[Mermaid Momo]

Yeah! That just annoys me so much! I'm a straight girl myself but everytime someone tries to connect a hobby or something someone enjoys and finds happiness in to them being gay, it irks me to no end! Another thing she said was when Eric's mom said she found him in his room with gatbage bags taped around his legs to make a merman tail my mom said : " Ha! (She has this sarcastic little chuckle she does when she's being a smart ass,or at least trying) that's when she found out he was gay!" And I looked at her and said "no,that's when she found out that he wanted to be a freaken merman!"

On another note, I'm a bit wary about going I to the mermaid tags on tumblr now for a few days because that will be the only thing in that tag probably ( maybe some hate, nothing but gifs [though I could always reblog so e gifs] but maybe I'll be able to find some new Newbies to direct to MN)

[spottedcatfish]

I have yet to watch the episode, but from what I've been reading in the comments so far, it sounds like the show was a big let down. I knew that TLC would've played up the weirdness of it, instead of promoting his business. Though maybe being weird and eccentric is "cool" these days... I dunno and don't really care. I'm not too sure about watching the episode now. But besides from that, I agree with Prince Calypso, if we don't give the community exposure people won't be as understanding, however we need the right exposure, not on some reality TV show that features other odd people and their obsessions or strange behaviors!! I think I'll give it a few days, and watch the episode.

Also: I'm looking at Eric's Mertailor Facebook page, and it appears his publicity has exploded! He's either being featured on all of these articles or posted some clips from the show... forget about how this is going to affect the community! It's all about him!

[Mermaid Momo]

^ that's what I was talking about when I said you can read the comments on his FB, but my phone cut me off short :P hopefully the seriously Interested people will find their way to the forums eventually.

[Blondie]

This was my take on the episode...

First of all, this truly opened my eyes to the merman community. I never realized all the stuff they have to go through. Here I am blubbering about going into an empty pool by myself in my tail and fearing that a stray car will drive by and see me. But mermen get bashed so much more than mermaids. I feel bad for all the times I went on about how I was scared to swim because of embarrassment.

I do however wish they mentioned his business. The fifty hours is because he makes tails for people. However, I think that they left the part about his business out so that they don't seem like they're "promoting" him. Or they did it because they wanted him to seem more "obsessed". Editing a video clip can seriously change anyone's perspective. They only want you to see what they prefer. And they want THEIR message to come across.

I thought Eric looked stunning. I honestly was heartbroken when he didn't get the job at the aquarium. I almost feel like it was a set up (not saying it was). But I mean, two women in the merworld that rejected Eric? No offense but Eric's been in the mer business for a long time. He's VERY well known. And I don't know wouldn't those two women think, "Hey. This guy has a LOT of experience. Maybe he'll ever help us out and give us realistic tails to preform in. Plus he basically knows all the mers at Weeki Wachee. He can free dive without the hose. And he's a preformer!" I just don't see it logical to reject him.

But it also showed rejection at it's finest in the merworld. It's a tough business to get into. And even harder for mermen. And there are so many wannabes that think they are fit to preform. It goes to show you, not even the best have the greatest luck.

To be honest, Eric doesn't need a job at the aquarium. He's too famous for that. He could do better than preforming there. I don't know... I liked it but I wish they showed the community just a bit. To let them know that there are lots of mers out there. It really opened my eyes on Eric. I can honestly say I respect him a lot more now.

[spottedcatfish]

What Aquarium job was he trying to get?

[Winged Mermaid]

I heard through the kelp vine that the aquarium scenes were staged. That was before I caught it on air and it seemed to hold true as to the air of the whole thing. But I didn't hear first hand so I don't know for certian. You can't have a TLC reality without one staged bit for extra drama IMO. I mean it's TLC!

But yes, there has been and may always be a huge double standard for mermen. That includes mermen getting gay bashed, even if they aren't gay. It can be ugly stuff. D: The comments on all the articles are pretty heartbreaking.

On the brighter side, his FB Fan page went up by over 3,000 likes tonight! I think I saw that his site got so much traffic it crashed? So there IS good coming out of it. That's pretty awesome :) TLC was trying to avoid his business end of things - I mean they didn't even mention "Mertailor" at all- but that's not stopping people from finding it! Good deal :thumbs-up:

[Ariel-Starfish]

When is the full episode available? ^^

[Kanti]

Man I really want to see the episode!
I actually did go back and read what everyone had to say and it seems, like Elle said, it was expected to be bad. I'm disappointed, I actually had high hopes for it! But oh well D: I'd still like to see what went down though
I did see the articles on the news pages he was posting and yea, they were extremely negative for the most part which sucked, I remember seeing an article right when Eric posted it and the comments seemed alright but now I think more people have chimed in and the majority definitely disproves of mers. Still, I dont think that's anything new, people always seemed skeptical and mean about things so I mean whatever.
As for those concerned that mermaiding is going to be considered all "hipster" now and the whole "I was into it before that episode!" I think the episode got a lot less publicity than you'd think. Sure some people are going to think that but I think less than 1% will actually even consider things. I imagined they weren't going to exactly go around interviewing random mers, the show seemed to focus on one person at a time, but eh whatever I don't think it will have much of an impact on peoples opinions who didn't and still don't like mers. On the bright side, those that do are now going to find that there's a whole world of mermaiding that they have yet to discover!

Haha all I can say is Eric probably wasn't even a fraction as bad as that freaking rat lady. I saw her preview like 15 times and it was TERRIBLE. They definitely made her seem like an absolute nut and you know, maybe it's editing but she sort of did seem like one.
I saw a part where her husband was like "dude I don't want rats anymore" and she got MEAN about it and was like THEN OUR MARRIAGE CANT WORK. It's like geeze!!

[MermaidNerenia]

I was let down for sure. TLC definitly pushed the weird gay-boi agenda hard. I was upset. He's just a merman and they seemed like they were trying to hard to make something out of nothing. I was also upset at his audition and rejection at the aquarium (if it's real). I thought he swam beautifully and he had a character! What girl wouldnt giggle if a hunky merman winked and blew her a kiss while swimming by. They totally missed out on him.

NOTICE also the only people that had reaction shots while he was swimming were MEN!!!! Unfortunate, seems like they were fishing for negative reactions. He's getting torn apart on Yahoo! this morning and its upsetting.

But on the bright side, his website got so much traffic last night it pretty much exploded, the same with his facebook. Rania also got an influx I saw this morning, i'm wondering if its a direct effect of the show, people are just looking up mermaids on facebook or something. Anyone else experiencing this?

[MermaidNerenia]

BTW anyone know which spring he was swimming at?

[SeaGlass Siren]

i think at some point we all have to get together and show support. i dont want this to be painting a negative picture of the merman community (and clearly it has), so all us girls gotta do our part to convince everyone (especially the judgmental bigots and homophobic assholes) that it's normal if a guy wants to wear a tail and swim... and that sexual orientation has nothing to do with the hobby; that's as illogical as saying "we're mer-MAIDS and we go what we do because we're lesbian" .... completely irrelevant.

i mean the community is getting the attention that it needs, but its very negative.

[Nyx]

On another note, I'm a bit wary about going I to the mermaid tags on tumblr now for a few days because that will be the only thing in that tag probably ( maybe some hate, nothing but gifs [though I could always reblog so e gifs] but maybe I'll be able to find some new Newbies to direct to MN)

Yeah, don't. I just looked it up and it's all 'freak, idiot, weirdo, waste of my time, mocking' comments.
I've seen a few positive ish ones, but it's all in all very dissapointing.

[Nyx]

Waaait waaaaaiitt, some hope restored.
The further you scroll down the more positive an accepting the comments get!

[Mermaid Arianna]

now were all gonna look like posers when we swim. -_- I can see it now, "ohh you saw that guy on TV right?" It's kind of annoying(ok really annoying) that they made it look like he's nuts, they never mentioned that he sells those tails in his garage but made it more like he's spending every penny he has to make hundreds of tails for himself. I could have guessed it would be like that, I mean, TLC produces prostitots (toddlers and tiaras) and honey boo boo. (rambling rambling rambling, done)

[MerEmma]

Prostituts? I disagree.

[Mermaid Momo]

Yeah, don't. I just looked it up and it's all 'freak, idiot, weirdo, waste of my time, mocking' comments.
I've seen a few positive ish ones, but it's all in all very dissapointing.
Yeah I went into the mermaid tag last night and left promptly :/ I wonder what the merMAN Tag is like...

[Mermaid Momo]

now were all gonna look like posers when we swim. -_- I can see it now, "ohh you saw that guy on TV right?" It's kind of annoying(ok really annoying) that they made it look like he's nuts, they never mentioned that he sells those tails in his garage but made it more like he's spending every penny he has to make hundreds of tails for himself. I could have guessed it would be like that, I mean, TLC produces prostitots (toddlers and tiaras) and honey boo boo. (rambling rambling rambling, done)
Prostitutes? No. Big headed brats? Maybe. But that isn't TLC's fault. They were doing pageants before the show and I know not all glam pageant girls end up being big headed brats, but all of the ones I've met (both little girls and girls my age who did it) were.

[Mermaid Harmony]

I was sad, because he's a fantastic tail maker, I mean his tails look beautiful!! But it made him seem awkward and the pace of his section was really off. It was weird, I was looking forward to it and dissapointed, because they have these 'obsessed people' that they make look normal (having thousands of dolls in your house is not normal, maybe for them, but still), but they made him, who is normal but loves mermaids and has an awesome job look strange. Still yay for merfolk knowledge spilling into the world.

[spottedcatfish]

Look, forget about what everyone else thinks! They are entitled to their opinion, but so are we!! Wear your tails with pride and be confident! People will soon see that we are all different, and those who don't probably didn't see it from the beginning! Lets help the straight mermen of the community out! Hater's gonna hate, but maybe something good will com from it. Also, I'm noticing that it's mostly women who are replying to this post. I think that until this episode becomes an issue with the men on this forum, or when we are out in our tails, we can deal with it then. If you're worried that you'll look like a "poser", remember it's not about them, it's about us and what we like to do!

[Mermaid Fenicia]

Eric even made it into the Dutch (The Netherlands) news ;) http://www.telegraaf.nl/tv/opmerkelijk/21448937/__Man_is_zeemeermin__.html

[Tasha Mermaid]

Gay men can't be warriors? I think this was a very sweeping comment, strong and powerful? Are all gay men weak? Vin diesel doesn't look weak to me? And Alexander the Great was a conqueror and destroyer of empires.

RE: TLC? I'm preparing for the worst, they can edit it however they like, and make Eric look like a fool, remember they're selling a product with this tv show it has to meet certain criteria.

I just hope we all don't start slagging off a fellow mer (which is and has been rife in this forum) I hope we see the positive in that he's brought it into the publics peripheral, we should support him in this and we shouldn't desert him regardless of how he presents the mer community and its facets....... His sexual orientation shouldn't even be our business as we aren't in a relationship with him.


WOW talk about that being taken out of context !!!!!

OF CAUSE gay men can be strong, my brother is strong (while also tender and shy) and is gay, i have absolutely NOTHING against gay men seeming i have ALOT of friends that are, what i simply meant was that STRAIGHT MEN consider ONLY gay men can be merman because gays are not afraid to embrace both their feminine and masculine sides so they consider them "girly". when a straight guy pictures a merman (mostly) they see a girly male version of a mermaid, they FAIL to see merman as the strong powerful type they are, so while we know they are the general population of people automatically see it as a "gay" and "girly" thing ....What i was pointing out (which was directed at the main population) was that being a merman does NOT make you gay nor girly, that both gay AND straight men can be and are merman, to get people to show the masculine side of merman and not the feminine side they seem only to want to see.

I am most sorry if you read that wrong but i never said gays cannot be strong, i said its makes no sense to think that ONLY gay men are merman (referring to the public view of them) because merman ARE strong......so obviously if merman are strong and the public see gays as being the only merman then in my own opinion i would consider them to be the strong ones.

Also i think the main reason straight men see gays are being weak is because gay men are gentle, a great quality that seems lacking in alot of straight men these days, gays tend to be more gentlemenly then straight men, it seems the old ways of treating women like ladies is considered not desirable among straight men which is a shame but with how the way some girls act i can see why :S

So i am most sorry if you took my words the wrong way, believe me i never thought like that.

[malinghi]

My money is totally on them trying to make him look like he's crazy, cause I have a rule about news coverage for this community. The rule is, there's only two good angles to the story:

-If the subject is young thin and female, make them look sexy and say they're awesome for "inventing" this.
-For everyone else, make them look crazy and laugh at what a loser they are.


I called it. If anyone ever finds an exception to this rule please let me know.

[MerGrrl]

Keep on fighting the good fight, malinghi.

[Mermaid Azira]

With the not mentioning his business part, you could see shell bras in the back by the tails. I don't know what people will think about that cause a guy dose not really need like fifteen shell bras....

[SeaGlass Siren]

Suddenly the world knows about mermaid performers and they're all bashing on them. :| "grow up, mermaids aren't real". It's ironic, the ones who are telling US to grow up haven't grown up themselves.

Yet I'm pretty sure if they saw these performers in a huge ass fish tank inside a high end dance-club they'd be all over it like "oh how cool". But nope!

[Mermaid Momo]

A good thing that's happened since the show is the new members we've gotten

[malinghi]

While looking at cracked.com I saw a link to a website talking about his appearance on My Crazy Obsession, and the coverage there was pretty positive. Unlike the show itsefl also mentioned that he makes the tails professionally, and most of the comments were people complimenting him.

http://www.toofab.com/2013/04/03/my-crazy-obsession-mermaid-photos-video/

[SeaGlass Siren]

Well that's good at least. This is like.. A gem surrounded by garbage though.

[Traveling Merman]

WOW talk about that being taken out of context !!!!!

OF CAUSE gay men can be strong, my brother is strong (while also tender and shy) and is gay, i have absolutely NOTHING against gay men seeming i have ALOT of friends that are, what i simply meant was that STRAIGHT MEN consider ONLY gay men can be merman because gays are not afraid to embrace both their feminine and masculine sides so they consider them "girly". when a straight guy pictures a merman (mostly) they see a girly male version of a mermaid, they FAIL to see merman as the strong powerful type they are, so while we know they are the general population of people automatically see it as a "gay" and "girly" thing ....What i was pointing out (which was directed at the main population) was that being a merman does NOT make you gay nor girly, that both gay AND straight men can be and are merman, to get people to show the masculine side of merman and not the feminine side they seem only to want to see.

I am most sorry if you read that wrong but i never said gays cannot be strong, i said its makes no sense to think that ONLY gay men are merman (referring to the public view of them) because merman ARE strong......so obviously if merman are strong and the public see gays as being the only merman then in my own opinion i would consider them to be the strong ones.

Also i think the main reason straight men see gays are being weak is because gay men are gentle, a great quality that seems lacking in alot of straight men these days, gays tend to be more gentlemenly then straight men, it seems the old ways of treating women like ladies is considered not desirable among straight men which is a shame but with how the way some girls act i can see why :S

So i am most sorry if you took my words the wrong way, believe me i never thought like that.

I apologise if I read it wrong i think I might have read the phrasing wrong then.

[Traveling Merman]

I predict a serge of interest, a rise in his tail prices, lots of h2o fan girls, and then it will die down again! And the forums will be left with some new people who are actually interested in mers.

[MermaidBrittany]

I called it. If anyone ever finds an exception to this rule please let me know.
AGREED! Society is SO messed up sometimes :/ Its really maddening.

[Sephina]

I forsee him possibly getting a huge amount of orders, that he can't keep up with. Like when I ordered my tail.

Also, I already have a co-worker completely convinced that I am gay, just because of this episode because apparently they said the show made it seem like everyone involved in the mermaid community is gay. Other co-workers said he came off as someone who was really crazy, and smelled something awful constantly. Honestly going on a reality show like this wasn't really the best move.

[SeaGlass Siren]

Ok I just watched it... What In poissons name was he thinking omg they made him look crazy!!! I feel so bad for him! Boyfriend feels the same way and feels horrible for him too.

Pardon my language here but... Like how can ppl gender stereotype and throw homophobic slurs without thinking?
How can mermaiding (something that his physically and mentally good for your body and health) be frown upon by society while killing your liver, shoving alcohol soaked tampons up your ass at a club, and lookin like a caked up oompa loompa is socially acceptable?

Aside from the horrible show! I love the interior of his house. LOVE it! Guy has got some style!! I want his coffee table!

[meremily]

does anybody know where i can see this online? ive missed it!

[Merman Arion]

I'm also interested to see it online. Does someone have the link? :confused:

Thank you very much for your help.

[Mermaid Julianne]

Okay. This link http://www.tubeplus.me/player/2117062/My_Crazy_Obsession/season_2/episode_2/EP_1_%26_2_-_Raggedy_Ann_%26_A_Rat's_Tale_%26_Star_Chaser_%26_ The_Little_Merman/ has the episode before it also, but I looked and if you skip to 32:27, it should skip directly to him. I hope this helps!

Btw, idk if anyone on here is a Jersey Shore fan, but the celeb stalker on before him was on Jersey Shore and continually stalks the cast, especially Pauly D. You guys probably don't care about that though. I just thought it was interesting. Anyways, there you go!

[Mermaid Julianne]

Oh, and French Merman, I absolutely love your signature. I can't stop staring at it!

[Merman Arion]

@ Julianne... Thank you very much for the link.
I was disappointed by the episode because they didn't show much about Eric and his lifestyle but at least, it wasn't bad in my opinion. :)

I'm glad to see that you love my signature. I had a hard time finding it but it was worth it because it looks very good! ;)
You should take some time to find your own.

[Mermaid Julianne]

I'm planning on making a gif of me swimming for my signature, hopefully soon! I'm glad the link worked for you. I watch most tv online, so it wasn't a huge problem finding it. You just have to look a bit:)

[MerEmma]

I couldn't get the link to work. ):

[Mermaid Julianne]

Ok. Try this one:http://videobull.com/my-crazy-obsession-season-2-episode-1-2/

Go the the bottom of the screen to all search results for this episode, then click on play now on #6. This should lead you to an ad, but if you wait a bit, you can skip it and it will lead to the video.

If this doesn't work, I can try to find another one for you. Hopefully it works though.

[Kanti]

How exactly does this link work? o_O
Do you need to make an account with the website?

[Mermaid Julianne]

No, you should be able to find the links on the bottom, no login needed. Why, is it asking you to make an account?

[MerEmma]

It tells me to make an account.

[Mermaid Julianne]

Okay.
http://videobull.com/wp-content/themes/videozoom/embeded.php?title=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5wdXRsb2NrZXIuY29t L2ZpbGUvQjEwOTM1ODMxNDY4Mzc3Ng

I've copied the direct link, so if you wait 5 seconds, a thing will pop up in the corner saying skip ad. Click on it, and it should lead you to the video.

Now, on the actual video, click close ad and continue as free user, which will then lead to another button saying start video now. Click that, and you should be good to go.

And again, if you want to skip over the other people, go to 32:27. If this one doesn't work, I'll try to find another one, but I can't promise you it will work. But, who knows? It might this time.

[Azurin Luna]

I was finally able to see this on TV, as we got the TLC channel here now too. I have to say, I kinda felt bad for him that he wasn't allowed to join Weekie Wachie only because he is a guy and not a girl. Stinks like discrimination. The odd thing is, I had envisioned his voice to be different then he sounded :P

[SeaSister]

I just saw this too... I also feel kind of bad that he didn't get the "part", even in spite of his bad rep ("if something's not perfect or up to my standards, I have to re-do it" psht, BS. Not if any of the reviews have anything to say about the quality of his tails). The fact that he was dismissed because he's a guy is awful, but on the other hand it really did seem that he was being very sensual/seductive in his audition. Do you really want kids to be watching a merman that's busy showing off his muscles and giving impish, sexual looks? I probably wouldn't be entirely comfortable.

But, yeah, if he presented himself in a way that was more family-friendly, I'd be all for introducing mermen into the aquarium scene.

[Winged Mermaid]

I have to say, I kinda felt bad for him that he wasn't allowed to join Weekie Wachie only because he is a guy and not a girl. Stinks like discrimination.

Yeah, Weeki Wachee only lets guys do it as a publicity stunt. Like when they made a big to do about a guy learning to be a merman over a week and made a big promotion out of it, or when they had Larry the Cable guy in a tail. :/

As for the Florida Aquarium, I'd heard from people that were in the "tryout" scene and it was .. well that whole scene was very much "reality show" aka not reality at all :P They just put it in there to add drama, like they often do in those shows. Same reason they didn't mention he's a successful tailmaker, and that's why he has so many tails- they didn't want that to "ruin" the drama of the that aspect. They just wanted him to look crazy.

If Eric wanted to be a performer now there's nothing holding him back. He's got the money, the resources, the looks, and the skill (like breath holding and flips). In fact he use to perform at shows and such in a tank, and decided to sell his tank (Raven bought it, and that's how Merbellas got their first tank) and just do tailmaking.

[AniaR]

I actually spoke directly to the mermaids at the aquarium, and they said the whole thing was staged and that TLC was actually encouraging them to say "meaner" things- TLC rented out the aquarium and at the time the mermaids had Merbellas tails (before they became mernation) but they had to wear their own fabric tails for the shoot. TLC made him look like the Honey Boo Boo of the Mermaid world. :/

[Azurin Luna]

Ah, the fun world of word bending in tv shows... But still I think there should be more mermen in entertainment shows.

And yes, he looked all sexy in the shoot, but everybody can be thaught how to be around children so that he could perform there as well.

[Fun123joker]

Kinda pisses me off, really. Now that this was on TLC everyone on the face of the planet will know about it. It dumbs it down a bit and makes it seem less special. Next time someone sees me and they say "Omg gurl I saw dat shit on TLC" I am going to fucking burst into tears. >_>
i dont think thats true. when i try to explain mermaiding to people i meet at anime conventions the first thing i say is "you know that one thing on TLC with the mermaid guy" and they reply "no i dont really watch tv" or "i dont watch TLC" sooooo :/

[AniaR]

I have it told to me constantly usually in a negative way by clients who were weirded out lol

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[MermanZen]

Now we all know that some people will have a negative effect of what we do its a fact. Like how some guys think its a thing for only girls like it would be weird if guys do it as mermen, but they can judge all they want cause it's a passion that so many of us share. On mermetwork I've heard and seen so many wonderful and passionate people that really do enspire me to be a merman. Mers aren't weird we just see life in a different way.