Countless gay men are obsessed with mermaids and mermen. For a many of them, the fascination started with the Disney animated classic The Little Mermaid. If you haven’t pretended to be Ariel (maybe you preferred Urchin?) in a swimming pool, you haven’t lived.
Many of you probably saw the TLC documentary “My Crazy Obsession” mermaid addition featuring Eric Ducharme; the man who turned his passion for mermaids into a thriving business.
After stumbling across his YouTube channel, we had lots of questions and needed answers. Fortunately, Ducharme was willing to help us out!
Gayety: How many mermen are in the world (how many men own tails)?
The Mertailor: That is a tough question to answer, I am not entirely sure, and I do not think there’s a good way to respond to this question. However, our clientele is about 70 percent female and 30 percent male. It seems every day more men are joining mermaid movement, buying tails, swimming in them, becoming professional models or performers for hire.
Are mermen naked under their tails?
It is clothing optional I suppose. It’s not a “requirement” to wear undergarments in a tail. Personally, I wear a bikini or tight, square cut trunks when I am wearing one of my tails. I will say wearing a silicone tail with any undergarment does seem to get caught against the silicone when you are taking the tail on or off, tearing the undergarment off or giving you a little bit of a wedgie.
How long is the average tail?
The total length of the tail depends on the measurements of the person wearing it. On average, our male clientele measure 39 – 43 inches from waist to floor, which does not include the length of the actual tail fin or fluke, which ranges anywhere from 30 –40 inches in length.
How fast can mermen swim?
All of our tails are built with a hard, solid, polycarbonate (hard plastic) blade which allows the swimmer to propel themselves through the water fairly quickly. It a great core workout when used properly.
What’s the average cost of a tail?
Our tails range from $120 — $5,000. The price is dependent on the material the tail is made from and the complexity of the design the client chooses.
Who’s the most famous merman?
Well…. I get a lot of media attention for being a “merman” and “tail-maker”. I’ve been swimming in tails and making them since I was a very young boy and I suppose because of the length of time that I have been doing what I do gets around the world and back.
Do mermen prefer fresh or salt water?
Personally, I enjoy both; salt water is great for the ski but harsh on the eyes.
How long does it for mermen to get their tails?
Our tails take anywhere from 2 — 3 days to ship if it’s one of our stock products, whereas it can take up to 10 weeks to get a fully customized silicone tail.
Are most mermen gay?
I cannot say for sure, but it prevalent that most of our male customers are gay, but, believe it or not, we sell a lot of our product(s) to heterosexual men as well.
How much does the most expensive tail cost?
As a majority of our tails are made custom and configured how the client wishes, the base price of our higher end tail starts at $2,729.50 and raises in price accordingly depending on the color design, additional ornamental fins attached to the tail, and any other little bells or whistles the client may request.
