Weird and wonderful tales of the Merfolk

From professional mermen to a Magaliesberg mermaid, Carla Hüsselmann dives into the depths of ‘mermania’.

His dream was met with scepticism, mirth, homophobic slurs and one distasteful joke that he should be hunted down with a harpoon. Chris O’Brocki knew though, that he needed to swim against the tide, holding true to his dream of becoming a professional merman, because just beneath the choppy surface, a world of transformative magic and child-like wonder awaited him.

After all, despite gender-biased mythology, before there was ever mention of mermaids, there are records of the first merman, Ea, the Mesopotamian god of water and culture, some 4000 years ago. The wise god had the upper body of a man and the lower body of a fish – later he was worshipped as Poseidon by the ancient Greeks and as Neptune by the Romans. But unsurprisingly, the portrayal of fishy femme fatales who lured sailors to their watery doom with their seductive song held more of a sway over the popular (male) imagination as the ages passed.

Fast-forward to 2011 when the mythological shape-shifting creatures are back in vogue as pop culture’s ‘new vampires’, thanks to Lady Gaga’s alter ego, Yüyi the mermaid, and the popularity of mermaid-themed YA books. Looking for a way to spice up his career as a horror movie actor, O’Brocki found himself randomly Youtubing mermaids one day, watching clips from his favourite ‘80s movie, Splash, and The Little Mermaid. ‘I was absolutely blown away when I came across a video of a “professional mermaid” with this beautifully sequinned, sparkly tail with clear fringes on her fluke. And I was like, “Whoa, wait, that’s a thing?!” I researched more and found out there was actually an entire community of people who did this for a living! The mermaid I’d seen was an A-list mermaid called Mermaid Hannah who did a lot for ocean conservation,’ relates the long-locked, blue-eyed aquatic performer from his apartment in Baltimore, US, after a day spent playing the ‘Lord Chancellor, the queen’s right-hand man’ at Medieval Times Dinner Theatre, his day job.

‘But then I was like, Okay, but where are the guys with tails? The only other mermen I could find was the great mertailor, Eric Ducharme, who’s famous worldwide for making really awesome silicone tails, and a few more who just posed for photo shoots. Like, nobody was really taking charge and paving the way for mermen and spreading the message of conserving our oceans,’ the 35-year-old relates. As a kid, O’Brocki had had ambitions of becoming a dolphin trainer, but growing up he’d lost sight of his deep connection to the ocean. Here finally was an opportunity to open himself up to the currents of life and buried childhood dreams.

But unlike The Little Mermaid’s Ariel who willingly relinquishes her voice to gain human legs and love, O’Brocki’s ‘number-one goal was to become the voice for all those guys who dreamt of becoming mermen’, he says. ‘I wanted to say to people, “We know you love mermaids but guys can do this too and they shouldn’t feel afraid doing it because we all share the same love for our oceans.”’

Doing it for the boys

Realising he had to become the role model he himself sought, O’Brocki set to work on his magical transformation into Merman Christian. He made his very first tail of neoprene and silicone from scratch, thanks to YouTube tutorials and his FX friends in the film biz. ‘I decided my mer-persona was going to be a tropical merman, so all his tails would be tropical fish-coloured, and I adopted the design of Darryl Hannah’s tail in Splash: the fabulous flowy, feathery dorsal fins on the back.’

Thankfully learning the dolphin kick all self-respecting mer-people must master came naturally, he says. ‘My maiden swim was a bit weird at first, but then after 20 minutes, it just clicked. I was lucky because a lot of people have panic attacks because it’s like your legs are in a vice. Because I don’t smoke and do cardio, I discovered that my breath hold is about three minutes, so I can swim around all kinds of corners and tight spaces. I also learned how to blow bubble and heart rings underwater.’

The most difficult part of getting himself into character is, in fact, putting his tail on, he laughs. ‘It’s never an attractive process! People love taking photos of us when we’re wriggling and squeezing into our tails! There’s also no mobility in the tail, so most of the time I’ll have a mer-tender carry me to the water or a whole band of guys will do it, like I had at New York Pride this year. Some mer-people suit up at the pool or use wheelchairs.’

His first gig was at the Baltimore Aquarium and slowly but surely he continued swimming upstream, busting gender norms in the female-dominated industry and performing at Mer-conventions, fantasy weekends, private parties, ocean conservation drives and even founding the Maryland Mermaids with seven mermaids.

Trying to disprove the prevailing ethos that only girls can pull off glittery tails, seashell crowns and shimmering waterproof make-up did have its difficult moments, particularly when dealing with male critics, admits O’Brocki. ‘As mermen we get questioned about our sexuality and why we’re working with children, especially by men. But this negativity disappears every time I see a young boy who lights up and wants to hug me because he didn’t realise that mer-boys existed. They get such huge smiles on their faces and they want to race me in the pool and find out if my dad is King Triton or Poseidon. I’ve also got some very personal messages from men who’ve thanked me for giving them the strength and courage to follow their dreams.’

Living his Triton Life

The world is riding a wave of Mermania currently with a remake of The Little Mermaid on the horizon, the hit TV series Sirens, mer-people swimming schools popping up worldwide, endless merchandise, YouTube rainbow hair tutorials, and a rumour that Channing ‘Torso’ Tatum will be starring in a gender-swapping remake of Splash. ‘Merpeople culture has exploded and making high-quality tails is big business now – they can go for anything from $1500 to $6000,’ says O’Brocki.

Many high-profile mermen and mermaids are “eco-art” activists, swimming with dolphins and whales and in fragile ecosystems to raise awareness of the danger of destroying our oceanic womb. Merman Christian has dedicated the last year to his ‘Reeformation’ awareness campaign. ‘I’m raising awareness of the degradation and bleaching of coral reefs because coral reefs are dying on a massive scale. As a merman, I really want to do something meaningful, that will matter 10 years from now, and not just what the latest merman accessory is or how creative I can get with a photo shoot.’

What is his advice for any aspiring mermen? ‘Be unique, because as the age-old saying goes, “There are plenty of fish in the sea!” Also, keep your fluke held high and have a thick skin. As Finding Nemo’s Dory says: Just keep swimming!’

#MermaidTheWorld

She’s a ‘mythical sea ballerina’ from the Magaliesberg called Mermaid Dawn who’s on a quest to find magical slices of ocean and light and reflect it back in breath-taking photographs to inspire individuals to take their own paths to conserve our life-giving ocean. It’s challenging being an inland mermaid when your heart belongs to the ocean, but 14-year-old Dawn’s (her human name is Lucia Smit) salty memories of faraway seas and her ongoing mermaid training keep her afloat.

Earlier this year, she travelled with her trusty sidekick, former press and dance photographer Mark Wolhuter, to Mauritius on her first overseas conservation adventure. ‘One morning out at sea, we were suddenly surrounded by a herd of Instagram influencers in bad bikinis who were manhandling a turtle to show off their so-called environmental concern,’ relates Wolhuter. ‘Dawn turned her back on the chaos and headed for the open ocean – and so did the turtle. I managed to capture her extraordinary swim with the beautiful turtle.’

‘I’d never gone swimming so far from the beach before,’ recalls Dawn, who’s also a keen ballerina, horse rider and archer (@ballerinamermaid). ‘On the coral reef, it felt like a magical, peaceful kingdom and that I belonged there.’

A self-described waterholic whose sister taught her to swim like a mermaid when she was only eight, Dawn asked for a mermaid tail for her 13^th birthday last year and Wolhuter, her godfather, acquiesced by purchasing one from SA’s leading mertailor, Jane Brits from Magical Mermaids SA.

This generous gift and its maiden voyage in a chilly indoor pool sparked the beginnings of a whimsical idea that would eventually transform into their eco-art conservation project, #MermaidTheWorld. ‘As we’re both passionate about the ocean, we’d wondered how we could use our resources and skills to contribute to marine conservation,’ relates Wolhuter. ‘Watching Dawn so free and graceful in the water, I realised that mermaids connect us to a childhood space where hope is strong, people are kind and dreams may be just around the next corner. They’re fairy-tale water dancers that embody the possibilities in “what may be”. The current resurgence of interest in mermaids is, I believe, driven by an increasing need for escapism in our everyday lives. As humans we’ve been so beaten by the crisis du jour and overwhelming arguments around news events and disasters that we desperately need to escape and to connect ourselves to a world of possibility and hope. We’re all trying to re-invent our souls in the mayhem.

‘Mermaiding provides this escape along with a few other bonuses: general fitness, a connection to water and, when you learn to free dive, as we both have, you have to get into a very meditative state, which has its own benefits. Being a mermaid is symbolic of a vulnerable spiritual and environmental connection to the ocean.’

By blending the art forms of ballet and photography with free diving, in service of ocean conservation, they’re hoping to inspire personal shifts to a sustainable lifestyle for the good of the ocean and for all of humanity, says Wolhuter.  

Their next ‘conservation through art and optimism’ adventure is a trip to the Maldives. ‘The Maldives is slowly sinking and also suffered a major coral bleaching incident in 2016,’ says Dawn. ‘We’re hoping to photograph the local coral restoration projects and the Olive Ridley turtle project, which rehabilitates turtles caught in discarded fishing nets. I really believe mermaids are important in this day and age – and just maybe, magic and hope can inspire environmental change.’

View article published in December 2019 @ Khulumaonline.co.za

Photo credits: Mark Wolhuter