Calendar of mermaid-tailed men raises $300,000

A calendar of bearded, mermaid- tailed Newfoundlanders has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for mental health.

Last year, around 30 burly guys donned sparkly mermaid tails to pose as “merb’ys” – a portmanteau of “mermaid” and “b’y,” a Newfoundland term meaning “boy” or “buddy.”

The whimsically dressed models posed by the sea, at a barber shop and in a pumpkin patch for the 2018 calendar.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Beard and Moustache Club said it would donate proceeds from their sales to a Newfoundland therapy service.

Organizer Hasan Hai tweeted a photo on Sunday of people rejoicing around a giant cheque for more than $300,000 made out to Spirit Horse N.L., a service that builds mental health and life skills for children and adults as they ride and care for horses.

“Fins well- donned, me Merb’ys,” tweeted Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’regan, who is the MP for St. John’s South-mount Pearl.

Before the grand total was revealed at an event Saturday night, Hai told the crowd that the pro- ject was intended to break down barriers and promote a broader definition of masculinity.

“We’d take our shirts off, and put some tails on,” Hai said, according to a Facebook video of the event. “We stepped outside of our own comfort zones, sometimes showing our lumps and our bumps.

“We presented ourselves in a very vulnerable way physically and emotionally, and showed the world that it’s okay.”

He said the admittedly silly project went from an idea to a printed calendar in a little more than two months, and eventually became a global hit.