'Mermen' Calendar Full Of Bearded Fish-Tailed Men Has Raised Over $300K For Charity

You don't need to be a model or an athlete to pose half-naked for a calendar, especially when it's for a good cause. Newfoundland & Labrador Beard and Mustache Club got together for a fun calendar shoot in order to raise money for Spirit Horse NL. This non-profit, peer-led organization provides support for people with mental illnesses by offering therapeutic interactions with horses. However, it was a bunch of 'mermen' that raised them $300K.

As usual, it all started with a dare. A friend of Hasan Hai, the founder of the club, posted a picture of a buff bearded guy donning a mermaid's tail on Facebook inviting Hai to do the same. One thing lead to another, and in about three days Hai had over 70 people volunteering to pose for a good cause dressed as mermen. They called themselves MerB'ys - a compound of 'mermaid' and 'b'y' a Newfoundland term for 'boy or 'buddy' -, took their tops off, got into colorful mermaid gear, and graciously lied down to wave, flirt, and blow kisses to the camera. And, apparently, that was exactly what the audiences wanted. Hasan Hai claimed that at first, the group had "a goal of selling maybe five hundred, possibly a thousand if we're really fortunate," but the number of sales went through the roof, completely exceeding their expectations. They sold over 14 000 copies of MerB'ys calendars in 40 different countries. "I know it's going to help a lot of people for a very long time to access our services," assured Erin Gallant, the creator of Spirit Horse NL, who was shocked to see the amount of money raised with the help of this calendar. Scroll down to see the pictures from the calendar and the behind-the-scenes. More info: Calendar | Facebook | CBC News (h/t 22 words) Source: Ritchie Perez Source: Sabrina Kelsey Source: Darrell Sharpe Source: Jessica Stack Source: Darrell Sharpe Source: Greg Noel Source: Andrea Edwards Source: Greg Noel Source: Sabrina Kelsey Source: Andrea Edwards Source: Daniel Smith Source: Aubrey Dawe Source: Andrea Edwards Source: Greg Noel Source: Greg Noel Source: Greg Noel