TLC Introduces A Real Life Merman On ‘My Crazy Obsession’


TLC known as the learning channel has been exposing viewers to odd and overall intruiging subjects they may or may not want to see. Shows like My Strange Addiction, Strange Sex, and My Crazy Obsession are just some of the shows the network has to document the most unusual subjects.

My Crazy Obsession might have one upped their game in taking on a Florida resident that lives his daily life as a merman. You read that right, 22-year-old Eric Ducharme of Florida is currently obsessed with mermaids, and he has chosen to live his life as a merman. You may find yourself asking, “How is that even possible?”

A model in his day, Eric has got everything figured out to a T. Whenever he can the merman wears a handmade fake fin as he hits the Florida waterways. Speaking in the episode that airs tonight, the 22-year-old says, “It’s a lifestyle. It’s a path in life that I have chosen.” How often does he take part of this lifestyle? Any chance he can.

Ducharme apparently drives more than an hour and a half outside of where he lives to practice his lifestyle as a merman. The merman often enjoys swimming in his golden fin, and takes this trip three times a week. Elaborating, Eric says, ‘When I put on a tail I feel transformed. I feel like I’m starting to enter into a different world when I hit the water.”

However, not everyone understands Eric’s choice to be a merman. A befuddled man sitting on the banks observes Eric, “I came out here looking for some alligators and saw a tail that I’ve never seen before in a river.”

For Eric, this isn’t a new hobby he decided to take up. Eric started livng part-time as a merman at age 16, while at Weeki Wachee Springs Little Mermain show, as a merprince.

Although it may be odd to see the man shimmy into his orange fin, it’s been fully accepted by his family, and boyfriend. Ducharme’s boyfriend Matthew Quijano, explains how he first found out about the merman practices, “When I first met Eric, I was introduced to the subject of mermaids, on our first date. Your jaw just kind of drops and you’re just like, ‘wow.””

If anyone could put the merman’s obsession into perspective, it’s his own mother Candy Ducharme tells the TLC program, “We have our own passions. That’s Eric’s life.”

What do you think of the merman? Is it a crazy obsession or just a different type of lifestyle?

Check out Eric, the merman, in action:

[Featured photo: Shutterstock, Inc]

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