Young John B., who is staged here as a merman prince, crossed my path when his parents asked for my help. Wasps had nested in the roller shutter box of his children’s room, and as a former beekeeper, I’m happy to help in such cases. It was already late in the evening when I entered the future merman prince’s room and found a somewhat shy 13-year-old boy who barely uttered a word at first.
I noticed the many sports equipment in his room. Bars, dumbbells, pull-up bars – what at first seemed like a medieval torture chamber quickly turned out to be the passion of a growing teenager. Now, you should know that John is dependent on a wheelchair – why, that’s not relevant here. Nor are any related further impairments.
A Little Merman Prince Deserves Recognition
But John is a great boy, a good student, an enthusiastic athlete, among other things, German champion in wheelchair tennis, he plays basketball and loves to swim. And of course – what boy his age doesn’t? – he likes fantasy movies.
When the wasp nest was removed, I started talking to his foster parents, and we chatted for a long time in the garden. I learned how arduous the struggle was for John to attend a regular school instead of a school for the disabled. He needs an inclusion assistant, provided by the city of Bonn at his school. And with this support, the 13-year-old boy has an average grade of 1.5 in his subjects. Imagine the potential that would be lost if this inclusion support didn’t exist.
Recognition for outstanding achievements as a student and athlete
I felt that this boy deserved recognition. Recognition that shows him that despite his handicaps, he has achieved something great and will continue to do so. Our project Federal Office for Magical Creatures has already carried out Fantasy & Model Shootings several times in the past, and I offered his foster parents to talk to John about whether he might be interested. A photoshoot as a vampire or werewolf seemed inappropriate to me, and since he is someone who likes to swim, I suggested he try his hand as a young merman. Essentially, a merman prince, the cool answer to Ariel the Little Mermaid.
The boy first had to come to terms with this fantasy setting, but then he liked the idea.
After some consideration with the photographer Barbara Frommann and the friendly advisors at Maskworld, we went looking for a suitable mermaid tail, which we found at the company -> Magic Tail, a great outfitter for fans of mermaid photoshoots and stagings.
Together with John, I drove to Waldkirch to Magic Tail. The owner, Kirsten Söller, took a lot of time to advise John on his type and to go through the suitable color combination for the merman fin as a merman prince with him.
