Nice fins, dude

Photo: Facebook

The best things in life are free, even if they exist way outside your comfort zone, as a Kamloops man found out.

After learning that models got free photoshoots at local photography studio/salon Beauty in the RAW, Kris Fraser jokingly said he would gladly be the subject of a racy boudoir shoot. 

At first, it was played for laughs, but when owner Amanda Wilson floated the idea of a mermaid shoot, things slowly got more serious. 

"It was like, why not? It's time to step out of your comfort zone and try something, right?" says Fraser. "So that's how it started. And the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it... Honestly, I'm glad I did it because it was a huge confidence booster. Massive confidence booster."

Despite no prior modelling experience, last weekend Fraser had his beard dyed, nails done up, donned a mermaid tail and plunged into the icy waters of Kamloops Lake for the camera.

And it turned out fantastic, if you ask him.

The "dudeoir" — a fun term for a boudoir shoot for men — photoshoot was anything but simple. Fraser had pasties custom-made, then spent three to four hours in the studio getting prepped with makeup and nails, which he says were brutal to wear.

"I have a newfound respect for girls that wear long-ass nails," he says.

The crew drove out to Bruker Marina, where  the beach-side photo session drew some confused onlookers.

"It's just promoting more people to be confident. A lot of people have come back and said, 'I never thought you'd do something like this.' That's the best part of it, keep people guessing," says Fraser.