This central Alta. barber is using mullets as a mental health conversation starter
A mullet haircut may not be for everyone, but the Canadian Mental Health Association hopes in central Alberta it means having a meaningful conversation about mental health.
John Lecuyer had been battling depression and alcohol addiction for years. Last November, he decided he couldn't take it anymore and grabbed a gun.
"I shot myself in front of my wife," he said. "It was horrible. I put her through hell for that."
Lecuyer spent a month in the hospital and while he was recovering he decided he wanted to talk about his own battle with mental health, so other men would not feel alone.
"I would never share anything close, but now I feel like I've got to spread the word because I don't want anybody to ever do this, to ever go through this."
Lecuyer first shared his story with his barber Jeremy Deleeuw. Deleeuw said it left a lasting impact on his life.
"I haven't been doing this very long, and the stories that you hear are pretty unreal at times," said Deleeuw.
Now men from central Alberta are coming to Mullets Barber Shop to talk, and to get a very specific haircut.
"I kind of forget it's there until people look at you," laughed Kevin Webber, a client of Deleeuw. "At work I'll get a couple thumbs up."
He's taking part in the Mullets for Mental Health Campaign. The 'business in the front, party in the back' hairstyle is serving as a signal that it's okay for men to talk about the mental health issues they're facing.
"It's definitely getting to a point where people need to be more aware and make it more acceptable in society to be able to ask for help and get it," said Webber.
Participants are encouraged to create their own custom fundraising pages and share them on social media. Money raised will go towards the central Alberta Canadian Mental Health Association.
"Four out of five completed suicides are male, so we really wanted to come up with a campaign that it's okay to reach out," said Sephanie Portingale, from central Alberta CMHA.
The next time you see someone rocking the retro style, Lecuyer hopes it serves as a reminder to start a conversation with the men in your life.
"As a guy, it's hard to share that stuff," he said. "You're supposed to be tough and deal with everything and whatever, but that's not the case. You['ve] got to be able to speak up and seek out when you need it."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nav Sangha
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.