It’s fair to say Mattress Mick is something else.

You are probably familiar with the viral videos and with the persona of the madcap mattress salesman. Are there any rules to what they do? “We want to break the rules” says Mick.

Yet within the madness there is something that resonates with us. And it’s this which makes Mattress Men, the new behind the scenes documentary, such a compelling prospect. In part, the film gives us the backstory. How did this madness come about? How could one man become so inextricably associated with mattresses and great deals? Mattress Men allows us to step back from the persona to see the creators at work.

We want to break the rules

Dublin.ie were fortunate enough to be able to interview Mattress Mick and Paul Kelly together. Paul’s a key figure in the story. The film is as much his history as that of the mattress salesman. While Mick is the face of the enterprise, Paul is the man behind the camera. He’s directed and scripted all the videos. But the persona, they diplomatically state, was a joint idea.

meet-2-dubliners-mattress-mick-and-paul-kelly_0082_880x620

Paul Kelly and Mattress Mick shoot another video

When you speak with the two men you get the sense of a fruitful creative partnership built on trust and respect. And giving up isn’t in their vocabulary: “We scrap… and we love one another”. Underdogs in the truest sense. So far, a very Dublin story. And it’s very Dublin. Paul resides in Coolock and Mick in Clontarf. But Mick was reared just behind their store on Pearse Street. It was a property originally purchased by his Grandfather, which eventually became a drapery story run by the family.

So how did the Mattress Mick phenomenon start? This story goes back to the recession when salesman Michael Flynn was finding things difficult. Yet Mick had an idea: a bed-based store, and enough experience to know it could work. Paul had his own troubles at the time, some financial and some personal. However, when they first decided to work together, they knew there was something special.

We scrap… and we love one another

Apparently there was a lot of learning as they went. Paul wanted to “American-ise” Mick, but this had to be refined for an Irish audience. This is how they decided to leave in the mistakes, to keep the ad-libs, and keep things generally unpolished. And so a style developed – “People can relate to the mistakes” says Mick. And relate they did. After only a couple of years of working on a shoestring marketing budget they noticed they were getting more attention than they could have hoped for. Not many mattress stores can boast mention in a Stephen Fry tweet.

And how did the film come about? It first came through a chance meeting between Paul and director, Colm Quinn. Colm, as it happened, was a big Mattress Mick fan and after seeing the Pearse Street showroom, immediately knew there was a story to be told with two captivating characters. It was meant to be a 15 minute short film, but this was quickly shelved. The story was much bigger, and it would take three years to tell. Did they ever regret agreeing to be part of such a project? “No, this was the right path” says Paul. And there’s the feeling there is more to come.

What’s next for the mattress men? Paul has lots of new ideas, and scripts they have yet to film. Even one that’s curiously titled ‘The Wizard of Mick’. It has its own theme song, which is sung for me off-the-cuff by Paul. “Two lunatics”, Mick reassures me. There are no rules. There’s the chance to expand across Ireland, while the Mattress Mick name has become reasonably well known among the Irish scattered across the globe. They’re not ruling anything out.

But Mick is happiest with their sales. Their creative efforts are now seeing results. And they’ve been able to grow their customer base all across Dublin. This is a story you will want to see on the big screen.

Visit www.facebook.com/mattressmen/ to find out more about the movie.

Dave likes words. Big ones, small ones, bad ones and beautiful ones. But most of all he loves using them to talk about his favourite things – many of which happen to be right here in his hometown.

You might also like...

two tone portraits of owen boss and louise lowe smiling

live

Meet 2 Dubliners – Louise Lowe & Owen Boss, Theatremakers

Meet the people behind Anu Productions Louise Lowe and Owen Boss have worked together for almost 20 years. And many of those years have been spent at their co-founded venture – Anu Productions. Louise Lowe is a theatremaker, while Owen Boss is a visual artist. And, together, they have created a company that takes an interdisciplinary approach to dramatic performances. Combining their skills, they create unique works and experiences. To find out more, Dublin.ie’s Derek O’Connor sat down with them to discuss their work and how it’s shaped by the city of Dublin. Combining visual arts and theatre One of the main goals of Anu Productio

view of grass pitch and hill 16 from stands in croke park

live

Croke Park: From Hill 60 to Hill 16

Croke Park. It’s not just a stadium. As Tim Carey, author of Croke Park: A History says: “More than perhaps any other sporting venue, Croke Park represents something that is beyond sport”. The stadium is the home of Gaelic games in Dublin, but it has always had a deeper importance – one that’s intimately connected with the birth and evolution of the Irish nation. “It is freighted with historical significance,” says Carey. &

the white-haired, white-bearded john sheahan is lit up on a dark stage

live

Meet a Dubliner – John Sheahan, Musician

Being in The Dubliners always made you feel like a bit of an ambassador for the city. I mean we were all instantly recognisable, and I think people felt at one with us. There’s a nice feeling of unity about being a Dub. And Dubliners in general never made any great fuss of their own sons and daughters who became well known (laughs). When The Dubliners celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2012, I had been with the band for 48 of those 50 years. I served an apprenticeship as an electrician in the ESB, and worked there as a draftsman for a few years. But the music was always a hobby, and at a certain point I had to give it up and join the lads. It was precarious in the early days, but there was always a great sense of adventure about the whole thing. We were doing it for the craic as much as anything else, and gradually it became a living. I think anybody who can extend their hobby to the extent that it becomes their livelihood, that’s a real privilege. Especially anyone who’s making music.