MR. GAY WORLD

THE AUSSIE CHEF WITH A BIG HEART

By KEVIN DU PLESSIS | Photography by Kevin du Plessis, Gerhard Meiring & Rubin van Niekerk

“IT’S NOT ABOUT WANTING TO BE SOMEONE, IT’S ABOUT WANTING TO DO SOMETHING”

Chef and fierce gay rights campaigner Jordan Bruno from Australia had the crowd at Villa Castollini in Knysna roaring when he took the title of Mr. Gay World 2018. After a demanding competition before and at the annual Pink Loerie Mardi Gras and Arts Festival he came out on top among the nineteen other delegates attending.

Each contestant had to go through twelve demanding rounds, which includes interviews, written tests, a social campaign, a social media challenge, online voting, a sports challenge, a photogenic challenge, national costume, swimwear, formal wear, they had to make a presentation video and then there was the final Q&A live on stage. So, it is truly not just a walk in the park for the prettiest or most popular gay guy from each respective country and Mr. Gay Australia truly deserves the support of the entire gay community as our new international ambassador.

The week of the competition was packed with emotion and genuine people, all of whom truly stood a chance of taking the crown. The most significant part of the event was seeing so many beautiful, fully rounded gay men from all over the world come together, connect, and learn from each other. I cannot count the amount of times I teared up just watching the process from behind my camera lens.

And how could I not, being in the privileged position to be one of the only members of the media to sit through all the judging and being able to interact closely with the organisers and judges? When our new Mr. Gay World presented his social awareness campaign to the judges, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Jordan is a reality TV chef in Australia and has run a campaign called The Gay Chef: Cooking for a Cause. He has released a free E-book packed with recipes and inspirational messages, as well as contact info about where gay people can find help if they need it. The book can be downloaded at www.jordanbruno.org. “I had an outpour of messages from gay youth after my sexuality was so publicised in the media; they were telling me that they were depressed and isolated because of their sexuality. I have created this E-book not because the meals have been tailored to the gay man, but because of the journey I have experienced with cooking. Food has the power to unite people and make them feel loved and I think we need that more than ever,” Jordan said. He also gave up working fulltime last year to be able to campaign for marriage equality laws in Australia which has since been legalised.

As the President of Mr. Gay World, Eric Butter, said, “It is not about wanting to be someone, it is about wanting to do something.”

In this Tenth Anniversary edition of the competition, it is worth looking back to what has been accomplished so far, even if it is just to emphasize that investing in the promotion of gay awareness across the globe truly is worth it. Mr. Gay World was founded in October 2008 by Butter, an ambitious entrepreneur from Australia. The first competition took place in Whistler, Canada in January 2009 with 24 delegates and Ireland landing the first ever title. The second edition was held in Oslo, Norway where South Africa won, followed by the third edition in Manila, Philippines where South Africa astoundingly took the title again.

It is definitely worth mentioning that South Africa has been the most successful country in this competition having made the Top 10 every year except for one, and the Top 5 four times, and of course winning twice so far. Short on their heels are the Philippines, followed by Australia.

South Africa has also hosted the competition twice before, making 2018 the third time. The fourth edition of Mr. Gay World was held in Johannesburg with 25 delegates and

Mr. South Africa who won the national costume category

Mr. New Zealand who won the swimwear category

“I HAD AN OUTPOUR OF MESSAGES FROM GAY YOUTH”

New Zealand walking away victorious. Eric butter calls The Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City the best grand finale venue yet with his favourite host so far being our very own drag star, Cathy Specific. The second time South Africa hosted was in 2015, dividing the events between Cape Town and Knysna with Germany winning.

In between these occasions there were also competitions in Antwerp, Belgium (New Zealand winning again), and Rome, Italy (the UK being crowned). Mr. Gay World VIII took place in Malta with Spain victorious and last year the Philippines won in Maspalomas in Spain.

Butter talked a bit about the highs and lows of the past ten years and he fondly remembers the most memorable delegate interview which was delivered by Mr. Gay China back in 2010, making every single jury member cry with his remarkable story of courage.

This competition will continue to shine its rainbow coloured light out to the rest of the world and undoubtedly will just grow stronger over the next ten years. In June 2019 it will be hosted in the beautiful city of Hong Kong, as was announced at the President’s Ball and Fundraiser on the night before the finale.

Mr. Belgium & Mr. Mexico

Betty Bangles & the Queens of Wigstock getting off their flight

The boys on a boat ride out to the Knysna Heads

President of Mr. Gay World, Eric Butter, & John O’Neil, vice-president

PORTUGAL mrgayportugal

NEW ZEALAND rickydevine_

AUSTRALIA jordanbruno.mkr

INDIA samarpan_mr.gayworldindia2018

TAIWAN mrgaytw

COSTA RICA miguelrodriguez_oficialcr

BELGIUM jaimie_deblieck

MR. GAY MARDI GRAS

Of course, this all took place at our beloved Pink Loerie Mardi Gras and Arts Festival’s 18th edition. It is truly remarkable that a gay festival has been able to last so long in such a small, yet amazingly beautiful town. Even though Mr. Gay World has been held in Knysna before, it was chosen again in an attempt to assist the rebuilding of Knysna after the devastating fires in June of last year.

At Gay Pages we have a long history of also publishing the winner of Mr. Gay Mardi Gras Southern Africa on the cover of our magazine. And in a surprising turn of events our own Kevin du Plessis, Gay Pages Art Director and contributor, landed the title this year!

Winning a grand cash prize of R5 000, a fabulous weekend away for two, a MichaelGamePlan skincare hamper and a year supply of Voël Verklikker swimwear, Kevin is now also the recipient of a golden ticket to automatically take part in the Mr. Gay World Southern Africa competition later this year.

Vice President of Mr. Gay World and festival director of Pink Loerie, John-Louis O’Neil did a fantastic job of handling both the demanding responsibilities of Pink Loerie with the added stresses of the Mr. Gay World competition. Pink Loerie was packed with amazing people and supporters of the cause we stand for.

Among some of the highlights were the performances by The Queens of Wigstock, fabulous after parties at Vinyl on Main and, of course, the Parade on Saturday afternoon that saw the entirety of Knysna on the streets to watch and take part in the proceedings. We look forward to next year, and seeing Knysna once again draped in all manner of pink decorations!