Q Nightlife

DIRTY DOZEN

Bearracuda party crew celebrates 12 years in Atlanta

By Mike Fleming

FROM EXTENDED HOLIDAY WEEKENDS TO

regularly recurring events, from ocean cruises to dance floor cruising, and from local partnerships to international DJs, Bearracuda is a gay Atlanta mainstay. The sexy party series celebrates an amazing 12 years in Atlanta this Saturday. Bearracuda as a brand hit a few Atlanta gay bars in 2009 before settling into a lucrative and loyal relationship with the Heretic. The working partnership between Bearracuda’s Matt Mikesell and Heretic’s Alan Collins also bore bear-y big fruit in the annals of local LGBTQ celebrations. “Matt and I started working together when he brought his Bearracuda party to Heretic for the first time,” said Alan Collins, general manager of Heretic. “He and I quickly formed a strong professional and personal relationship.” “At the end of 2014 when we were both crazy busy planning the first Annual Bearracuda Heretic 

Cruse, we started talking about doing something else together,” Collins continued. “That’s when Atlanta Bear Pride was born, and 2015 was the first year.” With Bear Pride and an annual cruise on top of regular parties, the stage was set for a slew of partnered events ever since. UNPRECEDENTED LOYALTY Atlanta bears already loved some Heretic, but Collins called the response to Bearracuda and Bear Pride “unprecedented.” “When we were planning, we realized that what had happened in the night life was that people did not have to go to the gay bars to meet people like themselves,” Collins said. “What we had to deal with is that everything now has to be a special event and that raises the expectations of our customers.” Big and burly, yes, but lots of local gay subsets love Bearracuda. That’s why it’s always a sure bet for Q readers who love to meet the talent and ogle the post-party photos. “People joined together to celebrate, and they loved it,” Collins continued. “Now there are a lot of people who don’t identify as a bear that are right there on the dance floor with them. It’s a beautiful thing.” For his part, Bearracuda’s Matt Mikesell could hang his hat anywhere. After all, the party brand is the biggest of its kind in the world, hosting gay bear events in more than 50 cities in 15 countries.

For him, Heretic is hands down his favorite partnership. In. The. World. “These are the best guys I’ve worked with,” Mikesell said. “It gets bigger and better every time, and we can always expect a whole a lot of sexy men. It’s gotten to where missing it would definitely be missing out.”

THIS WEEKEND Fresh off the success of Bear Pride in September (moved from April after pandemic-mania in 2020 and 2021), the anniversary party on Saturday feels almost like a victory lap. Still, Collins and Mikesell are not ones to pull any punches. Australian-British DJ Paul Goodyear flies his 35 years of experience into Atlanta for the festivities.

Known as a House auteur, Goodyear brings the best of funk, high energy, disco and more to the tables at Heretic. His mixes include Billboard Top 10s in the U.S. for artists including Nile Rogers,

Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, Mary Wilson, Ed Sheeran and Ultra Nate, to name a few. “If the DJ sucks, we suck, and our DJs set the gold standard,” Collins said. “This will be a set for the books.”

DJ Mike Pope opens, and the night includes not only hundreds of revelers but bear-tastic go-go dancers to boot.

Bearracuda’s 12-year Anniversary with DJ Paul Goodyear takes place Nov. 20 at Heretic, 10 p.m. Visit hereticatlanta.com, and advance tickets are available at bearracuda.com.