beigeinterview
and then joel created
Grindr He’s the creator of the most exciting new media cruising application since Gaydar, and he’s proud. Torsten Højer logs on to Joel Simkhai, inventor of Grindr
T
here are relatively few things that bring gay men
neighbours
from across the world together. One is the release
t o g e t h e r,”
of a new Madonna album. Another is the fight for
S i m k h a i
equality. But arguably the biggest is the shared
continues.
love of online cruising.
“It’s
mad
that
people
In the late 90s, Gaydar emerged and we all logged on; by
the late noughties, Facebook added a different dimension to
who live in
the opportunities of online networking; and now, as just about
the same apartment block don’t meet each other, but Grindr is
everything goes mobile, there’s a new kid on the block, eager to
changing that - at least in the gay world. When I was holidaying in
steal your attention.
Miami recently I got talking to a guy on it who said he was in the
Grindr, an app for Apple’s iPhone, shows users 100 photos and profiles of men using it nearby. Users can create their own
same building as me. So we decided to meet up out front and we had a great chat for twenty minutes.
ad, browse profiles and chat with each other. According to Joel
“A few days later when I was flying back to LA, I was at the
Simkhai, Grindr’s creator, most dating sites focus on compatibility
airport and a guy using Grindr said he was hanging around as
criteria such as looks and interests, but ignore the importance of
his flight was delayed. It turned out we were on the same flight
proximity. “From my perspective, I think distance is the first or
and then sitting only two rows from one another. To me, it’s not all
second criteria,” he said. “If someone is a mile away or 500 feet
about sex, but getting people talking – why not get to know your
away, you’re much more likely to meet them than if they are many
neighbours? I find it all very exciting.”
miles away.” Thirty-three-year-old LA-based Simkhai is a man on a mission. He says he’s always been obsessed with who’s around him, who lurks nearby that could be a new friend or a new fuck.
But the name Grindr does imply some sort of sexual movement, doesn’t it? “Well, we thought it was like grinding people together like a social stew, actually!” he says. “And we thought the name also
“I’ve always known there was a gay guy living in my building,
sounded like a mix of ‘guy finder’. Of course, most people think
that there’s a gay guy on the plane with me, sitting somewhere
of it as the act of grinding on someone else. But we’re good with
nearby,” he says. “So I’ve always thought, what’s the best way
that - we see Grindr as sexy; we’re comfortable with sex and our
to connect with them? How can I communicate? The answer is
sexual identity. But it’s not all about sex; it’s not called Fuckr!
mobile. Everybody’s got a cell phone. When the second-generation
We’re not just about hooking up.”
iPhone came out with GPS, that was it. The idea was born. Then
Interestingly, Simkhai says he never intended the app to be used
when the iPhone FBK system [a software development tool] that
continuously as a flirting tool; it’s more, he says, to help people
makes it fairly straightforward to create apps was launched, I
make that first connection and then meet up in the real world.
could take it further. I called my friend and said ‘the future is now’.
He’s aware that the app is very visual and therefore victim to
It was my eureka moment.”
saucy images of men who look like they only have one thing on
Grindr, launched one year ago, now has around 500,000 users worldwide – a number that is growing by 1,500 people per day.
their minds, but insists that as gay men we are very visual people. “It’s like a virtual bar,” he says. “In the real world, you’re attracted
“It’s mind-boggling,” Simkhai laughs. “I sit here in my LA office
to the person by their looks, and then you meet and get to know
and on the admin system I can obtain data on where people are
more about them. We never envisioned this to be an app that you
using Grindr and it’s going crazy. It’s in Tokyo, it’s in Paris – I have
spend weeks on chatting back and forth, it’s a simple meet on
one user in Kazakhstan, and even one in Tehran.”
Grindr then arrange to meet in real life and take it from there. For
I put it to him that being the only user in a country kind of defeats the object of the whole thing. “He’s definitely the loneliest user!” Simkhai confirms. “There’s a guy in northern Alaska who’s the loneliest American user. But
For more information on everything Grindr, visit www. grindr.com. You’ll need an iPhone to use it, although compatibility with other phones is planned.
Joel Simkhai
me, the goal is real meetings.” So, the future is bright. Simkhai is (quite rightly) bursting with excitement about his new toy, and stunned that gay guys are enjoying playing with it as much as him. But where from here?
it’s got to start somewhere! For a while I was the only user,
“We’re looking at other platforms – Blackberry for example,” he
and therefore the loneliest user. It’s also good to know that
reveals. “We’re looking at additional features, such as the option
Kazakhstan has a gay population, and hey, Grindr is a good app
to turn off Grindr when you’re at work, but get a message alert
to use discreetly and confidentially. Hopefully this will become a
as an SMS, or a search facility where you can filter guys based
tool for people in countries where homosexuality is illegal to help
on criteria such as ethnicity or career. We’re also keen to explore
them find like-minded people.”
other routes, such as what Grindr can also show you other than
Simkhai, without intending to, has become something of the
guys, such as bars, or parties or coupons or happy hours nearby.
virtual cupid for isolated and persecuted gay guys who would
It’s the same question that I’m completely obsessed by: what
otherwise have no connection with other gay men. “I’m relishing
or who around me am I interested in knowing? What’s going on
my new role as matchmaker!” he jokes.
tonight? What should I do later? We’ve really only just scratched
But it’s not all about Mr Tehran hooking up with Mr Kazakhstan.
the surface of what’s possible, and as technology advances, we’re
“One of the most crazy things about Grindr is that it’s bringing
excited about what Grindr can provide.”
vol 3 issue 1 | beige | 49
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