[Current press releases follow this introduction: just scroll]
Meet Andy Reynolds dba Popular Publicity.
He is a NYC-based freelance book, music, film, event and lifestyle publicist, as well as an expert in LGBT media worldwide. He knows people who want to know you and will present your book, music, or service with understanding, wit, and, when appropriate, humor. Placements include The New York Times, Washington Post, The PBS Newshour and various local NPR stations.
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Miss Gay Northeast America 2017 Dessie Love Blake by Michael Andrew Voight.
More Dessie Love Blake on Instagram and Facebook and MyDragSuperstar.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Andy Reynolds, Popular Publicity, andy@popularpublicity.com
Miss Gay Northeast America 2018
Honoring Miss Gay Northeast America 2017 Dessie Love Blake
with a special performance by Miss Gay America 2018 Deva Station
The Doubletree by Hilton Reading
701 Penn Street
Reading, PA 19601
610-375-8000
Doors: 6:00 p.m.
Pageant begins at 7:00 p.m.
Cover $20
All ages
See the Facebook Event page for full info.
(New York, NY) July 16, 2018–On July 20, The Doubletree Hilton Reading will be the setting for Miss Gay Northeast America, a preliminary competition for the 46th annual Miss Gay America Pageant.
It’ll be a night of glamour, Las Vegas style entertainment, high emotions, higher hair, and really, really big earrings.
Established in Nashville in 1972–37 years before "RuPaul's Drag Race"–The Miss Gay America Pageant is the world’s first, longest running and most prestigious female impersonator competition.
Miss Gay Northeast America is a regional pageant, meaning it is open to contestants from anywhere within in the continental U.S.
The pageant will honor the reigning Miss Northeast America 2017 Dessie Love Blake, from Houston and feature a special performance the the reigning Miss Gay America 2018 Deva Station of Columbus.
At left: Miss Gay America 2018 Deva Station. Photo by Scotty Kirby.
The evening's theme, chosen by Dessie, is "I Love Rock & Roll." "Wear your Rock-inspired looks from Mohawks to spikes. Take your Rock look from any genre of Rock, 80s big hair, 90s punk. Rock or your own vision of Rock Goddess!" The Miss Gay Northeast America pageant began in 2014 and is now in its 4th year.
Contestants will compete in five categories: Male Interview (in suit and tie), Presentation (theme-based costume), Evening Gown, On Stage Interview and Talent (big production number with costumes, sets and dancers).
The winner will go on to compete with nearly 50 others contestants for the Miss Gay America 2019 crown in St. Louis this October. The pageant will take place at the enormous new Hamburger Mary's St. Louis, which was recently opened by Miss Gay America pageant owners Michael Dutzer and Rob Mansman and partner David Pardue. It is one of the largest in the drag-themed 19-restaurant franchise.
Miss Gay America pageants are all-ages, classy, PG, family-friendly events; many contestants show up with spouses, relatives and children in tow.
Miss Gay America Giving Back
Above: Miss Gay America owner Rob Mansman, Lady Gaga, and Miss Gay America owner Michael Dutzer.
Giving has always played a key role in the Miss Gay America legacy. Living up to the pageant’s motto to “Be Excellent,” over the years Miss Gay America titleholders have donated millions of dollars to a variety of charitable organizations across the U.S.
In 2017 Miss Gay America pageant co-owners Michael Dutzer and Rob Mansman established the MGA Excellence Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. The foundation highlights giving by Miss Gay America title holders on their newly launched site, MyDragSuperstar.
Click here to read about the good works of Miss Gay Northeast America Dessie Love Blake.
Last summer, Mansman and Dutzer crowned Lady Gaga as the first ever Honorary Miss Gay America and donated $5000.00 to her Born This Way Foundation.
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Miss Gay America 2018 Deva Station. Photo by Scotty Kirby.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Andy Reynolds, Popular Publicity, andy@popularpublicity.com
(New York, NY) June 28, 2018–On July 15th and 20th, two Pennsylvania preliminaries (Miss Gay Pennsylvania America and Miss Gay Northeast America, respectively) will take place for the 46th annual Miss Gay America Pageant.
Established in Nashville in 1972–37 years before "RuPaul's Drag Race"–The Miss Gay America Pageant is the world’s first, longest running and most prestigious female impersonator competition.
It’ll be two nights of glamour, Las Vegas style entertainment, high emotions, higher hair, and really, really big earrings. Both events are all-ages, classy, PG, family-friendly events; many contestants show up with spouses, relatives and children in tow.
Each preliminary will honor its reigning titleholder, feature special performances by Miss Gay America 2018 Deva Station of Columbus, Ohio and require contestants to interpret the evening's theme in the Presentation category.
Contestants at both pageants will compete in five categories: Male Interview (in suit and tie), Presentation (theme-based costume), Evening Gown, On Stage Interview and Talent (big production number with costumes, sets and dancers).
The winners will go on to compete with nearly 50 others contestants for the Miss Gay America 2019 crown in St. Louis this October. The pageant will take place at the enormous new Hamburger Mary's St. Louis, which was recently opened by Miss Gay America pageant owners Michael Dutzer and Rob Mansman and partner David Pardue. It is one of the largest in the drag-themed 19-restaurant franchise.
Details on the two pageants are below plus more about the Miss Gay America pageant.
Miss Gay Pennsylvania America
Miss Gay Pennsylvania 2017 Tatiana Clark. See photos of Tatiana's crowning here.
First up, on July 15 in New Cumberland, is Miss Gay Pennsylvania America. A "closed" state preliminary, it is only open to contestants who are residents of the state Pennsylvania. The pageant will honor Miss Gay Pennsylvania America 2017 Tatiana Clark. The theme, chosen by Tatiana, in a nod to her roots–she's originally from Puerto Rico–is "Caribbean Queens–A Tribute to the Caribbean Islands." The Miss Gay Pennsylvania America pageant began in 1991 and is now in its 28th year.
More Tatiana Clark here, on Instagram and Facebook,
Miss Gay Pennsylvania 2018
Honoring Miss Gay Pennsylvania America 2017 Tatiana Clark
with a special performance by Miss Gay America 2018 Deva Station
Clarion Hotel and Conference Center
148 Sheraton Drive
New Cumberland, PA 17070
623-432-0765
Doors: 7:00 p.m.
Pageant begins at 8:00 p.m.
Cover $10
All Ages
www.missgaypennsylvaniaamerica.net
See the Facebook Event page for full info.
Miss Gay Northeast America
Miss Gay Northeast America 2017 Dessie Love Blake by Michael Andrew Voight.
Second, on July 20 in Reading, is Miss Gay Northeast America. It is a regional pageant, meaning it is open to contestants from anywhere within in the continental U.S. The pageant will honor the reigning Miss Northeast America 2017 Dessie Love Blake, from Houston, TX. The evening's theme, chosen by Dessie, is "I Love Rock & Roll." "Wear your Rock-inspired looks from Mohawks to spikes. Take your Rock look from any genre of Rock, 80s big hair, 90s punk. Rock or your own vision of Rock Goddess!" The Miss Gay Northeast America pageant b Miss Gay Northeast America pageant began in 2014 and is now in its 4th year.
More Dessie Love Blake on Instagram and Facebook and MyDragSuperstar.
Miss Gay Northeast America 2018
Honoring Miss Gay Northeast America 2017 Dessie Love Blake
with a special performance by Miss Gay America 2018 Deva Station
The Doubletree by Hilton
701 Penn Street
Reading, PA 19601
610-375-8000
Doors: 6:00 p.m.
Pageant begins at 7:00 p.m.
Cover $20
All ages
See the Facebook Event page for full info.
Miss Gay America Giving Back
Above: Miss Gay America owner Rob Mansman, Lady Gaga, and Miss Gay America owner Michael Dutzer.
Giving has always played a key role in the Miss Gay America legacy. Living up to the pageant’s motto to “Be Excellent,” over the years Miss Gay America titleholders have donated millions of dollars to a variety of charitable organizations across the U.S. In 2017 Miss Gay America pageant co-owners Michael Dutzer and Rob Mansman established the MGA Excellence Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. The foundation highlights giving by Miss Gay America title holders on their newly launched site, MyDragSuperstar. Click here to read about the good works of Miss Gay Northeast America Dessie Love Blake. Last summer, Mansman and Dutzer crowned Lady Gaga as the first ever Honorary Miss Gay America and donated $5000.00 to her Born This Way Foundation.
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Miss Gay Texas America 2017 Violet S'Arbleu by Michael Andrew Voight. 300dpi version available on request.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Andy Reynolds, Popular Publicity, andy@popularpublicity.com
Miss Gay Texas America 2018
Starring Miss Gay Texas America 2017 Violet S'Arbleu
and
Miss Gay America 2018 Deva Station
The Rose Room at Station 4 (S4)
3911 Cedar Spring Rd.
214-526-7171
Dallas, TX, 75219
July 10 & 11 9:00 p.m. Preliminary Nights, Cover $10
July 12 10:30 p.m. Revue Show, Cover $10
July 13 Final Night (Top 10), Cover $25 (Crowning will take place between 1:30 - 2:30 am)
www.missgaytexasamerica.com
Mr. & Miss Gay Texas America Facebook page
Contact: Andy Reynolds, Popular Publicity, andy@popularpublicity.com
The crowning of Miss Gay Texas America 2017 Violet S'Arbleu by Jae S. Lee for The Dallas Morning News
(Dallas, TX) June 21, 2018–From July 10-13, The Rose Room in Dallas will be the setting for Miss Gay Texas America, a state preliminary competition for the 46th annual Miss Gay America Pageant.
For those considering attending, the best nights to go are Thursday, July 12 for the Las Vegas-style review show and, of course, the following final night on Friday, July 13, when the top 10 contestants compete and the winner is crowned. Diehard drag fans are welcome to attend all nights.
In addition, returning to The Rose Room for its second year on Monday, July 9 is the Mr. Gay Texas America pageant, a preliminary for the Mr. Gay America pageant, starring Mr. Gay Texas America 2017 August Edwards.
Established in Nashville in 1972–37 years before "RuPaul's Drag Race"–The Miss Gay America Pageant is the world’s first, longest running and most prestigious female impersonator competition.
The Miss Gay Texas America pageant began in 1974 and is now in its 45th year.
The pageant will honor the current Miss Gay Texas America 2017 Violet S'Arbleu, of Houston, and feature Miss Gay America 2018 Deva Station, of Columbus, Ohio.
The evening's theme, chosen by Violet S'Arbleu, is "Garden Party." For the Presentation category, contestants will be asked to interpret the theme, in their gown, costume and look.
Nearly 40 contestants from 14 regional preliminaries around the state will compete in five categories: Male Interview (in suit and tie), Presentation (theme-based costume), Evening Gown, On Stage Interview and Talent (big production number with costumes, sets and dancers).
The winner will go on to compete with nearly 50 others for the Miss Gay America 2019 crown St. Louis this October. The pageant will take place at the enormous new Hamburger Mary's St. Louis, which was recently opened by Miss Gay America pageant owners Michael Dutzer and Rob Mansman and partner David Pardue. It is one of the largest of in the drag-themed 19-restaurant franchise.
More about the "Garden Party" Theme from Violet S'Arbleu
"My theme was inspired by a couple of things. By my drag career, because for the first few years I was known for just about always having a head full of flowers with a lot of 50's pinup inspired looks, and still today nine years later, I'm still wearing flowers, plus fascinators and fun headpieces like animals," explains Violet.
"Even my name is a floral pun (if you say it quickly it's "violets are blue") so flowers have always been around. Plus the Texas drag legacy is full of so many richly talented and vastly different entertainers who are always available and willing to share their knowledge and their insights. So I got this thing in my head, remembering that scene from “Alice in Wonderland” where she was shrunk and walks into the garden and is told 'You can learn a lot of things from the flowers.'
"We are about to crown our 45th Miss Texas and I wanted an opening with grandeur and color and whimsy that would make people smile and really just have fun. I've advised the contestants to think of anything pertaining to the phrase "Garden Party"– a picnic in the park, afternoon tea, Sunday best attire, the Kentucky Derby, even horticulture. I don't want to give too much away but I'm hoping we get a huge display of color and creativity to mark our festivities from all 28 contestants (14 prelims). For me, Drag is escapism, and I think especially now, we need and deserve a few nights of fantasy to give us all a reason to smile."
Related:
"SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY: The Cost of Drag – From Wig to Face to Heels, MISS GAY TEXAS AMERICA 2017 Violet S'Arbleu Breaks it Down" on the Miss Gay America blog MGAZINE.
From last year: "Inside the Miss Gay Texas America pageant in Dallas, land of sisterhood and sparkles" by Virginia Fay for The Dallas Morning News
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Andy Reynolds, Popular Publicity, andy@popularpublicity.com
(New York, NY) June 12, 2018 – On June 19, LGBTQ scholarly publisher Harrington Park Press will release their latest book, "Gay & Bisexual Men Living with Prostate Cancer (from Diagnosis to Recovery)."
Like previous titles from the imprint, such as "Transgender Sex Work and Society" and "LGBTQ Hospice and Palliative Care," the book is one of the first of its kind–written specifically for the medical community treating gay and bi men with prostate cancer.
“Gay and Bisexual Men Living with Prostate Cancer” is the most current and comprehensive book on the subject published to date, incorporating the tremendous new developments in cancer treatment from the past ten years.
There have been several books and articles written in the last decade aimed at gay men with prostate cancer. The first (coedited by Gerald Perlman who contributed Chapter 19 "Looking Back" to this book), "A Gay Man’s Guide to Prostate Cancer," came out in 2005. A sequel was published under the title "What Every Gay Man Needs to Know about Prostate Cancer: The Essential Guide to Diagnosis, Treatment, and Recovery" in 2013. More recently, Gilad E. Amiel and colleagues wrote a chapter about gay men and prostate cancer in Cancer and the LGBT Community.
Medical science has conspicuously–and shamefully–been complicit in valuing straight white men above all others. Women, racial minorities, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning/queer (LGBTQ) communities are underrepresented in clinical trials, which limits our ability to identify their needs and to respond to them thoughtfully.
The LGBTQ community has been described as experiencing an “ignored epidemic” and characterized as a “growing and medically underserved population” in the area of cancer care.
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(New York, NY) June 6, 2018 – Dekkoo.com, the global streaming media service catering to gay and queer men, has optioned a third season of their fourth original series "I'm Fine." New episodes of the dramedy will be shot September for release on Dekkoo in early 2019.
Dekkoo's newest original series "Paper Boys" launched on May 10.
Set in West Hollywood, “I’m Fine” is the story of neurotic, self-absorbed Nate, who broke up with his boyfriend Joey, has fallen out with his best friend (Jeff), and is surrounded by somewhat happier friends (Andy, Brian, Nicole). But, if asked he’ll tell you, after an exasperated eye-roll, “I’m totally fine!”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Andy Reynolds, Popular Publicity, andy@popularpublicity.com
(New York, NY) May 31, 2018 – The June 3 debut of Ryan Murphy's "Pose," set in the late 80s NYC world of black and Latino drag competitions known as “balls,” presents a great opportunity to raise awareness of the harsh lives of many trans people of color, particularly those on the ball culture scene, who do sex work to survive.
As gorgeous and “fierce” (to use the ultimate compliment of the era) as "Pose" promises to be, off the screen and outside the ballroom the lives of the real-life trans sex workers who inspired the show are often fraught with poverty, desperation, drugs, violence, and too often death.
In "Paris is Burning," Jenny Livingston’s 1990 documentary about the same world fictionalized in "Pose," one of the most quotable subjects, Venus Xtravaganza, is found strangled in a hotel room four days after her death; she’d been murdered by a client who discovered that she had a penis.
In Wolfgang Busch's 2006 documentary "How Do I Look?" (dubbed the sequel to Paris Is Burning) the gorgeous Heavenly Angel Octavia Saint Laurent (also in Paris is Burning) discusses doing sex work. And in "Trinkets," the 2018 musical about sex workers on Manhattan’s West Side in the mid-90s, Monique turns up dead in the morgue after driving off with a trick.
Earlier this year, scholarly LGBTQ publisher Harrington Park Press (Columbia University Press) released the book, "Transgender Sex Work and Society." Edited by Larry Nuttbrock, PhD, it is the first and only collection of studies on the lives of trans sex workers around the world. The book’s first chapter, Sel Hwahng’s “Qualitative Description of Sex Work among Transwomen in New York City,” describes the lives of trans sex workers on the very scene portrayed in "Pose."
Hwahng, who identifies as transmasculine, says, “I want the general public to understand that transgender sex workers who are sex workers to pay for their survival needs live very harsh lives. They are most often trans women of color and poor, and their race/gender/class positions reflect the race/gender/class inequalities we have in the U.S.”
In the book they write of the “fem queens” and trans women of the House Ball community:
House Ball members were forced into prostitution because of drug addiction, poverty, or lack of education. Because of the long history of extreme stigma experienced by members of the House Ball community, sex work, along with drug use as a coping mechanism forsex work, has become internalized within the community as a rite of passage.YoungMTF [trans women] members of the House Ball community must go through this rite of passage because of the perception that there is no alternative for them other than sex work and drug use.
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Episode 1 "How to Become a Dynamite Top" from "Sustain Your Change with Personal Trainer Branden Hayward: 6 Gym/Diet Hacks for Better Sex" on YouTube.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Andy Reynolds, Popular Publicity, andy@popularpublicity.com
For NYC Fitness Expert Branden Hayward, Great Sex is Equal Parts Sweat and Self-Acceptance
Download text version PDF | Word
(New York, NY) May 22, 2018 – Hunky New York City-based personal trainer Branden Hayward is on a mission to make 2018 your best summer of sex, ever. With the assistance of alter ego drag queen trainer Wanda, Hayward has produced a YouTube mini-series meant to do exactly that.
< Photo by Alex Marshall @marshallphotonyc Scroll for more photos.
"Sustain Your Change with Personal Trainer Branden Hayward: 6 Gym/Diet Hacks for Better Sex" is a set of six two-minute episodes packed with solid how-to advice geared toward helping Hayward's gay brethren feel confident, happy and sexy in–or out–of the bedroom.
From “How to Become a Dynamite Top” to “How to Power Through Your Workout Plateau,” to reducing your fist intake (portion sizes!) Wanda, with the help of her libidinous client, delivers straightforward (ish), butt-busting exercises, easy to follow diet guidance, and a life lesson or two.
Related: Personal Trainer and Total Babe Branden Hayward's 6 WOW (Words of Wisdom) For Great Sex
So why the video series? "In brainstorming ways to set myself apart from other NYC trainers," explains Hayward, "I thought about the power of humor. My fondness for drag. The joy of great sex. My passion for weightlifting. And my penchant for storytelling. Making the series was a unique way to combine all my loves."
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Contact: Andy Reynolds, Popular Publicity, andy@popularpublicity.com
“America's Gaysian Sweetheart” Brings the Funny to Miss Gay America preliminary
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THE BLACK PARTY 2018: "PIGTOPIA Teaser #3". is final of three teaser videos made in anticipation of this year's party. The dark and demented short film was produced by Leo Herrera with footage by Black Party 2018 Creative Director, international queer artist Gio Black Peter. (Last year's Creative Director Rob Roth was profiled in the New York Times.)
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Andy Reynolds, Popular Publicity, andy@popularpublicity.com
• Scroll for lots of stills and behind-the-scenes photos.
• "Paper Boys" website is at www.paperboystheseries.com
Noting the marked dearth of queer Asian characters in current TV series, Curtis Casella and Kyle Cabral asked, “Where are all the queer people of color?” then created a series of their own, “Paper Boys,” where nearly three quarters of the cast and crew were Asian-American, African-American, Latino, or trans.
(New York, NY) April 20, 2018–On May 10, Dekkoo.com, the global streaming media service catering to queer men, launched the six-episode first season of "Paper Boys," a romantic San Francisco-based dramedy about discovering who you are–and, with a newfound magical power–becoming who you want to be.
Co-Creator Kyle Cabral who plays Cole in "Paper Boys." Photo: Dan Chen.
Many additional stills available, just scroll or ask.
Synopsis
"Paper Boys" tells the story of Cole, who, in a brash decision, secretly moves to San Francisco under the guise of his straight best friend's engagement party to escape a dead-end career and the memories of a passionate summer fling with a boy in New York.
But when he arrives, he runs into the former fling and old feelings resurface. And after his friend, Daren, reveals his engagement was an accident, Cole uses the mysterious powers of a re-discovered sketchbook to try to put their lives back on track, whatever the consequences.
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