THEGAYUK

Category: Interview

  • INTERVIEW: Scott Mills

    INTERVIEW: Scott Mills

    BBC Radio One’s award winning DJ Scott Mills, came out in 2001 telling the Guardian that he “would like to be accepted as a normal bloke who is gay and is on the radio and television.”

    (C) BBC – Photographer: Ray Burmiston

    The Gay UK’s Domenico Sansalone sits down over tea with Mills to discuss his recently published autobiography Love You Bye and discovers why this normal bloke loves Rihanna but hates Paris (the city, not Hilton).

    TGUK: What inspired you to write your autobiography?

    SM: A publisher came to me a year and a half ago and said, “do you want to do a book?” Initially, I said no because I just thought you see so many autobiographies out there and you think why have they done that, they’re 10? He said to me to go away and think about it and I did and I kind of collated a few little stories and thought there’s some quite good ones and quite a lot has happened. You don’t realise until you stop and think about it, how much has happened. So eventually, I said yes.

    TGUK: How full on was writing the book?

    SM: I wouldn’t do it again! I found it quite hard to write a book. The original one that I wrote, I showed to Radio One and they were like, no it’s crap. So that kinda knocked my confidence a bit. Then I decided to re-write the whole thing and I had about two weeks to go until the deadline. So I just decided to write it in the way that I would speak and from there it was one hundred percent better. It’s good now because there are some funny bits. Now it sounds like me but I found the whole thing a bit of a head f**k.

    TGUK: So you’re not going to pull a Jordan or Geri Halliwell and write multiple autobiographies?

    SM: Jordan’s done loads, like seriously? I remember, she came into the studio to do my show one time and she had just released the latest one of many Jordan books and I asked her as a bit of a joke to read some excerpts from it. Luckily for her it wasn’t live. She was going ‘and then I slept with him and it was great” and then she’d say “see I wouldn’t have written that” and I’m thinking sorry I thought you’d written that yourself!

    I love that Geri Halliwell has had enough to say to write two. I love her! She’s proper mental, isn’t she?

    TGUK: Did you read any other celebrity autobiographies as research?

    SM: Yes, I did. I’ve often been guilty of reading them anyway because I love a bit of trash. Do I want to read Sharon Osbourne’s book? Yes, I do! I’ve been on a lot of planes and read a lot of good ones. I thought Chris Evans was really good. I find people that have got something to say and have done stuff are more interesting than reading a book about, no offense, an X Factor winner, because that’s not that interesting to me. One Direction will look back and think I wish I hadn’t written that book.

    TGUK: Have your friends and family read the book yet?

    SM: They have. I found that the weirdest part. I was less worried about my friends reading it because they actually know a lot about it but there are some stuff in there that I don’t think I have ever told my mum about. I’m kind of dreading ringing my dad because I think he’s just read it and there’s nothing bad in it but there is some stuff that he might be uncomfortable with. I’ll make that call later…

    TGUK: What did your boyfriend think?

    SM: I think it was quite difficult for him to read about ex-lovers. I think to read it, as the current boyfriend, is quite hard. So yeah, he was a bit funny about that. I fully prepared him but there is a lot to think about.

    TGUK: So no wedding plans yet?

    SM: It’s not that I’m against it, I just can’t imagine myself getting married. I don’t know why? It’s not that I would never do it. I actually think that if I saw a couple other [gay weddings] then I would think, okay I get it now. It’s just I can’t visualise it in my head.

    TGUK: Rupert Everett upset a lot of people recently by saying he can’t imagine anything worse then two men raising a child together. What are your views on that?

    SM: I don’t know why he said that? I wouldn’t expect him to say that. The more my life goes on, I can imagine children more than getting married. I’m really good with kids.

    (C) BBC – Photographer: Ray Burmiston

    TGUK: Speaking of celebrities, who has been your favourite celebrity to interview?

    SM: I actually think, Rihanna. She works f**king hard. I’ve interviewed her more than most in the last three years and every time she’s always incredibly professional. She always has something new to say and something interesting to say every time. I have a girl crush on Rihanna.

    TGUK: What male celebrity do you have a crush on?

    SM: Ryan Gosling, I’m crushing on him a bit.

    TGUK: Who would you like to interview that you haven’t yet?

    SM: Madonna, I think she would f**king eat you alive. I think I want to do it whether it’s enjoyable or not just to say that I’ve done it. One of my friends said that Madonna told her, “you’re going to have to do better than that,” after she asked her first question. I’ve spoken to several people who have interviewed her and they said it was horrendous.

    TGUK: Our previous interviewee, Patricia Kaas wanted to ask you what you think about Paris?

    SM: I’ve been and I absolutely hated it. I know that everyone is like, it’s beautiful and it’s the most romantic place in the world. I don’t get it? I don’t understand why it is? I find it confusing and expensive and not pleasant to be in.

    TGUK: We also have some questions from our readers. Do you have any dating tips?

    SM: Hilarious! I don’t think I have ever really been on a date. That’s not true, I went on a blind date once, which was the worse idea ever. You know when your straight friends go, “you two are both gay you’ll be great together!” I had this awkward date with this guy where we literally just sat at this restaurant and I was trying my hardest to make conversation and I had nothing to say at all. We had nothing in common. So I don’t really have dating advice because I don’t really feel like I’ve been on a date.

    TGUK: How did you meet your boyfriend?

    SM: I met my boyfriend through friends, which is much easier.

    TGUK: You talk in the book about your struggles with anxiety and alcohol. How have you gotten through some of the darkest periods of your life?

    SM: I seem to have this inbuilt thing of just being able to carry on. That’s a really hard question. With the depression and stuff, it helps to talk to people who have had that as well because it’s actually quite comforting. Sometimes you feel like you’re the only person in the world that has that. So I’ve found that talking to people you trust is the easiest thing and most comforting thing.

    TGUK: Can you come back to Southampton?

    SM: I’m actually going this week. I’ll be signing the book at Waterstone’s West Quay. I have to say the gay scene there is awful. I mean seriously, they had a club and they shut it down.

    TGUK: You’re in pretty good shape but you struggled with your weight in the past. How did you turn that around?

    SM: I was never really bothered about it and then suddenly I became really bothered about it. I think it was when I moved to London and I just realised that there weren’t as many fat people. In my early twenties, I went from being really fat and then went completely the other way and went on loads of weird diets and now I just want to be healthy and look all right and not feel big.

    TGUK: Now that you have started doing more television, are you suddenly more aware of your appearance?

    SM: Massively. I do a fair bit of TV and because I am my own worse critic and I’ve seen myself on TV a couple years ago and I thought, f**k I wouldn’t have put myself on TV looking like that!

    TGUK: One of our readers called you so handsome so the boy-next-door look is working for you. Now that you’ve published your autobiography, what’s next?

    SM: I’m busy hosting my Radio 1 show and I’m also in talks to do a documentary about gay bullying. There is so much [bullying] happening with Twitter, it will be interesting to take a look at that.

    Scott Mills autobiography Love You Bye is on sale now. Scott Mills is also on BBC Radio 1 weekdays from 1PM – 4PM

    BUY FROM AMAZON NOW

    READ LOVE YOU BYE REVIEW HERE

  • INTERVIEW | Wayne Dhesi

    Coming out is often a hugely challenging time in the lives of gay and lesbians all over the world.

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  • INTERVIEW | Matt Smith Talks New Doctor Who

    Donning the compulsory tweed for the third time, Matt Smith gets ready for more adventures through space and time as the Doctor.

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  • INTERVIEW | Heather Small

    Heather Small is looking and sounding incredible. Famous for her distinctive vocals, an incredible ‘fountain’ of hair and for laughter that makes you feel like you’ve known her forever – Heather is still very much on form.

    Heather gained fame in the 90s pop group M-People (whose hits included: ‘Search For A Hero’, ‘Moving On Up’ and ‘One Night In Heaven’), before going solo and releasing the song that has gone on to define her career. We caught up with the Proud singer before she takes to the stage at this year’s Cardiff Pride. We talked Olympics, Lulu and hair!

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  • INTERVIEW | Tara McDonald

    You will most likely know Tara McDonald’s powerhouse vocals from the high energy hit (now Anthem) ‘My My My’ and David Guetta’s ‘Delirious’ but Tara Donald is unique in a world of Pop Princesses. Her distinctive vocals over shadow those of her contemporaries and her creativity could possibly leave Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Jessie J and Katy Perry a little weary… We met up with the busiest lady in Pop to talk about her music and her upcoming performance at Manchester Pride.

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  • INTERVIEW | Andrew Doyle

    Andrew Doyle is a brutally funny openly gay comedian whose debut solo stand-up show “A Crash Course in Depravity” elicited critical acclaim and five star reviews at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe.

    The show was intelligent and razor sharp and covered subjects as diverse as the Marquis de Sade, the Pope, Grindr and Bonnie Langford. It was described as feeling like the most bizarre and intense Gaydar meet you can possibly have and part of the fun was guessing which audience members were going to leave in a disgruntled huff. In spite of this Doyle is a charming and engaging performer (and is also boyishly good looking) who could never be accused of smuttiness for the sake of a cheap laugh. The show also carried a warning of full frontal nudity. What’s not to like? He’s back again this year and we’re looking forward to what he has to unleash for us.

    So, Andrew, this year’s show is called “Whatever it Takes”. Can you tell us a bit more about the new show?

    It’s about a humiliating near-death experience I had in Suffolk. I was walking by the coast and found myself caught in wet mud. I sank to my waist and was unable to move. The tide was coming in and there wasn’t a coastguard in sight. You’ll have to come along to my show to find out whether I survived or not.

    I hate to mention it but can we talk about the Mickey Mouse incident? How was it for you and are there going to be any more puppet sex shows for us this year? Maybe Orville might be free?

    I deny everything.

    You asked audience members about their own acts of depravity last year and you asked me to leave the room for being too depraved for words (it involved a Roman Catholic priest). Were there any memorable depraved acts which were shared?

    Plenty. One woman told me about a threesome in a skip. Another guy told me about his fetish for uncooked ham. It always surprised me doing that show how open people would be with their experiences. I suppose if you buy a ticket for a show with “depravity” in the title you’re up for anything. (That said, some were offended by the content. The title was fairly self-explanatory, as was the warning at the box office, but there will always be some idiots who just wander in because they like the pretty colours on the poster.)

    Is there a danger of being an openly gay comedian that people expect an old style camp show a la Duncan Norvelle or Larry Grayson or have things moved on for the stand up comedian?

    Things haven’t moved on all that much. The most popular gay comedians are still the camp types who appear sexless (although, believe me, they’re far from it). There are always some in the audience who are uncomfortable with the idea of a gay comic even talking about it. One audience member recently posted online that because I mentioned being gay it was “tired”. Of course, straight comedians never mention their sexuality, so she’s clearly got a point.

    Lots of our readers are about to implode through Olympic overkill and even the men’s diving is getting dull due to lack of the right camera angles. Can you suggest a few of this year’s Fringe acts that might appeal to disaffected gay men and drag us away from the tedium and tempt us to venture to Edinburgh?

    I have no interest whatsoever in competitive sports, so I understand where you are coming from. In fact, I mentioned my complete indifference to the Olympics on stage last night and got some very cold looks from the predominately laddish audience. In terms of shows to tempt you, there’s a few that immediately spring to mind. The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle is a brilliant new play by Ross Dungan and is my favourite show of the fringe so far. Jo Caulfield is always worth seeing; she’s one of the best joke writers around. James Acaster is inherently hilarious. David Mills is a gay San Franciscan comic with impeccable timing and razor-sharp material. The brilliant Scott Agnew is doing a show this year about his various experiences in gay saunas over the years. Finally, I’d go for Susan Calman’s show about her civil partnership. I haven’t seen it yet, but Susan’s a superb stand-up.

    What’s your favourite fruit?

    Passion fruit, star fruit, grapefruit. Any fruit that has the word “fruit” in its name, really. It sounds so wonderfully insecure about its own identity.

    Finally, you commented on Twitter that the start of the Olympic opening ceremony was like the longest Hovis ad ever. What did you think of the show?

    I thought it was jingoistic nonsense. Nationalism makes no sense to me. The idea of being proud of something as arbitrary as your birthplace strikes me as ridiculous. All those millions spent, and for what? As a prelude to some people running about and playing various games with balls and sticks. They don’t do this kind of thing for backgammon, do they?

    Andrew is appearing at Just the Tonic at the Caves till the 26th of August

    http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/andrew-doyle-whatever-it-takes?day=05-08-2012&performance=88%3A2463

    Read more about Andrew at:

    http://www.andrewdoyle.co.uk/

  • LOOK AT ME | Miranda Sings

    LOOK AT ME | Miranda Sings

    Miranda Sings is an internet celebrity, a model, a singer and a Worldwide phenomenon who has thousands of fans… and some haters. She started a YouTube channel in 2008 and since then has had over 30m views. She has a legion of West End and Broadway fans, who she sometimes helps out with ‘singing lessons.’ With her powerhouse vocals and natural performing abilities you’re bound to fall in love with Miranda – after all you’re only human.

    Miranda Sings
    CREDIT: Netflix

    1) So, Miranda, recently we saw your Vlog on Chick-Fil-A. Are you angry that they might have a say in who you marry?

    I’m very angry about it. It’s none of their business if I want to marry someone. I should be able to marry a gay man if I want to. Just saying…

    7/10 We love a political woman and we love a woman who wants to marry a gay man.

     

    2) Do you drink to:

    a) Mask the pain

    b) Be closer to Liza

    c) Brush your teeth like Ke$ha

    I would have to say D none of the above. I drink because I’m thirsty.

    1/10 Yes, but drinking can be for so much more than quenching thirst!

     

    3) Do you know what Amyl Nitrate is?

    I think she’s a singer.

    1/10 She may well be… But you wouldn’t be able to sniff her. Well actually you could, but it wouldn’t make you want to drop your kegs and get busy…

     

    4) What’s the most expensive item of clothing you’ve bought?

    I mostly just wear clothes from my mom or uncle. but I bought a really expensive sequinned hat last week. It was 15 dollars… I spent all of my chore money on it.

    2/10 Your Mum or Uncle? Oh dear. This isn’t going well, unless of course your Mum is Cher and your Uncle is Liberace.

     

    5) Gays are fun because….

    We have a lot in common. We are both beautiful, we like rainbows, and kissing boys. So we are practically the same except I’m more talented.

    7/10 Well natch! Of course you’re more talented. 30m views can’t be wrong…

     

    Miranda Sings
    CREDIT: Netflix

    6) The internet is for:

    a) Porn

    b) Hookups

    c) Singing Lessons

    d) John Lewis

    Obviously C… but also for my youtube videos.

    3/10 Well when we’re not using the internet for porn, hookups or looking at John Lewis’s summer barbecue range then we’re downloading your singing lessons.

     

    7) Which One Direction would you like to bone?

    None of them because they are not dogs. Humans don’t eat bones.

    1/10 Not sure if you understand the question… However you are quite right. Humans don’t eat bones. Generally.

     

    8) Madonna is…

    porn.

    10/10 And she scores a perfect 10

     

    9) How do you solve a problem like Maria?

    Give her a voice lesson.

    8/10 This woman is on fire.

     

    10) Gyms are for…

    a) Getting fit

    b) Cruising

    c) Crying into the mirror, because you’ll never be Tom Daley

    I would have to say for fat people.

    3/10 Logical and to the point, but loses point for not using the politically correct term of Morbidly Grotesque

     

    43/100 Miranda still has some way to go to become a proper gayer. However, we love her stance on Chick-Fil-A and her natural affinity with the gays.

     

    Follow Miranda at: https://www.youtube.com/user/mirandasings08

    You can also watch her on her Netflix show, Haters Back Off

  • INTERVIEW | Christopher Banks

    New Zealander Christopher Banks is a man of many talents. He’s a chart topping song-writer, producer and musician.

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  • LOOK AT ME | Pam Ann

    If you don’t know who Pam Ann is, then clearly you’ve been living under the wing of some lesser known aircraft (possibly an old Boeing 727-100 without ‘wing-tips’).

    Pam Ann, plunged on to the scene after a night on the vodka and has been wowing audiences ever since. Madonna is a fan, so is Cher, Elton has had her crew on his private jet and she’s rubbed herself up against the world’s rich and famous. We put Pam Ann through The Gay Test.
    1) The best way to travel is:

    a) Coked off your head in First…

    b) Coked off your head in Business…

    c) Swigging from a can of Stella in an upturned bucket, whilst being shouted at by an upstart attendant named Chellllseeeeee…

    None of those, the best way is face down on a flat bed with a cock in my ass.

    10/10 Wow this Bitch is a power bottom, Pam Ann gets right to it. We’d prefer a glass of champs then a cock in the ass… Just sayin.

     

    2) Do you know what ‘Sounding’ is?

    The sound a pussy makes after wearing polyester trousers on a 24 hour flight.

    3/10 That’s an image I now can’t get out of my head. No one should ever were polyester. Ever.

     

    3) The best thing about ‘your gays’ is…

    They love mood lighting.

    10/10 Oh yes we do. Many hours spent in the lighting department of John Lewis, Pam, it’s like you know us…

     

    4) Snog, Marry, Machete:

    Elton

    George

    Boy George

    I’d marry Elton, Snog George and bareback Boy George.

    7/10 Mr George is on line 5. He’ll be round shortly.

     

    5) What is your most extravagant purchase?

    I’ve recently purchased 95 Airbus A380s.

    3/10 We were thinking something mink or platinum, but what ever floats your boat or blows your wings.

     

    6) What’s your must have item when traveling the world?

    A wet pussy.

    3/10 Tabby? Don’t understand the answer? Pussy?

     

    7) Boyzillian or Hairy?

    Hair chest boyzillian cock.

    9/10 What a pro… Best of both worlds.

     

    8) Complete this gay mantra: Don’t go for second best baby / Put your love to the test

    You know, you know, you’ve got...

    an asshole like a hippo’s yawn.

    7/10 Ah yes the feeling you get after a good 24 hour flight, being pummelled by all and sundry..

     

    9) In a perfect world all gay men would…

    They are already perfect – C**s.

    11/10 Why Thank you… Can’t argue with the logic. Nice use of C**t. Extra point.

     

    10) What’s your favourite bit about Matthew Mitcham?

    His double pike.

    6/10 We could drown in his double pike. Oh Matthew… Matthew… Matthew…

     

    69/100. Our favourite Flight attendant is well on the way to Gaydom. Her understanding of her core demographic is spooky. Mood lighting, Mile High Club, Matthew Mitcham and she clearly loves a bit of cock. It’s uncanny, she’s almost one of us! Book for Pam Ann’s 2013 UK tour. Tickets are now on sale. To book tickets visit:PamAnn.com

  • INTERVIEW | Worbey And Farrell

    From the Royal Opera House to travelling the globe and being chased by 25,000 fans (because of mistaken identity) we had the privilege of delving into the wonderful, extremely gifted and somewhat eccentric world of Worbey and Farrell. Their exquisite recitals and beautiful humour has brought them to be loved by many a fan from Mickey Rooney – famed for his 350 Hollywood films and 4 Hollywood Walk of Fame stars, to a lady called Janet from the Isle of White who stitches tapestries of the boys. As Steven (Worbey) was on lock down in the piano room he gave kind permission for Kevin (Farrell) to answer questions on his behalf.

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  • INTERVIEW: Joel Simkhai the creator of Grindr

    INTERVIEW: Joel Simkhai the creator of Grindr

    We were curious to meet the man behind Grindr, so when one Friday night whilst, erm, “Researching” on Grindr, a message popped up telling us the man himself was visiting London for WorldPride. Unsure what to expect we meet the modest, easy on the eye and contemplative Joel Simkhai in a hotel, central London. Sounds like it could be Grindr working at its very best..

    Welcome to the capital of Grindr, London being the #1 city for Grindr users, does that surprise you at all?

    Thank you! It doesn’t surprise me, it’s obviously a large city and it’s obviously got a lot of gay men and Stephen Fry mentioned us on Top Gear about three years ago and it is a very popular show. It put us on the map here in the UK.

    I think you’ve made the UK a lot less prudish, because with nearly every message comes a picture of someone’s pink bits! Did you expect that to happen when you created Grindr?

    For me, when I look at Grindr I see all kinds of things, I think that’s part of it, but there are other parts to it also. Gay men have had to always look for other gay men, and we’re also men, so we’re hunters. I think it’s a big part of who we are. We’re looking to meet the other gay guy in the room and thats what Grindr does. It shows you the other gay guy in the room, the other gay guy on the block. For me when we launched this thing, there wasn’t much expectation or idea where it would go or what it would do, it was just a hope that I could find other gay guys. I’m glad that we’ve now been able to do that.

    Gay men have had to always look for other gay men, and we’re also men, so we’re hunters. I think it’s a big part of who we are.

    JOEL On Grindr’s purpose

    Grindr has very strict censorship on its front-page. Users can’t have nudity on their profile picture. Is there any reason for that?

    Yes, a number of reasons, but the most important one is that we believe in having an environment that is not overtly sexualised. An environment that is consistent to real life as possible. In real life you don’t usually see someone naked when you first meet them. So when you do find someone that you want to be intimate with, there is an unveiling process and we believe in that. It’s human nature. Also, not everyone is looking for something like that, I been on sites where it’s a free for all, it’s like walking into a sex shop. I feel kind of icky, so my hope for Grindr is that people can feel very comfortable, very safe and don’t have to feel icky. The other thing is that Google and Apple they have their own guidelines that mandate that there not be any nudity so there’s a full spectrum of reasons why.

    Are you a technology geek? Did you get down and dirty with the code? 


    I am a tech geek, but I’m not a developer, I’m not a coder… I love technology and I love gadgets and have an understanding of technology, so I can talk to our developers and architects on a certain level. I probably can’t talk with great detail and maybe they would say: “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about…” but I think I have sense of what I’m talking about. We have a team of 50 in Los Angeles and they work in-house and a good proportion of them are developers.

    Do you have any technological icons or idols?

    Certainly Steve Jobs, I think Steve Jobs stands out as someone I have a tremendous amount of respect for; and I’m very sadden by his loss. He’s changed almost how everyone lives. There are very few people out there who can take something so complicated and make it so easy and so beautiful. He made it fun. I think he’s ingrained a culture of innovation in his company; they’ve got a smart team, really smart people and one will never know what would have happened if he was still alive.

    Can you ever take a holiday from Grindr?

    Not really, but I’ve got a very great team. Certainly when I used to travel in the early days it was very difficult to actually get away from it, but it’s getting better. I’ll never be a guy who can turn off his phone and get off the grid, but nor do I want to be. I don’t have Joel’s time, I don’t want just Joel’s time. You know this is fun stuff, this is a great thing I’m doing for myself, I love it. There’ll be plenty of time at some point in my life where I probably won’t be doing this and I get anxious just thinking of those days – This is my baby, it’s hard. If you ask a parent to tell their kid that they’re not available they’d look at you pretty strange right?

    Would you ever persuaded to sell ‘the kid’ at any point?

    I don’t think about it too much, I get anxious when I give it too much thought. This notion that ‘Joel, ‘X days from now or X months from now that Grindr will not be part of your life but just be a part of my resumé or a part of my history’ makes me very anxious, makes me very uncomfortable. It’s largely part of my identity, some people call me ‘Grindr Guy’ so it is very much a part of who I am.

    So are you happy with that mantle – the Grindr guy?

    Absolutely!

    If this was the last thing for you to be remembered by, would you be happy with that?

    Absolutely, I mean, do I want to die tomorrow? Absolutely not… The one caveat to that is that I think I’ve got more in-store for me. One of them is that I certainly want to do more and I want to devote more of my time, possibly full time, to gay equality and doing more towards activism, particularly in the countries where it is illegal and it’s dangerous. We’ve started to do things with ‘Grindr for Equality’ but I’d love to devote some or all of my energies to that.

    Ok, lets talk about Grindr for Equality, what is its purpose? What is it for?

    It’s our effort to advance equality and leveraging our number one asset, our guys, our community, our engaged audience. That’s over a million guys every single day around the world. Pockets of concentrated gay men who have a voice, who have power and they have a lot of power united. So through Grindr for Equality what we’re trying to do is create a mass so that we can speak with a very loud voice – an influential voice. Grindr for Equality can be broken down into two things. One, our mission is to inform. To inform you of things going on around you, in your city, town, state or your country. Things that have relevance to you and then showing you how you can make a difference. Whether it’s to make a call, sign a petition or go to a rally. That’s what drives Grindr for Equality. Last year the New York senate was looking at marriage equality and there were five senators who were on the fence. They were undecided. So what we did was target their constituents and told them that their senator was on the fence. Please call them! And people could call them right from their phone. It was very effective, sometimes we go as local as possible, sometimes national, sometimes international. We can go as local as down to the mile. It can be very targeted.

    What do your family think of the App? Are you open to your family?

    My Dad sent me an email, he was at gay pride and he said: “Where’s the Grindr float?” and he sent me a picture. He was in a Grindr T-shirt running around and demanded that next year I have a float and that he be invited! A very supportive and excited family. My dad actually has Grindr and he’s added me as a ‘favourite’ he says: “I keep up on where in the world you are by looking to see how far away you are!” He can keep tabs on where I am!

    Where did the name come from?

    We looked for something that was masculine and tough and I think all our branding: our logo, our colouring almost everything about it falls into those categories. We were looking for something a bit aggressive and thought of this notion of the coffee grinder and the notion of mixing, but it’s not just the idea of mixing it’s about grinding, very powerful and so it’s a little rough, we wanted an edginess to it, we didn’t want a softness to it.