Have you had the Sugarwood experience yet? The new naughty dessert-themed shop has taken NYC by storm. Famous for their waffles, affectionately named Woody and Kitty, the food is also meant to normalize talking about our bodies and sex. That’s something important to owner Austin Allan. This 42-year-old hunk is also a strong advocate for our community making sure that Sugarwood donates a portion of our profits each month to the Phluid Phoundation to support the LGBTQIA+ and other marginalized communities. For that reason and many others Austin Allan is our “Hottie of the Week.”
Get to know Austin as he sat down and took our hottie questionnaire. (And it’s another showing for queer fave flick “Drop Dead Gorgeous.” It shows up as an answer all the time. It’s my favorite movie, too! #amberatkins)
Name: Austin Allan
Age: 42
Website / social media handles: @mister.owsteen @sugarwood.us
Where do you call home? New York City!
What do you think is the most attractive part about yourself? Most people would say my eyes, but I would say that it’s my loyalty and concern for the people I love the most.
What do you find you are complimented on you the most? Definitely my eyes
What, to you, defines sexy? I have reached a point in my life where I am turned on by some who is confident, comfortable in their own skin, and just plain old nice. Don’t get me wrong, I love a tall guy with dark hair, dark eyes, and a beard, but sometimes a guy that checks all the boxes just doesn’t do it for me because he’s arrogant, or lacks confidence or maturity.
What is your proudest moment so far in your life? I have had many, but opening Sugar Wood (my dessert shop in NYC) last year is defintely near the top of the list. Just getting the doors open was a feat considering I had almost no retail experience. Once we opened, incredible things started to happen. 1) People from literally all over the world started coming in. It’s such a wonderful feeling when a group of friends from the Phillipines for their 40th high school reunion, or customers from places like Ukraine, Egypt, Venezuela and New Zealand visit us and tell us that Sugar Wood was on their NYC Bucket List. 2) To hear the laughter that eminates from the store is an unreal feeling, and makes my day every single time I hear it. 3) Parents who bring their LGBTQ teens or young adults as a way to show their support for their child’s sexualty, gender identity or gender expression, truly warms my heart, and reminds me that despite all of the horrible attacks on our community that are currently happening, there is hope for a brighter future.
What haven’t you accomplished, personally or professionally, that you are wanting to do in the next 2-3 years? I want to open more locations of Sugar Wood, expand our donations to LGBT non-profits and also franchise the concept, so we can give even more back to the community.
Have you found love? If so, what is the best part of your relationship and what do you love most in your partner(s)? If not, what do you look for in the ideal relationship? Yes! My partner Eduardo is my best friend and the love of my life. We share so many interests, he makes me laugh all the time, and he is probably the most joyful person I know. There’s no one on the planet that I enjoy spending time with more than him. The fact that we not only made it through the pandemic, but actually came out with a stronger relationship and deeper bond, means that we are really great together.
Rapid fire question time:
What is your all-time favorite movie? Drop Dead Gorgeous (the late 90s mockumentary about a teenage beauty pageant in rural Minnesota.)
Who is your biggest celebrity crush? Antonio Velazquez (he’s an actor from Spain. Do yourself a favor and Google him.)
What is your favorite cheat meal or snack? Chicken fingers with Thai Sweet Chili Sauce. It’s probably because I practically lived on McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets with Sweet & Sour Sauce as a kid.
If you were stuck on an island for eternity, what music album would you want to have with you? Music is super important to me – Eduardo & I met going to concerts, and I actually have a list of my top 100 favorite albums on my phone – so it’s really hard to choose one. If I could bring three albums with me, they would be Madonna – Erotica (I still remember buying the cassette at Sam Goody when I was 12 years old), Sunny Day Real Estate – Diary (brings me back to high school) and Sade – Lovers Rock (has three of the most achingly beautiful songs of all time on one album).
What does it mean to be featured as our Instinct Hottie? For me, life is better now than it ever was in my 20s or 30s, and being featured is just more proof of that!
Anything else you’d like to share with the Instinct readers? We have made so much progress as a community over the last few decades, but we can’t take any of our hard-earned rights for granted. They could be gone tomorrow. VOTE!
Been missing the gay hottie of the week.