Many things come to mind when we think of a pageant or beauty contest. If you’re a good gay, Drop Dead Gorgeous comes to mind. And if it doesn’t, hand over your card. Pageants with Mr this or Ms that do not have positive connotations in many communities. One of this year’s most viral videos was that of the beauty pageant contestants screeching and yelling out their names. Not a pretty sight.
But what about Mr Gay World? Some of you have never heard of this competition while others annually follow the pageant online, ingest the candidate’s videos to learn more about them, or trek to see the whole thing in person. This past year, we wish we could have gone to South Africa to watch the festivities in October of 2022. But we did mention who did win – Puerto Rican José López Wins Mr. Gay World Title + Special Awards.
It’s been about 9 months since José López has taken the title. We wanted to catch up to the stunning man and see how his reign as Mr Gay World 2022 has been going. We did a recent InstagramLive with José You can head over to our Instagram to view, we’ll also insert the video at the end, but also are the questions we asked him and his written answers.
My Spanish is non-existent and José’s English was wonderful, but he desired to use the translating skills of his boyfriend during the InstagramLive interview. I did supply José via email a list of questions we might touch upon, but the InstagramLive not only touched base on those questions and so many more (especially the one toward the end where he had me almost crying on camera), but also gave us a chance to hear his beautiful Spanish as well as hear the emotion in his words and the power of his message which came through in both languages.
Has being crowned Mr. Gay World 2022 changed your life in any way? If so, how?
Being Mr. Gay World 2022 greatly changed my life, since it allows me to impact lives with my message of self-improvement through my Body dysmorphia platform that covers conditions such as Bulimia, Anorexia, Obesity, among others. These were conditions that I had and was able to overcome.
Mr Gay World has been like a school, showing me the different realities in all parts of the world, referring to our collective. It has allowed me to enter places that without having won I could not have.
Mr Gay World has given me a much-needed boost to get closer to people and also to work to prevent suicides in the LGBTQ+ Community.
Winning has given me an international voice which I take advantage of day after day. It’s not about being just a coach with a [sash and title], it’s about being a spokesperson, being an ambassador. Not just in the community, but to all communities.
What does it mean to you personally to have this title?
It means a lot, more than being the first Latino to achieve this title in 14 years [the competition started in 2009], it is the satisfaction of showing that dreams can be achieved. The title Mr Gay World has helped me save people from suicide attempts, helped encourage hope for those who lost it due to rejection, due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
This important title has marked my life, the satisfaction of seeing how people inside and outside the LGBTQ+ Community tell you “thank you for helping me to be more confident.” That is the greatest prize, helping people.
What does it mean to you to be crowned Mr. Gay World 2022 as a Latino gay man?
Having a [title like this] is a big responsibility, because you become an ambassador and spokesperson, a responsibility that I enjoy every day. I needed to be in the competition to stand on that stage and tell the world, look at me, I was once obese, once I was a stutterer, and today I am standing here.
This title allows me to give visibility to our group and tell the world that love is not bad, hate is. Mr Gay World is more than a beauty pageant that exalts the gay man in the world, it is a tool to reach many lives in need of hope.
How has your community in Puerto Rico and friends in general reacted or taken this world title?
I remember that night with great joy, how Puerto Rico overflowed with support and joy, how the news went viral in all parts of the world.
As Puerto Rico shined and I mentioned Puerto Rico, because this was a team effort. I never imagined that I would be as important as it was in the media, I never imagined arriving in your country and being received as they receive the Miss Universe. That makes me be blessed.
The Mr Gay World contest is not just about bodies, looks and fashion. Part of this award was based on your community service.
What community cause or service are you involved in to help others?
Since long before winning, I have dedicated myself to volunteering at shelters for abused children, in addition to working on my platform of body dysmorphia.
I am currently working on providing talks and guidance through social networks to people with eating disorders, suicide attempts, among others, so much so that I am proud to know that I have saved young people, we have even found homes for young people abandoned by their parents because of their sexual orientation. I am also an ambassador for Mistr, working on HIV prevention.
What are the types of things you have to do in your role as Mr. Gay World 2022?
Work Weekly newsletters focused on education, mental health, entertainment among others, on social networks and the internet. In addition, daily I attend cases in social networks with different social problems.
I also run a Gym and help people with obesity and other conditions, helping them to improve their lifestyle.
What was it like growing up gay in Puerto Rico? How was your childhood and your family around this topic?
In Puerto Rico, today it is a very open place and with a lot of help, although there is still a long way to go. But in the past it was not so. I had to hide in the closet and be someone I wasn’t. I had to have a Girlfriend, pretend to be someone that I simply wasn’t. I was very afraid that my parents would reject me, every time my mom saw me with a girlfriend she was happy, at that time that made me happy.
I lived like this until I was 19 years old, when my father told me, your happiness is my happiness, you are the light of my eyes and I am going to love you just the way you are. Since that day, my life has been different.
From that day on, I began to live halfway and it wasn’t until I was 26 years old that I finally opened up to the world and accepted my orientation publicly, in a world still in the midst of learning about the subject.
Can you share a bit more about the body dysmorphia and what you were dealing with?
When I was 12 years old I suffered from obesity. At school I was bullied because of my weight, orientation, and speech impediment. I would hide in the library to avoid being teased, I would look at myself in the mirror and hate myself. I also suffered from anorexia and bulimia, to the point of me having suicide attempts on 3 separate occasions.
People told me that I will never achieve my dreams of being a model or an actor. They told me, “kill yourself.” I really came to despise myself. In the attempt to be accepted by society, I became skinny due to anorexia.
One day I was on my way to end my “hell”, but on the way I saw a gym and something told me to go and enter. Today I can tell you that exercise saved my life and today I can take a message to the world that you can get ahead.
I don’t regret what happened, because thanks to that TODAY I save lives with my testimony.
Do you think body dysmorphia is a problem faced by many young people or people in general? Do you think this condition is more prevalent in the LGBTQ community, and if so, why?
Body dysmorphia is a mental illness that encompasses anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder among many more. It is also a type of obsessive-compulsive related disorder that “pushes” people to seek perfection. That being said, this disease is much more common than we think and one of the reasons for a high suicide rate in young people. Social media has been a key player in this issue.
We know that networks sell perfection for the most part and many young people want that and they don’t care about the consequences, that’s when we start not feeling good about ourselves. Today there are many challenges to lose weight, for example, whose challenges put life in danger.
In the LGBTQ+ community it is something that happens daily and I can say a little more delicate since you add discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, persecution in many countries, where homosexuality is punishable by death, adding the few tools in education in many countries, makes the issue more delicate.
There are no statistics where it is verified that in the community it is more prone, but I attest that it is. I say this because I have attended or seen more recurring cases in the n LGBTQ+ Community, cases such as require a slender figure and to achieve them, they reach the point of bulimia, etc.
How is your career as a model and actor going? Do you do this full time for work or do you have another career as well?
Thank God it’s going very well. I’m currently in theater school, in turn recording short films and theater. One of my biggest television projects will be the series G Horizont, the first Gay Puerto Rican series to be released on streaming in the world. In this series, I will be one of the protagonists and without a doubt it will mark my acting career. This series is scheduled to start filming at the end of the year and it will be very hot.
As for modeling, I currently appear in many fashion magazines worldwide, but my focus is on acting since I aspire to be on the big screen.
I do these races partially, since I am a gym manager. Profession that I enjoy a lot, since it gives me the opportunity to continue working on my social project that I have been carrying out for more than 6 years.
What are your long-term plans? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Without a doubt, my eyes are on the big screen and that is why I study theater and cinema on the island. If sometimes, time does not give me. Between I study acting, work, my work as mr. gay World among many things.
But you know that I love what I do and today’s effort will be the reward of the future. In 10 years I hope to be in the cinema with an Oscar in hand and I only ask God to continue giving me a voice, to continue doing what I know, to help and serve.
You’re in a relationship? Would you mind sharing with our readers a little information about this?
Yes, currently I have been in a beautiful relationship for almost 2 years. The person responsible for everything and I mean everything, because it is the creative mind. A person that I love with all my life and that is my complement. Without a doubt, I was very lucky to meet him along the way, because in part I am who I am because of my partner.
There are a lot of “anti-gay” and “anti-trans” attacks by government and community groups in the United States right now.
For example, many states are passing laws about when it is appropriate to educate children about LBGTQ+ people in public schools; some states are restricting the use of public funds to pay for medical problems related to transgender people.
Why do you think this is happening and what can the LGBTQ+ community do to fight these anti-LGBTQ+ attacks?
What we are experiencing is very sad. Today, we were supposed to advance each year and we see that it has not been like that. We see how every day they build us walls instead of bridges.
When we have shown that love does no harm, hate does. It is sad to see the state of Florida as it is going backwards and it hurts me for brothers in the community. It is sad to see how the gun law in the United States is free and the fear it creates in the community due to Homophobia and transphobia.
The conservative side is promoting hatred, and it has come to be thought that a free education on the subject would influence children, which is incorrect. It is carrying an erroneous message, creating a panic button.
There is still hope at least in the presidency and I hope that the United States does not become a Nigeria, where homosexuality is paid with death.
The LGBTQ+ Community maintains its fight for visibility and equality. We are fighting for our rights every day. Every time there are thousands of us who take to the streets to fight for respect and it is ironic that today there is a fight for something that is basic, like living in peace without harming anyone. Every day we see more momentum in the government, by the collective, more presence on television, even more support from the heterosexual community. Not all this loss, the world was not created in 1 day, so why give up.
You can follow Mr Gay World 2022 José López on his social media.
Facebook – José López official
Instagram – @joselopezpr
Instagram Mr Gay World – @mgworg
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CuDYiA7INRC/
He is Hot!
There’s always so many hot contestants for the MrGayWorld every year. Every single one of them.