Openly gay Titan Games contestant Robbie Rodriguez caught our attention in many ways when he competed on the new NBC series earlier this summer.
Sure he’s gorgeous to look at but there’s so much more to this amazing guy that goes beyond his chiseled body and beautiful smile. In his real life Robbie is a nurse in south Florida who has been one of the many incredible people on the frontlines of the Coronavirus pandemic.
We featured him previously with just a set of his hottest Instagram photos which he was flattered by to the point where he left a comment about reading Instinct Magazine in private in his younger years. This sparked my wanting to get to know him further as I knew he had an amazing story to tell.
Right I was! Robbie chatted with Instinct EXCLUSIVELY about his unique and amazing coming out story, how handsome Titan Games host The Rock really is in person, if he’s found love and so much more!
How were you picked for The Titan Games?
I was tagged by my co-worker in one of their posts and next thing I know I received an email from NBC about a Titan Games combine in California. I was very skeptical at first but then said what the hell, either this is spam and all my information was hacked or this would be a pretty fun competitions to go for.
What was The Rock like behind the scenes and is he that good looking in person?
The Rock was charismatic and very friendly. He did a big meet and greet on the event floor, which thinking back seemed very surreal, like OMG this is happening and I am going to be on TV and wow this man is a giant and so so so handsome.
Would you do it again if asked?
If I were to be asked to be on Titan Games again, I would not think twice about it and give it all I had.
You mentioned on our Instagram that you would read Instinct in secret growing up. When did you come out and what was that experience like for you?
My coming out story is actually quite funny. I was 18, just graduated from high school and was working at a steakhouse in Arizona. It happened one night as I got home late around midnight from work smelling all smoky and delicious and my mom was in the living watching TV.
I started fixing a snack and said to her that I had something to talk to her about. I then blurted out that I think I might be bisexual. She sat there for a second and all I wanted to do was scream. My mom then turned the TV off, got up and started walking to her room.
She turned to me and said, “I will always love you no matter what, just turn the lights off when you’re done in the kitchen and take a shower because you smell like steak.” Ever since then I never corrected my coming out story for bisexual to full on gay because let’s face it, I am as gay as the day is long in summertime. When I said my story was funny, it was not the actual coming out part, it was the fact that my mom met her life partner at work about 3 years prior to me telling her I am “bisexual”. Long story short she too is gay.
Growing up in Arizona, we have a big local business community. There is one business for used books, games, DVDs, and more called Bookmans. In the magazine section there was an LGBTQ area where I came across Instinct Magazine and I just had to get as many as I could afford at that time with me being just a young teenager. I kept them hidden in my room and I actually still have them and they have made their travels with me to Miami. This LGBTQ lifestyle magazine was my beacon of hope for me in the small southwestern city of Tucson.
You are one of the many healthcare workers on the frontlines of COVID-19. What do you want to tell people who think this condition is a hoax?
As a healthcare worker I actually have not been faced with anyone that believes COVID-19 is a hoax, its actually the opposite. I am faced with many people that are scared for themselves and their families.
Have you found love? If so how did it happen and if not are you looking? And what do you look for in a guy?
I have found love in my handsome Brazilian boyfriend Renato Brito. We met at a nightclub in Miami Beach called Score and the rest is history.
What’s next for you now that you’ve been featured on such a big show?
What is next for me, I don’t know for sure yet considering the climate of our economy but I do have a few goals of going back to school, buying a home, making it big in CrossFit and of course traveling the world with my man!