Author: Raf Van Puymbroeck

Friday 4th of march at 6 in the morning, I drove off to the Schiphol airport to go to Cork, Ireland. I was invited to be a guest judge at the finale of Mr Gay Ireland 2017, a great opportunity to pick the follower from my dear friend Konrad who did a great job as Mr Gay Ireland 2016 and also participated at Mr Gay Europe 2016. When I arrived in Cork, one of the first things that stood out for me were the nice people. In the hotel, cab drivers, people on the street, were very open and...

Today is the last day in 2016, so I wanted to share some last words in 2016. I am ending 2016 with many different feelings and having a fresh, motivated and hard working start in 2017. 2016 was a year where many things changed for me. I became Mr Gay Belgium in May, became Mr Gay Europe in August and won the OUTtv Media Personality Award in October. Coming from a job in education, this was this a big change. But with a big heart for the LGBT community and wanting to make a difference, I found myself even...

It has been 4 months since I became Mr Gay Europe 2016, and a lot has changed since then. I feel like I am surrounding myself with positivity, drive, strength and people who are on the same level. During my time I already have learned a lot of things. I have seen a lot of people who are activists, who go for equal rights and who fight for what they believe in for the LGBT-community. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing people being so brave to put themselves out there. Also, I have met a lot of people...

Last week, on International Coming Out Day, I won an important award in Belgium. An award called ‘The OutTV Media Award 2016’. This is an award that is given to someone who has put the LGBT community positively in the media national and/or international. This year, the award was given to me while I was teaching my weekly dance class, so it was a huge surprise. Previous winners have been Conchita Wurst, and the first president of Belgium; so winning this as a Mister Gay is a huge deal. It’s not only just a price, it’s an encouragement to...

Since my last blog, there have been a few special moments on my path as Mr Gay Europe but also some things on my mind I want to share with you. One of the things that happened was my travel to Malaga, Spain. I flew there for a 5 day stay where 3 days were photo shoots for the famous ‘The Gay Issue Magazine’. While I was there, I went to Marbella and visited the local LGBT-bars and places of the local people. I talked to them about how their life is going as an LGBT in Spain or...

Four weeks after winning the Mr Gay Europe 2016 title, time has come for me to sit down and think about my crazy journey so far. The first two weeks after the competition were absolute madness. Mr Gay Belgium is a huge competition, followed and supported by a lot of people. Me winning Mr Gay Europe was a big deal and huge for the competition in Belgium. National news, radio, TV-shows and so on were calling to have a talk, interviews and pictures with the new Mr Gay Europe. People suddenly took me seriously, knew who I was when...