The overwhelmingly sexy Alex Maravilla, a popular nightlife personality, go-go dancer and real sweetheart, is an amazing human being. I was privileged to have had a heart-to-heart conversation with him and found him to be over-the-top incredible.
Originally from LA, he has called New York his home for the past 13 years. He is a hard worker and has done everything from working at a gym (which he is doing currently) to go-go dancing to dog walking. He has an adventurous nature, a warm soul and a very HOT appearance.
I spoke to a friend of yours yesterday.
Who?
Geronimo.
He’s my friend, my mentor, my brother. When I first started go-go dancing, he was my boy! He taught me everything. We have a gig together on the 21st. That’s pretty exciting.
So do you still dance?
I dance for big parties. The scene has changed in the past 13 years, so I just pick and choose my parties now. I do big events like Alegria and Matinée. I travel more. I’m going to Barcelona next week. I used to go-go dance a lot!
What did you like best about it?
To me it was more about meeting the people. I worked in a luxury fitness facility, so for me, I had to be very professional, organized, and then all of a sudden at night, it was great to feel and understand who you are as a person, to be opened to things and enjoy what comes out of me, but with class. I’m a very traditional person. It’s hard to explain to my mother what I’m doing. “No mama, we just pour milk on each other. It’s just a show. People like it!”
Where’s your mom from?
My mom’s from Mexico—Guadalajara. The way she explained it to her friends is, “He does gym memberships, and he’s a stripper.” I said, “No, mama, I come out naked. I come out with shorts.” She says, “OK same thing.” There’s like a language barrier.
How many times a week do you go to the gym?
I pretty much work out every day, since I work at a gym. I do cardio for at least 20 minutes so I can shed off that pint of ice cream I had. I’m not going to lie, everything is so tempting in New York, all the food.
So, I know Geronimo is straight, but he seemed gayer than you.
He has a big spirit, and he’s trying to find that love of his life. I get so defensive when certain girls are around him, and I know they’re not right for him. Some of these girls, all they are looking for is that eye-candy, or they’re too girly, they don’t have that wow factor where they’re adventurous. He’s like the brother I’ve always wanted. I work with him at bar mitzvahs. It’s crazy, because I do straight gigs too. I’m an entertainer, and he says sometimes, “Alex, don’t be so gay.” I’m not a very feminine person either. I’m very chill, very relaxed. I’m outgoing.
He says he’s jealous of gay bars, because he thinks everyone there is single. He really doesn’t get it. He’s a bit naïve.
No, they’re not single. I mean, I’ve been with my boyfriend for almost eight years. We had a bump for a year, but we came back much stronger.
That’s a long time.
I’m very old school like that. I’m the kind of guy that just wants simple [things], and to have fun, and to travel. I have a dog. I live in Hell’s kitchen, I’m so happy. That’s all I need.
So you work at a gym, you emcee, you dance. What else do you do?
For example, yesterday, I worked at a bar on the Upper West Side. It was a birthday in a beer garden. I was dressed up in an Oktoberfest/Bavarian costume. It was so much fun. I was outside trying to get people in. We had a dunk tank; we were dunking this chick. No joke. I’m more shy with clothes on. But there is a lot of things I do. I’m very outgoing. I’m very adventurous. I like to travel, and I’ll work at anything. I can bartend. I’ve done so many crazy things, like dog walking. In New York City, if you’re sitting back waiting for money to come to you, you are stupid. I tell people, “How can you not have money? Go clean dog shit. Like, figure something out.” I was raised by my parents to never be lazy. If you work hard and you don’t see it, then you’re not working hard enough. When I came here it was like the ending part of Crowbar. That was fun. I was able to at least get a feel of that. I do a lot in Brooklyn now. We have had so much fun there. We are thinking of moving there because of all of the cabs we take out there. Before it used to be living in Brooklyn and taking a cab to the city. Now it’s not like that.
So you were an LA boy?
Yeah, born and raised in LA. I moved to New York when I was 22. When I lived in LA I didn’t know who I was yet. I was just pretty much coming out. I came out when I was 21, and I was really scared of meeting people. I was basically scared being gay. I have no idea why. I just wasn’t finding myself. The job wasn’t right, and I had an opportunity to go to New York. A friend had moved out there. He knew I was struggling to get a job, so he told me to come to New York. I never thought that I was actually going to live here. Thirteen years later, I’m still here. It’s been a struggle. It’s been up and down, and it’s been awesome. I would never change a thing.
Who’s your boyfriend?
One of the producers of Matinée, Patrick Crough.
I’ve interviewed him. I love him.
So you can see why I love him.
If you could give the world advice, what would you say?
This may be so typical, but live your life to the fullest. Be adventurous. Stay positive. Negativity just brings people down. Live life and just enjoy every moment. I used to date a guy who was a psychologist. I learned a lot from him, and I praise him for that, but his thing was live for the moment. Live for the now. If you’re gonna stay stuck in the past, you are never going to understand why the present is there. I never understood that. I was such a child. That’s why I love New York so much, because I grew so fast. At age 23 I had a lot more pizzazz, I was more aggressive and I understood what I wanted. I have friends that live in LA, and they’re still stuck in LA. They have great cars, but they still live with their parents. I learned all of that from people like Chase and Geronimo. I learned to enjoy life and just dance. I met incredible people from dancing. Some of them wanted to sleep with me, but they haven’t!
You know, I had fun speaking with Geronimo, but you were more fun.
I’m going to tell him that.
We can both tell him. Matter of fact, I’ll put it in the interview!
