Interviews

///By Sir Honey Davenport Every body loves a winner, so we all love Scotty Rox, winner of both the Glam and Get Out! awards for best DJ of 2012. I’ve known Scotty longer than lacefronts, so I’m pleased as punch to shine some light on the boy behind the beat. When did you start DJing? I started DJing back in 2007. I worked as a bartender at Soho House and got my big break while working there. Shortly after, I landed gigs at some of NYC’s best spots! What is your...

///By JASON SALERNO Twelve years ago, Francis Toumbakaris set out for New York City to pursue his Broadway dreams . He ha d only $2,000 in his pocket – money he ha d save d fr om being a back up dancer for a pop singer in Greece – but he was young, driven and ambitious. It wasn’t long before he was dancing in the national tours of Fosse and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and on Broadway in the revival of Fiddler on the Roof starring Harvey Fierstein and Rosie O’Donnell. But even Broadway...

/// By Dean Flaherty Justin Hernandez admits to having bedded over 500 men in the last five years. At first, he didn’t equate his lifestyle with addiction. He says he found it funny when he would go shopping and wind up having sex with the sales clerk in the dressing room. He eventually became desensitized to sex. So much so that when he began dabbling in stripping and escorting , the money was the real...

///BY Sulay Marilyn Gonzalez Who is Melania Sorte? Tell us how all started. Melania is a Mexican goddess. [giggles] Melania dreamed about talent and beauty pageants within the Mexican LGBT community. I wanted to be crowned by the most prestigious event owners, promotors and judges, such as Carlos and Meche from Mexico City, and so I did! Those types of events involved many TV personalities from TELEVISA MEX and members of our government as well....

///BY Sulay Marilyn Gonzalez Who is Melania Sorte? Tell us how all started. Melania is a Mexican goddess. [giggles] Melania dreamed about talent and beauty pageants within the Mexican LGBT community. I wanted to be crowned by the most prestigious event owners, promotors and judges, such as Carlos and Meche from Mexico City, and so I did! Those types of events involved many TV personalities from TELEVISA MEX and members of our government as well....

///BY JASON SALERNO SEVERAL NIGHTS A WEEK IN THE ‘90S, A ROWDY CROWD OF REGULARS WOULD GATHER AT A CRAMPED LITTLE JOINT IN THE WEST VILLAGE. THEY WERE THERE TO SEE DOWNTOWN LEGEND JOEY ARIAS, A FOULMOUTHED TROUBLEMAKER IN A BETTIE PAGE WIG, AND RAVEN O, AN ANDROGYNOUS TATTOOED SONGSTRESS WITH LEGIT JAZZ CHOPS. TOGETHER, THEY WERE AN EDGY SENSATION—DOWN AND DIRTY, LOOSE AND ALIVE. The show lasted 10 years before Joey was recruited to be the “Mistress of Seduction” of Zumanity, Cirque du Soleil’s erotic spectacle in...

///PHOTOS & INTERVIEW BY JJ MACK Tell us about how you got involved in working at Bartini and when? One of my friends told me about Bartini’s open call, so I went and I got the call back the same day, and that’s how my relationship started. I started working for Bartini more than two years ago. I bartended at Splash before when Splash was the top club in New York. My boss was John...

///By Michael Cook Genesis NYC During Pride! Join Tracy Young & TEDD PATTERSON on Friday, June 28, when they bring the heat to Irving Plaza. Tracy, thanks for taking the time to speak with me, especially with a huge party around the corner! Genesis is taking place in New York City on June 28, from Miami for the first time. The party is so iconic and known as a Miami event. Was that a hard decision? I’ve been living in both...