TRISTAN SCHUKRAFT

The Ceo Of  Everything Gay: Tryst Hospitality Chain, The Abbey, Fire Island Pines,MISTR

There is an eloquence in true enthusiasm. Tech entrepreneur turned hospitality guru and nightlife aficionado Tristan Schukraft is a veracious visionary whose creativity is pushing open the heavy groaning doorway of life itself….most especially in the flamboyantly flavored gay universe. 

Acclaimed as “the CEO of everything gay”, Tristan is a fearless adventurer for filling his destiny. He began his journey creating ID90 Technologies, an e-ticketing platform for airline employee travel and then later established MISTR, the largest telemedicine platform dedicated to HIV prevention and long-term HIV care. He then, nearly by chance, acquired the Tryst Hotel and Circo nightclub located in San Juan Puerto Rico, and the Tryst in Puerto Vallarta, which is now open for reservations for September, followed by the Iconic Abbey in West Hollywood.

Most recently, Tryst Hospitality has acquired the legendary Fire Island Pines commercial district and is celebrating its third location of luxury brand hotels. His acquisition includes the Pavilion nightclub, the Blue Whale, the Canteen, a hotel and pool deck, retail shops and docks. The hotel is set to be renovated and become the Tryst Fire Island….and part of his global LGBTQ portfolio. The Pines is an iconic queer kaleidoscope of hot men wearing colorful Speedos, dragging a pink marathon of wagons behind them with a variety of decadent drinks in hand. It’s paradise exemplified. After the renovation of the hotel, I doubt if the Meat Rack will ever be the same.

Tryst Hospitality has also acquired DS Tequila in Chicago’s iconic Boystown neighborhood, Northalstead. Tristan plans to operate DS Tequila’s for special events through Pride and Market Days event on August 10th & 11th before transforming it into a new nightlife venue.

Tristan Schukraft is not only salaciously handsome, but kind and fun as well. It’s as if he’s on a gay spiritual quest and the universe itself propels his chariot of fire.

INTERVIEW >>>

HELLO, TRISTAN. WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO BUY ALMOST ALL OF THE PINES?

Glutton for punishment. We’re going through a lot of change in the gay community. A lot of our founders and leaders are in their 60s and looking to retire. So if somebody doesn’t come in and take over the reins, so to speak, we will lose these communities. That’s my number one motivation–protecting such an iconic community. It is so important in so many ways. The first tea dance was there. The Invasion, which is such a fun party but was very monumental in the beginning. And yes, it is very complimentary to my interest, my hotels. There is the hotel there. You know, I’ve been to Fire Island a couple of times and it is such a magical place. I even went this weekend and even though it was cold and pre-season, you just get off the boat and there is that energy and excitement. I know it’s kind of cheesy to say some places are magic, but that’s exactly how it felt this weekend. There’s something in the air and there are a lot of characters. We started the acquisition of hotels with the Tryst Hotel, which is currently open and we’re going to do a million dollar renovation. We are launching Tryst Hotel with our flagship in Puerto Vallarta, which is opening and we are taking reservations September 15th. Tryst hotels is a gay hotel brand focused on the gay traveler. Everyone is welcome, but it’s not focused on the heterosexual community. It is a gay hotel. There’s a bar, there’s a beach club and a pool component to it. We have Drag Brunch every Sunday. It is very much a part of the community. When you are staying at the Tryst, we make you feel welcome. You have the freedom to be yourself. You’re going to meet a lot of locals. Because that is where the locals go. Locals go there for happy hour, cocktails, dinner. With Fire Island, the opportunity came up where somebody has to take the reins and preserve it. There’s a hotel there that’s been condemned for years now and it probably should have been condemned a few years prior. 

I remember I walked around it a couple times on the first visit and the broker said, “It’s not that bad”. I was like, “Let’s get on the same page here. It is not in good shape.” 

WELL, LOOKING AT YOU, I COULD TELL YOU’RE A PINES BOY. BUT THAT BEING SAID, YOU KNOW THE GROVE IS A LOT OF FUN TOO.

You know, I went there for the underwear party. Purely for research purposes. I was shocked. Because it was pre-season and it was packed. I am typically into Latinos, but there were quite a bit of white boys there that might sway me.

WELL, THE LAST QUESTION I ASK YOU WILL BE: DO YOU HAVE A HUSBAND? BECAUSE EVERYONE IS GOING TO WANT TO KNOW. BUT I’LL SAVE THAT.

I have two boyfriends. But they both know about each other. Sometimes it could be a bit challenging. Three different people in one relationship could be interesting, but it could be a challenge.

WHAT IS YOUR ULTIMATE FANTASY REGARDING TRYST HOSPITALITY? I MEAN, ARE YOU GONNA GO TO EUROPE? WHAT IS YOUR SOLE FANTASY?

I kind of got into the hotel business by accident. I was in Puerto Rico and I was on the beach. There was this parking lot and I thought, “Why is there this beautiful parking lot on the beach? This should really be a gay beach club.” It really kind of just started there. I went to Puerto Rico about four years ago after the hurricane. It just kind of wiped out the island. It never truly recovered. There is no gay scene. Very little gay scene. So I thought that if I’m going to live here, I’m going to create the gay scene. It just happened to be that that hotel was for sale. It was branded the Tryst. Tryst was my nickname as a kid. So I thought it was a sign. Or maybe I read into it too much because I was having too many mojitos. I’ve always wanted to own a hotel. I’ve lived in hotels for many years–which I could tell you is much more fun when you don’t own the hotel because you don’t have to work 24/7. It was kind of inspired by The Birdcage. The idea with the Tryst hotels is that they are kind of an iconic LGBTQ travel destination. There are several opportunities internationally. In each case we want to be a small boutique hotel. Everyone is welcome, but it is a gay hotel. I think it’s important to focus on the most sought after popular destinations and be part of the community. So two in a room at a hotel in New York doesn’t make sense. My attorney asked me, “Aren’t you tired of doing this?” But I have the ability to do so. It is important work. Especially when it comes to places like Fire Island and preserving those gay institutions. But it’s also a lot of fun. I get this from my father, who basically worked until he was 75 years old. I kept telling him he needs to relax and retire but now here I am doing the same thing.

SO YOU JUST OPENED UP A LOCATION IN HELL’S KITCHEN FOR MISTR? TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.

So Hey Mister is actually our handle. We are the largest provider of PrEP and long-term HIV care and Doxie care. We also do GI testing with all the treatments. We serve all 50 states. We just opened up our storefront in Hell’s Kitchen. We also have one in Wilton Manor, Boys Town in Chicago, the Castro West Hollywood and then Oakland in Dallas. The motivation for these was to be able to address the injectable market. So you have the injectable PrEP. You are going to soon have the injectable HIV medications. And of course, we are told that it’s the platform. It’s hard for me to describe it, but those injections are not self-administered. So the idea was you go online to MISTR. You scan a QR code and you get your injection. You’re in and out in two minutes. It also allows people to pick up their medications same day. And it allows us to offer STD treatments as well as pep which is post exposure. You take it within the first 72 hours. We used to offer that in the early days but it was challenging getting it in the hands of the people because you were relying on a third party to ship it. 

So we are fully operational. The lobby is not yet decorated, but it will be. 

IT SEEMS LIKE YOU LIKE TO GIVE BACK TO THE GAY COMMUNITY IN VERY COOL WAYS, SO CAN YOU RECALL A MOMENT THAT CHANGED THE ENTIRE TRAJECTORY OF YOUR LIFE?

That’s a tough question. I have to say the trajectory of my life has been on overdrive the last few years. I started mister not as a business but actually to help friends get on PrEP. And then friends became 100, then a couple of hundred. And then I thought, 

“We have to expand the platform”. I launched it six years ago at Palm Springs Pride. The goal was to get 300 people on before the end of the year. We ended up with 375 and we thought that was huge. But now we do 600 a day. With that, we have grown so much. It has opened the door for so many other opportunities. Like the Abbey. I’ve been going to the Abbey for over 20 years. I am an entrepreneur. I love building businesses. The money you make from your business is great, but you have to be passionate about it. I think I was really lucky to stumble upon mister. It’s the first time in generations that we can truly eliminate HIV if everyone who is negative on prep and everyone who is positive is virally suppressed. The fact that I made a business out of it is icing on the cake. To be able to leverage that success and be able to preserve the LGBTQ institutions throughout the country is pretty good.

DO YOU EVER GET AFRAID? DO YOU HAVE ANY FEAR THAT THIS ISN’T GOING TO WORK?

No. I take calculated risks. I have been a diehard entrepreneur. The money is a nice thing, but I’m really motivated by the challenge. I like building businesses. If you put me in a corporation, and I have consulted for corporations, I want to pull my hair out. Because the C-suite is typically very diverse. They want to get their bonuses. They want to build a business. But they are not real risk takers. So I think it’s just part of my DNA that I enjoy taking calculated risks. A lot of times, people ask, “How do you know how to do all these things?” But sometimes you just figure it out along the way. I ran for City Council and I lost, but you know what? I tried. I learned a lot from that experience. If I was on City Council, my life would be completely different. I was actually talking to a friend of mine the other day. He’s a pilot for Delta and he really wanted to work for United. He lost the interview, but then he got a call from Delta and thought, “You know what? This is the best thing that ever happened to me.” Sometimes what’s meant to be is meant to be.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ME ASK YOU ANY QUESTION ON THE PLANET, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER IT?

Gosh, I have no idea. I’m an open book. I tell people “Ask me anything”. I may not answer, but you can ask. 

YOU KNOW WHAT? THAT IS A REALLY COOL AND HONEST ANSWER. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT I DIDN’T COVER THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS?

I will add spending the weekend in Fire Island, everyone was really welcoming. It is such an invested community. People are really excited about change. People are asking, “What is going to change?” We are going to upgrade the hotel. I think that will eliminate the barriers for many people to come and visit. We are going to increase the number of establishments and opportunities for dining. I mean I was ready for drag brunch on Sunday and there was no drag brunch. And expanded gym. We are going to rework the Pavilion. There’s low-key, mid-key, high key….there’s more key in Fire Island than there is in the UK. I know it was off-season, but I walked around and I think The Pavilion’s upper deck should be packed all the time. So there’s a lot of tender loving care that we will be adding to all of this.