June Farms‘ Matt Baumgartner dishes on the cost of being the boss, cowboy appeal & the realities of reality TV
"Gentleman farmer" and entrepreneur Baumgartner opens up about the challenges of seeing his work on screen.
Mark
“Gentleman farmer” and entrepreneur Matt Baumgartner is the owner of the idyllic June Farms, cited as upstate New York’s premier wedding & events destination.
But being the best means constantly raising the bar for quality and customer satisfaction, and that’s no easy task—something made abundantly clear on June Farms, Amazon Prime Video’s newest reality series that takes you behind the scenes of Baumgartner’s business to show you how the sausage gets made (metaphorically speaking; we promise the animals are very safe & happy here!)
How about we take this to the next level?
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Not unlike Vanderpump Rules, the series follows the spirited yet chaotic young staff as they contend with demanding guests, the unpredictability of nature, and their own feelings for one another. But in this case, the “Lisa Vanderpump” is the ruggedly handsome, ambitious Baumgartner, who runs a tight ship—err, barn—an out businessman who’s worked hard to create a space where all are welcome.
For Baumgartner, letting the world in on the dream-come-true-making work they do at June Farms via a television series was a no-brainer. What he wasn’t entirely prepared for was how taxing it could be to be “camera ready” every second of his day, or what it might be like to watch his own rough days at work back on the screen.
With June Farms now streaming on Amazon, we jumped at the chance to invite Baumgartner—a self-professed longtime Queerty reader—into the hot set for our long-running Q&A feature, Dishin’ It. In our conversation, the farm’s head honcho opens up about the realities of reality TV, The Real World star who opened his mind to new possibilities, and why Upstate New York is for the gays.
Is there a piece of media—whether a movie, TV series, book, album, theater, video game, etc…—that has played an important role in your understanding of queerness and the queer community, or your own identity? Why does it stand out to you?
It was The Real World: New Orleans, and it was specifically Danny [Roberts]. He did something to my brain when I wasn’t quite sure what I was, where I was like, “that’s what I want.” I was a swimmer my whole life, so obviously there was some sort of confusion as to what I was seeing and why I liked it so much. But it didn’t really feel like there was a lot of cultural references when I was growing up that would have sort of given me any comfort in coming out. It still was a time when it wasn’t very accepted to be gay. And I really remember—even looking back now— appreciating that MTV then had those stories at a time that it wasn’t really that accepted. I feel like a lot of people owe a lot to them for doing that.
I’m sure it’s not easy to decide to let a camera crew—and, as a result, the rest of the world—into the day-to-day operations of your business, so can you tell me a little bit about what convinced you to do the show?
It had been an ongoing thing with Omid Kahangi, who is the producer—he had been trying to do a show for years and years before this ended up happening. And I was excited about it when he pitched it as a restaurant show years before, and then once the farm came into the picture, I think Amazon was like, “This is a show that we can get behind.” I guess I was more nervous about it just being authentic and real and not being some sort of weird, scripted or edited show. I just watched the episodes, and I’m so happy with how they showed even the challenges in the relationships that we had during the time. It really was very accurate! And I hope that people watch the show feel like they can see the love that we have for each other.
I will tell you—and this was just my perspective of it—the very first day that it happens, you feel like the most important person ever. I mean, it was just so many people putting mics on you, and there’s cameras on you, and there’s lighting people, and you just can’t believe everyone’s following you around. So it’s super fun —I would say, for me—for two weeks, and then it starts to settle in that you have, like, another two months of this. Then it’s like, “Wait, when am I going to get a break?” And, “Wait, how much longer do I have to care about the clothing that I put on in the morning, or how I’m looking, or how I’m being portrayed?”
I think, after some weeks, it’s just you can’t keep up that sort of facade of trying to be this good television person. I feel like, as I watched the episodes, I look so much more haggard as it goes on. It’s a lot of work! It’s a lot of pressure, and it was a wonderful experience, but it’s exhausting.
Having seen the season, what’s something you’ve learned about yourself as a leader from watching it all back on screen? If not, how would you say the process of bringing June Farms to TV has shaped or changed you as a leader?
Oh my god, I don’t know what it is about the show—I’m constantly crying! I’m not like that in real life, but I cried so much on that show, and now it’s making me emotional. It was hard for me seeing how I affected everybody after I sort of snapped at them, and I often don’t see that. A lot of times, I’ll sort of snap at them and I feel like I’m allowed to do that, or that they deserved it, or in a certain way it’s because we’re all working hard. But seeing some of those cast members really cry, and seeing how I actually hurt them, was not easy for me to watch. And I wonder how often that happens. I mean, I don’t see that side of it after I come in and I act the way that I often do—that was not easy for me to watch.
But hopefully there’s some catharsis in that, too, if that’s the right word? Or at least, you’re able to balance that out by also seeing how you bring everyone together, united in this mission, and that there’s real respect, love and companionship, even when there is pain?
Yeah, right. But there’s one of the episodes where Victoria said “I’m done” to Dee, and I was like, “Oh my god, she could have quit right there!” I mean, event planner is such a big job because they hold all of the cards, all the details of someone’s wedding. Like, it really would be stressful—I have to remember that I can’t do it without all these people, honestly. So keeping them happy has to be a huge priority of mine. And I think I haven’t often thought that way. And now I’m hoping that I start thinking better like that after seeing the show.
June Farms’ annual Pride Day extravaganza gets a nice showcase in one of the episodes, and in general I was thrilled to see you create an environment—and a show—that was unabashedly queer inclusive. Why was that important for you to put forth in the series and in your work?
It couldn’t not be [a part of the show.] I mean, I’m a gay person, I had my first restaurant as a gay person in my early 20s. But I would say a lot of people wouldn’t know that I’m gay—not that they couldn’t go on my Instagram and see that I have pictures with, like, other gay friends or boyfriends or whatever; it’s not like I’m hiding it! But I think that there’s typically an assumption that it’s maybe a straight owner. I haven’t ever really opened up specifically a gay bar, so I just hope that anybody who comes to one of my places has an open mind, or is queer, or it’s just never an issue. I mean, if it was, they wouldn’t be allowed in the place, so they wouldn’t come back. It’s just been how all of my places have been over the years. And it feels good to live in a place where it’s not an issue, really. My places have always been really busy, and I’ve never felt like there’s been any sort of homophobia towards them. So I feel very fortunate.
I mean, I was a little bit more worried about showing my relationship on camera, than say Pride Day, because I haven’t typically been that vocal about what’s going on in my personal life, obviously.
Speaking of the gays, I know you identify yourself as a “gentleman farmer” and let’s just say the gays seem to have a thing for the whole farmer, cowboy archetype and lifestyle. Why do you think that is?
The Marlboro Man! [Laughs.] I think it just sounds like a Velvet Rage example of, like, us being in love with getting our fathers’ validation, and the virility of your father, typically, and the virility of the Marlboro Man. It’s probably all daddy issues!
Of course your work is all about keeping your guests happy and making your customers dreams come true, but if sky’s the limit and you could have anyone on the guest list, what would be your dream June Farms event and why?
Gosh, I don’t think it’s a good answer, but I like the type of events where just everybody comes to them [are the best.] We do these barn crawls where each one of the barns is a different local liquor [distillery] or local brewery. They’re so fun! Everybody’s in a good mood, it’s during the day, they’re having beers, they’re petting the goats—it’s just a day that feels like a fun day on the farm with a bunch of alcohol. And it’s my favorite. I’d probably plan another one of those.
And obviously June Farms is in upstate New York, and it’s this lovely hamlet not far from the city, but what makes it a great destination for queer visitors?
Hudson Valley is spectacular! I’m not sure how to quantify it, but there’s a lot of gay-owned businesses, there’s a lot of gay people. I mean, Albany itself is very progressive, and just the sheer proximity to New York City—which is only a couple hours away—it’s very simple to take an Amtrak train that drops you off right in Albany. We have Hudson very close by, which is also a very queer friendly city. We have many, many visitors who are queer, and it feels like they come back quite often, and I hope that’s because they feel happy and comfortable here.
Who is an LGBTQ+ artist/performer/creator that you think is doing really cool work right now? Why are they someone we should all be paying attention to?
I would have to mention my friend Tess Colins, who’s actually on the show. She’s the queen of Albany, especially in nightlife and the restaurant world, she’s been doing it for quite a while. She’s the most giving person I know, she’s constantly hosting fundraisers, she’s engaged to a woman—she’s just she’s an angel. She’s very well respected, she’s very kind, she’s very giving. There’s not enough time in this for me to tell you how much I love her. She’s wonderful!
June Farms is now streaming exclusively via Amazon Prime Video.
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