Strike a pose! Pro wrestler Anthony Bowens keeps landing on magazine covers
Bowens, who made history last year as the first out gay AEW champion, has been a magazine cover boy this summer.
Anthony Bowens is a cover boy, baby!
The trailblazing pro wrestler, who publicly came out as bisexual and then as gay, recently showed off his collection of magazine cover stories. He’s found great success in the squared circle, and made a big impact outside of it.
Oh, and he also looks great in every picture. That’s worth mentioning, too.
Bowens, 32, made history last fall when he became the first out gay male champion in All Elite Wrestling history. On a fateful September night, he captured the AEW World Tag Team championships with his partner Max Caster.
Better yet, Bowen’s big win happened Queens, N.Y., just an hour from his hometown in Nutley, N.J.
After the match, Bowens and Caster embraced as pink and white confetti fluttered down onto them. Bowens dedicated his win to LGBTQ+ youth who may be struggling, just like he was.
There is light, or in his case, a championship belt, at the end of the tunnel.
“I never thought that I would be able to live my dream because there was a time when I was very confused. And I didn’t know how to accept myself,” he said. “But I fought through that [bleep]. I fought through all that [bleep]. And now I cry because I’m a champion. Max, and I, The Acclaimed, we are champions!
“So if you’re someone who feels like me. It doesn’t even have to be about your sexuality. It could be you’re depressed, you’re bullied in life or life just sucks, just know that everything gets better. We love you. I love you.”
Since coming out in 2017, Bowens has used his platform to promote LGBTQ+ rights. While many out gay athletes advocate for inclusion, Bowens stands out. Historically, pro wrestling hasn’t been the most welcoming place for LGBTQ+ people.
But Bowens is changing that. Always one to make a strong statement, he once shared a photo of him kissing his boyfriend, YouTuber Michael Pavano, in front of anti-gay protesters at a Pride match.
Unsurprisingly, the pic went viral.
Bowens and Pavano have been dating for seven years, and aren’t afraid to publicly show their love for one another. Earlier this year, they announced they bought their first home together in Los Angeles!
In Bowens’ recent cover interview with 26 Magazine, he says he started dating Pavano in May 2016–well before he was ready to come out. But that changed after “The Laughing Challenge.”
The two of them posted a video, and a few months later, one of Bowens’ wrestling friends texted and asked why he hadn’t told him about his boyfriend.
That gave Bowens the confidence he needed to come out, and make his relationship public.
“It was such an interesting, scary and liberating moment all at once, like someone had just come in and flipped on a light switch,” he said. “Once I had that experience there was this realization that I had everything that I needed now.”
It’s fitting that one of Bowens’ wrestling friends inspired him to live openly as his true self. Since then, he’s made it his mission to show LGBTQ+ folx they belong in the ring.
“We’re in a lot better place than where we were when I first started, because there’s a ton of open LGBTQ wrestlers out there,” he said in a cover story interview with Between the Lines. “Some on television, a lot of thriving [ones] on the independents. So hopefully we continue to grow and get more in, because there are a lot more in other sports and entertainment.”
But Bowens doesn’t have to just talk about being validated: crowds display their affection for him across the country. Maybe the most seminal moment of his illustrious career happened during Pride Month, when fans showered him with a simple chant.
“He’s gay!”
The spontaneous show of support happened after announcer Harley Cameron said she could tell Bowens was “into her.” A bemused Bowens asked her if she’d been “kicked in the head too many times by a kangaroo” when she was a kid.
When Cameron expressed confusion, Bowens clarified he’s gay…”and taken,” as one of the commentators quipped.
That exchange prompted the crowd to join in.
In his interview with Between the Lines, Bowens said he hopes the chant showed other LGBTQ+ people it’s possible to achieve their dreams.
“It looks grim, but at the same time, it’s not,” he said. “A lot of people have humanity, they’re human beings. They appreciate, respect and love other people.”
And we love Bowens for living his truth and breaking barriers. As his collection of cover stories shows, his message is catching on.
Scroll down for more pics of Bowens absolutely thriving…
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