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The new Mr. Gay World talks mental health, dating & how fitness changed his life for the better
Troy Michael won this year's Mr. Gay World, and is using his platform to advocate for mental health.
Troy Michael is the new Mr. Gay World, and he’s bringing a fresh mission to the crown.
An Alaska resident, Michael has competed in multiple pageants, including Mr. Gay Iceland. While he’s participated in Mr. Gay World before, he wanted his message this year to be different.
This time around, Michael competed on a platform advocating for mental health. It’s a topic that’s deeply personal to him.
Gay life can be taxing, especially around the topic of physique. Socializing often turns into sexualizing, and anxiety about body image runs rampant. In that sense, Michael is like many other gay men, even if the mainstream press doesn’t show it.
Look around at magazine covers, and you will see nothing but ripped abs and bulging biceps. As Mr. Gay World 2023, Michael is showing there’s another way.
“In the gay world, most call me out of shape,” he said. “You have no idea how much backlash I’ve gotten in this competition.”
Make no mistake: Michael is in terrific shape. He says he changed his lifestyle for his mental health, tired of toiling in his depressive state. While nothing is a panacea — Michael is quick to stress that working on one’s mental health is a continuous process — his new wellness routine saved his life.
With sections on LGBTQ+ history, politics and social impact, Mr. Gay World is far more than a beauty contest. Michael won three categories, wow’ing the judges with his social responsibility campaign.
As a gay man in Alaska, Michael is used to going against the grain. He views Mr. Gay World as the ideal platform to broadcast his message of self-love and inclusivity.
Queerty recently caught up with Michael to talk about his fitness journey, dealing with wide variations of reaction on social media and dating life in The Last Frontier. Here’s what he had to say…
QUEERTY: You are a gay man in Alaska. Is that as lonely as it sounds?
TROY MICHAEL: It’s definitely not like any other gay city around the globe! It’s not New York City, Chicago, L.A. or San Francisco. It is quite different here. Alaska is a very red state, especially in Anchorage. But I think for me, it is what you make of it, especially with this pageant. It’s not popular here, but it’s what you do with it that makes it popular. So having those conversations and normalizing the gay community here is one of my favorite things to do.
Is there a dating scene?
Uhh… there is Grindr here! There is a dating scene. We have one gay bar, Mad Myrna’s, it’s a pretty cool place. One of my favorite places, actually. So there is a scene here. But it just depends on who’s looking for what. But I think the dating scene is definitely smaller here than anywhere else I’ve ever lived.
How do you tie mental health and fitness together?
My fitness journey has been an emotional rollercoaster. I think that goes along with my mental health as well. In 2018, I was diagnosed with depression, and it was just finding a way to be able to handle that and live a happy life. I did my research, along with therapy. I did realize through personal experience whenever I worked out, I started feeling happier. My mind is more positive. So for me, I started working out specifically for my mental health.
Once I realized how good it was making me feel in my mind, I just kept going with it, and the results stemmed from that. It had nothing to do with me wanting to have a six-pack or wanting to be muscular. I don’t care about that. I was just focused on trying to take care of myself mentally, and that has really boosted my morale, and helps me live a positive life.
What kinds of reactions have you received on social media?
In the gay world, most call me out of shape. You have no idea how much backlash I’ve gotten in this competition, from people posting photos of me alongside other contestants saying, “How did this fat guy win?”, to all sorts of stuff. For me, I have thick skin.
I’m not here to be a super model. I’m here to advocate for suicide prevention.
But the feedback is more positive than negative. The messages are very inspiring. A lot of people saying they’re proud to see somebody with a mental health platform and somebody who has actually lived the experience and advocating for something they’ve lived is more meaningful to them. There are so many people out there, and you can pick a cause and be an ally. We love being allies of everything. But I think it’s more real and authentic when you’ve actually lived that experience, and that’s a lot of things I’m seeing and hearing online. That makes me really happy, that people are seeing and hearing my message.
What is your top piece of advice to people who are struggling with their mental health and body image?
Do the research. I think anybody who struggles with a mental health condition, understanding the resources is key. Looking up and seeing what you can do in terms of self-care: exercise, surrounding yourself with positive people and things that are uplifting, understanding how to do those things on your own. That’s the main goal, to understand those.
You need to take pride and love yourself. There are a lot of people out there who are going to say negative things about you, no matter what it is: your weight, sexuality, political party. What you need to focus on is loving yourself, and what you have on the inside to offer the world, and run with that. Whenever you start advocating for what you believe in, you’re not just gonna feel good about yourself. You’re gonna be making change in the world!
What does the reigning Mr. Gay World like to do for fun?
I love playing tennis. I played tennis in college and want to get back into that. I watch it a lot. I really like being outdoors.
I’m a very, very big board game nerd. I love playing board games. I’d rather have a night in with a glass of wine playing board games opposed to being out in a club partying. That’s more my scene.
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