Happy Valentine's Day! Are you single? How about your best friend?

The two questions may be more related than you think. You might assume your romantic journey is a personal and unique one. But often, the number one factor in determining when you find steady long-term relationships is whether your close friends are already in them.

Call it pair pressure—and before you spend another Valentine's Day wondering what's wrong with you, consider the possibility that nothing is. That the wanting itself is the trick.

The domino effect

A lot of platitudes around romance suggest love comes when we happen upon the right person, or when our personal growth has brought us to a place where we are ready for it. But—much like the clothes you buy, the music you listen to, and the political opinions you pretend to have—there's a big social factor.

It happens all the time. A couple members of a close friend group suddenly (and rudely) find their soulmates, and a clock starts for everyone else. The single friends, who have built their lifestyle around the group, have to look elsewhere for that consistent companionship. (In straight friend groups, the sudden onslaught of relationships is often chalked up to biological factors—but in queer friend groups, you can see it happen at any stage of life.)

Soon, dates that once made for good brunch stories suddenly have real stakes to them. If a friend has settled down with a handsome lawyer named Frank, when you meet a handsome lawyer, you may start asking yourself if he's your Frank.

But here's what nobody says out loud: you weren't looking for a Frank until your friend found one. The need didn't come from inside you. It came from the empty chair at brunch.

The relationship race

That manufactured need is where it gets dangerous. Because what happens when you're the last single left, and the partner you've been promised has yet to arrive? Once you start keeping score, you're liable to reduce everything to points. Is your date as good as your friend's new boyfriend? Are you hitting the same benchmarks of seriousness with the guy you're seeing?

You might tell yourself the shift is natural—that as you're exposed to more couples, your values are just evolving. That exciting new conquests are rightfully paling in comparison to the nice guy who wants to binge all the same shows as you. But be honest with yourself: are you actually falling for this person, or are you falling for the idea of not being alone at the table?

Unfortunately, just because you're socially conditioned to seek a relationship doesn't mean you actually need one. And when you're feeling this "inspired" by your friends' happiness, you may become fixated on creating the appearance of it for yourself—accepting a dinner party seat-filler when what you actually needed was another night on the couch with no one. The loneliness was never yours. It was borrowed.

The permission slip

So what do you do? Recognize the mirage for what it is. There's no rule that says just because you and your bestie have matching tattoos you need to have matching boyfriends.

Relationships born from loneliness or social pressure tend to be bad ones. Being single on Valentine's Day is not a diagnosis. The friends whose relationships lit a fire under you are the same ones who know you best—and if you asked them, they'd probably tell you they'd rather see you happy alone than miserable with someone just to round out the table. 

This Valentine's Day, pair pressure is just peer pressure in a nicer outfit. You don't need a man. You especially don't need to be pressured by someone else's.

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Should Abraham Lincoln’s birthday be a queer holiday? While writing about Lincoln in Oh, Mary!, Cole Escola famously did no research, but it’s possible there’s more truth to it than meets the eye. Many historians believe in “The Gay Lincoln Thesis,” which suggests the great president was not so straight after all. We spoke to Thomas Balcerski, Presidential Historian, and Jonathan Ned Katz, Independent Scholar, Historian, and History Activist, about Lincoln’s sexual appetites, the state of queerness before “straight” and “gay” existed, thigh sex, and chronicling your sexual past for the future. 

Thomas Balcerski, Presidential Historian, Eastern Connecticut State University

When did it appear Lincoln’s sexuality might not be all it seemed?

Records of Lincoln’s life point to an intimate, romantic world with men and a tumultuous, vexed world with women. He hit the heterosexual marks — marriage, children — but many historians would rather avoid Mary Todd than explain why Lincoln married her. It's easier to assume "Straight Lincoln" was happily married and leave it at that. Questioning this makes people uncomfortable.

The first scholar to publish a book about “the Gay Lincoln Thesis” was C.A. Tripp, The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln. Tripp uses Alfred Kinsey’s understanding of sexuality to read Lincoln and the evidence differently. Facts citing where Lincoln lived and slept are preserved, which allows a queer scholar to question assumptions through lived experience, like the size of Lincoln's bed and sharing that bed with various men. The love of Lincoln’s life, his deepest romantic and, I’d argue, physical passion, was for another man, Joshua Fry Speed. 

What’s the primary evidence?

Letters, interviews, third-party sources. Lincoln and Speed exchanged dozens of letters. They lived together and shared a bed for four and a half years. Lincoln developed an extreme loving, emotional attachment to Speed, evidenced in the letters. Speed kept these; he didn’t hide them. After Lincoln's death, Speed published them and went on a lecture circuit talking about their relationship. He wasn't ashamed of this loving relationship with Lincoln. He even exploited it for his own commercial gain.

Those letters also exhibit a sexual appetite in Lincoln’s dreams. Perhaps the most telling sexual line is in a letter to Speed where he reveals a dream about their future together. He uses the phrase Elysian Fields, an allusion to Greek mythology, a paradise where society’s rules don't apply. He also acknowledges he’s too afraid to marry Mary Todd. 

What about the other men? 

Billy Green offers this amazing quote in an interview with Lincoln’s first biographer, William Herndon: “He had the most perfect thighs of any man I've ever seen.” Out of nowhere. Why is Billy Green, now an older man, remembering the dead president by his thighs? Elmer Ellsworth was the first casualty of the Civil War. Lincoln chose Ellsworth to be his bodyguard. Surviving photos and portraits of Speed, Green and Ellsworth look similar: they're Lincoln's type. They’re shorter, have dark hair and light eyes.

David Derickson is an outlier, but speaks to Lincoln's pressures as president. This is 1862-3, where the war is at its low point for the Union. Mary Todd does shopping trips and spends time away from the Capitol. Why would she be leaving so often? We know about Derickson sleeping with Lincoln from third-person accounts, diary entries, and regimental histories. Derickson was even observed wearing the President's nightshirt. Some wittier people would say that's evidence of hanky panky. I'm just laying out evidence.

What do we know about Lincoln’s sexual interests? 

Tripp believes Lincoln never engaged in anal intercourse; he believes it's more likely non-penetrative sex, essentially thigh sex. Given the frontier conditions, the Billy Green comment, and what we know from 20th-century frontier men, these men were having intracrural [thigh] sex. There would’ve been a sense that anal intercourse was immoral, to say nothing of oral intercourse. Intercrural sex would be a workaround. I think that was definitely Lincoln's game. 

Lincoln definitely went from an otter to a bear. There's no doubt that his last relationship with David Derickson was pretty hairy. I think he’d go to Bear Week in Provincetown. He would’ve preferred older men, people his own age. I think for Lincoln, it had to be an emotional and intellectual connection before anything else. This is wildly speculative. 

Jonathan Ned Katz, Independent Scholar, Historian, History Activist

How were sexuality and gender understood in Lincoln’s time? 

There wasn’t a distinction between hetero and homo. Those categories only entered the common public consciousness in the early 20th century. So when Lincoln met Speed, Speed offered him a space in his large double bed after Lincoln said he couldn't pay for a single bed. You couldn't imagine a man doing that today without it being a come-on. But it wasn't understood consciously. It may have had an unconscious desire in it. Relationships like these were called romantic friendships. Women had them also. Some clearly lead to sexual relations and a sort of marriage. It wasn’t uncommon. Men didn't immediately worry, oh, I must be a homosexual if I'm desiring this man. 

Conservative historians have said there's no evidence Speed and Lincoln slept together or had sex. But in my book Love Stories: Sex between Men before Homosexuality, there are quite a few examples showing those bed sharing situations did lead to sexual encounters. Of course it did. People have urges. [Sarcastically] No one in the whole universe ever touched, never got a hard on, never accidentally. I felt I found enough evidence suggesting it was ridiculous to say it never happened.

What is a favorite story you have about Lincoln’s sexuality?

Lincoln says to Speed that he wants to “get some,” which means Lincoln is asking if he knows any prostitutes. Speed recommends this woman–either his mistress or a prostitute–and gives Lincoln a letter of introduction. Lincoln goes to see her, and they say hello–this is all documented evidence in letters, it's unbelievable. They start stripping off their clothes and get into bed. Lincoln says, what do you charge? The prostitute says $5. Lincoln says, I don't have that. She says, that's okay, I'll take the $3 you do have. Lincoln says, "I couldn’t. I need to pay you what you want." And he gets out of bed and doesn't have fun with the prostitute.

So: should Lincoln's birthday be a queer holiday? 

At minimum, it's worth reconsidering the man beyond the marble monument. The evidence points to a president whose deepest passions were for men — who shared beds, wrote love letters, and, if historians like Tripp are right, figured out workarounds long before Grindr made it easier. This February 12th, consider celebrating accordingly.

Who's the Asshole? is back for Season 4 — six new episodes, six new guests, and Katya still hosting like she's never heard of a boundary she wouldn't cross on your behalf.

If you don't know the show: Katya sits down with a guest, they talk about sex, dating, their worst decisions, your worst decisions, and then they listen to voicemails from the Grindr hotline and tell you whether you're the asshole. 

Grindr is where the stories happen. The hookups, the ghosting, the late-night confessions, the situationships that lasted three months longer than they should have — all of it starts on the grid. Who's the Asshole? is what happens when you actually talk about those stories out loud, with people who've been there, and let Katya decide who was wrong.

Four seasons in, and the hits keep on coming.

Season 4 Guests

This season goes from Broadway to punk to reality TV to couture to comedy writers' rooms to the corner of the drag internet that everyone follows without comment. Here's who's in the chair:

Jinkx Monsoon (February 12): Won Drag Race twice, broke box office records on Broadway with Oh, Mary!, and is now playing Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall. She unpacks the line between theatrical chaos and emotional honesty — and what it means to survive as a transfemme, sober, narcoleptic performer who's somehow the smartest person in every room she enters.

Peaches (February 19): Has been screaming about pussy over synthesizers since 2000 and has not once considered doing anything else. Her new album is called No Lube So Rude. She's 59, angrier than she was at 30, and she gets into why shock has always been a tool for her — not the point.

Colton Underwood (February 26): In 2019, his virginity was a primetime television event. Since then, he's come out on Good Morning America, married a political strategist, had a baby, and shown up on The Traitors Season 4. He opens up about visibility, vulnerability, and what happens to queer identity after the spotlight shifts. He calls this his "PG Disney Era." Katya will have follow-up questions.

Jeremy Scott (March 5): Ten years as creative director of Moschino, which meant ten years of convincing the fashion establishment that SpongeBob was couture. Now he's talking about the intensity of the fashion industry, how queerness shaped his creative life from a young age, and what happens when everyone you work with has slept with everyone else you work with.

Pat Regan (March 12): Co-executive producer on Hacks, writer on Nobody Wants This, host of Seek Treatment — a podcast he and Cat Cohen started when nobody important was listening, which is no longer the situation. He dives into gay intimacy on and off the stage, and the humor hiding inside everyday chaos. 

Lushious Massacr (March 19): Drag queen from Brownsville, Texas who created Dragvestigations — a YouTube series where she walks into discount stores in full drag and just reviews them. Frank Ocean liked it. Marc Jacobs liked it. Millions of people liked it. She brings raw confidence, transformation, and what it means to show up loudly as yourself.

Past Seasons

If you're just getting here: Season 1 had Orville Peck, Jordan Firstman, Trace Lysette, and Saucy Santana. 

Season 2 brought Adam Lambert, Gottmik, Bowen Yang, Evan Ross Katz, Brandon Kyle Goodman, and Cosmo. 

Season 3 turned Lisa Rinna, Christian Cowan, Meg Stalter, Gus Kenworthy, Zachary Zane, Joel Kim Booster, and Jordy loose. Start anywhere.

The Grindr Voicemail

Got a story? Call 510-ASS-HOLE. Katya and her guests will listen to all of it and tell you what you already know but needed to hear from someone else.

Watch Episode 1 here.

New episodes every Thursday starting February 12.

Memory leak debugging in Android follows a predictable pattern: LeakCanary detects the leak, an engineer spends 2–4 hours analyzing traces and implementing fixes, and the cycle repeats. At Grindr, with multiple teams shipping features across a large-scale app serving nearly 15 million monthly users, we actively prioritize memory management. However, like any complex Android application, memory leaks could emerge as new features are added.

The insight that changed our approach: memory leaks aren’t creative problems requiring human ingenuity; they’re pattern-matching problems. Activity lifecycle issues, Fragment view binding retention, ViewModel coroutine leaks; these follow predictable patterns with established solutions.

Pattern-matching is exactly what AI excels at. So we built an automated system that reads LeakCanary traces, classifies leak types, and applies fixes automatically. The result: significantly faster resolution times and a more manageable memory leak workflow.

Why Android Memory Leak Automation Changes Everything

The traditional memory leak workflow has a fundamental inefficiency: every leak requires the same analytical process, even when the pattern is identical to one you fixed last week.

The Manual Process:

1. LeakCanary detects leak and generates trace
2. Engineer reads 200+ line stack trace
3. Identify leak pattern (Activity? Fragment? ViewModel?)
4. Search codebase for relevant files
5. Implement fix (onDestroy cleanup, binding nullification, etc.)
6. Rebuild, deploy, test, verify
7. Repeat for the next leak

Time cost: 2–4 hours per leak
Problem: Steps 2–5 are pure pattern-matching; perfect for automation

The Architecture: Building an AI Debugging Agent

Instead of manually debugging each leak, we built a custom AI workflow that handles the entire resolution cycle.

We implemented this as a custom command (/GrindrFixMemoryLeak) in Firebender, an AI coding assistant for Android Studio. The command is defined in a structured text file that outlines the step-by-step workflow. This approach works with AI coding tools that support custom command definitions through configuration files; whether that's markdown files (.md), rule files (.cursorrules, .mdc), or similar structured formats that different AI assistants use to define reusable workflows.

The Four-Step Automation Workflow

1. Automated Trace Extraction

The agent executes ADB commands to pull LeakCanary logs:

adb logcat -d -s LeakCanary | grep -E "(┬───|GC Root|Leaking: YES)" -A 20 -B 5

This command filters logcat output for LeakCanary traces, capturing 20 lines after (-A 20) and 5 lines before (-B 5) each match to preserve the full leak context.

2. Pattern Classification

AI analyzes traces and classifies by pattern:

• Activity leaks — Lifecycle cleanup issues
• Fragment leaks — View binding retention
• ViewModel leaks — Coroutine cancellation missing
• Singleton leaks — Context retention in long-lived objects
• Third-party leaks — Library-specific issues

Each pattern receives a confidence score (HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW) that determines automation level.

3. Automated Fix Application

For high-confidence patterns, the agent edits files directly:

// ❌ BEFORE: Fragment leak patternclass ProfileFragment : Fragment() {    private var binding: ProfileBinding? = null    override fun onDestroyView() {        super.onDestroyView()        // binding not cleared → leak!    }}// ✅ AFTER: AI-applied fixclass ProfileFragment : Fragment() {    private var binding: ProfileBinding? = null    override fun onDestroyView() {        super.onDestroyView()        binding = null  // ← AI added this line    }}

4. Build-Deploy-Verify Cycle

The agent automatically:

1. Clears previous LeakCanary traces
2. Rebuilds the application with Gradle
3. Deploys to connected device
4. Prompts engineer to reproduce the scenario
5. Re-checks for new leaks
6. Reports success or identifies remaining issues

Under the Hood: How the AI Reads LeakCanary Traces

The core challenge is teaching the AI to parse unstructured LeakCanary output. Here’s what a typical trace looks like:

┬───│ GC Root: System class├─ android.view.inputmethod.InputMethodManager class│    Leaking: NO (a system class)│    ↓ static InputMethodManager.sInstance├─ android.view.inputmethod.InputMethodManager instance│    Leaking: NO (InputMethodManager is a singleton)│    ↓ InputMethodManager.mNextServedView├─ androidx.appcompat.widget.AppCompatEditText instance│    Leaking: YES (View.mContext references a destroyed activity)│    ↓ AppCompatEditText.mContext╰→ com.grindr.android.ProfileActivity instance     Leaking: YES (Activity#mDestroyed is true)

Our AI agent extracts three key signals:

1. The leak root: What object is holding the reference? (InputMethodManager.mNextServedView)
2. The leaked object: What shouldn’t still exist? (ProfileActivity)
3. The leak path: How are they connected? (mContext reference)

With this structured data, the agent classifies the pattern: “Activity leaked through View reference retained by system singleton”; a HIGH confidence pattern with a known fix (ensure views don’t outlive Activity lifecycle).

Common Fix Patterns Applied Automatically

Fragment View Binding Leak:

override fun onDestroyView() {    super.onDestroyView()    _binding = null  // Added automatically}

Activity Context in Singletons:

// Before:Fresco.initialize(context, config)// After:Fresco.initialize(context.applicationContext, config)

ViewModel Coroutine Cleanup:

override fun onCleared() {     super.onCleared()     viewModelScope.cancel()  // Added automatically }

Pattern Classification & Confidence Scoring

Not every leak should be fixed autonomously. Our decision framework balances automation speed with safety:

HIGH confidence — Standard lifecycle patterns with proven fixes. Applied automatically without approval.

MEDIUM confidence — Common patterns but may have architectural implications. Applied with engineer notification.

LOW confidence — Unusual patterns, third-party library issues, or fixes requiring >50 lines of code. Requires explicit approval.

This tiered approach ensures routine leaks resolve instantly while complex cases get expert review.

The Impact: Transforming Memory Leak Resolution

Since deploying this automation, the workflow transformation has been significant:

The Change in Practice

Manual debugging meant each memory leak required:

• Reading and interpreting LeakCanary traces
• Searching through the codebase for relevant files
• Analyzing the leak pattern and determining the fix
• Implementing the solution
• Testing and verification
• Time investment: Hours per leak

Automated resolution now handles:

• Immediate trace extraction and analysis
• Pattern classification with confidence scoring
• Automated fix application for high-confidence patterns
• Build and deployment verification
• Time investment: Minutes for routine leaks

Real Benefits

Faster resolution cycles — What previously took hours of manual debugging now completes in minutes for pattern-based leaks, allowing engineers to maintain focus on feature development.

Consistent fix quality — The confidence-based approach ensures standard patterns receive proven solutions, reducing the variability in fix quality that comes with manual implementation.

Reduced context switching — Engineers no longer need to drop feature work to spend hours debugging memory leaks. High-confidence patterns resolve automatically with minimal intervention required.

Common Patterns Successfully Resolved

Based on documented fixes in our codebase, the automation effectively handles these recurring Android memory leak patterns:

Context Retention in Long-Lived Objects

• Library initialization with Activity context instead of Application context (e.g., Fresco, image loaders)
• Singleton components holding Activity/Fragment references
• Third-party SDKs retaining lifecycle-bound contexts

Observer and Callback Patterns

• observeForever without proper removal in ViewHolders and Fragments
• Strong callback references in managers and delegates (fixed using WeakReference)
• Permission delegates holding strong references to Activities

ViewModel and Repository Patterns

• Singletons retaining ViewModel state through function references
• Flow subscriptions managed outside ViewModel scope
• Lambda captures leaking view or context references

Compose Integration

• AndroidView composables lacking DisposableEffect cleanup
• Native ad views not properly detached from parent ViewGroups
• View references retained after composition exits

Fragment and Activity Lifecycle

• Direct Fragment references preventing garbage collection (fixed using Provider<Fragment>)
• Dialog references not cleared in onDestroy
• View binding not nullified in onDestroyView

How We Use It: Continuous Memory Management

The /GrindrFixMemoryLeak command has become a standard part of our development workflow. When LeakCanary detects a leak during feature development or testing, engineers invoke the command and let the AI handle the routine analysis and fixing. For minimal context switching, the command can be run as a background agent in Firebender, allowing engineers to continue working on features while the leak analysis and fixing happens asynchronously.

Integration with Development Workflow

During Feature Development

• Engineers run debug builds with LeakCanary enabled
• When leaks are detected, invoke /GrindrFixMemoryLeak
• High-confidence patterns resolve automatically
• Engineers review and approve low-confidence cases

Continuous Refinement Through Documentation

• The more leaks we resolve and document, the more knowledge the command has to reference
• Each documented pattern becomes a reference for future similar leaks
• Our internal documentation of common patterns and solutions directly improves the command’s effectiveness
• The AI agent references this accumulated knowledge to classify and fix new leaks more accurately

What Makes It Effective

The key to success isn’t just the automation; it’s the structured approach to leak classification and the confidence-based decision framework. By explicitly defining what patterns we trust the AI to fix autonomously versus which require human review, we maintain code quality while eliminating repetitive debugging work.

Key Learnings

After months of automated memory leak resolution, these principles have proven critical:

1. Pattern-based leaks are automatable

Most common Android memory leaks (Activity lifecycle, Fragment binding, ViewModel coroutines) follow predictable patterns with established solutions. These are perfect candidates for AI automation.

2. Confidence-based automation is critical

Not all leaks should be fixed autonomously. Complex cases, third-party library issues, and architectural changes require human review. The confidence scoring system prevents the AI from making risky changes.

3. End-to-end verification is essential

Automated fixes must be validated through full build and test cycles. Without verification, you’re trading manual debugging for manual rollback of bad fixes.

4. Structured prompts enable AI effectiveness

Success comes from encoding your debugging process systematically into the command prompt, not from hoping the AI “figures it out.” Be explicit about steps, decision points, and confidence thresholds.

5. Time savings compound quickly

Saving 2–4 hours per leak seems modest until you realize you’re fixing 10+ leaks per month. That’s 20–40 hours monthly; half an engineer’s time recovered for feature development.

Beyond Memory Leaks: Expanding AI Agent Usage

Memory leak automation demonstrated the value of AI agents for pattern-based development tasks. We’ve since expanded to other repetitive workflows:

Currently in Production:

• Unit test generation — Automated Kotest test creation from class signatures
• PR description generation — Structured pull request documentation based on code changes

Exploring Next:

• Code review assistance — Automated validation of architecture patterns and best practices
• Composable optimization analysis — Identifying unstable composables to prevent unnecessary recompositions

The pattern is consistent: identify repetitive tasks that follow established rules, encode those rules systematically, and let AI agents handle the routine work while engineers focus on complex problem-solving and feature development.

Conclusion

The traditional approach to memory leak debugging; manual trace analysis, manual fix implementation, manual verification; is fundamentally inefficient for pattern-based problems.

By automating the routine parts (trace extraction, pattern classification, fix application, verification) and escalating complex cases for human review (confidence-based decision framework), we significantly improved our leak resolution workflow and reduced the time engineers spend on repetitive debugging tasks.

The shift required changing how we think about AI tools. Instead of “smart autocomplete,” we built a specialized debugging agent with a structured workflow, clear decision points, and end-to-end automation from detection to verification.

The result: engineers spend less time debugging memory leaks and more time building features. Our crash-free rate improved. And when LeakCanary does catch a leak, routine patterns now resolve in minutes instead of hours.

That’s the difference between treating AI as a productivity booster and treating it as a specialized tool for automating entire classes of problems. One makes you type faster. The other eliminates the problem entirely.

Resources

Tools we used:

• Firebender — AI coding assistant for Android Studio (Plugin)
• LeakCanary — Memory leak detection library by Square
• ADB (Android Debug Bridge) — For trace extraction and deployment

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If Family Feud asked 100 people to name a “gay sport,” there’s a pretty good chance that figure skating would claim the top spot (as much as Heated Rivalry is making a push for hockey). Figure skating, after all, is a sport built on the backs of pretty music, flamboyant gestures, and sequinned leotards, in a way that football, archery, or judo are not. 

But for all the joking and winking that may come from outsiders, those within the figure skating community have spent most of the sport's history desperately trying to prove just how heterosexual it is. It's really only been in the last decade, since gay marriage was legalized in the U.S. and public sentiment began to turn, that figure skating has come out of the closet. With the 2026 Milan Olympics underway, here's a timeline of the sport's fraught history with the LGBTQ+ movement.

The Gay History of Figure Skating

1940 - The Ice Capades takes figure skating to the next level with gay men in the ranks

In 1940, the Ice Capades, a traveling theatrical ice skating show, began touring, popularizing the sport in the U.S. Two of the early cast members were U.S. Champion Bobby Specht and Alan Konrad. In a 2016 interview after both Specht and Konrad had passed away, the show’s producer Bob Turk said, “Bobby was very, very gay and never tried to hide it. He and Alan Konrad were sort of lovers for a time.” Neither Specht nor Konrad came out publicly during their lifetimes, though. 

1976 - John Curry comes out as gay after winning Olympic Gold in Innsbruck

While Curry was not out when he won his Gold Medal, the British figure skater came out directly after winning gold and retiring. Prior to the Olympics, Curry had given an interview to the Associated Press, where he’d discussed his sexuality. That story ran immediately after his win, with Curry later confirming his homosexuality at a press conference. Since figure skating is a sport that relies on judges’ scores, many figure skaters waited until after their competitive careers had wrapped to come out for fear of discrimination in scoring.

1980 - Robin Cousins wins Olympic gold, but remains in the closet publicly

Four years later, another closeted gay British figure skater would top the podium in Lake Placid. At the time, Cousins was dating American ice dancer Randy Gardner, but the pair kept their relationship on “the down low.” Gardner later revealed that the pair “found empty trailers so we could hang out and do our thing.” 

1990s - The AIDS epidemic ravages the figure skating community

In the 1980s and 90s, dozens of male figure skaters died from HIV/AIDS-related illnesses, with the exact number unknown due to many families lying about the cause-of-deaths to avoid the disease’s stigma. Among those who died was John Curry, who was diagnosed with HIV in 1987 and died in 1994 after speaking out publicly about the disease. 

1996 - Rudy Galindo becomes the first openly gay American national champion

While there had certainly been closeted top-tier American figure skaters before, Galindo became the first out gay national champion when he revealed his sexuality in the book Inside Edge by Christine Brennan just weeks before skating in (and winning) his last national championship. “I guess I was ahead of my time,” Galindo told NBC in 2018, “But I wanted to be me, to be out of the box, to be over the top.”

2011 - Johnny Weir comes out publicly in his autobiography after years of speculation

It’s shocking now, watching Weir compete on The Traitors in full glam and incredible costumes, to imagine he spent his entire career as a figure skater in the closet, but Weir didn’t come out until after his second Olympics in 2010, following years of dodging questions about his sexuality. Weir then stated that he never felt as if he was in the closet personally because his family supported him, but that he came out to encourage others. “With people killing themselves and being scared into the closet, I hope that even just one person can gain strength from my story,” he told People. 

2014 - Brian Boitano comes out in the lead-up to the Sochi Olympics

In 1988, during the “Battle of the Brians,” American Brian Boitano took home gold at the Seoul Olympics while his Canadian counterpart Brian Orser took home silver. In 1998, Orser was publicly outed due to a palimony lawsuit, but Boitano didn’t come out until 2014, when he was named to the U.S. Delegation to the Sochi Olympics. Boitano told the Associated Press that he’d planned on never coming out publicly, but he did so to send a message to Russia, which had recently passed anti-gay legislation. 

2018 - Adam Rippon becomes the first openly gay U.S. athlete to compete and win a medal at the Winter Olympics

In 2015, Rippon came out as gay in Skating magazine, making him the first openly gay U.S. Winter Olympian in any sport when he qualified for the 2018 Olympics. Looking back, he told Advocate that many other skaters had discouraged him from making the announcement. “They weren’t trying to be roadblocks. They were trying to save me from experiences that they had…[but] I think what I knew that they didn’t know was that maybe more people would be ready.” At the same Olympics in Pyeongchang, Eric Radford would become the first openly gay man to win Winter Olympics Gold, when Canada won the team figure skating event.

2022 - Timothy LeDuc becomes the first openly non-binary person to compete in the Winter Olympics

At the most recent Winter Olympics in Beijing, LeDuc made history as the first openly non-binary person to compete in the Winter Olympics. The American pairs skater did not medal, but certainly drew plenty of attention. While the rules regarding trans athletes competing in figure skating are complicated, LeDuc told Advocate that there are more non-binary and trans skaters coming up the ranks, saying “I’ve never, ever felt alone because I see queer and trans skaters on the ice every day in my rink.” 

2026 - Amber Glenn becomes first openly queer female skater on the US Olympic team

While much of LGBTQ+ figure skating history has been focused on the male skaters, recently, more female skaters have also come out. Amber Glenn is competing in Milan as the first openly queer female skater from the U.S. She came out as pansexual in 2019 and made many historic firsts on her path to the Olympics. Several years after Glenn’s coming out, fellow American Olympian Gracie Gold, who earned a bronze medal in Sochi, came out as bisexual, hopefully paving the way for more LGBTQ+ representation in figure skating. 

While the figure skating community may have always been home to LGBTQ+ athletes, their journey out of the closet and into the spotlight has taken decades. Thankfully, due to the trailblazing efforts of those above, the sport is now a safer place for gay skaters to thrive.

On February 21, Mighty Hoopla, Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ music festival, makes its Australian debut at Bondi Beach during Sydney Mardi Gras. Grindr is partnering with the festival to bring EDGE, our new gAI-powered premium tier first piloted in Australia and New Zealand, to life on the ground.

Why This Partnership

Mighty Hoopla's debut in Australia lands during Mardi Gras, a defining moment for queer culture in Sydney. Grindr’s mission has always been rooted in the idea of the Gayborhood: creating space where our community can connect, express themselves, and feel like they belong. Sometimes, that connection happens on your phone. Other times, it takes place on the bright, sunny shores of Bondi Beach. 

EDGE brings that sense of belonging into the user experience, using smarter signals to help Grindr users find the right connections faster, with less friction and more intention.

Having piloted EDGE in Australia and New Zealand made this partnership feel especially deliberate: a chance to engage with the community helping shape the product, in an environment that matches its energy. We designed the activation to mirror how EDGE works, a layered experience that gets better the further in you go.

The activation is built in three tiers. Each one unlocks the next.

The Grindr Gayborhood

Open to all Mighty Hoopla festival-goers. The Gayborhood is Grindr's main presence at the festival, featuring games, interactive activations, and chances to win upgrades to Xtra, Unlimited, and a limited number of EDGE subscriptions.

The Bator Bar (Located between the Wet Dreams and Sandy Bottoms stages)

Reserved exclusively for paid Grindr subscribers. The Bator Bar is an elevated, club-inspired space inside the festival with DJs, an outdoor balcony overlooking Bondi Beach, product-led EDGE experiences, and additional giveaways. All of this is in service of what EDGE delivers in the app: a more intentional experience and functionality that serves your desires at every level.

Show your Xtra, Unlimited, or EDGE subscription in-app at the door to enter.

The EDGE Theatre

The festival's most exclusive space, located inside the Bator Bar and reserved for EDGE subscribers only. Expect surprise performances and unannounced programming. If you have EDGE, whether subscribed beforehand or earned on-site, you’re in.

How to Find the Bator Bar

Look for EDGE-branded signage, including Grindr masks and surfboards, along the main walkways. Follow them to the Bator Bar staircase, show your subscription at the door, and head inside to find the EDGE Theatre.

At a Glance

While there’s something for everyone, each level of our activation goes deeper, and the best parts are accessible only through Grindr.

• The Gayborhood: open to everyone
• The Bator Bar: open to paid Grindr subscribers. 
• The EDGE Theatre: exclusive to EDGE subscribers. 

See You at Bondi

Mighty Hoopla has been a cornerstone of the global queer calendar for nearly fifty years. Choosing Sydney for its first event outside Europe signals where queer culture is headed. Grindr being part of that feels right. We’re excited to continue showing up in Australia, a community that's already helping to shape what EDGE will become.

Mighty Hoopla Sydney. Bondi Beach. February 21. Get tickets.

See you down under. We’ll be edging in the meantime. 

A partir de março, qualquer pessoa que use o Grindr no Brasil deverá confirmar que tem 18 anos ou mais. Essa atualização reflete uma nova exigência do Estatuto Digital da Criança e do Adolescente (ECA), do governo brasileiro. A lei determina que plataformas e serviços destinados a adultos utilizem métodos de verificação de idade para garantir que apenas pessoas com 18 anos ou mais tenham acesso aos seus serviços.

— Esse processo de verificação de idade reforça o que o Grindr sempre foi: um espaço para adultos LGBT+.

Como o Grindr atende à exigência

Desenvolvemos a nova verificação de idade do Grindr priorizando privacidade e segurança, ao mesmo tempo em que mantemos a experiência o mais simples possível. Veja o que esperar:

• Escolha como verificar. Para confirmar que têm 18 anos ou mais, usuários do Grindr no Brasil podem concluir um rápido vídeo selfie ou combinar um vídeo selfie com um documento oficial com foto.
  
• Processo único, vinculado à conta. A verificação precisa ser feita apenas uma vez por conta do Grindr. Novos usuários serão solicitados durante o cadastro, e quem já usa o aplicativo — ou abrir o app enquanto estiver no Brasil — também deverá completar o processo.
  
• Sem acesso até a conclusão. Usuários no Brasil não poderão acessar o Grindr até concluir a verificação de idade.
  
• Em parceria com a FaceTec. O Grindr utiliza tecnologia de verificação biométrica da FaceTec, gerenciando de forma independente todo o processamento de dados para garantir que sua privacidade seja protegida e que o acesso seja restrito a adultos.
  

Documentos oficiais aceitos

Caso você opte — ou seja solicitado — a usar o método que combina um documento oficial com foto e um vídeo selfie, os seguintes documentos são aceitos:

• Carteira de Motorista
• Passaporte
• Carteira de Identidade
• Carteira de Piloto
• Carteira da OAB
• Carteira de Identidade Digital
• Carteira de Registro Nacional Migratório
• Carteira de Farmacêutico
• Carteira de Enfermagem
• Carteira Profissional / Carteira de Identidade Profissional
• Registro Nacional Migratório
• Carteira de Bombeiro Militar
• Carteira de Farmacêutico

Como sua privacidade é protegida

Para proteger sua privacidade, documentos e vídeos fornecidos são utilizados apenas para a verificação de idade, são criptografados de forma segura durante o processo e excluídos permanentemente após a conclusão. O Grindr não retém os documentos ou vídeos enviados, mantém apenas a informação sobre qual método de verificação foi escolhido e se o processo foi aprovado ou reprovado.

E fora do Brasil?

Se você estiver fora do Brasil, não verá essa verificação, a menos que abra o Grindr durante uma visita ao país. Nesse caso, o processo será aplicado da mesma forma.

Em resumo

Trata-se de uma verificação rápida, feita uma única vez, que ajuda a manter o Grindr seguro, protegido e exclusivo para adultos. Continuaremos acompanhando os padrões globais e evoluindo nossas ferramentas para priorizar a segurança, a privacidade e os direitos dos usuários.

Neste Carnaval, o Grindr marca presença em Salvador ao lado de Pabllo Vittar para promover a segurança, celebrar visibilidade, conexão e comunidade, e ajudar as pessoas a atravessarem um dos momentos mais intensos e alegres do ano com mais confiança e cuidado.

Salvador sempre foi um destaque para viajantes LGBT+ no Brasil. Dados recentes do Grindr Unwrapped confirmam o que a comunidade já sabe: a capital baiana está entre os principais destinos gays do país, e seu Carnaval é único. Este ano marca a primeira vez que o Grindr participa presencialmente da festa, levando o Seguro com Local para as ruas e para dentro do app, como forma de apoiar as pessoas enquanto planejam, se conectam e celebram.

O Carnaval pode ser intenso. As multidões são enormes, os dias longos e tudo acontece muito rápido. Por isso, neste ano o Grindr também lança no Brasil a aba Events, como parte de um lançamento mais amplo do produto — uma nova maneira de explorar o que está acontecendo ao seu redor, ver quem vai participar e se conectar de forma mais intencional. Seja um grande momento cultural ou algo menor e local, Events foi pensado para ajudar as pessoas a construir comunidade e se planejar com antecedência, muito antes da música começar.

O Seguro com Local parte da ideia de que liberdade e segurança podem caminhar juntas. Durante o Carnaval, o Grindr destaca algumas formas simples de ajudar as pessoas a se manterem no controle e se sentirem mais seguras:

• Proteja sua privacidade em espaços lotados com o Modo Discreto, que oculta o ícone do app e as notificações quando necessário.
  
• Proteja sua conta com PIN Lock e verificação de perfil.
  
• Controle o que você compartilha ajustando a Privacidade de Localização, exibindo a distância nos seus termos.
  
• Vá com calma ao marcar encontros, usando chamadas de vídeo no app e conhecendo melhor alguém antes de se encontrar pessoalmente.
  
• Fique atento ao circular pela cidade, observe o ambiente, modere o consumo de bebidas e confie na sua intuição.
  
• Pratique sexo mais seguro, com comunicação clara, consentimento e proteção.
  
• Use as ferramentas de segurança quando necessário, como ocultar, bloquear e denunciar, todas apoiadas pelo Centro de Segurança e Privacidade do Grindr.
  

No centro de tudo está o Grindr Trio, liderado por Pabllo Vittar, que leva o trio elétrico LGBTQIA+ SeráQAbre! ao circuito Barra–Ondina, em Salvador, na terça-feira, 17 de fevereiro, a partir das 19h30. Com acesso gratuito à pipoca e shows de Pabllo Vittar e Carla Cristina, o trio celebra festa, representatividade e cuidado — exatamente onde o Carnaval acontece.

“Eu amo ver pessoas de todas as identidades juntas, dançando e celebrando”, diz Pabllo Vittar. “É por isso que iniciativas como a ‘Seguro com Local’ importam. É uma ação que dá confiança e suporte para que as pessoas se divirtam, respeitando a si mesmas e aos outros. Poder ser ousado e se sentir seguro é o que faz com que esses momentos sejam inesquecíveis. Vai ser incrível participar do carnaval de Salvador!"

Por meio do Grindr for Equality, iniciativa de impacto social da empresa voltada à promoção da saúde e dos direitos humanos das comunidades LGBTQ+ em todo o mundo, o Grindr atua em parceria com a Aliança Nacional LGBTI+ para apoiar o bem-estar e os direitos da população LGBTQIA+ no Brasil, com ações de engajamento comunitário e mensagens no app durante o Carnaval.

“O Carnaval é um dos momentos mais potentes para a nossa comunidade ocupar o espaço público”, afirma Toni Reis, presidente da Aliança Nacional LGBTI+ e diretor da Rede Gay Latino. “Para pessoas LGBT+, grandes multidões podem trazer tanto alegria quanto vulnerabilidade. Quando plataformas como o Grindr dialogam e compartilham seu alcance com organizações LGBTQIA+, ajudam a garantir que esses momentos sejam vividos com dignidade e respeito.”

Seguro com Local, alegria, visibilidade e cuidado caminham juntos. Vamos fazer deste Carnaval inesquecível — pelos motivos certos.

Grindr is becoming an AI-first company. In practice, that means a faster, smarter, more personalized app that helps you connect with less effort and makes every conversation count.

We’re currently testing EDGE, Grindr’s newest premium tier powered by gAI™, Grindr’s proprietary AI stack built specifically for how our community connects. EDGE is designed for users who want a more efficient, higher-signal experience – less scrolling, better conversations, and stronger follow-through.

What makes EDGE different is that AI isn’t bolted onto a single feature. It’s embedded across the entire Grindr journey from discovery, to messaging, to reconnecting so the experience feels meaningfully better end to end.

What you get with EDGE

A-List

A recap of meaningful chats and missed connections, helping users re-engage with the people they actually care about – no matter where they are in the global gayborhood.

Discover‍

Personalized profile recommendations delivered daily, designed to reduce endless scrolling and surface more relevant, high-quality matches.

Profile Insights‍

Additional context and robust signals that help you understand who you’re likely to vibe with, helping you message smarter.

Together, these features are about outcomes, not novelty: connecting with greater confidence, better conversations, and more momentum.

Built with privacy at the core

EDGE is built with the same privacy-first principles that guide everything we do at Grindr. Users remain in control at all times. AI-powered features can be turned off in Privacy Settings, and sensitive health data is categorically excluded from AI use.

Starting small, learning fast

We’ve been piloting EDGE in Australia and New Zealand, where we’ve seen strong early engagement and encouraging feedback from our community down under. We’re now expanding this pilot to select U.S. cities and Canada.

This phase is intentionally designed for learning. We’re using it to refine the product experience and better understand demand across different markets and platforms.

As part of this testing, some users may see different prices. Pricing during the pilot is completely randomized across eligible users. Our existing subscription tiers remain unchanged, and EDGE is entirely optional to purchase at any time.

We’ll continue to listen closely, iterate quickly, and share more as we build a smarter Grindr that works harder for you. 

When the Olympics come around, athletes face a level of global attention that doesn't exist anywhere else — on the podium and off. For gay athletes, especially those who aren't out or who come from countries where being gay is dangerous or illegal, that visibility creates real safety risks.

Grindr shows users who's nearby and how far away they are. In most contexts, that's useful. In the Olympic Village where thousands of athletes are packed into a small area, those same features may become a liability. Someone outside the Village could browse profiles inside it. Distance data could be used to pinpoint someone’s exact location. And simply appearing on Grindr tells the world something about a person's identity that, in more than 60 countries, remains a criminal offense.

Athletes use the app during the Games the same way they use it at home. We're not changing that. But the Village needs different rules.

We first restricted location features at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and continued at Paris 2024. Milano Cortina 2026 will be our third consecutive Games with these protections in place.

Location Restrictions

Explore and Roam let users browse profiles in locations other than where they physically are. During the Games, we're turning these off within Village boundaries. No one outside the Olympic Village will be able to browse or message users inside.

Show Distance displays how far away other users are, often within a few hundred feet. During the Games, this defaults to off for anyone in the Village. Users can choose to share approximate distance, but it won't happen automatically.

Athletes can still connect. They just won't be broadcasting their location to do it.

Free Privacy Tools in the Village

During the Games, everyone in the Olympic Village gets access to features normally behind the paywall:

Disappearing messages delete automatically after they're read.

Unsend removes messages from both sides of a conversation.

Screenshot blocking prevents capture of profile photos and chat images.

Private video, which allows viewing only once, will be turned off entirely within the Village.

Report a Recent Chat lets users flag a conversation up to 24 hours after it ends. Names and photos are obscured during reporting.

Safety Communications

Being an LGBTQ+ athlete comes with challenges most competitors never face, especially for those from countries without legal protections.

During the Games, we'll send users in the Village:

• Weekly reminders about risks specific to the Olympic environment
• Links to our multilingual safety and privacy guides
• In-person and in app safety resources from the International Olympic Committee

No Outside Advertising

Users in the Village will only see messages from Grindr for Equality focused on health and safety. No third-party ads.

These protections go live when the Village opens.

We’ve Got Your Back

To the trailblazing athletes heading to Italy: we’re proud to support you and we can’t wait to see you shine.

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Before you read: The Grammys are this Sunday, and we made you a ballot. Download it here and settle some scores with your friends.

Once a year, on a Sunday night during the depths of winter, men across the US gather to watch their heroes duke it out on one of television’s most-watched events. Some come decked out in merch, others bring elaborate, crafted appetizers. There will be shouting at the television, live-tweeting, and that one guy in the back talking too loudly, who keeps getting hushed. After hours of waiting, plenty of commercials, and several show-stopping musical performances, a winner will finally be crowned, and a magnificent trophy will be awarded to the victor. 

No, I’m not describing the Super Bowl, but rather the Grammy Awards, although they have certainly been dubbed “the gay Super Bowl” in the past. Despite attracting very different audiences and championing very different sets of celebrities, the Grammys and the Super Bowl really aren’t that different. Both draw legions of fervent fans cheering for their favorites, both incorporate their own theatrics and traditions, and both ultimately end with a set of winners and a set of losers. 

So why, stereotypically, do queer people gravitate away from football, and why have they latched onto a music awards show instead? Well, the answer lies, at least in part, in the historical precedents set by the institutions of sport and music. 

Pop stars showed up. Sports didn't.

“Sports, while getting better, have traditionally been hostile towards queer people,” music journalist Alim Kheraj tells Grindr. “You can see this play out in the fact that there are so few openly queer sports stars.” Kheraj’s point seems especially relevant given the recent success of Heated Rivalry, a TV show about queer hockey players who feel unable to come out given the male sports world’s resistance to LGBTQ+ athletes. 

Alternatively, “the self-expression inherent in music opens up a space for queer people to also express themselves,” Kheraj continues. “Pop stars, especially women in pop, have actively supported the queer community.” Kheraj, who has written about music and queerness for outlets like GQ, The Guardian, and Gay Times, cites Madonna including a “The Facts About AIDS” leaflet in her 1989 album Like a Prayer as a prime example of this link. Britney Spears’ support of marriage equality, Lady Gaga’s unbothered response to being called a “hermaphrodite,” and Cardi B’s recent showcasing of her trans styling team are others. 

Of course, for many queer people, their aversion to sports is a bit more guttural. Music writer Anupa Otiv claims “gym class trauma” as the reason she isn’t in a hurry to watch the Super Bowl. “For many years, I associated sports with punishment, so I had no interest in watching them,” she says. “And while I have reframed that narrative as an adult, I still think there’s a surface-level performative masculinity present in sports fandoms that doesn’t exist in the same way with music fandoms.”

Finding Yourself In Fandom

Growing up queer, many of us feel a deep sense of otherness—one that is not assuaged in the rank-and-file training structure and he-man bravado often present in team sports. Isolated, we long to find community and discover ourselves. Often, a pop music fandom offers both. 

“Culturally, when we think about why young queer people latch onto musicians, it’s because they do not see themselves or their identities reflected in mainstream media or sports,” Tyler Baldor, Ph.D., a sociologist at Bryn Mawr College specializing in queer music spaces, tells Grindr. “Music fandoms revel in emotional vulnerability, aesthetics, and theatricality, which can speak to the queer condition.” 

Baldor also cites the work of queer theorist David Halperin, who argued that as queer people, we deconstruct and reassemble bits of heterosexual media to create our own. We flock to musicians, rearranging snippets of lyrics, on-stage personas, and fantastical fashions into versions of ourselves, all while connecting (both online and in person) with like-minded stans. 

“To be on Lady Gaga’s Tumblr back in 2010 was to truly be alive. It’s where I found my first music fandom community,” Otiv remembers. “Finding people who love something the way you do is such a rare and beautiful thing. Online fandoms saved me at a time when I felt deeply alone and misunderstood.”

Of course, the Little Monster fandom comes with its own perils.. “I went to the Monster Ball in Atlantic City when I was 16,” Otiv says, “And someone doing the ‘Bad Romance’ choreo accidentally punched me in the face. I had never been so happy to ice my face.”

Stan Culture is a Contact Sport

This fervent, all-encompassing, and choreo-fueled passion for a pop star is what makes the Grammys such a big night for gay people, much the same way the Super Bowl is for die-hard, life-long sports fans. 

“People are naturally drawn to things with an element of competition,” Kheraj cites as one reason why queer people are drawn to the Grammys in particular, “And in the era of stan culture, being a fan has become a competitive sport.” If you love Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, or Ariana Grande, you want to see them standing on the Grammys stage holding that Album of the Year trophy at the end of the night. 

But the Swifties vs. Bey Hive drama is only one part of the Grammys’ draw. “Mostly, award shows are camp,” Kheraj continues. “It’s pure pageantry, with the red carpets and outfits and performances. And in the reaction cam era, we’re eager to see if there’s any drama that might unfold, too. It’s basically a soap opera.” Lord knows that gays love camp. 

Showing Up Together

Most of all, though, the Grammys offer queer people a “collective emotional experience,” according to Baldor. Especially in an increasingly fractured world where humans interact less and less in person, there is power in gathering in a room with your friends to experience the thrills of victory and the agonies of defeat. It’s that shared sense of meaning and emotion that brings together both fans of the New England Patriots and fans of Addison Rae.

So, whether you’re attending a Super Bowl party, a Grammys party, or both this year, use it as an opportunity to connect, but please clear some space before you launch into your Gaga choreography. 

Before Plastique Tiara and Nymphia Wind became friends, the drag gods were already tying them together. While competing on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 9, Plastique, during a sewing challenge, asked producers for a needle and thread. She was handed a Ziploc bag with the name “Nymphia” written on it. Inside was a curved needle and high-quality thread, left behind by Nymphia Wind, who had filmed Season 16 of the main franchise on the same soundstage only weeks before. 

They would meet for the first time post-Drag Race the next year in Washington, D.C., in the lead-up to All Stars 9, but they’d already eyed one another as kindred spirits and prospective collaborators.

Now, nearly two years later, the pair are headlining “The Serpents Tour,” a 15-city American tour, inspired by the Asian folktale of the White Snake and the Green Snake, that promises “couture fashion, theatrical storytelling, and dynamic performances that celebrate Asian heritage, pop culture, and drag artistry.” The tour, which kicks off in New York City on January 25, will run through February 16, and feature the star power that won Nymphia the crown on Season 16 and made Plastique the Drag Race contestant with the most social media followers. 

Ahead of the tour’s launch, Plastique and Nymphia took some time out of their busy preparations to chat with Grindr.

Read the full interview with Grindr below: 

MH: How did you settle on the Green Snake and White Snake concept for the show? 

PT: I reached out to Nymphia because I was just amazed by her cinematic experience on Drag Race. It was the Year of the Snake when we first talked about this tour, and the story of the White Snake and Green Snake is so so, so popular in Asian culture. It's basically is our pop culture. Every opera. Every song. Anything that relates to the White Snake and the Green Snake—immediate cunt factor is added to the story. So when we talked, we were just like, “It's the Year of the Snake. Two snake sisters. You're the Green Snake, I'm the White Snake. Perfect. It's done.”

MH: How did you decide who was the White Snake and who was the Green Snake? 

NW: It’s pretty obvious. The characters already match our own drag personas naturally. The Green Snake is the younger one, and she's more chaotic, fiery, lively. The White Snake is more elegant and more poised, more like a goddess kind of vibe. I wouldn't want to do the White Snake myself.

PT: Truly typecasting. 

MH: Obviously, there’s going to be great fashion in the show. How many looks are there? How many quick changes? How has putting together all the costumes gone? 

NW: The main problem of this tour is, “How are we going to change in time?”

PT: Y’all don't even know. We’re like, “What if we put this over here, so I have time to go over here to change my costume?” Girl, there are so many logistics being put into this journey alone, just for me to change my costumes. It is insane. 

NW: But to give a number, we're working on five outfits each, but in five outfits, there's going to be reveals, so some of them are double.

PT: There's going to be theatrics, accouterments. 

NW: We’ve both been talking about this as our passion project. We're torturing ourselves, making this more dramatic, adding more to it, when we could have just put on a little body suit.

PT: No, truly we could have just gone out there, done a little number, and then be done, but no. 

NW: It’s like a RuPaul maxi challenge. This is basically how we're treating it. 

MH: What's been the most difficult part of putting this show together?

NW: For me personally, I'm making a lot of costumes, and it's just basically being the CEO, like, “Okay, I need this done, and I also need to do the music, and then the visualizer, and then the wigs, and then the heels. Okay, so what am I gonna wear, but also rehearsing, performing, and then choreographing, and then finding the dancers, booking the performances.” That's the hardest part, but I think when it actually gets down to the tour, it's just changing in time, because we went all out with the costumes. We need a behind-the-scenes film. It would be really funny. 

PT:  No, it's so hard. I've been on other tours before, but creating your own tour is insane, because you're in charge of everything. I'm in Vietnam. It's 1:27 a.m. I'm here to film visuals and pick up costumes. That's how serious I am about this tour. I think that's the attitude we both have. As Asian artists, we just want to be good work, represent what we're about and share our love of this art with the people we're presenting it to. So it's really important for us to do well. And honestly, I enjoy the work. I've never had so much fun creating a tour or a project. The last time I've had this much fun was Drag Race. 

NW: It's fun for me to be creative, and we don't have to answer to anyone. We're basically the creative directors here, so it's very rewarding work. 

MH: And neither of you is getting eliminated!

PT: Well, she never got eliminated, so good for you, sister. 

MH: So you have 15 stops on this tour in less than a month. What does that look like logistically? Are you in a van? Are you flying? How are you getting all of these costumes around?

PT: We’re Ubering. 

NW: We’re taking the bicycle. No, we're doing a bus tour, so that's going to be fun. We're traveling the whole continent. I've always wanted to do a road trip, so why not? 

PT: Yes, and 15 stops, I think, is the best amount of time. If it's 30 or 50, I'm like, “Oooof, this is a lot,” but 15 is perfect, and then we're planning to take it worldwide, so there's more to come.

MH: What's your favorite part about being on a tour?

NW: Well, I haven't technically been on a full-on tour, so this is gonna be my first. 

PT: I think the energy from the audience. You just get a high off of it. After a show, sometimes I stay up until four or five, just scrolling, looking through the reactions, and just wanting to be better. My favorite part is improving and seeing how people react to it.

MH: Since this interview will run on Grindr, I have to ask, are the queens using Grindr on tour? Are people messaging? What’s the vibe? 

NW: When I was flown around all over the place, I would go on Grindr, because sometimes you're just in the hotel alone, and you're kind of bored, not necessarily to hook up, but just to be a bit messy chatting with people. Sometimes it's funny interactions. Sometimes it's an eye roll. Sometimes it makes you laugh. It's just entertaining for me personally. At one point, I changed my profile to Nymphia's profile, and people were like, “Why are you using Nymphia’s photo?” So now I treat it as an entertainment source personally, because Mama don't hook up no more. She’s old.

MH: When I’m traveling, I’ll use Grindr to get recommendations for restaurants and stuff. 

NW: Yeah, like what’s around the area? I do that too when I’m in Europe. 

PT: Best brunch spots? 

NW: Portugal here I come. What are we doing? 

MH: To wrap up, if someone was thinking about coming to the tour but hasn’t bought tickets yet, what would you tell them? 

NW: Stop Asian hate. [Laughs] No, just have an open mind and come to experience culture, camp, Asian drag. It's really AAPI-centric, and it's just to have fun. We want to celebrate AAPI talent, and it's a story that's based on traditional Asian folklore. There's a lot of culture behind it, and we're really showcasing our background as Asian people.

PT: The things we do on this tour, I guarantee you've never seen on any drag tour before. I can honestly say that. It is really, really fierce, and it's just like culture, cunt, camp, everything wrapped up in one, and it's from our perspective. 

NW: And you know the fashion is going to be sickening. 

Tickets available for The Serpents Tour at NymphiaPlastiqueLive.com

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