'I am a Leeds finalist of Mr Gay Great Britain - it's giving me the platform to raise mental health awareness'

Dancer and performer Andrew Gardiner has his eyes set on becoming the next Mr Gay Great Britain at the finals held at Alnwick Garden on August 26, 2024. 

The 39-year-old, originally from Kippax, will be competing against other finalists in a series of challenges - including a charity fundraiser, a catwalk and quiz on the LGBTQIA+ community - in front of a panel that consists of media personalities, former winners and the Duchess of Northumberland. 

Andrew was put forward for the show initially and he thought it would a fantastic platform to raise money for the end-of-life charity Charlie and Carter Foundation as well as Pride Action North.

It would also help him raise awareness about mental health among members of the LGBTQIA+ community - and Andrew said he is “excited” to be a finalist.

He added: “There’s a lot of work to do. I think on the outside of a competition like this, it could look like a wet T-shirt competition, or to stand there in your speedos and be judged. 

“But it's absolutely not that - and I think that the majority of the other contestants that are left also have something that they really, really stand by and really could create some change within current legislation, and especially where we are in terms of LGBTQIA+ rights in the UK, and what we see in the government as well.”

His determination to do well in the competition comes from his own experiences growing up in a time that was less accepting of differences. 

Andrew said: “My family is pretty liberal but it was not always that easy, growing up as a gay person.

“It was very difficult in fact, especially in school because of course section 28 existed which prohibited the promotion of homosexuality between the years of 1988 and 2003.

“This was when I grew up, straight off the back of the AIDS crisis where there was and is so much stigma.

“School was a tricky place, I faced bullying daily, and I think it might not have been easy for teachers because bullying can be addressed but the subject matter behind it, I’m not so sure on reflection.

“There was no education then on LGBT history, it was almost erased.

“Looking back now I feel anyone identifying as homosexual was considered a second-rate citizen, a complete removal of rights unaccepted by the powers that be homophobia was handed to people on a plate and enacting it was essentially allowed.

“So of course, in school and beyond the only way to protect yourself was to deny it. That is a very lonely place to be, and a lie. Not being your true celebrated authentic self can have ramifications.”

In 2019, the dancer, who graduated from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, launched an arts organisation championing wellbeing called Society of Strays.

Andrew said: “[The organisation] started just before Covid, in 2019, as a performance company, and then with the rise and mental health-related illnesses, mental health segued into that, and that was sort of based on my own experience.

“For the last 10 years, I've been through quite a journey with mental health. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in January 2021, and I've been learning to live with that, so it was just a natural segue for me.”

He added: “A quarter of the population will experience mental health related illness at some point in their life and, like anything else, it doesn't have prejudices, it doesn't discriminate, and it can just happen, but there are ways to support it. 

“And for me, that's been the most important part of my journey: learning how to live with it and what coping mechanisms are. 

“I think that when you're experiencing it yourself, it's very heavy and very weighted. So there needs to be people  in the community, but also in a wider context that are able to signpost people but also offer support as well.

“And this is the work that I've done, and it only comes through telling stories and your own story on a platform that can support other people.”

Voting for Mr Gay Great Britain is now open on Andrew’s social media channels. Donations to the Charlie and Carter Foundation and Pride Action North are welcome through the official JustGiving pages.