A Campbeltown man has been flying the flag for LGBTQ+ communities at a national level.
Sean Beasley, 29, who now lives in Glasgow, was crowned Mr BearScots 2023 at October’s annual BearScots Festival in Edinburgh.
“A title I am particularly proud of and would love to share with and thank my wonderful home town,” he said.
BearScots is a Scottish gay men’s group, hosting monthly Bear events in Glasgow and Edinburgh and hosting the annual ‘BearScotFest’.
Sean explained: “There is a subset within gay culture for Bears which is typically older hairier guys who find comfort in ditching societies image of beauty, and the typical skinny young twink look that is so well known, and joining together in solidarity.
“It’s known for being super inclusive and diverse; everyone is welcome.”
The competition itself takes the form of a pageant where Sean and five others had to schmooze during the five-day BearScotFest event in Edinburgh and get to know people and make sure everyone was having a good time.
Then on the final day during the Cabaret show contenders had to do a short tongue and cheek question and answer finishing with the host asking why they deserved to win the title.
“It was my 10th year going to the event and I’ve gone from a shy 18-year-old hiding in the corner to making some lifelong friends and ending up on stage in front of them,” was Sean’s response.
“I talked about how one of the organisers who has since sadly passed away once drew a little bear face on my wrist during a previous weekend which I ended up getting tattooed there and is now my logo online,” he added.
“My journey resonated with a lot of people who were still in the process of finding themselves and their confidence and I won by a significant margin.”
Sean attended Castlehill Primary and Campbeltown Grammar and is still in touch with his many Wee Toon friends.
His mum Wendy grew up in Campbeltown too and his great uncle George McMillan owned the paper shop Sean used to work in as a teenager.
Granny Mary Young worked there too and Granda Bill Young presented the breakfast show on Argyll FM for many years.
Sean now lives with his partner of four years, Josh, who he describes as his “absolute rock”, and his brother Liam in Glasgow.
Founded in the spring of 2000 BearScots hold monthly bear events in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, and host the annual “BearScotFest” extravaganza in September/October.
As of 2012, lifetime membership of BearScots is free and is open to anyone over the age of 18 who identifies as a gay or bisexual man.
The group fundraise for and supports the work of various charities, and have done so throughout its lifetime. This year the chosen charity is LGBT Youth Scotland which supports LGBT young people across the country.
The group also runs regular trips and visits across Scotland and around the UK for its members, such as the BearScots BBQ in late summer.
