In 2021, Gay’s Okay Cycling and Chrome Industries collaborated on a cycling cap to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ Community during pride month, with 100% of profits being donated to causes supporting the rights and freedoms of our community around the world.
This year, we're releasing not one, but TWO caps and will again be donating 100% of profits. We have chosen to donate to OutRight International, a global human rights network supporting LGBTQIA+ people everywhere.
Additionally, part of this year's project is to highlight the stories of amazing people in our community to give a face and a voice to people doing great things. Learn more about them!
MEET OUR PARTNERS
ALLAN SHAW | DESIGNER, PHOTOGRAPHER & OWNER OF GAY'S OKAY CYCLING
WHO ARE YOU & WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?
I’m Allan, a cyclist, adventurer and the main person behind Gay’s Okay Cycling, which I’ve been running for the last 5 years. I want Gay's Okay to bring joy and a feeling of acceptance and community. It's a fun and positive message in what can be a very negative world. It's not just asking for a place at the table; it's owning its space and having a great time doing it. I’m motivated by discovering the world around me using the strength of my own physicality, breaking down barriers through better representation, as well as by the inspirational voices in our community. I’m terrible at routines; I always want to be forever evolving. I struggle to sit still, both in a physical and mental sense, I always want things to be in movement. I commonly associate stillness with stagnation, which is a big fear of mine. In this sense, a life spent on the bicycle really works for me, I can watch my whole perspective change constantly as I move through the world.
WHAT DOES PRIDE IN YOUR LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY MEAN TO YOU?
"Pride in my community to me is having the strength of conviction to stand on the shoulders of those brave advocates and activists that came before us. To honor their memory by living my liberation."
I think it’s important to acknowledge my privilege and speak up for the other people in our community who still need to fight against hateful voices in order to live their truth. Gay’s Okay has always meant to celebrate our participation in the world of cycling, but also to make clear that a statement like “Gay’s Okay” may be simplistic for some, but still carries a lot of conflict and complication for many LGBTQIA+ people around the world, who deserve to live their liberation just as much as we do. In that sense, Pride to me represents our unity globally, a powerful message that we won’t go away and we are here to take our freedoms and celebrate our presence.
JAY BARRY MATTHEWS AKA JAZBAZMAZ | QUEER ACTIVIST & ARTIST
WHO ARE YOU & WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?
I am Jazbazmaz, Jay / Jay ? Jay Barry Matthews (No pronoun or They / them) Non-binary.
I am a conscious, queer, punk, activist, sober, vegan, cycling, hiking, highheeled, drag monster!
I created Drag Energy, an embodied empowerment workshop series that helps to build self confidence, awareness and community connection. I believe finding joy through play, curiosity, connecting with the body and expressing ourselves is fundamental to a sustainable life. Cultivating joy and pride in our community gives us the fuel to be activists, which as a visible queer person is a part of my daily life.
I dont want to just be defined by my work. I want to be seen for how honestly I share my heart. I am motivated by my love for nature, our LGBTIQA+ community and I am also motivated by the painful struggle I have experienced as a queer person because I never want others to experience this. This is why I feel that being environmentally conscious and actively contributing to social, political and personal change through charity, volunteering and visibility is so important. We need a healthy planet and space in society for all of us to live safely and freely.
WHAT DOES PRIDE IN YOUR LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY MEAN TO YOU?
I think Pride is the most important thing in our community, it is the direct antidote to shame! The shame we have been told to feel about ourselves, this is inflicted upon us, so choosing to be proud is a powerful force for change and acceptance. We have to transform the entitlement of the dominant heteronormative culture to be more inclusive for LGBTIQA+ people by unlearning and reeducating.
The hatred, inequality and violence we experience can be overcome if we support each other directly, we have to stand together against the patriarchy, lift up each others voices against religious conservatism, speak out for the marginalized amongst us and having an open heart is the beginning of that but then we have to do the work.
So pride is the glorious spark, it helps us heal and shows that we love and are loveable. Pride not only gives us strength and hope it makes us visible, pride gives us the ability to live, it literally saves lives and certainly saved mine.
FRIT TAM | TRANS FILMMAKER
WHO ARE YOU & WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?
I am a 33 year old, British-born, Chinese, transgender, adventure and outdoors filmmaker and photographer. I love to experience the outdoors in a variety of formats ranging from climbing to skiing, wild swimming to trail running, and of course, cycling. I’m motivated by a sense of belonging and ensuring that others experience the life-changing bonds and opportunities that can occur amongst and across communities when in the outdoors. I am motivated daily with my personal and professional film and photography work to increase the representation specifically of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of colour, so that the younger version of me can finally see the role models that he never had.
WHAT DOES PRIDE IN YOUR LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY MEAN TO YOU?
Pride to me equates to freedom and choice; the autonomy to choose how we present, who we love and how we expend our precious energy. It means living without both external and internal barriers. It means ‘family’ and setting a better example for future generations.
Pride means living our best lives so that we can fulfill the potential that we’ve come here to do.
Pride and belonging within the LGBTQIA+ community are so important to me that in 2021, I embarked on a 1700km rollerblading and cycling trip solely to interview folks from the LGBTQIA+ community within England called ‘Glide for Pride’. I wanted to deepen my own connection with my community, but I also wanted to share positive stories from across our community to offset the negative headlines and misinformation we typically receive from mainstream media. I wanted to create hope, and my wish is that the documentary film of the trip, which will be released in Summer ‘22, will contribute to the positivity of our beautiful, empowering community.
TANYA WISCHERATH | TATTOOIST & ARTIST
WHO ARE YOU & WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?
My name is Tanya Wischerath, I'm a maker, a painter, and an activist. I am inspired by the connective tissue that exists between people in the community with one another, across time, or across a room. I think everyone has a part to play in the fight for social justice and mine is to make art that celebrates the LGBTQ community of San Francisco, both living and deceased. I’m activated by beauty, aesthetic expressions of the soul which are unique and fluid, and authentic to each individual. In recoding them I am documenting and affirming a local and personal history of queer culture. I am motivated by the values and meanings that can only be expressed visibly, ones that to put them into words would be to deny their existence.
WHAT DOES PRIDE IN YOUR LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY MEAN TO YOU?
When you grow up a weird and kind of eccentric queer kid you become accustomed to the feeling of otherness, so when you do get that first taste of a community embrace, there comes with it a sense that there is an us, and not just an Us but a whole legacy of Us. This legacy is affirming at a core level. I’m always trying to reciprocate the feeling of being celebrated to my queer forbears who likely did not get that described embrace, but are the ones I thank for it, which is why you see a lot of LGBT historic figures in my murals. Pride in my community means advocating for the whole of my community, especially for the ones that agitate heteronormative conventions of beauty, binary, decency, and propriety. Pride in my community means fighting for Trans folk's body autonomy.
Pride in my community means holding myself socially accountable to my ideals and being gentle to my peers as they attempt to do the same.
SEA MATIAS | FARMER & OWNER OF IRIDESCENT EARTH COLLECTIVE
WHO ARE YOU & WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?
Hey all, I’m Sea. I’m a queer farmer, environmental educator, artist and activist from The Bronx. I’ve spent over a decade involved in community organizing and education, and over 5 years farming in both urban and rural New York. What motivates me in this work is seeing all those around me thrive– it’s all about community wealth for me!
I’m ⅓ of a Bronx based Queer, Black and Latinx led farm-collective, Iridescent Earth. Our collective grows and distributes high quality, fresh produce to our community in collaboration with Bronx mutual aid organizations working towards the same goal.
When I’m not farming, I’m an environmental educator for a preschool in the Bronx and a facilitator for Farm School NYC; a school that trains local residents in urban agriculture in order to build self-reliant communities and inspire positive local action around food access and social, economic, and racial justice issues.
As an educator, my students motivate me to continue developing experiences that honor all learning styles, perspectives and abilities in restoring connection to earth.
WHAT DOES PRIDE IN YOUR LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY MEAN TO YOU?
To be a part of a community where LGBTQIA+ folks thrive is to be a part of a community where all members are not only unapologetically themselves but also protected and accepted.
Pride in my LGBTQIA+ community means that safe spaces are cultivated for and by folks of all identities, expressions, culture and origins to feel valued, validated, supported and celebrated. As an active participant of the Bronx LGBTQIA+ community, my role is to aid in building the foundation of interconnectedness, collaboration, empowerment, mutuality and respect through mentorship, mutual aid, empathy, earth and expression of queer joy.
En solidaridad <3
PHILIP ADERNACH | SAXOPHONE PLAYER & MEMBER OF MEUTE
WHO ARE YOU & WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?
My name is Philip Morton Andernach, I am Musician and Multi-instrumentalist based in Hamburg, Germany. I am the Bass Saxophone Player and singer of the German Techno Marching Band, Meute. Also, I am a father to teenage daughters. For me, they are one of my main motivations to get awareness into the world, equality in a future world they will live in, awareness to all kinds of cultures, and kindness to their surroundings.
I picked up my first Gay's Okay cap here in Hamburg at my favorite bike store, Suicycle, where it was displayed. Since, I have been always wearing bike caps on stage. I gave them a try and loved them.
I never expected to be included in the Gay's Okay family like this and I am very grateful and thankful that it went this way. Wearing the cap on stage got me into serval very deep conversations with young human beings that were still struggling with their place in society, due to homophobia and their surroundings. I want to show that they are not alone in their struggle, that it is okay to be gay and to use the growing popularity of this band I participate in to bring this long overdue message.
To so many people all across the globe, it is a big honor. It has changed my appearance as a musician, as a human being, and as a dad.
WHAT DOES PRIDE IN YOUR LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY MEAN TO YOU?
I am always happy when I see lovers when they have a place where they do not have to hide from society.
Taking pride in the way you love, who you love, openly, with no fear of discrimination or harassment.
Being proud of who you are, in your own way, and show it to the world. I really do admire that in my and our LGBTQIA+ community.
CHRIS MOSIER | TRANS ATHLETE & ACTIVIST
WHO ARE YOU & WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?
My name is Chris Mosier, my pronouns are he/him, and I’m an athlete and activist. In 2015, I became the first transgender man to make a men’s national team and upon making the team, I challenged the International Olympic Committee policy on transgender athletes, resulting in changed rules that allowed a better pathway for other transgender athletes as well. In addition to being a member of Team USA, I am a 2x men’s national champion, an All-American, and in 2020, became the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympic Trials in a category other than their assignment at birth.
When I came out in 2010, I didn’t see other transgender athletes in sport, and I definitely didn’t see trans men competing with men. I was unsure if sport would be a safe or welcoming place, and even more unsure if the policies in place for sports at that time would even allow to me compete. It was that personal experience of not seeing people like me in sports and of fighting for my own right to participate that became the catalyst for my activism; my own experience of trying to navigate coming out in sports led me to create transathlete.com, a resource for athletes, coaches, administrators, teams and leagues to get more information on trans inclusion in sport at various levels of play.
I truly believe my purpose is to do what I can do to make it easier for every trans person who comes after me by paving a way for them. I want people to see me and know they can be their authentic self and continue to do what they love, and that they don’t have to compromise any part of their identity. My motto is “be who you needed when you were younger.” I’m motivated by thinking of the younger version of me and being the role model I wish I had, and I’m also motivated by the young trans and nonbinary people who I mentor as they navigate their own journey.
WHAT DOES PRIDE IN YOUR LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY MEAN TO YOU?
My pride in the LGBTQIA+ community is at the core of what I do and who I am. I believe that my best advocacy is waking up everyday and living an awesome life - because with the legislative and political attacks on the queer community it is clear that my thriving is an act of defiance and an act of resistance. I love being trans and I love being queer and I’m so proud of who I am today and the path I’ve taken to get here.
It’s a gift to be in community with other LGBTQIA+ people and I know that at the end of the day, no laws or governments will protect us - we will take care of each other, and that is truly magical.
WHO ARE WE DONATING TO THIS YEAR?
OUTRIGHT ACTION INTERNATIONAL
OutRight Action International is one of the world's leading international human rights organizations dedicated to improving the lives of people who experience discrimination or abuse on the basis of their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. For over 30 years, they have fought to protect and advance the basic rights of LGBTIQ people everywhere as part of the global human rights movement. By developing partnerships at global, regional and national levels to build capacity, document human rights violations, advocate for inclusion and equality, and hold leaders accountable for protecting the rights and wellbeing of LGBTIQ people everywhere.
OutRight Action International holds consultative status at the United Nations as a recognized Non-Governmental Organization and use this position to advocate for change and hold leaders and nation states accountable.
It cannot be understated the positive and impactful effect that OutRight makes for the advancement of the rights of LGBTIQ people everywhere, we are proud to support the hard work they do and we sincerely hope you continue to support them into the future.
