Stonewall Gazette

Written by Shane Smith, Editor, Stonewall Gazette


Our Crush of The Day is Matt Rood. Matt was crowned Mr Gay Europe 2017 at Pride Park in Stockholm, Sweden, during Stockholm Pride, August 5, 2017.

Before he won the competition, Matt shared, "Taking part would enable me to use this as a platform to help promote equality in the adoption and fostering services. As a former foster carer and an out and proud gay man I have knowledge and experience of this subject and would like to encourage a positive attitude globally. This opportunity has excited me from the very first moment."

When he's not winning contests the handsome 37 year-old is a professional dog walker and dog trainer.

Enjoy these sexy, bulge-tastic shirtless pics of Matt Rood, Mr Gay Europe 2017!

Written by James Ledward


Matt Rood was crowned Mr Gay Europe at Stockholm Pride on Saturday, August 5, 2017. Tore Aasheim, the MGE president, said: “Matt Rood is one of the most dedicated and hardworking gay activist that I have had the honour to get to know through Mr Gay Europe. With his big heart, his kind attitude but also strong devotion, and with a project that shows that he really put his money where his mouth is.”

Matt’s campaign for the competition was called Pride Families and for three years he was a foster carer helping ten children. He wants to use his new title as Mr Gay Europe, and his experience as a foster carer as a platform to promote awareness showing that LGBT+ people can adopt and foster children providing them with loving, safe and nurturing homes. READ MORE

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Crush of The Day: Matt Rood Shirtless Gallery

Written by Tony Richens


An Auckland man that is living with HIV and devotes his life to HIV advocacy and community awareness has won the 2017 Mr Gay New Zealand Title. Charlie Tredway won the competition after the ten finalists were put through an extensive array of activities to find out who will represent the country at the Mr Gay World Finals in Spain in May. Tredway, 33, works with the New Zealand AIDS Foundation as a Community Engagement Officer. READ MORE

You can follow Charlie Tredway on Twitter

Check out his shirtless pics!

Written by Tony Richens


The 9th annual Mr. Gay New Zealand Competition officially started on 19 December 2016 with candidates being able to register their interest in the highly contested title. Last year’s competition which saw record numbers of entrants and finalists was won by previous Mr. Gay Wellington, Bernard Lee, who represented New Zealand at Mr. Gay World 2016, hosted by the European island nation of Malta. “We want to celebrate diversity in our LGBTI+ community, especially in Aotearoa. Since our 30th anniversary of the Homosexual Law Reform this year, it is clear much has improved in terms of LGBTI+ rights in New Zealand.” Despite New Zealand’s progress Bernard stresses that there is still so much work to be done, “It is vital for that diversity to be clearly represented in our future role models particularly in our search for Mr. Gay New Zealand 2017.” The winner of Mr. Gay New Zealand 2017 will be announced at the NZAF's Big Gay Out on Sunday the 12th of February 2017. READ MORE

Written by Shane, Editor of Stonewall Gazette


The Mr Gay Europe 2016 competition wrapped up on the evening of Friday, August 5, 2016 in Oppdal, Norway, with the announcement that Mr Gay Belgium, 21-year old Raf Van Puymbroeck (pictured above), was the winner of Mr Gay Europe 2016.

Van Puymbroeck said he wanted to participate in Mr Gay Europe because, "I want to mean something in this world. While I was a finalist in Mr Gay Belgium, I started a project for sport clubs. Together with the city councils sports department in Vosselaar, my hometown, a charter/engagement was written that could be endorsed by supporting sports clubs. By doing that they send a message to their members that everyone is welcome and they would respond to unwanted verbal assaults. Even those that seem irrelevant as you for instance often see with children that yell ‘gay’ or ‘faggot’ not realizing that they are actually swearing. There is still a lot of work for the LGBT-community in the sport world, so with Mr. Gay Europe I hope to take my project and attention for LGBT’s in all sports to a whole new level."

Watch video of the Mr Gay Europe 2016 Awards Ceremony, below.

Joni Valadares (L) and Danni Arndt Sigen (R)

Mr Gay Europe 2016 1st runner-up was Joni Valadares (Mr Gay England 2016); 2nd runner-up was Danni Arndt Sigen (Mr Gay Denmark 2016)


It was an emotional and challenging week for the contestants as they vied for this year's title in the picturesque Norwegian locale. Gay men from 10 countries across Europe participated in a series of events, including organizing a fashion show, a sports competition and more.

The men in this year's Mr Gay Europe 2016 were:

• Raf Van Puymbroeck, age 21, Mr Gay Belgium 2016
• Dimitar Dimitrov, age 33, Mr Gay Bulgaria 2016
• Ladislav Agh, age 28, Mr Gay Czech Republic 2016
• Danni Arndt Sigen, age 29, Mr Gay Denmark 2016
• Joni Valadares, age 28, Mr Gay England 2016
• Konrad Im, age 27, Mr Gay Ireland
• Andrzej Berg, age 27, Mr Gay Poland 2016
• Marek Gajdos, age 25, Mr Gay Slovak Republic
• Sergio Diaz Rullo Brasero, age 26, Mr Gay Spain 2016
• Paul Davies, age 32, Mr Gay Wales 2016

Paul Davies, Mr Gay Wales 2016, accepts his Mr Congeniality Award at this year's Mr Gay Europe competition

The Mr Gay Europe 2016 Individual Award Winners:

Written Test: Dimitar Dimitrov, Mr Gay Bulgaria 2016
Sports Challenge Award: Joni Valadares, Mr Gay England 2016
Social Media Award: Paul Davies, Mr Gay Wales 2016
Video Presentation: Raf Van Puymbroeck, Mr Gay Belgium 2016
Photogenic Challenge: Sergio Diaz Rullo Brasero, Mr Gay Spain 2016
Online Vote Award: Andrzej Berg, Mr Gay Poland 2016
Mr Congeniality Award: Paul Davies, Mr Gay Wales 2016


Congratulations to Raf Van Puymbroeck, Mr Gay Europe 2016, and to all the men for their efforts in the competition this year. Best success to all for the work you are continuing to do in your respective LGBTI communities.


Mr Gay Europe celebrates the pride, diversity and rights of the European Gay Male. You can learn more about the organization here. You can follow Mr Gay Europe on their social media sites: Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Watch Video: Mr Gay Europe 2016 Awards Ceremony