Bearracuda Celebrates 15 Years in Portland, Atlanta, and Los Angeles
Can you believe it? This year Bearracuda celebrated its 15th anniversary in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and most recently in Portland with last week’s “Hold the Door” Party. The event featured performances from Dragula royalty Blackberri, Biqtch Puddin and Fantasia Royale Gaga, plus an extra special appearance from Hodor himself, Kristian Nairn, who was the guest DJ for the night.
In total, Bearracuda has been around for 18 unforgettable years and in that time has come to dominate bear club culture by featuring incredible music, state of the art production values and some of the hottest gogo bears in the business! They continually reinvent themselves through use of themes like ‘Strip Club’ or the upcoming ‘Dick or Treat’ party for Halloween and by popping up in cities around the world for one off celebrations.
The Bearracuda mainstays, however, take place in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Denver, Atlanta, New Orleans, Seattle (which is re-launching next month) and of course Portland where organizers have recently kickstarted the Portland Play Party ‘Bear Naked’.
We recently caught up with Matt Bearracuda, the founder and promoter of this beloved institution to check in.
John Hernandez (JH): Hi Matt! Thankks for joining me. The first Bearracuda took place in San Francisco in 2006. How has the party evolved over the last 18 years?
Matt Bearracuda (MB): The gay scene is ever changing in every city, almost every year, so we have changed a LOT. After our 3rd or 4th year, our goal was to be in as many cities as possible. These days, we are focused on our most popular cities around the country. We don’t really throw any parties that are less than 500 people. Putting focus on just a select few cities has really helped us a lot.
JH: The party has gone to 10 countries and 63 cities. Where would you like to take it that you have not gone before?
MB: These days we are just focused on the cities that we have currently. But, after visiting Tokyo and talking to friends there, I am hoping that we’ll be able to do something there. Any parties we have outside of North America are usually just for fun, just because it costs so much to get myself, my partner and DJs there. But the good people I know in Japan are definitely worth it.
JH: Are there any plans to establish any additional residencies, like on the east coast?
MB: Our only East Coast time zone party is Atlanta right now, which also just celebrated 15 years of Bearracuda! In the past, we have been to Philly, NYC, DC, P-Town and Baltimore. All great parties and cities, just not the right vibe or crowd size for Bearracuda.
JH: What is the current mission and vibe of Bearracuda?
MB: We have evolved to a bear majority party that welcomes all friendly/respectful people. We are a body positive dance party first and foremost. Some people come to socialize and cruise around, some come just to dance to great music.
JH: How have you been able to keep the party fresh for the community and yourself for 18 years?
MB: I told myself that I would stop doing this party when it stopped being fun…and that still hasn’t happened! We do different themes in most of our cities to keep the party interesting and fresh. The production has also increased at many of our parties, with lasers, decor, confetti cannons, GoGo dancers, video visuals and a lot more.
JH: Through the party what changes have you witnessed in the bear community over the years?
MB: That’s a tough one, because bear communities differ (sometimes drastically) from city to city. It’s definitely grown, and people are more comfortable in their own bodies, therefore we do see more people at the party. It is nice seeing bears have a lot more options for socializing than 20 years ago, as well as more diversity.
JH: Please tell us about some of Bearracuda’s upcoming events and where we can get tickets.
MB: We have some really great events coming up, like our Folsom Street event in San Francisco with Horse Meat Disco, the Relaunch of our Seattle event at a new location in October, our Atlanta and LA parties in November and our NYE party in Portland. More info for all of these are at Bearracuda.com
JH: Anything else you’d like to mention?
MB: Yes! If you want to GoGo dance for a party (Bearracuda or otherwise) send the promoter pictures of yourself. If you want to DJ for a party, send a mix. If you’re a guest and want to know what to wear, just put on whatever you feel sexy in. If you want to send me unsolicited nudes, that is just fine!
JH: You heard it here first folks! (Laughs) Well Matt, thanks for joining me and continued success with Bearracuda.
MB: Thank You!
