Gogo Bear Spotlight: Ner

Our GOGO radar lands in NYC this week as we check in with popular GoGo NER, a very sexy fixture in New York and Beyond. We sat down with him for a few minutes and got to know all about him!

Bear World Mag: What is your stage name? Please give us some background on yourself.

Ner: My stage name is Ner! It originated from my roommate in college as that was my nickname, but then cleverly translated into my nightlife career. Ner, Boner… get it? I’m a New York native, born and raised in Astoria, Queens but now I live in Woodside! I’m 27 years old and I’m Egyptian and Native American! My pronouns are he/him! I manage two pharmacies in Corona, Queens in the day and in the night I’m throwing ass in your favorite gay bar!

BWM: When did you start gogo dancing and why? Which bear parties do you dance at?

N: I started gogoing in December of 2021! I started honestly cause at the time, I wasn’t the most confident in my body, I had just come out as gay and I needed an outlet for my creativity that I never really got to express. I had also never really seen an Arab Bear dancer in the community with the full spotlight on them and felt that needed to happen. I started dancing and partying with my new gay friends at Bearmilk in Brooklyn and eventually made it onto the stage in a jock that didn’t fit right and shoes that were too big. That night I got my first booking and from there it’s been almost 4 years of constant, steady bookings! I’ve danced at many bear and queer events such as Goldiloxx, Bearmilk, Bears Night Out, Cake, Fat Slut, Heavy Cream, BearNaked, Ptown bear week at The Crown and Anchor, Urban bear street festivals, Bearlesque in Philly, Carinõ in Nashville, Bear Week in Puerto Rico, and many more!

BWM: Do you have a gogo persona? If so what is it? Do you have a signature move or style?

N: I absolutely do. I would say my persona is joyful. I would add that I’m usually one of the loudest people in the room and it’s my job to hype people up! Getting everyone to the dancefloor is such an important part of being a gogo; being loud, energetic, fun, flirty, carefree, and a little naughty is how I’ve been able to keep my joyful gogo persona. My signature style comes from a multitude of places like the sale rack at the sex shop or from sitting at my desk making my own outfits. I also have them custom made by my favorite Syluss or @sylussfortay on instagram. My signature move would have to be a tie between the jump splits of stomping my boots on the stage so loud that everyone turns and looks at me. And cowboy boots are the best for stomping, just saying.

BWM: Can you tell us a memorable event from one of your gigs? For example – Biggest tip? Funny or weird encounter with an admirer?

OOF! There’s been so many over the years. It’s hard to pick just one. but I would have to say my favorite moment ever would have to be P Town at fat slut. The room was so packed that people were pushing to get onto the stage. Jason (@jay_Marti on instagram) and I were booked to dance before the drag queens to get the crowd really loud. So on the last beat before we were supposed to leave the stage, I jumped off the stage into a jump split on the floor and the crowd exploded. I’ve never seen so much money thrown at me. It was one of those moments where the lights were blinding me once I got back on stage, and I was just standing there, smiling tears in my eyes. It was one of the coolest moments of my life. And then, upon looking down, I had noticed that my leather jock had snapped, and all my privates were almost out. But again, I did not care the joy of that moment overtook any issue that was going on.

BWM: Do you identify with the bear community? When/ how did you find it?

N: I absolutely identify with the bear community. Being a 6’2, 245lbs, hairy Arab man, the bears are absolutely and will always be my people!! The confidence that I have gained from this community is endless. The knowledge I’ve gathered about queer history, equality of POC performers, pronouns, and progress in the LGBTQ+ community all stems from meeting my queer family at places like Rockbar, Ty’s, and many more. Without these people I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I found my queer family by being my TRUE self and putting myself out there and the age of 21. My best friend and I connected overnight life initially, and we do a lot of our gigs together which just means more Kiki time! So thankful for all of the blessings I have received in these past years and many of them stem from the support of my chosen family.

BWM: What do you like most about nightlife and gogo dancing?

N: I love the grit of nightlife. That probably has to be my favorite thing. People think it’s so glamorous when in reality you’re changing sweaty underwear behind a barrel of beer. But that’s the fun in it! You get to entertain people and bring smiles to their faces just by showing off your body and your personality. That’s where the true glamour comes from when you look out into the crowd and see dollars coming at you with finger snapping “yasssss” ing. I also love the outfits; from harnesses, to jocks, to thongs, to skirts, to singlets, to full body one pieces. If it looks slutty and sexy I want it on my body. And more importantly, I wanna show it off on my body type so I can hopefully inspire others to wear similar things.

BWM: Any upcoming gigs you want to plug or anything you want to mention that we haven’t covered?

N: We have some very exciting things in the pipeline!! The Goldiloxx crew and I will be taking over the Ice Palace June 7th and 8th at fire island! I’ll be dancing 2 sets at Folsom East on June 15th on 27th street between 10th & 11th avenue! I’ll be at G lounge (formally Rebar) for their new event Rhythm Revolution on June 21st. During the actual week of pride I’ll be working 2 different Urban bear events on June 27th and June 29th! We’ll be doing Goldiloxx pride on June 28th at Red Eye. And lastly I’ll be hosting the Key West Bears Weekend 2025 from October 29th through November 2nd! Tickets available now! There’s always more events in the pipeline so be sure to fellow all my socials to see any updates!

BWM: Where can we find you (and lots more photos of you dancing!) on social media?

You can find me at all social platforms at:
Instagram – dojo_ner
TikTok – nernycc
X – nernycc
Venmo – nernyc
Bluesky – nernycc.bsky.social

And lastly a big thanks to Bear World magazine for all that they do for the community. The spotlights they give are super important to continue to get the word out about everything BEAR!

Much love,
-Ner

BWM – Thanks Ner we love what you do too – keep being dancing for all us bears!