Marcin Jablonkowski is Mr. Bear Europe 2024
After a fun and friendly competition, the European bear community has spoken and elected Marcin Jablonkowski the new Mr. Bear Europe 2024 during the Cologne Pride events earlier this month.
Marcin joins us to tell us about the competition, to fill us in on the Polish bear scene and to tell us what he hopes to accomplish as Europe’s new Mr. Bear.
BWM: What does it mean to you to be named the new Mr. Bear Europe?
Marcin Jablonkowski (MJ): For me, it is above all an extraordinary distinction and a reason for pride, because the Polish gay community hasn’t secured a big number of international titles. And as for the bear community, I am the first Polish mister with a European title. It take it as a great responsibility to represent the bear community with dignity.
BWM: Please tell us what the competition was like.
MJ: The finale of the election took place on board a ship sailing on the Rhine during CSD (Christopher Street Day) 2024, held in Cologne at the end of July. Online voting had previously taken place for a month. Before the finale of the election, representatives of clubs and organizations with rights to the title also cast their votes. During the event, each participant had a short moment to present themselves to the audience, and a few minutes later the results were announced, and the title and sash were handed over.
BWM: How did this competition differ from the Mr. Bear Poland competition?
MJ: The Mr. Bear Europe election was completely different than the Mr. Bear Poland election. From what I’ve noticed, there are two distinctive trends. The Polish elections (but also those in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands) have more show elements. The candidates prepare different performances, sometimes even several different ones. In the Polish elections, there are also online auditions of the candidates, during which they have to answer different questions.
In the case of the Mr. Bear Europe elections, the organizers emphasize the recognition that the candidates have already gained. This seems logical, because in order to participate in the competition, you must already have won the title of Mister or Vice Mister.
BWM: What are your new responsibilities as Mr. Bear Europe?
MJ: This is a hard one, because I honestly don’t know yet.
Mister Bear for me was always about being a representative as a way to showcase the bear community to others.
I’ m imagining this new title will be exactly the same, just on a much larger scale.
I always wanted to be a very active mister, not only in our bear world but also in others communities (leather, pups etc.), so I’m gonna try my best to continue that work.
BWM: Tell our readers about the bear scene and community in Poland. Where does everyone gather? What are the best bear hang outs?
MJ: The Polish bear community numbers several thousand people. Some of them belong to the Bears of Poland association, which was founded in 2009. The association focuses on integration activities, but also conducts educational and health-promoting activities. Bears of Poland organizes six large events every year and sponsors numerous smaller events organized by members of the community.
Unfortunately, we don’t have a typical bear meeting place – we meet in friendly gay and fetish pubs or clubs. This is in part because our community is spread across the country. If you want to meet Polish bears, it is best to check the calendar of events on the Bears of Poland website or contact one of the Polish bears.
The most important Polish bear events worth visiting are the Mr. Bear Poland contest (held every October in Poznań), the Mr. Chaser Poland contest (held in Warsaw in the spring) and the Bear & Fetish Camp (a four-day outdoor event that can also be attended by people outside the bear community). Equally popular events are the amBears summer meeting (held in the Tri-City, by our sea), the December holiday party Miśkołajki (St. Nicholas Day) and WrocLove held in western Poland in Wrocław.
BWM: What is your favorite part of being a bear?
MJ: To me the bear is strength, courage and tenacity, but also has the tenderness and delicacy of a teddy bear. This possibility of combining opposite features seems particularly interesting to me. Another aspect is diversity and unity. Remember what the colors of the bear flag symbolize? Different species of bears from around the world. Being part of a community does not exclude diversity and otherness.
BWM: How do European bears compare to other bear communities around the world?
MJ: The bear community in Europe is very diverse in terms of organization. In some countries there are nationwide organizations, in others only groups or local organizations. These groups cooperate with each other or contact each other in very different scopes, so it is difficult to find common features here. On the other hand, the bear community and the bears themselves probably do not differ too much from their brothers from all over the world. I would not dare to define any one model of the European bear.
BWM: What is next for you?
MJ: For now, I need a few days off, because winning this competition took me completely by surprise. I was hoping for a good result, but I competed with many great Misters, so any scenario was possible. By the way, I would like to thank all my competitors for the great sportsmanship. The opportunity to meet with you, as usual, was wonderful and priceless. Very special thanks to Dany Bear (Netherlands) who won Vice Mr. Bear Europe title. And also I’d like to thank my hubby Jack for supporting me in this whole adventure.
As for future… I would like to bring together different European bear communities, encouraging joint meetings, an exchange of views, discussions. I am also open to cooperation with other communities, because I believe that we should not seclude ourselves within our own subculture.
Make sure to follow the adventures of Marcin Jabłonkowski, Mr. Bear Europe 2024 on Facebook and Instagram.
