Meet First Black Virginia Bear Titleholder Marcuis Warren!

17th February 2022 Kyle Jackson

Back in November, The 2022 Virginia Bear Contest — in addition to dropping title honorifics — celebrated two very important firsts: The first Black or POC Virginia Bear and the first Trans Virgina Cub! As firm believers and supporters of inclusion and representation, we love to see it all!

We recently grabbed a chat with the new 2022 Virgina Bear titleholder, Marcuis Warren, to discuss his plans for his title year!

Kyle Jackson: Can you tell us a bit about your background?

Marcuis: Well, I am a Virginia native born and raised here. I grew up in Portsmouth and moved around the area a bit growing up. Also, I am proud Army vet that served during the Operation Iraqi Freedom time.

I have four sisters and three brothers, and I am the oldest. Around 2005 or so, I came out pretty late, but I have been happy ever since. I have been married for eight years to James Martin, one of my biggest cheerleaders.

KJ: How did you find the Bear community?

M: I found the bear community honestly by accident. I went to the Hampton Roads Pride Party at the Norfolk Scope, and was hanging with some friends. At the end of the night, they asked what I was doing the following night and asked me if I wanted to go to NEON BEAR at MJ’s Tavern.

I had never been, so I jumped on it. I went to the event and fell in love. There were guys here that did not fit into society’s stereotype, and it was great to see it.

KJ: What was the best part about participating in the Virginia Bear contest?

M: To me, the best part of the contest was getting to know more about my fellow running mates and why they were running. Also, the crowd when I was on the stage was amazing. But the absolute best part was after I won and my family and friends circled around me and hugged me and sang happy birthday to me. My birthday happened to be the day of the contest!

KJ: What are your goals for your title year?

M: My goals for my title year are to get more POC involved in the Bear community, in the LGBTQ community period. When I won, I said I wanted to make it so that everyone felt wanted and included. I want POC to see me and feel like if I can do it so can they. I want to turn the community “upside down” — To do what others haven’t done.

KJ: How does it feel to be the first POC winner of the Virginia Bear title?

M: You know, after losing my very first time, I wasn’t EVER gonna run again. But James Lee, who was one of the judges, told me after my first time that I must run again and do it for me.

So, with a little encouragement from family and friends, I decided to run again. And this time I HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE! When I won I was shocked and actually started to cry because it felt like I had finally arrived and did something that was unreachable. I was able to show all the POC that saw me that they could be apart of any community.

KJ: What are some important issues you think need to be addressed in the Bear Community?

M: Some important issues that need to be addressed is self-acceptance and living for oneself, not by what society says. I want to help break down barriers.

KJ: Can you talk a bit about the decision made by the producers of the title to no longer use gender-specific honorifics and what that means for the history of titleholder contests?

M: So, before I became a contestant, I knew nothing of this. But one day we had a contestant meeting, and we were informed that the honorific would be dropped. I think that, before we got to the contest, there were multiple nonbinary and trans members of the community that wanted to run, but were not comfortable with specific honorifics. So that could have planned a huge part in the producer deciding to drop them.

I think it is a great decision. It’s being done so that all members of the community can feel that they were welcomed to be Virginia Bear.

Where can we see you next?

If anyone would like to meet me, I will be a judge at Bears Bikers and Mayhem from May 5th to 9th in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania!

Also, if you live in the Hampton Roads area, I will be co-host a show at 37th and Zen on Sundays, starting February 27th from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Come out and see the bears and pups and have a good time!