Meet the Australian Bisexual Dad from Tasmania, Garry Conroy-Cooper

Born 1964 in Adelaide, South Australia, Garry would be turning 62 years old in 2026. His mother’s family are descended from Scottish nobility and his father’s side are English and Spanish. So he has a mixture of Scottish, English, Spanish and Flemish ancestry and he can trace some of my family back to the mid 1200’s.

Garry has a humble and kind heart. When I ask him about himself, he said that it is a really hard question to answer without sounding so self aware it could come across as pretentious and pompous. I replied to say that nobody can tell your story better than yourself. Basically he is two types of people. Firstly, he is a very cliched privileged anglo saxon white male who lives in beautiful historic Georgian house, which has nearly finished being renovated over the last 25 years, with 18^th century inspired gardens. Basically he is vintage.

He claims to be a walking contradiction. On the one hand, he relishes in the finer things of life, like collect; art, mid-century glassware, West German ceramics and have a highly developed sense of aesthetics, and he can get around in dinner suit and other high fashion. He is an art connoisseur (and does some artworks) and portrait photographer, and counterbalanced with that part of my life. On the other hand, he is a tough as nails Aussie bloke, driving 4WD, wearing flannel, and very pervy as bi bloke and dad type. He loves going outdoors and kayaking, hiking, going into the mountains, beer swilling, cigar chomping [cigars are seen in Australia as quite elitist interestingly], recreational substance user [sometimes], who loves the island, where he lives on at the bottom of the planet far from the worlds tumults.

He is deeply political and he has studied history and politics for nearly 50 years. He has a strong belief in good manners and as an old masculine fella, he has learned in the last few years that empathy, seeking to understand others perspectives on life and world before judging each other, and breaking down paradigms particularly in the area of relationships with mates, friends, lovers, partners, chosen and biological family have become more important to him that as a younger bloke. Perhaps he is just a living cliché. Thoughts?

Being in his 60’s, he has kind of worked out most things in life and so have a strong sense of self awareness and emotional intelligence and perhaps a good dose of wisdom. Garry is the person who you want in life.

Luka Musicki (L.M.): Well welcome Garry to the interview. We have not met in-person (hopefully we can meet in person in the near future), but we have been Facebook friends for a while. Do you get a lot of requests for people to connect with you via social media, especially people who are bi or gay?

Garry Conroy-Cooper (GCC): Yeah I am probably 70/30 bi. Interestingly when I first become self aware of liking blokes and men as a young person, the labels or identifies where basically straight, gay, bi. I only learnt at University that there were folks who were asexual for example. And then trans folks and then the sexual fluidity narrative publicly emerged, and I thought to myself ah ha, that explicit narrative and way of experiencing sexuality tapped into me that I had always kept very much to myself. I probably have the personality that if anyone in any group wanted to give any lip or grief they would get a barrage of questions trying to get to the bottom or cause of their view. Lol. Look every label has its definitional restrictions, so sometimes I will use the word gay, or pansexual or bisexual depending on the context and how I’m feeling on the day. I’ve been tempted [and may have done so by the time this article goes to print] have texta’d on a white bonds tshirt … “I’m bisexual … double my chances”, lol.

L.M.: What do you do in your working life or have you retired already? 

GCC: Currently I am the leader and manager of 16 public libraries in Tasmania. I have worked at all levels of government and in the corporate sector, run a small business for a while, and I am a life model and creative. I have also been a volunteer for 15 years.

L.M.: You have had a lot of adventures, especially outdoor bear ones. What is it about the outdoors that you like, what do you do, how do you enjoy them (by yourself and/or with others), and what tips do you have for our audience to get started into appreciating the outdoors?

GCC: Having adventures is in my world is how to live life. Whether those adventures traveling places around the world, meeting people from all walks of life, love affairs, sexual adventures or out in the wilderness. Ever since I was a child have been fascinated and intrigued by forests, streams, mountains, beaches, deserts and so on. I am not a spiritual person at all and find being ‘out in nature’ very useful to ground me and to remind myself that we are on an incredible spinning ball of rock out in the milky way in the universe and put some of our daily dramas, trials and tribulations into perspective.

I love cities too however I found them inspirational in a artist visual way. Many of my mates across Australia are like me … they enjoy hiking, kayaking, camping, hanging out at the beach and relishing in the ancient environments which are incredibly diverse in Australia. More recently I am becoming more aware and mindful of the 1000’s of generations who walked and were and are connected to ‘country’ in Australia and particularly in my state of Lutruwita.

A passion for astrophysics also links the creation of the planet, the chemistry of such and the geomorphic activity over billions of years and that when doing a hike near Devils Gullet that we are walking on and over some of the oldest formations from a billion years ago. How humbling is that heh?

Tips … hmmm … if starting off find easily accessible places in the outdoors, theres plenty of information online to find any interesting outdoor places near where you are staying and tap into the locals of any area across Australia … also be safe and thinking about the difficulty of an outback place and the weather and letting people know where you have gone.

L.M.: So, you have host a lot of bears down in Tasmania, which is great to have a great sense of community with our bear kindred folks. What is it about Tasmania (other than Sydney) that makes bears come (not cum, maybe later on)? And where do you bears meet up in Deloraine Tasmania for a bite to eat together or go out drinking a fresh brew of beer? And how can bears get in contact with you for a meet-up, or is there a social group page? 

GCC: Well, I’m not sure I know the answer to that question [it’s certainly not my riveting personality lol]  unless you ask the blokes who come to visit. There are about 5 to 6 of us at the time of printing who live in the village and more blokes are moving here this year.

Social media posts. Nearly everytime I or a group of us head out bush somewhere we take pics and put them up on social media. If we include a pic of ourselves with our beards then that is a great ploy to get folks to look at the images of the wilderness. Lol.

Between us in the north of Tasmania we have many connections across Australia and the world [the gay internet as a informal ‘underground’ network is amazing as a sociological phenomena] and people have returned to travel post covid and perhaps taking the advantage of travelling to a country that is somewhat mysterious and to Tasmania which does have a national reputation for being a pristine wilderness area and island. Tasmania as a destination has become over the last 15-20 years an essential place to visit.

It is all purely informal. There is no ‘bear group’ set up for what we do and won’t be … word of digital mouth, and one or two us do a check in each week as to the numbers to book for. We hang out at the British Hotel in Deloraine who have been incredible in supporting and encouraging, and I use that word deliberately, us hanging out. This started with just three of us over 2-3 years ago and as blokes call through someone in our group let passers through know.

When we first started going to the British many of the blokes who were the regulars gave the impression of not being very impressed. However through us just being knockabout men and people, who can rock flannies and blue singlets with the best of em … have been fully embraced by the truckers, farmers, tradies and other men. We get hugs and give em back from the fellas these days. Sometimes a bit extra when everyones been knocking back the beers hehe. I wouldn’t have predicted this at all at the beginning of hanging out there. The experience has taught me that direct experience of a group of ‘others’ over time can dispel stereotypes and negative perceptions and pre-judgement. Also it is important to be curious about peoples lives and ask them questions and Aussie pubs are such easy places particularly in rural and regional communities to strike up a conversation with anyone.

We have gay, bi, non-binary as regulars in the group and when our straight, trans, and other mates come visiting they usually join in. It is to be noted that Tasmania was the last state in Australia to remove discrimination legislation in only 1997.

L.M.: Following up with Tasmania, it was snow falls in Tasmania back on December 2025. What was your reaction to seeing it? Did it bring up your inner Santa Claus vibes?

GCC: I am from South Australia which is a a very dry place with not much water and one of the many appeals of moving to Tasmania, via Sydney and Melbourne has been the weather and the landscape. It is sunny often and in the north of the state where I live there is an abundance of rivers, lakes and I even have an all year stream running through my property. We occasionally get a rare dusting of snow in the village. Many of us locally had seen that snow was predicted up in the mountains for Christmas day, so at midday we took two trucks up into the mountains chasing snow. And finally found a little patch left that hadn’t melt and were about to take pics and vids knocking back some Tawny Port and then the snow just came cascading down and for many of us it was our first ever ‘white christmas’.! There are many far better Santas than I … from the pic you can see was probably more channeling the Russian Tsar.

L.M.: You have a few tattoos, especailly the deers ones on your shoulder (and I like the deers) and anchor tattoo on your thumb. What is the story with the tattoos? – Like when did you get your first one, what are some tattoos that you like with a story, and how many do you have? Should having a tattoo have meaning, an achievement or can it be just a look (like the polyasian tattoos on the shoulders that you see bears have), or do whatever is right for you? And if I were to get a tattoo myself (maybe later on), what should I consider?

GCC: I have tattoos on my back, chest, arms and neck and finger.

Ever since I was a child was fascinated with cave paintings of people and animals. That interest focused over time on the prehistoric animal rock paintings in the Lascaux Caves in France and then the rock art of Libya. So most of my ink are versions of those that travel up my right arm over my shoulder and down across my upper back. Also a few text based quotes that have strong meaning for me have been carved into my skin. My first tattoo was in 2005, I believe.

Tattoos have meaning I imagine for everyone who has them. All have meaning and purpose for me. The names of significant partners, words of profoundity and small symbols of important moments in the past. I tend to not use the word ‘should’ … it is akin to a foul word in English as it is used so often in telling people what to do. Lol

I must say also that I find tattoos incredibly primal and erotic on any gender or person. I’m old enough to remember that there was a time that only criminals and navy men had tattoos. And my very proper grand parents and great grand parents would be deeply shocked to see their cute and innocent grandchild covered in em.

L.M.: Speaking of deers, I can see that you had a few pictures on your socials with a picture of deer on it and Nordic caps. Firstly, that is so hot, not just the rigged look but the presence of a deer feels like elegance. Do you feel the same thing about deers, and if so/not, what can you say about deers and how they represent yourself? 

GCC: Stags and deers have also fascinated me since I was a child. I had no idea we had any in Australia until I saw one in a zoo as a child. Becoming conscious of some of my own ancestry linked to Scottish Baronial gentry and the historic homes and castles, seeing mounted stags further deepened my interest. Stags and deers roam Tasmania as introduced animals and I remember collecting my first stag in the local area in 2001 or 2002. I have 9 mounted stag or deers heads or antlers and a stuffed small crocodile inherited from a grand parent.

I have in my collection a giant plywood moose which sits above my bath. As your question identified there is something deeply graceful about stags and deer in the wilderness, a certain cultural nobility that appeals and when mounted at Drum House, I feel strangely comforted by their presence. A psychologist would have a field day with these answers lol.

I have a number of contemporary and old art works featuring stags and deers. There is something animalistic, primal and appealing. Perhaps they represent ritual, the desire for ritual in life and primal masculine sexual exploration. I would like to take up archery at some point this year and perhaps that too is related.

L.M.: You look dashing in your formal attire, when you are not in your flannel, tshirts, gym and working man attire. Specially the purple jacket and black jacket with pink t-shirt ones. How did you decide on what colour and style to wear? 

GCC: Thank you for the compliment. I like to dress up very formally sometimes and love knocking about in grubby work gear [needed for the large garden maintenance jobs here at Drum House], the purple/lavender jacket is an old Ralph Lauren piece and the black jacket is part of my 30 year old Yve St Laurent dinner suit.

My work requires everything from formal suits, ties, cufflinks etc through to wearing workgear and boots with tshirts and baseball caps. I like to smash up the stereotype of a leader and manager and keep reminding people that people in my types of roles don’t have to be boring or anonymous in our roles. I wear flannies and jeans to work sometimes as well. I adjust what I wear to the situation and am comfortable with this. Btw my work boots are filthy and well used wink

I am very secure in my masculinities … so am very comfortable in finery and in grubby filthy clothes.

L.M.: I can see that you wear both a belt and braces for your pants, which do you prefer to wear and is there a difference in comfort and style? And you wear sometimes your glasses – reading and do you use contact lenses?

GCC: Actually in purist fashion wearing a belt and braces together is a no no. However, break the bloody rules. I like braces and have for many years and have about 5 pairs of them. Some you use to keep workgear up and loose flannie shirts close to your body when chainsawing wood. And other braces are for more creative fashion times. They are all comfortable. Yes, I use cheap reading glasses for computer and close up work. I have always loved glasses since I was a kid and as I loose them so often if get to wear different ones constantly, lol.

L.M.: Moving onwards to the jewellery, like the rings, what is the significance of the rings, especially one of them say ‘Dad’. Are you a father, or is that like ‘Daddy’ in the queer community, or both? Rather ask than assume. 

GCC: I have the words LAD, DAD, SONS & LOVERS tattoed on my left neck. So the ring is a bold explicit advertisement I guess being a ‘DAD’. Whilst I don’t have biological children that I am aware of … I am a DAD, in many different ways, to a range of blokes, mostly younger fellas. I’m not a huge fan of the word, ‘daddy’, for myself. For me DAD, is someone who not only engages sexually and primally, but someone who shares wisdom, insights and has a certain caring paternalism and mentorship role to play.

And yes I know these are labels and I have them around me. There inlies another contradiction lol

L.M.: In some of your pictures, you are smoking a cigar, especially in the hot tub or on your armchair. What is the motivation with the cigars – is it is the typical bear look of a big cigar, do you enjoy smell & taste of them and what brand are they? See the reason why I ask is two things – my biological father was a cigar smoker (he did it for the smell and taste of it, and very straight), and other is why bears think it is sexy (as it can be a kink to see it but not enjoy doing it themselves). So for me, you look sexy with them, but would I smoke cigar, not really. Do you get what I mean with my questions? 

GCC: I started exploring cigars in around 2007 and I can’t really remember why. I imagine due to the implied masculinity and eroticism of older men and for me then, an emerging realisation I was getting more and more turned on in becoming a Dad. It’s ironic as having hated smoking and smoking all my life. Funnily enough, I recently remembered my grandfather, who was a pipe smoker, with his pipes and finally understood the contemplative nature of the experience. I find men smoking cigars and sometime pipes deeply erotic, primal and sexy as f***. Have come to appreciate the taste and smell and gets me really horned up hanging with mates smoking cigars and getting into some hot cigar sex. As a ‘Dad’, a few of my ‘sons’ join me in this sexual space.

Some may label this a form of toxic masculinity, however I strongly believe some gay and bi men are redfining a masculine form of sexuality that is actually deeper and mindful way of usurping straight male sexuality. Loving this by the way.

L.M.: As you can imagine, I have highlighted your fashion style being on point (not just for the typically bear look with flannels and hat) and I wish to look that sexy with my later years (with a beard, hot tub, tattoos and a cap). How do you think about what look you would like to go for and can suggestions for any Tassie, Australian or international brand to match your style? Especially with the flannels. 

GCC: As mentioned above am a bundle of contradictions and on the surface with fashion that would appear to be very evident. But then again what is the contradiction? I don’t believe we have to be one dimensional in the way we present ourselves to the world and perhaps sometimes in our curated social media world this can happen. In my leadership role, sometimes I will wear a 3 piece suit with all the trappings or sometimes a pair of jeans, grubby work boots, a flannel shirt and a baseball cap. In a workplace setting it is all about who I am meeting for the day, my mood, the weather, where is my head at sexually and what is my level of cheekiness and shit stirring attitude for the day. Outside of the workplace very much the same lens applies. Sometimes there is an inner joy in subversion and smashing up the cliches and stereotypes. Yet perhaps I too am a stereotype and cliché.

Flannies as they are known in Australia are a plaid and type of tartan. There are many many men out there in the world who are far more stylish and fun than I am. The most important thing to me about a flannel shirt is to roll the sleeves up and expose the forearm … whatever the gender. I love seeing all genders in grubby work gear and flannies. So effing sexy.

L.M.: Are you and/or have you been partnered before and what was the story about that? 

GCC: I have been privileged enough to fall in love often and have experienced some amazing adventures and loving times with a number of people since the late 1980’s. some torrid short lusty love affairs, through to long term partners, a marriage and decisions to go in different directions. Older men, young men, transmen, a Roman Catholic Monk, a man who transitioned to woman, an Australian Artist of high repute, an Englishman who I married, a leather master when I was very young. These days I would be described as a polyamorous fella who loves a range of people in different and sometimes similar ways. For the last 25 years I have experienced connections with people where those connections remain to this day. I feel the word love has value as a shorthand way of expressing ourselves, however that word is like an iceberg. What we observe poking above the surface of the water, hides a much deeper, complex and matrixed combination of love, lust, care, thoughtfulness, emotional intelligence, desire, expectation, highs and lows and an continuing evolution of ‘partnership’. As a Dad I love each of my sons and lads in different ways and at different level of intensities.

After nearly 7 years of being a Dad, good mate with benefits with a mid 30’s lad, called Tim, we have recently transitioned to something different that is very hard to describe in words, where we are feeling comfortable when asked to say we are partners. Within that deeply loving, emotionally intelligent, primal, respectful and exploratory relationship we are deeply supportive for each other to continue to exploring ‘loving’ and ‘lusting’ with others in the same we always have as best mates who liked to f***. 

L.M.: You have a great beard and it looks in great shape. When did you start to grow your fabulous white beard, and how do you maintain it?

GCC: I started growing a beard in my mid 20’s when it was dark black and brown. I started turning grey/white about 16 years ago and have had it long for over a decade. I roll it up sometimes or let it all hang loose. I use conditioner everyday in my beard and sometimes beard oil or wax to make it shiny. I get the bottom of it cut by an inch or two every 6 months.

L.M.: So you like Life drawing, why do you like and what you say to anyone interested in trying it being either a model or a painter?

GCC: I have always liked figurative art and was recently asked to life model in the middle of 2025. I like doing new things and loved art so said why not. It is very liberating to be nude in front of a large crowd of people. Most people say they don’t have a good enough body for modelling. That is crap. Modelling is about different types of bodies and not just traditional muscled bodies.

L.M.: What are the many activities that you do as a hobby? Like there is kayaking, hiking, and what else? 

GCC: My interests do appear contradictory. Love the wilderness, whether I explore it on a kayak, go hiking, 4WD’g or there are deserts [ie the sahara, outback Australia or deep in European and Australian forests or beaches. Nature and landscape is part of my serenity and always grounds me. I am an artist and portrait photographer, an art collector, a garden design person. Love classical music and all kinds of popular music of the last 70+ years. I collect jewellery and have a passion for historical tiaras and contemporary tiara and jewellery design. I love home made pornography whether it is straight, bi, gay, trans, animated. I collect mid century glass and ceramics and have about 2500 books in my personal collection. I relish in design whether it is fashion, architecture, landscape design and sculptures. Have been deeply privileged to visit places of these themes around the world over the last 40 years. And ever since I was a child have been obsessed by archaeology and political and national histories. Am a voracious reader and enjoy politics and even when they are deeply dysfunctional.

L.M.: Would you say being a bear has helped or hindered your career or your lifestyle? Is your audience primarily bears for work and life?

GCC: Funny you should ask that. A CEO I used to work for in a national managers role, once said to me, when my beard was dark and large, wouldn’t it be better if you cut it off or at least make it supa short. My response to him is that my big dark beard in fact made him millions of dollars, because it distinguished me in a crowd, at a conference or trade show and was a point of difference in an industry full of clean shaven, same suit wearing, anonymous jocks. I was easy to spot and created interest through being visually different. So no having a beard most of my life hasn’t hindered my careers. In Tasmania when I wear my full beard down where it ends up at my belly button, random men and sometime women will approach me with compliments, affirmations and statements of envy.

My audience? I have a very strong view that life isn’t to be lived within one group or cohort in society. To do so is to become trapped in an echo chamber where validation is sought from a single social group or social ‘type’. I don’t have an audience and engage with women, bears, trans folks, highly cultured people, truck drivers and publicans, gays, bisexual folks, arts folks, queers, those far less fortunate than me, those with different political viewpoints than me and so on. The most important way I determine whether people will be in my social circle is if they actively demonstrate curiosity in others, in other ways of being and in seeking to understand how others live their lives.

L.M.: Is there any advice that you would give someone (like a bear) who is interested in starting to live in Tasmania – benefits, considerations, lifestyle changes, and/or outdoor activities and what is involved?

GCC: Tasmania is experiencing a significant uptake in people moving here, from around Australia and internationally, whether for the lifestyle, the wilderness, the temperate climate, the cultures, the generally relaxed way of living [Australia is renowned for this of course] and there are many queer people moving here too. Even to my own little village.

The only piece of advice is to visit and spend a few weeks here traveling around and meeting people with whom you might connect well with. Before making any decision to move to this paradise island. It is an easy island to get around on motorcycles, trucks and cars and the roads are generally excellent and well resources. Culturally Tasmania isn’t as diverse as the cities of Melbourne Sydney Brisbane etc, although this has been slowly changing well over the last few years. I have lived here permanently for one third of my life, 20+ years, and I love cities too, so Melbourne is only 50 minutes away on a jet or overnight on a ferry. There are so many things to do, places to see [everyone must go to MONA!] and people to meet … the people here are very friendly and chatty and over the last decade or so far more embracing of LGBTIQA+ folks. In a gay male bear context we all have some connection to each other and are highly encouraging, well in my village anyhow, of having bears join in on the Friday night tradition of beers and dinner at the local pub. And this has grown for 3 blokes to now up to 20-24 people on a Friday night.

L.M.: What are your career goals for the future? 

GCC: I am soon finishing my third career in a couple of years at the age of 65. Hopefully, I can leave my leadership role and do something more physical like setting up a hedging and garden maintenance business, get back to some art practice, maybe work in the wood yard at Bunnings with a mate. I don’t believe I will retire for many years as keeping connected to people, physical activity and gym and having adventures here in Australia and around the world will be great to continue until my dying breath.

L.M.: Thank you Gary for answering those questions. I really appreciate your insights. Now for some quick fire questions to bring us to the conclusion of the interview.

• Location: Deloraine Tasmania Australia.

• Pronouns: I don’t use them but I respect others use of them.

• Relationship status: Polyamorous relationships with a primary partner.

• Favourite Drink: Whisky.

• What type of guy are you into? Too many to list here – all types of people have a passion for ‘hot ugly’ men. [Luka here, I think Garry is being too humble in this response, he is a gorgeous handsome bear]

• Favourite Cities/Vacation Spots: Log cabins around the world in the wilderness through to beautiful contemporary apartments in Paris or Berlin. So many places around the world

• Favourite Hobby or Pastime: I have mentioned above, but you could add having a wank.

• Idea of a good date? Where there is verbal tennis and a shared curiosity for each other. Seduction is as good as a fantastic f***.

• What do you look for in a guy? Emotional intelligence, the ability to make things happen and not wait for others to make things happen for them, a sense of fun and of the ridiculous, someone who can tease the f*** out of me, sexually explorative and good mannered, independent, adventurous.

• Where can you find yourself? Website, Facebook, Instagram, etc.:
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoggaBloke. Feel free to send me a Facebook Messenger ping – maybe start with a hello. For me, I will get more sex and social connection through this than the dating/gay apps.
  • Twitter: https://x.com/logga64
  • Instagram: gconroycooper