Meet the handsome, furry, and funny Mr HCB 2012, Mr Alan Cadogan

Hairy, Beary, Quite Contrary – Alan Cadogan, who opens up about his life post-contest. Yes, his surname rhymes with bogan (he insists it keeps him grounded). And for those who want to know what is a ‘bogan’:

• Bogan /ˈbəʊɡ(ə)n/ noun derogatory informal
  an uncouth or unsophisticated person regarded as being of low social status. 

He has lived a life that’s anything but uncouth or unsophisticated. A dad of two adult kids — one a scientist, the other a musician — he grew up in Western Sydney in the 1970s and has always balanced practicality with creativity and a little bit of ambition.

Architecture came first, with studies at UTS and later a Master’s in Heritage Conservation at Sydney Uni, leading into a career shaping the way cities work and feel. Alan has spent decades working in urban design and planning, including a stint as Strategy Director for the City of Sydney, where he helped deliver the city’s Sustainable Sydney 2030 vision that nudged through the small bar reforms that changed the city’s nightlife, cut the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, promoted light rail for the CBD, and supported musical theatre. His day job has always been about making life in the city better through design.

But Alan’s story isn’t just boardrooms and planning strategies. In 2012, he threw himself into the Mr Harbour City Bear competition — and walked away not just with that title, but also Mr Australasia Bear. Winning gave him a new chapter, opening doors to performance, community, and a whole lot of sparkle. Since then, he’s exhibited art, joined the Kittyhawk Theatre Production Company, performed at the Sydney Fringe, taken up improv at Improv Theatre Sydney, and even dabbled in stand-up.

There’s also the unexpected wrestling chapter — yes, Olympic Freestyle wrestling with the Sydney Silverbacks. Not the at the Olympics (he’s quick to clarify), though he has competed at international tournaments, proving he’s never been afraid to get in the ring, literally or metaphorically. Add to that a passion for travel — more than 40 countries and counting — and you get someone who has spent his life mixing creativity, community, and a willingness to dive headlong into whatever adventure comes next.

Luka Musicki (L.M.): So, welcome, Alan. It was great to meet you at the 2025 Mister HCB competition, and it seemed like you had a talent for being a co-MC. Was there a lot of preparation required for the role?

Alan Cadogan (A.C.): It was great to meet you too, and to hang out with a fun crowd, a truly lovely set of competitors and a hard-working committee. So, I scripted the first part of the night for Chris and me, but then we let it run free form – it was great working with Chris. I feel like we kept the energy high, we supported each other, and I learned a few little audience control tricks that I’ll be keeping in my toolbelt for next time.

L.M.: So the Mr HCB Competition commenced back in 2008. You competed in the 4th Mr HCB event, the 2012 Mr HCB competition, and you won! Congratulations. So why did you enter? What did you have to do for the Mr HCB as a warm-up? What was your sponsor? What activities did you do as Mr HCB 2012?

A.C.: I was still a baby gay, having only come out in 2006 after a genuine straight married life that was great until it wasn’t, and the little butterfly inside me (or perhaps rather a brightly coloured moth) finally worked out what I was and decided it was time to start living authentically. That was a hard time, but for the best, eventually.

So why enter the comp: I guess like a lot of gay men I struggled with self-validation. In those days I was partly seeking some sort of validation as a gay man, partly looking to embed myself into the bear scene and partly because it’s hard to resist a dare of sorts, so I entered the comp. Plus my buddy Blake had offered to mentor me, so it was a thing that we decided I was going to win, and we worked to make that happen.

I also had a great support network from all the boys at the Sydney Silverbacks (Sydney’s inclusive Olympic Freestyle wrestling club), and I was a very familiar face at the Furry Fridays weekly social event held by the HCBs – often in a wrestling singlet selling raffle tickets for the silverbacks after Friday night training. And I’d been helping with a few other HCB Things – helping out at the various social events and for a few campaigns like “look after your mates.”

As for the competition and my talents – well I think there was a hugging competition round I won, there was a bear wear round that had me in a suit and tie which was pulled open Clark Kent/Superman style to reveal a leather harness and a suggestion that I might regularly wear the harness to work… but the talent show – I was the last to perform and it was a burlesque fantasy of sorts – a seductive sexy story about me and “you” meeting after wrestling training (se yes I was in a wrestling singlet”… we’d have a few drinks, I’d invite you home and then slip into something more comfortable – so I stripped to reveal a smaller bright red wrestling singlet underneath with the large letters “DADDY” on the belly in white. I then asked if you wanted me to play with my 21inch toy, the crowd shouted “YES” so I went over to my bag, took out a ukulele and sang the first bars of Kylie’s “Can’t get you out of my head”. I turned around and saw all the other competitors were dancing behind me as I sang and realised I was going to win.

L.M.: And am I correct to also say that you were the Mr Australasian Bear 2012 as well. If so, congratulations again. And what did you do for the Mr Australasian contest compared to the Mr HCB contest?

A.C.: In Melbourne, it was the same game plan – but there was a round that had me in a Sydney Swans AFL guernsey that I no longer fit into, sigh, and a white jock strap, making some point about how The Swans were technically the South Melbourne Football club, so you could still like me even if I was from Sydney.

But my secret weapon in Melbourne was that the entire Sydney Silverbacks were in the crowd all shouting “Daddy Alan” by the end. In a funny way I was performing almost too well, but I stuffed up the ukulele song, super out of key– as one of the judges later told me the fourth wall broke and I suddenly looked completely vulnerable and the cutest smile wrapped around my face as I realised I’d stuffed the performance up and that instead, that was the moment I suddenly became relatable and won.

The best thing about it though was meeting all the other competitors, the judges and others – some of those people have remained very good friends to this day.

During my title year I travelled twice to Melbourne, and to Brisbane and Auckland to support the various bear events. My charity was Twenty10 but the focus on fundraising wasn’t so strong back then – I’m really glad that it has become a real strength of the role these days. I also tried to spend a real focus on those years just after winning at seeing a new guy at the pub on a Friday and going over to say hi. For all our inclusiveness, which is real, we can still seem to be a very cliquey. Crowd, so I made a real effort to use the confidence the wins had given me to make introductions and help new members and quieter types to network and find a friend group.

L.M.: Historically, you were the Harbour City Wrestling Club executive, so was this the Sydney Silverbacks later on? And are you still active with the wrestling community in Sydney?

A.C.: I wasn’t on the executive – Tony was the club president – Everyone knows Tony – and I just used to help him out and do the club fundraising and keeping him sane with coffees and the gym – and also the various fundraisings at Fair Day or working the cloakrooms at the various bear dance parties to raise money for the club.

I loved training with the Sydney Silverbacks …but wrestling is a contact sport. So there are always going to be injuries. I had an awesome blackeye one time, and there was always the odd stiff muscle or soreness – but one time I did a bad bend-back injury to one of my fingers in training – it eventually healed ok after about 3 months but reminded me I wasn’t a young man anymore and healing was just taking longer. So I had to let it go.

L.M.: You were featured in the Star Observer FG Magazine 2013 with Alex Innes. So tell me more about how this happened? And what was the experience like with photo modelling for a magazine?

A.C.: It was so much fun – we were just around and able to help – The Sydney Star Observer held the shoot for Mardi Gras 2013, and they were looking for a very visually inclusive lift out – not just the usual twinks and rainbows – but a few different ideas including a bear and cub theme – hence Alex and me. I was really happy with those pics – we ended up holding hands for the cover.

L.M.: And you did a wrestling artwork back in April 2016 at the Watch This Space (Oxford Street, Sydney). So tell me more about how this all happened? What was the motivation for the artworks? Were they for sale or Not for Sale (NFS)? As an artist myself, there is a platform for my visual arts and motivation for doing certain artworks, so I am curious to know your medium (artwork style) and would you do anything different? And are you an artist as a hobby?

A.C.: I had taken up a renewed focus on my visual art work shortly after 2012. I would go to wrestling training and sketch the guys running through the various poses and routines – quick little sketches of no more than 90 seconds in water soluble graphite. Some of these I then took to develop into larger works of charcoal, graphite and pastel on paper and some acrylic on canvas. I was exploring a theme that relationships between men were a form of combat – the line between a warm embrace and a decisive takedown is hard to discern in the moment. And they took from wrestling a limited palette of red and blue, the two mandated colours of competition fights. Yes, I sold a few, never enough. I don’t like to call it a hobby – it feels more than that, but it certainly doesn’t fund anything beyond the materials.

A.C.: I don’t know Alan the Hurler. My background is well, British Isles at some point in the distant past and at least on one side, I had ancestors on the First Fleet – Isaac Tarr a redcoat from England, who was later shipwrecked on Norfolk Island. There’s also a Lord Cadogan (he’s more of a CadDUGGAN) in England who apparently owns several billion pounds worth of real estate in Kensington – I think I’m too distant of a relation for it to make any difference, sadly. I don’t look very Irish – I usually get mistaken for Italian – or at least I did when my beard was still very dark.

L.M.: You seem to have a great bond to your daughter’s dog, a Pomeranian Husky Cross. So, what makes the dog so special? is it Love? Is it Quirks?

A.C.: Bowie is the best. He’s seven years old now, but he was an integral part of our life from the moment he arrived in our family and a share dog, moving between houses with the kids. 

L.M.: And you seem to be a Duran Duran fan, what type of music do you like to listen to?

A.C.: I have been known to play Hungry Like the Wolf on the ukulele… I love a range of 80s originals – Iva Davies, Split Enz and Kate Bush… and a ton of movie scores by John Williams, Hans Zimmerman and Max Richter… but at home I listen to showtunes, progressive house music and indie pop – so Madonna, Rufus, Disney, Les Miz, 5 Seconds of Summer, Edamame could all end up on the day’s playlist. Eclectic.

L.M.: It seems like you are the sporting fan of the Sydney masses being a Sydney Swans fan, so have you always been a Sydney Swans fan? And what does AFL mean to you? And you might be aware of Mitch Brown, who announced in August 2025 that he publicly identified as openly bisexual. How did you make you feel, and do you think more AFL players should come out? I wonder if there is a Sydney Swans Bear Fan Group page, do you know or do you think we should create one?

A.C.: I have had a mixed love affair with the swans, starting in 2004… and consummated with a grand final win in 2005 which I was lucky enough to see in Melbourne. It’s a game that makes no sense on TV but is fabulous live. I’m happy that Mitch has come out as bisexual. They say you can’t be what you can’t see, so it would be good if more young gay men could see a role model in football – it’s still one of the last places where homophobia is still a day to day thing – although not maybe ion the women’s teams. I reckon a pretty standard percentage of the hundreds of professional AFL and NRL players must be gay, and it’s not up to me to tell them when or how they should come out, but my experience is that the alternatives to living authentically are all so much worse for mental health – and the effect on young queer kids and their parents would be wonderfully positive.  So I hope it happens soon. I suspect that no one will care once there’s a few footy guys who are out. I hope so.

One of the things I was very proud to see was the AFL and the Sydney Swans support for the Pride round and for the Rainbow Swans – the first official AFL LGBTQIA+ supporters group a few years ago. It was a very good thing to see the rainbow flags flying at the footy and the rainbow-themed merch. I feel like the AFL has always been a little more enlightened than the other codes, and it really does make a difference to feel you are part of a team, a supporter base and a community when they put up a rainbow flag, and the team comes out in a Pride Guernsey for the game.

L.M.: With your day job, it sounds very interesting, Director for a creative urban strategy consultant firm. What does that mean?

A.C.: The purpose of my job is to make the world a better place through improving design, and by getting architects and planners to communicate effectively. Architects speak in a language of shape and form, texture and experience – but town planners speak in terms of considerations, consultation and process. Very frequently they can’t understand each other’s languages. Urban design exists in the gap in-between. So I’m a translator and negotiator – for good design. You call me in to do the urban acupuncture – identify the pressure points in a design and help release the elements that will lead to a better design and a planning approval.

L.M.: Apart from your day job, what do you do for fun, activities and hobbies? Do you travel? Do you go to gym? Wrestling?

A.C.: I endlessly listen to radio national and to various podcasts. I walk – just around the neighbourhood – to get my step count closer to where it should to be and to smell the roses or walk Bowie, and I’ve just rejoined a gym for weight resistance because that’s what you have to do in your later 50s – so the plan is all about getting enough movement and muscle training to stay fit for the third chapter. I’m writing, doing some improv and getting back into my art as well. And trying to travel and cross off the remaining destinations on my bucket list. Plus I’ve some close friends I see weekly sometimes formally at Trivia or playing Dungeons and Dragons (a game I’ve been playing for more than 30 years) and others spontaneously. And I love to cook.

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

A.C.: I’m a very straight presenting (whatever that means) middle aged white male in a heteronormative world run by a patriarchy. So being a bear has been mostly good and occasionally not so good. Mostly good because bearish blokes have an air of approachability – it’s that whole dad/dadbod vibe. But for some people and in some situations – projecting confidence and having a certain physicality can be confronting. And a lot of people underestimate a guy with a bearish build.

I think the bear attitude is the winning one – accept that people have the experiences they have and live in the bodies they have and that we’re all broken at some level and that’s ok – so I mostly try to be kind.

L.M.: Is there any advice that you would give someone (like a bear) who would be interested in starting in the sustainability/urbanisation industry and/or Mr HCB competition, and what is involved?

A.C.: Everything is what you make it – know what you want from it and what you can contribute, and go for it. I think it was Dolly Parton who said, “Find out what you’re good at and then start doing it on purpose.”

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

A.C.: I’m loving what I do – I’m my own boss and owner of the business. I’ve definitely had my darker periods, some of them not that long ago, but I’m working through those things, like we all are. Right now, I feel that I’m contributing and still learning every day. I suppose I’ll retire at some point, but right now. I’m happy making some hay while the sun shines and being grateful for the things life has brought me.

L.M.: Thanks, Alan, for the main interview questions. Time for the quick-fire questions.

• Location: Sydney Innerwest

• Pronouns: He/His’Him

• Relationship status: Partnered

• Favourite Drink: Negroni

• What type of guy are you into? A wide range – ideally hairy and solid to muscly I suppose, but the world isn’t and doesn’t always have to be ideal. I’m very happily partnered to a great guy in the USA.

• Favourite Cities/Vacation Spots: Venice, San Francisco, NSW South Coast

• Favourite Hobby or Pastime: Creating

• Idea of a good date? Japan.

• What do you look for in a guy? Self-awareness, wry wit, compassion, emotional maturity.

• Where can you find yourself? Website, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.cadogan 
  • Urbanac: https://www.urbanac.com.au/about
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alancadogan/

Picture: selfie with Alan Cadogan (co-hosting for Mr HCB 20205), and Luka Musicki (Deputy Editor for Bear World Magazine).