Meet the New Mr Fire Island Bear – Dom Impala

8th August 2025 Richard Jones

Fire Island Bear Weekend is one of the highlights of the New York Bear year, when we pack up our bucket and spades, and head to the beach that can be as little as 1.5 hours away from Manhattan, and that’s without a plane! One of the amazing things to happen each year is the election of a new Mr Fire Island Bear and this year NYC resident Dom Impala was crowned.

We had the chance to chat to him recently about is background and his journey to winning the title – have a look:

BWM: Can you tell us a bit about your background? Including name, where you are from and current city of residency?

Dom Impala: I’m originally from Jamaica before moving to Florida, but I’ve currently been in New York City, specifically Brooklyn for the past 8 years.

BWM: What drew you to the bear community?

DI: As someone who was bigger in South Florida, I never really got to see myself represented as much in the bars I went to (now I know that there’s a lot more!) but I met my friend Jorge who owns The Deep End @ Ridgewood and he actually invited me to gogo dance for the party Bear Milk and the rest is history. I’ve made so many lifelong friends through nightlife in New York.

BWM: Tell us about your local bear scene and some of your favorite places or organizations whose events you enjoy.

DI: I love to frequent the West Village, especially Rockbar and Ty’s where I feel like there’s always something bear-focused going on, but I also love staying near home in Brooklyn where there have been a ton of bear events such as Bear Milk that I mentioned before as well as other events popping up.

I also started Bear Back Burlesque with my friend Poppy J Snacks some time ago and we’ve had several great bear-focused events around the city and I’m one of the regular hosts/gogos for Goldiloxx, a monthly bear party in the city. Not to mention all of the Urban Bear events around the city. So safe to say, there’s a lot going on in NYC!

BWM: How was your experience competing? What was the process like? What was your favorite part?

DI: After 8 years in the bear scene, it was a dream competing and I had such a fun time as intense as it was. I first came to Fire Island Bear Weekend in 2018 at the advice of my dear friend Danny J who I ended up gogo dancing with that same weekend. It was a magical weekend and since then, him and others have encouraged me to run. The interview process prior to the pageant was intense, getting poignant challenging questions ensuring that I was the fit for the job. But it was great seeing the faith that other bear leaders I’ve looked up to for years across the table. The bear wear portion of the evening I did a nightlife version of a Winnie The Pooh outfit which was a hit and then for fetish wear, it was a true love letter to community, having items from my dear friends Dylan and Joey complete the look.

But I’d say my favorite part was the lipsync battle where I pulled a Sasha Velour and pulled a bear flag out of my leather hat to Abracadabra. As someone who loves to perform, I had to pull out a stunt!

BWM: Tell us about your platform. What was the issue you campaigned on or addressed during the competition?

DI: During my winning speech, I simply started off with saying “community” which is at the heart of who I am. The bear community has made me feel welcome and a key thing I want to do is to put together spaces where we can all feel welcome here in NYC and in Fire Island. Another key area of focus I wanted to do is ensure that there are spaces that don’t just focus on nightlife that us bears can feel welcome in and find community.

BWM: What are the responsibilities associated with your title?

DI: Being visible within the community, collaborating with other title holders and members of the community in local events, creating at least one fundraising event for the year and ultimately mentoring any future contestants for the program.

BWM: What are your goals for your title year? Where will you be appearing?

DI: You can find me on the streets! But in all seriousness, I’ll be gogoing, partying and chilling all throughout the city and I have some great ideas on how we can keep Fire Island Bear Weekend going all year round! Why limit it to one weekend? Stay tuned.

BWM: What are some important issues you feel that need to be addressed in the bear community?

DI: The definition of what a “bear” is has been a longstanding issue of debate with certain body sizes feeling sidelined in a community where all of us should feel welcomed and heard. I think that’s so we need to get back to the root of why the community was founded and ensure that everyone feels like they have a space within any bear space