The Real HouseBears of Cleveland to provide Bear-alicious entertainment on Bear Voyages!
If you’re planning on attending Bear Voyages’ Mediterranean cruise next year, then you have a real treat coming — because The Real HouseBears of Cleveland will be providing Bear-alicious entertainment!
Bear Voyages will be sailing the Mediterrenean on Virgin Voyages’ new ship, the Valiant Lady, from August 28 to September 4, 2022, and they are excited to welcome aboard Leland and Scott, aka “The Real HouseBears of Cleveland”, who will be sailing and performing on the Mediterranean Voyage. They describe themselves as “Sexy-cheeky hot daddy bears, go-go dancing and stripping with eye catching lewks that show off our Bear Necessities!”
We had a chat with the HouseBears to discuss what we can look forward to on the cruise, their favorite things about the Bear community, and what dry land events we can catch them at this year now that the world is opening up!
Kyle Jackson: First off, you guys are such a hot couple! Can you tell us a bit about how you guys met?
HouseBears: Thank you! Well, we became friends on Facebook and started talking from there. I (Leland) was living in Anderson, South Carolina at the time and Scott was in Providence, Rhode Island.
Eventually, we decided to meet in person and chose Charleston, South Carolina as our romantic first destination. We had a spark immediately, and realized right away that we had similar likes, ideas and goals. About a year after, we met we decided to make a fresh start together in Cleveland. We’ve been here for 3.5 years now, and this really feels like our home.
KJ: How did you all decide to become the “Real HouseBears of Cleveland”?
HB: We both became huge fans of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Then, in 2018, I got Scott a “Real HouseBears of Cleveland” shirt with his HouseBears name BEAST on the back for his birthday.
Almost simultaneously, we had started to get hired in and around Ohio to do dancing and entertainment gigs, and we wanted a cute, kitschy moniker that would make us easily recognizable, so the Real HouseBears of Cleveland were born. Initially, we did it for fun and to make a little extra money. But then, we realized we could use this as a platform for good.
At the same time, we recognized that we needed a presence in the Cleveland gay Bear community, one that was inclusive but also philanthropic. So, we began to donate all of the proceeds from our shows to charities that we were passionate about.
KJ: What are some of your favorite things about being Bears in the Bear Community?
HB: For us it’s being able to dress in outrageous costumes, traveling and meeting people from all over the world, and the camaraderie that we feel with this community. We have done events and photo shoots from London to Los Angeles and everywhere in between, and it still blows our minds that people are even interested in hiring and seeing us perform.
It’s humbling, but also very liberating. Neither of us come from entertainment backgrounds, so honestly we just feel like kids in a candy store every time we do an event.
KJ: What can we look forward to from the HouseBears on Bear Voyages this year?
HB: We like to emulate ourselves as the “Chers” of the bear community. We love to make an entrance, and you can expect several costume changes every day. Whether we’re performing or just lounging by the pool, there. Will. Be. FASHION DAHLING!!
We kind of like to be the “hype bears” at the party too, so we love to work the crowd and make sure everyone is having fun. We’re not those “stand and pose” Bears who skulk in the corner waiting for people to come to us.
We love to entertain as well so we will be doing dance and “BEARLESQUE” shows, with any tips and proceeds going to causes we are passionate about, such as The Marsha P. Johnson Foundation, whose primary focus is helping black trans women.
Leland is also a certified personal trainer that teaches several classes at our gym, so we’re hoping to be able to do that on the cruise as well.
KJ: What are you guys most passionate about?
HB: We are passionate about animals and their rights. We have 5 dogs and three cats, all rescues, some with special needs, and we often donate our time and money to causes such as the Cleveland Animal Protection League.
We are passionate about trans rights, particularly those of Black trans women, who are the MOST marginalized people in our world.
We are passionate about traveling and seeing the world.
And we are passionate about creating a space wherever we go that all feel welcome, recognized and appreciated for being exactly who they are.
KJ: At what future dry land events can we look forward to seeing the HouseBears?
HB: Well, we just hosted a uniform night event at Freedom Valley campground over Memorial Day weekend. We will also be in Fort Lauderdale over the July 4th weekend, and we are in talks to do IBC in Palm Springs next year.
We also plan on doing a cruise in November to the Dominican Republic and Bimini in the Bahamas as sort of a prelude to our big cruise next year to the Mediterranean.
