| Mister Gay International | |
| Size: | 150px |
| Formation: | 2005 |
| Type: | Beauty Pageant |
| Headquarters: | Canada |
| Membership: | 40+ |
| Language: | English |
| Leader Title: | President |
| Leader Name: | Don Spradlin (President and Director Oceania) |
Mr. Gay International was the first international contest to select an Ambassador or spokesman to support the mission of the sponsoring nonprofit corporation, the Noble Beast Foundation. President of the Noble Beast Foundation is Don Spradlin, who founded and produced the first three Competitions with a team of dedicated volunteers. Carlos Melia, native from Argentina was the third International Mr Gay titleholder, elected and crowned in Los Angeles, California in 2008. The last International Mr. Gay titleholder was Pablo Salvador Sepúlveda from Chile. The competition has been de facto replaced by Mr Gay World.
"(To) advocate International Equal Rights by confirming the essential nature and contributions of gay men to a healthy society where "gay" is not a stereotype"[1]
The event explicitly seeks to highlight discrimination against LGBTI people and provide select positive role models. A number of contestants from a number of countries has faced sanctions for their selection or competition, including Zoltan Parag from India,[2] Taurai Zhanje from Zimbabwe, Robel Hailu from Ethiopia, former Olympian Chavdar Arsov from Bulgaria, Wendelinus Hamutenya from Namibia and Xiao Dai from China.[3] [4]
| Year | Country/Territory | Mr. Gay International | National title | Location | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011- 2012 | Pablo Salvador Sepúlveda | Mr. Gay Chile | online competition | ||
| 2009-2010 | Ricco Müller | Mr. Gay Switzerland International | online competition | ||
| 2008 | Carlos Melia | Mr. Gay Argentina | Los Angeles, California | ||
| 2006-2007 | Nathan Shaked | Mr. Gay Israel | Palm Springs, California | ||
| 2005 | Jesse Bashem | Mr. Gay United States | San Francisco, California |
The third edition of International Mr Gay International took place in Los Angeles, California. Carlos Melia was crowned as IMG 2008, representing his country of origin as Mr Gay Argentina.[5] As the title holder, Carlos worked as an ambassador and spokesperson for equal and human rights, fundraising and endorsing LGBT organizations and events worldwide.[6] In 2009, Melia joined the board of directors of Mr Gay World, and appointed executive director of Central and South America and the Caribbean.[7] [8]
The next U.S. finale was held in San Francisco's Museum of Performance and Design in November 2008 when Michael Jarvis was named the U.S. delegate to the IMG. The International Competition was assigned to the Philippines producers for May 2009 in preparation for the first time the IMG Competition would be produced outside of the United States.
The international competition was scheduled for Manila in the Philippines for the summer of 2009, but it encountered production issues that resulted in the competition returning to California.[9]
The 2009 - 2010 Mr. Gay International titleholder was Switzerland's Ricco Müller. Rounding up the top five were Australia as first runner-up, USA as second runner-up, Philippines as third runner-up, and Puerto Rico as fourth runner-up. As International Mr. Gay, Müller supports AIDS-related campaigns and deaf communities.
In January 2011, Pablo Salvador Sepúlveda, activist and history teacher, competed in the International Mr Gay Competition and won the title. As International Mr. Gay, he works for the LGBTIQ+ community and supports the first Chilean campaign against bullying at schools. He has appeared on radio and television stations in Chile as an activist and spokesman.