Like virtually everyone, there are times when I have wondered about the future and tried to imagine where I’ll be several years down the line. What I’ve often done is set a mental checkpoint – held onto a vivid memory of my state of mind as I am looking forward. That way when that moment I’m envisioning finally comes, I can look back and feel a connection to who I was…and in an odd way, who I was can feel a connection to who I become.
When our magazine started, I wondered what things would be like when our milestone 5th anniversary rolled around. Though we’ve kept our happy faces on over the years, the truth is that we’ve been through a lot of hardship running the magazine. One thing that I never imagined was how hard we would have to fight to still be standing here after all this time – and I’m not talking about the usual trials and tribulations of running a business. Like many GLBT businesses, we have faced some extraordinary challenges.
The Battles
For as long as I’ve known him, Steve has had a passion for getting involved and making things happen. What drives him is not the potential for fame and attention – I know this because he is happy to remain behind the scenes; it’s not a desire for power or control - he is happy to step away after helping others reach their own goals. His driving force is to be a part of the solution, and his reward is to share those benefits with others.
This lead him to start working with the Calgary gay bars, which he had been doing for quite some time before I came into the scene. I arrived at a time when Steve was working almost exclusively with Boyztown and the Rekroom. It may be a shock to hear, but for the first little while my idea of Calgary’s gay community consisted only of Boyztown as the good guys, Detours as the bad guys, and the rumored “other bars” entirely insignificant to the struggle.
Steve’s desire to help out sometimes rubs people the wrong way – offering a solution implies that something can be improved, which implies that something might be wrong, and that can be too much for some to handle. At the time Steve was running the Men for Men Terminals only at Boyztown, but we started branching out and approaching the other bars to see if we might be able to expand our market.
I remember my first game of pool at the Calgary Eagle, and how one of the owners helped us construct the wooden boxes to house the MFM terminals; meeting Lorie Murphy at Money Pennies for the first time, and how she struck me as a motherly figure; getting our first tour of Goliaths and the Texas Lounge; sitting down for a plate of ground beef covered nachos on our first visit to the Verge; briefly popping in to Rooks, a little fearful of its reputation; momentarily visiting popping into the Midnight Café; and meeting the crew at Detours.
Things came to a head at Boyztown. It astonished me how the people who accepted Steve’s help with open arms would shut the door on him the minute he asked for something reasonable in return, and I’m pretty sure this prompted them to begin looking for an excuse to get rid of him. This move came as a disproportionate reaction to a comment Steve made, after it was distorted in high school fashion and tattled to an owner. Instead of dwelling on the situation, I made sure we moved on.
Detours was the next best fit; they didn’t demand our undivided attention so we were able to maintain a solid working relationship with the other bars. The manager of Detours at the time, Mark Gabruch, was kind and appreciative of our help – he had a genuine concern for the success of the bar, though he too had to fight to make this happen. One major obstacle Detours faced was that they were being boycotted by the gay media at the time – back then only one gay publication had a local presence. This boycott was allegedly due to a misunderstanding: some Detours patrons had placed a memorial ad for a drag queen that had passed away, and Detours was expected to foot the bill, which they hadn’t agreed to do - so effectively, Detours had no advertising outlet to use within the community.
In addition to that fact, many Calgary businesses felt reluctant to follow a publication that had all but abandoned its roots. It left a market wide open for someone to start up a local gay paper, and the consensus among the local businesses was that GayCalgary was in the best position to do it. Our website already had the infrastructure and the support of the community, having been built up over the course of 10 years. As I later, so elegantly described it in an interview with CBC Radio, “we filled a gap that needed filling.”
Getting the magazine started was a race against time, and amazingly Steve was able to pull the first edition together from scratch in the period of only a month! He and his best friend had already brainstormed the magazine concept long ago, so it was mainly a matter of following the plan. Making it happen was a family effort, with his brother’s fiancée creating the layout templates, and his sister starting out as the editor under a pseudonym. The seed money for this endeavor was supposed to come from a $4000 website project, but with only a few weeks to go, the jerk that had contracted Steve refused to pay the bill and ran off with all of Steve’s hard work. Despite that disaster, and thanks to our handful of advertisers that came on board immediately, the first edition broke even. We are told that a magazine not losing money on its first edition is virtually unheard of in the publishing industry, but for us it was merely proof of how desperately GayCalgary Magazine was needed at the time.
Bianca La Bouche graced our first cover. It was 24 pages, featured 8 articles, and 3 pages of photos from 5 events. Steve wrote the publisher’s column, and a number of the articles. My only involvement was designing ads for The Verge, Money Pennies, and the Calgary Eagle. We launched it at the Taboo Sex Show (then known as the Everything To Do With Sex show) and have had a booth there annually ever since.
Looking back on those first editions, our grass roots were definitely showing! We didn’t set out with the magazine to make a great deal of money (though with any business that is an inevitable and indeed necessary side effect). As long as our costs were covered, and we had a little bit of profit to reasonably compensate ourselves and our writers for the time and effort spent, then we were hitting our target.
Steve’s motivation was the same as always, to be part of the solution, and mine was to help him realize that. We were primarily out to combat the isolation and lack of awareness between the pockets of GLBT people in the city, many of whom didn’t even realize how many others were out there. But this was made impossible by the business politics, destructive gossip, and a few tyrants who thrived in this climate of ignorance. So the simple job of delivering a message became a matter of diffusing a minefield.
We were smart to stay on the moral high-ground right from the beginning. It would have been so easy to lie and cheat to get ahead, but a solid foundation can only be built on honesty and trust – both with our advertisers and our readers. Indeed from watching other businesses, we occasionally saw how a foundation of lies could be yanked out from under them without warning. So although Steve still had hard feelings toward Boyztown, we covered their events and allowed them to share in the benefits of the magazine to a point (anything more, we had to reserve for paying advertisers). In fact, Boyztown was the cover article for the very next edition. And in this manner we became the first publication for a long time to provide a complete and unbiased picture of Calgary’s GLBT community. By putting our personal feelings aside, we were able to transcend the politics, and eventually Boyztown would work with us again – even appreciate what we were doing. In fact, this new brand of fairness and impartiality in publishing gave us the edge we needed in order to defend our right to exist during the coming trials.
The magazine’s first two years were an uphill battle as we struggled to distinguish ourselves and get the magazine involved within the whole gay scene. We started discovering that the GLBT community had its share of warlords that felt increasingly threatened by our presence. Soon we found that several non-profit groups were being forbidden from accepting sponsorship from us, or dealing with us in any capacity. It seems outrageous that we would have to fight to help, but that is exactly what it became – there was no working alongside one particular business that refused to release their choke-hold on this city. It took years of good-faith offerings, casual conversations and formal meetings to finally get some of these groups to realize this practice of sponsorship exclusivity was not in their own best interests – and besides, why on earth would national sponsorship be in conflict with local sponsorship anyway? Despite this business making their feelings toward us clear by attempting to remove or obscure our logo whenever it appeared on a non-profit ad, we assured the non-profit groups that if we were allowed to sponsor them we would place no restrictions on who else they could deal with as long as it was done fairly and equally. To date, our policy on that has not changed.
This was just one instance where GayCalgary not only had to worry about running its own business, but also setting a new standard. In a way, it became our mission to level the playing field so that GLBT businesses in Calgary no longer felt pressured to resort to shady tactics in order to survive. We hoped that we were laying a foundation for a brighter future for everyone, not just ourselves. This was not the last time we would cross sabers with a warlord, or work around one to get our job done.
At one point it became necessary for Steve to sit as a director on the board of a particular non-profit group that was in the middle of a nasty tug-of-war, where a number of directors had a vested interest in controlling the group. Steve tried to regulate that a fair bidding process be done when selecting event venues and sponsors, but a number of directors preferred to use their position to bias the group toward utilizing their own businesses above all others – a conflict of interest. The resistance to breaking this practice was overwhelming, and Steve unable to condone the actions of the board, tendered his resignation. But we didn’t give up – we continued to work with the group from the outside which left our foot in the door to pressure them to change. In time, they did.
It was exceedingly clear that Calgary’s straight world was bent on maintaining the illusion that GLBT people didn’t exist. While the name of our magazine describes perfectly what we are, it also left us open to a shocking amount of prejudice. We started with over 200 distribution locations in Calgary, before it was whittled down to its current number. The locations themselves seldom had a problem with the magazine until the odd homophobe patron systematically threatened or terrorized them until we were removed. Many locations refused to bow to this pressure, so one of those individuals took it upon himself to sneak away with entire stacks of our magazine, and other gay publications, to trash them before anyone could pick them up. We were not comfortable living below the rainbow ceiling, so while some of the other affected publications appeared to do nothing but count these missing copies toward their pick-up rates, we took the time out of our busy schedule to actually do something about it – to make it known that this sort of behavior was not acceptable. We filed police reports, and actively involved the businesses that were being targeted. Though the offender wasn’t arrested by the police, one of the locations gave him the scare of his life and he hasn’t caused us mischief since!
In more recent times we were dangerously close to falling back into old habits with Calgary’s newest gay bar, but a healthy kick in the butt from the community helped us snap out of it. The situation demonstrated why it is so dangerous for the magazine to take sides beyond our own personal feelings, as the act of stepping back from this relationship probably did far more damage than if we had simply kept our distance all along.
So yes, when I came on as a publisher of GayCalgary Magazine, I had no clue what I was getting myself into – no idea how much we would have to fight to keep a simple, sincere, and helpful community resource alive. Adversity will either strengthen your resolve, or scar you to distortion. We can’t be all gone because we definitely still appreciate the little triumphs in the community just about every month that make it all worthwhile.
The Victories
And speaking of the word “community”, there was a time I seldom heard it leave anyone’s lips. Now it’s the catch phrase, indispensable for describing the GLBT+ identity here in Calgary and Edmonton. It’s good to see that even without physical gay villages, our cities still have a sense of a bigger picture beyond the walls of any single bar or business.
Our policy of being impartial seemed to naturally carry us beyond a magazine just for gay men. Today we have gay, lesbian, bi, and trans writers who involve the magazine in circles that we as gay men would not normally be a part of. It has been especially touching when, because of the magazine’s openness to these communities, Steve and I have been welcomed to cross the boundaries and visit sometimes very private groups. While it’s all very well having an acronym that implies we are all in the same boat, it feels like we have helped bring people actual proof of that unity.
Another area where we have concentrated a lot of effort for the last half-decade has been the charity, non-profit, and volunteer scene. Unfortunately we don’t have buckets full of money to hand over, but money alone won’t make an organization tick – that is why we’ve found a number of other ways to give. Advertising sponsorship has been a large part of it, where we donate the value of an ad spot to help get the word out for an event; the premise being that the more people who attend, the more successful the fundraising efforts are likely to be. This was a crucial element of the magazine’s plan right from the beginning – not just to support the top 3 groups, but be available to all groups big and small.
To date, we are happy to remain active members of many non-profit groups but we do not allow ourselves to take on director positions or influence group decisions, where a conflict of interest might arise. While we are here to offer our support, we also recognize that groups must be allowed to develop on their own if they hope to mature into a stable entity. We also watch to ensure other businesses respect the autonomy of the non-profit groups so that past disasters cannot be repeated.
Furthermore, we haven’t let those few bad apples in the straight community sour us. We recognize that if we one day hope to be accepted by these people, it’s important not to turn our backs on them, even if some do need a good kick every now and then. GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine has made inroads to becoming visible and accepted in the mainstream. One particular sign of the changing times was our accreditation at the Junos earlier this year, right alongside mainstream publications like the Calgary Herald, Calgary Sun, FFWD, etc. For a publication of our size, we have interviewed an amazing line-up of celebrities (not to mention the Mayors of Calgary and Edmonton) who show no aversion to talking with gay media. For our anniversary editions, we regularly receive letters of congratulation from politicians at all levels of government, gay or straight, who subscribe to our magazine each month. They tell us how they use it to help them understand a section of their constituents from whom they might otherwise be isolated.
But at the heart of it all, our single biggest triumph is that we have built a sustainable business out of an altruistic desire to be a part of the solution; that despite the cynics and nay-sayers, the homophobes, the warlords, tyrants and tools thereof - five years later GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine is here, stronger than ever, setting trends that publications and websites across Canada are following, serving its purpose better than it ever has, with no shortage of ideas to bring Calgary, Edmonton, and Alberta even further.
The Thanks
Though Steve and I are recognized as the faces of GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine, there is a lot more to “we, GayCalgary” than just the two of us. Those who write for us rarely get to hear the praise that they deserve for the amazing work that they pull off every month.
In particular, Jason Clevett has been with us for longer than I’ve been publisher! His dedication has saved us countless times when other writers have been unavailable. His passion for writing has been instrumental in maintaining the quality and quantity of articles that we offer, and he has made things happen for this magazine that we didn’t think were possible.
Stephen Lock has been with us since day one. His political columns have kept us informed, and explained the nuances of situations that we might otherwise not understand. Along with monthly columns from Kevin Alderson, and Mercedes Allen’s, these three writers ensure that GayCalgary offers an intelligent and educational component every month.
Regular writers and contributors Dallas Barnes, James Demers, Linda Huston, and Evan Kayne dedicate their time most months to bring us other articles of interest. We’re excited to have Matt Salton just last month take over our regular movie review column, as well as new additions of Ted Kerr and Antonio Bavaro! Our thanks also go out to all others who have taken the time to contribute to the magazine, past and present; with sadness, this also includes Nico Hofferd who passed away in July of last year.
We also have to thank long-standing advertisers still with us today, like the Calgary Eagle, Money Pennies, Backlot, the Texas Lounge, Goliaths, Priape, Courtney Aarbo, Cruiseline (Pink Triangle Press) and many many others. A magazine cannot run on determination alone, and they have ensured that the resources we need are available to us, and in turn, the groups that we support.
Last but not least, we can’t go without recognizing Don Turgeon (a former owner of the Rekroom) for his help with many other miscellaneous tasks that are necessary to make the magazine tick, including distribution and transportation. Though I know we sometimes try his patience when we have a million stops to make.
…and of course, you for reading us!
Tourism Calgary
We’re not out of the woods just yet – there are a number of struggles still going on today.
Even just recently we had to confront Tourism Calgary after paying two years for a service we apparently weren’t getting. Out of curiosity we did spot checks at the Calgary Tower and the Calgary International Airport and on several occasions, and were disappointed to find our magazines were missing. We reported these occurrences to Tourism Calgary, and were informed that they had been solved.
Talking to employees at the Calgary Tower, we were aware of outside forces trying to interfere with the distribution of the magazine at these tourism centers, which made us check more frequently. When we continued to find our magazines missing at the Airport, our reports elevated to complaints. It was extremely important to ensure the magazines were accessible to those who may not be comfortable outing themselves to Tourism Calgary employees, when it appeared uncertain that they had any information of that nature to offer. Out of the blue a former employee from the Calgary Airport tourism center came forward with allegations of unfitting employee behavior, and it seemed to fit the bill. To check our bias, we decided it best to leave the investigation to a third party. We contacted Jill Croteau from Global News, knowing her experience with undercover investigation news articles. She ran the story, whereupon our suspicions were confirmed even further.
Considering our membership was coming up for renewal, we had several sit down meetings with Tourism Calgary, and allowed them two months to prove to us that the situation was being properly dealt with. But it was clear that the organization had no idea where to lay the blame for the magazines not being present despite explicit instructions for them to be displayed. In spite of their good intentions, we had to look at it from a business perspective where we had paid for a service that was being delivered in a diminished form from other Tourism Calgary members in the same standing. With no offer of compensation, and no recourse allowed if problems continued in the future, we have allowed our membership to lapse until a reasonable solution can be agreed upon.
November 2008
Aside from us, a number of other businesses are also celebrating their anniversaries this month. In Calgary, the Twisted Element is turning 4; in Edmonton, Boots Bar & Lounge is turning a whopping 29, making them the longest standing gay bar in Alberta! Congratulations to both of you!
Edmontonians have Exposure Festival to look forward to this month (pg. 11), as well as the 3rd Annual Dyke to Diva competition (pg. 58).
Look for GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine at the Taboo Sex Show this month, in both Calgary and Edmonton – we’ve stepped things up a little this year, so come by and pay us a visit! In general, there will be a lot more booths for the GLBT crowd than in previous years. Look for booths from Priape, A Little More Interesting, Barbies Shop, Wares and Wear, and more!
As always, World AIDS Day happens on December 1st, so take this night to remember those who have died from HIV/AIDS and do your part to preserve and enrich the lives of those still affected by the disease.
For more event information, visit our online events calendar at: http://www.gaycalgary.com/events
We want to hear what YOU have to say about the topics in this article, and any other articles in our magazine. Visit the chat forums at www.gaycalgary.com and write your heart out! Or write us a letter to the publisher by E-mailing publisher@gaycalgary.com, and we may publish or respond to it in the magazine!
