TABLE OF CONTENTS:
5. FEATURE: WHY DO WE CELEBRATE PRIDE IN JUNE? REMEMBERING OUR HISTORY
Check out our article about Pride, its history, and why we celebrate it in June.
10. SHOPPING BAG: COOL MASKS TO PROTECT YOURSELF
Protect yourself with these cool masks and help flatten the COVID-19 curve.
12. HEALTH & WELLNESS: HOW CAN I REINVENT MYSELF? “COMING OUT” OF COVID-19
"How can I use this time to reinvent myself?" is likely a question you’ve thought about in the past however many weeks or so. Brian Falduto helps you answer it.
16. COVER STORY: MIGHTY KINGS: THE FABULOUS DUO BEHIND HUSBANDS RICK AND GRIFF
Over 700,000 followers on multiple platforms including Instagram, real-life husbands Rick and Griff give us the inside scoop on their lives, their success, and their new merch line.
22. SEXY RIDES: 2020 STINGRAY CORVETTE The 2020 Stingray is the fastest, most powerful entry Corvette. It delivers on performance, technology, craftsmanship, luxury and speed!
24. SEXY RIDES: 2021 TOYOTA GR SUPRA A91 EDITION
The GR Supra A91 features a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine that produces 382 horsepower at 5,800-6,500 rpm, and a 0-60 mph time of 3.9 seconds.
26. FLIX: 7500 7500 delivers a tense terror-filled thrill ride that’s a little out of the ordinary.
28. FLIX: THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND
Our movie critic has a hard time deciphering what category of movie this is.
WIREMAG.COM: ISSUE VIDEO
Enjoy our video of digital issue 7.2020 with striking hunk and OnlyFans sensation Joe Wachs from Chicago, Illinois, and his hot photos by Photo Studio Miami.
PUBLISHER'S CORNER WE ARE GLAD TO BE BACK IN PRINT FOR YOU! We are very glad to be back in print for you. For now, we are going to publish Wire Magazine in print once per month, and in digital once per month – so two issues every month. Unfortunately, some of our advertisers are unable to advertise due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their businesses. We will resume our regular printing schedule of every other week once several of our advertisers return, when their financial situation improves. I want to thank everyone for your continued support of Wire Magazine in these challenging times. We are committed to supporting our LGBTQ community and its institutions with our publication through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond! In this week’s cover story, we introduce you to the hunks behind Rick and the Griffopotamus. Rick and Griff give us the inside scoop on their lives, their success and their new merch line. These two real-life husbands have amassed over 700,000 followers on their social media accounts. Enjoy their interview and pics. June is Pride Month, so we celebrate it with a feature by Nick Sedbrook. His story looks at why we celebrate Pride this month and remember Marsha P. Johnson – an African-American drag queen who helped lead a revolution. We can be very out and proud now because of the battles fought by many people before us. In Sexy Rides, we showcase two very fast and beautiful sports cars, the 2020 Stingray Corvette and the 2021 Toyota GR Supra A91 edition. The Stingray has a 0-60 time under 3 seconds and a top speed of 194mph, so you might want to catch it before it slips past you. The GR Supra A91 edition sports a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine that delivers 382 horsepower at 5,800-6,500 rpm, 368 lb-ft of torque, and a 0-60 mph time of 3.9 seconds. In Shopping Bag, you can check out the selection of beautiful masks to stay safe. In Health & Wellness, the gay life coach, Brian Falduto, weighs in on how to reinvent yourself during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also have two Flix reviews that you can check out while selfisolating. Our movie critic Alyn Darnay reviews 7500 and The King of Staten Island. 7500 is a thriller about a plane hijacking and what the pilot endures. This tense, action-filled ride is not an ordinary story. Alyn is not sure how to categorize The King Of Staten Island. This movie's plot wedges itself between multiple genres. Maybe you can decide what it is. Read Alyn’s reviews and watch these two films while staying safe at home. Cheers,
Rafa Carvajal Publisher & Editor in Chief rafa@wiremag.com
”IT ALWAYS SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE UNTIL IT’S DONE.“
- NELSON MANDELA
8 WIREMAG.COM #08 2020
HEALTH & WELLNESS By Brian Falduto, The Gay Life Coach
HOW CAN I REINVENT MYSELF?
PHOTO CREDIT: © DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM | ANDREYPOPOV
"COMING OUT" OF COVID-19
Whether it was something you started brainstorming right away or something that occurred to you somewhere along in the quarantined state of the world, “How can I use this time to reinvent myself?” is likely a question you’ve thought about in the past however many weeks or so. We are in the slow but sure process of unfreezing things and that thawing process is coincidentally coinciding with Pride Season. I feel it’s a good time to discuss how the queer community specifically can “come out” of this stronger as our resilient type tend to do after trying times. I remember when I finally came out of the closet my senior year of college, I wanted the world to stop for a moment. At that time, when the truth about who I was became non-negotiable, I didn’t know that coming out is actually a healing process. I didn’t know that I would have to spend the next chapter of my life battling 14 years of internalized homophobia and discovering a rejected self that was hidden in shame. Instead, I just waltzed into my twenties completely out of tune with who I was and with very little time to figure it out. I had t o navigate my new role as a 12 WIREMAG.COM #08 2020
gay man while finishing college, getting a job, ending a relationship, moving into my first apartment, and all the while having to provide status updates to friends and family that were anything but reflective of what was going on inside. During this healing chapter I didn’t know I was entering, the most important improvements on my relationship with myself have come during the quiet moments. They’ve often arrived right when I’ve started to slow down, or even more often when I’ve crashed and burned from going too fast. They’ve arrived on nights where I was alone with nothing but my own thoughts and feelings to keep me company. They’ve arrived in the form of hurt. When I look back at some of the perceived tragedies of my twenties, I see that they were actually the biggest moments of growth. Quiet. Loneliness. Tragedy. Do any of the above sound familiar? Look, we all know at its core that this pandemic is a bad thing with a negative impact. It comes with so many unanswered questions and troubling concerns. But I’d like to propose an additional way of looking at it, and that is as the healing time that I, and perhaps we, have been waiting for. If you think about what being in the closet is, it’s a form of compartmentalization where we disassociate from aspects of ourselves that don’t feel important or worthy enough to present to the world. Those beautifully valid parts of our being get tucked away in the back of our mind
with DESCOVY for PrEP® DESCOVY for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a once-daily prescription medicine for adults and adolescents at risk of HIV. It helps lower the chances of getting HIV through sex. DESCOVY for PrEP is not for everyone: • It is not for use in people assigned female at birth who are at risk of getting HIV from vaginal sex, because its effectiveness has not been studied. • You must be HIV-negative before and while taking DESCOVY for PrEP. DESCOVY® is the smallest pill approved for PrEP. Actual size: 13mm x 6mm
IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT DESCOVY (des-KOH-vee) This is only a brief summary of important information about taking DESCOVY for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). This does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your medicine. MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT DESCOVY FOR PrEP Before starting and while taking DESCOVY for PrEP: • You must be HIV-negative. You must get tested for HIV immediately before and at least every 3 months while taking DESCOVY. If you think you were exposed to HIV, tell your healthcare provider right away. They may want to do more tests to confirm that you are still HIV-negative • Many HIV tests can miss HIV infection in a person who has recently become infected. Symptoms of new HIV infection include tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. Tell your healthcare provider if you have had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting or while taking DESCOVY. • DESCOVY does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Practice safer sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to reduce the risk of getting STIs. • DESCOVY by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. Do not take DESCOVY for PrEP unless you are confirmed to be HIV negative. DESCOVY may cause serious side effects, including: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. Your healthcare provider will test you for HBV. If you have HBV and stop taking DESCOVY, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking DESCOVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check or give you HBV medicine.
Ask a healthcare provider if DESCOVY for PrEP is right for you. To learn more, visit AboutDescovy.com.
ABOUT DESCOVY FOR PrEP DESCOVY for PrEP is a once-daily prescription medicine for adults and adolescents at risk of HIV who weigh at least 77 pounds. It helps lower the chances of getting HIV through sex. DESCOVY for PrEP is not for everyone: • It is not for use in people assigned female at birth who are at risk of getting HIV from vaginal sex, because its effectiveness has not been studied. • You must be HIV-negative before and while taking DESCOVY for PrEP. To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health. Do NOT take DESCOVY for PrEP if you: • Already have HIV infection or if you do not know your HIV status. If you have HIV-1, you need more medicine than DESCOVY alone to treat HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only DESCOVY, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat now and in the future.
POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF DESCOVY FOR PrEP DESCOVY can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About DESCOVY for PrEP” section. • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with DESCOVY. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking DESCOVY. • Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. • Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.
Eligible patients may pay as little as a $0 co-pay.*
Actor portrayals
HOW TO TAKE DESCOVY FOR PrEP POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF DESCOVY FOR PrEP (cont’d) Common side effects in people taking DESCOVY for PrEP include diarrhea, nausea, headache, fatigue, and stomach pain. These are not all the possible side effects of DESCOVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking DESCOVY for PrEP.
• Take 1 tablet once a day, every day, not just when you think you have been exposed to HIV-1. • Do not miss any doses. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection. • Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking DESCOVY for PrEP.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
HOW TO FURTHER REDUCE YOUR RISK
Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with DESCOVY for PrEP.
• Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners. If your partner is living with HIV, your risk of getting HIV is lower if your partner consistently takes HIV treatment every day. • Get tested for other STIs. Some STIs make it easier for HIV to infect you. • Practice safer sex by using latex or polyurethane condoms. • Talk to your healthcare provider about all the ways to help reduce HIV risk.
BEFORE TAKING DESCOVY FOR PrEP Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. • Have any other medical conditions. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. • Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with DESCOVY for PrEP.
GET MORE INFORMATION • This is only a brief summary of important information about DESCOVY for PrEP. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more. • Go to DESCOVY.com/prep or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 • If you need help paying for your medicine, visit DESCOVY.com/prep for program information.
*Advancing Access® co-pay support is available for commercially insured eligible patients only. Subject to change; for full terms and conditions, visit GileadAdvancingAccess.com.
DESCOVY FOR PrEP, the DESCOVY FOR PrEP Logo, the DESCOVY Blue Pill Design, DESCOVY, the DESCOVY Logo, STEP UP. PrEP UP., ADVANCING ACCESS, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. ©2020 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. DVYC0171 02/20