Richard Hatch - "Engagement With Others Is Something Many Gay Men Yearn For"

Lost Spaces: Memories from Gay Bars, Lesbian Clubs, and LGBTQ+ Parties

So, if you ask me reality TV, as awful and cringey and addictive and delicious as it is, has been monumental in increasing queer visibility in tv and film.

Back in the late 90s/early 00s when reality tv was in its infancy, there were a lot of gay ‘characters’ (for want of a better term) that were cast on these shows as (I think) a bit of a shock tactic…

And what TV executives maybe didn't anticipate was that audiences warmed to these people, and were rooting for them, and actively invested in their success. And, as a result, that made the aforementioned TV Execs a little less scared about including queer characters in other shows...

Which brings us to today’s guest.

Now, everything I've just said definitely applies to this man. He was the very first winner of the reality TV juggernaut ‘Survivor’ all the way back in the year 2000. He became an overnight star because of his antics on the island, which included his comfort with being naked.

But, long before he found fame he was a bartender at Lost and Found, a gay bar that was found in Washington DC.

We got together to talk all about the bar, and along the way we discuss body image, THAT tv show, and being on the hunt for ‘guile’.

Do you have any memories of Lost and Found, or clubbing from your own scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos!

You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod)

Find out more about Richard by visiting his website (https://www.richhatch.com/), or following him across socials - Twitter (https://twitter.com/HatchRichard), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hatch_rich), Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/RichHatch) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/richardhatchofficialpage)

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