Darryl Brown

Darryl Brown shies away from the press. Not because of some scandal-ridden past or nightmare personality (He's actually a publicist's poster child). Daryl Brown just prefers to be the behind the scenes man of his brainchild Ballroom Rockstar Magazine- the first urban gay magazine. He's not accustomed to doing press interviews; he prefers his staff take care of that, even though his easy-going personality and strong messages of unity makes him an ideal candidate.

In an exclusive interview, Darryl Brown, the founder and publisher of Rockstar Ballroom talks about the evolving ballroom scene, urban gay men in the media and our responsibility in the fight against HIV.

Thanks for meeting with me Darryl. So, why ballroom?
I didn't set out to found just a gay magazine, I wanted to put a twist to it. Then, I started to notice that the ballroom scene was a neglected marketplace and a key networking opportunity. There's value in the ballroom culture. It's a community where trends are set. Everyone knows the ballroom scene from Madonna's "Vogue" but it's been around much longer than that. The history is there and once you say Madonna and Paris Is Burning, people automatically connect with the ballroom scene.

What does Rockstar Ballroom offer people that are not into the ballroom scene?
Rockstar provokes thought, ideas and possibilities. The publication provides more of a grass-roots perspective on what's going on in the community. Readers see diversity and content beyond the obvious.

Has the ballroom culture changed since Pepper Labeija's Paris Is Burning description of the scene as an opportunity for impoverished youth to experience the glamour of life?
The ballroom community is the pop culture of the gay community. Today the scene is at a place where the more well-rounded you are the more recognition you get. Ballroom walkers balance a career by day and walk the balls by night. It's not just about walking balls; people have careers and mentor other glbt people. It's not like Paris Is Burning anymore. Celebrities like Janet Jackson watch balls. The kids that walk even invite their parents.

How do you feel about the representation of urban gay men in the media?
The urban community is what the world leans on to find trends and things that are different in the public eye. It's such a strong and powerful community, but it gets the least amount of respect. The more we support each other, the more recognition we will get.

Talk to me about community. Some people argue that there is no gay community. Is there one?
I try to stay away from the political end of the gay community. We recently had a black gay publishers meeting. The first of its kind. It was very important for us to sit there and look each other in the eye and really admire one another regardless of how we felt or our theories about the gay community. We should praise each other for our accomplishments and that energy needs to be passed on.

That's the energy I want my readers to see and pass on. We are the windows to the world so even if collaborations don't go anywhere we can open up the doors of communication. We have too many things to fight for. We shouldn't fight each other.

HIV is literally out of control. What are we going to do about the virus?
We've always been committed to being a grassroots magazine. The more realistic we are with people, the more they will listen. The testing campaigns out now aren't enough. We need more realistic stories- real life stories of HIV transmission that don't get talked about. HIV/AIDS is five years ahead of us and people still don't want to talk about it. We have to predict what's going to happen next. The only way we're going to fight the virus is to start thinking ahead. What's going to happen to the new generations or people without health care if we don't start thinking ahead? Through Rockstar, we want to look at the future and how we can stop the virus at the next level. Let's talk about why people aren't getting testing or why they don't go back to get their results. It's going to take everybody's involvement to fight the virus.

What's next for Rockstar?

We have to predict what's going to happen next in the community. We're not just going to sit there and report on what's currently happening. I want to know what's up ahead. Our stories inspire. Just as Bill Clinton's political career was inspired by a 5-minute handshake with John F. Kennedy, we hope our magazine will inspire the next Bill Clinton and the next Keith Boykin.

Ballroom Rockstar is a quarterly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers the latest in the style, wellness, fitness, travel, entertainment, and music. The first of its kind, Ballroom Rockstar is the unifying voice for an already established gay market and ballroom culture- linked together by their foundation in the urban market place and the colorful ballroom scene.

Ballroom Rockstar can be found at newsstand in the following locations.