Balenciaga Writes: Meeting with Chris Steele, the opening of Gorgeous...

This is probably the biggest coup in the Singapore gay scene... An award winning, sexy, hunkalicious, son-of-a-gun gay porn actor turned director turned producer for Falcon and Jet Set Studios Chris Steele was in town to open a new tanning salon/ Chill-out bar Gorgeous Solarium along the neon lit street of Duxton Road taking up both the 52/53 units... I remember it was many years back when i chanced upon the movie Czech Point where Chris Steele got it hot and heavy with Pavel Novotny... That scene should be enshrined in the Gay Movie Hall of Fame!!!!!! It is STILL one of the hottest scene EVER to be done... Bar None!!!!! (wipe sweat off from brow). It was no wonder that my astigged eyes newly popped out when Asi wrote that Chris Steele was going to be in town and not only that, there's gonna be a Meet-&-Greet session for the fans!!! My heart was beating way too fast to be beneficial to my health but i did plucked up the courage to sign up...

Gorgeous Solarium was an interesting place, the all white decor filtered with blue lights gives it a modern futuristic air and the individual room were fairly large and is equipped with a tanning booth, a large mirror, a rack to house your personal belongings and a hook to hang your clothes. The showers were just tip-toes away from the room to wash off any greasy special tanning formulas you have to lather yourself with to go into the booths... Personal, i have never been to a tanning salon, so i dun really know what to expect, but in all honesty, it felt like a REALLY, REALLY high class bathhouse... No offence to the owners of Gorgeous, in fact it's more of a compliment...


A few of the guys were giving the place a good look around when Chris Steele was ushered into the meet-&-greet area... Donned in the white and orange trimmed Gorgeous T-shirt, Chris Steele looked clean shaven and fresh... He shook everyone's hand, introduced himself and joked that he'll probably not remember anyone's name since it was quite a turnout. Standing at slightly shorter than 1.8m, Chris Steele isn't exactly the tall, hardcore looking guy one makes him out to be... In fact, one can sense a bit of shyness from the gay porn icon. We talked about his experience in Singapore (he ate durians altho he doesn't love it, he'll probably not order it again), the gay clubs he has been to, his new job at Jet Set studios, what was it like working in Falcon, how long it took for Chi Chi LaRue to put on her make up and hair (2 hours!!! ONLY!!!), where he came from etc. He even showed the guys the picture he took in his new office in Jet Set and told us to go to his MySpace blog to get up-to-date info of himself.

Of cos after the short meet-&-greet session, it comes down to the shameless 'asking for autographs and photo taking' session... In fact he was the first to wanna take picture with the guys (now HOW sweet is THAT!!!) and the guys started pulling out their cameras and i pulled out the pictures i wanted him to autograph for me. "To Thomas, All the Best. For You, Chris Steele" was what he wrote on my blown up picture of him... I asked him to sign another autograph for the guys in BearProject who couldn't make it and he penned "All the guys in Bear Project, Thanks for a great time in Singapore! Chris Steele" (Discretion is advised) Chris later gave us a little tour of the place and i could hear guys whispering 'Is it him???? Yeah!!!!! It's him!!!!!' as we walk pass them. He later told us that he'll be heading to Taboo for a little meet and greet session and i bet many of the guys will be squealing and cooing over him... I later thanked Tim, the guy that help make this little gathering possible. He was an absolute angel and i told him i was surprise there wasn't any hard selling to the guest and he simply just laughed and said 'Hey, it's a party!!!! Just enjoy the food and drink and have a great time!!!' Now that's what i call A Class Act... ;)


- Balenciaga


Balenciaga is a fellow friend of ours, helpful enough to help us write an account of his experience for the Chris Steele Meet & Greet session that happened on 29th Sept @ Gorgeous Tanning Salon & Chill-out Bar. More pictures are available here. Thanks again Balen! - Asimov_22

(Closed) Lust, Caution (5th October, 07)

Sorry guys, I realized I gotta work tomorrow morning so I can't wait till midnight ya... hahah so its closed. Sorrie :P

"Director Ang Lee's new film, following his Academy Award win for directing "Brokeback Mountain," is an espionage thriller set in WWII-era Shanghai. Asian cinema icon Tony Leung Chiu Wai ("Hero", "In The Mood For Love") stars as Mr. Yee, a powerful political figure in 1940's Shanghai. Tang Wei, a rising star in mainland China, makes her feature film debut as Wang Jiazhi, a young woman who gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with Mr. Yee. Joan Chen plays the wife of Mr. Yee but it is the role of Tang Wei as the student that will have a hand in trying to assassinate the intelligence chief of a Japanese-backed Chinese government. " - Excerpt taken from GV Website

Venue: Cineleisure Orchard
Date: 5th Oct '07
Time: 9:45pm
Dinner @ foodcourt Basement, 8:30pm

Ang Lee has been promising so far... So, who's up for some intrigue and politics of love & lust?

(CLOSED) Oh My God... Chris Steele is in town?!?

Attention people!

Please remember that if you want to take photos with Chris, bring your own cameras... Unfortunately me & VitalAuto can't make it for this event, so I've kinda appointed Balenciaga to "represent" TheBearProject for this event.

I want to shout out to Gymaster for his efforts in helping us organizing this, so enjoy the *free* drinks and food while you're there!

cheerios
Asimov_22

Dear fellow Bears,

I'm just curious to know how many of you guys here actually know your 'BEAR' PORN STARS... Well I do know my favorite one AND HE'S IN TOWN... I thought I was dreaming but its true and its REAL. I got an email from a fellow member Gymaster who have ever so kindly shared with me that Chris Steele (An ex Falcon Video Porn Star, now Director... He is so hot!) will be attending an opening ceremony of a Tanning Salon here in Singapore. Gymaster is kind enough to make time out of Chris's extremely busy schedule to accommodate a meet & greet session exclusively for TheBearProject members only! This is a one time only guys!

Food & refreshments will be catered and taken care of by Gymaster and I will update once we get the details all sorted out. Tentatively, the meet & greet session will be on the 29th September, Saturday around 9pm. Also, there will be a limit to the headcount of 20 people so I will need a rough estimate who are interested. So please sign up asap...

Here is a Wiki link which you can check out about Chris Steele. (Just google lah, you'll see TONS of stuff of him) If you're still not sure who Chris Steele is... tsk tsk tsk... time to do some homework guys seriously... For those not into porn, don't bother to attend hahahah... :)

Event: Meet & Greet Session with Chris Steele
Venue: Gorgeous Tanning & Chill-out Bar, 52/53, Duxton Road (Tanjong Pagar),
Singapore 089516
Date: 29th September 07
Time: Tentatively 9pm
Purpose: Mingle, Chat and get-to-know

Details will be finalized soon. So interested parties please sign up ASAP. Thanks :)

*Drool...*

- Contributed by XiaoYao

A Tribute To our Friend, Otto Fong

Tonight when I logged on to Fridae, I nearly fell off my chair. There, on the front page of the website was a familiar face. Evenmore startling was the headline under it: "Singapore teacher removes coming out blog under ministry pressure". For those who still don't know, Otto had started a blog with an open letter to Singaporeans pleading greater acceptance of gay people. In it, he said that he had always been gay and proud of it, that being in the closet all these years working as a teacher had stunted his personal growth as a living, loving human being, and that he hoped Singaporeans would see the current anti-gay crusade for what it is - a play for more political and moral influence by a small group of religious conservatives with hate in their hearts. I spent a good half hour reading the story and going to all the websites that had reproduced Otto's coming out letter. At the end of it, I was almost moved to tears - especially when I saw the many words of encouragement sent to Otto by his students.

"Dear Mr Fong, regardless of your sexuality, you'll still always be one of our greatest ever teachers," said one of the posts, penned by two of his students who hold leadership roles in school. "We as leaders under you for two years have seen how you set the foundation for us and pushed us forward. Where we are now, especially in our CCA leadership has come from you. We strongly believe that your teaching is too valuable to be compromised because of sexual orientation. RI can't lose this gem. We hope they don't."

I couldn't help but try to recall my impressions of Otto. I have only met him twice, at two BearProject movie outings. The first time I met him, he seemed reluctant to tell me what he did for a living and where he worked. There is a big gulf to traverse between that conversation(maybe two months ago) and his actions on Saturday, and this is why I find his public revelation doubly surprising and awe-inspiring.

There are two things I want to say about what Otto has done. The first is that his simple act of bravery stands in stark contrast to everything that the anti-gay movement is, and has been doing. People will bandy the most sophisticated-sounding scientific, legal, constitutional and moral arguments. They will cite all sorts of allegedly conclusive surveys and statistical studies. But these will always ring hollow against the honesty and sincerity of personal testimony. Let's not allow the moral bigots of the world to forget that. Gay people touch the lives of those around them in a very real way. We are open and direct, and give and receive love without prejudice or judgement. Like Otto, we should be proud of who we are and what we've done for ourselves, friends and family. Whether section 377A is repealed or not, they cannot take that away from us.

And we should strive to do even better each day to prove small-minded critics wrong.

The second thing I wanted to say was that after reading Otto's letter, I asked myself whether I would be brave enough to do the same thing. Can I even be bothered to do the same thing? I know the answer in my heart and I last felt that sort of discomfort as I watched Alfian Saat's last play "Asian Boys III". For it is somewhat true that as long as I have my partner with me, and we live happily with our friends going on holiday to Taipei and Tokyo, gymming at California Fitness and having loud, raucous dinners in HDB flats that we have either rented or bought after we turned 35, that there isn't any need to hanker after more acceptance in society. What can it achieve in the larger scheme of things? What about the hurt we might cause to our parents and those who love us, as well as our careers?

I don't know the answer to those questions. I think everyone's answer will necessarily be different and very few will be goaded into action like Otto was. I myself am out to my family, friends and colleagues, but I have stopped short of going public. Maybe one day I will, and I will draw my courage and inspiration from someone like Otto. For whatever happens next, he has made an indelible mark on the ongoing struggle for gay acceptance here in Singapore. We are moving slow, but every millimetre must surely count for something. And I have every hope in my heart that someday, we will get there.

P.S. I am writing to Bob Koh (headmaster@ri.sch.edu.sg), headmaster of Raffles Institution, tomorrow morning. And the next time I see you Otto, I am definitely buying you a drink!

- Rookcub

(Rookcub spoke & emailed me his reactions from the recent series of events that happened to our friend Otto. I think Otto deserves more than a pat on the back... So Otto, you too will have my utmost relentless support no matter what. - Asimov_22)

More from Fridae

(Cancelled) Grindhouse Marathon: Planet Terror & Death Proof - 21st Sept 07 (Friday)

Hahah... I guess marathons like these are not as popular, rather I think its the nature of the movies... Therefore its closed. (Anyways, the tickets are almost sold out too.)

Work up your guts guys, Golden Village presents "Grindhouse Marathon"! Robert Rodriquez's Planet Terror & Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof back-to-back screening is now on at GV Plaza Singapura. More details available at the GV website and the official Grindhouse website. Tickets are going at $21 per person but there is a free flow of popcorn and drinks. Tickets are snapping away fast so those who are interested please RSVP ASAP by 12th September (Wednesday). But guys, no promises cos right now the seats are already 1/2 occupied. I will update the ticket status by then to see if there are any tickets left.

Date: 21st Sept 07 (Friday)
Venue: GV, Plaza Singapura
Time: Marathon starts @ 9pm
Ticket Price: $21(Inclusive of free-flow popcorn & drinks)

Cheers, Asimov_22