Watching this I can’t help but smile. The parade was so much fun.
Tag Archive for 'mardi gras'
Last night was the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras parade and we had so much fun! The parade had over 6,000 participants and zillions of sequins and dodgy fashion choices that are perfect for mardi gras. Our routine was a really high energy routine that left us all exhausted half way in.
I was just browsing a couple of the local news sites online and one of the galleries had this photo of me and local blogger boy Shannon next to me! Our routine was a disco inspired number that the crowd seemed to love. Apparently the judges thought we were pretty good too. In our first year, 2007, we won sexiest float, last year we won best choreography, and last night we took out the grand prize of best float! That is despite, with a third of the parade to go, our generator blowing up so we had no music or lights. We did prove that we can all count to 8 over and over again after that to try and keep the routine going, some of us just didn’t do it at the same time! So much fun!
Now that the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras parade is only 9 days away, I’m about to kick my all-too-pathetic training regime up a notch. Tomorrow morning is going to hurt at the gym. I’m going to do the Spartan 300 routine again. I’ve only done it 3 times, many months ago and it hurts like a mother fucker. Mainly because I never do any cardio.
I am fully aware that it’s all a case of too little, too late, but hey, I need to do what I can. So, it’s off to bed for me so that I can get up at 5.30. That bit hurts just thinking about it.
Tomorrow night is our first rehearsal for this year’s Mardi Gras Parade. We had some issues in preparation earlier in the process but we have a really enthusiastic committee and we’ve locked in a new choreographer so tomorrow night will be great. I’m fighting hard for my beloved front row position and I can’t wait to see the routine!
This year’s sleaze ball is set to be sexy as all hell with the sporting theme “Game On” sure to have all the lycra fetishists and jock muscle boys all in a fluster. The Stingers, Sydney’s gay waterpolo team have teamed up with Mardi Gras to offer a chance to win a double pass. All you need to do is go to the Stingers Site and register. Given that tickets aren’t cheap and there’s only a few weeks left until the long weekend, this is a fantastic way of getting to go along and sweat it up in what you can pretend is a massive locker room… oh yeah!
Each year I’ve posted a video that Chadd has put together for me of me doing the routine in the parade. Chadd has been nice enough to do it again for me but I have to say, I’m not happy. This year I was even worse with my diet than I was last year. I had such good intentions of eating right and doing cardio and all sorts of good things in the lead up. None of it happened. Yes I’m being very vain. Yes I’m being hard on myself but I’m getting cranky with myself for my total lack of discipline. It comes from never having to worry about what I eat because I’d never put on weight. Now, as I’m in my mid 30’s, I’m not as lucky. Sure, I’m not fighting the flab but my habits need to be sorted out and soon or as I get older I’m going to get fat.
Anyway, here’s the video of me in this year’s parade. Last year someone posted a comment telling me that I was being very self absorbed not showing the rest of the float and how could I have only thought to film myself. Chadd handed me the video camera on a long extension rod at rehearsal one night and asked to see just how I would film myself doing the routine. It’s not at all possible, but it was funny.
The wonderful Chadd that does our photography and video for our float has put together this teaser for the upcoming DVD that we produce every year for participants. It’s looking good I have to say!
This video would have to be one of the best I’ve seen of Mardi Gras. This guy does amazing work, I think through time lapse filming or stitching photos together to make a video. He treats them in such a way that everything looks like a tiny little world populated, in this case, with thousands of little gay people. It’s beautiful to watch.
Mardi Gras from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.
This is how the Foxtel people portrayed us on the weekend’s broadcast of Mardi Gras. They’ve done a really good job although they did film us on the parade as I was messing up the routine but that was expected. It was so much fun.
Well, the Mardi Gras parade is over and done with once more for another year. We got a fantastic amount of press in the lead up to the parade, once again, prompting my mother to ask “Why are the lifesavers so popular?”. Who knows, but we seem to have lost none of the support we’ve had from the first two years.
The parade was an absolute blast once again but was all over too fast. I was just getting a second wind when the lights went out and the music was turned off. Early on in the parade route we were running around and I slipped on a pile of glittery confetti and re pulled my hamstring but the adrenaline was plenty strong enough to keep me going with a smile on my face.
Each year, there is one run through of the routine, which we do about 25 - 30 times along the route, where I completely fuck it up and lose the plot, like a little brain fart. Well this year I did it in spectacular fashion, just as we were hitting the main part of the parade route, where all the media for Foxtel, who broadcast the parade, were set up. We were approaching that area and I just completely messed up and couldn’t remember what to do next, so I started laughing, the choreographer’s assistant laughing at me too, me in the front row. At that point I turned my head and there we were, on the 40 foot wide screen, just as I lost it! Priceless.
To anyone that may have been out there supporting the parade participants, thank you! It was an incredible atmosphere once again!
The SMH online today has an article about Mardi Gras and the politics of the parade and it’s opponents, usually the church. The article is headed God - And the Godless, I think I know which one I’m supposedly categorised under, and to prove it, they’ve used my photo! Hilarious. My mother would be so proud!
It’s 6.45 am on Mardi Gras morning here in Sydney, sometimes known as Gay Xmas! I’m about to embark on a few hours of driving around with the woman who is going to drive our truck, to pick the truck up, then the generator then drop the truck off to have all the lights and music equipment loaded. Fingers crossed my poor little car holds up!
This shot was taken of us at our media rehearsal on Thursday night. I THINK that’s me on the left of the two central figures. Can’t be sure.
I haven’t actually even watched this myself yet, but it’s photos from thursday’s rehearsal. We’ve got one more big rehearsal on thursday night this week before the big night on saturday. I can’t wait. We did a sneak preview of the routine at the Bondi Boys party this afternoon and the crowd really liked it so that is a good start.
Yesterday was officially the last day of summer here in Australia and I was lucky enough to have a wonderful day from start to finish.
I caught up with mates for breakfast first up, before having a nice walk home in the sunshine. Then it was off to the beach to meet up with my mate from Melbourne who is camper vanning around the state. We’ve been chatting for a couple of years online so it was great to finally meet face to face and hang out naked on the beach. Then we drove down into the national park and found a camping site and had an easy meal with a few beers and a lot of laughs.
Today, some of the lifesavers are doing a sneak peak preview of our Mardi Gras routine at Bondi Boys Sexy party at Bondi Pavillion. Life is just a bit full on at the moment.
I personally can’t wait for the weekend. This week has been manic with not one evening spent at home. Tonight’s rehearsal for Mardi Gras was great but tough. The routine is challenging but has come together well. Tomorrow night, the lifesavers are appearing at Big Bingay which will be a great night.
This weekend a guy is in town that I’ve been chatting to online for some time. He’s living in Melbourne but is driving a campervan around NSW and Victoria to explore (he’s British) and he’s a big time nudie like me. He hits Sydney on Saturday so we are going to hang out on the beach and I’m going to spend the night naked in the campervan with him. I can’t wait to just chill out and do nothing!
