Heated Rivalry has become a true pop cultural phenomenon — turning the stars into overnight A-Listers, inspiring fans to watch the show on repeat, and even playing matchmaker of sorts for those who bear resemblance to the characters.
After Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander doppelgängers Felix Eller and Aram Matagi went viral when they made out and fell hard for each other at a Heated Rivalry look-alike contest, the organizers of the competition decided to recreate that magic with another of the show’s beloved gay couples.
Most of the show may have been focused on the rivals-to-lovers romance between Ilya and Shane, but episode 3 of the first season was devoted to closeted hockey star Scott Hunter (François Arnaud) falling in love with out gay smoothie barista Kip Grady (Robbie GK).
It’s this romance — dubbed Skip by fans — that was the inspiration for the latest Heated Rivalry look-alike contest.
Over the weekend, fans flooded the Wunder Garten in the NoMa district of Washington D.C., to watch hot men rip their shirts off and make out just like the hot actors did on the show.
Joey Scully and Kyle Lazzaro won the event hosted by Lucy in Love. But while they shared a steamy make-out sesh, it sounds like the two men aren’t destined to find love in each other’s arms the same way Eller and Matagi did.
When asked if “love was in the air,” Kip lookalike Scully said that he’s single, but Lazzaro, the silver daddy who looks the most like Scott, is sadly taken, pointing at his wedding ring.
“My DMs are open,” Scully said.
A romance may not be in the cards for the Skip doppelgängers, but Eller and Matagi started dating after the competition, and people became so obsessed with their love story that they were invited to a Professional Women's Hockey League game where they ended up making out on the Jumbotron. They even starred in an ad for Uber.
