Mihkel Vanager
Disruptors
David Lauterstein & Fred Kearney
Meet some of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
“At its heart, Nasty Pig is a love story,” says CEO David Lauterstein. The hugely successful fashion brand was founded 30 years ago by two men who fell in love at a $1 margarita night in NYC’s Chelsea neighborhood, with a mission to create unapologetically queer clothing.
Lauterstein and his partner, Fred Kearney, started out selling leather gear and other sportswear, then expanded into selling jockstraps, underwear, swimsuits, and more. They credit late French fashion icon Thierry Mugler as both a mentor and customer. This summer, Nasty Pig was honored by the Ali Forney Center for 10 years of fundraising to help feed, house, and educate homeless queer youth.And it’s only the beginning for Nasty Pig.
Lauterstein has written his first book, Sodomy Gods, which tells the story of how he and Kearney met, fell in love, and started Nasty Pig together. “As a gay man who lost so many of my ancestors to AIDS, I never had the opportunity to hear their stories and learn from their experiences,” Lauterstein says. “This book makes good on a promise I made to myself to do for young queer people what my queer ancestors couldn’t do for me.” @nastypig
Stacey Yvonne
Stacey Yvonne is a critic and entertainment journalist who can be found in Los Angeles eating snacks at events. She loves to uplift the LGBTQIA+ community and specifically highlight Black and female members. She can be found at SYvonneCreative.com
Stacey Yvonne is a critic and entertainment journalist who can be found in Los Angeles eating snacks at events. She loves to uplift the LGBTQIA+ community and specifically highlight Black and female members. She can be found at SYvonneCreative.com
José Becerra
Gabriella Angelina
Nikola Alexandre
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
José Becerra
Nikola Santarem Alexandre is a Black queer forester whose life changed after attending a nature-based healing gathering following the Pulse massacre. The experience inspired them to commit to land stewardship and nurture a sustainable future for marginalized communities.
After obtaining degrees in forestry and business from Yale University, Alexandre founded Conservation International’s Ecosystem Restoration Program and now serves as its senior advisor. Alexandre cocreated and leads the Shelterwood Collective, a 900-acre, queer-run forest and community center in Northern California. He continues to center queer and Black voices in environmental stewardship.
“Queerness and ecological health are intimately linked,” Alexandre says. “Our environmental problems are born from attempts to create boxes that separate people and nature. It’s only by rejecting those boxes and blurring the divides between people, places, and ecologies that we’ll be able to restore balance in our ecosystems and build a world where all can thrive. Queerness is one of our greatest teachers for this kind of endeavor, and queer leaders are needed in the climate movement for it to reach its full potential.” @blk_forester