Old LY Site

Twenty-five of the hottest and proudest gay men in the world converged in Antwerp, Belgium early this month to participate in the Mr. Gay World 2013 . LoveYourself member Erimar Ortigas represented the Philippines , placing 6th overall and also winning GuySpy’s People’s Choice online voting award . The latter accolade came with a $500 donation for LoveYourself , Erimar’s chosen charity, and will go a long way to help build the advocacy’s second HIV testing community center, LoveYourself Anglo . But so much is left out of these headlines – how Erimar rocked a neon-lighted National Costume, the camaraderie and combined hotness of the candidates, and all those sweet lessons one gobbles up while exploring a land of chocolates. So we let Erimar tell his whole story. This is his weeklong diary as told to LoveYourself. Day 1 – Hallo Belgium! The competition started with us arriving in the city of Antwerp, and checking in at the Ramada Hotel in Belgium. Ah, Belgium. The heart of Europe. A ce

UPDATE:  Quickie by LoveYourself Confidential is now scheduled for SEPTEMBER 20 (Friday).  Same time, same venue.  To register visit http://go.LoveYourself.ph/quickie To learn more, read about it here: Quickie by LoveYourself Confidential: One Night Only ---------------------------------------- We're sorry. We have decided to POSTPONE Quickie (HIV testing for men) to another date because of the ongoing weather condition. We encourage everyone to help out instead with the relief operations for those affected by Maring/Habagat. We will be announcing a new schedule at the soonest possible time. Sorry for the inconvenience. #Quickie #RescuePH #ReliefPH #FloodPH #Maring #Habagat

   GOT LOVE? So, you know you’ve got talent and mad skills , but you want to do more than just your 8-to-5. Maybe there are all these creative ideas that you're dying to unleash. Or maybe you’ve just got all this love inside of you that you want to share, but you don’t know where, or how, or whom to. Find your impetus.  LoveYourself is always looking for committed volunteers who believe in our vision of a self-loving, healthy, and HIV/STI-free Philippines. If you  have the time, energy, and team spirit to make a difference in our community, read on. WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? COMMUNICATIONS Software engineers / programmers. Technology is the tool that enables us to touch thousands of MSMs everywhere. And everyday, we're working on cutting-edge projects that can revolutionize the advocacy. If you’ve got IT chops, we want you!  Visual artists / graphic designers. We make things look sexy. If you’ve got an eye for layouts and you rock at Photoshop, you’ll definitely want to join

UPDATE: Quickie by LoveYourself Confidential is now scheduled for SEPTEMBER 20 (Friday). Same time, same venue.  ------------------------------------------ Here's a guide on how to get to Makati Friendship Suites for QUICKIE by LoveYourself Confidential , a special free HIV testing event. COMMUTER ROUTE From EDSA via MRT/Bus (commuters): Alight at the Guadalupe MRT station or Guadalupe Bus stop .  Go to the Jeepney Terminal at the back of Guadalupe Commercial Center (building connected to the Guadalupe MRT station, northbound side.) Take any jeepney going to Pateros , Market Market , Gate 5 and FTI . Tell the jeepney driver to drop you off at the Makati Friendship Suites (Guadalupe Bliss) . The venue will be on the right side of JP Rizal St. Extension.  Get off when you see the hostel signage and walk to Tower 3. Estimated less than 1km travel distance from the jeepney terminal. Feel free to download or print this mini-map guide for reference: CAR and TAXI ROUTE 1. From EDSA

by  Anton Fabico (photo credits:  www.biggaycloset.com ) Everyone has a story to tell and everyone has a road to take. No two stories are the same. Some of them might be similar but they are different from one another.  This column will showcase the story of a member from our community, a John Doe or Jane Doe. A stranger who you’ve never met but he or she has a story to tell and experiences to share. His or her story might be similar to yours or someone you know. So let’s take a glimpse at their life here in the Closet Chronicles. The last closet we looked into was Benjamin's wherein he gave us a glimpse of his life and the things he had to go through being trans. This time, let's take a glimpse at the life of a guy with a story that, let's just say, some television shows are made of. Andrew (not his real name) is a manager in one of the many call centers around Metro Manila. He is in his late 30’s and describes himself as a selective extrovert. The thing about Andrew is

Last Saturday, something was amiss at Asgard. At exactly 08:00 PM on 10 August, 2013, Lovers flocked in droves to one of Victoria Court Malate ’s most magnificent themed rooms, Asgard .  The Thor-inspired offering—a palatial two-floor suite, decked to the nines with intricate gold finishes and illuminated at every turn with lush mood light—played host to one of the most exciting events at just a stone’s throw away from the LoveYourself Hub . The occasion? TLY Connect , a mixer organized by the LoveYourself Events committee with a distinctly LoveYourself flavor. Advertised internally as having “no agenda, just fun and excitement”, it was exactly the breather that the Lovers had been looking forward to, some even having come from the furthest reaches of the metro to be able to “mix, match and be merry” that night.  The Events committee certainly did not disappoint: a potluck ensured food, drinks and “drinks” aplenty, and a packed karaoke catalogue led to round after round of diva and OP

In this country, shows about betrayal and infidelity have become part of the Filipino culture. If a TV show or movie comes out revolving around this premise, people eat it up. However, the stories have become cliché. From movies like No Other Woman or A Secret Affair , to TV shows like A Beautiful Affair and Temptation of Wife , the premise and story is always the same. One person cheats, the other person gets hurt and their entire family gets involved in the process together with some curses thrown here and there, a lock or two of hair being pulled out and in the case of Andi Eigenmann in A Secret Affair , she was sprayed with Calamine lotion. This year, GMA 7 upped the ante and came out with a show unlike any other in the history of Philippine television shows.  What a simple plot it had, another story of infidelity but this time, it revolves around the story of two gay men, Vincent and Eric played by Tom Rodriguez and Dennis Trillo , and Vincent's wife Lally played by Carla A

It was a night of sheer fun as two gay Asian groups united to successfully stage “ Love Forward ,” a benefit event in Chicago aimed at raising funds for the construction of the new LoveYourself Anglo in Mandaluyong. Last July 25 at @mosphere Bar, Filipinos and Friends in Chicago (FINC) and Asians & Friends Chicago (AFC) hosted a Thursday cabaret evening chock-full of performances from homegrown talents like Madame X , "Mahal" playwright Danny Bernardo , musical-theater actor Chip Payos & opera sensation Rodell Rosel . Other local artists who graced the stage with mind-blowing performances include Angel Abcede , Aria's Divina Aleonar , Randy Ballesteros , Christine Bunuan , Jovie Calma , Bagwis , George Infantado , and Karrel Bernardo . The benefit show garnered over $2,700 in cash donations, and more than $500 worth of pledges. LoveYourself would like to thank everyone who made this event possible.  Thank you for believing in our mission to provide free and a

ED: This post was originally written in 2011 by Manila Gay Guy. It still rings true even today. It starts like a painless prick in the mind — HIV? Me?  Nah . Then after a while, you remember those crazy times in the past.  Yeah , you think,  crazy but not too crazy as to put me at risk.  Besides, the probability of getting it is too low.  Malinis naman sila, I’m sure. You continue to attempt convincing yourself. Time pass and you’re mostly successful in keeping those HIV thoughts at bay. Yet there were times, admit it, that the prick in the mind becomes a bit more intense. Did I really do it bareback? Can’t remember na.  May condom naman yata.  Yata? Shit, can’t remember na talaga. Now it’s selective memory lapse. You think you were safe naman, most of the time, at the least. But you can’t seem to get the doubt off your mind. Suddenly, you don’t know, it is not clear if you really were safe. Everytime you see those three letters HIV, there’s a slight skip in your heartbeat, a little lu